This information came to me from a local lender-partner and I thought it worthy of sharing:

The following are timelines of how long it will take before you are eligible to buy a house, depending on what you are purchasing and the type of financing you use.

Federal Housing Administration Financing (FHA)

·       Short Sale is 3 years (a Short Sale with no late payments has no waiting period for eligibility)

·       Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure is 3 years

·       Foreclosure is 3 years

·       Bankruptcy is 2 years

Conventional Conforming Financing (FNMA/FHLMC)

·       Short Sale is 2 years*

·       Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure is 4 years*

·       Foreclosure is 7 years

·       Bankruptcy is 4 years

Veterans Administration (VA)

·       Short Sale is 2 years

·       Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure is 2 years

·       Foreclosure is 2 years

·       Bankruptcy is 2 years

Conventional Non-Conforming (Jumbo Loans)

·       Short sale is 7 years

·       Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure is 7 years

·       Foreclosure is 7 years

·       Bankruptcy is 7 years

* Certain guidelines apply.  Information is based on today's lending standards. 

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I spent the afternoon at Birney Elementary School's “Block Party,” an event the fledgling parent foundation planned and executed to raise awareness of this IB World School in the local community.  They are relatively new at their guardianship, but they all agree on their mission...to ensure their children start their journey in life with the basic tools they need to be successful--and isn’t that what every parent wants for their child?

I understand it wasn't many years ago that the school struggled with scores and enrollment. That seems to have turned around completely. Today, Birney Elementary School in University Heights has a talented Principal, top notch instructors, and an environment that not only teaches the fundamentals of arithmetic and reading, but also fosters inquisitive and open minded behavior, and encourages individuality balanced with cooperation and good citizenship.

I'm proud to be affiliated with the Friends of Alice Birney Elementary School Foundation. I'm also proud that Ascent Real Estate encourages and facilitates community involvement and participation. Strong communities are not magically born. They are nurtured, one person at a time, by those who want to make a difference.  We all want to live, own homes, work and play in an environment where the community cares and where we are proud to call home.

I spent most of my time tending the Bounce House that Ascent Real Estate sponsored for the event. While spying for any sharp objects I may have to confiscate from the endless stream of bouncers, I overheard a conversation between one of the parent board members and a local resident. The board member explained how important it was to support their neighborhood school. The resident replied “The school doesn’t really affect me. I don’t have any children.”

The parent responded very matter-of -factly that, yes, it does affect you. Good schools build better neighborhoods. People want their children to go to good schools. They want to live near their children’s school. That means moving into the neighborhood. When demand for a neighborhood goes up, so do prices. Do you own your home?”

Amen. Wherever you are…support your local schools!

Ascent Real Estate and Birney Elementary…Partners in Education.

While the Summer time weather improved significantly compared with last year, San Diego real estate overall did not fare quite as well. August 2011 sales data has not yet been released, so I'll recap July and have an update for you when August  figures are available.

While sold listings of Single Family Detached (SFD) homes in July of this year increased by 6.3% over last, the Median price decreased just slightly by .7% compared to July 2010.

Attached homes (condos) continued to stumble in July, with sold listings down 1.8% this July compared to July 2010. Median prices dropped year-over-year as well by 6.3%.

The good news is that there are homes available for purchase and both prices and interest rates are fantastic! Inventory levels rose just barely, though, continuing to bump around the four-month supply level. A six-month supply is considered normal, so buyers may find it a little more challenging to find the right match.

Keep in mind that, just as San Diego County stats differ from national real estate averages, sales statistics and pricing within San Diego County may vary widely by city and neighborhood. If you are interested in San Diego County real estate sales data for a specific geographic region, please contact me for a customized analysis for your neighborhood or location of interest.

The metro San Diego area where I live and primarily work is an older community with the majority of homes built from the early 1900’s to 1960’s. Many of these charming homes have been expanded and/or remodeled—some many times—for many reasons: original building materials became worn or obsolete, style trends and owner’s tastes changed, etc.

