Santa Maria First Time Home Buyer Alert: What Does "Pending" Mean?        First time home buyers driving around Santa Maria or looking on my websites may see a home or condo marked "pending" and wonder what that means.  Properties are marked "pending" when the seller has accepted an offer on the home.  Once an offer has been accepted, the property is marked "pending," and the buyer places their initial deposit on the home into escrow.  The escrow company serves as a neutral intermediary during the sale.  While the buyer performs their inspections (including a home inspection), reviews the disclosures provided by the seller, and secures their financing the home remains "pending" until the transaction closes. 10/20/2010

Pier at Avila Beach How to Buy HUD Foreclosures in Santa Maria & Orcutt           First you should find a HUD selling agent, as only HUD selling agents can show and write offers on HUD properties.  Mint Properties is a HUD selling agent and can assist you with this process.  Sometimes HUD properties are advertised on the local MLS, but I've found that often they are not.  Typically, HUD homes are listed on Friday and you must check the HUD website to find their newly listed foreclosures.    The good news is that HUD just published a new more user friendly website at www.HUDHomeStore.com which has a quick search option and clean layout.  It offers information on HUD approved lenders, the Good Neighbor Next Door Program, and access to national real estate statistics.  Keep an eye out for... 10/20/2010

Can I offer less than the asking price on an Approved Short Sale?           Central Coast Coastline The answer to this is, yes, definitely.  An approved short sale is a short sale where the bank has already indicated acceptable price and terms.   As the HAFA program comes into greater usage, we will supposedly see more approved short sales on the market.  The HAFA program provides a way for sellers to get an approved price on their short sale before listing it on the market.  The advantage of bidding on an approved short sale is that you know the bank is open to short selling the house.  The disadvantage is that the bank may be married to the approved price.  Even if market conditions have shifted, some banks will stick like glue to a previously approved price.  If enough time has passe... 10/20/2010

Santa Maria Rental Home Buyer Alert:  How Much Down Payment is required to buy a Rental or Investment Property in Santa Maria?            Townhome in Gated Arborwalk Community in Santa Maria CA   Many investors that I am currently working with in the Santa Maria and Lompoc real estate market are paying all cash for their rental homes.  That is why the market for foreclosures is so difficult for Santa Maria home buyers using FHA/VA financing; it is difficult to compete against a cash offer on a foreclosure where the bank wants to make no repairs to the property.  That is because in the face of an uncertain stock market and low interest returns on CDs and savings accounts, many are turning back to real estate as an investment.  Home prices have come back into reality, and rents overall fo... 10/20/2010

Santa Maria Short Sale Alert:  What is a Contingent Short Sale?         Contingent short sales are all over the Santa Maria market.  Santa Maria home buyers are always asking me about them.  They linger on the market.  Often the seller is requesting no more showings.  But why?  With so many buyers looking for homes and condos in Santa Maria, why do these properties linger on the market?  The answer is of course bank delay.  Listings are marked "contingent short sale" after the seller has accepted an offer and has submitted their short sale package to the bank.  The contingency period is time period the bank takes to approve the short sale.  So, the fact that a property remains a contingent short sale for a long period usually has to do with bank delay.  This can frustrate buyers as ther... 10/14/2010

Santa Maria First Time Home Buyer Alert         How much money do I need for a down payment?   Walkway at Oak Creek Villas in Orcutt, CA   I'm afraid the days of 100% financing for everyone are gone. Unless you are a veteran with a VA home loan benefit, or buying in a rural area through the USDA loan program, there are not many 100% financing options. (Santa Maria does not qualify as a rural area, but in the past, Guadalupe and parts of Nipomo have qualified). Most first time buyers I've worked with in Santa Maria real estate market are using the FHA loan program which allows for a reduced down payment of 3.5%. So, if you are buying a $200,000 home in Santa Maria you would need to save $7000 for the down payment. The FHA loan program also allows you to receive these funds as a gift from... 10/13/2010

Santa Maria Short Sale Information Alert What is an approved short sale?         An “approved” short sale is a short sale where the short sale lender has already communicated to the seller what they will accept as an offer for the property. The approval can be verbal or written, and of course, written approval is preferable. As a seller, if your short sale is “approved” you know what your target price is from a buyer. The HAFA program has its advantages for Santa Maria short sale sellers because it can provide you with the bottom line that the bank will accept before even listing your Santa Maria home. As a buyer, approved short sales offer an advantage because they can often close quickly as opposed to other short sales which must still go through the process of approval with the bank.... 10/13/2010

