Apr

18

Foreclosures

April 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Foreclosures jump 57 percent in last 12 months and it’s not over yet.

In numbers calculated from realtytrac, one out of every 558 single family households in the US experienced some form of foreclosure filing in March.

Between March 2007 and March 2008 there has been an increase of 129% for foreclosure filings.
In California, one in every 204 homes was subject to a foreclosure filing in March for a total of 64,711 properties.  March filings were up almost 21 percent from February and approximately 106 percent from a year ago March.
Analyst’s predict foreclosures to hit record levels during the third and forth quarter of 2008 based on the NOD (Notice of Defaults) the lenders are now mailing. It generally takes 3 -4 months in California from the NOD to complete foreclosure.

Apr

13

Consequences for ‘Walk-Away’ Borrowers

April 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Consequences for ‘Walk-Away’ Borrowers
Thinking about walking away, think again!
The government and the lending industry are taking aim at “walk-away” home owners who stop making payments and months later send the house keys back to their lender.

Such borrowers will not be able to get another mortgage through Fannie Mae for five years, unless there are documented extenuating circumstances. In that case, the prohibition is three years. Even after the prescribed time has elapsed, a borrower with a foreclosure in his file will have to make at least a 10 percent down payment and have a FICO credit score of at least 680 to qualify for a Fannie Mae loan.

Freddie Mac, which counts foreclosures as major credit black mark for seven years, is now aggressively pursuing walk-away borrowers where permitted under state law, a senior official said.

Federal legislation enacted last year allows home owners who negotiate loan modifications with lenders and have portions of their principal debt eliminated to escape income tax liability for the amount forgiven.

Walk-away borrowers, by contrast, have nothing forgiven, and the Internal Revenue Service may demand taxes on the balance they never paid, the IRS says.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (04/12/2008)

Mar

20

City of Los Angeles Nixes Las Lomas

March 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles City council had a split decision this week whether to let Las Lomas Land continue with the application process.

At the advice of an attorney, the council voted 10-5 to stop Las Lomas from pursuing plans to build it’s mini City in the foothills of the Newhall pass area of Santa Clarita.

Mar

6

FHA Loan Limits Raised

March 6, 2008 | 1 Comment

The FHA Mortgage Limits Maximum is now $729,750

On Wednesday, the government raised the mortgage loan limits in several high-cost California counties for home loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration.
14 counties in California will be included and they are:

Alameda
Contra Costa
Los Angeles
Marin
Monterey
Napa
Orange
San Benito
San Francisco
San Mateo
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Ventura

Mar

4

Meadows Elementary School

March 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Alexis Block a student at Meadows Elementary School will represent his school and all of Santa Clarita at the L.A. County competition this spring.

A first for Meadows Elementary - a Valencia school acknowledged with the Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished School awards - will be competing at a regional spelling bee, at which children driven by competitiveness battle in a popular non-athletic competition.

On Friday, Meadows teachers, students and their parents were abuzz with spelling activity when the school hosted its first-ever spelling bee.

Alexis Block, 12, a sixth-grader, won first place after spelling “hippocampus” correctly. She will the official representative voice of Meadows Elementary School at the upcoming Los Angeles County regional spelling bee this spring.
Way to go Alexis! Santa Clarita will be wishing you success at the regionals!

Mar

4

Bernanke Speaks

March 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke

The current real estate mortgage meltdown - fed by the american dream to own a home, unscrupulous lenders selling loans with many buyers not fully understanding or having the mortgage loan terms explained to them.  Mortgage rates resetting, option ARMs, paid too much for the home and now simply cannot make the payment. Read more

Mar

4

SCV Sheriff - shoot dog

March 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Since Feb. 22, Santa Clarita deputies have been involved in three separate shootings in the SCV. On Feb. 22, deputies fired upon a vehicle as a suspect fled the scene of a fight in a Canyon Country parking lot. Six days later, deputies fired at one of three vandalism suspects, also in Canyon Country.

Deputies have now killed a dog. Responding to a domestic dispute they arrived at the home, the dog - a german shepard was “barking excessively” The roommate was asked to control the dog - he tied it to a tree in the front yard where it contined to bark and howl.
When deputies came out from the home the dog lunged forward, broke the leash and deputy fired - killing the dog.
I understand the deputy may have felt he had no choice and he probably didn’t but in as much as this is the third sheriff related shooting in 2 weeks - it may appear the sheriff are getting a little trigger happy.

Mar

2

Castaic up for Grabs?

March 2, 2008 | 1 Comment

Everyone Wants Castaic

Be careful what you wish for Castaic … you may get it. A localized movement within Castaic has sprouted up again over the last couple of years in that approximately 1,500 homeowners want to become part of the City of Santa Clarita.
Of course the city will welcome this portion of Castaic with open arms, but what will become of the rest of the population you ask, now at around 27,000 people?

Read more

Feb

21

Las Lomas Land Application

February 21, 2008 | 1 Comment

Los Angeles County planners will scrutinize the land application form submitted by Las Lomas Land LLC, after a discrepancy was found in the document.
The Director of Planning for the county, Bruce McClendon, is quoted from The Signal Wednesday that “he’s taken his probe into the Las Lomas land application to the next level after finding conflicting information on the application.” The Zoning and Subdivision Application listing the parcels of land show the applicant and the owner of the property as the Las Lomas Land Company LLC, signed by developer Dan S. Palmer in 2003.
Currently the County is stepping up their investigation on who owned the parcels and if Dan Palmer had the right to file the application. Other State and local offices interested in Las Lomas Land LLC,. 

  • The California Attorney General
  • California Department of Real Estate
  • Assemblyman Cameron Smyth
  • Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith

Feb

21

Home Sellers Questions

February 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Question and Answer: I sold a house recently and I am somewhat puzzled over the buyer’s inspection report and request for repairs.

  1. I was never provided a home inspection report A list of repairs came from the buyer. I replaced and fixed what I could
  2. At the buyers final walk thru, the buyers agent gave my agent an additional list for items needing repair. 2 of which were not on original request for repairs.

My wife and I went ahead and fixed the additional items that were listed on the second request. My house was on the market for a long time we just wanted to get it closed so we did the additional repairs. Is this a common practice for the buyer to add on more repairs after the fact?

Wow, sorry about the hassle you went through, it sounds like it was very frustrating for you to get this house sale closed. I’ll try to answer your questions;

  • The home inspection report is something the buyer pays for, on the California Purchase Agreement there is fine print about buyer providing to seller complete copies of any and all reports buyer has performed. The final walk thru is NOT the time to discover and request additional items for repair. The verification of property condition is to insure the property is as it was when buyer first entered agreement to purchase. This walk-thru is to ensure that repairs were done from the original list from buyer.

It sounds like in order for you to close escrow you went ahead and did the repairs, as the buyer was holding up the close of escrow. That sounds like the best option for you but probably a frustrating one. Communication between the selling agent and the listing agent are key in this type of situation, many times it will be written into the contract about exactly what the seller will do in order to get the sale closed and if buyer is satisfied they sign and every body is going to escrow knowing what the other side will or wont do. You were up against a bad situation here in that buyer has a right to cancel, even at the last minute if the property is not in good repair and all items in working order as agreed upon.

This is not legal advice, I am not a lawyer. If you need legal council, contact a qualified professional