According Trulia (www.trulia.com), buying was cheaper than renting in 74% of the country’s 50 largest cities in July. In just 12% of the cities, including New York, Seattle and San Francisco, renting was cheaper. In the remaining 14% of cities, renting was less expensive but close to the cost of buying.  When it comes to the Tri-County area (Pittsburg, Antioch & Brentwood), I highly recommend PURCHASING a home versus renting a home. I just makes sense financially.

In addition to a continuing decline in home prices in the bay area, ROCK BOTTOM INTEREST RATES have added fuel to the home buying fire. The overnight average rate for a 30-year fixed was just 4.19%.  A 15-year fixed averaged just 3.43%.  Not only are rates low, but the tax perks you get with owning a home out weighs the benefits of renting one.

If you have a steady job and you are planning to stay in that home for seven years or more and have enough cash to put 3.5% down for a FHA loan and enough left over for seven or eight months of expenses, you’re better off buying.  It just makes sense.

If you’re in the market for a home or if you’re in selling your home, I will be more then happy to address any questions or concerns you may have.

Shantell Owens

925-594-0321: Direct

Related articles

• Top US cities where it’s cheaper to rent than buy (bizjournals.com)
• U.S. home prices dip (business.financialpost.com)

How important is curb appeal?

Ask any buyer today, and they will tell you curb appeal may determine if they even want to see inside.  You may think with all of the foreclosures and short sales on the market today in pretty bad shape, why would it matter what the curb appeal of your home is?

Today’s buyer is pretty savvy ~They are searching for homes online, driving through neighborhoods and are making a point to educate themselves to the buying process.

Expectation ~ Since more buyers are doing more homework, their expectations are very high. They understand with a distressed property comes work. The property has been neglected or the owner is not in a position to maintain the property. However, when it comes to a regular sale, they expect the property to be taken care of.

Perception ~ The perception of the buyer is they may be getting a better deal on a distressed sale, even though you may have priced your home in line with what is in the neighborhood. So when looking at a traditional sale, if the property doesn’t have the curb appeal, the perception is the property has not been maintained. Perception could kill you if you don’t do something to alter that perception!

• Landscaping ~ Landscaping says a lot about a home. By maintaining a well manicured yard it represents the care that carries through to the home. Keep the grass manicured, trees and bushes trimmed, put down some mulch in the planting beds. Native plants and flowers to your area will help add color and will require less maintenance for the new homeowner.
• Home Appearance ~ A fresh coat of paint or a good power washing to make it sparkle will add years to the appearance!
• Fencing ~ Don’t forget about the fences surrounding the property. Even with beautiful landscaping and a sharp looking appearance, a fence in poor condition is $$ in the buyers mind.
• Inviting Entry ~ The entry to any home is what represents “Welcome”. Even on a limited budget, an entry way that is inviting sets the mood for the rest of the home.
• Driveway ~ A driveway full of oil spills or cracks is something that buyers will notice. Take the time to prepare the driveway for sale, just as you are the landscaping!
• Lighting ~ The proper lighting for evening viewing/visitors is important. If the light does not guide you home, it won’t guide the potential buyers either! It may be as simple as changing the fixture on the front porch to as much as landscape lighting for larger yards.

If you are considering selling your home, it is worth the time and few extra dollars to make it pop! You may be pleasantly surprised to know how much curb appeal will add to the value of your home!  Curb Appeal ~ Who Cares? Buyers Do!

For more information please on how to bring more appeal to your curb, contact Shantell Owens @ 925-594-0321

GROUT WORKS: America’s

Grout Works has a highly advanced tile grout color sealer and custom color matching system allowing the customer an unlimited choice of colors.  Our system can restore the original color and beauty of your grout lines and change the color of your grout to match the tile and décor of your home.

Grout Works Bay Area professionals have perfected the art of tile grout restoration and take pride in making dirty, discolored tile grout lines look brand new and beautiful.  If you are looking for perfection with flawless uniform grout lines, call Grout Works Bay Area today.

Grout Works Bay Area has a proprietary color grout sealer!!

Color sealing grout lines is the most efficient technique to obtain stain free grout lines.  The process starts by using mild cleansing products that will remove all surface dirt and bacteria.  Once the grout has been cleaned, a color sealer is applied to the grout that will fill all holes and voids that make the grout porous.  Grout Works color sealer can be custom color matched to any shade of tile or grout.  The customer has the option to match the original color or change the color of grout to any shade desired.  Once the color sealer is applied, the grout lines are permanently protected from any stains, discoloration and bacteria.  Grout Works color sealing process is typically completed in one day and will not create any dust, debris or mess.  Grout Works color sealing process is always guaranteed against cracking, chipping, and peeling to ensure a lifetime of beautiful clean grout lines.  If you are tired of dirty, discolored grout lines ruining the look of your tile, call Grout Works Bay Area today and have perfect, stain free grout lines tomorrow.

