Help Save My Home From Foreclosure:  Myth Buster #1 - My Mortgage Company Wants My House Rather Than Working out a New Payment Planby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Hemet CA Real Estate PreForeclosure Consultant As a REALTOR® in the Hemet San Jacinto valley of Southern California,I am becoming known as the go-to guy when people are in the process of preforeclosure and are looking for a way out, preserving their dignity.I suppose, in part, my repetition is spreading by word of mouth as more and more copies of my booklet are being distributed, free of charge, to families I know are having trouble with their mortgage.  I know ActiveRain has done wonders for helping me spread my message.I wrote a booklet I call, "What You Need to Know...About Foreclosures and How You Can Stop It!" This bookl... 08/29/2007

Here is a look back at the real estate activity in the Hemet San Jacinto Valley market, starting in January 2005 through 2006 an up to the current date, August 26, 2007.  This data reflectes single family homes only.  Not included are mobile homes and land purchases.                                                                                                           SAN JACINTO*PERIODNEW    Avg LP          Avg SP         SOLD    Avg DOM          Jan-0550$300,316$232,263   2556Feb-0550$288,020$270,117   2851Mar-0549$318,017$274,014   4266Apr-0557$283,680$276,296   4853May-0562$327,593$267,237   4347Jun-0566$333,604$300,591   5339Jul-0568$452,533$301,245   4245Aug-0576$309,096$313,153   4334Sep-0579$340,645$328,491   6050Oct-0571$350,156$310,012   4134Nov-0554$316,805$311,312   2943D... 08/26/2007

Do You Believe the New York Times When they are Talking about Your Market?...Or is There a Conspiracy Against REALTORS®?by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove RealtyThere is much debate in this country about the agenda of the main street media.  It really does not matter if you are a left wing Democrat or right wing Republican or with political thoughts anywhere in between.  From what I can tell, the consensus across America is that the press, as a whole, is not to be trusted.  Many believe that there is the left wing press (CNN, New York Times) and the right wing press (Fox News) and very little in the middle.                                                                     My own feelings about the press is they will blow any story out of proportion in order to sensation... 08/26/2007

Inman News Comes To Hemet  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Hemet CA Real Estate   Hello, a quick word to announce to my readers that yesterday I was interviewed over the telephone by Glenn Roberts Jr. of Inman News who wrote a great article on the real estate market, with a glimpse into several markets across the country.  For those who do not know, Inman News is "THE" media outlet that focuses on Real Estate.                                     The article, Agents blame buyer fears, financing troubles includes quotes form other ActiveRain bloggers as well as myself. Broker Bryant offered his insight to the issues he is experiencing in Florida and new ActiveRain Blogger Phil Hoover shared his observations from Boise, Idaho.  In addition, a broker from the Gallery Realty of Taos in Ta... 08/23/2007

This is a quick blog to notify everyone ...at least anyone who may be interested that I will be going live on an Internet based radio talk show this afternoon at noon - pacific time.The host is Coach Steve Toth and the focus is not a bitch session about the problems we are facing today                                                                                                                            Here is some Cheese to go with all the WHINE!No, we will be discussing ideas that just may be able to help those who are in trouble and maybe even offer a solution or two to the industry as a whole.So, please, if you have the time - join me this afternoon for my radio debut.... Just in case my links don't work - use this one ...http://006b886.netsolhost.com/coachingmoment/?page_id=18 ... 08/21/2007

It's a Great Time to be a First Time Home Buyer in Hemet, California   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Hemet CA Real Estate   There is no doubt about it, the local Hemet real estate market has kept up with the housing market throughout the Inland Empire, Riverside County, Southern California and the rest of the country overall, showing a steady decline in both the number of homes being sold each month as well as the value of homes being sold.On the surface, this may sound like bad news...and to some it is.  Don't let it ruin your day though if you want to buy a new Hemet home for you and your family...or even as an investment.  You see, it is a great buyers market today.  Today, the real estate buyer rules the local economy, and as a ruler, you should be rewarded.First off, if you ar... 08/20/2007

