Two Years Ago.....What A Difference!

Two years ago this time I was helping a Veteran buy his family their first home. Fast forward and we're helping that same Veteran family complete the sale of that same home via a short sale.

A year into their home ownership, bills got away from them, financial life became difficult to manage. Family expenses changed.

So, regardless of if it's helping a Vet to buy their first home, or help them navigate through the challenges of selling their home, we still help.

The buyers were patient, their agent stepped up above and beyond, I put the homes' utilities on in my name when the homeowners moved away, my favorite escrow team was merciless with follow-through. Title rep stepped outside their box and cleared an item from the prelim.

I could tell you more about the process but this post is just about helping people...no matter what.....doing the right thing....no matter what....showing compassion.....no matter what....at all times.

That's it, I'll get off my soapbox, for today. 

Hoping one person that reads this today decides that helping people, 

and being compassionate towards them...regardless of if you think they did right or wrong.....that speaks volumes about who you are....those are the kind of people that I want to be with.

Housing Activity in Santa Clarita Valley Election Day 2016

Just a coincidence that I'm writing a blog post about housing activity during one of the most volatile elections in my life. But, yes, life does go on!

My housing activity report focus' on Santa Clarita Valley and it's surrounding communities. Acton to the east, Stevenson Ranch west, Newhall to the south, and Castaic to the North....and everything in between!

Currently we have only 618 active listings! 

We need more!

In escrow or under contract, 588.

Still closing a wee bit over 300 every month 

with a total escrows closed in last 30 days of 317.

Looking forward to getting more Sellers on the market soon!

Reading Today - Time to Close Blaming Appraisers?

It's funny.....when we're about to close an escrow there is always a last minute scramble feel about it. I actually blogged it a few weeks ago.

There is also the 'blame-game', lender blames escrow, escrow blames lender. Too frequently they blame each other for a delay in closing.

Whatever....let's just close it already.

Today I read an article that states the appraisal process is what makes a 2 week closing take 6 weeks. Oh pleeze. Maybe the actual lender, stated by the article, only works their borrowers file for a total of 2-3 days during the escrow process. But, we have many other pieces of a huge puzzle that needs to be completed to close escrow on a home. MANY, I tell you!

While the appraisal process is challenging, and trust me, we blame them sometimes too, the loan has other challenges. The inspection process can be challenging. Getting through disclosures can be challenging. Negotiating repairs is a pain sometimes too. Just getting the buyers and sellers to turn in their paperwork can be a long process! Trust me, I know this.

Yet, it's all part of what needs to be done to close an escrow. When you've got so many people working on a huge project, buying/selling a home is huge, take your time. Get it done right, let everyone do their job without rushing through it. Rushing causes errors that we then have to fix before we can close.

Stop the 'blame-game', at least for your escrow. 

Let's just work together to solve any issues, and finish up a clean, tidy, escrow!

Options When Your Appraisal Comes In Low

I'm in the midst of a low appraisal right now. It's a beautiful home. The comps that I evaluated with my clients showed that what we agreed to was a fair price. The appraiser didn't think so.

This problem is a mutual problem for buyer and seller but the argument for the value falls on the listing agent.

You have a few options on how to deal with a value problem, we're selecting the fight the value with appraiser option.

A real estate purchase agreement generally gives the buyer an appraisal contingency. If it doesn't appraise at agreed to purchase price, buyer can cancel the contract without penalty.

Now, most buyers and sellers want a contract to stay together. That's why the buyer made the offer and seller accepted, right? Buyers want to buy the home, Sellers want to sell the home.

Options if the appraisal comes in low ~

1) Seller reduces purchase price.
2) Buyer brings in extra cash to close.
3) Split somewhere in the middle, or a variation there of.
4) Cancel the contract, which leaves the Seller with a BOM (Back On Market, Ugh)
5) Dispute the appraisal.

Since the listing agent, buyers, sellers, and myself, all see the value on the purchase price....we've elected to dispute the appraisal.

I've seen the appraisers report, she used some odd comps, didn't use others. So, listing agent is preparing a mathematical argument to the appraisers value. Bringing in comparable sales that are more appropriate, noting the upgrades, or lack of, with each property.

The listing agent has been selling in this particular community for 30 years. I would have to call her and her partner experts in this particular market. They've listed, sold, or viewed, the majority of what is for sale or sold in the neighborhood.

It's taking time, but the fight is worth it. My peeps want the home, listing agents peeps want to sell the home.....the appraiser my stick her ground, but it's worth the fight for sure!

Fun Designs for Siblings That Share a Bedroom

When my sister and I were little, we shared a bedroom.  We had bunk beds that we split at one point and each bed was on different sides of our room. I think we even put up a folding screen wall to try and separate our 'spaces'. LOLOL

When my two boys were little we had a special bed built for them. Very similar to one of the pictures here. A bed up high, another bed low, and places for a desk to work and floor to play.

Some of these are really great though. I love the chalkboard one best!

See, some separation with the one here!

I would have written my To-Do list if I had this by my bed!

Super sweet. What a great use of space.

I dig it. So mod! Similar to what my boys had.

Housing Market and The Winter Holidays

Just focused on Santa Clarita Valley and our surrounding communities in this post.

We've fallen below 700 active listings again. I checked yesterday and our total was at 677.

Prompted a thought to chat about this morning.

We didn't have an increase by the feds in September for home loan rates. Next meeting is in December, who knows what will happen.

What I do know is that buyers that are looking this last few months of the year are SERIOUS buyers. They aren't any type of lookie-loo, they are ready to buy now.

What I also know is that the new year will bring more listings on the market. Right? You all know this.

So, point of this blog post?

If you're thinking about selling in the next 6 - 12 months, consider listing now. You know the inventory is still low. You know that interest rates are still low. You know that serious buyers are out there. You know, right now, what your competition is.

Take a taste of the Winter 'snow', open your arms/homes to buyers, 

and let's get you moving!

Trended Credit Data Now A Reality

There's this awesome lender thing called a DU, or Desktop Underwriter for loans that are going Fannie Mae.

It tells lenders if their borrowers are good candidates for the loan program and if given to Realtors at offer presentation, we feel much more confident that a buyer can truly close on a loan to buy our Sellers home.

Nice news is that the latest DU release is allowing the use of Trended Credit Data now.

This is the mini-skinny on it:

Use of trended credit data in credit risk assessment

• Considers the monthly payment amounts that a consumer has made on revolving accounts, such as credit cards, over the past two years
• Offers lenders more insight into how a borrower tends to pay off their revolving credit lines each month, providing a more comprehensive risk assessment
• Gives borrowers greater ability to control their credit evaluation, and benefits borrowers who regularly pay off, or pay more than the minimum required amount, of their revolving debt, increasing the likelihood that they will receive an “Approve” recommendation from DU

So, sounds like it's a good idea to make larger than just the minimum payments on your Credit Cards people! Happy to report that the DU is creating a more human-like experience.