Selina Norwood

2010 is a Perfect Time to Buy!

There are several good reasons that 2010 is the perfect time to buy a house in Etiwanda!

1. The Extended and Expanded Tax Credit- First time home buyers are encouraged to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit that has been extended again to Sept. 30, 2010! Not only are first time home buyers benefitting from this offer, but Governor Schwarzenegger extended and expanded the California Homebuyer Tax Credit from May 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. This tax credit will be available to buyers on a first-come, first-served basis and is applied in equal amounts over a period of three taxable years.

2. Foreclosures and Short Sale Properties - Todays low prices and an increase in distressed properties represent affordable home buying opportunities for today's homebuyers.

3. All Time Low Interest Rates- Interest rates are the lowest they have been in years and the incentives like tax credits have never been bigger.

With all these dynamics - The tax credit, low home prices and extremely low interest rates are factors that won't be around forever. It doesn't take much to realize that these are ideal conditions for even the most cautious of buyers. Don't wait, it's time to take advantage of buying a home this year!

Not sure where to start? Give me a call! I'd be happy to assist you in buying your Rancho Cucamonga home before this great opportunity passes you by!

As California Realtors, we all know that a Short Sale is a sales transaction in which the lender accepts less than what is owed in full satisfaction of the loan balance. But what is less widely known is that even though California has "anti-deficiency statutes" that protects certain borrowers from deficiency judgments, some lenders were still obtaining deficiency judgments against defaulting borrowers following foreclosure and handing Borrowers over to credit collection agencies.

The passing of Senate Bill SB 1178 last week extends that anti-deficiency protection.

Currently, if a homeowner defaults on a mortgage used to purchase their home -- known as a 'purchase money mortgage' --- the homeowner's liability on the mortgage is limited to the property itself. However, this protection did not extend the anti-deficiency protection to Borrowers that refinanced the original purchase debt; Even if the refinance was simply to obtain a lower interest rate. The passing of SB 1178 corrects this loophole and extends the same anti-deficiency protections to consumers who refinanced their home loans.

Question any language in your Seller's Short Sale approval letter that reads anything like the following:

[Lender] reserves the right to proceed for a deficiency judgment for any deficiency balance remaining on the loan.

Until this bill is fully approved, protect your Seller by ensuring that the Short Sale approval has language like:

Satisfaction and Release of Liability. If all of the terms and conditions of this Request are met, upon sale and settlement of the property, we will prepare and send to the settlement agent for recording, a lien release in full satisfaction of the mortgage, foregoing all rights to pursue a deficiency judgment.

As the SB 1178 Measure protecting consumers from overreaching lenders moves on to the Assembly for full approval, Borrowers are hoping for California's elected representatives to swiftly pass the legislation and send it to Gov. Schwarzenegger for his signature.