Jason Kardos

BARRATT AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY AUCTION - ONLINE ONLY - Ends on Wednesday at 10:30 AM.
Office Furniture, Computers, Office Supplies, SONY Flat Panel TV's, Conference Tables, File Cabinets, 2007 Chevy Cargo Van...and much more.
Please visit www.mccormackauction to register and bid on items.

What

Spring Valley Citizen's Association Steering Committee Meeting

When

Thu Oct 8 7pm - Thu Oct 8 8:30pm (Monthly at 7pm on the second Thursday)

Monthly at 7pm on the second Thursday

Where

map

Description: Meeting to discuss issues and events.

How To Save Thousands On
Bank Owned Foreclosures, Get a
Low-Interest Government Mortgage, AND Get A Check For Up To $8000!

San Diego, CA -- If you've been thinking of buying a home, this is going to be the most exciting news you hear this year! We are trying to make sure that everyone who wants the money and needs the money, gets this message. Right now, you can get up to $8000 in FREE money from the federal government to buy a home in 2009. The money is part of President Obama's economic stimulus package to help more Americans become homeowners. The money is a FREE gift, and never has to be paid back - as long as you live in your new home for three years. You don't have to jump through any hoops to get the money either. All you have to do is buy a home before November 30th, 2009 and the money is yours. Most people in San Diego qualify for the full $8000 - meaning you must make less than $75,000 as an individual, or less than $150,000 as a couple. Even if you make a little more than that, you can still get some of the money. Anyone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years is considered a "first-time" homebuyer. Right now, it's a good time to be living in San Diego, because there are special government backed Low-Interest Mortgages available for many of the homes here. This mortgage program is part of the government's Federal Housing Administration, and interest rates are at their lowest levels in decades. The VERY BEST situation you could take advantage of right now is to find a "Bank-Owned" foreclosure - a home that the bank has taken over and needs to get rid of. They price these homes unbelievably low to get rid of them in less than 30 days.

There Are SEVERAL Bank-Owned Foreclosures Available Right Now As I write this, there are 223 of these Bank-Owned homes in San Diego priced UNDER $200,000. For example, there's a 2 Bedroom house in North Park with 795 square feet of heated space. The house sold in 2006 for $290,000 - it's for sale right now for $129,900. It qualifies for a low-interest mortgage. There's a 3 bedroom, 3 bath Bank-Owned home for sale in South Park that's on the market right now for $502,900. It sold in 2005 for $610,000. There are 72 bank-owned homes under $100,000. These homes are all bank owned foreclosures and must be sold. The way the banks work when they foreclose on a home is they first make sure the house is vacant. They do whatever clean up and repairs are necessary to get the house ready for the market. Bank-Owned Homes Sell Very Quickly The banks don't care about getting the MOST money for the house... they care about getting RID of it. Most of the time, they'll even pay all of the closing costs. With a bank-owned home, that means you

FREE Bank Owned Homes List and Map - www.BankOwnedElCajon.com

could buy it at a nice discount, have the bank pay your closing costs, AND get a check for up to $8000 you can use for anything you like. You can use the money for decorating your new house, furniture, a new fridge or appliances - even a big screen TV or hot tub. It's your money and you can use it however you want. The amount of money you get depends on the price of the home you buy. You get 10% of the value of the home up to $8000. So if you buy a $70,000 home - you would get $7000. Anything over $80,000 qualifies for the full $8000. Even some manufactured homes qualify for these low-interest mortgages, as long as they are stationary and on "owned" property. Most of these homes will have monthly payments similar or less than what you're paying in rent right now. Today, I just ran off a list of ALL the bank-owned homes in San Diego, and I researched which of those homes are also eligible for a low-interest mortgage. If you want to stop by and pick up the list from our office today... you can call me at 888-877-8022 ext. 500 and I'll have it ready for you. Just ask for Jason Kardos, Broker. San Diego County Property Management 743 El Cajon Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92020 (619) 303-2826

Get a FREE Bank Owned Homes List and Map - 888-877-8022 x500 or www.BankOwnedElCajon.com

VA home loans see surge in demand

But many veterans feel excluded from market

By Roger Showley Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. September 29, 2009

The long-dormant veterans home loan program has surged in popularity in the past year, letting thousands of active and retired military families move from renting to owning.

