About Sonoma County, CA

I recently sold one of my listings to a buyer who was getting a CalPers loan. I had heard of this loan program but was not very familiar with how it worked or what a great product it was. Here's how the program works:

You have to be a public employee such as a police officer, teacher, judge etc, who is in the CalPers retirement system. There is no minimum amount of time in the system, you can apply for a loan on you first day on the job.

CalPers advertises that it's loans are highly competitive, however applicants are told to examine their Truth in Lending disclosure closely and to always compare against other loan products before making a decision on what loan to get.

The CalPers program limits the first mortgage origination fee to 1.25% on a conventional loan and 1% on an FHA loan. Lenders can only charge up to $350 for all other lender fees regardless of fee type, except for discount points which may be charged to lower the interest rate. CalPers lenders can ask the borrower to pay third party fees such as title and escrow, credit report, appraisal, notary and recording fees etc.

Reduced title and escrow fees may be obtained by using specific title companies that have agreed to charge less for CalPers applicants.

This low down payment option has flexible credit guidelines for low-to-moderate income borrowers with limited cash resources. Offers more flexibility on credit histories and income sources. Cash reserves may not be required. Income restrictions can apply in certain areas, however there are no income limits in high-cost or Fannie Neighbors® areas. Income limits are higher in rural areas.

Below is the advertised rate as of 11/6/09 for a FHA loan with a 30 day interest lock

The CalPERS Member Home Loan Program is managed by CitiMortgage. If you'd like to talk to a Customer Relations Representative, just call (800) 874-7377 or visit: http://www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/member/homeloan/home.xml

The people at Google just amaze me.  I always think"too bad there isn't anything left to invent"  It seems that way until a new product comes on the market and we think "Oh, I could have thought of that!"  It seems obvious after somebody else introduces us to something new. 

Anyway Google launched a new application recently that I had just heard about.  It's called Goog411.  A cell phone or land line is used to call 800-GOOG 411 or 800-644 6411 for free business telephone listing!  When you call the number a person states: "what is the business you are looking for, and what city and state are you calling from?"  You say Pizza, Santa Rosa, CA.  And the voice gives you the top 10 listings.  You say what # your choice is and Google connects you.  Very nice but if you say "Map it", Google sends you a map to your smart phone.  You can also say "Text it" and you'll get a text message with the listings address and phone number. 

One more useful tool for the real estate agent on the go!

As of November 6, 2009 an encouraging 40% of available listings in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 33 homes sold for an average final selling price of $465,276.

The average original asking price of these homes was $523,709.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $176,000 to a high of $1,200,000.

Of the 33 homes that sold 1 sold at the original asking price and 10 sold over their original asking price. All other sold for less.

14 of the 33 homes were distress sales.

It took these homes an average of 134 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.

As of November 6, 2009 an encouraging 42% of available listings in Petaluma are in escrow.

For the month of October 2009 6o homes sold in Petaluma for an average final selling price of $439,140.

The average original asking price of these homes was $481,687.

The range of final selling prices was from a low of $165,000 to a high of $935,000.

Of the 60 homes that sold, 2 sold at their original asking price and 18 sold for more than their original asking price. 26 of these 60 homes were distress sales.

It took these homes an average of 114 days to sell.

To see everything that is currently available for sale through our MLS, click here.

To learn more about this area, visit my website or feel free to contact me directly.