Gene perez

Santa Maria Loans - Mortgage Interest Rates Fall/Not many homes to sell

Interest Rates for Home loans rates fell last week to their lowest level in nearly six months. On the average, 4.83% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, down from 4.9% two weeks ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But even though interest rates for home loans have come down so much, applications for home loans have fallen for six straight weeks. The index that measures mortgage applications for home purchases also fell 8% from last week.

Refinance applications for home loans were also down 1.4% from last week. Refinance applications accounted for nearly three in four total applications.

A forecast by Fannie Mae projects that residential mortgage originations will fall by 30% next year, as rising interest rates on home loans will lead to fewer re-financings, even as home purchases are expected to improve somewhat.

Mortgage rates regarding home loans have fallen even after Congress passed and the president signed an extension and expansion of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. FHA-backed loans accounted for nearly half of all purchase applications last month, the highest level in nearly two decades.

All of this being said, with interest rates so low and single family residences prices low as well, it is a great time to buy a house.

If you have any questions about buying a home or a loans in Santa Maria, CA or on the Central Coast or other real estate related questions please contact me by visiting my website: http://geneperez.net

Buying or selling property in Santa Maria CA, or on the Central Coast, my goal is to provide you with resources you need. I can also help in getting the financing for your home. If you have any suggestions or questions in how I can provide more or better information please let me know. Gene Perez DRE 01321588

This is a hot topic and I don't think it will be going away any time soon, not for the next several years sorry to say. But the number of Santa Maria Foreclosures are unbelievably low and I get asked all the time where are all the homes? The reality is that there is a shadow inventory and only the banks truly know the number of foreclosures that are out there as well as the number of foreclosures that will be hitting the market. The banks have gotten much, much smarter and with the help of the govt. those that recieved TARP funds can even profit now from a foreclosure.

The inventory of foreclosures in Santa Maria and the nieghboring areas is extremely low as soon as something hits the market there are multiple offers on those homes and it can get very competitive. In 2008 the banks flooded the markets with homes but at the same time with new lending guidelines no one could really afford to buy the homes since they did not qualify in the first place. So homes would first come out with what was owed, and sit there and new homes would hit the market until the prices dropped and the market could pay for the asking price.

Banks have figured out that if they hold on to homes and let a few out at a time you get more bids and the bid price gets higher and even some cash offers since it seems that there are no homes out there, so simple supply and demand. In Santa Maria alone til the end of the year as I write this in Nov, 19th , 2009 there are appox 100 homes to be auctioned at the trustee sale. To think that there are few Santa Maria Foreclosures would be correct but only because the banks want it that way. Most of the Trustee Sales get postponed and delayed due to loan modifications or short sales etc. as well as the bank just requesting it to be postponed.

Something that most people are unaware of is that the banks that recieved TARP money get reimbursed from the losses they incur at foreclosure. By allowing the homeowner to continue living in his home for a year plus those missed payments & interest get added to the loan balance so that way when it comes to actually take the loss, in reality they do not. The banks do know what they are doing when you hear of someone still in their home for a year plus.

If you plan on buying a foreclosure in Santa Maria or anywhere CASH will always be king, but my best advice is be patient and be reasonable. Homes today are much, much , much cheaper than they are 3-5 years ago but they are not free make a reasonable if you want to be in the game. Last but not least you want a decent loan but when it comes to getting a loan realize that rates are very low waiting to get any lower is just insane. Shopping for the lowest rate can also kill you, what is important is finding someone that can get you approved. Loans are tough now a days you have your choice to work with "1-800 I will never meet you or see you". Or work with someone that lives in your community one thing is to buy a t-shirt over the internet another thing is to know who you are dealing with when making one of the biggest decisions in your life.

As for Santa Maria Foreclosures and foreclosures period they will be here for some time but buying a home will still be one of the biggest investments most people ever make in their lifetime.

Buying or selling a home or property in Santa Maria CA, or a Santa Maria foreclosure, or a property on the Central Coast, my goal is to provide you with resources you need.

Gene Perez, DRE 01321588,805-448-7101

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have adopted the new HVCC guidelines, which basic purpose was to protect the consumer from buying property that was over valued. Keeping the appraiser, realtor, loan officer "honest" so that the client bought a home for the True value and not over pay for a home due to an inflated appraised Value.

