jjalone's Blog: All Categories

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

I have been wrestling with a situation I have not experienced before. Some of the buyers we are currently helping find new homes are the same ones we helped by a home when the market was peaking back in the summer of 2005. The difference today is they want to buy a smaller more affordable home in the same community they live in and one where the loan to value ratio is not upside down. There objective is buy a new home before their credit is destroyed by walking away from their existing home. Check out my column, “Who gets hurt?” at Rocklin and Roseville Today or over at Sacramento Today if you are interested in learning more.

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As you may have noticed from my lack of posts this past week I have been a bit swamped. As much as I enjoy helping homeowners who are experiencing difficulty and need to get out from under their mortgage debt, the process of short sales is long, tedious and requires a good deal of effort. We have been making some good progress and it looks likely we will get another positive response from a lender in the next few days. Then we go through the normal escrow period and closing dance. I know there are some who feel Realtor’s drive around, look at houses and make more money than we should. It is work and generally more difficult than it should be to get some of these transactions closed.

I am not complaining because I really enjoy working with our… Read Full Post