It’s fairly common, when I ask a home owner or their agent about permit status of an addition or remodel in these old homes, that they say they don’t know if permits were obtained for projects completed prior to their ownership. While permit records are usually maintained by local municipalities, San Diego’s Permit Records and Mapping Department provides only permit records from 1955 to present. Rumor has it there was a fire that destroyed many records prior to 1955. While not an official policy, these older modifications are often considered “grandfathered” and escape scrutiny. For work completed post-1955, I recommend highly to buyers that they investigate permit status for obvious modifications in any property they are considering.

Giving credit where credit is due, many homeowners undertaking remodel or upgrade modifications take into consideration quality of work and safely concerns, putting effort into finding and hiring individuals they feel are qualified to do the work. But for whatever reason, many fail to obtain permits. Admittedly, I’ve never heard anyone say the permit process was easy or enjoyable. Time, money and the perceived hassle are the most common reasons voiced for skipping the process, while I suspect lack of understanding of the associated risk plays a large role.

While these homeowners may feel confident the improvements were completed by a competent individual and per specifications, it may be difficult to convince a future buyer of the same. I have seen deals fall apart when sellers can’t provide proof of permits. Many buyers are wary of work completed without permits. What they may not know is that the new owner may inherit any liability and risk associated with the unpermitted work. If they aren’t, it’s my responsibility to advise them of such.

Another compelling reason for obtaining permits is that penalties for failing to do so can be substantial, ranging from fines that could be quadruple what the original cost would have been to do it right, to tearing out project and having to start over. Not worried about getting caught? I’ve heard of disgruntled neighbors reporting infractions, estranged family members making the anonymous complaints, and workers who felt poorly compensated for their work reporting their former employers.

Still not convinced? Let’s suppose you sell the home and a serious problem arises for the new owner that could be linked to unpermitted work done during your ownership…can you say lawsuit?

Chances are, homeowners making any structural changes to their home will need one or more permits. When in doubt, contact your local municipality and find out if your plans will require permits, or contact a reputable General Contractor. If the scope of work is beyond your expertise or you don’t want to deal with the permit process yourself, licensed contractors generally take care of obtaining required permits for their work. Hiring a General Contractor to ensure proper building techniques are used and current health and safety requirements are met may cost a little more up front, but in the long run can minimize risk and future expense.

In short, a Walk Score is a rating of the walkability of a city, neighborhood or address based on specific criteria. What makes a neighborhood walkable, and what is considered in determining a walk score? While the calculations are a bit more complex than I care to delve into here, the key factors that are considered in calculating the Walk Score of an area or address are:

• Walkable access to parks, recreation and places where people can meet and play
• Regular public transportation is available
• An established “city center” or as we call them in San Diego, “villages” where residents can walk to local restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment, services & shopping
• Local population is sufficient to sustain such businesses
• There are schools and jobs within walking distance
• Infrastructure that includes paved streets and walkways for pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit
• Levels of mixed income & mixed use—affordable housing near businesses

There was a time when people fled the cities looking for more space and the great outdoors. Not that this isn’t still a dream environment for many, however the return to city living is in full swing!

San Diego’s downtown district has seen dramatic growth in popularity over the past 10 years. Downtown San Diego is vibrant and alive and continues to grow at an amazing pace.

Other popular social enclaves in the central metro San Diego area include: Hillcrest, Mission Hills, North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington and South Park—and this is just a sampling of one small geographic area. The beach neighborhoods have their magnets, too: Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Pt. Loma, Coronado, La Jolla, Bay Park, as do other areas of San Diego.

