Jim Cheney Your Rincon Valley Realtor

This is one of the best pumpkin patches in Northern California. If your within a 2 hour drive of Rio Vista, CA it's worth taking the kids to. It starts off at the Western Train Museum on Hwy 12 just outside Rio Vista. This weekend coming up (October 24 & 25 2009) is the last weekend for this year.

Here's how it works. From the museum, you pay about $10 per person for tickets to ride a train from the museum out about 5 miles through the beautiful rural, rolling hills of Solano County to a eucalyptus grove. At the grove passengers get off the train to enjoy music, food, crafts, and lots of stuff for kids (petting zoo, jumpy jump, pumpkin catapult and the worlds best hay mountain).

For more information click here go to the train museum's web page: www.wrm.org

Here is a short video I shot of my kids on the hay mountain, and of the grove. I hope you take time to visit, you'll come back! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDQv9jZ759s

With home prices at record lows, and average 30 year fixed rate loans below 5%, homes are flying off the market. This is especially true for homes under $350,000. The last two homes I helped clients buy, were purchased in multiple offer scenarios within days of going "on the market". Potential buyers need to have all their ducks in a row before writing an offer to purchase.

When the decesion is made to start looking for a house, it is most likely too late to start trying to improve your credit score. If you think you might be applying for a purchase that will require a substancial loan i.e. a home, automobile, or recreational vehicle, you need to start preparing and repairing your credit score now. It takes up to 90 days for credit score repair to show on your report.

Here is what you need to know now about your credit score. Fair Isaac Company (FICO) established a grading system to evaluate the risk a borrower poses to a potential creditor. The score is based on:

Payment history 35%. The best thing you can do is make your payments on time! For the most part, you can be up to 29 days late without it being reported to the credit bureau but don't risk it. Even if you only make the minimum payment, make it on time! If you are more than 30 days late, you can try writing the creditor and ask them to retract the negative comment. It won't hurt your score to ask, so ask. You have nothing to lose. If they agree to remove the comment, ask for a letter stating such on the creditor's letter head, indicating which late payment is being retracted including your account #, your name and address.

Balance carried 30%. The best thing you can do is to keep your balances low. Don't confuse this with closing your accounts. Keep as many accounts as you can open, but keep your balances as low as possible. Many consumers believe paying off credit cards will help their credit score. This is false! Lots of open accounts with high limits and low balances will raise your score. If you have a problem controlling your credit cards, and you keep maxing them out, then yes close them. Just know that closing them hurts your score. The ideal situation is lots of credit accounts where your balance is less than 50% of the available credit. Also, it's better to pay them down slowly. Don't focus on one card, paying it down quickly. Spread your payments out so that all cards are lowered at a modest rate. 5 open credit accounts seems to be optimum. More is better than less.

Credit history 15%. This is how long you've had credit available on specific accounts. Running out and opening 5 credit accounts will not help you as much as having 5 credit accounts open for the past 4 years. Again, leave your accounts open even if you don't use them. Afraid of somebody else abusing your open line of credit, then destroy your cards so they can't be used. If you get a bill from an account you don't use, call the creditor and let them deal with the loss. Most creditors have ways of telling whether or not you personally used the credit line.

Mix of accounts 10%. This means 5 Visa cards will not benefit your credit score as much as 2 Visa's, 1 Macy's, 1 car loan, 1 equity line,1 Discover, 1 American Express.

Credit score inquiries 10%. Each inquiry into your credit score costs you 5 points. FICO has changed how they deal with multiple inquiries. Multiple inquiries within a 45 day period now counts as 1 inquiry. This is because when customers are shopping for a car, a home, or other purchase that requires a loan, each potential creditor might run your credit score. Could you imagine the damage to your credit score if you were shopping around for a new car, and 4 different dealers ran your credit score? Getting your free annual credit history does not count as an inquiry. Employment applications, account reviews, and insurance inquiries also do not count as inquiries.

In a nutshell: Keep a low balance with a high credit limit (ask to increase your limit if needed, but not if they will pull a credit report!). Keep your accounts current. Pay accounts down slowly and consistently. Keep your accounts open as long as possible. Have a broad mix of accounts and use old accounts periodically.

What is a good credit score? A credit score below 620 is considered risky. 620 - 650 is good and should not prevent you from getting a loan but you'll pay a higher interest rate. 650 - 700 is very good. 700 + is great and will get you any loan at a low rate. 750+ is excellent and will make the creditor's best rates available.

