jjalone's Blog: All Categories

Is the only way to get anything done in politically partisan Washington  to declare an emergency, tell the world the sky is falling and create a three day “bipartisan period” to pass back room brokered deal that may cost the American taxpayer a trillion or more dollars?  We thought getting a budget passed in Sacramento for California was ugly!

I clearly have my opinions about the bailout and you can read more about that in my Rocklin & Roseville Today column, “Bailout will be felt in Sacramento” but my main message today is to motivate you to let your Senators know how you feel about the bailout. Here is a link to their contact pages.  The local Sacramento real estate market continues to be busy. We are getting and making offers on homes regularly. The… Read Full Post

While congressional leaders and the Bush administration work preparing a massive bailout of the US Financial system including a plan to allow banks to sell bad loans to a Resolution Trust like company, mortgage rates have dropped in Sacramento. The decline from 5.93 percent for a 30-year fixed to 5.78 percent for the week ending September 18 marks a seven month low.

As bank stocks are going up and their senior executives are anxiously waiting to sell their mistakes, I mean bad loans to the government.   Some of these same bankers have instituted a policy of denying short sale applications that do not include the seller/borrower signing a note for some portion of the short sale. Based on our extensive experience with short sales this would, in the past,… Read Full Post

This week what is happening on Wall Street has captured my attention so my column over at Rocklin & Roseville Today, “More Bad News from Wall Street” is about being not overly optimistic about the financial crisis. 

Per my blog on Monday, I have posted a guest article by Louise Buford of Partners Mortgage, “FHA—what is it and why should I consider this type of loan?”   Louise is one of the lenders I work with who does what she says and when she says it. Sounds simple but it is what sets her apart from other lenders.   Finally, my singer and actress friend in Hollywood, Karmyn Tyler needs some help! The soundtrack for Karmyn’s original song, Luv Me So, has been entered into a contest for unsigned artists and each playing is a vote. Check out the great… Read Full Post

Check it out! We have officially opened an office in Plumas Lake with Stephanie McLaughlin to better serve clients in Sutter, Yuba and Colusa counties. Stephanie has now been with us for a few months and is ready to take the next step in building her business and expanding the MagnumOne Realty brand in these counties. We are continuing to provide individual customized services to buyer and seller ranging from those looking to buy their first home all the way to working with sellers who are trying to avoid foreclosure. We are pretty excited about this new development and if any of you know anyone thinking about buying or selling in our Northern serving area please let them know about Stephanie and our new office. Here is the MagnumOne Press Release that was…

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We have a brand new listing in Roseville. This home was built by one of the regions quality builder, Tim Lewis in 2007, and the sellers have done all the right things to make this new house a home.  Located in the Altessa at Woodcreek gated community we are going to have an open house this Sunday, September 14th from 1 to 4 PM. If you are out and about and want to see a great home, come by 1553 Morning Glory Lane in West Roseville and take a look. The open house will be hosted by Darci Mercer.

September so far seems like a continuation of the higher than expected level of real estate activity. Normally we see a slow down as we get close to school starting and for about a month after as we all get used to starting a new school year. Our team at MagnumOne… Read Full Post

The Treasury Department’s move to takeover Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae over the weekend surprised me. But then again, when you give someone an open line of credit, maybe you want greater accountability and say in the overall management. Well that is exactly what happened and it appears to be a very good, if only for the short term, for the housing market. Read more about the takeover and what benefits we could see in my weekly column, “Takeover of Freddie, Fannie is Good for Short Term,” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today. Other News: No surprise, should have expected it, September is busy. Not only has the local Sacramento and Roseville real estate markets remained active but getting back into the school and soccer routine has caused us a fair amount of… Read Full Post

Prospective homeowners have until October 1, 2008, to use down payment assistance from a seller to purchase if they intend to finance the house with FHA backed mortgage.

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 signed into law in July bars such seller-funded aid on Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages. Lawmakers added the provision to the housing relief package because about 40 percent of FHA borrowers who went into foreclosure in the past year received down payment assistance from a seller.

The loss of programs such as Nehemiah and Hart which have been helping buyers use seller assistance with their down payment has the potential to keep some buyers out of the market at a time when sellers still outnumber buyers and how it impacts the…

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Growing up in Alaska makes you an Alaskan wherever you live and this morning I was, along with many others, surprised to hear that John McCain had selected Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. As much as I tried to write my Rocklin & Roseville Today column about real estate, I just had to say something about presidential politics, “Congratulations John McCain.” Notes: The past two weeks have been very busy for us, hiring a new assistant, bringing on a new agent, two new listings, working with several buyers and getting back in the school routine with Mikie and our work at his school. The Labor Day weekend is looking so very good to me and I am sure to many others. The heat of the past few days is supposed to break tomorrow, we have three… Read Full Post