Do you need to sell before you buy your next home?
When planning to purchase a home most homeowners with an existing home to sale want to know what the next purchase is going to look like. In fact many would like to purchase before they sell their home. Today’s tough lender qualifying requirements make it difficult for most homeowners to buy before selling their existing home, gone are the days of writing offers contingent on the sale of their home. There isn’t enough inventory for sellers to wait around for the sale of home.
Almost all Lenders today require enough cash for a down payment and closing costs, plus 6 months reserves for both payments in the bank without having your home sold, which means you will also need enough income to qualify carrying both homes. If you don't have enough income to qualify but it makes sense financially for you to keep your home as a rental property, the lender may use a portion of the rental income to help you qualify for the mortgage you need to buy the next home.
No matter what scenario you find yourself in I can help. I have surrounded myself with a team of professionals ready and each one works very hard to make your process as easy as possible. Working with talented people always makes the process more enjoyable.
Posted at 10:33PM Feb 08, 2012 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Tips for the New Year
Posted at 12:18PM Dec 31, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Foreclosures drop 10 months is a row
taken from CRS website and very good infroamtion about the foreclsoure market...
Foreclosure Activity Continues to Decline
Foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on 212,764 U.S. properties in July, a 4 percent decline from June and 35 percent from a year ago, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosures. One in every 611 U.S. homes had a foreclosure filing during July, marking the 10th straight month of annual decreases in foreclosure activity and the lowest monthly total since November 2007.
“This string of decreases was initially triggered by the robo-signing controversy back in October 2010, which forced lenders to substantially slow the pace of foreclosing, but the downward trend in foreclosure activity has now taken on a life of its own,” says James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO. “It appears that the foreclosure processing delays, combined with the smorgasbord of national and state-level foreclosure preventions efforts — including loan modifications, lender-borrower mediations and mortgage payment assistance for the unemployed — may be allowing more distressed homeowners to stave off foreclosure,” he says.
Default notices fell 7 percent during the month from June and decreased 39 percent from July 2010. Foreclosure auctions fell 5 percent from June and declined 37 percent from a year ago. While bank-owned properties slipped 1 percent from the previous month, they were 27 percent below July 2010.
For the 55th straight month, Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 115 homes receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. California had the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 239 homes receiving a foreclosure filing, followed by Arizona, with one in every 273 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. Thu, Aug 11, 2011
Posted at 10:39AM Aug 17, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
6 Sites for Easy Access to Foreclosures
6 Sites for Easy Access to Foreclosures
To find foreclosures, here are 6 resources online:
- RealtyTrac.com (free for seven days; $49 a month for a monthly subscription or $25 a month for an annual subscription)
- Foreclosure.com (free for seven days; $9.95 a week).
- Equator.com also provides a free listing of homes in foreclosure.
- HomePath.com lists properties owned by Fannie Mae (acquired through foreclosure). Besides listings, Fannie Mae's site also offers two types of financing: the HomePath mortgage, which allows as little as 3% down, and a renovation mortgage, which finances both your purchase and a "light" renovation.
- HomeSteps.com lists properties owned by Freddie Mac. Buyers of a Freddie Mac home that they plan to live in may qualify for a two-year home warranty and a discount of up to 30% on new appliances.
- HomeSales.gov lists homes for sale by the federal government.
There are many other sites but this will get you going, call me for additional information.
Posted at 08:59AM Aug 17, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Transform with Paint
A New Room is just a Few Brush Strokes Away!
Summer is here, which inspires many people to begin rummaging through all of the junk they've acquired over the year and clean some of it out. This process can provide a temporary sense of newness for a homeowner, but it is merely that - temporary. The more junk you get rid of and the more space you create only allow you to acquire more junk to throw away next year.
It's definitely true that cleaning can transform a room. But nothing makes a room new like a good, fresh coat of new paint. This summer instead of settling for simply getting rid of unwanted junk, take it up a notch with paint. Use new and fun colors to gracefully convert a room (or several rooms) into something new and exciting!
To Make Your Room Look Bigger
If you were ever told to wear darker colors and avoid stripes in order to look slimmer, the same holds true for your walls. To make your room look bigger, apply the opposite of this principle by using light and pale hues. This will make the room appear more open. You can also add vertical stripes to make the room appear taller, or horizontal stripes to make the room look wider.
To Make Your Room Look Cozier
Go for warm colors like yellow, beige, or a deep red. Warm colors promote warm feelings! Also, you could try to add texture to your walls by sponge-painting your warm colors.
To Make Your Room Look Hip
Coming up with a neutral palette with two or three colors within the same color family is an easy way to bring a room together. You can add fun accents with furniture, appliances, and other decorations of the same colors with poppy patterns to really bring out your style!Posted at 12:15AM Aug 07, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
How to find out the value of your home from a local professional.
If you are seriously thinking about selling your home or you need current information about what is happening in your neighborhood. Talk to a professional Realtor. We are trained to help you in a variety of ways. Our expertise in invaluable.
We will;
1...Determine a price range for your home to help you decide where you need to price your home to sell.
2...Tell you what simple and easy things you can do to increase the value of your home.
3...Present your home to the market so that buyers will want to take the next step and actually visit your home.
4...Take the burden of all the details off your shoulders
5...Handle the process for you.
Call me and I will gladly help you anyway I can, if you have questions email me at catherine@fresnorealestate.pro
Posted at 03:03PM Jul 23, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Check out this artitcle on remodeling
Don't be afraid, go ahead invest in your home, it will increase the value and your enjoyment.[Read More]
Posted at 10:02AM Jul 22, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]
Short sales news that helps, Help with your short sale
CA short sales just got a makeover!
And short sales are much more attractive now! BUT they left a couple of holes that may make it harder for some agents (watch the video).
You know how SB931 that was passed last year made so many people confused and others excited? Well, SB458 [now known as CA CCP Section 580(e)] was just signed into law and is effective IMMEDIATELY and makes it so that ANY lender in CA who agrees to a short sale on a 1-4 unit property, MUST FULLY RELEASE THE SELLER OF THE DEFICIENCY.
This means that second lenders can no longer release only the lien if they agree to a short sale. This law was specifically written to INCLUDE the second lien holders that were left out of SB931/CA CCP 726(e).
This makes short sales SO much more attractive, especially for those who are short selling a second home, investment property or a cash out loan on their primary residence.
There are however TWO LOOPHOLES for lenders to get MORE money that I talk about in the video.
Watch the video on my blog by clicking the video below, or click here to watch it directly on YouTube.
Posted at 03:16AM Jul 16, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in General | Comments[0]
Buying in today's environment
The market is very competitive today in the Fresno market. Prices are at an all time low with limited inventory and the banks are loaning money with low interest rates. We are in a perfect storm with all the excellent conditions. The problem is the investors are faster than the home owners to catch the wave.
Posted at 03:55PM Jul 15, 2011 by Catherine Sawatsky in Real Estate | Comments[0]