Nearly 3,700 San Diego military families - almost triple last year's rate - have used their Veterans Affairs benefits to buy in the past year, as other loans requiring bigger down payments and better credit became less attractive. An increase in the VA loan limit has also brought most homes on the market within reach of military buyers.

But many of the would-be buyers are coming up empty-handed, nudged aside by investors and all-cash buyers and ignored by agents, sellers and bankers who don't want to work with VA buyers.

Roadblocks to using VA loans include tougher appraisals and closer scrutiny of the properties. While other buyers will take a property in as-is condition, VA loans require repairs to be completed before escrow closes. In addition, VA buyers get their upfront fees repaid if escrow does not close, while other buyers have to absorb such costs.

The upshot is that VA buyers can spend months bidding for affordable homes and lose out.

Many veterans now feel a sense of betrayal. For many, it's now too late to take advantage of state and federal tax credits, unless they are renewed, and the inventory of attractively priced, foreclosed homes has shrunk, at least for now.

"It's very frustrating and disheartening," said Jessica Donigan of Gary Kent Homes & Estates-Re/Max Associates. "I've heard a lot of vets say they feel they're being discriminated against, that it's not fair."

One of Donigan's clients, William Flick, an Air Force veteran, and his wife, Amber, both 27, have looked at 40 homes in the past six months in the La Mesa-Spring Valley area. They submitted seven offers with no luck, and in at least two cases, the buyer bid less. They continue to rent in La Mesa.

"It really takes the taste out of your mouth to try get a house," said Flick, a 2000 Mount Miguel High School graduate who works in biomedical repair. "I have all the money and credit and would love them to take all the money they need and help this (economic) crisis, and they say no, no . . . The system seems broken."

Bankers, brokers and VA officials acknowledge the problem but offer no solutions short of new regulations that would give special preference to veterans.

"I think everyone has emotional ties to the vets," said Bank of America spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens, whose bank has the most distressed properties for sale nationally.

But she said many low-cost, foreclosure homes do not qualify for VA loans, which require no down payment. The VA insures 25 percent of the loans, which are resold to investors.

In the past 12 months, there have been 3,699 VA-insured loans for San Diego County home purchases, said Jeff Wilson, VA regional loan production officer in Phoenix. That compares with 1,300 for the same period last year and represents about 25 percent of all VA loans in California.

MDA DataQuick said VA purchases represented 9.8 percent of 25,313 sales made in the county for the first eight months of the year. That's up from 5 percent for the same period last year and less than a quarter percent in 2006.

DataQuick said veterans and active military still were able to buy some foreclosure homes. Of the 2,496 VA purchases through August, 1,064 were for homes that went through foreclosure in the previous 12 months, roughly 10.2 percent of all foreclosure sales. That's up from 510 of 1,061 VA purchases, or 7.2 percent of foreclosures for the same period last year.

At the same time, VA-insured loans have had a lower failure rate than other loans - just 4.3 percent of VA loans have gone into foreclosure, compared with about 5 percent for prime loans, 7 percent for FHA-insured loans and up to 29 percent for subprime loans, Wilson said.

Complaints reach the VA about alleged discrimination against veterans, but in many cases the homes they want to buy are not eligible for the VA program. That's because homes must be move-in-ready and not require significant repairs, according to VA rules. Many foreclosure properties have been damaged by previous owners and banks sell them as is.

"We don't want vets buying homes that are substandard," Wilson said.

When disrepair is not an issue, Wilson said, other buyers successfully compete against veterans, because they offer more equity, fewer contingencies and an escrow closing in days when a VA purchase can take two months. Wilson said the delays often stem from slow-moving bank policies, not VA requirements.

"We cannot compete with our program," Wilson said.

In some cases, banks' real estate agents incorrectly identify properties as non-VA-eligible. Wilson said the VA is working with the National Association of Realtors, major banks and local agents to clarify the rules.

