Aaron Kelly - North Orange County Realtor

Almost all of the offers that I have been writing these days are for bank owned foreclosures (REO). I've noticed that one of the ways the listing agents are sifting out some of the multiple offers (that sentence alone indicates how hot the market is right now) is by making the potential buyers jump through a lot of hoops. I still remember the look on the face of one of my colleagues when I discussed the fact that there were 70 offers on a property and the highest bids were about $70,000 above the listing price. I had a buyer that was interested in making an offer but he backed away when he heard how many offers were on the table. My colleague (and the 68 other agents) on the other hand had to go back and tell their client that the listing agent was just wasting everyone's time by pricing the property so low.

Recently more and more of the REO listings are requiring buyers to get cross pre-qualified with a representative from the bank that owns the property. Is it really fair to the buyers to have to go through the pre-qualification again and again? I even had one bank tell me they will actually run my buyer's credit again even though I already provided them with the credit report and the 5 page loan application! I had another one recently tell me they will not provide loan qualification until we have an approved offer, but the listing agency wouldn't even submit the offer without a pre-qualification letter from that bank??? The listing agent and the bank are still trying to figure that one out. Meanwhile my client's offer is still sitting on the desk of their transaction coordinator and it still hasn't been submitted. Don't these banks want to sell the property? Sometimes I feel they just want an agent who is willing to put together the most complete package rather than the one with the highest offer. Luckily for my clients, they have an agent who has been through this process several times recently and I can attest to the fact that acting quickly and providing a complete package when submitting the offer seems to increase the chances of getting our offer accepted dramatically. And good luck getting a response. The agents are not available by phone for an update and I'm still waiting for any kind of response for more than a week sometimes. That's being said, I still have several clients enjoying their first home at prices they never thought they would see in North Orange County.

for more real estate info: www.homerealtymanual.com

Pepe's towing is known in Santa Ana as the vultures of towing

Not too long ago I posted a blog about how some of the aggressive towing companies in Santa Ana, CA are having a negative impact on housing prices in Santa Ana. This of course, is just one realtors opinion, but I have experienced firsthand watching a Pepe's truck try to yank my car out of its space when there were no clear "no parking" signs posted in the complex. Later I came to find out that the only sign was actually on the front of a gate that was stuck open that day (so the sign was not visible). How am I supposed to show properties to my clients if me and my clients return to the car to find it gone? Do you really think those potential buyers are going to buy a condo there? Probably not. I have former clients who bought a condo in Santa Ana who have a parking sticker but left the car in the same spot for three days because it was a three day weekend. Pepe's towing came and towed the car because they said the car is not supposed to remain in the same spot for more than 72 hours. This person is a resident of the complex with a sticker!!

In fairness I will post an email response that I got from someone who works for Pepe's towing below:

hello let me start off by saying it's not all a scam.. c worked for Pepe's towing for about 3 years now. Most people are mad when there car gets towed. I know i was. But i wasn't mad at the company that towed me but myself for where i parked. as for the regulations I'm writing it right out of the ca.vehicle code book section 22658.2 upon the request of the owner of vehicle or the owner's agent, the towing company or it's driver shall immediately and unconditionally release a vehicle that is not yet removed from the private property and in transit. that is paragraph. 2 but then the law states in paragraph 3(h) a towing company may impose a charge not more than one half of the regular towing charge for the towing of a vehicle at request of the owner of the private property or the owner's agent or the person in lawful possession of private property pursuant to this section if the owner of the vehicle or the owner's agent returns to the vehicle after the vehicle is coupled to the tow truck by means of a regular hitch, coupling, device, draw bar, portable dolly's or is lifted off the ground by means of a conventional trailer and before it is removed from the private property. in all it means we can charge a drop fee and if the car is off of the private property then we can charge a tow fee. So to all those who keep bad mouthing the tow industry. maybe they should read the law before opening there mouth. almost all the tow company's prices are approved by highway patrol. if Pepe's towing is such a bad company then why would we have a contract with the S.A.U.S.D police department answer that. if you got towed get over it and pay a little more attention to where you park. thank you for your time.

A couple of years ago lenders were offering "interest only" loans where customers could put off paying principal and interest for a few years and pay interest only. It's true that this caused some of the problem that we are now in, but it could also be the solution to get us out. It's like a vaccine. If home owners are facing foreclosure they often don't pay their mortgage payments for at least 6 months while still living in the house. Therefore the banks are receiving no payments at all during that time. If banks would allow distressed properties to extend the mortgage for 3-5 years and allow the home owners to stay in their houses while paying just interest, at least that would be some revenue. In 3-5 years, the housing crisis will have turned around because there will be fewer and fewer foreclosures hitting the market during that time. Prices could even go up, which may allow homeowners to refinance in 5 years and keep their home, or the short sale option will be more plausible because homeowners will be just $40,000 or $50,000 upside down instead of $100,000 to $200,000 upside down. Many houses have lost 50% of their value in such a short amount of time here in California, so we may not see another 50% gain for many years to come. But at least these houses will have recovered some of that value in the 5 years it takes to reduce the foreclosure inventory and return to a somewhat "normal" market again.

This seems like a much better idea than allowing taxpayers to bail-out loans at their current value and refinance at today's housing prices. That's a lose lose proposal for everyone.

Any opinions?

For more real estate info: www.homerealtymanual.com

Pending sales are through the roof in Orange County!

If you have been working with potential buyers who are interested in purchasing a bank owned foreclosure house in Orange County, then you know how hot the market is right now.

Most bank owned foreclosures that I have looked at in Anaheim, Fullerton, Placentia, Brea, La Habra, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Orange, Buena Park and Garden Grove are usually receiving multiple offers in just a few days on the market. I had one client interested in making an offer over the weekend, but after calling the listing agent, I was told that there are currently 45 offers on that property and they are no longer taking offers. 45 offers!! I suddenly got the feeling that this market was as hot as it was back in 2004 & 2005. After doing some research, I can now see that the pending sales of September 2008 are now about to surpass the pending sales of 2005! So the question, "Have we hit the bottom?" If you look at this chart below you can only come to one conclusion. Despite what may be happening in the rest of the country, Orange County California's pending sales, especially with bank owned foreclosures, is red hot and we may even start to see some appreciation as early as next spring 2009. Any predictions on when we will see listing and sold prices actually increase in Orange County?

for more real estate info: www.homerealtymanual.com

Fullerton Joint Union High School District Open Enrollment Program

I have frequently been asked the question, "If I buy a house in Fullerton, but I'm not in Troy or Sunny Hills School district, how can my child be allowed to attend one of those schools?"

According to school administrators if you are requesting an intra-district transfer, the student must request a program that is not being offered at their current high school.

However, for incoming freshman, there is a three week period in the end of January where students are allowed to participate in the open enrollment program, where there are no questions asked and any student who lives in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District will be allowed to attend any high school in the district they wish. The phone number to get more information is (714) 626-3803.

For more real estate information: www.homerealtymanual.com