Rancho Santa Fe in San Marcos?
December 8th, 2009 Categories: San Marcos Real Estate, Uncategorized
–Rancho Santa Fe privacy and land area, that is, but less a $Million or so in pricing.
Coronado Hills Equestrian Home
This property is a true standout in the San Diego real estate market–especially for the home buyer seeking land, views and privacy.
For starters, imagine a lovely and improved 3000 square foot custom home on 3+ horse-friendly acres with stunning hilltop mountain views. The floor plan is open and easily adaptable to a new owner’s use of space.
One of our agents, Christine Wade, recently accepted a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 3-car garage listing in the prime and very private Coronado Hills area of San Marcos. It is rural, yet so close to Cal State San Marcos, shopping–as well as the Sprinter Rail Line that leads to the beach, Palomar College and downtown Oceanside. But the location of this home at 563 Seeforever Drive tells only part of the story.
Its setting is near-perfect and offers:
- New driveway and parking area will accommodate large gatherings. RV parking and waste outlet also on site.
- Large front office or den with fireplace and warm lighting.
- Gourmet kitchen with high-end appliances.
- Laundry and craft room: Perfect for projects!
- Large master suite upstairs with cozy library and spa bath with views. All other bedrooms are downstairs.
- Outdoor covered patio with fireplace perfect for al fresco entertaining.
- Raised organic garden perfect for health-conscious or green-thumbed owner.
- Large workshop near entry driveway offers enormous potential.
The price for this choice and newly-listed San Marcos real estate is just $739,000. For additional information or to arrange for a viewing, call Christine Wade at 760.390.1641
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Pricing Your San Diego Home for Sale
February 25th, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
Real estate pricing in San Diego has become a minefield , much as it has for home buyers and home sellers in the volatile markets that plague most of the world’s real estate today .
As real estate markets shift, the old comparable sales model for offers and pricing may no longer be quite as valid as they once were–and could in fact be dangerous. If sellers overprice their properties–based on prior sales that may have occurred some time ago–they run the risk of having their homes go unsold.
On the other hand, if buyers use the same CMA tools to arrive at an offer for a San Diego home, they run the risk of overpaying–or unsuccessfully bidding too low.
What I am beginning to see is more verbal interaction between agents. We are verbally sharing information about properties and sales before that data ever hits the tax records. This is information we can use to help guide our clients through these dangerous times. Someone who needs to sell a property cannot afford to deal with faulty dated information or an uninformed agent. To do so could result in a home that doesn’t sell and languishes on the market for months. Using the same outdated information, buyers run similar risks of potentially overpaying for a property–or not knowing if a home is fairly priced in today’s market.
Several thoughts:
1. Real estate agents need to be consultative in their approach with clients, and remain closely in touch with one another. As real estate professionals, we need to share with each other what is happening in area markets, in local markets. in neighborhood markets. This is information our clients need.
2. Online valuation tools are perhaps even less valid than they were six months ago. Zillow does a good job in reporting history via public records, but more current information is demanded. Old information can be deadly–but that is all they have to report.
3. I am finding buyers more ready to purchase if they trust their Realtor is digging out the information that is truly needed to craft an offer. More agents are calling each other about pending sales, seeking pricing guidance for both buyers and sellers. This is good and serves our clients well.
Real Estate 2.0 may be all about online interactivity between clients, agents, lenders, stagers and other real estate service providers, but some old school tools come in handy as well. Key among those are gossip and whispers. If a seller in a neighborhood is capitulating in pricing, that is important information for both buying and selling clients. Tax records are useless in this circumstance, and so are the online valuation tools that use them.
It is difficult for all when real estate markets go about their periodic shifts. These are the times when knowledge, experience and sure footing are required of the real estate professional. And by the time the valuation software tools catch onto what is happening, the markets may be quietly shifting again.
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New Fannie Mae Loan Fees Target Condo Buyers, Among Others
January 8th, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
When conforming mortgages started defaulting en masse in late-2007, mortgage guarantor Fannie Mae created a loss-offsetting, fee-generating scheme dubbed “loan-level pricing adjustments”.
The concept was basic: For mortgage applicants with high-risk profiles, collect up-front payments to offset potential long-term losses.
