Below are some important points to consider regarding the timing of purchasing a home in Irvine California.   This Weekend my 24 year old daughter flew down to spend the weekend with me in Orange County, CA. I was amazed at how many questions she had regarding home buying. I should mention that although Ashley has two college degree's, she is very much a late bloomer and since college has moved back home with her Mom. I mention this so you understand, she was not the type of kid to move out early and focus on rushing through her life like I was. When my daughter, being laid back begins stressing about whether or not she should buy a house, this is a wake-up call to all of us!   The morning I listened to a well respected analyst predict that housing would fall another 25%. His reasoning ... 12/13/2008

Mortgage rate drops will indeed help home buyers and owners in the OC, California. We talk with first time homebuyers and investors and recommend them to mortgage brokers and lenders.  Getting people prequalified to move forward to the end of buying a home and property is part of what we do as Realtor agents.     Folks at Orange County will benefit by part of the proposed plan by the U.S. Treasury Dept. to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase mortgage loans with interest rates of 4.5 percent. This plan has and will encourage homeowners at the OC to apply for refinancing and buyers to apply for and get new loans.      It's wrong to say that the California real market is controlled by those would would buy and sell the higher value homes.  Most of the homes selling these days in the O... 12/13/2008

One of my favorite ways to "ring" in the season is listening to handbells - and this is a wonderful event!   Celebrate the season with uplifting music! The City of Irvine invites the community to ring in the season with the joyful sounds of concert handbells and a concert of seasonal and holiday music. Enjoy performances by: Concert Handbells of Concordia University, Irvine New Orange County Children’s Choir Evergreen Choir, IVC Emeritus Program Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, Chorale Saturday, December 13th, a pre-show featuring concert handbells will begin at 9:15 a.m. The choral concert will begin at 10:00 a.m., and will conclude with a reception for the public to meet the performers. This year, the Joyful Jingles family holiday concert will be presented for the first time at Irvine... 12/09/2008

So how much of a difference will a significant interest rate drop make for Orange County, CA home buyers? For some people it will be a mean lower payment. For others, the increased buying power will afford them a better home, extra bedroom, bigger yard, or whatever it is that will meet a home buyers needs.It is estimated that a .5% drop in interest rates will result in approximately a $15,000 to $25,000 higher purchase price without increasing the monthly payment, depending on the actual purchase price the buyer is targeting.Below are 3 scenarios, each based on an FHA loan, which only currently only requires a 3% down payment. Effective January 1, 2009, FHA will require a 3.5% down payment. FHA has become the loan of choice for Orange County, CA home buyers who have less than 10% for do... 12/04/2008

What is the difference between getting a PreQualification versus PreApproval? Why do I need either? I hear these questions quite a bit. There are very good reasons why a potential home buyer would want to get PreApproved, and there are important differences between a PreQualification and a PreApproval.PreQualificationA PreQualification is based on verbal information received from a borrower, many times just over the phone. Answers to questions such as: What do you do for work? How long have you worked for your current employer? Are you paid hourly or on salary? Full time, 40 hours per week? Overtime or bonuses? How much do you currently pay for rent? How much of a mortgage payment are you comfortable with? How is your credit? Any idea of your current FICO score? Do you have any car paym... 12/01/2008

Irvine Properties For Lease And Rent Are you looking for a home to rent or lease in Irvine? If so this is where you will find all the properties that are available. The best part is, our services are FREE. All fees are paid for by the landlord/owner of the properties. You only pay for a $15.00 fee per applicant over 18 years of age for the credit report. If you have any questions or if you would like to set up a time to see any properties for lease or rent in Irvine or Orange County, please contact Fred Sed at (949) 274-3733. PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR LEASE & RENT Fred Sed (949) 274-3733 FredSed@BestOCProperties.com Prevent OC Foreclosure (To reference a property, use the MLS # that is located next to the pictures. It is in bold and it starts with a letter then a series of numbers) 11/28/2008

The 203K program has been around for a while, but a few years ago the "Streamline" version of the program was released by HUD. The 203K is a Rehab loan program. The more popular "Streamline K" program is good for up to $35,000 in improvements. When this is combined with the fact that you can buy a home with an FHA loan with only 3% down (will be 3.5% in 2009) and then get an additional $35,000 to improve the home, the program really stands out as something to be considered.This program is not just for purchasing a home. It can also be used as part of a refinance to make improvements to a home. Borrowers who want to improve their home instead of move. To see a video I put together on this program, click here.The Best Deals are on the Damaged Bank REO'sIn Orange County, CA home buyers are... 11/27/2008

