Oakland Ca Real Estate Blog 
Foreclosures in Oakland aren't Always Easy to Get
Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 3:36pm. 8 Views, 0 Comments.
A colleague of mine was recently interviewed by the New York Times about how difficult it is for many first time home buyers to buy a foreclosure in Oakland and the surrounding East Bay Area. The link is below..
New Real Estate MLS feature Offers More Exposure for Oakland/East Bay Sellers
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 4:02pm. 32 Views, 0 Comments.
All listings that are displayed on my website (or any other website for that matter) all come from the Multiple Listing Service or "MLS". The Oakland/East Bay area MLS is where all real estate listings in Alameda County are displayed for us real estate agents to search when we are searching for homes for our clients. It's accessable only to licensed real estate agents, and it contains information that is omitted from the public listungs that you see online.
For sellers, the MLS is the single greatest source of exposure, because it is where the real estate agent who have buyer clients are looking. There are several MLS's within California, and currently us Realtors have to become of a member of each MLS that we plan to market listings in. However soon…
Understanding the New Good Faith Estimate
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 11:29am. 33 Views, 0 Comments.
Typically when you obtian a loan, you are provided with GFE or "Good Faith Estimate" which outlines the terms of the loan as well as the closing costs and the total amount the borrower will need to bring to escrow to close the deal. Due to concerns relating to the mortgage meltdown, the rules concerning GFE's have changed.
Previously, the GFE was only supposed to disclose fees and costs that are being charged to the buyer. The new rules stipulate that the GFE is to include ALL FEES related to the transaction such as pest and home inspection fees, and other fees which may or may not actually be paid by the buyer. For instance-I'm currently in escrow on a Condominium in the Lake Merritt area which already had a pest report done which was provided in the…
Lake Merritt Makeover
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 5:38pm. 66 Views, 0 Comments.
You have probably noticed a lot of work being done lately around Lake Merritt lately. Recent improvements include landscaping, new walkways, lighting and even a new restaraunt Lake Chalet. I recently attended a presentation by a non-profit organization that aims to restore and preserve the quality of the water in the Lake. One of the interesting pieces of news that I heard was that there are plans to demolish the dam that runs along 12th st (where the water flows into the estuary) and build a sort of overpass that will allow traffic to flow over the moving water below. The goal is to allow boats to pass back and forth from the lake out to the estuary, so they can get out into the Bay. This would be a dramatic difference and a tremendous improvement to the…
Short Sales Are Still The Best Option for Many
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 4:39pm. 64 Views, 0 Comments.
Many of us were hoping that the short sale phenomenon was going to be temporary, but it's turned out to be a huge percentage of the sales in our area throughout 2009 and into 2010..with no end in sight. There are so many homeowners who are "underwater" that many of them are choosing to attempt a short sale. For most of these people, the only option other than a loan modification is to continue paying your mortgage or walk away and foreclose. Loan modifications aren't popular with many, because the modification in most cases will not change the principal balance of the mortgage, but rather reduce the interest that the borrower is paying on that balance. For many people, the thought of continuing to pay on a mortgage balance of say $700,000, when the…
Fha Spot Approvals are Officially No More
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 2:50pm. 47 Views, 0 Comments.
You may have read in one of my recent posts about the fact that Fha is changing their guidelines with regards to Condos. Well unfortunately as of Feb 1 the Fha is not going to approve any loans for the purchase of a Condo unless the Condo Development is already on the list of approved Condos. So basically this means that if you an Fha buyer and you are looking to buy a Condo, your options are significantly more limited than they were last month. There a few lenders who are looking for ways around this, but currently it just isn't possible.
So if you have been recently pre-approived for financing or are in the process now, make sure you are clear that if you intend to buy a Condo, you need to make sure that your agent verifies whether or not the…
Happy New Year!
Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 5:31pm. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
2009 was a rough year for real estate, we had an economic meltdown the likes of which we will hopefully never see again, record foreclosures, short sales and a loss of equity that was unprecidented.
We've been hearing for months that there is a "shadow inventory" of foreclosures that the banks are not releasing, and I think 2010 will reveal just how many foreclosures the banks are sitting on. Once thing is for sure...foreclosures and short sales will continue to be a significant portion of the market. Hopfully short sales will be able to be expedited in a better way, because that is the main hang-up with dealing with them. As the banks adjust to the realities of the needs of buyers, we will see short sale become more like normal sales, which will be…
First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended!! (Courtesy of CAR)
Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 4:26pm. 204 Views, 0 Comments.
Dear C.A.R. Members:
More good news for consumers, our members, and the housing market recovery. Following the Senate’s favorable vote yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives just voted 403 to 12 to extend the home buyer tax credit, expanding the parameters to include existing homeowners and not just first-time buyers. As you may know, C.A.R. and our partners at NAR have worked for months urging Congress and the Senate to extend and expand this crucial piece of legislation. We expect President Obama to sign the legislation in short order.
As it now stands, the federal tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to be eligible for…
FHA Spot Approvals go away November 1!
Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 2:32pm. 238 Views, 1 Comments.
Unfortunately, the guidelines pertaining to condo purchases with Fha financing are changing for the worse. We knew changes were coming, but until recently we didn't know what exactly those changes would be. Now it's been revealed that part of the change includes doing away with the so called "spot approvals" for condos. It used to be that if a condo development was not already on HUD's list of approved condos, then the borrower could request a spot approval that would then place the devlopment on the list after an inspection. This allowed for Fha financing to be used even when the building is not already on the approved list. Now that this option is going away, there will be no way to obtain the financing unless the development is already approved, and I…
A Little Fall Humor
Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 3:31pm. 185 Views, 0 Comments.
A colleague of mine sent me this Youtube video that I thought was pretty funny.
Foreclosures in Oakland aren't Always Easy to Get
A colleague of mine was recently interviewed by the New York Times about how difficult it is for many first time home bu... Add Comment Read MoreNew Real Estate MLS feature Offers More Exposure for Oakland/East Bay Sellers
All listings that are displayed on my website (or any other website for that matter) all come from the Multiple Listing Servi... Add Comment Read MoreUnderstanding the New Good Faith Estimate
Typically when you obtian a loan, you are provided with GFE or "Good Faith Estimate" which outlines the terms... Add Comment Read More
