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August 2011 - Posts

Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:09 AM

Fixed mortgage rates hit 50-year lows

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit lows not seen in five decades last week as the Federal Reserve committed to keeping the federal funds rate low through 2013, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. At 4.15 percent, the 30-year,
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:07 AM

Weekly Fraud Alert: FBI emails

Threatening emails purportedly from the FBI and its leadership have been making the rounds recently. The FBI does not send threatening emails to the public. It uses the legal process should it want to contact a member of the public. The FBI cautions,
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:03 AM

Real Estate Market Changes

Talking Points Pending home sales in California fell 1.7 percent in July, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*. The index was 117.0 in July, down from June’s index of 119.0, based on contracts signed in July. The index was
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:02 AM

Exploring the 15-year loan

Fifteen-year mortgage rates certainly look enticing these days, and the idea of owning a home, debt-free, in less time than it takes to raise a child, sounds grand. So what’s the catch? Read the full story
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 6:00 AM

Foreclosures made up 31 percent of home sales in 2Q

Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders, accounted for 31 percent of the market in the April-June quarter, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 5:59 AM

State attorney general shuts down law firms accused of conning homeowners

The Mercury News The state Attorney General’s office has shut down four Southern California law firms that allegedly conned about 2,500 California homeowners facing foreclosure into paying thousands of dollars to join a lawsuit against lenders that
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 5:57 AM

Home prices decline 5.9 percent in second quarter

Home prices in the U.S. fell 5.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the biggest decline since 2009, as foreclosures added to the inventory of properties for sale. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 5:55 AM

Forget the market. Buy a house

Smart Money Some financial advisers are recommending their clients put some of their cash into buying a house. Read the full story
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Thursday, August 25, 2011 6:24 AM

Price Reduced on 16245 Alabaster Ct. in Chino Hills

Chino Hills, San Bernardino County - Announcing a price reduction on 16245 Alabaster Ct., a 2,529 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $578,500 - Includes furnishings!. Property information
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Thursday, August 25, 2011 6:16 AM

Southland Housing Market's Vital Signs Remain Weak

DataQuick - August 15, 2011 La Jolla, CA---Southern California home sales fell last month to the lowest level for a July in four years, though the decline from a year earlier was the smallest in 13 months. The drop in sales from June was more pronounced,
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011 6:18 AM

Hope For The Hills!

The Hope for the Hills site was created to bring awareness to SCE's blatant disregard to route monstrous 500 kv power lines in the middle of several south-land communities. The effort is formally known as the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:46 AM

Home Sales Statistics in California

Talking Points Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California dropped 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 458,440 units in July, according to information collected by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:45 AM

More homeowners shorten mortgage terms

Spurred by low interest rates and a desire to pay off their debts, homeowners are shortening the terms of their loans. In the first quarter, 34 percent of refinancers switched to a 20- or 15-year loan, the highest level in seven years, according to Freddie
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:43 AM

Homeowner mortgage write-off may be in jeopardy

If you take mortgage interest tax deductions, the next 100 days could have significant financial implications for you because of Congress’ new federal debt ceiling plan. Read the full story
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:41 AM

Foreclosure reforms may be coming to a head

The Los Angeles Times Over the next few weeks, several initiatives aimed at reforming the foreclosure process, holding mortgage lenders and servicers accountable for their past abuses, and creating more effective mortgage workouts are coming to a head.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:39 AM

Fraud Alert - Tax Scammers

The San Francisco Chronicle Feds warn Californians about tax scammers The Internal Revenue Service is warning Californians about a ring of scammers who bilk people by posing as tax preparers. Read the full story
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Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:36 AM

Short sales: Are they worth the trouble?

Short sales – a real estate transaction in which the homeowner needs to sell the property, but owes more on the mortgage than the home currently is worth – continue to dominate the housing market, but these real estate transactions aren’t
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Saturday, August 20, 2011 1:27 AM

Chino Hills’ Monster Towers

Cal Watchdog - Katy Grimes : Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills) brought up a menacing subject during a committee hearing this week with the California Public Utility Commission. But he didn’t get answers to his questions – just yet. Following
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Friday, August 19, 2011 6:12 PM

Price Reduced on 16245 Alabaster Ct. in Chino Hills

Chino Hills, San Bernardino County - Announcing a price reduction on 16245 Alabaster Ct., a 2,529 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $589,900 - Price Reduced!. Property information
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Monday, August 15, 2011 7:31 AM

