Cesar Bautista - Santa Maria CA Realtor

Are you looking for a local church in Santa Maria. The following list includes addresses, telephone numbers, and websites if available.

Calvary Chapel 2620 Santa Maria Way Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-922-1822 www.ccsantamaria.com

Pacific Christian Center 3435 Santa Maria Way Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-934-3491 www.pacifichristian.net Unity

Chapel of Light Corner of Stubblefield & S. Broadway Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-937-3025 www.unitysantamaria.com

Orcutt Presbyterian Church 993 Patterson Road Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-937-4974 www.orcuttpresbyterian.com

Temple Beth El 1501 E. Alvin Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-928-2118

Cross Point Community Church 1265 W. McCoy lane Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-928-1810 www.crosspointonline.com

Santa Maria Presbyterian Church 200 W. Cook Santa Maria, CA 9345 805-614-4779

Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church 4465 S. Blosser Rd. Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-937-0339 www.starlutheran.org

Post Abortion Counseling & Education 805-928-9285 Freedom2heal23@yahoo.com

Pathways Community Church 4012 S. Bradley Rd. Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-922-0093

Orthodox Church of the Annunciation 877 Francine Lane Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-938-7877 www.odox.org

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church 423 E. Fesler Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-925-3818 www.gracesantamaria.org

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church 402 Lincoln St. Santa Maria, CA 93458 805-922-3575 www.stpeterssantamaria.org

First Church of God 613 N. Elizabeth St. Santa Maria, CA 93454

Church for Life 3130 Skyway Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-925-4820 www.churchforlife.com

Hope Community Church 1521 S. Bradley Rd. Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-922-2043 www.hccsm.org

Santa Maria Foursquare Church 709 N. Curryer St. Santa Maria, CA 93455 805-922-8445 www.santamariafoursquare.com

From a business and economic perspective, I believe so. This my personal opinion, but I'm sure there is data to support my opinion. There needs to be some catalyst to fuel economic growth and and stabilize the housing market. Today's rate is 5.1% for a 30-year fixed. Some rates are sub 5%. These historically low rates are attracting refinance and purchase interest.

The Feds plan on spending $500 billion to purchase mortgage-back securities, aimed to lower the price of mortgages and make more loans availably. Lower interest rates is one of many ways to make home purchase more affortable. I read a real estate article stating a 1% drop in rates amounts to 500,000 to 700,000 more home sales. Lower interest rates makes sense, as this makes it possible to clear inventory, as home prices drop and affordability increases.

The sub-prime demise triggered a shift in the housing market. Perhaps, lower interest rates will convince buyers to purchase and investors to buy income properties. To combat, negative news, consumer confidence, raising unemployment, credit hurdles, there is much to be gained by keeping rates low. Makes sense to me. Let see how rates play out in the coming months. This is my opinion per my earlier disclaimer. I guess time will tell if rates continue to stay at 5% or lower.

Great opportunities do not come along often, and when they do, the wise person looks for opportunities. There is no denying 2008 was a challenging economical year with unprecedented home price decline, tighter credit standard, drop in consumer confidence, official declaration of a recession, unemployment surge, and the list goes on. But the bright spot is affordability housing, historically low interest rates, a buyers market, abundant inventory, and favorable terms from home owners and banks.

In Santa Maria, CA homes prices have declined in some area 40-50% since the market apex in 2005. Not good news for home sellers who have lost equity; an opportunity for buyers who were priced out of the market 3 years ago. A 40%-50% discount or purchasing at .50 cent for the dollar cannot be ignored. In my NE Santa Maria neighborhood, some homes devalued from $570,000 in 2005 to $300,000 in Jan 2009, a 48% drop in less than 3 years.

For example, using estimated numbers, a FHA loan of $200,000 at a current rate of 5.1%, with 3.5% down or $7,000 down, requires approximately $60,000 income. The monthly payment including principal, interest, tax, insurance, and PMI is approximately $1,377. For a $250,000 home at a current rate of 5.1% with 3.5 down or $8,750 down, requires approximately a $73,000 income. The monthly payment including principal, interest, tax, insurance, and PMI is approximately $1723. For many renters, this matches what they are paying for rent. Another plus, FHA credit scores requires 600+ credit range, compared to 700+ credit for standard institutions. Furthermore, if a buyer finds a home, and meets the requirement of a first-time home owner, there is up to $7,500 tax credit.

