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San Diego – Foreclosures Reach 7 Year Low

Posted on September 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

San Diego County foreclosures dipped to a seven-year low last month as rising housing prices eliminated much of the distress in the local market.

DataQuick reported 148 foreclosures in August, down from 516 in July, the lowest since August 2006. Year over year the total was down 70.8 percent from 507.

On the default side, DataQuick said 537 notices were filed in August, up from 516 in July but still far below 1,216 in August 2012.

Some neighborhoods in San Diego are still effective and this may effect your home’s value. Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value questions.

Real estate broker Mark Marquez said the declines reflect rising prices.

“Appreciation in prices fixes everything,” he said.

DataQuick’s most recent price report said San Diego County’s overall median stood at $417,500, 22.1 percent higher than a year ago and the highest since February 2008.

Defaults typically are filed three months after an owner stops making mortgage payments and lenders move to foreclose an average nine months later. Thus the August defaults reflect distress going back to the spring and foreclosures apply to homeowners who fell on hard times in the second half of 2012.

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New Group Aims to Lobby for Homeowners’ Rights

Posted on September 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

A newly formed national nonprofit seeks to become the voice of homeowners, much in the same way that AARP is the voice of consumers over the age of 50.

America’s Homeowner Alliance, whose advisory board includes representatives from well-regarded consumer and community groups as well as housing industry professionals, formally launched this month. It hopes to attract 250,000 members within a year.

There have been membership-driven homeowner advocacy groups and grass-roots alliances formed in the past, ones whose efforts revolved around some of the same issues that the alliance hopes to take on for homeowners, like the mortgage interest deduction. None of those organizations has generated anywhere near the name recognition of AARP, though, which claims more than 38 million members.

Creative Ways to Buy A House

Posted on September 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

Kevin and Patti Silva needed to buy a house – fast.

Along with their two children, three dogs and a cat, they had sold their house in Atlanta and were all packed, with the moving truck scheduled for late May, ready to move to the Bay Area for a job transfer.

When conventional house hunting with a real estate agent didn’t work out, Kevin Silva placed a detailed Craigslist ad describing their target neighborhood, price and house size. He netted five responses, one of which led to making a deal to buy a San Anselmo house directly from the owner.

Want to know what the value of the home you are thinking of purchasing is. Contact the real estate appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your home value and real estate appraisal questions.

While having all the stars and planets align so perfectly is rare, the Silvas’ story illustrates how many house hunters are coloring outside the lines to land a place in the overheated real estate market. Whether it be cold-calling homeowners with offers or placing ads in search of potential houses for sale, being creative is key, experts say.

Of course, the top strategy is both the simplest and the hardest – pay way over asking, in all cash.

Short of that, there are a variety of ways prospective buyers can find a house as well as rise to the top of the offer pile:

Placing an ad: Swooping in with an offer before a home is officially posted for sale is a top tactic, and it worked for the Silvas.

After being consistently outbid, they considered renting, but that market was too competitive. “I realized unless we got really aggressive, we would end up in my parents’ basement in San Mateo with the kids, the dogs, the cat and a really unhappy wife,” Kevin Silva said. In the end, a simple online ad labeled “Wanted to buy: House in San Anselmo or Fairfax” did the trick. A $1 million budget undoubtedly helped. He got one response from a man who, like Silva, was of Portuguese ancestry. They quickly bonded on the phone. Silva visited the three-bedroom house and liked it, and returned with a real estate agent friend who advised him that $1 million was a reasonable price. Attorneys helped draw up the paperwork in an amicable deal.