What's up, People?
There's a cruel trick going around. It's kind of like going to the zoo and holding a banana just out of reach of the ape cage. Like taking a kid to the Disneyland parking lot and then going home before entering said amusement park. It is just as mean as a Baskin Robbins commercial on t.v. telling me the most delicious ice cream ever is now free and my wife telling me I can not have any because of some lie my doctor said about me having high cholesterol (I hate my doctor).
This trick going around is perpetrated by Realtors all over the greater San Diego area (Maybe the whole country). Here's how it's laid out. The Realtor takes a listing and puts it on the market under market value. Have you ever heard of anything so horrible? You have heard of things that horrible? You've heard of much worse things? Well, I agree that it's not as bad as my ice cream story. Here's why it does suck.
When a listing comes on the market under value it gives buyers false hope that they could actually end up with the house. Well, why couldn't they? The house is priced in the buyer's price range, right? Yes (Is me talking to myself confusing?), but it will get bid up to actual market price or, if there is enough of a shark frenzy, it could get bid over asking price. It should be easy to spot, right?
Yes, it is easy to spot. The unfortunate thing is you have to pursue it anyway, just in case. Just like that 16 year old kid who has to ask the super model out when he comes in contact with her. You can not let those types of opportunities go by without at least trying.
So, to all of my home buyers (And all of the buyers across the land), keep asking that super model out, no matter how much it hurts. You'll get lucky one day.
Let me know your super model story.
God Bless.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dumb
Aloha, People.
This is going to sound biased, self serving and kind of mean. But I think some people are dumb. I'm not saying they're bad people. I'm not saying they do not love their families. I'm not even saying they're unintelligent. I'm saying there are some dumb folks out there (Unintelligent would be the inability to learn or reason. Dumb people are just not looking at all of the facts before they open their mouths).
Take, for instance, Chris Farrell of Bloomberg's Business Week magazine. He wrote an article with the point of view that the government should "pull the plug on government support" from the housing industry. That is his opinion, and not a horrible one. There are a ton of people who think the government shouldn't be involved. That's fine. What I think is dumb (It is kind of harsh sounding. What if I just said his idea is dumb and not him?) is his reason for the government to back out.
His reason is he feels that with the government giving tax credits and buying mortgaged back securities (Keeps the interest rates down) is "Artificially holding prices at above-market levels" (Prices are not above market levels. Prices are always at market level. That's why they call it the "market". People buy stuff and the price is set. If people are only willing to pay $1 for a loaf of bread then that's the market). I don't know where he's buying real estate, but there's nothing artificial going on. Home prices are way low. Yes, the tax credit is helping send buyers to the market. But, how many people are buying a $300,000 home to get $8000 tax credit? Yes, interest rates are low.....that is actually helping a bunch. But, the interest rates nor the tax credit are driving prices up. There is a gang of home buying action going on, but prices are not reflective of the demand. Wanna know why?
When a home is up for sale and someone wants to buy it using a loan then the home still has to appraise. It doesn't matter what someone is willing to pay, the appraiser is going to set a price at MARKET value based on comparable home sales. Appraisers and banks are not going to be making the same mistakes they made prior to '05. You remember those days when an appraiser would drive by the home for sale and then ask you how much you wanted it to appraise for. That's part of what got us into this mess.
So, I really am surprised that this article was written and published. The article even mentions that "sales of existing homes plunged 7.2% in January". How is that artificially holding prices up?
Any way, click on the title and read the stupid article yourself. This is what I'm battling, People.
God Bless
This is going to sound biased, self serving and kind of mean. But I think some people are dumb. I'm not saying they're bad people. I'm not saying they do not love their families. I'm not even saying they're unintelligent. I'm saying there are some dumb folks out there (Unintelligent would be the inability to learn or reason. Dumb people are just not looking at all of the facts before they open their mouths).
Take, for instance, Chris Farrell of Bloomberg's Business Week magazine. He wrote an article with the point of view that the government should "pull the plug on government support" from the housing industry. That is his opinion, and not a horrible one. There are a ton of people who think the government shouldn't be involved. That's fine. What I think is dumb (It is kind of harsh sounding. What if I just said his idea is dumb and not him?) is his reason for the government to back out.
