Real Estate News for Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

Real estate expected to flounder in 2007. Although few experts predict that home values will fall dramatically in 2007, many economists say that prices won't improve for 12 to 18 months. And without the cushion of rising home equity -- which softened the blow of high oil prices last year and kept consumers buying big-ticket items at a rapid clip -- Americans may lose confidence in their finances, and the broader economy is likely to suffer. "We are currently experiencing the worst of the market freeze, which is being exacerbated by the gap between the buyer's desire for bargains and the seller's fantasy of what they once thought their homes would be worth," said Diane Swonk, chief economist for Chicago-based Mesirow Financial, who forecasts a rebound in early 2008. "The good news is that there are some signs of stabilization. The bad news is that a substantial backlog of unsold homes still exists." The number of Californians who could comfortably pay the mortgage on an entry-level home fell to 24 percent in the third quarter -- down from 44 percent in 2003, according to the California Association of Realtors. Source.

Foreclosures Increase 4 Percent in November According to RealtyTrac(TM) U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. November's Foreclosure Rate Highest of the Year
Activity Up 68 Percent From November 2005. RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its November 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows that 120,334 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during the month, an increase of 4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 68 percent from November 2005. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 961 U.S. households, the highest monthly foreclosure rate reported so far this year. Source.

Most Expensive Home Sales 2006. For the fourth consecutive year, Forbes.com has compiled a list of the year’s residential real estate deals. In the face of a general housing market slowdown, 2006 was a banner year for those that deal in high-end homes. The average price of a home on our list was $40 million, up more than 10% from 2005’s $36 million average, and more than 55% from the 2003 average. Source.

How Bad Will the 2007 Property Market Be? Economists predict that next year will be tough, but some metros will hold up nicely and the future may not be as gloomy as some fear. Interest rates will remain at historically low levels, homebuyers will see more opportunities, and, best of all, for those planning for the long term, 2009 could be primed for a comeback. Home prices will continue to fall in some markets, and the rate of price appreciation will slow in most places. Declines in homes sales, which directly influence price trends, will set the stage for another year of price decreases in 2008. Foreclosures will continue to increase. For those struggling to hold onto their homes, their net worth will shrink as these homes lose value. Long-term mortgage rates will rise. Housing starts will see double-digit depreciation, the sharpest decline since 1991, the worst year for housing starts on record. Grim as that might sound, there are some bright spots. Nationwide, home prices will be flat to up slightly in 2007, with many large markets seeing small increases. While new home sales will be down for the year, existing home sales will also be flat. And housing starts won't see as sharp a decline as they did in the early '90s or early '80s. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Saturday, December 9th, 2006

How Low Will Real Estate Go? No one's arguing that the boom is over. But just how far prices may drop is much less certain. Here's what some economists expect nationally, along with predictions for 15 metro areas. Many property owners are reluctant to cut their prices. Unlike builders, who are so desperate to sell their properties that some are throwing in extras like upgraded countertops and one-week vacations, many sellers are willing to wait. Their logic is simple, Leamer explained, "A lot of owners figure, 'My idiot neighbor sold his home for $1 million, and I'm not taking a penny less.'"On the other side of the equation are the buyers, equally strong-willed. Unwilling to fork over those sums in a wavering market, they are watching from the sidelines, waiting for prices to drop. What's more, two key sources of housing demand are locked out of the market, explained Moody's Zandi. One is first-time home buyers, who can't afford to buy given the mix of rising interest rates and still-high home prices. The other is speculators, who can no longer benefit from dramatic appreciation by flipping real estate. Source.


3 Simple Steps to Reel In Buyers. Think like a potential buyer and your mission becomes clear, an expert renovator says. That means fixing what can be seen (or smelled) first. The single most cost-effective investment you can make to increase the value of your home is to buy a roll or two of plastic trash bags. Stuff them with junk outside the house -- from beer cans to raked leaves. Nothing could be more common-sense than cleaning up the yard and exterior, right? "You'd be surprised at how many people don't recognize the importance of doing these kinds of items," says Steve Berges, a real estate investor in Michigan who buys dilapidated houses, fixes them up and sells them for a profit. His advice: When renovating a house or preparing it for sale, spend money on things a buyer can see. Source.

What to do if your home isn't selling. From rethinking your color scheme to holding open houses on weeknights, here are 10 tips for sparking interest in your home. Take a second look at your listing price. Visit open houses in your neighborhood. Are similar homes priced lower? Selling prices may have dropped since your first comparative market analysis. In a hot market, if you haven't sold your home within one month, chances are good that you've overpriced it. If you do lower your asking price, consider a figure slightly below those of other comparable homes if you are interested in a speedy sale. Want to see the other 10 tips? Click the Source link. Source.

Forecast: '07 state economy to slow. The health of the California economy in 2007 will depend on whether the current weakness in the real estate market saps the strength of the state's retail sales, tax base or the job market, according to a report released today by the UCLA Anderson Forecast. The economists at the forecast – one of the state's best-known economic panels – conclude that both the state and national economy will likely be sluggish through next year before improving slightly in 2008. Source.

How To Sell Your Home In 2007. If you're trying to sell your home in 2007, brokers have one piece of advice: Make sure the price is right. Perhaps your neighbor made a bundle by putting his home on the market just when prices peaked. Maybe your sister sold her condo last month, reaping a 40% return. But when it comes to your own abode, that means nothing. Sellers need to get real, and sometimes that means dropping the price. Unfortunately, many sellers are suffering from housing bust denial. "All sellers are human," says Sharon E. Baum, a senior vice president with Corcoran Real Estate in New York City. "Hope springs eternal, right?" Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Sales of homes cool in October. Experts say local housing market hasn't bottomed out yet. California's residential real estate market cooled dramatically in October with prices falling below the year-ago level in a majority of major markets and sales posting the weakest total for the month in 18 years. Last month, statewide sales of previously owned homes fell 28.7 percent and the median price rose 2 percent. But it declined in 14 of the 20 major markets tracked by the Los Angeles-based group. And in seven markets, including Orange and San Diego counties, the median price has fallen below its year-ago point for three consecutive months. If sales proceeded at October's pace all year, 443,320 properties would change hands. That's the smallest annualized rate for the month since 478,770 projected sales in October 1988. Sales have now been at their current level for three months. "The market is still in a decline. Most people don't look for it to really bottom out until late 2007," said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Source.

Agassi, Graf sell their Tiburon estate for $20 million. Retired tennis stars Andre Agassi and wife, Steffi Graf, have agreed to unload their 13,000-square-foot Tiburon estate for $20 million - $3 million less than they paid for it five years ago. The residential sale amount is the second-highest in Marin history. The first was when Agassi purchased it in 2001 for $23 million. Agassi's original asking price was $24.5 million. The couple - who live primarily in Las Vegas - are selling their home to Marin resident Stuart Peterson, the head of Arts Capital Management, a California hedge fund that invested in the Web video site YouTube before it was purchased this year by Google. Source.

Going it alone. More single women buying their own home. Percentage of female home buyers reaches record high of 22 percent. From July 2005 to June 2006, unattached women made up 22 percent of all home buyers--a record high. During the same time period in 1995, 14 percent of home purchases were made by single women. Cultural and societal progress have contributed to the growth of female investment. In the 1970s "women had a hard time getting a credit card much less a mortgage," said NAR spokesman Walter Molony. "They were not being taken seriously by the lending community." But higher education and workplace advancements among women have led more of them to enter the real-estate market. "The biggest change in household composition over time has been in women buyers," Molony said. The percentage of female homeowners reached double digits during the 1990s when the Federal Housing Administration allowed women to count child support as income. "It made a real difference for single mothers," Molony said. "That accounted, presumably, for the increases we saw in the 1990s." Financial education has also given women the confidence to purchase a home on their own. According to the NAR report, women are also buying property at a faster rate than single men, who made up 9 percent of all home sales. This could be because "women kind of have a nesting instinct and understand the value of housing as an investment," Molony suggested. "Men, when they're young and single, aren't." Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Housing market drag on state until 2008? The downturn in the housing industry will continue to depress the state's economy for most of next year before stabilizing in 2008, the Legislature's top budget analyst predicted Wednesday. Legislative Budget Analyst Elizabeth Hill forecast that residential construction will fall by 4.4 percent in 2006 and by an additional 13 percent in 2007. Then the analyst said it should stabilize with about 175,000 permits issued annually through 2012. The real estate industry, which includes developers, contractors, real estate brokers, title companies and financial institutions, make up 15 percent to 20 percent of the state's private sector economy. The slowdown in this industry was the largest single factor in a sharp decline in personal income growth, resulting in a drop in withholding tax payments from over ten percent in the first half of 2006 to less than five percent in the third quarter. Source.

