Arn Cenedella

Archive for the 'Helpful Sites' Category

CA Senate Bill 1137 slows down the foreclosure process

A recently passed California law slows down the foreclosure process and installs safeguards to increase the chances that homeowners are notified when a lender wants to start foreclosure proceedings.

This law also offers additional protections to tenants of homes being foreclosed upon and allows local govenrments to fine lenders who do not maintain properties they have foreclosed on.

Here is State of Califonia Government release on SB 1137

Here is a question and answer document on Senate Bill 1137

Here is the actual Senate Bill 1137

There is help out there for homeowners in trouble.

Beware of companies offering to help you for a fee that must be paid up front. 

Free assistance is available.

EPAToday interview with Henrietta June 2008 – Housing Market Update

Here is a clip of an interview I did at EPA Today with Henrietta on the housing market in June 2008.

I will be doing another market update this Thursday February 9.

Representatives from EPA Can Do will also be on the panel and the topic will be the real estate market and what can be done to keep more people in thier homes and out of foreclosure.

EPA Can Do is a non-profit organization that offers legal assistance to East Palo Alto residents.

Homeowners in trouble with their mortgage (Part 1)

If you are having trouble making mortgage payments or if you owe more than your home is worth, there is help available for you. Do not just put your head in the sand and hope something good will happen.

Generally a homeowner in distress has 5 options:
Loan workout or modifcation
Deed in lieu of foreclosure
Short sale
Bankruptcy
Foreclosure

Each of these options have serious legal, credit, and taxation ramifications. Before choosing any option be sure to consult with competent legal and tax advisors. Real Estate agents can help guide you through the process but are not qualified to answer specific legal and tax questions.

Here is a list of useful links to government and community based nonprofit organization
websites which include information on foreclosure prevention, loan modification, no cost HUD approved counseling services and other important information.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
http://www.hud.gov

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure
http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfm
*Talk to a counselor

Federal Housing Administration
http://www.fha.gov

Hope Now
http://www.hopenow.gov

Internal Revenue Service
http://www.irs.gov

Search for: Mortgage Debt Relief Bill
Click on: Home Foreclosure Debt Cancellation

Click here for a list of NO COST HUD counselors

So get help if you need it. Try to make the best of a bad situation.

Get a team together to help you – attorney, CPA, and knowledgeable real estate agent.

They can help you conisder all your options and assist you in making the best decision.

It appears $15,000 tax credit for home purchases may not include income limits.

The current $7,500 tax credit for first-time buyers has income limits of $95,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. Due to our high housing prices, this credit has done little to spur our local market.

It appears the proposed $15,000 credit will not have income limits and will apply to all home purchases – personal residences only.

Calculated Risk gives good info on the details of the $15,000 Senate approved tax credit.

Bloomberg reports this credit will benefit higher income earners unlike the current $7,500 credit.

Property Tax Reduction

Both San Mateo County and Santa Clara County allow property owners to reduce there property tax amounts if the current market value of the property is below the current assessed value.

So if you have purchased your home within the past few years, you may qualify.

To be clear, property owners do not qualify for a property tax reduction just because their property value has dropped.

For example, if you bought a home 10 years ago for $500,000 and the market value one year ago was $1,000,000 and now it is $900,000; you can’t get your property taxes reduced since your current assessment is probably around $550,000 BELOW current market value.

The forms for both counties are listed below:

San Mateo County Tax Reduction Form

Santa Clara County Tax Reduction Form

You can file these forms via email, fax or snail mail.

Let me know if you need any help with these forms.

Mortgage Update

Linda Lunsman of Princeton Capital, a real estate mortgage lender, provides the following information: 

“JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OUT…THEY PULL ME BACK IN.” Al Pacino in the 1990 film, The Godfather III And if Bonds and home loan rates thought they were out of the days of volatility…they got pulled right back in, as last week brought daily price swings of almost historic proportions. For the week overall, fixed home loan rates improved by about .25%.

