jjalone's Blog: All Categories

Where did Father’s Day weekend go? At our house it seemed so go by very quickly and here we are starting another busy week. I may be starting to feel the pressure of getting ready to go on vacation but it seems the Sacramento real estate market is showing no signs of slowing down. We have continued to see a activity in the Sacramento short sale market as we picked up two new listings last week and as important, successfully finalized two short sale lender negotiations. Once we get the lender to accept the short sale proposal the purchase of the homes can start the normal closing process. I always enjoy having transactions complete but there is some extra satisfaction when they are short sales.   Check out our new listings from last week. Robin… Read Full Post

Many lenders have dedicated staff to deal with short sales and some appear to have developed a process that works for them. Where the problem occurs is the volume of requests for short sales. It overwhelms the negotiators and others who deal with borrowers and Realtors who are requesting short sale consideration. Yesterday, we were talking to a negotiator for a lender who when we asked her to call us back with some additional information she didn’t have, said, “I have over 200 people just like you that want me to call them, just send me a new closing statement with the amount I want or this can go to foreclosure.” 

Lenders are doing themselves a disservice by not staffing up these departments and allowing the negotiators to think before they act. The cost… Read Full Post

The trend is clear; we are not going to be seeing the normal buildup of inventory of homes in the Sacramento real estate market this year. Normally starting in late February or early March the number of homes coming on the market is faster than sales so inventory of available homes increases until August. Going into the spring, inventory was already high but instead of increasing it has actually declined.   As of June 9, according to HousingTracker, there were 14,670 homes on the market in the Sacramento area. This level of inventory is down 4.2 percent in the past three months and down 11.5 percent from six months ago. Again this is particularly noteworthy that the decline is happening during a time of year when we would expect to see inventory… Read Full Post

Approximately 183,000 at-risk homeowners were provided loan workouts in April, 23,000 more than in March, according to a new report from HOPE NOW, a private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, counselors, and investors working to prevent home foreclosures across the country. The April numbers represent the highest number of workouts provided through HOPE NOW since the program was launched in July 2007, according to the alliance.

"These numbers clearly demonstrate that we are succeeding at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes," said HOPE NOW Executive Director Faith Schwartz. "Foreclosure benefits no one: the borrower, community, lender, and investor all lose. HOPE NOW has every incentive to help troubled homeowners hold on to…

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It is clear the Sacramento real estate market is going to continue to see short sales and foreclosures for the foreseeable future. For many months the mainstream media focused on foreclosures and bank owned property and didn’t pay much attention to short sales. Today we are hearing more about them because there are so many.  Short sales are a strategy for some homeowners to avoid a foreclosure and can represent a good deal for buyers if they are patient. If you or someone you know is having difficulty making their monthly mortgage payment read my latest article, “Short Sale Success” find out more about short sales and how our process and experience has made them work for our clients.

 

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With the mortgage industry going through change and consolidation it is vital for home buyers to have a “good” lender working for them. In my latest Rocklin & Roseville Today and Sacramento Today columns, “Home Buyer Key to Success: A Good Lender” I write about good lenders and one who is on my “never work with again” list. I also provide some tips on how to make sure you get a good lender when you are in the market for a loan for a new purchase or even a refinance.

I have worked with some wonderful lenders over the years but right now, when a client asks for a lender recommendation I feel as positive as I have ever felt to provide them with several names. Having our clients working with a good lender not only makes my job easier but adds to the overall… Read Full Post

This has been a crazy real estate week and I have several new topics to blog about but today I want to officially welcome Stephanie McLaughlin to our MagnumOne Realty family. Some of you may remember “MyForSaleSign” feature when I chronicled the selling of a Yuba City home for Randi and Tony. The agent on the other side of the transaction was Stephanie and I was so impressed with her skill and customer service philosophy I stayed in touch with her and have now convinced her to join MagnumOne Realty. Not only does she bring the focus on client service but she provides us with a solid presence in Sutter and Yuba counties.     “For me, real estate sales is the most exciting and rewarding career,” says Stephanie. “It's all about helping people find that… Read Full Post

One of our agents at MagnumOne Realty has a new listing in Loomis. I have always said living in this area makes you close to everything but as a non-golfer I had never thought of this area as “Golf Country.” What I learned from the seller of this beautiful home on 2.3 acres is that from his house in Loomis there are eleven golf courses within 10 miles and believe it or not there are more than 30 courses within a 35-minute drive. With this house you don’t even need to drive as the property is big enough to safely hit wedges, pitch, chip and you can putt on your own private putting green. If you or someone you know is looking to enjoy the county life and be “close to it all” this home is nestled among some mature shade trees and gives the feeling of… Read Full Post