Santa Rosa, 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!

VA Home Loans, Santa Rosa, CA - Top 10 VA Home Loan Benefits for Sonoma County Home Purchases

One of my fondest memories comes from growing up in Santa Rosa where my father purchased his first family home using the VA home loan program. As a Veteran who served two terms in the Navy during the Vietnam war, my dad deserved all of the benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs has to offer. One of them was the Va Home Loan Guaranty. With his DD214 in hand, my father was able to by our family home with no money down and with little closing costs. If it wasn't for this program, we probable would have lived in a tiny apartment somewhere until my parents could save up enough money to buy a home. Well, as a way to give back, I learned to originate VA home loans once I became a mortgage loan officer in the early 90's. Unfortunately, the real estate market values in Sonoma County and everywhere else grew so rapidly that the VA home loan became obsolete. The Department of Veterans Affairs couldn't guarantee the increasing loan amounts that were in demand until a few years ago. It wasn't until 2007 when the government authorized higher loan limits for VA Home loans to help revise the declining housing market.

I know there are a ton of resources out there about VA loans, but I thought I would create a short and sweet list of all the benefits the VA home loan has to offer for my team of Realtors in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County. So, here's the list that I think should make up the Top 10 VA Home Loan Benefits:

1. VA Home Loans require no money down
2. VA Home Loans Limit the Closing Costs allowed to charged against the qualified VA Home Loan buyer
3. VA Home Loans will finance the funding fee. It can also be reduced if VA buyer puts 5% down
4. VA Home Loans have no prepayment penalties. The VA buyer can pay the loan off early without incurring additional fees.
5. VA Home Loans allow less than perfect credit to be used for qualifying.
6. VA Home Loans have no Monthly Mi. Other loans require a monthly mortgage insurance payment if you put less than 20% down.
7. VA Home Loans qualify the buyer by using one debt to income figure. I've seen loans with a 48 to 52% DTI get qualified.
8. VA Home Loans are assumable with VA's permission, but seller loses the ability to buy another home until the loan is paid off.
9. VA Home Loans required an inspection to protect the Veteran Home buyer from any potential harm.
10. The Department of Veterans Affairs raised the maximum loan limits to match the demands of the Nation.

Here are the numbers for my area:

2009 VA Loan Limits for Northern California

County- VA Loan Limit

• ALAMEDA $1,094,625.00
• CONTRA COSTA $1,094,625.00
• MARIN $1,094,625.00
• MONTEREY $525,000.00
• NAPA $643,750.00
• SACRAMENTO $516,250.00
• SAN FRANCISCO $1,094,625.00
• SOLANO $435,000.00
• SONOMA $566,250.00

hA KATHLEEN BONHAM

COUNTRY AND VINTAGE HOME SPECIALIST SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Top Santa Rosa Real Estate Agents and Realtors Maximize MLS Searches with Staged Homes

Yesterday, I went on a Real Estate Agent MLS tour of the latest open houses in Bennett Valley in Santa Rosa, California. As a Sonoma County home mortgage consultant, I like to be familiar with the latest inventory in my area so I can work more effectively with my top real estate agents and Realtors, and their buyers. It's always nice to be familiar with a property that's listed on the Multiple Listing Service, otherwise known as MLS.

What really caught my eye was a property that was beautifully staged. At first glance, I thought someone still lived in the house. Then I noticed the photos in the house were quite generic and asked the listing Realtor if the house was staged. It was. The Realtor told me a staged home was one of the best ways real estate agents and Realtors can present a home when it's no longer lived in. Home buyers have an easier time visualizing themselves in a house full of furniture and things vs an empty house. For this particular house, it was important for the Realtor to highlight the home's space. This Realtor staged the home first before he took the photos of the home to submit to the Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. Multiple Listing Service or BAREIS MLS. It's important to him that the future home buyer sees this home in it's most ideal setting when the buyer finds the home for first time through an MLS Search or internet searches. As we all know, pictures are worth a thousand words. 

Will a staged home sell better than an empty home? Will a home buyer stop to see a home physically that he or she finds on MLS searches because it's staged? I think it would help, but might not be the end all answer. There are many other factors that make homes appealing to a buyer such as location, price, size, shape, utility, etc. What's your opinion? When is the idea time to stage a home?

BTW- in the interest of education, I've embedded the video below that was shared by Tara Jones on activerain to share a few basic ideas on staging a home.