Study: Home sellers making big money. Experts say profits especially big for those who hold on to houses for years. Nearly half of homeowners in Riverside County who sold their residences last month more than doubled their money, a new study shows. Home sellers across the county came away with a $178,000 "median" profit, meaning half of them earned more and half earned less, according to statistics compiled by economist Christopher Cagan, who heads the real estate research arm for Santa Ana-based title company First American Corp. Median dollar gains from home sales ranged from $178,000 in Riverside County to $331,500 in Orange County, according to Cagan's analysis. The median profit earned in San Bernardino County was $203,500, while homeowners saw profits of $331,500 in Orange County and $266,000 in Los Angeles County. In San Diego County, where the median profit was $243,000, home sellers earned about 91 percent profit. In the Coachella Valley and elsewhere across Southern California, those who've remained in their homes three or more years appear to have reaped some of the biggest financial rewards. It also allowed them to avoid a tax hit on significant equity gains they may have netted, real estate agents said. Median profit figures are based on sales of existing homes occurring from Sept. 27 through Oct. 26 in the five counties. Cagan's analysis didn't take into account homeowner expenses for everything from landscaping upgrades to repairs or agent commissions. Source.

OC Market Plays Waiting Game. "The waiting game" was a common theme reverberating throughout yesterday's third annual RealShare Orange County conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. With roughly five million sf of office product set to hit the market over the next 24 months, developers and tenants alike are waiting to see who will blink first. And with good reason--Orange County's been here before. The early 90s saw many deep pockets emptied as supply outpaced demand. A shared mindset said "never again." John Parker, chairman of Parker Properties, said it can be difficult to avoid a dip once the machinery gets going. "After the last cycle, lenders said they would not let this happen again, but they're pushing money at us," he noted. Insiders debated whether history is set to repeat itself, asking if the market is gearing for a precipitous fall. The general consensus favored cautious optimism, echoing the familiar refrain "no, but… ." Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Wednesday, November 1st, 2006

FTC complaint filed against Zillow. The Federal Trade Commission confirmed Tuesday that a consumer group filed a complaint against a leading Web-based real estate appraiser, saying it was "intentionally misleading consumers and real estate professionals" and could be violating civil rights and consumer protection laws. According to the complaint, the coalition conducted an audit and found that Zillow's estimates fell within 10 percent of the actual appraised value less than one-third of the time. The coalition's complaint states that "deceptive and inaccurate valuations undervalue entire communities." It said that over-valuations were "prevalent in predominantly white areas" while "under-valuations were more frequent" in predominantly African-American and Latino communities. The FTC did not confirm whether it would investigate Zillow.com. Source.

Bankers object to mortgage license plan. A state mortgage brokers association wants uniform standards instead of the current dual qualifying system. The California Mortgage Bankers Association objected to another group's proposal that loan officers working for banks and mortgage companies meet the same license requirements as independent mortgage brokers. Currently, independent mortgage brokers must take college courses, pass a test and undergo a criminal background check to get a license from the state Department of Real Estate. But employees of lenders can work under the auspices of their company's license from the state Department of Corporations. Last week, the California Association of Mortgage Brokers issued a package of consumer-protection measures, including a proposal calling for uniform licensing for all loan officers. Source.

Can the economy survive the housing bust? Real estate downturns have a way of leading to recessions and stock market slumps. So far the damage has been limited, but the numbers keep getting worse, says Fortune's Jon Birger. An important chart is the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market index - a monthly measure of builder confidence - against the Standard & Poor's 500 stock market index, with a one-year lag. It turns out that the mood of builders is a terrific stock market bellwether: The correlation between current builder confidence and future stock market returns over the past ten years is downright unnerving. Over the past year, the NAHB housing index plummeted 54 percent. Were stocks to follow suit, the S&P - 1400 in late October - would be trading below 700 this time next year. All the economic activity generated by home sales - new mortgages, realtor fees, outlays to painters and handymen, the inevitable shopping trips to Home Depot and Best Buy - played a huge part in digging the economy out of a recession in 2001 and 2002. Given the importance of home sales on the way up, it may be shortsighted to minimize their importance on the way down. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

News on the Esperanza Fire

Well if you haven't about today's Esperanza Fire that was started by an arsonist in Cabazon, here are plenty of recent articles about it. My sincerest heart goes out to the friends and families of the fallen firefighters.

Esperanza Fire Evacuation, Donation Information.
Riverside County Red Cross:
American Red Cross Riverside County Processing Center, P.O. Box 55040, Riverside, CA 92517. 1-888-831-0031. http://www.riversidecounty.redcross.org/
Source.





San Diego County sends 200 to fight Esperanza fire. Nearly 200 San Diego County firefighters were sent to help battle the raging Esperanza brush fire in Riverside County Thursday, officials said. Source.

Area Hospitals Brace For Smoke Victims. ER doctors in northern San Diego County are bracing Thursday for an influx of patients suffering from breathing problems as a result of the Esperanza fire. So far, the Esperanza fire near Cabazon has blackened 10,000 acres, driven hundreds of people from their homes, and left hundreds more stranded in an RV park. Three firefighters died at the scene and two were hospitalized in critical condition. One of those two died several hours later. Source.

Pechanga Contributes $50,000 to Support Families of Fallen Firefighters of the Esperanza Fire. The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians today announced a contribution of $50,000 to aid the families of the four fighters who lost their lives in the Esperanza wildfire. "We at Pechanga are saddened to hear that four firefighters lost their lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the firefighters," said Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. "Pechanga's families pray for the safety of the firefighters responding to this wildfire. Pechanga will do what it can to help," said Chairman Macarro. Since this morning, an engine from the Pechanga Fire Department was on the incident as part of a structure protection strike team. Source.

Evacuees recall fleeing fast moving flames near Palm Springs. Source.

Longtime Idyllwild resident always gave to community. That’s how Charlie Clayton described the feeling in Idyllwild over the tragic death of friend and neighbor, U.S. Forest Service fire Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, in Esperanza fire Thursday. It wasn’t until 6 p.m. Thursday that Clayton learned that flames had overwhelmed his longtime friend and four other Forest Service firefighters near Poppet Flats. Three of those men were killed immediately. Loutzenhiser and the still unidentified fifth firefighter were airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he was pronounced dead two hours later. Source.

Eyewitness account from The Desert Sun reporter: 'We were surrounded by fire.' "We counted a half-dozen homes in flames off Gorgonio View Road going into the Twin Pines area. There were some homes that had fire coming up close to the property lines, and other homes engulfed in flames... Power lines were down the road. There were dead rabbits on the road that had been burned. There are these really pretty white plastic picket fences melting on the ground... The fire came down into a lower ridge area. There were trucks there from San Diego, Riverside, Hemet. They were battling flames 50 to 60 feet high..." Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Selling a Slice of Luxury. It is almost too easy to be charmed by the latest trend in time shares, what is called fractional real estate. A high-end spin on the traditional time share, fractionals typically entitle users to multiple weeks’ stay, and the developments themselves have decidedly luxury touches, with upmarket appliances, finishes and linens, as well as amenities like spas. In short, developers say, it is a way to get access to a million dollar-plus property for much less than the full price of ownership. With all the variety on the market today, buying would appear to be a snap. But how these units stand up in the resale market remains to be seen. Source.

Experts call current real estate trends normal. Urge calm as home sales and price appreciation fall. The valley’s recent real estate boom — and the current correction in sales counts and appreciation rates — have not only altered buyers’ and sellers' expectations. They've also got the experts wondering what "normal" should be these days. "It's been so long since we’ve seen a normal market, we've forgotten what it looks like," said Pat Veling, real estate analyst and president of the Brea-based consulting firm Real Data Strategies. Annual home price appreciation is expected to dip to single digits this year, considerably down from as high as 37 percent in 2004. Source.

How to find a real estate bargain. Buyers now have luxury of choice. Everybody wants a bargain. Last year, good real estate deals were few and far between. This was due to the fact that inventories of homes for sale were at record low levels. And, there was an abundance of buyers, all looking for the same thing. Today in most areas, buyers have the luxury of choice. So, there's less of a chance you'll overpay because you have to outbid another buyer. However, even though there is a lot to choose from, this doesn't mean that it will be easier to buy a property at a bargain price. One reason is that most sellers aren't desperate to sell. Just because the market has changed doesn't mean that sellers are slashing their prices dramatically. Many listings that have price reductions were overpriced to begin with.
Another factor is that there is usually little consistency in pricing. Some listings are well-priced, others are overpriced, and then there is the occasional listing that is actually priced below market value. Another complicating factor is variability. Unless you're looking at listings in a single tract development, where each house is a cookie cutter of the others, you'll find disparities in age, condition, size and amenities. Each of these variables has an affect on market value. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Tuesday, October 24th, 2006

If you do anticipate selling in the short term then listen up. The current market situation may not be impacting your situation at all or it may even have some positive ramifications. Re-evaluate your time table. Be realistic about your profit. Price well from the get-go and if you must adjust your price, bite the bullet. Forget lavish inducements. Know your local market. Consult with a knowledgeable real estate agent about current activity and follow their advice about pricing and positioning your property and any hints they have to offer about making the house more attractive. Source.

