What Pitfalls Might a FSBO Encounter? - Part 3    by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®     Hemet CA Real Estate      This is the third article in a several part series on the potential pitfalls that a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) is likely to encounter when selling their Hemet FSBO real estate on their own.  First we talked about setting the right price for the Hemet CA Real Estate, so that money was not left on the table and to make sure the market would not reject it as overpriced.  Then there was a discussion on marketing real estate for sale in Hemet and why a Hemet REALTOR® had very distinct advantages over the FSBO seller.Obviously, not every FSBO seller will encounter all of these pitfalls and there are those that when they do encounter them will have a game plan in place and move forwar... 03/04/2007

What Pitfalls Might a FSBO Encounter? - Part 2    by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®     Hemet CA Real Estate      I recently started a series of articles there I look at some of the pitfalls that a For Sale by Owner seller is likely to encounter.  In the first article I discussed the intricacies of pricing Hemet CA real estate so that it will sell in a reasonable amount of time without leaving money on the table.In this article I explore t5he difference in how a Hemet REALTOR might market a property for sale and how a FSBO seller might try and accomplish the same task.MARKET YOUR HOME FOR SALEWith home computers, inexpensive desk-top publishing software and the Internet available to the FSBO seller today, marketing may seem like a simple task.  Certainly many of the tools are readily ava... 03/04/2007

What Pitfalls Might a FSBO Encounter? - Part 1    by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR    Hemet CA Real Estate      In today's Hemet CA Real Estate market, it seems like more and more sellers are starting the process of selling their home on their own without the use or expense of a professional REALTOR® or other licensed real estate agent.  This type of seller is referred to as a ‘For Sale By Owner' as their Home Depot signs proudly proclaim.  For short, the real estate industry refers to these sellers and their properties by the slang pronunciation of their FSBO initials, or ‘fizzbo'Although it is impossible to put an exact number on the FSBO count in Hemet or any other real estate market at any given time, we can certainly project that approximately 10% of all homes being offered in the ... 03/04/2007

Real Estate Outlook for 2007 - Part 1:  A Look at the Media      by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®   Hemet CA Real EstateI wrote an article recently about how numbers can be manipulated to serve a point or particular agenda. It was appropriately titled, "Figures Don't Lie...Liars Figure".  The truth is anyone can spin anything anyway they like and sooner or later enough people will start to believe it and when enough people believe it, it must be true.Sounds like politics to me.Forget about what you heard in the ‘doom & gloom' media, 2006 was a very good year for the entire real estate industry and 2007 will be better.  The only thing that happened last year was the Hemet market slowed down, like the rest of the country, to catch it's breath after 2 years of a very wild party in real est... 03/04/2007

Why would a Lender Consider a "Short Sale"?   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Pre-Foreclosure Real Estate, Hemet CA First, lets define what a "Short Sale" is.I suppose the definition may vary from lender to lender as well as from region of the country to region.  I'm going to share what I know to be the way it is for real estate in Hemet CA.  It boils down to the point that a lender does not want to take a property back, that is in default but would rather sell it for less than what is owed on itIn order for a ‘short sale' to take place in Hemet CA there are two very important factors that have to take place.  First, the Hemet homeowner - or borrower has to be in default on their real estate loan.  A lender will never agree to sell property that the borrower is current on.  The secon... 02/25/2007

What Should a Homeowner Do When They are Behind?  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORHemet CA Real Estate   In Hemet CA there are many real estate properties on the market that have been foreclosed on by the lender and are now considered REO, or "Real Estate Owned".  Unfortunately there are many more on the verge of falling into this category.So, what can be done?Today as homeowners find themselves ‘buried' in a loan that they cannot pay the best advice I have is to talk directly with the lender.  Be polite, it is not their fault and as my grandmother used to say, you can catch more fly's with honey than vinegar.Assuming you can now make the current payments and you want to keep your home, as a Hemet California homeowner you should discuss the loan with your lender and not bury your head in... 02/24/2007