Grout Works Specializes in:

• Tile grout cleaning
• Tile grout sealing
• Tile grout repair
• Shower Restoration
• Natural Stone
• Commercial / Residential
• FREE ESTIMATES!  FREE ESTIMATES!

To schedule a No Obligation Consultation, Call Michael Johnson @ 925-849-7300 or mjohnson@grout-works.com

http://www.grout-works.com/

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This is Shantell… Your Personal Real Estate Consultant For Life!! I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful weather last Saturday while taking my daughter to the beautiful Streets of Brentwood, here in beautiful Brentwood, CA.   One of my past clients saw me at the movie theatre and wanted to thank me for providing personalized support for her mom and concerning a real estate matter.  That conversation brought up some issues that I think needs to be addressed.

I would like to place emphasis on the subject of Loan Modifications and how there seems to be an overall misconception that needs to be cleared up. It appears that the vast majority of homeowners are unaware of the fact that even though a homeowner has applied for a Loan Modification, it does not stop the Foreclosure Clock. The Homeowner needs to be proactive with their frequency of calls to the bank. These calls need to be well documented in a conversation log with the bank and the representative with whom they have spoken. A well documented Conversation Log will help the homeowner prove their track record of correspondence should the multiple servicing departments not be communicating at their banks. If the bank gives instructions of when the homeowner should reach out to them with a follow up response, then the homeowner needs to mark it on their calendars and do just that. If my clients need guidance with the process they are always welcome to call me for this support.

Another area that is becoming a rule of thumb is that some homeowners are making choices not to pay their HOA dues. To do this is inflicting personal sabotage. If a homeowner is not paying their mortgage, then they should (in most cases) be able to afford the HOA dues they committed to when they purchased their home. Most homeowners are unaware that the HOA can place a lien on their property. Then when the homeowner gets the okay for their Loan Modification, they have now created another obstacle on themselves. The homeowner has vested themselves with the modification only to now have the HOA have the rights to place a Lien on the property and they themselves can Foreclose on the property.

If you or someone you know is in need of real estate advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. My Initial Consultations are FREE so together; we can identify all your options for you and your family.

On Your Team,

Shantell Owens: 925-594-0321

Related articles

• House Votes To Terminate Obama Administration’s Anti-Foreclosure Program (huffingtonpost.com)
• Foreclosure Assistance (nytimes.com)
• Few Mortgage Modifications Include Prinicipal Reductions (walletpop.com)

Image by Casey Serin via Flickr

Of all the things we do in our day to day financial dealings, how we handle our credit has the deepest impact on our financial lives.

Good, bad and ugly credit will affect many aspects of our financial health that are driven by that all powerful “Credit Score”. Some effects are obvious and some are not so well known to every day people

I want to she shine the light on some of those effects. It will not be an all inclusive list, but will touch on some of what I consider to be important issues for every day people.

1. Interest rates paid on loans: This is one of the more obvious results. Interest rates on home loans, car loans, boat loans, credit cards and other loan rates are affected by your credit score.
2. Insurance rates paid: Your car insurance rate, homeowners insurance rate and and other insurance rates are affected by your credit score.
3. Rental rates / terms: Home rentals, apartment rentals, commercial space rentals and other rentals are affected by your credit score.
4. Job search: Employers are running credit reports on prospective employees more and more. Having bad or ugly credit can actually stop you from getting a job.

The first step to getting control of your credit is to be able to effectively monitor it on an on going basis. There are lots of subscription services out there, where you pay a monthly or annual fee to monitor your credit.

But why pay for something, when you can get it for free?

Below is a link where you can get your credit report free once a year from each of the three main credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax & TransUnion). So you can actually get 3 reports total each year! They may try to sell you extra services, but you don’t have to buy and they are each required by law to give you one free report per year upon your request. My suggestion is to run your report once every 4 months. Just rotate through the agencies each time you run it.

AnnualCreditReport.com

Some people will find errors on their reports that negatively affect their credit scores.  Address these issues immediately, it will help raise your score.

Others will not only find errors, but outright identity theft in progress! Alert all three credit reporting agencies and the police of the situation immediately! There could be terrible consequences coming from the identity theft that can be avoided with quick action.