Here are just a few reasons why high Walk Score areas are gaining in popularity:

• Fewer cars mean fewer harmful emissions, less congestion & fewer parking hassles.
• Walking is not only great for our health, but creates zero pollution.
• Having nearby restaurants, services and shopping save us time and provide great social environments.
• Being closer to the workplace saves both time and money
• Local parks and community space within walking distance encourage us to play more and provide great outdoor space for children and pets.
• It has been suggested that a high walk score contributes to the value of a property—a nice benefit for owning a property with a high Walk Score address

From my own experience, I would estimate that as many as 40% of my buyer-clients in the past 5 years have specifically requested to see homes in areas within walking distance of shops, restaurants and other services—places where they could walk to parks and have easy access to transportation and other services. They want to live in areas where they can choose to leave their car parked in their garage or do without a car altogether. In other words, they are seeking high Walk Score properties.

As of walkscore.com’s 2011 City and Neighborhoods Rankings, San Diego ranks #18 on the list of the 50 largest cities in the nation, and it is estimated that 28% of San Diego residents have a walk score of 70% or above!

San Diego’s 2011 top 20 ranked neighborhood areas and their scores are:

1. Horton Plaza – 97
2. Core/Columbia – 96
3. Gaslamp Quarters – 95
4. Little Italy – 92
5. Cortex Hill – 92
6. Marina District – 92
7. Harborview – 91
8. East Village – 88
9. Hillcrest – 84
10. Park West/Bankers Hill – 83
11. Ocean Beach – 79
12. University Heights – 79
13. Normal Heights – 79
14. Teralta East (City Heights East) - 78
15. Teralta West (City Heights West) – 78
16. North Park – 77
17. Corridor – 77
18. Roseville/Fleetridge – 77
19. Old Town – 77
20. Torrey Pines – 76

There ya go! Hope this blog was informative. Want to find out more about Walk Scores or look up your own city and neighborhood? Visit www.walkscore.com

I took a week off to hike the Grand Canyon, "Rim-to-Rim," (yes, I DID make it without the aid of rescue airlift, raft or mule!), visited family in Chicago, saw many of my clients and friends in July including attending a client’s 40th Birthday Bash, a fabulous Independence Day party complete with fireworks, free evening concerts at Trolley Barn Park and a multitude of other festive events!

Work, on the other hand--not as much fun lately! Real estate continues to be bought and sold, but it remains a challenging market.

Here are some sample stats that came in for June, 2011. Feel free to contact me for information specific to your neighborhood or Zip code:

• Single family detached (SFD) home sales increased 3.8% in June 2011 over May, however condos posted a 1% decline.
• In contrast, the median sales price for SFD's decreased .7%, but increased 2.1% for condos during that same period.
• Year-over-year sales for June are not encouraging. June 2011 sales of single family detached homes finished 4.6% lower than June 2010, and condos fared even worse with a 13.4% decrease.

One important consideration is that in June of last year, buyers were scrambling to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit which expired at the end of June 2010. This could certainly account for a reduction in volume this year.

Inventory levels remain relatively low in San Diego County at about 4.5 months inventory. Average days-on-market, however, rose by 19 days. Properties are taking longer to sell as buyers take longer to shop.

What does this all mean? It means the market remains unpredictable, influenced by economic uncertainty and government policy speculation.

Speaking of policy, you may want to check out my Web site Blog (www.TamaraZhomes.com) for briefing on recently-passed SB 458 legislation regarding short sale policy which effectively provides that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as full payment. Jr. Lien holders can no longer seek payment from sellers after the short sale has been successfully completed.

While this legislation was considered a forward step toward smoothing out short sale kinks, there’s speculation that this could actually hamper the already difficult process of successfully negotiating terms acceptable to the lenders. If Jr. Lien holders think they can go after the seller for more money later, they may be less likely to accept the short sale terms. Only time will tell if this is a step forward…or not.

Buyer and sellers should also be aware that new, lower Fannie and Freddie loan limits are scheduled to take effect September 1, 2011.  This isn’t going to help the real estate market recover! Efforts are being made to postpone the September 1^st implementation, however we should be prepared that the new conforming loan limits for San Diego County could soon be $546,250 for a single family residence, down from $697,500. That’s a difference of $151,250.