Forecast for the Week

	So if you love all the excitement, drama, intrigue and crazy volatility of late…you’ll love the week ahead, as it is loaded full with market movers. We’ll get the latest readings on the health of the manufacturing and housing sectors, but the main event will take place on Tuesday when the Federal Reserve announces its latest interest rate decision and Policy Statement. The Fed is expected to cut the Fed Funds Rate by another .75%. However, as we’ve seen following every Fed rate cut in the recent cycle, chances are very good that Bond pricing will worsen following the cut…which results in higher home loan rates. This happens because Fed rate cuts help to stimulate the economy, by making it less expensive to finance personal and business purchases…and this in turn fuels inflation, the arch-enemy of fixed return assets like Bonds, which home loan rates are based on. So a word to the wise – if you or someone you know has been ready to move forward on a purchase or refinance, there’s no time like the present. Be sure to get in touch with me, so I can explain your options and help plan a great strategy for your home loan.

for more……..

San Mateo and San Francisco Counties are doing just fine !

USA Today published a fascinating study of local economies throught the nation.

Most states are doing just fine !

Here’s the map:

Most of California is at risk or already in recession.

Only Bakersfield, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City are in expansion.

Very interesting !

Is it only a matter of time before San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City join the rest of California? Or is this precious sliver of land between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay immune?

Only time will tell but my sense is that we will continue to do just fine.

Been away but I am back now !

I have been on the road the past two weeks and haven’t had time to post.

I was in Seattle for a few days the end of February at a Brian Buffini conference.

Brian is a very motivational speaker. His company, Buffini and Company, coaches small business owners like real estate agents, lenders and financial planners how to grow their business through a focus on referrals and business to business networking. His approach will really work for any kind of small business. Brian gives about 14 two day conferences a year and then a Mastermind Summit for 3 days in San Diego in late August. I give these conferences two big thumbs up. Outstanding and uplifting material.

Seattle is a beautiful city – one I could see myself living in.

The Washington State Convention Center is a fabulous venue for a conference.

My buddy, Dan Robinson, has family in Seattle and he joined me at the conference. One of the local ladies turned us on to a cool place called HWY 99  Blues Club. We spent Monday night there having a great time. Fantastic live music venue along the waterfront. If you are in Seattle, check it out !

I came home for a day to make sure my house was still standing and then headed to the Big Island for my first stay at my new vacation home at Hali’i Kai at Waikoloa Beach Resort. There, were of course, a few glitches: one mini-blind was broken, the hall bath had the hot and cold water reversed and the oven door handle was loose (but who goes to Hawaii to bake a turkey?). But in true Island spirit, I just hung loose and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery along with some very pleasant company. I played golf most days at both Mauna Lani and Waikoloa Beach. Hali’i Kai has a beautiful Ocean Club with pool, spa, open-air gym, bar and restaurant. If you are interested in spending some time in paradise, please check out www.vrbo.com/159481.

What do you think about agents taking listings off market and then putting them back on as new listings?

The FrontSteps a San Francisco Real Estate Blog reports the ABC Nightline may do a story on the the practice of some seller agents taking a listing that has not sold off the market and then putting the property back on the market so it shows like it is a new listing.

Many believe this practice is unfair to the buying public.
This issue seems to surface every few months.
In my mind, it is not as big an issue as many think.
If a potential buyer is working with a knowledgeable professional agent who knows the local market, that agent will know whether the property was on the market 1 month ago or 3 months ago or 6 months ago.
When I represent buyers interested in purchasing a house in a particular neighborhood, I make sure I send them ALL the market data for similar properties in that neighborhood typically back at least 6 months but often 12 months. I send them active listings, pending listings, sold properties and expired or withdrawn listings. So my buyer clients have the information they need to make an informed decision. So in my mind if seller agents want to play games with days on market, let them. These games will not fool knowledgeable buyers working with experienced professional agents. That being said, many mls services like REInfolink on the San Francisco Peninsula now have CDOM and DOM – cumulative days on market and days on market – so the data is readily available.

Julie Joyce a realtor in the Montclair Piedmont area has similar thoughts stating that buyers in the Bay Area are sophisticated knowledgeable consumers who throughly research market data before making a decision.

Marian Bennett a realtor in the Half Moon Bay area on the San Mateo Coastside gives several specific examples on how days on market can vary and what days on market really means.

Looking to live somewhere that is walking friendly?

Hello everyone:

just came across a really cool site….

www.walkscore.com

just type in an address and the site will calculate a “walkscore” on a scale from 0 to 100 which indicates how walking convenient any location is….

the site will show you where all the nearby stores, bars, restaurants, and transportation are located.

check it out – let me know what you think.

 Arn, the reyogi…..