Santa Maria Real Estate:  Tips for Buying Santa Maria Foreclosures Be prepared: 1)      For an "as-is" purchase  - Banks don't like to make repairs, and you will find that the Santa Maria real estate is littered with bank sellers who intend to make no repairs to their properties.  This may even include situations where the property has been cited by the City of Santa Maria for violations of the municipal code.  Santa Maria foreclosure buyers should research these issues by contacting the City of Santa Maria, City Attorney's Office and the City of Santa Maria Planning Department.  Banks are exempt from some disclosures and many take this small exemption as license to make less than complete disclosures about a listed property.   Santa Marias buyer should be prepared to accept foreclosure... 10/13/2010

Santa Maria Real Estate:  Tips to Buying Santa Maria Short Sales   Santa Maria City Hall   1)   Be prepared for an "as-is" purchase.  Many times there is deferred maintenance on short sale listings.  Often owners in financial distress stop performing maintenance on the home either willfully and because they lack the funds.  You can ask a short sale seller to make repairs,  but often they are unable or unwilling to do so since they are losing their home.   You can also approach the short sale lender and ask that they allow the cost of the repairs to be deducted from their "net" but often the answer will be no, even if the repairsare required by your  lender in order to originate your new loan.  This can make purchasing a short sale difficult if you are using VA financing which prohibits ... 10/07/2010

Santa Maria Real Estate Alert: Beware of Rental Scams on Craig’s’ List This scam is a good example of the old adage – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The hook: Extremely cheap rent The hint: Sending money out of the country via cashier’s check There is a common scam run on websites (Craig’s List in particular, but not exclusively) whereby properties that are listed for sale with an agent are fraudulently advertised for rent. Typically, the person running the rental ad tells potential renters that they are overseas working (in the armed services or as a missionary, etc.) and they advertise very cheap rent. They ask the potential tenant to send a cashier’s check for the first and last month’s rent and/or a prepayment of several months of rent in exchange for them mailing... 10/06/2010

Santa Maria Real Estate: Tips for Buying Santa Maria Foreclosures Be prepared: 1) For an “as-is” purchase – Banks don’t like to make repairs, and you will find that the Santa Maria real estate is littered with bank sellers who intend to make no repairs to their properties. This may even include situations where the property has been cited by the City of Santa Maria for violations of the municipal code. Santa Maria foreclosure buyers should research these issues by contacting the City of Santa Maria, City Attorney’s Office and the City of Santa Maria Planning Department. Banks are exempt from some disclosures and many take this small exemption as license to make less than complete disclosures about a listed property. Santa Marias buyer should be prepared to accept foreclosures “as is” an... 10/06/2010

Are you in the market for a condo in Santa Maria CA? There are currently 98 condos listed for sale in the Santa Maria real estate market. The average price is about $170,000 and sellers are asking about $124 per square foot for Santa Maria condominiums. The lowest price is currently $89,900 and the highest price is $290,000. In the last 6 months, 74 condos have sold in Santa Maria. The average selling price was about $176,000 with sellers getting 98.5% of their asking price and buyers paying $124 per square for a condo in Santa Maria. Search for a Santa Maria condo: List of Santa Maria Condos $50,000 - $100,000List fo Santa Maria Condos $100,000 - $150,000List of Santa Maria Condos $150,000 - $200,000List of Santa Maria Condos $200,000 - $300,000 *Based on the information from the Centr... 10/06/2010

The Santa Maria Association of Realtors Real Estate Fraud Task Force Blog has issued this alert about short sale flipping: The California Department of Real Estate issued a warning in March 2010 against the practice of short sale flipping when the short sale lender is unaware that they are being presented with an under market bid for the home.  Short sales are common these days, in fact everywhere you go people are talking about them.  Basically, if you owe more on your mortgage than it is worth, and you have a financial hardship, you can ask your lender (short sale lender) to accept a short sale.  During that process you show the lender your financial position, and present the lender with a market value offer for the home.  Indeed, most lenders will not look at your short sale applicat... 10/06/2010