High-end real estate listings crowd California market. Sales of homes priced above $2.5 million in a seven-county region in Northern California increased from 210 homes in third-quarter 2005 to 214 homes in third-quarter 2006. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Pays Your December House Payment!

Win Your December House Payment!

Let Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters make your Holidays! Win your December house payment! (Up to $4,000.00). Stop by and Register at any of our FIVE offices! If you have any questions, ask me! Come into my office, fill out a registration slip, and tell all your friends!

Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Offices:

Yucaipa: 32839 Yucaipa Blvd. Suite A, Yucaipa, CA 92399
Beaumont: 1655 E. 6th St., Beaumont, CA 92223
Highland: 3505 E. Highland Ave. Suite F, Highland, CA 92346
Hemet: 610 E. Florida, Suite A, Hemet, CA 92343
Rancho Cucamonga: 11398 Kenyon Way, Suite G, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701

Drawing to be held on Wednesday, November 22nd, at 1:00pm. Winner is not required to be present. Sponsored by Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Associates. No obligation. Certain restrictions and rules apply.

Contest Rules for: Win Your December 2006 House Payment

One entry per household. Must be at least 21 years old. Maximum reward is actual house payment or $4,000.00, whichever the lesser amount is. Payment must be for the address shown on the entry form. Winner must occupy the property. Payment to be made upon presentation of payment coupon or proof of payment amount. Employees/agents and immediate family members of Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters, Valley View Mortgage, K-T Services, and Yucaipa Express Lube and Car Wash are not eligible to participate. All entries must be made in person at any Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters office during normal business hours. No obligation to enter. Drawing for the winning ticket will be held at the Yucaipa office at 1:00pm on November 22nd, 2006. Winner need not be present to win.


~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Thursday, October 12th, 2006

San Diego County sees declines unseen since early '90s. Perhaps the biggest surprise came in the resale-house category, which makes up about half of the home-selling market. The September median stood at $545,000, down $5,000 from a year ago, marking the first year-over-year drop since July 1996. Resale houses had risen to a record median of $569,500 in May before dropping to the present level. "That tends to be the center of gravity for statistics," said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll, explaining that trends for resale condos and new homes typically fall in behind resale houses. David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, issued a statement yesterday declaring that the sales decline in many markets appears to be "bottoming out" as lower prices entice potential buyers. Freddie Mac also reported “early signs” of a turnaround, based on falling energy prices, lower mortgage rates, rebounding mortgage refinancings and rising stock prices that bolster household net worth. "There will undoubtedly be more bumps on the way, though, and the ride could be rocky in some markets," the October economic outlook report said, "but the economic fundamentals should help avert a crash landing." Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

County of Riverside GIS

This website is fantastic, and my new best friend! I just had to share it with the rest of the public! I was having a hard time locating a plot of land, but this site pops it right up. Very very convenient.

http://www3.tlma.co.riverside.ca.us/pa/rclis/index.html

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Wednesday, September 20th, 2006

Real Estate’s Web Wake-up. Real estate shakeout could lead to web-driven industry shakeup—the death threats have already started. The Internet has transformed the music, retail, advertising, and software industries over the last decade, but real estate’s classic broker-buyer-seller triumvirate remains essentially in place. Buyers may look at photos of houses online, but they still normally hire brokers to show them lists of homes, while sellers hire brokers to list their homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and camp out at open houses on Sundays. Brokers usually charge the seller about 6 percent of the sales price for their services, then split this commission 50-50 with the buyer’s agent that brings the client to the deal. Source.

Home Prices Fall for 2nd Month. The median price of an Orange County home fell for a second straight month in August to $633,000 while the number of houses sold continued its sharp decline from a year ago. Many sellers are opting to pull their homes off the market. In August, there were 3,121 homes pulled off the market by disgruntled sellers, compared to 1,262 a year earlier, according to data from the Aliso Viejo-based office of ReMax Real Estate Services. Source.

Panel to Address Housing Bubble. The discussion, “Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Trends in California Real Estate,” will tackle the elusive subject of whether the runup in housing prices over the past few years constitutes a “bubble” and whether the real estate market is in for a hard or a soft landing now that home sales have slowed considerably. Also slated to speak are. Robert Edelstein, real estate development professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and Christopher Thornberg, principal at Beacon Economic. The event, hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, will take place Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Luxe Hotel in L.A. For more information, call (310) 999-3411 or visit acteva.com/go/haasla. Source.

Panic Setting In As Market Continues to Slump: Consumer Advocate Giving Mammoth Boost to Ethical Real Estate Agents & Loan Officers. The latest housing data is shattering confidence in the most seasoned industry professionals. Homebuilder Toll Brothers said the current slump in construction is the worst in 40 years. The National Association of Realtors forecast a drop in home sales of 8% in 2006, with a further decline in 2007. PMI Mortgage Insurance added to the gloom by predicting a 32.8% chance that home prices will fall in the next two years. Source.

Technology provides competitive edge. Part 3: Surviving a real estate downturn. As the housing market slows, budgets tighten, and some buyers and sellers may be clinging to unrealistic interpretations of local market conditions. Real estate agents will find themselves competing harder for clients, especially in a time when consumer Web sites are popping up everyday, giving consumers a sense of empowerment over what they do and do not know. In this four-part series, Inman News examines the effect of the housing slowdown on everyday real estate business. We've asked brokers and agents what they are doing differently with marketing now that listing times are longer, how they are keeping an edge, and how a slowdown may or may not be impacting commission rates. Source.

Zillow: Good Real Estate Idea is a Fixer. A Web site allows buyers and sellers to find value of homes without providing personal info, however data is often inaccurate and incomplete. Zillow isn't the only free, proprietary online real estate site. RealEstateABC.com offers comparable functionality with a few extra features, and similar sites are sure to emerge. Yahoo! Real Estate announced in late July that Zillow would be incorporated into its site as an added functionality tool, and at least one major real estate brokerage, Prudential California/Nevada Realty, announced the incorporation of Zillow within its own website. Source.

To believers, saint moves homes. Real estate cool-down prompts some sellers to buy into burial legend of St. Joseph. Judy Moore knew she was going to have trouble selling the home with the really steep driveway. For help, she turned not to an advertiser or a fellow real estate agent, but to someone she hadn't used since the last slowdown in the housing market: St. Joseph. She buried a figurine of the Roman Catholic saint upside down in the home's yard. And soon, sure enough, she had her sale. Source.

Real Estate Appraising: Chilled, But Not Frozen. It can be tricky to arrive at a valuation in a cooling market. Traditionally, appraisers inspect the property's physical condition, functionality and surrounding neighborhood. Then they compare that property to the comparable recent sales, making adjustments to price estimates for features that are superior or inferior. Some appraisers say the boom provided a temptation to cut corners and complete more appraisals in less time. Now, in cooling markets, the sales prices of the comparable properties may not account for the price drops some neighborhoods have seen. And those selling the homes may be throwing in incentives like cash-back rebates or electronic extras, meaning the effective sale price of the home could be considerably less than the recorded selling price. During the boom, housing was in such demand that buyers would bid each other up, past the seller's asking price. Once a highest bidder was determined, the lender for that bidder's mortgage would send an appraiser to complete a valuation on the property. The appraiser's job in that situation is to make sure the buyer isn't paying dramatically more than the home is worth, so that the lender can avoid lending more money than necessary. Klinge said he thinks the appraisers usually lined their estimates up with where the market was trending -- up. Source.


Home Price Appreciation Slackens. The Southland median rose 2.7% in August, the smallest year-over-year increase since 1999. Even the Inland Empire — one of the nation's fastest-growing economies — is no longer enjoying double-digit gains. The last time each of the six Southland counties posted single-digit increases: December 1999. Southland home prices have been relatively flat on a month-to-month basis since March. The problem: There simply are more homes available for sale than people willing to buy them at current prices. Sales fell 25.3% to 25,628 in August, the ninth consecutive month of declines and the worst August since 1997. After six years of sizzling price appreciation that doubled Southland home values, potential buyers now appear to be collectively sitting on the sidelines. August was the first month since December 2002 that San Bernardino County, considered the most affordable local housing market, rose at a single-digit growth rate. The median price increased 6.1% to $365,000. Neighboring Riverside County's median rose 7% to $415,000. Sales in the Inland Empire fell more than 20%. Orange County remained the most expensive local region, with a median price of $633,000, a 2.6% gain from the year before. Ventura County's median rose 1% to $598,000. Sales fell 32% in Orange County and dropped 31.8% in Ventura County. Los Angeles County's median, as reported last week, rose 4.7% to $517,000. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Friday, September 15th, 2006

The single-family housing market is sinking. The single-family housing market is sinking in many parts of the country, and the stocks of publicly traded home-building companies have been falling to the basement in tandem. But if you are a real-estate investor, it's not total despair out there. In fact, for publicly traded companies whose primary business is multifamily housing, things are just peachy. Source.

