Real Estate Juice » Uncategorized

It’s a Scam

Krista Miller — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:49:46 +0000

A client of mine recently closed on his first house. As I do with all of my clients I forewarned him that he would receive a TON of junk mail and advised him on what to ignore and what not to ignore, and if he received anything that he was confused about to let me know.

He contacted me regarding a couple of items he received. The first item went something like this:

“Our records indicate that you have not taken advantage of our low cost Mortgage Protection Insurance…”

To someone who doesn’t know, it looks official. DON’T FILL IT OUT.

The second item was even better:

“Important Notice…Declaration of Homestead Request Form.” This one included a copy of the recorded Grant Deed and was from “Title Concepts Plus.” ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I had no idea that these types of items were being sent out. If you just purchased a home, be wary of ANYTHING you receive in the mail that doesn’t come from the title company you used to purchase the house, or from the bank who holds your loan.

Good News From the Economy: Positive Real Estate Growth

Krista Miller — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:59:01 +0000

Real Estate Outlook: Positive Growth

by Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090728_realestateoutlook.htm

Housing Snapshot: Seven Bay Area Counties: February 2009

Krista Miller — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:40:05 +0000

Rate Watch 3/5/09

Krista Miller — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:00:24 +0000

30 Year Fixed Conforming: 5.375%/5.411%APR

30 Year Fixed Agency-Jumbo: 5.625%/5.742%APR

15 Year Fixed Agency-Jumbo: 5.000%/5.194%APR

5 Year Fixed Conforming (1 Point): 4.375%/4.483%APR

5 Year Fixed Int.Only Conforming (1 Point): 4.490%/4.502%APR

East Bay Economic Forecast

Krista Miller — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:47:06 +0000

Here is an update from the East Bay Economic Q109 Forecast. Some of the information is quite interesting.

The graph of “Affordable and Actual Median Home Prices” illustrates a comparison of estimated affordable home prices and actual median home prices in the East Bay for the years 2002-2008. We used median family income from U.S. Census’ American Community Survey ⁵, a 30% ratio of mortgage interest and principle payments to income, an 80% loan-to-value ratio (which implies that the family has a 20% down-payment) and a conventional 30 year fixed mortgage rate from Federal Housing Finance Board survey to calculate hypothetical affordable home prices.

On the supply side, the market is in the process of burning off excess inventory. The latest home price estimates using the OFHEO Price Index for the 3rd Quarter show East Bay home prices have continued to fall and are down -26% from the peak of June 2006. Even more telling is the fact that the average increase in home prices in the East Bay over the last five years is only 14% percent. After adjusting for inflation, home values have not increased since the 3rd Quarter of 2003. Therefore, the excess appreciation of homes in the East Bay has for the most part been burned off and home prices are relatively close to their long run trend.

To read the entire report, and i recommend you do, click here:

http://www.eastbayeda.org/research_facts_figures/Newsletter/Quarterly/Q2009/Q12009/realestate.html