About San Diego County, CA

July 9 , 2009, 1:00 AM PST

National Average Fixed Rate Mortgage
Down 2 basis point to 5.31% on 07-09-09
*A Basis Point (bps) is 1/100 of 1.00%

Fannie Mae Mortgage Backed Securities
Down 8.2 basis points to 4.797%.

Lock Advice: Float with Caution
If you have loans that need locking today do not hesitate, several lenders posted mid morning increases.

DJI Stocks Closed today at:
8,183.17 Up +4.76 +0.06%

European and Asian Markets Up 0.45%

10 Year Treasury currently 3.39%

Nymex Crude Oil $60.35 barrel, Up $0.21

See inter-day Rate and market updates on Twitter

Are the best rates supplied by Direct Lenders? Rate Survey

Your Stealth Rate Shopper Strikes again full story

Click for current Lending news and information

$8,000 Tax Credit Advance was approved (05-29-09) by FHA Click for FHA bulletin

Fannie MBS Issuance Hits Highest Mark Since 2003
Benefiting from historically low interest rates and a refinancing boom, Fannie Mae issued $87.8 billion in mortgage-backed securities in March, nearly doubling the previous month's volume.

1st Quarter Residential Loan Originations Jump 36%
Thanks to interest rates that were at or near historical lows, residential mortgage lenders saw their loan production jump by 36% in the first quarter, according to preliminary survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

How To Apply For $8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
Up to a $8000 Tax Credit is available from IRS

10 Ways to Avoid A Closing Nightmare
An easy list that will make your life easier

People often ask “Do I really need condominium insurance?”. According to Rick Wiese at Providing Insurance & Financial Services, State Farm Insurance in San Diego, the answer is without a doubt - Yes, you do!

Rick says the Condominium Policy will cover you for many of the types of losses or covered perils like fire, immediate escape of water, wind, smoke, hail, vandalism, etc. Most often the majority of structural coverage is provided by the “Master Policy” from your HOA.

The Condominium Policy for the Association does not cover you completely. Typically you will find the Association provides coverage in one of the following manners:

· Insures the basic building(s) (walls, roof, floors, elevators) but leaves to you the responsibility of insuring appliances, carpeting, cabinets, wall coverings, and other items in your home, and in some cases even the interior walls.

· Insures both the basic building(s) and the items within your unit other than personal property.

· Insures both the basic building(s) and includes unit owner fixtures and improvements

You can look to the Articles of the Association and/or CCR’s (covenants, conditions, and restrictions) for answers to what has been decided is the responsibility of the HOA and what is considered the responsibility of each unit owner. It may also be helpful to talk to the property management for guidance. You can do your own research or provide the phone numbers to your agent to help you.

If you have any further questions please contact Rick Wiese at Providing Insurance & Financial Services, State Farm Insurance at 619-293-7211 or e-mail him at rick@rickwiese.com. You can also get more information about Rick on his website rickwiese.com

Read our former blog “Downtown San Diego 92101 Condo and Loft Insurance - Is It Necessary?”

A contemporary and elegant Northwest corner 2 Bedroom Condo in Icon in Downtown San Diego is for rent. Wall to wall corner windows provide tons of natural light, and panoramic corridor views that include 10th Ave/J Street, Petco Park and the City skyline. The home features a private West facing balcony, exposed cement, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in the kitchen, chocolate hardwood floors, bedroom Berber carpet, marble upgrades in bathrooms, roman window coverings, custom built-in shelving in dining room and dual vanities in the master bathroom.

The rent is $2600/month for two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Security deposit $2600 with one year lease. Not furnished. No pets.

Located in the heart of the East Village/Ballpark District Icon is encompassing an entire City block bound by 10th, 11th, J Street and K Street. A superb location with Petco Park on one side, and the new San Diego Public Library development site on the other. Other complexes around Icon is Fahrenheit, Metrome and M2i. Icon has two entrances: 321 10th Ave, and 350 11th Ave. Finished in January of 2007, the developers Levin/Menzies went to great lengths to make this one of the most unique and desirable complexes in all of Downtown San Diego.

The Icon complex is comprised of four buildings of all concrete construction: Building 1 is 26 stories, Building 2 is 11 stories, Building 3 is 9 stories, and Building 4 is 5 stories. The four buildings surround a perfectly landscaped interior courtyard that features original sculpture art and waterfall features. The interior courtyard gives the complex an intimate community feeling. Even though there are 327 units, you still feel well connected to your neighbors. The building projects like Icon, Diamond Terrace, and Park Terrace were all just completed in 2007. The street level retail that goes in to those spaces will really define the infrastructure of the neighborhood.

