With so much said in the news about foreclosures and short sales just some facts.
At this moment the bank owned properties are selling well, the lower price range of our market is selling, some bank owned properties were priced so low that they had more than 20 offers on them and I know of one property ( NW Santa Rosa) that went into escrow $100,000 over asking. It will be interesting to see the numbers when these transactions close.
Financial Title did sent me enclosed stat, an overview of the sub prime ARM’s that will mature the coming months/are maturing now. Sorry to say that quite a bit of these will end up as foreclosure. Banks are only interested to sell these properties as fast as they can.
While you have to be careful buying these (use a good Realtor), they are excellent opportunities for investors and buyers. Should you like to be on my ‘opportunities watch list’, just send me and email with your contact info so I can set you up. By the way, not only bank owned properties are great deals, sometimes a regular sale might be a better deal.
We are going to have a wonderful weekend, great for touring around Sonoma County an enjoy some wines. I did meet Pat Maier at the Chamber Expo this week, she was pouring an excellent 2005 Cabernet. Check out their website, you have to make an appointment to taste their wines, they are also available at some great restaurants in town (one was Willi’s Wine bar in Larkfield).
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mirjam (mirjam@C21alliance.com)
Yesterday we had what most likely will be the last in a series of the Smart Home Choices Workshop. It was a great success, I counted about 80 home owners and great feedback.
It was great to see that banks have ramped up their assistance for troubled homeowners but it was clear that if you need help from your lender you do need to do a lot of homework -> banks are not social security. Should you like a copy of the handouts given, please let me know.
Data from Harvard University’s Joint Center of Housing Studies illustrate not only that the median net wealth of homeowners is 34 times greater than that of renters, but also that over half of that wealth is generated from home equity.
The website Housing Markets Facts mentions :The Department of Commerce reports that between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated a little over $4,000 in net worth. The average homeowner accumulated $184,400. That translates into $180,000 more, or $1,500 per month. In other words, each month that the average first-time buyer continues to rent, it costs them $1,500 in lost wealth accumulation. Furthermore, renters are subject to rent increases as well as higher tax rates because they cannot take a mortgage deduction.
So no matter how difficult it is: if you can, hold on to your house.
Have a great day!
Mirjam de Rijk
On the bottom of this page (scroll down) you will find the announcement for the Smart Home Choices Workshop. If you are interested in real estate and want to know more about the financial aspect, you are cordially invited to come. The program is going to be great! You can register online.
Somewhere I read the 70% of all the people that went into foreclosure never talked to their lender to see whether they could arrange a solution. It’s the fear, the shame, name it. Whatever it is, I think it’s also because of lack of knowledge. - The Smart Home Choices Seminar will be educational! However, there is a company that is there to help home owners to keep their homes. Lowering the interest rates is not the only solution.
This company is called HOPE, it stands for Homeownership Preservation. It’s good to know about companies like these. In our area, Redwood Credit Union will alway refer you to HOPE.
Foreclosure is not a good solution, it’s the last solution. There are many alternatives that should be tried first.
Of course, should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Denise or me.
Have a great day!
Mirjam