Home buying will stay strong, real estate executive says. Analyze national and local real estate sales — and prices — from a 100-year perspective and recent trends are really very promising, Coldwell Banker leaders said Thursday. In Naples for a two-day company conference at The RitzCarlton Beach Resort, Coldwell Banker President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Gillespie said the real estate market may be a little "off" this year, but the numbers are still impressive. "Some of the (newspaper) headlines don’t really tell the story," Gillespie said. Real estate may be off 7.6 percent from the previous year, but it was coming off the industry’s best year in history, Gillespie said. Source.

Most Commercial Real Estate Sectors Continue to Improve. Most commercial real estate markets can expect tightening vacancy rates and rising rents, and large investors are pouring funds into commercial sectors, according to the latest Commercial Real Estate Outlook of the National Association of Realtors. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said most commercial market fundamentals are solid. "Commercial real estate markets move in response to changes in fundamental demand, which remains solid as a result of sustained job creation and economic growth," he said. "Except for some weakness in the retail sector, the commercial market is benefiting from lower vacancies and higher rents." Institutional investors have been very active in commercial real estate this year. "Large institutional investors such as pension funds and life insurance companies are considered to be cautious and risk adverse, so their shift of funds into commercial sectors is an affirmation of the wisdom of diversification in commercial real estate," Lereah said. Institutional investors and private equity funds accounted for half of all office buildings purchased during the first seven months of 2006, and also purchased one-third of industrial real estate. These institutions spent over $31.0 billion in all of the commercial sectors so far this year, which is seen to be a record for institutional investment in commercial grade properties. Source.

Del Webb tops rankings for customer satisfaction. J.D. Power and Associates has released its annual rankings for customer satisfaction with home builders and Del Webb has topped the list for the third consecutive year. Las Vegas ranked higher than Phoenix but below all of the California markets. Austin ranked No. 1 in the country with a score of 124. The Inland Empire had 116 and Los Angeles and Ventura counties had a 114. Ten factors drive the survey, starting with a builder's warranty and customer service. The remaining categories in order of importance are home readiness; builder's sales staff; construction manager; quality of workmanship and materials; price and value; physical design elements; builder's design center; recreational facilities; and location. Del Webb, a brand of Pulte Homes, scored 142 in the rankings, an improvement of four points over 2005. Pulte Homes' traditional home building operations tied for second at 138 with Centex Homes. That's quite a jump for Centex, which scored 115 in 2005. Beazer had the biggest decline, falling from 101 to 78, KB Home dropped from 130 in 2005 to 111 in this year's rankings. Pardee fell from 114 to 97. What weight, if any, these latest rankings will carry with consumers in this slow housing market, has yet to be seen. Paula Sonkin, executive director of real estate industries practice at J.D. Power, said the rankings will carry more importance with a soft market. Builders are offering incentives to get rid of inventory and struggling with labor issues and increasing building material costs, Sonkin said. "As builders fight for every sale they close in this down turned market, a reputation for customer satisfaction becomes more important than ever, as it helps builders differentiate themselves from the competition," she said. Source.

Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker. Read articles titled "Rising inventories weigh on home prices," "Housing Still Cooling," etc. Source.

The Home Buying Process: Step by Step. Buying a home can be a very intimidating process, especially if you've never done it before. So the first thing you should do before you start the home buying process is to figure out whether owning a home is right for you. It may or may not be and this decision depends on you and what your circumstances are. If you're in a region where housing is at a real premium or is very expensive (such as New York or California), it may be better for you to continue renting. Take into account that if you do buy a home, there are extra responsibilities and costs that go along with owning a home-such as lawn care, snow removal, home maintenance and repairs, etc. So, if you've decided that renting is no longer for you and you want to move into your own home, you may ask, Where do I begin?
Step 1: Check Your Credit Report and Score
Step 2: Figure Out How Much You Can Afford
Step 3: Find the Right Lender and Real Estate Agent
Step 4: Look for the Right Home
Step 5: Make an Offer for the Home
Step 6: Get the Right Mortgage for Your Situation
Step 7: Close On Your Home
Step 8: Move In!
Source.

Building or buying a new home? Think modular. It's a buyer's market for real estate. But a buyer's market doesn't make it any cheaper, easier or faster to build a home. As construction costs escalate and building codes become more complex, it's harder to keep up. And what about the strain on you and your family? You have to be project manager, design lead, financial coordinator, and people manager ... all harder if you're trying to do it remotely; all harder if you don't know much about building homes. Source.

Real Estate Recession Coming. The housing market now is increasingly a buyer's market. One of the major builders of luxury homes reported that both its third quarter and full year earnings "would fall short of its previous forecasts as a result of slower sales." The firm noted that "high cancellation rates on contracts in backlog that were projected to close this year, and more pronounced use of price concessions and incentives, particularly on the resale of those homes which have experienced contract cancellations." Some realtors and economists now argue that the decline in home prices will be modest and is nearly complete. Source.

What's Really Propping Up The Economy. Since 2001, the health-care industry has added 1.7 million jobs. The rest of the private sector? None. But the very real problems with the health-care system mask a simple fact: Without it the nation's labor market would be in a deep coma. Since 2001, 1.7 million new jobs have been added in the health-care sector, which includes related industries such as pharmaceuticals and health insurance. Meanwhile, the number of private-sector jobs outside of health care is no higher than it was five years ago. Sure, housing has been a bonanza for homebuilders, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers. Together they have added more than 900,000 jobs since 2001. But the pressures of globalization and new technology have wreaked havoc on the rest of the labor market: Factories are still closing, retailers are shrinking, and the finance and insurance sector, outside of real estate lending and health insurers, has generated few additional jobs. Source.

Housing market in LA, San Diego counties keeps slowing. The once-high flying housing market kept slowing in August in two key Southern California counties, as sales eroded and prices lagged compared to a year ago, a real estate research firm said. Data released Wednesday for Los Angeles and San Diego counties suggested a price correction was under way in the markets that had attracted bidding wars in recent years, said Andrew LePage, an analyst with DataQuick Information Systems. "We're not sure at what point demand will respond and start to pick up again," he said. In Los Angeles County, home prices rose in August at the lowest annual rate in six years. In San Diego County, prices declined 2.2 percent compared to the year-ago figure, the data showed. Figures for other California counties were due next week. Last month, 9,193 homes were sold in Los Angeles County, a 21 percent drop from the same time last year and the fewest for the month of August since 1997. It was the county's ninth straight month of plunging year-over-year sales. Meanwhile, the median price in the county increased 4.7 percent in August to $517,000, the data showed. The situation was worse in San Diego County, where the median price of a home dropped to $482,000, the same level as April 2005. The county also saw a 32 percent decline in sales compared to a year ago. Analysts said the drop in sales could bottom out by the middle of next year and make a gradual recovery by late 2008. "It will take a year or two to work itself out," said Alan Gin, a University of San Diego professor and associate at its Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate. Source.

National Foreclosures Increase 24 Percent in August According to RealtyTrac(TM) U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Foreclosures Up Nearly 53 Percent From August 2005, 38 Percent Year-to-Date. "After spiking early in the year U.S. foreclosure activity has been relatively flat over the last few months. But foreclosures ramped up significantly in August, pushing the national foreclosure rate close to its highest level of the year so far," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "And with home price appreciation continuing to decelerate and billions of dollars in adjustable rate mortgages projected to reset in the next few months, this month's increase could be the beginning of an upward shift in the foreclosures market." The five states with the most new foreclosure filings -- Florida, Texas, California, Ohio and Illinois -- accounted for 50 percent of the nation's foreclosure activity in August. With 12,506 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, California foreclosures increased nearly 25 percent from the previous month, and the state's foreclosure rate -- one new foreclosure filing for every 977 households -- registered slightly above the national average for the third month in a row. Source.

