Loan Modifications - How They Affect Your Credit

A great question! It depends on how the lender reports it. If it is reported as a partial payment, rather than paid as agreed, it will have a negative effect on your FICO score - as much as 100 points.

But wait - as of Nov 1, 2009, new guidelines set by the Data Industry Association are instructing credit bureaus to ignore loan modifications as long as the lender has noted, "a loan modified under a federal government plan." Of course it still will be on the report and as far as how long it should not impact your score, who knows.

What to do if you are modifying:
- Make sure your modification is a government sponsored program (in some cases you may not qualify though)
- As the lender up front how they will report it on the credit report.

More questions? email me.

Tracy Pina

The Recession and the Rich

The recession may still be with us and according to the latest Forbes 400, even the "really" rich are getting hit. This group has collectively lost $39.2 Billion this year and the entry price to this exclusive club has dropped to under $1 Billion. (excerpt from Bamboo Consulting Inc, Dec 09 "Real Estate Unleashed"*)

What this means for real estate...
I am still seeing qualified buyers for the higher end market however they are deal-hunting and are very much willing to wait. Not good news for sellers. These buyers are coming into the homes and price cutting dramatically with the justification that the home will likely decrease in value over the next six months. And they very well may - this category of sellers is seeing more desperate times. There are even short sales and foreclosures in the high end now and more to come across 2010.

*If you are interested in subscribing to this monthly newsletter, go to www.bambooconsultinginc.com

If you would like more information on buying or selling, email me.
Tracy Pina

California Real Estate Median Home Price Up Year over Year

As is often the case, California is ahead of the nation in market recovery. The state’s median home price increased year over year in November for the first time since August 2007, sales bottomed out more than two years ago, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009. Going forward, we expect the statewide median home price to rise 3.3 percent to $280,000 this year, with a slight decrease in sales. While no one has an infallible crystal ball, it looks like the worst is behind us, and we can move forward with confidence that better days are ahead.

This information has been received from the office of:
Steve Goddard
2010 President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

For more details or information, email me.

Google's Next Big Land Grab Could Be, Well, Land

Google's Next Big Land Grab Could Be, Well, Land
by Joe Mandese
First search. Then display. Then offline media. Then mobile. Google's next big advertising land grab could well be real estate, and anything to do with it. In an application filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Thursday, Google has registered a patent claim for a new technology that would serve three-dimensional, panoramic real estate ads onto maps and other online pages when users are searching geographic regions. ...Read the whole story >>

Welcome 2010!

2010 is here and it seems everyone is excited.

This is a good year to buy real estate, and I’m not the only one saying it. See the BusinessWeek article below. Yes, it’s a catchy (controversial?) title. Like it or not, the media influences the general public and the herd mentality eventually kicks in. In 2009 the real estate industry saw many fence-sitters (leaders) climb down and buy a home, this (among government measures) created stability and caused multiple offers to return. The scramble to buy at the low was appearing to be here.

Now we enter 2010, the media is writing more favorably on the real estate market, the masses are beginning to believe it is finally safe to buy without “losing money.” And there are still deals to be had. Plus, as the article points out, interest rates are incredibly favorable. The catch, lenders are still tight with their money, they will loan money to those with money, so save for your down payment.

If you purchased in 2009, congratulations!! You timed the market well and likely bought at the “bottom.” If you didn’t buy yet did you miss the opportunity? Of course not! (Unless you were hoping to purchase in the sub-$400,000 price range).

Here is what I see for 2010 real estate in our area…

1. Price stability (already happening in most price categories, high-end should get there by year-end)

2. Increased short sales and faster approval cycles. Lenders have finally figured out how to streamline the process and also realized short sales are a good and viable solution.

3. Decreased quantity of REO/Bank Owned sales, increased quality. More short sale approvals equals fewer REO’s however they will still exist and will become more mainstream. Expect to see them across all communities (Willow Glen to Almaden to Los Gatos to Los Altos and beyond).

4. Great Move-Up Opportunities. Price stability in the lower end coupled with the still downward pressure in the high-end makes this a great move-up market.

If you would like data for a specific neighborhood email me and I’ll get it out to you right away.


If You Don't Buy a House Now, You're Stupid or Broke
Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth

SOURCE LINK: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/dec2009/bw2009127_753974.htm