Community Yard Sale

October 8, 2011 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cross streets are Cerritos and Walnut in Anaheim

• There will be another garage sale this year, a little earlier than 2010.

• It will be advertised in the Pennysaver and the Register.

•  Approximately 400 homes will be selling anything and evrything including housewares, clothes, toys, electronics and more!

     We will have LARGE BANNERS and open house directional signs. I suggest you come early for the best pickings. Have a wonderful time!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration may turn thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday it is seeking input from investors on how to rent homes owned by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration.

The U.S. government rescued Fannie and Freddie in September 2008 and has funded them since the financial crisis. The mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of the nation’s mortgages and nearly all new mortgages.

At the end of last month, the government owned roughly 248,000 foreclosed homes, officials said. About 70,000 of those are listed for sale. But officials expect the number of foreclosures to soar in the coming months.

Many foreclosures have been stalled so attorneys general and federal regulators can investigate whether lenders cut corners and improperly handled thousands of cases. Once a settlement is finalized, foreclosures are expected to pick up again and further depress home prices.

Converting the homes into rentals may reduce “credit losses and help stabilize neighborhoods and home values,” said Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie.

Homes in foreclosure sell at a 20 percent discount on average, which can hurt prices of surrounding homes.

It also might meet the growing demand for rentals. Since the housing meltdown, nearly 3 million households have become renters. At least 3 million more are expected by 2015, according to census data analyzed by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and The Associated Press.

A federal “request for information” released Wednesday included an option for previous homeowners to rent out the homes or for current renters to lease to own. Private investors could also be allowed to manage the rental properties.

Officials are also mulling whether to only implement the program in areas hit hardest by foreclosures and in those with high demand for rental housing, such as Arizona and Florida.

The homes include single-family homes and condominiums. The deadline for responses is Sept. 15.

The Birth of American Independence

I found this on HISTORY.COM) AND WANTED TO SHARE WITH MY READERS!

When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical. By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in Thomas Paine’s bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published in early 1776.

On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” On July 4th, the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.

Did you know that John Adams believed that July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest. Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826–the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Price it realistically from the start

Due to the Internet, things have changed. Your home will be in the MLS, photos on different sites  and therefore your largest number of showings will occur in the first two to three weeks. Many buyers are plugged in electronically. So the minute something new pops up that meets their criteria, they want to see it.

Therefore we need to price the home competitively.

How you style the price is important. The Jones Family first marketed their home for $155,000. But lowering it to $150,000 meant the listing appeared within the computer search parameters that buyers commonly used in that price range, Jones says.

The result: A few weeks after the price change, they had a winning offer.

Be prepared to lose some money

The truth is that your house is worth what buyers are willing to pay. No more. “This is a matter of SUPPLY and DEMAND. That means many sellers should be prepared to lose some money or hang onto the home until the price rises.

Beware the agent who promises big profits. That person may just be after your business. Study the comparables and sales prices before you list with an agent.

Promotion, promotion, promotion

How do you pick the right agent? Ask the agents you interview: ” How will you reach the home’s target market?

You have to consider who your most likely buyers are for what you’re selling and cater to that group of people. For example,

Targeting 20-somethings who live on their smartphones?  You need to effectively access the networks your buyers are tapping to find their next home. One big trend: QR (or “quick response”) bar codes that allow smartphone users to access property information electronically, he says.

The typical starter home can also appeal to downsizing empty nesters.  To serve their needs, you might also want to have a phone number that instantly reaches someone who can provide details and answer questions, he says.

And don’t neglect the modern version of curb appeal: using lots of photos on real estate listing websites. However you market your house, you need a good number of clear, well-lit, professional-quality pictures that show your house at its best.

Notice of Default filings fell in May 2011 with a 4.0 percent drop resulting in the fewest foreclosure starts since October 2008 when SB 1137 resulted in a temporary halt in the Notice of Default process. More foreclosures were scheduled for sale at the courthouse steps in May with Notice of Trustee Sale filings up 16.6 percent from April, the first month-over-month increase this year. Notice of Trustee sales remain down year-over-year off by 9.0 percent. Cancellations of foreclosure sales dropped 24.3 percent compared to April after jumping 27.0 percent from March. Foreclosure sales on the courthouse steps were up from the prior month, with 3.4 percent more sales Back to Bank and a 4.1 percent increase in foreclosed properties Sold to 3rd Parties. The average Time to Foreclose continued a steady climb, increasing 10.3 percent to a new record of 344 days.

Third parties are reselling inventory more quickly, with the Time to Resell down 7.6 percent month-over-month to 134 days, the fewest number of days since September 2010 — likely due in part to a lack of inventory throughout much of California.

First, the setting in Paris, the romance, the music and of course the acting, was all so good!

Furthermore, there were no ‘bad’ ‘dirty’ words! It was actually clean English much to my amazement!