But some rules do discourage sellers from dealing with VA buyers. They include the requirement that termite damage be repaired prior to close of escrow. VA buyers also will get their appraisal fees and other costs refunded if the escrow is terminated, whereas other buyers often forfeit these costs.

VA loans are drawing much more interest now because the loan limits have been raised to $593,750, far above the most current median price of $357,000 for single-family resale houses. And there are virtually no other loans that allow zero down payments.

"It's a great product for vets," said Robert Geiler, a mortgage specialist at Rancho Financial in Rancho Bernardo.

But because all-cash offers, conventional loans and FHA-insured loans carry fewer restrictions, VA-loan purchase offers are considered "the weakest offer that can be done," Geiler said.

John F. Kennedy, a 45-year-old Navy hospital corpsman, said he and his wife, Francesca, looked for six months for a home in the county for themselves and their two daughters. They're in escrow to buy a $294,000, 2,400-square-foot home under construction by Lennar in Murrieta, where their VA loan was not an impediment.

"We were losing out on opportunities because of cash investors," Kennedy said. He also missed out on a $10,000 state tax credit and cannot take advantage of the federal tax credit unless it is extended past the Nov. 30 expiration date.

Ed Smith Jr., president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, said users of FHA-insured mortgages and conventional borrowers have similar problems in competing with all-cash buyers.

"I have a special place in my heart for vets," said Smith, a Marine veteran. "But at the end of the day, it's a seller's prerogative to take an offer, and it would be extremely difficult to generalize what's in a seller's mind when you look at a transaction."

However, he said he will contact Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, who is chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to explore policy changes to make VA loans more attractive to sellers and lenders.

Joseph Kasper, spokesman for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, said several constituents have complained about VA loan problems.

"We are looking at the situation more closely, specifically whether eligible veterans are being unfairly denied loan approval," Kasper said.

Union-Tribune

Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286;

AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE AND AWARD A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR BANCROFT ROCK HOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT (DISTRICT: 2)

OVERVIEW:

The historic Bancroft Rock House is located in the unincorporated community of Spring Valley (Thomas Guide: Page 1271, F-7). Originally built in 1887 as a guesthouse, the small rock structure is currently in disrepair and closed to public use. The Department of Parks and Recreation has been awarded a State grant for $473,000 to fully restore the structure for public use.

The requested action will authorize the Director of the Department of Purchasing and Contracting to advertise and award a construction contract estimated at $360,000, including contingency, to restore the Bancroft Rock House and provide related improvements. Remaining project funds, estimated at $113,000 will be used for material testing, inspections and project management.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Funds for this request are not budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2009-10 Operational Plan for Capital Project 1013259 - Bancroft Rock House Restoration and Improvements project. The funding source is State Proposition 12 Legislative Appropriations revenue. If approved, this action will result in total estimated project costs of $473,000. Costs estimated at $360,000, including contingency, will fund a construction contract for the restoration of the Bancroft Rock House and related improvements. Remaining project funds of approximately $113,000 will be used for related project costs which include materials testing, inspections and project administration costs. Upon project completion, annual operations and maintenance will be provided by existing Department of Parks and Recreation staff. There will be no change in net General Fund costs and no additional staff years as a result of this action.

BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT:

N/A 8/5/09 18

RECOMMENDATION:

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

1. Find that the Bancroft Rock House Restoration Project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15311.

2. Cancel appropriations of $473,000 and related State Proposition 12 Legislative Appropriations revenue in the Capital Outlay Fund for Capital Project 1000008 - Bancroft Park Acquisition, to provide funds for the Bancroft Rock House Restoration and Improvements project.

3. Establish appropriations of $473,000 in the Capital Outlay Fund for Capital Project 1013259 - Bancroft Rock House Restoration and Improvements based on unanticipated revenue from State Proposition 12 Legislative Appropriations. (4 VOTES)

4. Authorize the Director of the Department of Purchasing and Contracting to take any action authorized by Section 401 et seq. of the Administrative Code, with respect to contracting for the Bancroft Rock House Restoration and Improvements project.