Short sales expected to rise as housing slows. A "short sale" refers to a situation where the seller lacks sufficient equity to close the sale. When this occurs, the seller must contribute additional funds or ask the lender to reduce the loan amount in order to close the sale. As you might imagine, earning a full commission under these circumstances can be extraordinarily difficult. Short sales normally occur in flat or declining markets. It's also common when large numbers of buyers have purchased with no money down. In 2005, approximately 40 percent of all sales closed with nothing down. Virtually all of these loans are adjustable-rate mortgages. If the loan readjusts and the sellers cannot afford the increase in payments, the loan will become delinquent. Most sellers in this situation will attempt to sell their property. Assuming a 6 percent commission and 2 percent in additional costs, the sellers of a $200,000 property would have to come up with $16,000 in closing costs. If these people were unable to come up with a down payment, the odds are extremely high that they will be unable to come up with enough money to close the sale. Typically, when a seller is upside down (i.e. they owe more than the property is worth), one of the following scenarios results. First, the owner may try to sell the property without representation. In a depressed market where there is a large amount of inventory, chances are slight that the seller will be successful. The second approach is to allow the property to go into foreclosure. Depending on the state, the seller may pick up six to nine months of "free rent" by not paying his/her existing mortgage. Once the lender completes the foreclosure proceedings, it still may have to evict the delinquent seller from the property. This may take an additional 30 to 60 days. The third scenario involves going to the lender and asking the lender to lower the amount that it would have normally required to close the sale. It's extremely difficult to persuade lenders to reduce their loan balance to close the transaction or that they should be responsible for paying the closing costs. Their typical reaction is, "We'll just foreclose on the property." I had a blatant example of this when I had a short-sale escrow with a property in Malibu, Calif. The day after a large wildfire ravaged this ritzy seaside community, the lender turned down our request for a short sale. Their reasoning was that their comparable sales showed that the property was worth more. I persuaded them to take the short sale by sending them the pictures of the comparable sales; however, these homes had all burned down. Furthermore, the tenant, who moved out the day of the fire, took all the fixtures including the toilets. Clearly, the property was no longer worth what it was before the tenant trashed it, and 80 percent of the neighborhood burned to the ground. Persuading the lender to pay the commission is also a challenge. The best approach is to make the following argument: If you foreclose on the property, you will achieve the highest possible price in the shortest period of time by listing with a top agent. This means that you will pay the commission anyway. Given that sales are declining and that inventory is increasing, it may take a number of months to sell the property. This means that you will have the commission costs, several months of holding costs, and a possible loss in value because of the substantial amount of competing inventory. Selling now may actually net you more money than waiting. Would you prefer to lock in a sale today or would you prefer to wait and perhaps take even less for the property? Any time you speak with a lender, it's critical that you have hard statistical data to show them. Your data should include how much inventory is on the market, how much the inventory has increased or decreased in the last six months, as well as whether prices are increasing, decreasing or staying flat. With almost 9 million loans readjusting to a higher rate in 2007, there will be an increasing number of people who cannot afford to make higher loan payments. Foreclosure rates are continuing to climb. If you want a steady stream of business during a market downturn, learning how to negotiate short sales can be a lucrative source of business. Representing sellers who have little or no equity is not for the faint of heart, however. If you're ready to tap into a difficult but lucrative market, see next week's article to learn how. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

What's in Store for Beaumont, California

For those of you who are thinking of buying or investing in Beaumont, Banning, Cherry Valley and surrounding areas, here is some great new information of the stores that will be coming in.

New Stores:

Best Buy, Staples, PetCo, Bed Bath and Beyond, Ross, Khol's, Wicke's, another Wells Fargo, Bank of America, another Rite Aid, Chevron gas, Applebee's (already open), Chili's, El Torito, Quizno's, Jamba Juice, another McDonalds, Rubio's, Weinershnitzels (sp?), Sonic Burger, more coffee shops, Holiday Inn Express.

This information is from the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and is reliable as of August 26, 2006 but subject to change.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Sunday, September 3rd, 2006

Mortgage rates down for sixth week in a row. Average for 30-year, fixed rate drops to 6.44 percent, Freddie Mac says. Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a sixth consecutive week, providing home buyers with more relief from an earlier rise in rates. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 6.44 percent this week, down from 6.48 percent last week. That was the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.43 percent the first week in April. Source.


Hot or not? Housing markets across America. Boom spreads to more Arizona cities as Rust Belt values languish. Want to know where the coolest markets are? Just click the source link. Source.

America's Housing Craze - City by City Data. Check out this interesting comparison of income level and average housing prices. Source.

Real Estate News for Wednesday, August 30th, 2006

Escondido code sweep nets pile of real estate signs; agents irked. Local real estate agents are incensed after code-enforcement officers collected more than 100 open-house signs and threw them in the trash behind City Hall. Real estate agents say that without the ability to post clear signs directing potential buyers to open houses, properties will languish unsold in an already tough real estate market. Escondido real estate agents and sellers say they saw proof Sunday of how important their signs were, reporting that attendance at open houses was much lighter than usual. Source.

Realtors react to summer slowdown. A slowing job market (statewide, California added just 900 jobs last month; its recent average has been 17,400 per month over the previous year according to the state Employment Development Department), combined with recent hikes in interest (though the Fed did not raise interest rates for the first time last month since May, 2004), have led to a basin-wide real estate slowdown. But some say there are signs of hope. The Bay Area, while experiencing a similar glut of housing and slow market to follow, is also currently in the midst of Internet 2.0 - a resurgence of web business models largely modeled after "share" sites like YouTube, MySpace, Twitter and Facebook; the ubiquitous access to broadband and Wi-Fi has also brought to fruition the heady dot.com expectations of five years ago. As the tech sector continues to grow, some predict a future splash for the second-home or "instant millionaire" buyer market which could mirror the heyday of 2002-'03. Three things seem certain however: 1) It's not 2003 anymore. 2) The "condo boom" is over, for now; and 3) While there are more than 400 homes, condos and PUD (free-standing homes with lots collectively owned) properties on the market, the most in the past half-decade, according to at least one long-time local Realtor, "the competitively priced, high-end home in a desirable location is still a solid seller." Source.

'Last hoorah' for real estate print ads. Survey: Realtors spend money on print ads because clients expect them to. Real estate companies spent more on newspaper advertising in the early part of 2006 than they did last year, but did so grudgingly, according to a survey that predicts the demise of print real estate ads. The Newspaper Association of America reports that first-quarter revenue for print classified real estate advertising was up 26.3 percent compared to last year. But Realtors say they buy print ads because their customers expect them to, not because they produce results, according to a survey by Florida-based Classified Intelligence LLC and Realty Times. The survey also includes insight from a panel of nine experts -- many who work for online companies -- who say the Internet is poised to take a bigger share of real estate marketing budgets. Of 101 Realtors nationwide, 58 percent said they are spending more on marketing this year than last, but 36 percent said they spent 10 percent or less of their total ad budgets on print ads. Nearly one in five didn't advertise in newspapers at all. But the Internet isn't yet siphoning off all of the newspapers' real estate ad revenue. National Web sites, such as Realtor.com and Move.com, actually received less business from Realtors surveyed than newspapers. Of those surveyed, 69 percent said they didn't advertise at all on real estate Web sites aimed at a national audience. Most respondents -- 51 percent -- are taking advantage of free classified Web sites, with two-thirds of that group using Craigslist and nearly half listing on Google Base. Only a few Realtors -- 33 percent -- spend more than $10,000 on advertising, and it's not print or online that gets most of their dollars. Flyers, yard signs and billboards that get the word out "on the street" remains the leading category for Realtors' ad dollars. When Realtors do shell out for online advertising, the biggest chunk goes for their own Web sites, the survey found. Source.

KB Home Cuts Holdings as Market Cools. Majority owner Empire Cos. acquires the builder's 49% stake in the master-planned Anaverde project in the Antelope Valley. KB Home has started pruning its land portfolio in Southern California, a byproduct of a slumping housing market that is forcing big builders to reevaluate their property holdings. The Westwood-based builder said Tuesday that it had sold its 49% stake in the massive Anaverde master-planned community in the Antelope Valley to the majority owner, Empire Cos. of Ontario. The deal gives privately held Empire 100% ownership of the nearly 2,000-acre housing development in West Palmdale where the first 1,400 homes of a planned 5,200 are under construction by KB and other building companies. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. KB, the nation's fifth-largest home builder, in recent years has beefed up its land-development business to capitalize on rising property values amid a six-year housing boom. Land developers typically profit by acquiring property and increasing its value by upgrading it into lots ready for construction. But now with demand for new homes declining, major builders are under pressure from Wall Street to justify their ownership of land that isn't already primed for building and that doesn't have a prospective buyer lined up. Source.

Incomes fail to keep pace with inflation, but new census survey suggests poverty rate declining. Incomes have been creeping up in northern San Diego and southern Riverside counties in recent years, and proportionately fewer area residents are living in poverty than they did in 1999, according to results of a U.S. Census Bureau survey released Tuesday. However, population and economic experts say the modest six-year improvement was largely eclipsed by a soaring regional inflation rate fueled by nationwide increases in gasoline prices and Southern California's real estate market that once had been red hot. They suggest that in reality, the buying power of many residents has declined and that federal poverty statistics fail to paint an accurate picture of the financial pain that the area's low-income families are experiencing. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Apple Annie's Restaurant & Bakery

In the September/October 2006 issue of "Westways - Southern California's Lifestyle Magazine," there is a great article about Apple Annie's Restaurant & Bakery in Oak Glen.

