Some buyers are trying to time the bottom of the market and purchase once it appears that prices are consistently and steadily rising. Many housing forecasters advise against this approach as buyers should not view their homes solely as investment opportunities. Historically, the average annual rate of return on a home lived in for five years or more is nearly 12 percent, based on data C.A.R. has collected over the last 40 years.
Despite what you make think: today is a great day to buy your next home in Sonoma County.
Have a great weekend,
Mirjam
Mirjam on July 3rd 2009 in Buyers, Sonoma County info
Mark Quinn provided a very informative presentation at the April 1 meeting of the Sonoma County Alliance held at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club. The Sonoma County Alliance is a county-wide coalition of business, agriculture, labor and individuals incorporated to encourage a healthy economy, maintain a sound environment, protect private property rights and promote a responsive political process. Their monthly forums seek to maintain a visible force in community affairs; engage elected officials in dialogue regarding the establishment of public policy; provide a forum for its membership concerning land use and development, housing, taxation and allied matters; and increase membership interest and participation in legislative and political affairs on a countywide basis.
Mr. Quinn discussed the recent changes to the SBA 7a and 504 programs in addition to discussing a new program entitled the “American Recovery Program” that will be available in the next 6 weeks. These programs are the backbone of loans for working capital as well as real estate and business acquisition for small businesses.
According to the SBA website www.sba.gov, “The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.” The Obama Administration has specifically set aside funds to stimulate the small business economy since it is recognized that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength during this recession. Large companies are shedding jobs and it is small businesses that hopefully will add jobs under the government stimulus plans.
Some if the program changes that Mr. Quinn discussed where 1) increase funds of $50M distributed to non-profits for the SBA Micro loan program 2) SBA 7a fees waived which are normally passed on to the small business from banks and the increase from 75%-90% guarantee to banks, and 3) the potential of the Dept of Treasury to buy 7a loans on the secondary market where some banks pick up added revenue. He also introduced the American Recovery Program which will be a new SBA program that will provide “short” term loans specifically for business that may be facing short-term cash flow problems during the recession. Loans will be up to $35,000 and the SBA will pay the first year interest and payment due for the first year. Further details forthcoming in the next few weeks for this program.
Mr. Quinn acknowledged that more resources are needed for the department to assist in processing loans and streamlining the process however it is up to Congress to fund SBA’s activities. He was hopeful that some additional funds will be increased for operations under the stimulus plan since the SBA heavily depends on it SBA “preferred” banks to really carry the burden of local underwriting, processing and outreach.
Denise Beeson works with Small Business Owners and Real Estate professionals specializing in placing commercial loans including SBA with preferred lending institutions and private money financing.
Windsor schools have unveiled their new website : www.wusd.org.
Great website, easy to navigate, allows you link to the different schools in Windsor, to pay fees online and coming soon will also allow parent access to individual student records.
Windsor is a great place to live, did you visit the town green lately and sipped your latte at Caffe Noto or Starbucks?
Should you need the perfect hair cut, please visit Bella Nova Salon be, a great place to experience. They are always looking for better products with less toxins/healthier ways to treat your hair. They also offer online booking, tell them I send you and you will receive a 10% discount on your first treatment.
Last week barrel tasting… our visit to Windsor Oaks Winery was perfect as was the last time, great wines, great location and they just started a wine club. Ask Regina for more info: Regina@windsoroaks.com.
And by the way… should you decide Windsor is the place for you to live… there are a few houses right now on the market on just the perfect locations. Should you like to stay on top of these great deals, just let me know and I will put you on my special update list.
Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)
Earlier this week I had the privilege to be at a financial seminar organized by Wachovia Securities. Senior Portfolio Manager Margaret Patel was the first speaker and besides a lot of valuable information she expects the real estate market to go further down, about 10-15%. Of course this forecast is based on the financial and economic situation in general and is an overview of the real estate market nation wide. However, all real estate is local and the following charts show what’s currently happening in the real estate market in Sonoma County. Please feel free to give your opinion, quite frankly I think with numbers like these we might have hit bottom in Sonoma County…
In the mean time, don’t forget that we live in beautiful Sonoma County and this weekend and the next weekend is Wine Road Barrel Tasting.
Should you like to go next week, it’s cheaper to order tickets ahead of time, click here to order.
Have a great day!
Mirjam -707-486-2638
Some people have compared the current financial turbulence to the 1930’s and other ‘black days’. Some facts to know:
- More than 1000 banks closed in 1930 – only 14 U.S. banks have been taken over in 2008
- There are 76 million households in the U.S. that own their home - 24 million of these homes are free and clear
- There are 52 million homes with mortgages - 97.2% of these are not in foreclosure, 93.8% of these homes are current on their payments
On a sobering note:
- Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage owe more than their home is worth
- 40% of all foreclosures are non-owner occupied
How did we get here?