Similar to the auto insurance model in which younger drivers pay higher premiums, riskier applicants pay higher fees.
At the inception of the program, Fannie Mae defined ”risk” as a combination of borrower credit score and home equity percentage. In general, lower FICOs and higher LTVs paid more costs.
Effective April 1, however, Fannie Mae’s definition of risk is expanded. By a lot. Fannie Mae’s new loan-level fees now impact any conforming mortgage that meets any of the following criteria, with the exception of fixed rate loans of 15 years or less.
- Up to 0.75% fee: Secured by a condo/co-op with less than 25% equity
- Up to 0.50% fee: Features a junior mortgage (i.e. HELOC, HELOAN)
- Up to 1.00% fee: Features interest only payment options
- Up to 1.00% fee: Secured to a 2-unit property
- Up to 3.00% fee: Is designated as “cash out”
Each 1 percent in fees equals 1 percent of the borrowed amount. Therefore, a condo buyer with a $200,000 first mortgage and a $25,000 line of credit is subject to a mandatory 1.25% charge of $2,500, due at closing.
However, it doesn’t stop there. Fannie Mae has also adjusted its original FICO-LTV matrix so that nearly every applicant — irrespective of credit score — will face higher closing costs on their home loan.
Mortgage rates may be falling, but the cost of financing a home is rising.
Fannie Mae’s latest announcement is its fifth risk-based pricing update in the last 15 months. It’s likely it won’t be the last, either. Therefore, if you’re torn between to buy a home now or later, consider that the cost of waiting may outweigh the benefits of falling prices or falling rates.
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Sure, Mortgage Rates Are Lower, But Mandatory Fees Are Not
January 7th, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
With respect to mortgage rates, you can’t always believe what you read in the papers. Or what you see.
A terrific example is the chart at right.
Published by Freddie Mac, it shows the 30-year fixed mortgage’s “going rate” as reported by the nation’s mortgage lenders. On December 30, 2008, that rate was 5.1 percent.
But 5.1 percent is only half of the relevant information. There’s a mandated fee schedule that accompanies the Freddie Mac-reported rate survey.
Currently, the published fee required to get a 5.1 percent mortgage rates is 0.7% of the borrowed amount, or $700 per $100,000 borrowed. This fee is more commonly known as “points” and versus last year, it’s nearly doubled from 0.4 points.
So, yes, conforming mortgage rates are low and they have fallen near all-time lows but there’s more to the story than just the interest rate — there are the fees that go with them, too.
Mortgage rates and loan fees often move in opposite directions so to get lower rates, consider paying additional points. Conversely, to face fewer fees, accept a higher rate. It’s a trade-off and your loan officer can help you best understand the choices.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
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Housing Predictions For 2009? Keep 'Em To Yourself.
January 6th, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
The New Year is not yet one week old but that’s not stopping market “experts” from predicting what’s in store for 2009.
The calls on housing and mortgage rates run the gamut:
- Home prices have farther to fall
- Home prices have touched bottom
- Mortgage rates will dip
- Mortgage rates will rise
Put it all together and it’s clear that the experts have no better idea about the future than you or I. Their guesses are educated ones, but they’re guesses nonetheless.
A terrific example of how poorly experts can predict the future comes from a Wall Street Journal performance analysis of 1,700 mutual funds.
In 2008, only one earned a positive return. That one fund represents zero-point-zero-six percent of all tracked mutual funds. Surely, the fund managers of the other 99.94% didn’t expect to post negative returns on the year.
So, before you use predictions about the demise (or recovery) of the broader economy to make “personal economy” decisions, consider that the oft-quoted experts have a hugely better track record in analyzing the past than the future.
All we know for sure right now is that home prices are, in general, lower than at the time point last year, and mortgage rates are, too. By 2010, both could be lower still.
Or they may not.
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A Cleaner, Eco-Friendly Paint For Your Home
January 5th, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
Poor indoor air quality is linked to Sick Building Syndrome, a combination of ailments with more than 50 seemingly separate and unrelated symptoms, including:
- Dizziness and nausea
- Headache
- Symptoms related to Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Personality changes
Avoiding sickness like this – as explained by The Today Show — may be as simple as choosing the right paint for your home.