Apple Annie's Restaurant & Bakery
38480 Oak Glen Road, Oak Glen; (909)797-7371
The five-pound "mile-high apple," made with 15 apples, is their signature pie. They also offer French and lattice-crust pies, as well as apple turnovers, fritters, dumplings, crisps, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and bread. 36,000 pies are sold between September through November. 100,000 pies are sold each year. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

Glitzy high-end homes are the real stars of 'Listing'. If real estate listings are the new pornography, then ``Million Dollar Listing" should be rated triple-X. Mind you, this new Bravo reality series does stuff a bit of a plot in between its explicit homes-with-views action, just to warm things up. It's cast with a crew of Malibu and Hollywood realtors who sweet-talk one another and kiss-kiss their wealthy clients. But we know that all along they're just dying to show their goods, finalize their sales, make their commissions. Source.

House Real Estate Hearings - Prosecution Rests And Defense Steps Up. It is often overlooked by critics that real estate is a success based business. If a seller does not sell his house or a buyer does not purchase one, their agents receive 0% commission regardless of the time and money invested. Even when a commission is received, it often comes some months after the time or money is expended. Both Lewis and Ms. Vredeycogd-Combs cited recent studies that indicate commissions have been trending down - going from 6.1 percent in 1991 to the current average of 5.1 percent. The median gross income for real estate professionals has decreased 6 percent notwithstanding that agents receive no healthcare or retirement benefits. On a net basis, the average agent salary is lower than that of school teachers who receive benefits and work only nine months a year. This is because of the large increase in the number of agents entering the industry. NAR, he said, reported a 26 percent increase in membership over the past two years and a 40 percent increase over the past five years. There are now 2.6 million licensed agents in the U.S., one for every 115 people. Mr. Lewis probably made the most cogent arguments of any of those testifying at the hearings. If you can, take the time to read his entire prepared statement HERE. Source.

Real estate flipping declines in California. Report cites fewer opportunities for fast money. The "flipping" of homes in California declined to its lowest level in more than three years, according to HomeSmartReports.com, a company that offers information on real estate sales trends and property values. Investors are apparently pulling back, and "chances for a quick turnaround and profit are diminishing," according to a company statement. Source.



Housing Truth from Main Street. An interesting blog by Sheldon Liber who insists that there is no housing bubble and that there is always a need for real estate. It's always nice to have a variety of opinions out there. That is the greatest thing about the internet. Source.

Mexican resort areas boom in soft real estate market. Cooling U.S. market hasn't stopped wealthy investors from setting up shop in Mexico. n the past, foreigners have been wary of investing in Mexico because of legal problems, corruption and red tape. But changes in Mexican laws have made it easier for foreigners to own property through bank trusts. Major U.S. companies have begun offering mortgages and title insurance. Mexico also is drawing more attention from Europe. Last year, Spanish companies were the top investors in the tourist industry, pumping $416 million into resort properties. U.S. investors followed with $321 million, according to the tourism agency. Source.

Yahoo rolls out a more comprehensive property site. Yahoo Inc. is upgrading its real estate site with a range of new features including current U.S. home valuations and aerial neighborhood views, the Internet media leader said on Tuesday. The refreshed Yahoo Real Estate site (http://realestate.yahoo.com) gives users access to data on 3 million real estate listings, mainly from Prudential Real Estate, and comparative data on up to nearly 50 million homes from online property research start-up Zillow.com of Seattle. Source.

Big inventory of unsold homes. Experts say it's return to normal after boom. The inventory of unsold new homes in Southern California soared to its highest level since 1990 by the end of the second quarter, according to a report that will be released Wednesday, and construction activity has dropped dramatically as builders adjust to the slowing market. At the end of June, there were 16,595 new houses and condominiums for sale from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County (excluding Imperial County), up 171 percent from the end of July 2005, according to a report that will be released by the Real Estate Research Council at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. That's the biggest supply overhang since 20,942 new homes languished on the market at the end of 1990, said Michael Carney, the council's executive director. The record inventory is 32,191 new properties in the middle of 1982. In Los Angeles County, the unsold new home inventory rocketed an annual 375 percent, to 1,975 properties at the end of June. That's the most since 2,054 new homes were on the market at the end of 1995. The most distress, however, is in San Diego County, where a record 6,927 properties were on the market at the end of June. Eighty-four percent are attached units, probably most of them condominiums, Carney said. Southern California now accounts for 3 percent of the unsold new home inventory in the U.S. and 14 percent in the West. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

Own a home, grab the tax breaks. The housing market may swell and ebb. But Uncle Sam keeps giving. The tax code backs up reverence for owning your abode with tax deductions for mortgage interest and property tax that in effect reduce your monthly bill. And some or all of your profit when you sell may face no tax at all. An analysis released in late June by economist Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders calculated that about 35 million households claimed $338 billion in mortgage deductions on 2003 returns, an average of $9,650. About 39 million deducted $119 billion in real-estate tax, an average of $3,000. California led the nation in mortgage deductions with a statewide average of about $14,000 and a whopping $35,000 in the San Jose area. Source.

A cooling market is taking Toll. Developer says new home orders being canceled; Sotheby's closing local offices. Coachella Valley's once hot luxury-home market appears to be losing steam in line with the rest of the cooling local and national housing market, and some big-name companies have taken notice. After less than two years in the valley, Sotheby's International Realty plans to pull up stakes by the end of August and shut down its only two company-owned Coachella Valley offices. National luxury-home builder Toll Brothers Inc. - with its Mountain View Country Club and Muirfield at PGA West communities - is reporting a surge in local buyers having to cancel new-home orders. Local real estate agents said there's a definite slowdown in the high-end market, but they detect some good indicators as well. The downturn in what is typically seen as an almost bullet-proof segment of the real estate market is due to waning home-buyer confidence, an inventory glut of more than 7,000 resale homes in the valley, a normal winding down of the real estate cycle and other factors, area real estate agents and industry officials said. Source.

Most Expensive Rental Markets In America 2006. "With mortgages rising and home prices at such a high level, people who might have considered purchasing a home a few years ago may now be turning to the rental market, particularly in big cities like New York," says Richard Levy, a senior research analyst at the National Multi Housing Council, an industry association based in Washington, D.C. But much to renters' chagrin--and landlords' delight--greater demand has led to higher rents. In fact, NAR expects rents will rise an average of 4.1% this year, compared to a 2.9% increase last year. Source.

Southland Home Sales at 9-Year Low. In July, 22,712 homes closed escrow in the six-county region, according to La Jolla-based research firm DataQuick Information Systems. That was a 27% drop from the year before and was the fewest number of homes to close escrow in a July since 1997. Waning sales coupled with a rising supply of unsold homes is weighing on price appreciation. In July, the median price of a Southern California home rose 4.9% to $492,000 — the slowest rate of growth in more than six years. The price also edged down 0.2% from the record median of $493,000 set in June. Altogether, Southland home prices have risen just 5% since January, according to DataQuick, which assesses all closed residential transactions in the given period. A year ago, home prices had gained 13% during the same timeframe. Nationally, the slowdown is growing as well. The National Assn. of Realtors said today that in addition to California, 27 other states and the District of Columbia reported spring sales declines of existing homes. Sales nationwide were down 7% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.69 million in the April-June quarter this year compared to a year ago, the NAR said. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate Advice for Tuesday, August 8th, 2006

Help Your Loan Approval - Loan Application Checklist:

□ Executed sales contract on property being purchased.
□ Plot survey.
□ W-2 forms for the previous two years.
□ If you have been a full-time student for the past two years, provide a copy of your school transcripts or diploma.
□ If you are self employed, commissioned or using rental income to qualify, provide complete and signed personal and business tax returns for the past two years.
□ Year-to-date signed profit and loss, if self employed.
□ Copy of rental or lease agreements on all rental properties owned.
□ Three most recent pay stubs from employer with year-to-date for each borrower.
□ Copy of the last three statements on all asset accounts: banks, stocks, etc.
□ Copy of loan payment coupons.
□ Copy of last charge account statements with balances, names, addresses, and account numbers.
□ Copy of divorce or separation agreement in full when declaring income or debt from such agreement.
□ Names, addresses, and account numbers for any mortgage company or landlord for previous two years.
□ Names and phone numbers of both listing and selling agents.
□ Copy of listing and/or contract on any properties currently for sale.

Purchasers applying for a VA loan also should provide the following information:
a. Original certificate of eligibility - from VA.
b. Copy of separation papers - VA form DD214.
c. Statement of service - from commanding officer.
d. Copy of transfer of orders, if applicable.

Finally, bring a checkbook to pay for your credit report and appraisal fees, which are usually collected at application.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate Advice for Tuesday, August 8th, 2006

Friendly Advice - Tips for Getting Your Mortgage!

1. Review your credit report. In many states, reports can be requested for little or no cost. Request changes to any report that is in error.
2. If a creditor does not respond to the dredit reporting agency within 30 days, the report must be taken off your credit report.
a. Equifax: 800-685-1111, www.equifax.com
b. Experian: 800-682-7654, www.experian.com
c. Trans Union Corp: 800-916-8800, www.tuc.com
3. If you have been turned down for credit, you may get your report for no charge.
4. Credit scoring - Credit scoring is assigning numerical ratings to consumers on the basis of their credit history.
5. How to increase your credit score - To help you attain the best possible credit score, avoid any behavior that will negatively impact your credit scores before your loan closing.