What I find odd is that in a recent transaction on a foreclosed condo here in Santa Maria, Ca. which happened to be a Fannie Mae owned property they would not accept the appraised value and were insistent that my cleint buy the home on the accepted purchase price not the appraised Value. The appraisal came in 10k shy of the purchase price.

I tried to reach someone in Fannie mae since I could not talk to the asset manager about the inconsistent policy they seem to have. But was given the run around I tried to email someone there still waiting on a response after two emails and several phone calls. Its not hard to see why we have issues in real estate when those that make the rules for others do not neccessarily follow the rules themselves. If they are to dictate the guidelines on to which and how the loans are to be done in order for them to buy the loans on these properties. Logic would dictate they follow them as well.

The frustrating thing is that this is a govt. sponsored corporation that the taxpayers now own but have no real say and it seems to be business as usual.

The postive thing out of all this is my client was going to sign the amendment stating that he would agree to buy the condo regardless of the appraised value or forfiet his deposit, but I convinced him not to. He was sure the price and the appraised value could not be more than 2-3k.

Something to keep in mind when buying a home especially a forclosed property. The listing agent represents the seller or bank, for their best interest. The buyers agent represents you the buyer. Something to think about when buying that home.

Gene Perez, 01321588

Buying or selling a home or property in Santa Maria CA, or a Santa Maria foreclosure, or a property on the Central Coast, my goal is to provide you with resources you need.

Santa Maria Loans - Loan losses on the rise

According to a newspaper article that I read last week, Bank of America lost 2 and a quarter Billion dollars as loan losses rose during the third quarter. This just goes to show that we have certainly not hit bottom yet during this recession. Even though it may seem that the worst might be over (and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news here), with a decrease in homes for sale and people being able to remain in the houses, people are still struggling with paying their bills. That is plainly evident here in Santa Maria.

Bank of America wrote down almost $10 billion in loans just during July and September. Banks had already predicted that their loan losses would keep rising. Unemployment keeps rising. In Santa Maria, unemployment has hit 12.5%. Along with this, notices of default are at record highs.

With this in mind, we have to remain hopeful that 2010 will be a better year. What does this mean? It means that we have to try to stay productive. We have to try to stay positive. We have to limit negativity in our lives, whether is be people at work, family members or not wanting to exercise. Be Positive!

If you have any questions about buying a home or a loan in Santa Maria, CA or on the Central Coast or other real estate related questions please contact me by visiting my website: http://geneperez.net

Buying or selling property in Santa Maria CA, or Santa Maria Homes, and Santa Maria Foreclosures on the Central Coast, my goal is to provide you with resources you need. I can also help in getting the financing for your home. If you have any suggestions or questions in how I can provide more or better information please let me know. Gene Perez DRE 01321588

Santa Maria Loans - More Information regarding CA legislation affecting Realtors

As a follow up to my last blog "Santa Maria Loans", I found on the California Association of Realtors website the following information. According to the website www.leginfo.ca.gov, not only is the legislation new it is strict, making it safer for the consumer who wants to get a loan to buy a house.

According to the article, a person buying a Real Estate Owned (REO) house can select the escrow and title company. This went into effect as of October 11, 2009. It is referred to as the "Buyer's Choice Act". A Real Estate Owned (REO) lender that violates this act can be held liable for as much as three times the charges the buyer incurs. If the seller's agent violates this act then they could be liable as well and face disciplinary action.

The other item that I wanted to highlight had to do with loan originators. According to the new legislation, they are going to have to be regulated. That means that they will have to attend courses, take tests and get licensed to do loans. This portion of the legislation will go into effect in December of 2010. This is a contrast to what the loan industry used to be like. Anyone who wanted to do loans could do them. No licensing whatsoever was required. The amount of people doing loans became tremendous as well as the amount of people who got into real estate.

It is my hope, through these new laws, that the number of people doing loans and real estate will stabilize and decrease to a number that allows those who have decided to do this full time and for the long haul, will be able to make a decent living at it.

If you have any questions about buying a home or a loan in Santa Maria, CA or on the Central Coast or other real estate related questions please contact me by visiting my website: http://geneperez.net

Buying or selling property in Santa Maria CA, or on the Central Coast, my goal is to provide you with resources you need. I can also help in getting the financing for your home. If you have any suggestions or questions in how I can provide more or better information please let me know. Gene Perez DRE 01321588