More Cheney nuggets. Increasing your credit score just 10 points can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a 30 year loan. On October 1st 2009 legislation made it mandatory that lenders verify that a borrower has the ability to repay a loan under the terms of the loan. FICO scores range from 300 - 900. 13% of the public have scores over 800 (up from 11%). Improving your FICO score above 740 has no significant bearing on the interest rate you'll be offered.

I love showing property to prospective buyers. There is nothing more full filling than finding the perfect property. Knowing that your clients have found the home that they will live in for years.

One of the worst things that can happen to a buyer is, after finding the perfect home, realizing they can not qualify for a loan to complete the purchase. Does this really happen? Yes, but usually to new agents. Here's why: New agents need the business so badly, that they don't want to risk stalling their potential buyer by asking that get pre-qualified. Also, some agents think there is an appearance of being rude. Asking a buyer to get pre-qualifed is like suggesting they don't have much money, or they might be waisting your time. Not true.

I feel like it's a disservice to my clients to spend their time looking a property they may not quailify to buy. I will show property to potential buyers without making them pre-qualify, however, only once or twice. I do want the opportunity to meet buyers, without sending them off to get pre-qualified, but at some point I'm going to recommend they see a lender, and that I'd be happy to go along.

So what should you be prepared to take with you to your first meeting with a lender? Here's a check list:

1. Your residential history. A lender is going to want to know where you've lived for the past 2 years. If you rent, bring your rental agreement with your landlords name, address, and phone number. If you own, bring your most recent mortgage statement.
2. Your employment history. Bring a list of names, addresses, and zip codes of where you have been employed for the past 2 years. Include full, part time, and temporary positions. Be prepared to give incomes earned at the end of each job. Also, bring a recent pay stub. If you're self employed, bring the last 2 years of tax returns plus a year to date income and expense statement.
3. Your income. You'll need to provide all sources of income including salary, secondary sources such as military retirement, pensions, social security benefits, disability benefits and/or child support or alimony.
4. A list of your assets. Names, addresses, and account numbers for all your bank accounts. The value of household goods and personal property. Make, model, year, and value of all automobiles. Cash value of any insurance policies. Addresses, description, and value of all real estate owned. For investment property it would be helpful to know the address, market value, mortgage balance, equity, gross rent, and mortgage payment.
5. A list of your liabilities. The name address, and phone number for each creditor (Most lenders can download this information instantly right from your credit history).
6. Additional information. A certificate of eligibility for VA loans, proceeds from any homes being sold prior to buying, is an employer paying any relocation costs and how much? Is a relative giving you money towards your home purchase that does not need to be repaid?

If you bring the information listed above to your first meeting with a lender, I guarentee you leave with a pre-approval letter that will save you time and give you a jump start on your home purchase.

Fresh foods and vegitables are not hard to find in Sonoma County. Here is a list of all the local farmers markets with dates, times, and locations:

Cotati

June 4th - Oct 1 (Thursdays) 4:30 - 7:30 pm at La Plaza Park W. Sierra & Old Redwood Hwy

Gualala:

June 1st - Nov 7th (Saturdays) 10:00 - 12;30 at Gualala Comm. Center 47950 Center St

Healdsburg:

June 1st - Nov 28 (Saturdays) 9:00 - noon at North and Vine Street

June 2nd - Oct 24th (Tuesdays) 4:00 - 6:00 pm Healdsburg Plaza downtown

Occidental:

June 1st - October (Friday) 4:00 - Dusk downtown Occidental

Petaluma:

June 1st - October 24th (Saturdays) 2:00 - 5:00 pm at Walnut Park on Petaluma Blvd

Santa Rosa:

June 1st - Aug 12th (Wednesday) 5:00 - 8:30 pm Downtown Fourth St

Sebastopol:

June 1st - Nov. ? (sundays) 10:00 - 1:30 pm Downtown at Petalma Av and McKinley Ave

Windsor:

June 1st - Nov 22nd (Sundays) 10:00 - 1:30 pm Windsor Town Green

June 11th - Aug 27 (Thursdays) 5:00 - 8:00 pm Windsor Town Green

Jim Cheney, Broker "Your Rincon Valley Realtor"

ServingRincon Valley's real estate and property needs

RinconValley, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA

I have a client who has been looking for a Rincon Valley townhouse/condo for the past 4 weeks. Every weekend I print up everything that is available to go look at. Every week I notice there is less and less inventory in Rincon Valley (under $200,000) to view. We started out with about 15 homes, and we are down to 4 "active" listings. We wrote an offer on a short sale. My client asked why all of a sudden there was drop in inventory. I told him it was because interest rates are so low. I believe we are truly at "the bottom" and with summer around the corner we will see price increases.

Below are the current averages per Freddie Mac.