LAW AGAINST SHORT SALE DEFICIENCIES EXPANDED

In a major victory for REALTORS®, Governor Brown signed into law today a C.A.R.-sponsored bill, Senate Bill 458, prohibiting a deficiency after a short sale for one-to-four residential units, regardless of whether the lender is a senior or junior
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Monday, August 15, 2011 7:24 AM

Cosigning on the Dotted Line

Tighter lender standards and an unstable job market have made it tougher for some people, especially those just starting out, to qualify for a home mortgage on their own. So, some home buyers are turning to family members or close friends with good credit
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:50 AM

Home Price Affordability Statistics

Talking Points The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California declined to 51 percent in the second quarter of 2011, down from 53 percent in first-quarter 2011 but was up from 46 percent in
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:48 AM

Feds may turn government-owned foreclosures into rentals

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday it is seeking input from investors on how to rent roughly 250,000 homes owned by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. All of the homes
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:47 AM

Foreclosures fall for tenth straight month

Foreclosure filings were down 4 percent in July compared with June and were 35 percent lower than July 2010, marking the tenth straight month of year-over-year declines, according to RealtyTrac. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:45 AM

June home prices rise 0.7 percent from May

U.S. home prices rose 0.7 percent in June from May, according to CoreLogic, although some of that increase is probably the result of seasonal variations. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:44 AM

Homeownership hits lowest level since 1965

Last Friday, the Census Bureau reported that the percentage of people who owned a home had dropped to 65.9 percent during the second quarter – its lowest level since the first quarter of 1998 and far from the high of 69.2 percent in late 2004. Read
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Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:42 AM

Mortgage rates plummet to new lows on market concerns

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.32 percent, its lowest point this year. That's down from 4.39 percent last week and 4.44 percent a year earlier, Freddie Mac said in its primary mortgage market survey. Read the full story
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Tuesday, August 09, 2011 6:24 AM

198 Foot Towers and 500,000 Volt Power Lines Next Door? Join CARE - Citizens for Alternate Routing of Electricity

Over 1,000 homes in Chino Hills will have one of these giant 198 foot towers carrying 500,000 volts of power within 500 feet of their home. They will cause not only an eye sore, but noise, safety and health issues and reduced property values. The California
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:32 PM

Golden State Mortgage Defaults Drop to Four-Year Low

DataQuick - La Jolla, CA. The number of California homes that went into foreclosure fell to a four-year low last quarter, the result of a more stable housing market as well as policy changes in the mortgage servicing industry, a real estate information
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:29 PM

Southland Home Sales Quicken, Median Price Highest This Year

DataQuick La Jolla, CA Southern California home sales last month shot up more than usual from May to the highest level for any month since June 2010, when the market got its last big boost from homebuyer tax credits. Sales of lower-cost homes, driven
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:26 PM

Majority of refinancing homeowners maintain or reduce mortgage debt in Q2

In the second quarter of 2011, 77 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained about the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table, Freddie Mac recently
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:25 PM

Bill introduced to extend loan limits one year

On Tuesday, the Senate introduced SB 1508, a bill to extend the current loan limits for one year. Originally sponsored by California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the bipartisan bill would increase the cost of loans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:22 PM

Fraud Alert: FTC stops “yellow pages” scam

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal judge has temporarily halted a European-based operation that has allegedly bilked small businesses and nonprofit organizations, including churches, out of millions of dollars by deceiving them
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:20 PM

Changes in the Mortgage Industry

In addition to conforming loans, mortgage insurance also is becoming harder to obtain for some borrowers. Many lenders require borrowers to have a 20 percent down payment or the borrower must purchase mortgage insurance. Prior to the mortgage meltdown,
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:18 PM

Changes to jumbo loans kick market while it's down

Mercury News Barring last-minute action by Congress, many home shoppers will soon find it harder to buy more expensive homes because of changes in eligibility requirements for a popular type of mortgage. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:16 PM

Home listings fall but woes persist

The Wall Street Journal The number of homes listed for sale declined sharply in a number of U.S. cities during the second quarter, offering glimmers of hope that some housing markets are starting to recover. Read the full story
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Saturday, August 06, 2011 12:14 PM

Distressed BofA homeowners in Calif. now have chance of principal reduction

San Diego Union-Tribune Bank of America has joined the Keep Your Home California principal-reduction program, making it the largest loan servicer involved in lowering loan balances for those with economic hardships. Making sense of the story Keep Your
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