Deborah Engel, San Diego Homes & Property

Just Listed in Tierrasanta! Beautiful culdesac home in Tierrasanta-4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2104 square feet. $579,000. Check out the online brochure for this home. Let me know if you'd like to schedule a time to see it.

Property Tax Reassessment-May 30th Deadline Apply to have your San Diego County property reassessed and lower your taxes. The tax assessor is reviewing applications for reassessment. Fill out the application and indicate your opinion of your home's value, along with area sales to support the value. If you need supporting sales information please contact me and I'll email them to you. You can apply for the reassessment yourself. Be careful of the tax reassessment scams that have started surfacing.

Market Information and Statistics The San Diego Association of Realtors publishes sales statistics for homes throughout the County. Check out the most recent statistics. See also Market Updates and MLS trends for several areas of Southern California.

Although it's too early to say the market has bottomed out, there are some indicators that prices may be stabilizing. The median price for existing, single-family homes rose 2.2 percent in March in California, according to the California Association of Realtors (CAR). March marked the first month since August 2007 that the state's median sales price rose in month-to-month comparisons. According to the CAR sales and price report, the median price of existing, single-family homes stood at $253,040 in March. Sales in California have risen in recent months, with existing, single-family home sales increasing 63.8 percent in March. Read the full story.

Foreclosure Prevention Plan Additional efforts to stem foreclosures have started by offering lenders and homeowners incentives to cut payments on second mortgages, write down balances on first mortgages that are underwater, and repay loans in a timely fashion. The U.S. Treasury Dept. wants lenders and their customer-service agents to agree to modify both first and second mortgages as part of a comprehensive solution.

Details of the foreclosure prevention plan include:
-Decreasing second-mortgage interest rates to as low as 1 percent for five years for some borrowers.
-Reviving a Federal Housing Administration effort to persuade lenders to reduce loan balances so that borrowers again have equity in their homes
-Funding for the program will come from a previously authorized $50 billion allocation from the $700-billion Treasury Dept. rescue fund established by Congress last year.
-The plan would provide cash incentives to both loan officers and borrowers for successful second-mortgage modifications. A loan officer would receive $500 upfront, plus $250 annually for up to three years as long as the loan remains current. Borrowers who make payments on time will receive $250 a year for up to five years. Read the full story.

Postage Goes up to 44 cents on May 11
Yes, another postage increase. Although not necessarily good news, especially since I use the postal service often, I'd still rather pay 44 cents to the post office to get my letter to New York (or even get it across town) than having to get it there myself.

First Time Home Buyers

$8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Get all the details about the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, including IRS filing guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions.

CAR Mortgage Protection Program California's Housing Affordability Fund launched a program designed to help first-time buyers who are hesitant to enter the housing market due to concerns about potential job loss (and being unable to meet their mortgage payment). To qualify for the program, applicants must 1) Be a first-time home buyer (someone who hasn't owned a home in the last 3 years); 2) Open escrow on a California property April 2, 2009, or later, and close on or before December 31, 2009; 3) Use a California Realtor in the transaction, who submits the application; 4) Be a W-2 employee (not self-employed).
For Frequently Asked Question, Click Here.
For a copy of the Application, Click Here.

Events and Information

Get SDHome Magazine free online. SDHome Magazine, published by the Union-Tribune, is now available online for free. Check it out-you "turn" pages online. It takes a little to get used to but it's great that it is now online.

May events in San Diego. See many of the events that are taking place around San Diego County in May. The San Diego Air & Space Museum is holding "A Day Without Air, Just Space!" festival on May 9th from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. Check out all the details for this fun event. (Thanks Brent B for letting me know and inviting me!)

May Cybertips. Here are some fun websites and resources on the web.

And finally, I received the 2009 San Diego Magazine's Best in Client Satisfaction Award (nope, I didn't nominate myself or have to pay anything to get it. ;-) ).
See the anouncement here (Page 3).
See the video announcement here.

Thank you to everyone for your business and referrals. If I can ever answer questions or provide information please let me know!

Happy April!
Hopefully you won't be the receiver of an April Fool's Day joke. Here's the history for this crazy day!

Get Your Free Credit Report
Whether you buy a home or are planning to refinance (or for any other credit applications) your credit score plays a huge role in whether you qualify. Sometimes, due to your credit score, or other factors, your application for a loan can be rejected. Make sure you know what is in your credit report. Each year, you can request, for free, a copy of your credit report incorporating all three major reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Review your report for accuracy and contest any mistake on the report.

San Diego Home and MLS Market Update
The Obama Administration's Stimulus package, including first time home buyer incentives, has the ability to influence the future of the market through several economic sectors. Within the housing market, homes under $500,000 have been more in demand. For reports on the market and MLS data statistics, click here.

First Time Home buyer Tax Credit
Under the stimulus package, a first time home buyer purchasing a primary home during 2009 can get up to $8000 tax credit. Any unused amount will be refunded to the Buyer.