His reason is he feels that with the government giving tax credits and buying mortgaged back securities (Keeps the interest rates down) is "Artificially holding prices at above-market levels" (Prices are not above market levels. Prices are always at market level. That's why they call it the "market". People buy stuff and the price is set. If people are only willing to pay $1 for a loaf of bread then that's the market). I don't know where he's buying real estate, but there's nothing artificial going on. Home prices are way low. Yes, the tax credit is helping send buyers to the market. But, how many people are buying a $300,000 home to get $8000 tax credit? Yes, interest rates are low.....that is actually helping a bunch. But, the interest rates nor the tax credit are driving prices up. There is a gang of home buying action going on, but prices are not reflective of the demand. Wanna know why?
When a home is up for sale and someone wants to buy it using a loan then the home still has to appraise. It doesn't matter what someone is willing to pay, the appraiser is going to set a price at MARKET value based on comparable home sales. Appraisers and banks are not going to be making the same mistakes they made prior to '05. You remember those days when an appraiser would drive by the home for sale and then ask you how much you wanted it to appraise for. That's part of what got us into this mess.
So, I really am surprised that this article was written and published. The article even mentions that "sales of existing homes plunged 7.2% in January". How is that artificially holding prices up?
Any way, click on the title and read the stupid article yourself. This is what I'm battling, People.
God Bless
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Contract Tips #1 Or Contingent This
Hi People.
Buyers. This will start off an infrequent series on things to remember when writing a "Residential Purchase Agreement" offer for a home. Sellers. This is what to look out for. The ying and yang, push and pull of negotiating will end up somewhere in the middle called "fair", if both parties are on the ball. One party is often not on his game (Or has a Realtor who was the banjo player in Deliverance) and that party ends up being taken advantage of.
Buyer contingencies. They are there to protect the buyer. Inspection, Loan & Appraisal are the main ones. Inspection is the buyer's right to inspect/ investigate the home, taxes, school district, noise pollution, pollution pollution, area crime and all around niceness. The buyer can hold a seance to check for evil spirits, check the area's demographics or see if the house is Feng whatever. If all of these (But not limited to these) things do not meet the buyer's approval the buyer can back out and get the full refund of the deposit, as long as they are within their contingency period.
Loan and Appraisal Contingencies are tied together and pretty self explanatory. If you can't get the loan or if the home does not appraise you can cancel escrow and get your full deposit back. The longer the buyer's contingency the better for the buyer. Also, you have very little (If any) control over these 2 contingencies. Keep them as long as you can and extend (Before they expire) if the bank/ appraiser need more time.
Obviously, the seller will want as short a buyer's contingency period as possible. When an offer is accepted the seller has to take the property off of the market. Knowing that the buyer can back out legally for something as frivolous as "I don't like the paint at sunset" or "This house makes me look fat" will keep the seller up late at night.
So, what's fair. It depends (Sissy answer). Feel out the situation. If you really want to buy the house and there are several offers on the table maybe you should consider a 10 day inspection period (Plenty of time to get an inspection done if you don't dilly-dally) as opposed to 17 days. This will make you more attractive to the seller. If he doesn't have any other offers and you don't feel like being rushed maybe ask for a 20 day inspection period. He should take it because he's starting to get nervous of never getting an offer or ever being loved. Sad.
People outside of California should consult a local Realtor. Laws, customs and practices can vary state to state.
Either way, call me at 619-507-7449 with any questions on any real estate topic.
God Bless
Buyers. This will start off an infrequent series on things to remember when writing a "Residential Purchase Agreement" offer for a home. Sellers. This is what to look out for. The ying and yang, push and pull of negotiating will end up somewhere in the middle called "fair", if both parties are on the ball. One party is often not on his game (Or has a Realtor who was the banjo player in Deliverance) and that party ends up being taken advantage of.
