Manuel Bernal

Council members also unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing staff to apply for a $700,000 grant through the state's Department of Housing and Community Development for the City's Owner Occupied Rehabilitation loan program. The program offers zero percent deferred payment loans to make needed health and safety repairs of up to $30,000 to low-income owners of single-family (one to four) residences, condominiums and town homes and up to $20,000 for mobile home owners. To date, the City has been successful with obtaining roughly $6 million in state grants for housing programs and administration. San Juan Capistrano has assisted roughly 200 households with its Owner Occupied Rehabilitation Program and currently has a waiting list of 60 more households, which may be eligible for home rehabilitation. If the grant application is successful, the funds could provide 20 households with rehabilitation loans.

Here’s latest stats from MLS system for sales of apartment buildings in O C in 2011′s first half: Sales up 52% compared to last year.

Effective October 5, 2007, California Civil Code Section 1090.5 was enacted to address the problem of the improper influence of real estate appraisers in the State of California. In the Spring 2009 edition of the Department of Real Estate Bulletin, there is an article describing a list of practices which may constitute evidence of a violation of California Law and should be avoided when engaging the services of a licensed real estate appraiser.

Mortgage Lenders and Real Estate Brokers should read the article to be aware of actions that could lead to potential disciplinary action by the California Department of Real Estate.