Have you Met "Big Brother"? by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR Real Estate - Hemet CA The one thing that is constant in 21st century America is that the computer is revolutionizing our lifestyle.  Some of it is good...some of it is band...and some of it is just out right frightening!I was sent a link to a website operated by a company called ChoicePoint.  They pride themselves in the data they gather.  They are so confident, even their corporate tag line wants me to duck for cover, "Technology and Information for Confident, Smart Decisions".This information is gathered for the insurance industry, which last time I checked is the largest industry in the world - yes even bigger than oil and energy. These guys are all about their data, and I can almost guarantee they have your name in more t... 02/24/2007

MORTGAGE RATES TAKE ANOTHER DIPby John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®Real Estate, Hemet CAFreddie Mac reported that mortgage rates dropped again this week after another decline in housing starts.  According to a statement issued by Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, January "showed the weakest reading since August 1997, due to the abundance of homes already on the market to purchase,"The ‘average' 30 year fixed loan now averages just 6.22%  down 7 basis points from the 6.3% posted just a week earlier, according to the Freddie Mac published survey.  The 15 year fixed rate mortgage saw a very similar decrease from the previous weeks 6.03% and now is reported to be at only 5.97%.Nothaft is expecting figures next week on both new and existing home sales and economic gr... 02/24/2007

NAR is Looking For Local Help   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Real Estate, Hemet CAReading through the various industry news emails I receive every morning, I came across a request for help from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) - looking for help from local agents on local outlooks of the local market.Well, I believe all real estate is local, so it got my attention...Apparently, NAR sends out over 3000 surveys each month to individual REALTORS® who have volunteered to offer their opinions on the trends and conditions of their local real estate market.  The survey is known as the "Real Estate Practitioners Survey" or REPS and is published monthly.  You can see the January 2007 results here.NAR is currently looking to expand this base of volunteer REALTORS® and asking anyon... 02/22/2007

Real Estate Happy Days are Here Again!   By John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Real Estate, Hemet CA   I recently received an email with an article that I found a fascinating read.  It turns out that the article only gave credit to the author - but not letting me know where it was originally published.  I did a quick Google Search and found the author - but not his article to link to I felt that the article was so relevant and mirrored my feelings about the ‘bubble'.  Real Estate in Hemet CA has seen better days - this is true, however I strongly believe that the next big wave has already begun - after all isn't real estate in Hemet like anywhere else - driven by the principals of "supply & demand"?  Most people have thought I was crazy when I say we are out of the bad times and that the go... 02/21/2007

Did You Know...?   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR   Real Estate Hemet CAWe all receive email that circulates among the masses.  Some of it is humorous, some of it contains some really bizarre pictures, some of it offensive and some of it truly amazes me.This morning I opened up a message from a known email circulator.  Many times his messages go ignored, because I just don't have the time - after all, I am a busy professional Hemet Realtor specializing in all things Real Estate in Hemet CA - so I just ignore most of what is not relevant to my family, my faith and my business.For whatever reason, I felt compelled to open this one.  Then it was a link to an online video - I hardly ever check those out anymore.  But, today I did.This is a 6 minute slide presentation that takes some pretty... 02/20/2007

Cell Phone Safety Update  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate, Hemet CAThis is not another article telling you to be careful when you are driving - we all know we should.  Nor is this an article telling you that you are sucking in alien electro-signals into your brain and the third generation of your offspring will be born green - or worse that you yourself will end up with cancer of the brain.No, just a little bit of useful information that I just came across that I thought you needed to be aware of.  I have one tip that is related to safety and another on how to maximize the use and effectiveness of your cell phone - for FREE!First, you need to recognize that the cell phone has become such an important part of who we are.  Contacts galore - personal business and professional. ... 02/13/2007

The Bible & My Real Estate Business - James 1: 19-21   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate, Hemet CA  Good morning.  If you are joining me for the first time, reading one of my Bible studies, I would ask that you go back to the beginning and see what it is that has motivated me to take on this task that I am being led to do.  Then you might want to follow the series to what I wrote on Saturday and then catch up with the part of my study I published yesterday.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JAMES Chapter 1, Verse 19-21"So then my beloved brethren let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (20) for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (21) Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the impla... 02/12/2007

Market Forecast with an Attitude!?  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR® Real Estate, Hemet CA I was reading some industry news.  First I saw one article and then another that were each reporting on different economic indicators that when you add them all together makes things sound a bit optimistic., so I thought I would share.First, David Lereah, NAR's chief economist believes that we are starting a cycle of steady increases in existing home sales.  His optimistic view is that we bottomed out 4th quarter 2006 - sounds good to me, but this alone is not reason to celebrate, is it? .Mr. Lereah is projecting that the rise will continue right through next year.On a negative note, NAR is projecting that new homes will continue to lose ground until later this year.  OK, Mr. Lereah, please let m... 02/11/2007