Critical Mistakes for the Investor to Avoid: The Loanby John Occhi REALTORRealtor Consultant to Foreclosure Investors View More Articles on Investor Mistakes That Can Really Bit by Clicking Here Many real estate investment mistakes can be avoided all together if the investor simply compares apples to apples when considering different loans. I know, it sounds obvious, but sometimes I think loan packages are as confusing as buying a mattress. You know, you have seen the news expose on the mattress industry where a manufacturer will produce the exact same mattress and sell it under a different model name to each of its retail distributors so the retail guys can advertise the lowest price on that model...because it only exists in that one store.And that's the way loans can be spun. The sam... 08/19/2007

Hemet 3 - Not as Smooth as Oceans 13!  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Hemet CA Real Estate   The Valley Chronicle, the local newspaper servicing the Hemet San Jacinto Valley reported that local law enforcement captured and arrested the three suspects who robbed the local Soboba Casino of nearly two million dollars on August 2nd, by cleaning out the vault in what is reported as being the largest casino robbery ever in Riverside County.                  The good news is that the arrests were made without any violence or injuries being reported of either the suspects or law enforcement.  The next best thing is that 98% of the money was recovered with the bad guys.This means that there was approximately $40,000 that was lost somewhere.Bad guy #1, who masterminded the caper is a former e... 08/18/2007

Is Hemet CA destined for the Smithsonian?by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Hemet CA Real Estate   The Valley Chronicle, the local newspaper servicing the Hemet San Jacinto Valley reported in a front page article on August 17th that our own local Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology has been negotiating with the Smithsonian Museum for affiliate status.                                    According to the article, Western Center board member John Petty has just returned from a round of talks with the Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and a representative of the Smithsonian about the possibilities of a local affiliation to our nation's museum.According to Petty, this would mean that the Western Center would then be the only associate institution of the Smithsonian in the... 08/18/2007

Help Save My Hemet Home From Foreclosure!   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Hemet CA Real EstateI received a call last week from a sobbing Hemet homeowner, who asked, "Can you help me save my home from foreclosure?"I asked a few qualifying question and what concerned m the most is that the home was scheduled to go to auction in less than a month.                                                                         We set an immediate appointment for that afternoon, where both the husband and wife came to my Hemet office on Florida Avenue.  I told her that I needed a copy of the Notice of Default (NOD) as well as the most recent mortgage statement.In the next 2 hours I researched the property, analyzing the market on their particular home - not taking condition into account.  I pr... 08/18/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal: Overestimating "As Is" Valueby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR® Mission Grove Realty If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link.When investing in a Hemet home for sale and your intention is to flip it quickly, you have to have a very realistic idea of what the "As-Is" price is - otherwise holding costs can eat up any profits found in a slim deal.Many real estate investors will look at a Hemet CA home for sale and think it is worth more than it actually is. Yes it may be a beautiful well cared for, late model home that shows like a million dollars. The investor must realize that it is in Hemet and not Temecula, Orange County or even Corona. The value of a homes is not only based ... 08/12/2007