It's that time of the year once again. Time to decide if you will put that home purchase you've been planning off until after the holidays, or try to close escrow on a home before the end of the year. This year there are a few things to consider that may push you to take action now. The Jumbo FHA limits are going away. The good news for many Orange County home buyers is that the new FHA limit will still be fairly high at $625,500, but the temporary limit of $729,750 is about to expire. Any buyer who is shopping in a price range between $660,000 to $800,000, and was planning to put either a minimum down payment of 3.5%, or even between 5% and 10% down, needs to act quickly if they are to take advantage of the temporary limits. Many lenders have already cut off the temporary limits, but F... 11/25/2008

WHY WORRY ABOUT NEWS OF HOME PRICES GOING UP OR DOWN?   TRUE ECONOMIC VALUE OF A SOUTH OC HOME ... REAL ESTATE ... IS DETERMINED BY BUYER DEMAND. WHAT ARE BUYER DEMAND FACTORS AT SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY?   Are there successful business and employment centers nearby? (We have robust economy here at South OC, lots of good and solid companies) Are there people with jobs who want to get into the South OC market and buy homes?  (pent up demand) What is the quality and desirability of South OC geography?  Are there hills or flat land?  Are there folks who want to move into the South OC cities and neighborhoods?   What's the strength and quality of local development and governance. Does the city provide good information? Is there business and solid commercial building and activity nearby?   Is the... 11/12/2008

Well, it seems like Bernanke understands it.  He has hinted that the economy will ride its road to recovery when the housing market recovers.  And he recently outlined a number of possible ways to structure housing finance but did not state his own preferences, as reported by Jeff Collins at the O.C. Register. Bernanke thinks that in this aftermath of the housing finance system, the reconstruction of finance will need better safeguards to allow it to function during times of stress.  He also wants the new lending systemizations not to pose a systemic risk to our financial markets and the economy. I get it...so now what? Comments are welcome... And thank you for making me Your Orange County Real; Estate Connection.   Best regards. Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CBR CRS GRI 2007 Presiden... 11/04/2008

MARKET UPDATE, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA  - TURTLE ROCK VILLAGE is a special place ... beautiful and most popular area of Irvine and South OC.  MARKET UPDATE - TURTLE ROCK, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA Located in the rolling hills about 20 minutes to the east from the Pacific Ocean and Corona del Mar.  Turtle Rock is made up of 23 different residential communities and 3,481 SFR detached and condominium homes. Broadmoor Turtle Rock homes;  Campus View Broadmoor homes; Concordia homes by Fieldstone;  Crest Akins homes;  Crest homes by Standard Pacific;  Glen Garden Homes by Irvine Pacific;  Glen Patio Homes by Broadmoor;  Glen Townhomes Irvine Pacific;  Highlands Garden by Bren;  Highlands by Lusk;  Highlands Townhomes Akins;  Ridge Townhomes Akins;  Hills President by Anderson & Middlebrook;  Turtle Rock... 10/31/2008

October 25th, from 2:00 to 5:00, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine will host their first Great Park Pumpkin Harvest.   Bring the whole family for all kinds of fun with a pumpkin patch,  pumpkin decorating, games, petting zoo, and mask making.  At 3:00 there will be a Monster Mash and at 4:00 there will be marching in the Great Halloween Costume Parade.  Click here for directions. The event is sponsored by the Great Park Neighborhoods, the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Great Park Conservancy. Second Harvest Food Bank recently opened its new Orange County headquarters at the Great Park.  A food drive will be underway at the Great Park Pumpkin Harvest.  They are looking for canned fruits, vegetables and meat products, dry and packaged goods,  refrigerated and frozen products, prepa... 10/24/2008

Driving the streets of Shady Canyon feels like you've suddenly been relocated to Italy. You almost expect to see a donkey cart ambling along. "Almost" as in "it'll never happen", Shady Canyon is a very exclusive gated community in the coastal hills of Irvine. The homes range from $4,000,000 to $20,000.0,00. The private Tom Fazio 18-hole golf course blends seamlessly with the natural open space.I recently toured eight featured homes in Shady Canyon, each one more spectacular than the last one. There are approximately 400 luxury homes and home sites surrounded by 16,000 acres of natural sanctuary. Shady Canyon has extensive trails, a clubhouse, a tennis and swim center with a junior Olympic swimming pool and spa.        Like to see a home in Shady Canyon? Give me a call.Click here to see ... 10/23/2008