Here are some expert tips:
a. Say "no" to new credit.
b. Don't order any furniture or appliances for a new home, even if no payment is immediately due, as with the no-payment-until-spring deals.
c. Don't let any stores run a credit check for a new credit card when you are shopping or looking for new furniture or appliances.
d. Don't get new credit cards, even when stores offer a discount in return for applying for a card.
e. Pay all credit card bills on time, even if it means paying utility bills late.
f. Refuse increases in your credit limit if the increase is more than you need or is high in relation to your income.
g. Pay off and close any existing accounts with finance companies since they're viewed negatively in the scoring.
h. Close out unused credit card accounts.
i. Maintain at least one of your oldest cards to show a lengthy credit history.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Helpful Real Estate Advice for Tuesday, August 8th, 2006

Helful Assistance - Using a REALTOR.

A REALTOR Can Save You Time.
When you begin your search, it's always good to know the amount of your borrowing power. By doing so, you won't waste precious time looking at homes that are over or below your price range. A REALTOR can get you started in the buying process by helping you determine your buying power: your financial reserves and your borrowing capacity. A REALTOR can refer you to lenders that are best qualified to meet your financial needs.

A REALTOR Knows The Area.
Once you know how much you can and want to invest in a new home, the next step is to determine where you want to live. If you're unfamiliar with the geographic areas, the schools and other pertinent information, a REALTOR can help you narrow and focus your search. A REALTOR has access to information about schools, recreation, taxes, utilities, zoning and other specific details that are important in your home buying decisions.

A REALTOR Has Access To The Largest Number of Available Properties.
A REALTOR has the ability to identify and show you the largest number of homes that most closely match your price, size and location criteria.

A REALTOR Has The Experience To Ease You Through The Buying Process.
There are still a lot of details to care of once you find your perfect home. A REALTOR can help you write the Purchase Agreement, arrange for approppriate inspections (if necessary), assist you with any contingencies and help with finance arrangements. When it's time to close, the REALTOR will let you know what to expect.

A REALTOR Knows Local Closing or Settlement Processes.
Closings - or settlements, as it is known in some parts of the country - vary from state to state. Every area has its own unique customs. In same areas, the title or escrow company handles the whole process. In other parts of the country, an attorney does everything. Your REALTOR knows how it is handled in your area and will guide you smoothly through the process.

Buyer's Agents.
One practice that is becoming more common is using a Buyer's Agent. A Buyer's Agent works exclusively for the buyer-not the seller-ensuring that they willl negotiate on your behalf to get you the lowest price on the best home. Since these professionals work exclusively for the buyer, they are compensated regardless of how the buyer finds the home. Homebuyers who use Buyer's Agents believe that compensation is a small price to pay for the value of having a professional dedicated exclusively to looking out for their best interests.

Welcome to your new home!

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Real Estate News for Monday, July 31st, 2006

Heat melting your budget? A few tips. Start with the obvious: Homeowners can save about 10% or more on power bills simply by turning the thermostat setting up 4 degrees, from 78 to 82, for example, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab at UC Berkeley. Homeowners can figure out their family's energy savings by logging on to the Berkeley lab's Home Energy Saver website, at hes.lbl.gov. Enter your ZIP Code and other household facts, and the site will calculate the energy savings and time period it will take to achieve it. Maintaining appliances, especially heating and air units, is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to cut costs. Changing filters regularly and wrapping the ducts in R-6 insulation help. Save another 7% by sealing air-conditioner ducts to reduce leakage and 5% by adding more ceiling insulation. "Night ventilation" saves energy and dollars too. Turn off the air conditioning in the early evening, when temperatures drop. Then turn on window fans to blow out the accumulating warmer air and draw in the cooler evening air. Keep the windows open until morning, then shut them again and turn on the air. Source.

Mixed picture for housing prices. Berson thinks the Federal Reserve "is not done tightening" the ratchet on interest rates, and will move up short-term rates again in August. After that, he says, rates are likely to stabilize, bringing at least a temporary cessation to rising home mortgage rates. He expects average home price appreciation, which had been running at a double-digit annual clip nationally for the last year, to drop to 3% or below by the end of the year. (On this point Berson is more bearish than most of his housing and mortgage industry colleagues, who project average appreciation in the 4% to 6% range.) If speculative investors dump rental houses and second homes purchased during the boom years onto the market later in larger than expected numbers, Berson believes price appreciation could drop to a 1% or 1.5% annual rate — a level not seen since the recession years of the early 1990s. For sellers, it means getting acquainted with the toolbox of techniques developed during the down periods of the 1970s, '80s and '90s to move houses. For example, seller financing, where you take back a second note on concessionary terms to push the sale, take back a first note if you can afford to, or "buy down" your purchaser's interest rate to lower monthly payments. Experienced real estate brokers can fill you in on these strategies, along with their pros and cons. They can also guide you on how to price a home realistically to sell now, not five months from now. For buyers, down markets often offer exceptional opportunities to acquire real estate at prices and on terms that were unthinkable just a few years before. Again, the message is: Don't go to sleep. To the contrary, get off your duff and scour the market for properties that may never be cheaper, or even available. Heads-up real estate is, as the industry adage goes, the art of the possible. You've simply got to adapt to the changed market conditions. And probably work a little harder. Source.

'What-if' tool lets you explore the credit score consequences. The computer programs don't repair a damaged score; they allow you to tinker with tactics and devise a plan. ScoreWizard, which also automatically scans credit files for opportunities to raise credit scores, is one of a number of powerful simulators that would-be borrowers can use to test various scenarios. Another is ScoreRight, which uses common assumptions to suggest ways to increase your score. A third system, CreditXpert, lets you use its predictive capabilities to test any combination of options. Unfortunately, you can't access these or other what-if calculators directly. Rather, you must go through a mortgage broker or loan officer to use the programs, which are marketed to industry professionals as tools to help them attract and keep clients. There's nothing wrong with that. After all, a broker or loan rep offering to help borrowers reach their target credit score quickly and effectively is a sign he or she has their best interests at heart. Source.

Seven Strategies for Successful Mixed-Income Properties. Successful mixed-income apartment housing initiatives have most of the seven key ingredients:
1. A realistic operating budget and adequate financing.
2. Neighborhoods aligned with target markets (properties should be built in neighborhoods that are accustomed to racial diversity and have amenities such as grocery stores, convenient transportation, and schools within walking distance).
3. Curb appeal higher than that of the market niche. Properties should be well-maintained and indistinguishable from those that rent at 100 percent market rate.
4. Property managers who are attentive and proactive.
5. Leasing practices that attract market rate renters.
6. Marketing strategies that are continually adjusted as the market evolves.
7. Amenities and services that match those desired by the community’s target markets.
Taking care of your budget, identifying your target market, aggressively marketing your product to potential customers and making course corrections when needed, are all that any business has to do to succeed. The research shows that it can’t be any different in the affordable housing sector. Source.

New Legislation Will Increase Access to FHA Loans. The U.S. House of Representatives passed "The Expanding American Homeownership Act,” which will increase homeownership opportunities for millions of Americans by modernizing the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and returning it to its traditional role as an important financing option in today’s housing market. Source.

Commissions Significantly Decline. Agents openly compete for local listings from potential sellers and for potential buyers on the basis of reputation, level of service and price. On a national basis, average commissions have significantly declined since 1991. There are approximately 2.6 million real estate licensees in the United States. Nearly 1.3 million of these are Realtors®. All Realtors® are members of NAR and subscribe to a strict code of ethics. There are a large number of firms competing in every market, and a growing number of largely independent contractor agents ensuring that the real estate industry remains fiercely competitive. In the most recent NAR survey of homebuyers, 77 percent reported that they used the Internet to search for homes. The report also found that of those homebuyers who use the Internet to search for a home, 93 percent of them still use a real estate agent. Recent claims that NAR is limiting competition, protecting high commissions and limiting access to the listing information on the Internet are simply not true. A close look at the real estate industry shows that it is more competitive than ever, and access to information is at an all-time high. Realtors® add value to the transaction – not because we have any unfair advantages – but simply because our members share an unparalleled dedication and love for what they do. Source.