Buyer contingencies. They are there to protect the buyer. Inspection, Loan & Appraisal are the main ones. Inspection is the buyer's right to inspect/ investigate the home, taxes, school district, noise pollution, pollution pollution, area crime and all around niceness. The buyer can hold a seance to check for evil spirits, check the area's demographics or see if the house is Feng whatever. If all of these (But not limited to these) things do not meet the buyer's approval the buyer can back out and get the full refund of the deposit, as long as they are within their contingency period.
Loan and Appraisal Contingencies are tied together and pretty self explanatory. If you can't get the loan or if the home does not appraise you can cancel escrow and get your full deposit back. The longer the buyer's contingency the better for the buyer. Also, you have very little (If any) control over these 2 contingencies. Keep them as long as you can and extend (Before they expire) if the bank/ appraiser need more time.
Obviously, the seller will want as short a buyer's contingency period as possible. When an offer is accepted the seller has to take the property off of the market. Knowing that the buyer can back out legally for something as frivolous as "I don't like the paint at sunset" or "This house makes me look fat" will keep the seller up late at night.
So, what's fair. It depends (Sissy answer). Feel out the situation. If you really want to buy the house and there are several offers on the table maybe you should consider a 10 day inspection period (Plenty of time to get an inspection done if you don't dilly-dally) as opposed to 17 days. This will make you more attractive to the seller. If he doesn't have any other offers and you don't feel like being rushed maybe ask for a 20 day inspection period. He should take it because he's starting to get nervous of never getting an offer or ever being loved. Sad.
People outside of California should consult a local Realtor. Laws, customs and practices can vary state to state.
Either way, call me at 619-507-7449 with any questions on any real estate topic.
God Bless
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Housing Market & Corn Farmers
People (You can't see me but I'm tipping my hat to you as if we were greeting each other).
Forbes came out with a pretty bold statement today "Here's a new sign that the housing market is in recovery mode: The number of homes for sale across the U.S. with discounted asking prices dipped to fewer than 20% on March 1". This is great news. But, once again, I think we need to dig a little deeper.
One reason there could be (Has not been verified) less discounts is that builders have caught up to the market prices. The new stuff on the market now has been built with the current market in mind. The builder who started building in '05 and finished in '07 was stuck with a $500,000 home that was only worth $350,000. He had to discount it in order to sell it. The builder who started building in '07 & '08 are building for $300,000 homes and do not have to discount them to get rid of them. Catch my drift?
The other reason they don't have to discount their homes is Uncle Sam is giving money (8000 big ones) to first time home buyers (Biggest portion of buyers out there). That's a built in discount. Kind of like subsidizing the corn farmers. Just grow it and the government will help you out (If I have offended any corn farmers out there I apologize. I didn't think you could read).
Again, this is good news. But let's not strike up the band just yet. There's a lot of corn to grow.
Tell me I'm full of it after you read the attached article (Click on the title).
God Bless.
Forbes came out with a pretty bold statement today "Here's a new sign that the housing market is in recovery mode: The number of homes for sale across the U.S. with discounted asking prices dipped to fewer than 20% on March 1". This is great news. But, once again, I think we need to dig a little deeper.
One reason there could be (Has not been verified) less discounts is that builders have caught up to the market prices. The new stuff on the market now has been built with the current market in mind. The builder who started building in '05 and finished in '07 was stuck with a $500,000 home that was only worth $350,000. He had to discount it in order to sell it. The builder who started building in '07 & '08 are building for $300,000 homes and do not have to discount them to get rid of them. Catch my drift?
The other reason they don't have to discount their homes is Uncle Sam is giving money (8000 big ones) to first time home buyers (Biggest portion of buyers out there). That's a built in discount. Kind of like subsidizing the corn farmers. Just grow it and the government will help you out (If I have offended any corn farmers out there I apologize. I didn't think you could read).
Again, this is good news. But let's not strike up the band just yet. There's a lot of corn to grow.
Tell me I'm full of it after you read the attached article (Click on the title).
God Bless.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Always Have Protection
People. How do?
