Simple Reasons to Pick Porcelain or Ceramic Tile

Happy to report I definitely picked porcelain tile for the right reasons! When we did our floors in the house we chose porcelain as it was stronger basically. Less likely to scratch or break.

But, the article from Houzz is worth sharing here with you (instead of copying and pasting!) :

Houzz ~ Porcelain vs. Ceramic

This was ours during the install......took 8 days!

Anyways, take a gander at the link from Houzz, it's a great this vs. that synopsis and will save you dinero in the long run!

Mortgage Delinquencies Down....Student & Auto Loans Are Now Becoming Problematic

All the great news about mortgage delinquencies being reduced. Certainly because people have more equity, have re-fi'd, did loan mods.....so now the other common loans are showing signs of worsening....

Well, with low rates all over, more people were buying new cars. And, just like the mortgage industry mess almost a decade ago...some of those people probably shouldn't have bought them....

Student loan delinquency is up to over 11%. But, it's honestly not surprising. What with the cost of education, the lack of good paying jobs when they get out...it's a challenge to pay those student loans!

So, let's keep our older vehicles & let's get those graduates employed!

Mortgage Rates I See Today

Seem to be hovering around 3.7%. All depends on your credit scoring, what you're putting down, etc. 15 year fixed are just above 3%.

Ads all over the internet for less, but I don't know what kinds of costs are involved. Points, origination fees....again, with the etc.

Be wary of the ones that are ridiculously low....and remember, you get what you pay for.

Be sure to read alllllll the fine details on a mortgage offering.

But, happy to report such crazy low rates....I mean really, a 30 year fixed rated at 3.6 - 3.81?

It really is quite remarkable, right???

Some Sellers Just Need A Reality Check!

When a property is on the market for a while, and then re-listed with a different agent for the same price....it usually means the seller is stuck on an unrealistic price.

Story of the week. Regular home, nothing spectacular about it, but my people like the floor plan. Model match with upgraded bathrooms but no pool or view closed in last 90 days (what appraisers look at) for 35k less, 5% less.

So, knowing the work that needs to be done, giving value for pool & view, taking away for original baths, we wrote an offer at the model match floor plan price.

This home has been on the market for many months. On and off, different agents......all about the same price or even higher.

Seller comes back "AS-IS, no repairs, no termite repairs, not a shred of concession and 1% off their list price"

I tell my clients....we all agree the seller truly needs a....yep.....a Reality Check!

Unfortunately for the Seller, the agent needs a Reality Check as well. Things that he said had value, I've taken Appraisal courses & been doing this long enough, just don't get the value they want.

So, the house will continue to sit. Someday they will figure it out. Someday a buyer will come along that either wants to pay more or the seller gets tired of waiting for their price.

For us? Onward & Forward!

If I Could Find The Commercial Space That Zoning-Wise Would Let Me......

I would absolutely LOVE to do something like this!

Houzz brought this baby to my attention, and I thought to share.

An old laundromat in Fargo, transformed into a loft style home. Way better than just leaving it vacant and dilapidated, or getting dilapidated.

We do have a lot of commercial space un-rented.....just sayin'......

What cha think?

Some HAMP Mods Due To Re-Set

If you were one of the many that was able to modify your home loan with the Home Affordable Modification Program, you may be about due for your first interest rate bump up.

After 5 years, it is due to go up 1%, and each year an additional 1% til it reaches the market rate at the time the original mod was done.

If your loan wasn't a Freddie or Fannie loan, you were not eligible.

Fortunately, they have additional tools in place should your first bump cause a burden. One is actually refinancing through the HARP program, but that is due to expire at the end of this year.

The Treasury has been looking very closely at those that did utilize the HAMP program to stay in their home. They indicate there are several differently timed safety nets at your disposition.

Do Not Wait. If you did get a loan mod through the HAMP program, check with your lender about when your bump is scheduled for. See what the anticipated amount is and if you are not comfortable with that, think you can't do the increase, talk to them now!

Yep, take action before it's too late!

Homes Sales Activity For Santa Clarita & Surrounding Communities June 17, 2016

I am so happy to point out that we have moved up over the 600 mark for active listings.

From Acton to Stevenson Ranch, Newhall to Castaic we now have 622 active properties available for sale!!

We closed escrow on 371 in the last 30 days. That's actually a really good number considering the low inventory.

Under contract right now we have 732. 645 of those are Standard Sales, so that means we're still hovering about 10% of distressed sales. Bank owned, short-sales, maybe some HUD owned or probate in there as well.

The quickest moving ones are under 500-ish in our little valley. Priced right, marketed right, show nice? You're moving pretty quickly. Sales aplenty in that price range with a lot of competition.

Interest rates are still ridiculously low. The Fed did not bump them up this month. Talk again about September or December increase. For now though, below 4%.

All good in housing in Awesometown and neighboring 'villages'!