For more information about Icon please visit Icon

Icon’s amenities include:

• Wood flooring standard in kitchen
• Designer-selected color palette for each Interior Finish Scheme
• KitchenAid Architect Series stainless steel appliances
• Wood-grain laminate cabinetry
• Slab granite counter tops and 4” back splash
• Porcelain or engineered marble bath flooring (most plans)
• Double vanities in master baths with custom, floating back lit mirror treatment (most plans)
• Exposed interior concrete structural elements (per plan)
• 9’ ceiling heights in flats and town homes, and dramatic 14’ - 16.5’ elevations in lofts and live/work spaces
• Interior laundry hook-ups
• Thermostatically controlled individual heating and A/C
• Spacious covered terraces (most plans)
• Four distinct and vibrantly colored towers with unique architectural designs and lifestyle options
• Dramatic clerestory roof lines on two of the four buildings
• Open-air lobby at 11th Avenue entrance
• Dynamic retail, commercial and live/work venues on the ground floor
• Icon Sky box viewing terrace overlooking Petco Park, exclusively for Icon residents
• Courtyard-level 5th Inning Lounge available to Icon residents for meetings, special events, community activities, etc.
• Icon Theater with raised seating and a state-of-the-art audio/visual & gaming system
• Fitness Studio for all levels of co-ed fitness training and conditioning
• San Diego’s first 60-foot sculpture by renowned artist Ned Kahn-that captures the look-and-sound of softly cascading water
• Two controlled-access lobbies with community attendant staffing and on-site facilities manager
• Controlled-access subterranean garage & off-street loading docks
• Convenient trash chutes on each residential floor
• World-class San Diego Main Library facility proposed at 11th and J
• Exciting restaurants, entertainment and shopping in the Ballpark District and the Gaslamp Quarter, all within easy walking, trolley or pedicab distance
• San Diego Trolley just one block away for easy, safe and fun transportation
• MLK Promenade, Embarcadero, Marina and Urban Art Trail within steps of your front door for recreational walking, jogging, roller-blading, biking and more

For more information please e-mail mike@92101urbanliving.com

If you are looking to invest in a Downtown San Diego Condo or a Downtown San Diego Loft or if you already live in Downtown San Diego - take advantage of the cool, trendy “Urbanist” a free local guide for Urban adventure and discovery in Downtown San Diego.

Urbanist is a free, fold out, full color, print publication that can be found all over the Downtown and Uptown area in San Diego area as well as select locations in La Jolla, Pacific Beac, Encinitas, SDSU and UCSD.

Check out the unique and cool Galleries & Culture, the trendy Restaurants, the cool Salons, the hip Music stores and the Urban Shopping places to go in Downtown San Diego today at Urbanist.

For more secrets in Downtown San Diego visit our former blog Secrets of Downtown San Diego’s Urban Living

People often ask “Do I really need condominium insurance?”. According to Rick Wiese at Providing Insurance & Financial Services, State Farm Insurance in San Diego, the answer is without a doubt - Yes, you do!

Rick says a Condominium Policy is similar to a Home Owners Policy in many ways and also very different. It will cover you for many of the same types of losses or covered perils like fire, immediate escape of water, wind, smoke, hail, vandalism, etc. Most often the majority of structural coverage is provided by the master policy.

Condominium Policy is a special insurance designed to fit the specific needs of the Condo Home Owners. Downtown San Diego Condo and Downtown San Diego Loft owners need to take into consideration additional coverage for the building based on their condominium association’s master policy and coverage.

The proper amount of Condominium Insurance is a little complicated and coming up short can be costly. In addition, the recent requirements of Fannie Mae have made the issue even more complicated (they may require building coverage to the extent of 20% of the Condominium appraised value if the association does not have adequate coverage).

Rick’s suggestion is to talk to a qualified agent familiar with Condominium Insurance and willing to help guide you with your decisions. You may also want to consider a company that will provide discounts for combining your auto and Condominium Insurance.

If you have any further questions please contact Rick Wiese at Providing Insurance & Financial Services, State Farm Insurance at 619-293-7211 or e-mail him at rick@rickwiese.com. You can also get more information about Rick on his website rickwiese.com

To see more related Downtown San Diego Real Estate News read our former blogs Reduce Your Monthly Mortgage Payment and Stabilize your Condo or Loft in Downtown San Diego with the “Home Affordable Plan and Afford a Condo or Loft Investment in Downtown San Diego