Resale numbers – the above does not include new home sales.
Sources: Wall Street Journal / Moody’s Economy.com / RealtyTrac / NAR / Forbes
Do you see the problem and thus the predicament we’re in? Something had to happen one way or the other. Of course no one wanted it to be this bad. Let’s see what’s going to happen the coming time. In the mean time, Pat Kitano has a great way of keeping us informed -
In the mean time, it’s an excellent time to buy real estate!
Mirjam
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Denise on September 15th 2008 in Economy, RE Investing, Sonoma County info
Isn’t it great, all the tools we have to totally check out a property before setting foot in it? Of course when a property is for sale there is the property website : www.3605Sumatra.com is an example, the virtual tours: here’s on of my newest versions and the Google satellite views.
And now there is Google Street View… And MSN has bird eye view. Here is my office, it’s on the corner… Did you get a chance to travel through your neighborhood?
The Pressdemocrat had an article about the privacy issues involved. The people who are concerned to make a point, in the meantime: it’s a great tool to ’scope out’ a property and a neighborhood before even visiting the property.
There is ofcourse lot’s more to learn about a property when you decide to sell or buy, but technology today gives a great start.
Have a great exploring day!
Mirjam
Mirjam on July 29th 2008 in Sellers, Buyers, Sonoma County info
The Press Democrat had a article about the “Bittersweet windfall”: when you bought you home at the height of the market, you can ask for an adjustment for your property taxes. Your Realtor can help you with the ‘comps’ by the way, just call and ask. he/she will know what you need.
However, coming back on the article: Now is a great time to buy property, most people know that by know. However, ever thought of the fact that it’s also a great time to move up/move down? Yes you will sell your home for less than if you would have sold it in 2005 however, what you are moving into is also less and guess what the basis is for your property taxes… yep, current market value, in most cases the price you paid for the home. And for investors: quite a few properties do cash flow…
Actually my friend Raquel stated it very smart: it doesn’t matter when you buy or sell as long as you do it in the same market. It’s very difficult to time a market, investors do in some way, but so far the people that were waiting for the market to come down/go up have done nothing at all. So Raquel is right: ‘do the math’ see whether it makes sense and make your dreams come true!
And some stats to prove that sales are picking up:
Have a great weekend. Great recommendation from Pat Pisenti (best Chiropractor in town) for a small winery with great wines: Porter Creek Vineyards. I haven’t been there recently so let me know what you think.
Have a great day!
Mirjam de Rijk - email: mirjam@c21alliance.com
Pete Phillippe from Indymac Bank was so kind to send an extensive overview with updates in underwriting as of June 1, 2008 Industry wide General Loan guidelines by the Secondary market (some variance with specific Lenders).
- With Foreclosures , reestablished credit history now 3 yrs after event before a new loan given
- No 60 plus mortgage lates within the last 12 months
- Authorized users of credit trade lines will no longer be considered in credit decisions. Can’t piggyback on someone’s good history. FICO now is “not using” card holders good scores for the authorized user to improve their own scores
- On interest only loans, borrowers have to be qualified on the full principal and interest payment
- Min. credit scores 640 for 1 to 2 unit properties, 680for three to four units . . .620 if LTV less than 75% of property value
- Stated income loans max. 80% ltv for w-2 wage earners and self employed or commissioned borrowers, or combinations of salaried and commissioned. Usually 700 middle ficos required. Cash out? 75% ltv’s
- With FHA loans 580 and above FICOs still ok with alternative credit documentation and “good” credit explanations
Dont’ forget, these are general guidelines, exeptions are possible with every lender. For more info, you can also contact Pete Phillipe @ Indymac bank 707-535-1263. He will give all his client free credit reports.
More to come in the coming days.
Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)
David Leonhardt had an interesting thought in this morning’s NY times.
After being a renter for all the good reasons, he finally decided to buy. The article did make sense, however he forgets the rules of inflation. How much was a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home in the area where you live 30 years ago? How much was the rent at that time? How much is the rent for that same home right now? To my opinion, in the long run it’s better to buy than to rent, however, if you only plan to live in an area for 1 year (for work or other reasons) you’re probably better of renting.
The New York Times also featured an interesting graph (Buying vs renting). It’s fun to play with it, don’t forget about the rules of inflation though…
And by the way… today is a great day to buy real estate in Sonoma County!
Have a great day!
Mirjam (707-486-2638)
Mirjam on May 30th 2008 in Economy, Buyers, Sonoma County info