When you consider the number of homes in Southern CA above that price point, this could have a significantly negative impact on buyer’s ability to obtain affordable financing. Estimates place the number of loans that would be ineligible for conforming limits to range between 8 and 12% depending on the loan program. Sellers may soon find they have an even smaller qualified buyer pool.

Ready for something a little optimistic? If you are a qualified buyer in this market, there are tremendous opportunities out there for you! Whether you are shopping for your first home, a move up, move down or investment property, you are bound to get a screaming deal!

New financing programs are being introduced, providing more options and flexibility. Interest rates, at least for the time being, are unbelievably low, and San Diego remains an extremely popular region to visit and to live! If you are ready to take advantage of this down market, call me today and let’s get you started.

That’s it for now! Ciao!

Tamara

Simply, junior liens for these homeowners can no longer be served a deficiency judgment once a short sale is approved and the sale closes.

See the language below from the California Association of Realtors about the reason and purpose behind SB458. Contact me to set up a complimentary consultation should you have additional questions about the short sale process.

SB 458 (Corbett) Anti-Deficiency – C.A.R. initially sponsored SB 458 to revisit the “anti-deficiency” issue of SB 1178 (Corbett, 2010), which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. As introduced, SB 458 would have extended existing anti-deficiency protections to cover the refinance of purchase money mortgages, and new debt (cash out) incurred to acquire, construct or improve the home. C.A.R. and the lender groups reached an agreement to amend SB 458 to instead expand the provisions of existing law (SB 931 of 2010) which became effective this year. SB 931 requires a first mortgage holder to accept an agreed upon short sale payment as full payment for the outstanding balance of the loan, but does not apply to junior lien holders. SB 458 will extend the protections of SB 931 to junior liens effectively providing that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as full payment of the outstanding balance of all loans.  In addition, this measure will clarify that this rule applies only to residences.

VA popularity has not only revived with borrowers, but is becoming the way to buy a home for our active and veteran service men and women.

The VA loan program can make it much easier for veterans to secure a home than with other loan solutions. This program is available to veterans and guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Frequently VA loans offer lower interest rates than conventional financing. In addition, with a VA-guaranteed loan, there is no private mortgage insurance requirement, which saves you even more money each month.
VA loans have many advantages over other types of loans:
 

It would be difficult to dispute that this is an ideal buyer market; money is cheap with rates still hovering around 4.5%. Inventory is available, more so in some markets than others, but buyers have options in every market. Prices are hovering at 2003 levels, buyers have more bargaining power since we are in a "buyers market."

So what's holding buyers back? According to Pitt (and I agree), the most common factors are general anxiety regarding job stability and an uncertain economy. While most people will say that they feel this is a good time to buy, they continue to worry that the economy or their own financial situation could worsen.

Pitt offers some good advice in the article, including the importance of focusing on local market conditions instead of reacting to national averages. While it's great to know what's going on globally, you need to focus on your specific market of interest. There are very different dynamics from region to region.

Local market activity is not the only thing requiring your scrutiny. It's important to take stock of your financial situation--both now, and following your purchase. Start by determining not only on how much you are able to qualify for, but consider carefully what you are willing to spend. These are often two very different numbers.

When evaluating your budget, don't forget to consider your estimated annual income tax savings.  The mortgage interest deduction allows you to write off your home loan interest. Your yearly tax savings can substantially "subsidize"  your monthly housing payment. This benefit is huge...AND you are investing in your own real estate vs. paying off someone else's when you rent.

Pitt says many potential buyers simply assume they won't qualify for a loan without ever speaking to a lender. Buyers make this assumption without realizing there are still many options available to them. The only difference is that their qualification status will be more carefully evaluated.

In summary, the article offers sound advice, "If you're looking to buy do your homework, consult a banker, and look only at homes you can comfortably afford. If it's your first, remember it doesn't need to be your dream home. Buying a starter, building equity, and trading up remains a good strategy."