TeamResults

The Federal Reserve along with other government agencies, released new guidelines on friday meant to stop abuses in high-cost mortgage, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The new guidelines, which mirror a proposal made last march are;

• Fully consider a borrower's ability to repay a loan at its fully indexed rate, including costs like taxes and insurance.
• Verify a borrower's income, rely on documented information not verbal representations.
• Allow borrowers to refinance without incurring prepayment penalties at least 60 days before the initial reset date of the loan payment.

Regulators apparantly believe that issuing guidelines like these will lessen the impact of higher cost adjustable rate loans, which are being blamed for increased mortgage defaults in some areas.

Please comment if you are in the loan industry. Specifically I'd be interested in seeing how these new guidlines will affect the industry (if at all) and if these guidelines are really "regulations", if not will they even be implimented?

This sort of goes in line with other posts I do like recapping the Anderson Report. To give an idea to consumers and professionals what the market looks like, and what people are saying about real estate.

The Boston Consulting Group conducted a survey of 1,007 Americans. Here are the results.

• 55% Believe they could sell their house for more now than a year ago.
• 3/4 Believe they could sell their home within 6 months at a price they set.
• 63% Believe that real estate is a good or excellent investment.
• 69% Said they were likely to renovate or improve their home within a year.
• And finally, 27% said they were likely to purchase a house in the next 5 years.
  

A senior partner at the cosulting group said, "Americans believe their are homes are still their best investment. They're positive about their home's value and believe in a bounce-back in residential real estate, overall,"

John Wall
www.TeamResults21.com 

UCLA released today, the quarterly "Anderson Report", an economic forecast for California's overall economic health. The key points in today's report are:

1.)    Housing sales are expected to be slightly down or flat through next year, a trend we're already seeing in some markets.

2.)    The impact of this real estate downturn had been and presumably continue to have little effect on the rest of California's economy.

3.)    A marginal slowing of job growth has sparked the slightest increase in unemployment. Real Estate related job losses have been in the mortgage business where dozens of companies have gone out of business or filed for bankruptcy. Construction employment peaked last year along with new growth.

4.)    Payroll growth is expected to slow to less than 1% though the report didn't indicate where it is now. Personal income growth will slow to under 3%.

5.)    And now for the good news... The economic picture for is expected to improve by mid-year in 2008 and be back in "normal" growth levels by year's-end. The U.S. Economy will see overall growth above 3% when the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates sometime after the 4^th quarter.

On a side note: I compile this information for the benefit of my clients, friends, and colleagues, who know to take it all with a grain of salt and not rely on anything in these reports. If you would like to access the "Anderson Report" yourself, you can visit http://www.uclaforecast.com/ , or do what I do and wait for someone to send you a 20 page e-mail, so you can translate it for them. Cheers and Thank you for visiting this Blog.

John Wall
CENTURY 21 Results
http://www.teamresults21.com/

New-home sales increased this month in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties according to an industry report this Friday. According to the report, new-home prices rose year over year in Los Angles, and San Diego counties. These are also the areas in Southern California where builders are more likely to offer non-monetary incentives instead of discounts off sales price.

The new-home median in LA County rose 5.7% from this time last year, contrasted by Riverside County's 4% decline since last April. Patrick Duffy, director of a Costa Mesa research firm said to the Los Angeles Times, "In general, it's those areas located close to job centers that will negotiate the current slow down..."

New-Home Sales only make up about 15% of all real estate sales transactions, but their numbers are watched closely by real estate experts because major price swings can help assess trends in other real estate markets.

John Wall, Realtor
TeamResults@Century21.com
www.TeamResults21.com

2 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom House 1,026 Square Feet $479,000 Offered by TeamResults.

Attractive home in the Lakewood Mutuals with some unique features. There are beautiful hardwood floors and a raised dinig area. Living room has a fireplace and a view of a private enclosed, outdoor garden. Grounds have been landscaped and well maintained. There are dimmers on the recessed lighting. Inside laundry. Home is a great starter home near to schools, shopping, entertainment and transportation. All appliances included.