Home ownership is a viable option for many now. Bargain prices, historically low interest rates, FHA loans requiring 3.5% down, 600+ range credit scores, merits strong consideration. The starting point is getting pre-qualified or pre-approved to see how much home home you can buy. Having stable employment, establishing funds for a down payments, repairing your credit are important ingredients to home ownership. 2009 offers plenty of opportunities since foreclosed and short sales need to work through the inventory before the market stabilizes.

This is a time to think outside the box on how you can get into a home. There are newer homes less than 7 years old, 3 bed, 2 bath 1650 square feet homes in Santa Maria, in the $250,000 range. The opportunity to purchase in the central coast, with very favorable terms is reason to find a professional Realtor who can help you navigate your way to home ownership. Call Cesar today at 805.264.1646. I am ready to help with all your real estate and financial needs.

After having a discussion with my lender associate, I gleened some of his insights in the financial market and found the information very insightful. I pass his insight and give my spin on the current housing and financial markets. As you factor in your plans in 2009, keep in mind the following information.

Could we see 4% in the future for mortgage rates? YES, in fact they are there now.

The Federal Reserve has announced plans to push mortgage rates lower in order to stimulate demand in the housing market - more on that later in this letter. If rates drop any lower, it may start a refinance frenzy that will slow down the time it takes to get loans approved. If you are considering a refinance, it's wise to start the process now and "float" until it reaches a rate you want to lock in.

It's official...the high balance loan limits for Fannie/Freddie/FHA are permanent.

The limits by county: SLO - $561,200; Santa Barbara $603,750; LA, SF & San Jose - $625,500. If you have or need a jumbo loan, you should really look into finance options with rates this low. Keep in mind, loans larger than $417,000 have some restrictions on them. Call for details.

New mortgage rule locks out some investors from getting conforming loans.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have established a new eligibility rule for borrowers owning multiple properties. If you want to get a loan on an investment property, then you can't own more than four financed properties.

FHA Rescue program - "Hope for Homeowners"- launched in October 2008.

This was a part of the new housing act passed in July 2008. To avoid large foreclosure losses, existing lenders can take a smaller loss and write down a mortgage to 90 percent of the current appraised value, and then the borrower has to share at least 50% of all future appreciation with FHA. The existing lender has to voluntarily agree to what amounts to a "short" refinance (as opposed to a short sale). This program is not widely available yet - keep you posted.

Loan modification firms require big non-refundable deposits... but not at CEDC.

There's been horror stories reported about some loan modification companies that have sprung up recently to help homeowners with unaffordable loans. But I've heard it's different with an organization called the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and their Neighbor Works Home Ownership Center in Santa Maria. Their mortgage resolution is low cost - $3.50 for a credit report. They are located at 1660 S. Broadway, Suite 200. Phone: (805) 614-0267.

The Fed to buy $500+ billion of mortgage bonds...it could end up owning your loan.

The Federal Reserve announced a plan to purchase $500 billion of mortgage bonds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is significant: some homeowners will be making mortgage payments that will be directly forwarded to the Fed. In a sense, this plan may do what the $700 billion bailout was meant to: relieve banks of their illiquid assets. And speaking of bailouts...

"Helicopter Ben" Bernanke is conducting his own economic recovery program.

While everyone is watching Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and his $700 billion bailout, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been calmly and determinedly attacking the economic crisis - and his plan is measured in trillions, not billions. Bernanke gave a speech in 2002 describing how in times of financial crisis the Federal Reserve could flood the economy with capital...the Fed could "drop buckets of money from a helicopter". Ben is in the chopper...

The Fed's weapon of choice: "quantitative easing" (ie., printing money...lots of it).

The Federal Reserve has an expandable balance sheet and is off-budget - not subject to any appropriations or debt limits because it is not taxpayer money - basically free money to Congress and the President. The Fed had assets of about $900 billion before the latest turmoil began in September of 2008, since then the Fed has more than doubled its assets to $2.2 trillion. So over $1 trillion of newly created money has just been pumped into the system through loans the Fed has made to banks, investment and insurance firms. Another trillion dollars will be injected with the new mortgage bond purchase plan and another plan to buy student loan and credit card debt.

What are the risks of the current inflated money supply?

Having expanded the money supply so quickly, the Fed may not have the political courage or even the foresight to shrink it fast enough once the crisis has passed, and the extra liquidity could fuel inflation, however remote that sounds now. And we know inflation brings higher interest rates to combat it. So how do you hedge against the possible inflation risk down the road? If you have an ARM, then you might refinance now and lock in today's historically low fixed rates if you are able to.