The California Board of Realtors are coming out with a new revision for the "Residential Purchase Agreement And Escrow Instructions" or Form RPA-CA. What does this mean to you? Not a whole lot. It does clarify the wording a tad better on some parts re loan and appraisal contingencies. It does explain that if you change financing in the middle of the escrow period than the seller has the right to "VETO" or accept. It illuminates what does, and what doesn't stay with the house (Ceiling fan with one blade), unless there is added verbiage to the contract to correct that (You can have the ceiling fan, but I keep the fuzzy toilet seat). It clarifies some other things to, but all of these things were in the old contract (My clients and I knew they were clear).
The big things that the new contract changes are there to protect the realtor, not the buyer/ seller Buyers and sellers don't pay dues to the board of Realtors. If CAR keeps more Realtors in business then they can make more money. A little cynical.). It moved some wording up front telling the buyer that the realtor is allowed to write offers with other buyers on the same house. Now, the realtor is not allowed to share how much you offered or anything about you. He's just allowed to write offers for "Potentially competing buyers". Nice for him, not for you.
They re-worded how the deposit (Earnest money) is to be handled. This has been a long time coming. Now it states that the buyer will take the deposit directly to escrow 3 days after the offer is accepted. This is to protect the realtor from him (Sexist) self. The #1 way Realtors/ brokers get in trouble is co-mingling funds. Taking deposits and mixing it in with whatever fund (Gambling, drugs, figurines, etc...). I used to write it in that way so I wouldn't have to hold someone else's money. My wife won't even let me have money, how am I supposed to take care of someone else's money.
The point of all of this is is that you better employ professionals who have your back when you are dealing with real estate, money, health and whatever else is valuable to you.
Let me know if you want a copy of the new contract. 619-507-7449.
God Bless.
The California Board of Realtors are coming out with a new revision for the "Residential Purchase Agreement And Escrow Instructions" or Form RPA-CA. What does this mean to you? Not a whole lot. It does clarify the wording a tad better on some parts re loan and appraisal contingencies. It does explain that if you change financing in the middle of the escrow period than the seller has the right to "VETO" or accept. It illuminates what does, and what doesn't stay with the house (Ceiling fan with one blade), unless there is added verbiage to the contract to correct that (You can have the ceiling fan, but I keep the fuzzy toilet seat). It clarifies some other things to, but all of these things were in the old contract (My clients and I knew they were clear).
The big things that the new contract changes are there to protect the realtor, not the buyer/ seller Buyers and sellers don't pay dues to the board of Realtors. If CAR keeps more Realtors in business then they can make more money. A little cynical.). It moved some wording up front telling the buyer that the realtor is allowed to write offers with other buyers on the same house. Now, the realtor is not allowed to share how much you offered or anything about you. He's just allowed to write offers for "Potentially competing buyers". Nice for him, not for you.
They re-worded how the deposit (Earnest money) is to be handled. This has been a long time coming. Now it states that the buyer will take the deposit directly to escrow 3 days after the offer is accepted. This is to protect the realtor from him (Sexist) self. The #1 way Realtors/ brokers get in trouble is co-mingling funds. Taking deposits and mixing it in with whatever fund (Gambling, drugs, figurines, etc...). I used to write it in that way so I wouldn't have to hold someone else's money. My wife won't even let me have money, how am I supposed to take care of someone else's money.
The point of all of this is is that you better employ professionals who have your back when you are dealing with real estate, money, health and whatever else is valuable to you.
Let me know if you want a copy of the new contract. 619-507-7449.
God Bless.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
Cheers, People.
Interest rates dropped a whopping .08 percent from 5.05 to 4.97. They dropped like my jaw when my 2 year old spit out the "F" word. This comes 4 weeks before ugliness could come, or not.
"The central bank's $1.25 trillion program to buy up mortgage securities is set to expire March 31. But the Fed has held the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens" says MSNBC.
The Fed, and a couple of economists (Namely Sven Jari Stehn of Goldman Sachs. Are we supposed to trust them? I honestly can't remember.) thinks that the end of this program won't disturb the interest rate waters too much. Other economists say interest rates will shoot up like my cholesterol at a fried chicken eating contest.
