July 2011 
There are 7 blog entries for July 2011.
CountryWide Must Re-Pay 450,000 Home Buyers
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 12:54pm. 914 Views, 2 Comments.
I came across an interesting article forwarded to me by a fellow Oakland Realtor. Apparently the FTC is making Contrywide home loans send checks to over 450,000 home buyers who were overcharged for services and never knew about it. Of course Countrywide was purchased by Bank of America after the mortage meltdown, so B of A will be the one to pay the bill of $108 million.
Oakland's Art N Soul Festival Coming Soon!
Monday, July 25th, 2011 at 5:58pm. 1965 Views, 0 Comments.
Every August Oakland hosts it's annual Art N Soul festival...which is pretty much the biggest public event in Oakland. The location is downtown surrounding the Frank Ogawa Plaza. There will be live music, food, arts, crafts and a whole host of local business and non-profit organizations doing tabling and providing info. I'm not sure which artists are performing this year but I'm looking forward to the event. The dates are August 20-21.
New Protections for Short Sellers of Real Estate
Sunday, July 24th, 2011 at 1:41pm. 31560 Views, 0 Comments.
A new bill (Senate Bill 458) was signed into law last week, which will help protect borrowers who short sale their real estate. This bill applies to the junior or "second" lien holders, which previously had the right to go after borrowers who agreed to a short sale. Technically, second lien holders could still make efforts to collect the amount that was short..even years after the real estate was sold.
This is welcome news, because short sales are still very hard to do and the more protections there are in place for borrowers, the better the process will be.
Former CityWalk Condos are Now Rentals
Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 12:41pm. 596 Views, 0 Comments.
If you have been passing by the intersection of 14th and Jefferson over the past few years, you have surely noticed the large incomplete condo development at the coner of 14th st and Jefferson, across from the Federal Building in Oakland. This project was started around 2006, and soon stalled after the downturn in the real estate market set in. For the next two to three years, it sat incomplete..wrapped in a white platstic type tent.
Well it was recently acquired by another developer who is finishing the project and will be leasing them. It's nice to see the building finally completed, it was getting to be quite the eyesore. It's a also a sign that the local economic conditions in Oakland are improving somewhat.
Get the Condo Cert Asap!
Thursday, July 21st, 2011 at 12:59pm. 818 Views, 0 Comments.
When purchasing a condo, there is a document called the "condo certification" which states all the details of the development such as how many units, whether or not there is current litigation, what the percentage of owner occupants are, how many units are delinquent on the HOA dues.. and a whole host of other info. For us, the most imortant info on the condo cert is
1. Whether or not there is Litigation as this can impede getting financing on the unit (typcally this is disclosed by the listing agent if they are doing their job right).
2. Number of units that are delinquent on HOA dues. This will constitute a percentage (number of units delinquent divided by the number of units in the building). For pretty much all lenders, this percentage cannot…
Sewer Lateral Ordinance Coming For Oakland/East Bay Real Estate
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 at 3:13pm. 577 Views, 0 Comments.
East Bay Municpal Utility District (EBMUD) will soon be implementing a sewer lateral ordinance for the East Bay, which currently does not have one. The ordinance basically states that any seller of real estate in any City covered must provide a sewer lateral clearance as part of the sale of the property, or when a property is getting more than $100k of work done.
The sewer clearance basically refers to the plumbing running from the house to the street sewer. Often these lines get obstructed or damaged in some way over time..usually by tree roots and movement of the soil. The inspection involves someone running a camera attached to a long line which can be inserted into the pipe to inspect it for damage via a small screen display. If damage is present,…
HOA Issues for Real Estate
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 5:26pm. 1346 Views, 0 Comments.
Concerning the purchase of a condominium, one area that has caused problems for some buyers in recent times is the HOA delinquency rate. As you know, when you purchase a condo you become a member of a homeowners association and begin to pay monthly dues. These dues typically cover water/sewer, common area maintenance, garbage, hazard insurance and other items. For each unit in a development that is foreclosed on or sold as short sales those monthly dues stop being paid for a period that can range from several months to a year or more. This not only means that the reserves in the HOA account to perform repairs on the property might be lower than ideal (but not always), it also means that it can cause lenders to deny financing based on excessive risk.
This…
The Oakland Real Estate Market is HOT
I'm happy to say, that there is definitely a significant increase in activity compared to this time last year. Multiple offer... Add Comment Read MoreShort Sale Debt Cancellation Set to Go Away
Originally, when you did a short sale you were taxed on the amount that you were forgiven by the lender. This was a seri... 13Comments Read MoreChanges To FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium
The Federal Housing Administration recently announced an increase in the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. Mortgage insuran... 4Comments Read More