  The Tax Consequences of Real Estate Investing   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®      Now before I even begin, I must disclaim that I am neither a tax advisor nor an attorney and that the purpose behind this article is NOT to provide you with either a tax strategy or any tax advice.  Not knowing you and your personal situation, it would be rather difficult to do so, I just don't need to hear in a year or two that you are in trouble with the IRS and you can remember reading  this column - and pointing your troubles this way.Please, before you consider investing in real estate consult with your tax professional and/or legal advisor for specific information that may pertain to you and your very specific situation.Seems silly to have to put this into a simple blog article - but I know it ... 08/12/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal: Overestimating Market Rents by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty   If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link.A very common mistake made by investors when buying rental property is to not have a complete and thorough knowledge of market rents in Hemet, if that is where they plan to buy their rental property.                                                                                Many times when an investor is researching market rents, they will rely on the newspaper or even an internet website to tell them what rents are going for in a particular Hemet CA neighborhood.It really does not matter if the investor wants to buy a single family residence th... 08/12/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal:  Trusting The Appraiserby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty   If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link. Another common mistake in analyzing a real estate transaction is to put too much emphasis on the appraisal.Granted, there is a time and place for an appraisal, but unless you actually hire and pay the appraiser, how can you be sure of what you are getting.  When you hire the appraiser to analyze a Hemet real estate transaction then you control what criteria they are looking at.For example, lets say you want to buy a Hemet preforeclosure home for sale through a short sale.  The homeowner may have recently taken out a loan that has them n trouble, once th... 08/12/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal: Trusting The Seller by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR® Mission Grove Realty If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link.When a homebuyer wants to buy a home for sale in Hemet CA, the seller must complete a stack of disclosures. Heck, I often kid, as we start completing the paperwork that in California, we have disclosures disclosing that there are disclosures to disclose what you know about the property. Then I will ask my seller to try and say that 3 times fast. A little humor goes a long way - even if it is bad humor. It helps take the tension out of the air that is always present when someone is looking at a stack of legally binding documents involving hundreds of thousands o... 08/12/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal: The Clockby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR® Mission Grove Realty If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link.So many times a good real estate deal is lost due to the clock. No, I don't mean that the sale ends at 5:00 p.m. like it might if you were buying clothes at the department store - because good real estate deals don't end - they are taken by someone else. It does not matter if you are a first time homebuyer looking for that perfect starter home in Hemet CA or perhaps you area a move up buyer and you find the perfect home on the hillside of Hemet, near the Ramona Bowl...and you lose it, because someone else came in on your heals and made a decision ahead of you.Don't you ha... 08/12/2007

Common Mistakes When Analyzing a Real Estate Deal:  The Pencilby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty   If you Want to Read More about Other Common Mistakes Made when Purchasing Real Estate, Follow This Link.Many times an investor just wants a deal to work.  It seems they have looked hard and spent countless hours looking for that perfect next deal and when they get a hold of one, they will do whatever they can to make it work for them.One of the most common mistakes that a real estate investor will make when analyzing a Hemet real estate deal is to do their numbers in pencil.  What I mean by this is that a pencil does not offer a permanent record - it is much too easy to change.An Investor hungry for that next deal may be able to convince themselves to do the deal if t... 08/11/2007

Is your State a Judicial or Non-Judicial Foreclosure State?by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty   The foreclosure process is different in every state; however most states can be classified as either "Judicial" or a "Non-Judicial" state.The process is as different as night and day.  A Judicial Foreclosure is one that uses the courts.  Literally a laws suit is filed and as the defendant, you have the right to file an answer.  As in any lawsuit, there are legal maneuvers that can be used to delay the inevitable.                                                                             A Non-Judicial state has an administrative process that allows the lender to notify the homeowner of the default and the intentions to take the home back, if the default is not cured.  B... 08/11/2007

ActiveRain Your Counsel Was Taken:  A Short Sale Case History by John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®   Mission Grove Realty   Last month I posted a blog article seeking the advise of ActiveRain members in a situation that is becoming much to common in today's real estate market.The call came from a Pastor who had read through my blog and felt confident that if anyone could offer good solid worldly advise on a very real problem in this world, from a Christian prospective.We talked on the phone for 45 minutes.  I emailed him numerous documents to consider, including a best case scenario market analysis of his home.  I also sent him a copy of the book that I had just finished writing, "Everything You Need to Know...About Foreclosure and How You can Stop It!"In our conversation, the Pastor describe... 08/10/2007

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY RECEIVES YET ANOTHER BLOW TODAYby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Mission Grove Realty After discussing a loan referral to my friend and colleague Joey Aszterbaum with Patrion Mortgage, he informed me once again of yet another dramatic shakeup in the mortgage industry.  Perhaps these latest guidelines will have more of a devastating effect then any that have ever proceeded it in the past.  The good news is the loan I was calling on should not have any problem meeting these strict requirements to fund a mortgage in today's volatile Hemet Real Estate market.                                                                     Very Important- Guideline Changes Effective August 8, 2007~ All borrowers must have one blue eye and one brown eye to qualify.~ LTV > 65% SIVA require... 08/10/2007