Have you checked out Central City Market in Santa Maria Town Center mall yet?  If you head to the Macy's annex and look directly across from the new location for Gina's Piece of Cake you will make a delightful discovery.  Central City market is part deli, part gourmet grocery, and it fills a much needed void for the local wine and food enthusiast (i.e. food snob).  The items included in their inventory have been thoughtfully selected and are displayed in a manner that will draw you in rather than overwhelm you with excess.  Stop over by the deli case to find out the daily special or get a toothpicked taste of the best thing going on right at the moment.  But, don't pass up the desserts in this place, you will regret it.  Thankfully, they offer sizes that one person could actually eat, b... 09/29/2010

The first half of 2010 has been pretty dramatic with the $8000 federal tax credit extension and the introduction of the $10,000 California new home and first time home buyer credit.  Buyers were on a roller coaster with the first two months having moderate activity, then a blaze of activity in March and April followed by low activity in May and June.  Overall sales for the 6 month period were high with 553 properties being sold in the Santa Maria Orcutt area. Search Santa Maria Homes $150000 - $200000The average selling price in Santa Maria and Orcutt for homes, PUDs and condos was $248,639 with 71 days on market and $152 per square foot paid.   Looking at just single family homes during this same time period, the average was higher at $261,975 with the same 71 days on market and $157 p... 09/29/2010

March 15, 2010 - Are you an all cash buyer? Wondering what the cheap foreclosure homes sell for in Santa Maria? Last month, the average foreclosure property in Santa Maria sold for $210,630, and for over its list price by nearly 2%. But, how much for the cheap ones you ask? There were 30 homes that sold, and the cheapest was a 2 bedroom one bath fixer on West Mill which sold for $90,350. After that the cheapest foreclosure sold in Santa Maria was 3 bedroom one bath home on East Las Flores (near Hancock College) which sold for $109,900.* Search below for today's cheap foreclosure houses in Santa Maria: *Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its acc... 09/29/2010

Blogs Alert for: short sale The Short Sale Process: What You Need to Know | REALTOR.com® BlogsBy Lisa Lyons Short sales represent an opportunity for homeowners to avoid the devastating consequences of foreclosure. REALTOR® Jason Opland's latest blog focuses on the.REALTOR.com® Blogs - http://www.realtor.com/blogs/ Use A Lender Short Sale for a New Start | FavStocksBy Chandler Man A new newspaper account in Queen Creek, Arizona proclaims that the bank short sale can save millions of house owners facing a likely foreclosure. At one point.FavStocks - http://www.favstocks.com/ New Pains to Bank of America's Short Sale ProcessBy whbsolutions Bank of America recently has introduced their online application, Equator (previously named REOtrans), for managing their short sale transactions. Their... 05/23/2010

FORECLOSURE vs. SHORT SALE Homeowner (Borrower) Consequences   Issue Foreclosure Successful Short Sale Future Fannie Mae Loan (Primary Residence1) A homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for a period of 5 years. A homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage after only 2 years. Future Fannie Mae Loan (Non-Primary Residence2) An investor who allows a property to go to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage for a period of 7 years. An investor who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage after only 2 years. Future Loan with any Mortgage Company On any future application, a pr... 05/13/2010

BUYERS, do you ever encounter a seller who wants to keep a buyer in the "deal" and therefore demands a non-refundable deposit?  And then maybe gets carried away and demands more than they should?  In fact, is downright greedy?  Those sellers, including REO banks/lenders/sellers, should beware! Hot off the Press:  NONREFUNDABLE DEPOSIT DEEMED INVALID An agreement for a "nonrefundable" escrow deposit is invalid and unenforceable, according to the recent California case of Kuish v. Smith (2010 WL 373225). This case serves as a good reminder for REALTORS® that inserting a "nonrefundable deposit" provision into a real property purchase contract may be legally ineffective. The Kuish case involved a $620,000 escrow deposit for the purchase of a $14 million oceanfront home in Laguna Beach. Inst... 03/29/2010

Straight from the horse's mouth!  The appraisal says: ____________________________________________________ DEFINITION OF LIQUIDATION VALUE Liquidation value is the likely price of an asset when it is allowed insufficient time to sell on the open market, thereby reducing its exposure to potential buyers. Liquidation value is typically lower than fair market value. Unlike cash or securities, certain illiquid assets, like real estate, often require a period of several months in order to obtain their fair market value in a sale, and will generally sell for a significantly lower price if a sale is forced to occur in a shorter time period. Liquidation value may be either the result of a forced liquidation or an orderly liquidation. Either value assumes that the sale is consummated by a seller... 03/04/2010