Located in the heart of Irvine, Rancho San Joaquin, a public golf course has terrific views of  the newly evolving city. The just built high rise condos, the corporate buildings and proximity to John Wayne Airport  make this area the new business center of Orange County. I've played similar courses in other cities, such as Encanto Golf Course in downtown Phoenix and always enjoy the park like setting of a golf course surrounded by city. You can't help thinking how nice it is that those people in the buildings are hard at work and you're not.     Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course has 3 small lakes which luckily don't come into play too much but the potential for disaster is always there. Palm trees are everywhere and one of them was nice enough to knock down one of my errant shots and keep ... 10/20/2008

TURTLE ROCK VILLAGE is a special place ... beautiful and most popular area of Irvine and South OC.  It's located in the rolling hills about 20 minutes to the east from the Pacific Ocean and Corona del Mar.  Turtle Rock is made up of 23 different residential communities and 3,481 SFR detached and condominium homes. Broadmoor Turtle Rock homes;  Campus View Broadmoor homes; Concordia homes by Fieldstone;  Crest Akins homes;  Crest homes by Standard Pacific;  Glen Garden Homes by Irvine Pacific;  Glen Patio Homes by Broadmoor;  Glen Townhomes Irvine Pacific;  Highlands Garden by Bren;  Highlands by Lusk;  Highlands Townhomes Akins;  Ridge Townhomes Akins;  Hills President by Anderson & Middlebrook;  Turtle Rock Pointe by JM Peters;  Ridge Garden by Standard Pacific;  Ridge Townhomes by Br... 10/20/2008

Irvine Properties For Lease And Rent Are you looking for a home to rent or lease in Irvine? If so this is where you will find all the properties that are available. The best part is, our services are FREE. All fees are paid for by the landlord/owner of the properties. You only pay for a $15.00 fee per applicant over 18 years of age for the credit report. If you have any questions or if you would like to set up a time to see any properties for lease or rent in Irvine or Orange County, please contact Fred Sed at (949) 274-3733. PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR LEASE & RENT Fred Sed (949) 274-3733 FredSed@PGCoastal.com The Pahua Group (To reference a property, use the MLS # that is located next to the pictures. It is in bold and it starts with a letter then a series of numbers) 10/14/2008

What ever happened to knowing your neighbors? Well recently, a homegrown, old fashioned thing happened to me...a neighbor came over to borrow some eggs for baking. She really was not making homemade cookies but blueberry muffins from a box. But when you think about it this is the kind of neighborliness that used to happen a lot more in the "olden days". I remember in the neighborhood where we grew up "out in the valley" that it was common for us neighbors to borrow an item to finish a recipe. Perhaps an egg, cup of sugar or some vanilla were the most common items that we thought we still had in our pantry but forgot to stock up on afterall. And everyone we knew was quick to share. You never knew if you might be the one in need and you always felt willing to give whatever you could to he... 10/13/2008

                                                                        Stressed Out?                                     Need to pull off a Short Sale in Irvine? Most homes for sale in Southern California are typically going to be either a Short Sale, or REO property. What's a Short Sale? Whats an REO, Bank Owned, Foreclosure? What is my home worth in Irvine?  Want to.... Need to .... SHORT SALE IN IRVINE ?                                                           Here at the Nate Secor Group and our Orange County Real Estate Connection, we can help you find a local Irvine Short Sale Specialist to help guide you through this difficult time. Whether  you are financially distressed and unable to make your payments, already are behind them, or are facing foreclosure in Orange County, CONT... 10/03/2008

<!-- p.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in} --> The City of Irvine has eased the stress of commuter congestion with the opening of a new 490,000 square foot parking structure at Irvine Station. The four-level, three-story structure accommodates 1,500 vehicles; nearly tripling the station’s original parking allotment.   Funded by the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans, the $26.8 million structure was completed five weeks ahead of schedule. Located at 15215 Barranca Parkway in the Spectrum area, the Irvine Station has become a growing transportation hub in Orange County, serving an average of 3,000 Amtrak and Metrolink passengers each week day. The sta... 10/01/2008

Irvine has many great Golf Courses and a couple of  great Golf Course Communities to live, work and play in!                                                If you are looking for Golf Course Properties in Irvine, check out these two particular communities by THE VILLAGES OF IRVINE: 1) Oak Creek Golf Homes in Irvine 2) Shady Canyon Golf Course Homes in Irivne   Oak Creek Rancho San Joaquin Pelican Hill Strawberry Farms Tustin Ranch                                          Search Homes in Irvine by Map!   Keywords: IRVINE GOLF COURSESIRVINE GOLF HOMESIRVINE GOLF PROPERTIESIRVINE GOLF COMMUNITIESIRVINE GOLF TEE TIMESIRVINE GOLF RANGESIRVINE GOLF LESSONSIRVINE NEW HOMESIRVINE OAK CREEK HOMES FOR SALEIRVINE SHADY CANYON HOMES 09/30/2008