On October 1, the upfront premium for an FHA loan will be increased from 1.5% to 1.75%. Normally, this fee is added to the loan amount and financed over the course of the loan. This fee is used to offset foreclosure losses on FHA loans. If you’re seriously considering a home purchase with an FHA loan, now’s a good time to do it before the fee goes up!

Agents hate ’em. Buyers get frustrated. Sellers get angry, scared, and ultimately, resigned. But for many price levels (especially entry level), short pays make up much of the available inventory these days and everyone is learning how to deal with them. So – what’s the deal with short pays? Why all this angst? Read the rest of this article »

Here is our August newsletter. See the inspiring pictures and read the touching article about Royal Family Kids Camp and how this is making a difference in the lives of 7 – 11 year olds who are in the county foster care system.

A small way that we are contributing to RFKC is loaning our truck to the staffers for the week. Read all about it!

Over the past couple of months we’ve had clients submit offers on different bank foreclosed properties (REOs) and it’s not the same as submitting an offer on a “regular” deal! What do I mean? When “newbie” buyers initially come into the marketplace, they often come in with preconceived notions about how to approach the process – especially when wanting to make an offer on a bank foreclosure. Read the rest of this article »

…the big jump in home sales compared to a year ago for southland counties. I’ve told many people that when the general media starts to shift focus from all the negative real estate news we’ve seen over the past year and starts talking about “Is this a good time to buy?” type news, that maybe the market will be on the upswing. So what’s going on? Read the rest of this article »