The fact is that we wont know until we know. Still, if the Fed does extend the program than rates will stay low, probably.
Click on the link for the full article.
God Bless.
Interest rates dropped a whopping .08 percent from 5.05 to 4.97. They dropped like my jaw when my 2 year old spit out the "F" word. This comes 4 weeks before ugliness could come, or not.
"The central bank's $1.25 trillion program to buy up mortgage securities is set to expire March 31. But the Fed has held the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens" says MSNBC.
The Fed, and a couple of economists (Namely Sven Jari Stehn of Goldman Sachs. Are we supposed to trust them? I honestly can't remember.) thinks that the end of this program won't disturb the interest rate waters too much. Other economists say interest rates will shoot up like my cholesterol at a fried chicken eating contest.
The fact is that we wont know until we know. Still, if the Fed does extend the program than rates will stay low, probably.
Click on the link for the full article.
God Bless.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Show Me The Money
People, greetings.
Poway just made a list of the top 10 cities "Where Home Prices Are Rising", says the well renowned Forbes Magazine. It also claims that the year over year price change has went up 27%. It has, but what do they mean by price? Do they mean how much homes sold for? Nope.
They are basing this 27% jump on median home ASKING price (Why the yelling?). That has nothing to do with sells. Who wants to buy my '78 Pinto with a missing hub cap and duct tape pin stripes? I'm ASKING (Again with the yelling) $20,000. If you don't want that my neighbor has a primer gray Ford Escort with 200,000 miles on it and a missing door. He can be talked down to $18,000.
The median home asking price (No need to yell) in Poway is a little over $864,000. That is what's active right now. If so inclined, you may buy one of these homes. The total # of single family detached homes actively on the market is 144. 96 of them are over $700,000 (Close enough to the median price). But, only 11 homes over $700,000 sold in the last 3 months. Those homes took an average of 100 days to sell (That does not count the handful of those that tried to sell earlier and re-listed). Do you see what I'm getting at? That 27% increase in asking price does not matter.
Now, in all defense of Forbes, it does go on to say that a big part of the increase in homes for sale is that all of the less expensive homes get sold quick. But, it still sees these price increases as a turn around in the housing market. It could be, but those homes have to sell at those prices. Other wise, who wants to buy my Pinto (real cherry!)?
By the way, Poway is a great area. Great public schools (Score the best in the county), nice neighborhoods, usually bigger lots. I have put a bunch of my clients in Poway and they all love it (So why am i being a jerk?).
Click on the link to read the Forbes' article.
God Bless.
Poway just made a list of the top 10 cities "Where Home Prices Are Rising", says the well renowned Forbes Magazine. It also claims that the year over year price change has went up 27%. It has, but what do they mean by price? Do they mean how much homes sold for? Nope.
They are basing this 27% jump on median home ASKING price (Why the yelling?). That has nothing to do with sells. Who wants to buy my '78 Pinto with a missing hub cap and duct tape pin stripes? I'm ASKING (Again with the yelling) $20,000. If you don't want that my neighbor has a primer gray Ford Escort with 200,000 miles on it and a missing door. He can be talked down to $18,000.
The median home asking price (No need to yell) in Poway is a little over $864,000. That is what's active right now. If so inclined, you may buy one of these homes. The total # of single family detached homes actively on the market is 144. 96 of them are over $700,000 (Close enough to the median price). But, only 11 homes over $700,000 sold in the last 3 months. Those homes took an average of 100 days to sell (That does not count the handful of those that tried to sell earlier and re-listed). Do you see what I'm getting at? That 27% increase in asking price does not matter.
Now, in all defense of Forbes, it does go on to say that a big part of the increase in homes for sale is that all of the less expensive homes get sold quick. But, it still sees these price increases as a turn around in the housing market. It could be, but those homes have to sell at those prices. Other wise, who wants to buy my Pinto (real cherry!)?
By the way, Poway is a great area. Great public schools (Score the best in the county), nice neighborhoods, usually bigger lots. I have put a bunch of my clients in Poway and they all love it (So why am i being a jerk?).
Click on the link to read the Forbes' article.
God Bless.
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