Home Affordable Refinancing
Are you making mortgage payments on time but can't refinance to today's low rates due to a decrease in your home's value? The Obama Administration announced a new program to help those homeowners refinance or modify their loans. The "Making Home Affordable" plan helps some homeowners to refinance or modify their existing Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-owned loans. The Making Home Affordable website can help you determine your eligibility for the program.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have set up websites and toll-free hotlines to help borrowers determine whether their existing loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie. Fannie Mae can be contacted through its website or by phone, (800) 732-6643. Freddie Mac can be contacted through its website or by phone, (800) 373-3343. Homeowners can also apply for help from their mortgage company by providing details about their financial situation by visiting HopeNow.com or by calling Hope Now at (888) 995-4673.

San Diego Firefighters and You
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has a community-based program called Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), where San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel train and empower citizens in neighborhood CERT teams. CERT San Diego instructors teach citizens to take life-saving action to help families, neighbors, businesses and communities get through the first few hours or days when emergency services are overwhelmed. Become a part of of this program by attending the information and training sessions.

Go Padres!
April also means that the Padres season begins. Here's the Padres' season's schedule.

April Internet Tips
Here are some helpful internet tips and websites for you.

Don't Forget to "Spring Forward" This Sunday at 2:00 am, because of Daylight Saving Time, remember to set your clocks one hour ahead.

Best Housing Market

Did you know that Forbes.com recently ranked San Diego as the fifth best housing market now, based on the slowing rate of market declines? True!

Mortgage Relief for Homeowners

Have you been on time with your mortgage payments but are upside down? Recognizing that responsible homeowners shouldn't suffer, the Obama administration announced the Home Affordable Refinance program. The program would help homeowners who live in their home, have made their mortgage payments on time, owe $729,750 or less on their home and can document their income, refinance without traditional equity requirements.

Planning on Buying a Home Soon?

Low interest rates have helped move homes in San Diego, along with the $8000 first time homebuyer credit.

If you're planning to buy a home soon, make sure to consider the following:

1. Make sure your credit report is accurate. Your credit score will help determine what kind of loan and interest rate you can get. If there are mistakes on your report get them cleared up now. You can get a free credit report once each year so you can review what is in it.

2. Save for a down payment. Generally, the best interest rates will be based on a 20% down payment. Most loan programs, including FHA, will require that you have some money to put toward the home.

3. Look into loan options and programs. In addition to conventional loan programs you may be eligible for VA loans (which will allow you 100% financing) or FHA loans (which require you to have at least 3.5% down payment). Speak with a loan broker to find out what types of loans you are eligible for.

4. Make sure you know how much you can afford. Loan officers can let you know what you can afford based on your information, but make sure the numbers make sense for your situation. Find out your monthly payment (which would include loan principal, interest, property taxes, insurance, and, if applicable, HOA fees) to be sure that the amount you can qualify for is really the amount that you can afford.

March CyberTips

Here are some helpful links for you:
March CyberTips

If you need any information or have any questions or feedback please email me (Deb@PropertyByDeb.com) or call (858-829-1989).

We all want information. We can't get enough of it.

The internet has given us the incredible ability to find information efficiently and quickly. Sometimes, though, we don't get quality or complete information. It's important to be critical of the information that we receive, whatever the source. There is some quality about getting information from the internet that creates a belief that it is flawless.

Buyers and sellers, of course, want all the available information about the market. The internet is a natural resource to get information and as everyone knows, most buyers and sellers use the internet to review home prices and available homes even before becoming serious and motivated to buy or sell.

There is a wealth of information out there, but how dependable is it? I have numerous buyers that I send listing to, show them available homes and help them make sense of the market before they make an offer. Something that frequently happens, however, is that my clients will go to sites such as Trulia, Redfin, Zillow, and others, and will send me homes that the site shows as being currently for sale. Without fail, the homes that they send are not currently available. They will be homes that previously transferred through foreclosure, have been cancelled or are already in escrow. The sites show them as still being available but they aren't.

Licensed real estate agents have access to the official Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and one of the greatest reasons to only allow licensed agents to access and change data in the MLS is for data integrity. Like any other profession where reliability of information is imperative, the more people who have the unrestricted ability to change the information the greater the likelihood of poor data being included.

Whether a buyer a seller, working with a Realtor has incredible benefits. One of those benefits is being able to get the most up to date and accurate information available. Sites outside of the MLS have some great information, but only a licensed agent can provide the best data available.

True. Today I provided a $25 loan toward the needed $1000 to help a Bolivian man, Juan, buy a cow. Juan needed the cow for his growing business.

Through "microloans" qualified poor people from around the world receive small
amounts of money to help them achieve their goals and create a better life.
These loans are given to people for various needs and are expected to be paid back by them over a period of several months.

Last year I was watching The Colbert Report and saw an interview with a person who had helped create a microloan program. I found the idea fascinating but
didn't remember it until my husband looked at Time's Top 50 Websites for 2008. He told me that Kiva, one of the included websites, was an organization where we could provide money for these microloans.

In addition to helping Juan buy a cow I provided loans for:

*A group in Cambodia that sells clothing in a local village
*A husband and wife in Cambodia to help them repair their home
*A Nicaraguan single mom who needs a new roof on her home
*A Vietnamese woman to expand her livestock business
*A group in Bolivia who make and sell goods

Check out Kiva. It's a great way to help out others.