'Brookside Escondido' Category
Some Benefits From The Real Estate Bust -2009
December 28th, 2009 Categories: Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Market Trends, Real Estate News
It’s always nice to get a different perspective on the events of the last couple of years, and one that I respect is that of my CPA, Jim Vander Spek. Jim has written columns for the North County Times for years, and recently posted an article about some of the benefits that have come out of the current market conditions. So, with permission from the author, here is Jim’s take on the Escondido real estate markets courtesy of Jim and the North County Times… 
The ongoing real estate bust with its foreclosures and drop in home values has created difficult problems for many. These have been discussed a great deal with the hope frequently expressed that prices will again rise. However, the news is not all bad. Let’s consider some benefits from the real estate bust:
Prices are down for newcomers. People are picking North County over other places in the country because it has again become affordable. My parents moved into a foreclosed Escondido home in 1965 during a similar bust. This allowed us to escape from Canada to paradise, for which I have been thankful ever since. San Diego County is a great place to live. Of course, we now have a much more diversified economy than way back then. I know of two young professional families who picked Escondido over many options because it looked like a great town and was affordable as well.
Prices are down for young families. They don’t have to move to Arizona anymore. Stopping the outward migration of young families is vital for the long-term health of our economy. We are seeing young families buying homes and setting up their lives here instead of some far away place. Let’s keep the grand kids here. Other places don’t look all that great anymore. Staying here, they can help us become even better.
Unqualified buyers no longer qualify. People are not creating impossible and inappropriate debt obligations. Further, homes are no longer being purchased with the intent to create vastly overcrowded communal habitats. Those which were purchased with this intent are rapidly being foreclosed upon and vacated.
This is great for neighborhoods and gives relief to community services as well.
Few recent massive tracts were built in North County. These are a bane elsewhere. Our healthy inventory of suddenly affordable housing stock is spread around and represents a tremendous economic asset for North County. It’ s not as though we are talking about boarded up neighborhoods.
Foreclosures provide an economic boost. Many are choosing to skip house payments for eight months or more and then end up paying half as much for rent going forward. What about the poor banks that are hurt by this? Oh well, they have good friends in Uncle Sam. Besides, they should never have made those loans to start with. Maybe they will be more careful next time.
California is a non-recourse state for purchase money mortgages, so the legal and tax consequences of such “strategic foreclosures” are often minimal. A recent Wall Street Journal article said that households abandoning mortgages are adding $5 billion a month to their cash flow, representing a “stealth stimulus.” North County is sharing in that.
McMansions lose appeal. Who needs a 3,500 square feet house to live in any way? Excess living rooms and bathrooms you could park your car in never made any sense. Who wants to pay the taxes, upkeep and utilities? People are again properly starting to look at houses as places to live instead of as unreliable, highly leveraged investments. Hard earned cash can be spent on more useful things and to accomplish important life cycle goals.
Jim Vander Spek is a certified public accountant and Escondido resident.
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September California Foreclosure Report
November 8th, 2009 Categories: 4S Ranch, Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego, Search Foreclosures, Search San Diego Foreclosures, bank owned
Courtesty of our friends at Foreclosure Radar, read the September California Foreclosure report below. Forclosure Radar is the preimmenent source of forclosure data in the industry.
September California Foreclosure Report
NO SHADOW INVENTORY OF BANK OWNED HOMES
Foreclosure Investors Still Finding Discounts at Trustee Sale
Discovery Bay, CA, October 13, 2009 – ForeclosureRadar (www.foreclosureradar.com), the only website that tracks every California foreclosure and provides daily auction updates, issued its monthly California Foreclosure Report for September 2009. This month’s report features not only a new look, but an important new statistic – Bank Owned (REO) Inventory. By looking at the number of foreclosures the banks have taken back and subtracting those that have since resold, we are able to show the number of foreclosures the banks have held as inventory over time.
September+2009+CA+Foreclosure+Report
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Do You Want To Reach Internet Savvy Homebuyers?
November 2nd, 2009 Categories: 4S Ranch, Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Marketing, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego, San Marcos, Santa Fe Valley
To effectively work with today’s internet savvy homebuyer, you need an internet savvy Realtor
- Windermere was the first real estate company to feature an interactive listing map on their website, allowing visitors to conveniently search for properties from the comfort of their homes.
- Windermere Exclusive Properties was the first real estate brokerage in San Diego to launch a companywide blog site. It is updated daily with real time news, powered by more than 100 active agent authors, including HotOnSanDiego’s Sue Johnson & Misty Dobson.
- We are the only real estate brokerage in California with our own multimedia production company and green screen studio. Our team of videographers and directors support agents with everything from professional photography to full motion video.
- Windermere developed an exclusive virtual toolset that allows us to reach, track and engage buyers on an international level.
- Windermere listings are syndicated to thousands of websites through the most sophisticated internet property plan ever developed.
If you want access to the greatest tools technology has to offer, chose us, your Windermere Agent ! Email us at: HotOnSanDiego
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How Do You Tell If A Condo Complex Is VA Approved?
October 25th, 2009 Categories: 4S Ranch, Brookside Escondido, Escondido, Mortgage News, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos
When you are preparing to list your property, having an agent who knows the available financing types for that property, especially condominiums, is extremely important. When you interview agents, make sure they know this information or you may have a more difficult time marketing and ultimately selling your property. 
Here is the link to the section of the VA website that allows you as a homeowner to search for VA approved condo projects:
On the left hand side, click on “Condo/PUD Reports”. You will then have six fields to complete:
- Select report type of Summary or Detail (either is fine)
- Select the type of records to receive (Condo)
- Enter the Condo/PUD name – you are encouraged to use an asterisk (*) as this will pull all approved projects in the specified city, or for example type M* and it will pull all approved projects beginning with the letter M
- Enter the Regional Office (leave this one alone)
- Enter the City and State – unlike the FHA search site, this site does not locate by zip code
- Retrieve only approved Condos – keep marked as yes
Regarding PUD’s – although VA does not require that a PUD be prior approved, the lender is responsible for ensuring both title and lien-related VA regulatory requirements are met for each VA loan such as:
- The estate must not be less than fee simple
- Title must not be subject to unreasonable restrictions of use and occupancy
- VA loan is secured by a first (1st) lien on the property
- Any mandatory homeowner association assessment is subordinate to the VA-guaranteed mortgage
Pretty standard stuff, and one you would expect your Realtor to know but you might be surprised. We have the resources for you and know all the projects. If you have any questions about using this look-up tool or any VA or other loan related items, please feel free to call us at (877) 571-2289 or email us at suejohson@windermere.com.
We also have an expert on our team from CW Mortgage, Kevin Kueneke who supplies us with this type of information and expertise. You may also contact Kevin direct at 760-500-1919 or email him at Kevin@MyCWMtg.com.
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