This is not meant to be a critique of the film but I would see it again. Not only was it entertaining but it did what a movie is meant to be:

It took me away for 1.5 hours to another place in time, away from MY everyday life, away from my computer, business, children….

well, you get the idea. I highly recommend this film to anyone of any age.

Add hurricane window film

Tough, clear plastic hurricane film is popular because you can’t really see it, and you can leave it in place year-round. If the glass breaks, hurricane film prevents glass shards from zipping around inside your home. 

You can install peel-and-stick hurricane film on your windows for a mere $25 per linear foot. As a bonus, the film blocks ultraviolet light that can fade carpets and fabric.

But  the film may NOT be strong enough to stop hurricane winds from blowing in the entire window frame. That’s why most insurance companies don’t offer discounts for hurricane film and why you should also shield your windows with plywood.

Shield windows with plywood

Some tips for using plywood to shield your windows:

• Cut sheets of 1/2- or 5/8-inch-thick plywood. Make sure you overlap window frames by a good 8 inches all around.

• Use heavy-duty screws and anchors (in wood) or expansion bolts (in masonry) to attach the plywood to your home’s walls (not the window frames).

• Pre-install screw anchors around window openings to speed up installation.

• Store shields in a handy location where you can reach them easily and put them up fast.

• Keep your cordless battery charged so it’ll be ready to use when a storm is coming.

• Keep extra flashlights and batteries handy in your home. It gets very dark inside once the plywood is installed.

• Expect to spend $1 to $2 per square foot if you do the work yourself and $3 to $5 per square foot if you hire someone.

Add storm shutters

Simply pull the shutters into place before a hurricane to prevent damage and broken windows.
Look for shutters that have perforations or are made from tough translucent fiberglass that lets in light. 

Expect to spend anywhere from $10 to $50 per square foot for professional installation of storm shutters, depending on style and material.

Install high-impact glass windows

Expect to pay three times as much for a window with high-impact glass as for a regular window of the same size and type. You need to have windows that are extremely strong to fight those strong winds.

Ask about home insurance discounts

To encourage you to take steps to minimize damage, your insurer might offer discounts for hurricane-mitigation improvements. With improvements, such as storm shutters or high-impact glass your insurer will offer a great discount.

The California Association of Realtors www.car.org (CAR) reports that the total share of all distressed property types sold statewide declined to 48 percent last month. That’s down from 51 percent in March and 49 percent in April 2010.

The total share of  BANK OWNED REO sales was 28 percent in April, compared to 31 percent in March and 30 percent in April 2010. The statewide share of short sales also dropped in April to 19 percent, down from 20 percent in March but unchanged from April 2010.

Sales of non-distressed properties increased during April. The buyers were not only  bargain hunters and investors, but also homebuyers who are timing their buying decisions to coincide with the start of the spring home-buying season.

Non-distressed properties made up 52 percent of the total sales volume in April, up from 49 percent in March and 51 percent in April 2010.

Pending home sales – a precursor of sales to come in the months ahead – declined between March and April, according to CAR’s index which is generated from a survey of more than 70 associations of Realtors and multiple listing services (MLSs) throughout the state.

The index registered a reading of 114.3 based on contracts signed in April, down 11 percent from March’s revised index of 128.4. The index was down 19.2 percent from April 2010 when housing tax credits contributed to home sales.

CAR, headquartered in Los Angeles, is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 160,000 members.

Annual Percentage Rate or APR: the “true cost” of a loan, shown as a yearly rate, which includes the simple interest of the mortgage and other charges.

Equity: calculated by subtracting the amount still owed on the mortgage loan or loans from the home’s fair-market value.

FHA loan: Stands for Federal Housing Administration. It assists homebuyers who normally would not qualify for conventional financing. The federal government provides mortgage insurance to lenders to cover most of the losses that would come when a borrower fails to make payments.

FICO Score: Stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. Also known as a credit score. Lenders and credit companies use the score, which range from 300 to 850 to help determine someone’s financial stability and trustworthiness.

Fixed rate mortgage: Type of loan that has an interest rate that does change.

Private mortgage insurance: Also known as PMI. Bought by a buyer to protect the lender in case of default. It’s routinely required if you don’t have a 20 percent down payment.

Points: One point equals 1 percent of the principal of your mortgage. Points are usually collected during the close of escrow. They could be paid by borrower or homeseller or split both ways.

Pre-qualify: Pre-approval of a loan application to determine the maximum loan amount.

PITI: Stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance, the parts of housing costs.

Refinancing: Paying off one loan by taking out another. This is usually done to get better terms, such as a lower interest rate. However, in some cases, consumers may end up paying more over time, so it’s best to do the math.

Source: HUD

click on this link for the market report of first quarter, 2011. This is information provided by the California Association of Realtorsof which I am a member.

Whether buying or selling, or just curious, it is good information to have.