June 4th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
One of the many provisions in the recently enacted legislation known as the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 loosens the program requirements for the Hope for Homeowners (H4H) launched in 2008. The original program intended to help 400,000 distressed homeowners refinance into a more affordable loan. Unfortunately, after seven months in operation, the [...]
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May 9th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
Neil Kalin, Assistant General Counsel for the California Association of Realtors (CAR), briefed Realtors in Redding last week on issues surrounding the listing and selling of distressed properties. Specific forms have been developed by CAR to address legal and financial considerations for buyers and sellers of these properties.
Sellers of properties that are “upside down”, meaning [...]
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May 9th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
A local appraiser pointed out the fact that the average cost per square foot for April was the same as the average for the first quarter of 2009. This could mean that prices have settled for now at $136/square foot. Heretofore, prices have steadily dropped since their peak in mid-2007.
These averages include a large number [...]
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May 7th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
One more sign the economy may be on the path to recovery are increases in several indices that track consumers outlook on future economic growth. Besides consumer confidence rising from 26.9 in March to 39.2 in April, the Present Situation Index rose from 21.9 to 23.7 and the Expectations Index jumped 19 points from 30.2 [...]
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April 29th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
For decades Realtors have fought legislation that would require homeowners that decide to sell their home perform certain point-of-sale renovations. It’s amazing some of the bills that are pushed through our legislature by special interest groups. Here’s a list of some of the items homeowners would need to address before transferring title if these bills [...]
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April 27th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
One impact the extended drought in California could have are new regulations requiring home sellers change out older water-thirsty plumbing fixtures with ones that meet current building codes. “Renovation on resale or retrofit on resale” are stratagies recommended by the Urban Water Use Efficiency Subcommittee, Land Use Subcommittee and Advisory Committee working on an update for the [...]
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April 21st, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
March sales numbers include good and bad news for the local real estate market. According to data gleaned from the Shasta Multiple Listing Service (MLS), 148 homes sold in March compared to 165 a year earlier, roughly a 10% decline in units sold. However, the number of active listings slid 22% from 1742 last year [...]
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April 13th, 2009
By Brad Garbutt
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored agencies that purchase mortgage loans from lenders across the country, have placed stipulations referred to as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) on future loans they buy . These regulations will be implemented May 1, 2009. The rules prohibit loan officers, brokers, real estate agents and anyone [...]
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