One of the few remaining affordable starter homes in Lakewood; Adjacent to Lakewood Country Club.

For more information or to schedule a private showing; E-Mail TeamResults@Century21.com or
call (562) 896-3886. For E-flyers or property analysis visit www.teamresults21.com.

There is a difference between condominiums and co-operatives. Both are a type of multifamily properties that house multiple units. Condominium owners actually own real property, while co-op owners have shares that give the right to occupy and use the unit.

A co-op can be thought of (because it is) a corporation formed to own multifamily residential property. Residents own shares in the corporation which owns an entire group of residences - usually one or more apartment buildings. Co-op members do not own their units. Instead they make an investment in the co-op and have a voice in controlling the its activities.

In general, condo owners are subject to fewer rules than co-op apartment owners and, spend less time in internal governance. A condominium, carries with it joint ownership of common portions of the property, while other areas are owned privately.

financing a co-op can be a little tricky. A newly formed co-op takes usually takes out a single large mortgage on the entire building and then the owners buy shares of stock that entitle them to a proprietary lease to occupy a unit within the building. As the co-op ages and equity increases, the value of each unit increases, and future buyers might be required to pay in cash or finance as much as 50% or more.

Hiring a home inspector before purchasing a house, condo, or newly built
home can sheild buyers from unknown problems arising from faulty, or
damaged systems. The relatively low cost of hiring a qualified home inspector pales when compared to protecting a large investment.

When considering which inspector to hire consider their experience, professionalism, and industry associations. Your inspector should be a member in good standing with organizations like CREIA, CCI, and RHI. These are trade assocations which require members to maintain a quality work ethic and engage in continuing education programs. Don't forget to ask about licensing & insurance when interviewing potential inspectors.

Your home inspector will inspect the interior and exterior areas of the home as well as attic and crawl spaces below the home. All accessible systems in the home will be inspected such as heating and air conditioning, roof, plumbing, windows & doors, foundations, and ammeneties like pools and spas.

Remember that a property inspection covers only areas that are accessible at the time of the inspection. Inspectors will not make any alterations in order to access any of these systems.

Your inspector should produce a detailed analysis and report on the condition of the home you are about to purchase, and provide copies to each party to the transaction as well as your agent. This report will likely include descriptions, age, and condition of systems in the home.

It is likely that the inspector will find problems, infact I've never heard of a perfect "everything's fine" inspection, even in new construction. Its important to understand that these problem areas are not a repair list but a disclosure of the condition of each element of the home. The reports purpose is to allow the buyer to make a fully informed decision based on information that would not otherwise be obtained. Few agents and even the homeowner's themselves are qualified to make many statements regarding a home's condition.

Finally, consider this; just because a roof leaks, or the air conditioner only works in the winter doesn't mean that this particular home isn't a great deal, a good investment, and won't provide the stability, and protection owning a home should give.

For a list of respected home inspectors in the Southern California region, please feel free to contact me at TeamResults@Century21.com.

Try this... Visit http://maps.google.com.

Once the website loads, Then click on "Get Directions" 

In the From section type in "New York"  and in the To section, type "London".

The directions are pretty straight forward as you would expect until you scroll down to  number 24. That one confused me even though it made perfect sense.

Thanks friends... Have a great day.

Regards,

John Wall
C21 Results

There may be some relief coming for homeowner's who face foreclosure action by their lender. Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo, received letters asking for a six month moratorium on Foreclosures and instead urging these major lenders in the California market to focus on finding ways to keep borrowers from loosing their homes.

Many thousands of borrowers in California are at risk of default because they took on risky loans, and could loose their homes. Consumer groups, legal aid groups, housing services, at least place some blame on the lenders themselves because of loose underwriting which pushed some borrowers into loans they couldn't afford.

The Los Angeles Times quoted the associate director of California Reinvestment Coalition as saying "We are asking the largest lenders in the state to take leadership so that families can keep their homes and California's economy won't suffer".