What are the opportunities of the current inflated money supply?

If you are a renter or investor and can plan on owning for at least 5 years, then you should seriously consider buying property right now. If you buy undervalued real estate and finance it with today's low fixed rates, you could end up paying down the debt with very cheap dollars in the future - possibly even 60 cents on the dollar when inflation returns to more historical norms.

The buyer window of opportunity is upon us.

Learn about the housing market, available loans, and homeowner tax benefits. Call for details, or if you have any questions about real estate or mortgage financing. Call me today at 805.264.7772.

Based on homes sold listed on the Central Coast MLS statistic, residential, SFR Sick Built, Santa Maria/Orcutt, sold between 12/1/08 to 12/31/08, supports many compelling reason to purchase in Santa Maria now, rather than later. Between December 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 there were 143 homes sold, a low $109,000, high $820,000, median $250,000 and average $259,084. Fifty-six percent sold between 0-30 days, 18% sold between 31-60 days, 7% sold between 91-120 days, and 1.4% sold between 91-120 days and 17% sold 120+days. Note, 56% sold of the 143 sold in less than 30 days and 74% sold in less than 60 days in December 2008. In comparison, a year prior, between December 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007 there were 64 homes sold, a low $184,000, high $1,770,000, median $327,000 and average $370,873. Thirty-seven percent sold between 0-30 days, 12.5% sold between 31-60 days, 11% sold between 91-120 days, and 11% sold between 91-120 days and 28% sold 120+days. Note, 37% sold of the 64 sold in less than 30 days and 50% sold in less than 60 days. Yearly comparison between December 2007 and December 2008, homes values for residential, stick build homes in Santa Maria/Orcutt based on median price homes sold decreased from $327,000 to $250,000, a decrease of $77,000 or 24% drop in sales price. Based on yearly December comparisons, more than 50% or 1 out of 2 homes sold the first 30 days in December 2008, compared to 37% of homes sold the first 30 days in December 2007. A month to month comparison from December 2007 and December 2008, reveals homes sold faster and at a lower price. As price continues to decrease, sales will continue to be brisk. Foreclosed properties, short sales, and an abundant inventory coupled with low 5% interest continue to fuel buyer demand and downward price pressure. Home prices continue to decrease in most area, albeit, at a slower pace than in previous months. Median price homes at $250,000 is attracting buyers and investors as affordability lures buyers, many priced out of the market 3 years ago. The median price of $250,000 in December 2008 is a bargain. For instance, home prices in Santa Maria have retreated in price in some areas between 40% and 50% from the apex of the seller’s market in 2005. This 50% discount or purchasing a home for .50 cent to the $1.00 makes sense to purchase, especially when the number produces a positive cash flow for investors and matches comparable rent expense in the area. Why rent when you have the option to purchase for about the same price? Are you waiting for the market to bottom out? Think twice about waiting because buyers have the ingredient for a favorable purchase. Interest rates at low 5%, inventory selection, decrease competition, favorable buyer market, favorable buyer terms, makes sense to purchase now, instead of later. The disadvantages of waiting include possible rate increases and missing discounted prices. As the market shifts, buyers on the fence will try to enter the market realizing they better buy now before prices increase. At this stage, pent-up buyer demand will enter the equation and place upward price pressure and increase offers. Multiple offers will not benefit the buyer. Keep in mind sellers are lowering prices because of the current market. Rest assured, sellers will not sell at a discount if they do not need to and will increase price as soon as the market changes. Compared to San Luis Obispo County and south Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria prices are a bargain. In comparison, Arroyo Grande December 2008 sold properties for residential, stick built median price 3 bedroom 2 baths, 1900 square feet was $610,000. In comparison, Santa Maria December 2008 sold properties, stick built median price home, 3 bedrooms 2 bath 1,541 square feet was $250,000. Homes less than 15 minutes drive north of Santa Maria are selling more than double the price of homes in Santa Maria. Don’t wait too long. You might regret your decision in the future. If a home meets your price range and life needs, there are plenty of reasons to purchase now, rather than later. As a professional Realtor, I can help you obtain financing and help you find home. Call Cesar today for a professional, no-obligation consultation at 805.264.7772 or email me at cesarbautista@kw.com.