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Today I published my forth in a series of five articles examining the question, Is now the right time to buy a home in Sacramento. You can read it in my real estate column, “How much can you pay for a home in Sacramento,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.   

I think the question, is now the right time to buy, is important in light of the current market and economic conditions. So far I have received some positive feedback on the series and hope it helps a few potential buyers make the right decision in regards to purchasing a home in Roseville, Sacramento or anywhere in the area. You can see the entire series of articles on my personal website, www.jalone.com. They are located on here. As some of you know I am spending the week in Alaska. As much as I… Read Full Post

I just posted my third of a five part series dealing with the question, “Is it the right time to buy a home in Sacramento?” The article is posted over at Rocklin & Roseville Today as part of my real estate column, “Is it the right time – are you financially prepared to be a homeowner.” If you want to read the entire series you can find all five articles on my personal website.

Just being out and about today has to make you feel good. Here we are in the second half of November and the sun is out, the sky is blue and it is warm. What more could you ask for.  In the real estate business, we have been busy. I spent all day Friday out with a great new buyer. His company is looking for a home or multi-family unit where his employees can live while they are… Read Full Post

Since I was a bit off my game last week I thought I would spend Veteran’s day morning catching up on my real estate column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today. Well as can happen when you have not been writing for awhile my article, which I try to keep not more than six paragraphs long turned out to be an epic on is now the right time to buy a home in Sacramento. I decided to publish in five parts and introduction and then examining the four questions I feel buyers, especially first-time buyers should consider to determine in now is a good time to buy a home. The questions I pose are, should you stay where you are, are you financially prepared to be a homeowner, how much can you pay for a home and do you know what you want in a home. 

Check out the… Read Full Post

I have noticed a difference in the Sacramento real estate market. I understand it is late October and things normally slow down about now and homes for sale in Sacramento as well as homes for sale in Roseville and other communities start to stay on the market longer but since the economy crisis came to light the phone is not ringing as often, new leads are fewer and worst of all, the lenders have become much more difficult to deal with when negotiating short sales.

If you are a seller or in a position where you are going to have to sell your home during this uncertain Sacramento real estate market, take a look at my column, “Sacramento Homes: Eight Rules to Sell Fast in an Uncertain Market” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today. I have attempted to spell out… Read Full Post

I couldn’t resist sharing this long but illuminating story this morning. It was one of those things that had been forwarded about a 100 times so I had to clean it up a bit but I think it is intact and worth the time to read.   Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:   The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18.  The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day,… Read Full Post

I came across this brief article this morning and thought it was worth sharing:

Reworking Troubled Mortgages Isn't That Simple

In order to rework troubled mortgage, the government may have to do more than persuade lenders and investors that workouts are ultimately more profitable than foreclosure, analysts conclude.

Hundreds of investors hold an interest in trusts that invest in mortgages. If loans are reworked, some of those investors will lose money. Mortgage servicers are prohibited from modifying a pool of loans without getting the OK from two-thirds of the investors. That nod can be difficult to get because some investors stand to make more from foreclosure.

Many observers and government officials are pointing out that it will take… Read Full Post

With September sales volume of up in all counties in the Sacramento region from last year and for most counties up even from August we are finally seeing a decline in homes for sale. Check out my weekly column, “Six Months of Increasing Homes Sales in Sacramento,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today for the details and a prediction.

With this great “Indian Summer” weather even October continues to show some good levels of activity. Homes priced right are getting a fair number of showings and most of our short sales all have solid offers being reviewed by the seller’s lenders. Most of these even have backup offers. Most of the activity we are seeing is in the under $350,000 price point. We have seen some of our seller’s of more expensive homes ask to take… Read Full Post

I received word this morning that some lenders are not providing pricing on FHA Plus which are loans in excess of $368,231 and conforming Plus which are conforming loans above $417,000. Remember these were temporary limits with an end date of December 31, 2008. Because these loans must be closed before the end date and since there is no extension yet moving these increased limits into 2009 lenders are starting to pull away from these products now.

I know, we just passed a $750 billion bailout; the government is buying bank stock and commercial paper but can’t extend these limits so banks are pulling back? This is just one more thing about this credit crunch to make you angry. Regardless if you are thinking about buying a home and using FHA, you may want… Read Full Post