Most “standard” paints come loaded with chemicals called VOCs — volatile organic compounds. The naturally-occuring chemicals are added to the paint to help it spread better and last longer. Unfortunately, these same chemicals are damaging to soil and groundwater, react with sunlight to form dangerous ozone, and contribute to global warming.
There is a safer choice.
Non-VOC household paints are widely available for about the same cost as their toxic cousins. They’re eco-friendly and, because recent advances in the manufacturing technology, the paint quality is outstanding.
To buy the non-VOC paints featured in the video, head to your local Benjamin Moore dealer, or get it online from Cox Paint.
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It's 2009 : Mortgage Loan Limits Fall As Scheduled In "High-Cost" American Cities
January 2nd, 2009 Categories: Uncategorized
As part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress authorized a conforming loan limit increase in “high-cost” areas around the country. Versus the national conforming loan limit of $417,000, for example, a Manhattan home buyer could secure a 2008 mortgage for $725,000 and still be within “conforming” guidelines.
Effective January 1, however, those limits rolled back. Conforming mortgages in the 59 designated high-cost regions are now capped at $625,500.
In non-high-cost areas, the 2009 conforming loan limits remain unchanged from 2008.
- 1-unit properties : $417,000
- 2-unit properties : $533,850
- 3-unit properties : $645,300
- 4-unit properties : $801,950
Loans in excess of these dollar amounts are often called “jumbo”, or “super jumbo” home loans, depending on their size. Jumbo home loans tend to be more costly than their conforming-sized cousins.
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The Fed's Parting Present For 2008 : Low Mortgage Rates For Home Buyers
December 31st, 2008 Categories: Uncategorized
For its last move in an action-filled year, the Federal Reserve announced it will begin buying its pledged $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities next month.
For home buyers, the timing couldn’t be better.
Because December 31 is one of Wall Street’s most thinly-traded days of the year, low volume is exaggerating the announcement’s impact on mortgage markets.
Mortgage rates are lower this morning.
However, you may not have much time to act. Few mortgage lenders permit after-hours rate locking and bond markets close at 2:00 PM ET for the holiday. If you miss today’s Fed-fueled low rates, markets re-open Friday for your second chance.
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How To Shop For Mortgages In A "Vacation Week"
December 30th, 2008 Categories: Uncategorized
Mortgage markets are like any other market — in order for goods to change hands, a buyer and a seller must first reach an agreement to “trade” at a specific price point.
In general, the more buyers and sellers there are for a particular item, the easier it is to find that “fair value” and make the deal.
An abundant number of buyers and sellers often creates a liquid market in which assets — in this case, mortgage bonds — can be sold rapidly with minimal loss.
This week, though — with so many traders on vacation — the “liquid market” has gone illiquid. The treasury market posted just 41 percent of its normal, daily volume Monday, leading to erratic pricing in the mortgage bond market which, in turn, caused mortgage rates to follow.
For example, mortgage rates started the day lower yesterday before sprinting higher over a 30-minute, early-afternoon span. Markets were largely unprovoked by economic data, geopolitical developments, or technical factors. It just, kind of, “happened” and the move left mortgage rate shoppers in the dust.
That could happen a lot this week. So, if you’re in the market for a mortgage, be ready to lock quickly. With low liquidity, rates rarely sit still for long.
(Image courtesy: Purdue BCM)
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Absorb-Ease Pads Make Grease-Cleaning Easy
December 29th, 2008 Categories: Uncategorized
It’s well-known, but worth repeating.
Grease should never be poured down a kitchen drain. The moment that liquid fat touches cold water or cold pipes, it can harden and block pipes.
Traditionally, disposing of grease required:
- Pouring the grease into a glass jar
- Placing the jar in the refrigerator
- Throwing out the jar once the grease had hardened
However, a new, biodegradable product called Absorb-Ease lets you go from Grill to Garbage in one easy step — with no spilled grease and no collecting of glass jars.
Just put an FDA-approved Absorb-Ease pad in a hot, greasy skillet and watch it absorb liquid like a paper towel absorbs a spill. The analogy is fitting, in fact, because Absorb-Ease is made from food-grade, fibrous tree pulp — much like paper towel.
Grease-soaked Absorb-Ease pads can be thrown out with the rest of the garbage and can be bought online in packs of 64. They cost roughly $0.27 each.
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