Be Wary of Signs and Ads Offering To Pay Cash for Your Home. Rule Number One for Evaluating Too-Good-To-Be-True-Sounding Deals: Don't think about what's in it for you. Think about what's in it for the other guy. In this case, why would someone offer fistfuls of moolah to a stranger, sight unseen, for a place that could be crawling with termites, dripping with mold, or overlooking the freeway? Would it make any sense at all unless the buyer could nab the house at a huge discount and flip it for a quick profit -- or find another way to take advantage of the seller's desperation? As a rule of thumb, Mr. Myers writes, skilled foreclosure investors buy properties at savings of 20% to 50% off retail value. Some may offer a slightly better deal, but only if the seller finances the cost of needed repairs. Compare that to the 5% to 10% deduction from asking prices that real-estate agents say buyers typically seek in a balanced market (that is, one that favors neither sellers nor buyers), and you can see that wholesale investors are really only a last-ditch alternative for most homeowners. While it may be tempting to take such an offer, know that you usually have other options. Even if you're far behind on your mortgage payments, most lenders are glad to work out a repayment schedule with you -- in fact, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually require their lenders to pursue one. And if you plan to sell your house, they may even throw in a little extra money to help put it in saleable shape, especially if the upgrade will bring an outdated feature up to current building codes. Then, check out comparable homes that have recently sold, take a deep breath, and set your home's price a bit below market value. Experienced real-estate brokers say that doing so signals to buyers that your house is a bargain, and may spark a bidding war, even in a down market. Source.

Sold at First Sight. This shift in market psyche means that now more than ever home sellers and their brokers must make a good first impression by enhancing that all-important “curb appeal” — the comely front porch or neat rows of impatiens or hydrangeas that beckon buyers to take a look inside. Some people are getting help from landscapers, while others are turning to professional home stagers or stylists to conjure up that extra outdoor pizazz. Landscape architects and real estate brokers and appraisers agree that the exterior appearance and landscaping not only distinguish one house from another on the market but also enhance the resale value and, in many cases, seal a deal faster. "Good landscaping could add up to 15 to 20 percent to the value,” said Nancy C. Somerville, the executive vice president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, citing a number of studies over the last few years. “Conversely, if the landscape is poor, you could expect a sale price of 8 to 10 percent below comparable homes with good landscaping." Not all outside projects have the same potential payback. One of the more recent landscaping studies, conducted by Laval University in Quebec and published four years ago in The Journal of Real Estate Research, found that landscaped patios added 12.4 percent to the market value of a house, while hedges used as fences added just 3.6 percent. And different buyers want different things. The Quebec study found that retirees generally preferred yards with plenty of trees, which have the added value of helping to reduce energy bills by blocking summer sun and winter winds. Younger adults, it said, preferred more lawn. Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com

Probate Information from Bob Bruss.

Inman News Features: Probate properties offer profit potential. Lack of market exposure key to finding bargains.

Friday, July 14, 2006
Article by Bob Bruss.

Are you a real estate agent looking for listings with little or no competition? Are you a home buyer searching for a below-market-price residence few other buyers know about? Can you keep a secret?

If you answered "yes" to two out of those three key questions, keep reading.

I'm referring to the little-known "underground" real estate market of probate properties. Probate is the name given to the court procedure to distribute assets of a deceased person, whether that individual died with or without a written will.

Although there are several key methods to avoid probate costs and delays, such as use of a revocable living trust or holding title as joint tenants with right of survivorship, each year approximately six million new U.S. probate cases are filed. Not all these estates involve real estate, but several million do.

WHY CONSIDER PROBATE PROPERTIES? The obvious major reason is to acquire a property at a bargain below-market purchase price with little or no competition. If you are a licensed realty agent, and if you understand the local probate property procedures, you can obtain the listing from the estate executor or administrator with virtually no competition.

Unless there are probate problems, such as a will contest or unpaid creditor problems, most real estate left by a deceased owner can be sold by the estate representative without legal complications.

"Exposure to the real estate marketplace" is the enemy. That is the key message of the great book "Creating Wealth Through Probate" by James G. Banks (Dearborn-Kaplan Publishing Co., Chicago, 2005, $18.95, available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, public libraries and www.Amazon.com). Banks explains probate property secrecy usually results in a bargain sales price because there is little or no wide exposure for probate properties to the local real estate market.

FINDING PROBATE PROPERTIES ISN'T EASY. There are many reasons why properties owned by the estate of a deceased owner are sold. Reasons include the creditors must be paid, the heirs don't want the real estate they inherited, and estate taxes must be paid from the estate assets.

For example, several years ago my good friend David was named executor in the will of a deceased homeowner who left his house to relatives living in a distant city. The house of the deceased was in bad condition. David hired a local real estate broker, Mark, to market the house for sale to produce cash for the heirs. The broker arranged painting and cleaning the house at a cost of several thousand dollars. After the house was in marketable condition, Mark listed it for sale. It quickly sold at a slightly below-market price, which satisfied the heirs.

The result was the estate got rid of a less-than-perfect house, the heirs got cash from the sale of a house they didn't want, and the real estate agent earned a full sales commission.

To find potential probate property listings, real estate agents and investors need to be diligent. Sharp agents and investors clip the daily newspaper obituary notices, look for published legal notices to creditors and notices of petition to administer estates, check probate court public files to determine if the deceased left real estate to be probated, and check with estate executors and administrators to learn if real estate will be sold.

FOUR KEY PROBATE PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES. Whether you are a real estate agent looking for probate listings, an investor searching for a probate profit property, or a home buyer hoping for a bargain-price residence, there are four key profit opportunities:

1. BUY FROM THE ESTATE EXECUTOR AT A BIG DISCOUNT. Depending on the estate circumstances, such as whether the deceased left big debts to be paid from the sale of real estate, it may be necessary for the estate executor or administrator to sell the deceased's property. Most executors and administrators are "amateurs" so they usually want a quick, easy sale and are not motivated to get top dollar.

2. BUY FROM THE HEIRS AFTER THEY RECVEIVE PROPERTY TITLE. Another probate buying opportunity occurs after the title to the probate property is distributed to the heirs who often don't want to keep it.

For example, years ago I bought a house where the elderly owner died of natural causes. Many people don't want to buy such a property. But that didn't bother me. The house had been listed for sale many months with an excellent agent. Then I made my purchase offer of 10 percent cash down payment with a 90 percent mortgage to be carried back by the three heirs. Father Ward, priest at the local Catholic church and one of the heirs, liked my offer. He recommended his siblings accept it, which they did. The result was a satisfactory sale for all.

3. BUY AT A PUBLIC SALE OF THE PROBATE PROPERTY. If the deceased property owner left no will so a private real estate is usually not possible, the local Probate Court might order a public sale of the property. That often means the estate administrator will list the property for sale with a real estate agent, subject to confirmation by the Probate Court. Local procedures vary.

4. PUBLIC AUCTIONS BENEFIT SELLERS, NOT BUYERS. Farms and difficult-to-sell probate properties are frequently offered for sale at public auctions. Heavy bidding frequently results in sales prices at or above fair market value. If you want to purchase a bargain-price property, buying at an auction is usually not wise unless there are few other qualified bidders.

PROBATE PROPERTY PURCHASE PITFALLS. If you are interested in acquiring a probate property bargain, you need to know of several purchase pitfalls:

1. PROBATE SALES ARE "AS IS." Most probate property sales are "as is." That means the seller does not make any warranties or representations. The result is the seller has no duty to pay for any repairs due to defects. Because the estate seller usually is not familiar with the pros and cons of the property, the estate is in no position to disclose defects.

In other words, the probate property purchase rule is "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware).

If the buyer wants to make the purchase offer conditional on a professional property inspection, a termite (pest control) report, or mortgage insurance contingency, such clauses must be specified in the purchase offer. Otherwise, the buyer has no recourse for undisclosed defects.

2. WORK WITH THE ESTATE EXECUTOR OR ADMINISTRATOR. These individuals usually want to get the estate closed as quickly as possible. If you express an interest in a specific property owned by the estate, chances are you can negotiate acquisition of the property if you adopt a cooperative and flexible attitude.

3. ASK IF THE ESTATE WILL FINANCE THE SALE. "It doesn't hurt to ask" is the rule if you want to buy a home or other probate property but financing is a bit difficult. In such a situation, don't hesitate to ask. Better yet, make your purchase offer with a clause providing the estate heirs shall carry back financing on the terms specified in terms you offer.

4. HAVE A PLAN FOR THE PROPERTY. To be a successful probate property purchaser, you need a plan. Maybe it is to live in the residence. Perhaps it is to fix it up and earn a huge resale profit for "flipping." Or perhaps you have grand ideas to develop the property for bigger and better uses.

SUMMARY: Most probate properties owned by a deceased property owner offer huge potential profit opportunities, whether you want to acquire that property for personal use or as a "quick flip" profitable property sale.

But it takes work and persistence. However, the rewards are extremely worthwhile, especially when repeated over and over. More details are in my special report, "Probate Property Profit Secrets Revealed," available for $5 from Robert Bruss, 251 Park Road, Burlingame, CA 94010 or by credit card at 1-736-1736 or instant Internet delivery at www.BobBruss.com.

(For more information on Bob Bruss publications, visit his
Real Estate Center). Source.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com