Does Someone Just Sit In A Room And Get Paid....

To Find New Ways To Waste Our Tax Dollars????

Another Point-of-Sale Mandate!

AB 2204 (De La Torre), would require lawyers to review every deed, CC&Rs etc, and remove illegal, obsolete and unenforceable restrictions from historic title records in connection with a transfer of property. Guess who pays? You do because AB 2204 would add $500 - $1,000 in costs to transactions and for what.

Existing law already makes any provision in a deed of real property that restricts the right of a person to sell, lease, rent, use, or occupy the property based on race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, disability, source of income, or sexual orientation illegal and unenforceable.


Please contact Senator Sheila Kuehl TODAY to urge her to vote NO on AB 2204.

District Office (Los Angeles)
10951 West Pico Blvd.Suite #202Los Angeles,
CA 90064Phone:
(310) 441-9084 Fax: (310) 441-0724

The California Association Of Realtors Opposes AB2204 Because:

Current law already protects buyers and renters from discrimination. This bill ignores multiple existing responses to ancient unconstitutional covenants and deed restrictions (the latest of which was approved only last year), and instead attempts to impose a new program upon real estate transactions and Recorders. Existing mechanisms already deal with the issue effectively.

AB 2204 creates another financial burden for home buyers. Searching and purging old documents will cost literally tens of millions of dollars. These costs will be added to those which a buyer already must pay at closing, when they can least afford it.

AB 2204 would be very costly to counties. L.A. County alone estimates that it will have to read the documents related to 17,000 transactions every month! If there is only a single deed in each of these transactions that needs to be rewritten, it will cost L.A. County at least 27 new lawyers in legal costs alone. However, it is extremely unlikely that these transactions will have only a single document that needs to be rewritten since every deed and CC&R in the chain of title will have to be reviewed. Not every county is as large as L.A., but every county will have the same expensive problem. Counties will undoubtedly try to build the cost into increased recording fees, fees that will be paid by homebuyers.

AB 2204 diverts attention from critical real estate disclosures. Homebuyers are already faced with a daunting stack of disclosures and documents to sign. This bill proposes to add to that burden, but without any legal benefit.

AB 2204 seeks to erase history. Philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” Rather than pretend that such egregious discrimination never existed by attempting to “sanitize” the record, isn’t it wiser for the record to reflect what happened historically so society can continue to learn from its past mistakes?

What Does A "Buyer's Market" Mean?

More importantly, what doesn't it mean? Yes, we are officially in a buyer's market. Typically, when the inventory rises above a six month supply it is a buyer's market. There is currently an eight or nine month supply in the San Fernando Valley. What that DOES mean is that there are lots of homes for buyers to choose from and it does give buyers some advantage in negotiating a good price. What it DOES NOT mean is that the buyer holds all the cards and can walk all over the seller with unrealistic demands. No matter the market the home belongs to the seller and ultimately the seller has the last word.

This can be a real shock to buyers particularily those trying to take advantage of the huge supply of foreclosures. Buying from a bank has its own set of rules and if you are someone that likes to control situations then this is not for you. It is a game of "hurry-up and wait". Lately, I have had buyers write offers on short pays and foreclosures and then call me everyday yelling because the bank has not responded even though I have said over and over again that the bank moves at its own speed and has no attachment to the property. It can take a month or more for a bank to decide whether or not to accept a short pay offer and 80% don't get accepted. There is no one to call and push along, the person that answers the phone at the bank doesn't care if the property sells or not and the listing agent has no control over the speed at which the bank responds.

So, if you decide to take advantage of this market, and it really is the time to buy, understand that not every house on the market is going to be a great deal, that not all sellers are in trouble and HAVE to sell, and that the banks are not easy to deal with. The most common answer you will get from a bank whether you are writing a short pay offer or in escrow and asking for something to be repaired is "NO".

If you would like to learn more about buying foreclosed properties e-mail me now. To view Bank Owned Properties Click here.

Record Price Decline

I found this interesting information on CNN Money and thought it worth sharing. This real estate market is not for the faint of heart.

The question is, "How long can this last?" if any one has the answer please let me know. So many people are upside down in their properties right now and wondering if it is worth waiting it out or is now the time to find a way out. Jingle mail is back big time. It is hard to think of making payments on a house that is not worth as much as your mortgage. When is one throwing good money after bad? Is there a moral issue in just walking away from your mortgage? How long does a foreclosure usually hurt one's credit and can you ever get another mortgage? If there are any accountants or loan brokers out there that would like to comment on this please, I welcome your post.

Reverse Mortgages

I've had lots of clients ask me, "Heather should I sell this home or should I take out reverse mortgage on it?" and "How does the reverse mortgage work?". Well, first let's keep in mind that I am a Realtor not a loan broker but I will try my best to answer the basics.

1.) WHAT IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE? A "reverse" mortgage is a loan against your home that does not have to be paid back until you no longer live in the home, die or sell your home. With a reverse mortgage, you can take the equity out of your home and not have to worry about monthly payments. The cash can be paid to you in a number of ways:

• A single lump sum of cash.
• A regular monthly cash advance
• As a credit line that allows you to control the amount available
• A combination of the above

To be eligible for most reverse mortgages, you must own your home and be 62 years of age or older.

2.) IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE GOOD FOR YOUR NEEDS?

AARP has five questions you should ask yourself if you are considering a reverse mortgage. They are:

• Do you really need a reverse mortgage?
• Can you afford a reverse mortgage?
• Can you afford to start using up your home equity now?
• Do you have less costly options?
• Do you fully understand how these loans work?

Before you decide whether to take a reverse mortgage or sell your home and rent read the article on the subject on the AARP website. Another good source for information on reverse mortgages is The U.S. Department of Urban Development (HUD).

These mortgages can be VERY expensive and one should give a lot of thought before taking one out. Always talk to a professional money advisor before making the decision.

FHA Lifts The 90 Day No Flip Policy

To help facilitate the sale of bank-owned properties, the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) has suspended its 90‑day rule against flipping properties until June 9th, 2009 for properties acquired by lenders. Under the anti‑flipping rule, the FHA will not insure a mortgage loan if the property was sold within 90 days of the sellers purchase of the property. Foreclosed homes are vacant/abandoned and can harm neighborhoods and delay an areas recovery.The hope of FHA’s new policy is to facilitate the sale of bank-owned properties. However, FHA still requires homes to be “safe, secure, and sound," which isn't always the case with REO (Real Estate Owned) properties.
For more information about the waiver of FHA’s anti‑flipping rule, go to www.fha.gov.

Point-Of-Sale Update

BIG WIN FOR REALTORS® ON ENERGY AUDIT/POINT-OF-SALE BILL - The California Association of Realtors and thousands of REALTORS® won their fight in Sacramento. The author of Assembly Bill 2678 agreed to remove the requirement from the measure that would have mandated that homes and commercial property on the market in California undergo an energy audit at point-of-sale and forced completion of energy efficiency upgrades."This is a significant win for every REALTOR®, homeowner, and potential home buyer in the state," said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. "C.A.R. wishes to thank every one of its members who rallied behind our efforts to have these point-of-sale contingencies removed as a way to preserve housing affordability." Way To Go C.A.R.

Quick Facts From C.A.R.

Calif. median home price - April 08: $403,870(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region April 08: Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,170.000(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region April 08: High Desert $210,860(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - First Quarter 08: 44 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates - week ending 06/12/08 30-yr. fixed: 6.32% Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 5.93% Fees/points: 0.6% 1-yr. adjustable: 5.09 % Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)