HEMET MARKET ANALYSIS - EXPIRED LISTINGS - DECEMBER 2006  by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate, Hemet CAIn an earlier blog article I looked at the Expired listings throughout the year 2006, but I never finished December, since I wrote the last article on the subject on December 31st - and believe it or not, but in the last day of the year 7 more properties expired.Before we get too deep into the Expired listings and what they mean to the market, let's take a look back at the blog I wrote last month, comparing 2005 and 2006.  Here is a short excerpt covering the month of December for both years: DECEMBER2005                129 New Listings         Average Asking Price:  $332,8582006                107 New Listings         Average Asking Price:  $359,8552005                128 SOLD ... 02/11/2007

The Bible & My Real Estate Business - James 1: 17-18   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate, Hemet CA   This morning I continue my Bible Study in the Book of James.  If this is the first blog you have read of mine, where I am studying let me ask you to return and read my two previous posts.I am attempting to write how the Bible and my faith in Jesus Christ affect my business on a daily basis.  There are many personal issues that I am working with, that I will not bring to this discussion.  This is strictly how I run my business or plan on running my business, based on Biblical teachings and principals.So far, I have received words of encouragement and then I have received comments trying to trap me into a debate on the validity of my faith.  First I appreciate the encouragement as... 02/11/2007

The Bible & My Real Estate Business - James 1: 12-16   by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate, Hemet CAI recently wrote a blog explaining why this series of posts are so important to me.  Please read about my motivation and then join me for my thoughts on the Book of James, Chapter 1, verses 12-16.I started my study yesterday when I discussed the opening verses of James.  Please understand that I am reading the whole book and the whole Bible, verse by verse.  I suppose if I dwelled enough into every word, I could certainly find application to my business.  The application I find for my personal life is between me and God - this is about The Bible and Real Estate.  It is not about me looking for something to write about, it is about how the Spirit is guiding me.In this passage, James... 02/10/2007

My Real Estate Business and a Christian Dilemma  by  John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR® Hemet CA Real Estate I recently started a new morning routine, that I am now near the second week of, and so far I have done very well.  I think I am at the point where my routine is becoming automatic.My alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. - OK I lay in bed for a bit, but I am up in the kitchen making coffee before 5:30 and then I am up to about 20 minutes of stretching and exercise.I know that 20 minutes does not sound like much, but it has been years since I have done this.  You may have seen the GAZELLE advertised on TV in an Infomercial - well I have been looking at this thing in my Family room for over 2 years.  I used if for about a month when I first got it, then we had house guests (my step son and daug... 02/10/2007

HEMET MARKET ANALYSIS - By Zip Code - JANUARY 2007by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate - Hemet, CAMy last article I took a close look at all of the properties that sold in Hemet CA during the month of January, 2007 and compared to January 2006 & 2005 as well as the December preceding each January.In this article, I want to look at the demographic differences between the three zip codes that make up Hemet - 92543, 92544 & 92545.First I should define each zip code geographically to help the visitor understand the lay of the land.Starting in the east, zip code 92544 covers all of the unincorporated area of both Valle Vista and East Hemet.  The zip code expands briefly into the incorporated area of the City of Hemet, east of San Jacinto Avenue.  Just as a pointer, if you are on Florid... 02/09/2007

HEMET MARKET ANALYSIS - JANUARY 2007by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTORReal Estate - Hemet, CAWith all of the talk of doom and gloom I suppose the one good thing is that we can't get upset when the news is less then stellar.  And that's what I have to report about the Hemet Housing market, looking back at January 2007. None of the numbers that I will be reporting on will include homes that were sold without a REALTOR and the MLS - either through private parties or directly from the builders.  These numbers are strictly re-sale transactions that have been accomplished with the assistance of a REALTOR and the MLS.If we look back over the past two years, there were 99 homes that closed escrow and were reported as sold to the Hemet MLS in January, 2005.  Then last year, as the market was starti... 02/09/2007