Wendy Cutrufelli, Contra Costa Realtor

I recently attended a meeting with 30 experienced Realtors who were bemoaning the lack of Jumbo financing and the negative impact on real estate sales over $1 million. Soon thereafter I went on Broker Tour and heard much of the same conversation.

Since I have not run into the same problem and wondered why this was such a common belief, I started asking questions. I received two primary answers: 1) This is consistently reported in the press and 2) is proven by the fact that their preferred loan officer now offers only one and maybe two Jumbo programs compared to the huge array they previously offered.

Since I used to be a mortgage lender and maintain my lending contacts, I decided to devote a day to "financing homework" and give my associates a gift of the truth: the Press is WRONG and plenty of Jumbo financing is available.

Every lender has a specific level of risk they are willing to take and evaluate that risk differently. In order to minimize their risk, lenders have pared down their jumbo products to the bare minimum. Each lender appears to have chosen different products which they consider the lowest risk.

At the end of my "financing homework" research day, I had two full pages of Jumbo loans listed by company, loan officer, product, downpayment, credit score and interest rate. Every single product previously available to our clients is still available, just not with a single lender.

Survival Strategy - expand your network of qualified, professional Loan Officers in order to get the full array of financing options available.

California Association of Realtors now offers FREE Mortgage Protection Insurance to 1st Time Buyers through the Housing Affordability Fund!

The Mortgage Protection Program provides a combination of involuntary unemployment, accidental disabillity and accidental death protection for qualilfied 1st Time Buyers. Through this program, 1st time buyers who lose their jobs or become accidentally disabled may be eligible to receive $1,500 per month for up to six (6) months to help make their mortgage payments.

Mortgage Protection Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Mortgage Protection Program Application

The Clayton Community Library offers free tutoring and is seeking additional volunteer Tutors. This is an important community service because paid tutoring averages $90 per hour. The Library currently has a waiting list of students and need additional volunteers to fill the community need. If you enjoy children and can devote 1 - 2 hours per week, please consider this wonderful volunteer opportunity.

There are two tutoring opportunities available. The Group Tutor session is held on Wednesday afternoons from 1 - 4 with individual age groups scheduled in one hour segments. If you volunteer for one-on-one tutoring, you can pick your age group, preferred topic of study and the time.

The Library also needs volunteer Shelvers. Clayton was awarded such a fabulous library over other, larger cities because the community agreed that 2/5 of the work would be provided by volunteers. If you are new to the area, newly retired or simply have a love of books and community, the Clayton Community Library is a great place to donate your volunteer hours!

For questions about volunteer opportunities, please contact Arlene at akikkawa@ccclib.org or visit the library.

I just received an interesting email from another Realtor's buyer - a complete stranger - through my website. This buyer purchased a bank-owned home using VA financing and the bank to agreed to pay for Section 1 repairs. That's the good news. This buyer is having second thoughts because there are other "equivalent" homes available in the same market for less money. He wrote to ask my opinion.

Let me preface my response with the following information: I am located in Contra Costa county (northern California) and VA financing hasn't been used in this market for close to 10 years. So the fact that his realtor got a bank to accept $0 down VA financing AND pay for Section 1 repairs says that this buyer should genuflect at his realtor's feet for accomplishing a minor miracle.

From a buyer's perspective, I totally understand his concern. Did he pay too much? When he pops in on the internet and views "equivalent" homes (in bedroom/bathroom count and square footage) that are significantly less expensive, you really can't blame the guy for worrying that he paid too much and seeking an independent opinion.

So, for all buyers with the same concerns, here is my answer: the PRICE of bank-owned homes is typically related to the CONDITION of bank owned homes when the homes are located within the same market area. Banks prefer to sell the home As-Is which means YOU pay for any repairs after you own the home. The more repairs that are required, the lower the price. It is a rare bank that will agree to ANY repairs prior to closing. Many bank-owned homes need repairs that are structural and should be repaired immediately or risk further damage to the property. Upon reviewing the property inspections, it is VERY IMPORTANT for buyers to honestly assess whether they have the cash to immediately complete the repairs after they purchase the home OR consider buying a higher priced home that is in better conditon.

I'm flummoxed. Perhaps I naively hold the belief that a receiving a commission inherently implies that that the job for which you are paid is actually conducted. Call me crazy.

I received several phone calls on my listings this week that caught me by suprise. I will share the two common themes of those conversations.

#1: "I would like you to arrange a time for you to meet me and my buyers at your listing." When I respond "The home is vacant and has a lock box so you can arrange to visit the property any time that works for your schedules." I am told "I only about sell one house a year as a favor to my friends and family so I don't have a lock-box key."

In the big scheme of things, scheduling an hour to have my listing viewed isn't a problem since I was hired to get the home sold. But think of the big picture. I think it is safe to assume that this Agent has a full-time job outside of selling real estate. What if, best case, the potential buyers LOVE the home? Will he then expect me to be "on call" for the buyer's home, pest, chimney and/or roof inspector?

#2 from Realtors who work anywhere from 80 - 400 miles away: "My clients want to write an offer on your listing at [address] but I'm not a member of your Multiple Service. Could you please send me a copy of the MLS printout, the comparables you used to price the house and your Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure so I can review the conditon of the home?"

Is this Realtor providing top notch (or even average) service to his buyers? What if I was bad at my job and provided old comparables substantiating a higher-than-current market price? What if I did a poor job completing my Visual Inspection? This out-of-area Realtor has no idea about my professional standard of conduct!

The question again arises as to who will meet with the buyer's home, pest, chinmey, roof, sewer inspector? Since I make it a business practice to avoid double-ending my listings, I sure the heck DON'T want to create ostensible agency by attending them in lieu of their out-of-area Realtor. In short, it appears this Realtor anticipates receiving a full commission just for writing an offer.

Wouldn't these buyers be better served by a referral to a local, full-time, professional Realtor who knows the area, can research the price, can personally view the home and can schedule and be present at all of the buyer's desired inspections?