If you need help with reading your credit report and or want tips on how to improve your score, give me a call right away.

On Your Team,

Shantell Owens: (925) 594-0321

Related articles

• Credit Repair Emergency Kit (creditloan.com)
• It’s Not Wise to Ignore Bad Credit (creditrepair.org)
• Many Buyers Lack Credit Score Knowledge (derrickdawson.wordpress.com)

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All we here about today is the media rambling on about all the bank REO’s (stands for “real estate owned”…means the same as repo, foreclosure or bank owned property, etc) that are out there in America, waiting to hit the market.  Mind you, they are not here yet, and have been promised for almost 3 years…and if we in the business hear the term “shadow inventory” one more time (the favorite media term meaning bank repos are heading our way), my head is going to spin!

It took me a while to get this information together….. But, here’s a little lesson on Bank Repos (REO’s).  There are a massive number of REO’s the banks are hiding, more on the way, and when the number of homes that are worth less than what is owed are figured into the mix, the amount of REO”s and potential REO’s  is mind blowing.  So as a real estate professional and consumer, I have this HUGE QUESTION:

Where are they? We have been hearing about this huge surplus of REO’s headed our way for over 30years, and they have yet to show up…and so my clients ask me all the time…Where are all these REO’s they keep hearing about?

Remember the old TV show with Bob Barker called, “The Price is Right” (My favorite game show), where contestants will often get to pick “potential” prizes behind certain “Doors”.  In the case of the missing REO’s, there are about 5 doors from which you can choose.

Door #1… Behind this door, the banks actually have their REO’s ready to go…they are just “waiting” for the best time to sell them.  Mind you, with the exception of the really depressed areas of the country, they are not waiting out of a concern for the neighborhood.  Banks can care less about people.   What they are waiting for is the best time to take the loss on their books and report it to Wall Street…because the DO care about that.  So…they parcel these properties out when it is best for them.

Door #2… Behind this door are the properties that the bank has foreclosed upon, but cannot take possession of because they are currently occupied by the former owner or tenant.  In this case, because the government has passed so many new rules and regs that are designed to “protect” the occupants of a foreclosed home, it can take another 6 months or more to get the home vacant for sale.  Those who side with the occupants feel that this added time beneficial to the former owner, and those that side with the banks think it is just a costly delay of the inevitable. The time time it takes to get an REO to the market for sale has doubled or tripled in the past 12-24 months.  Is that a GOOD thing or a BAD thing?

Door #3… In two words…”Bulk Sales”.  If a particular bank has a BUNCH of REO’s in the pipeline, there are large investment groups that will buy hundreds at a time from this particular bank.  From the banks viewpoint, they get to dump a lot of properties in one swoop and eliminate the hassle of selling them all one by one.  From the bulk buyers viewpoint, they get both the benefit of some really reduced prices on these homes (volume discount), and the opportunity to purchase them first.  Yes, they get the headaches that come with the properties, but to them its worth it.  Most of these houses are fixer uppers with some paint, new carpet or a new roof and is ready for someone to buy it.

Door # 4… The courthouse steps.  Here, savvy investors can purchase the property from the bank before the bank actually takes ownership.  These sales are done every day at courthouses through out California, and either investment groups or individuals can play…These purchases require lots of cash, research, and nerve…and there are still risks.  However, they have become quite popular, and many of the potential REO’s are sold here.  Some are kept as rentals to be sold many years down the road, but most generally return to the market fixed-up for sale as in Door #3 above.

Door #5… Short Sales.  In the beginning of this real estate market crash (mid 2007), there were very few short sales because the banks simply were not geared-up to handle the process.  Now, almost 4 years later, short sales make up a large part of the homes currently for sale.  In this case, the short sale is simply a REO in waiting, so when the bank chooses to accept a short sale price, they are simply getting rid of the “potential REO” earlier rather than later.  It never becomes an official REO so it will not appear on the REO stats.

The bottom line is, if you’re a buyer holding your breath waiting for the banks to open the REO flood gates, don’t hold your breath for too long  it’s NOT going to happen!!!  Time will tell if that remains the case, but for now, be aware…there are many ways these properties get to market other than as a bank owned REO. In the meantime, Short Sales over the next 2 years will increase.

With a documented 85% closing ratio on Short Sale negotiations and closings, I am more then qualified to answer your questions.  Call me for a consultation and I will be more then happy to help assist you with Buying or Selling a short sale.

Shantell Owens: (925) 594-0321

Related articles

• Seeking REO Brokers for Launch of New National Foreclosure Program (donfharris.com)
• HUD Monitors REO vendors (denisejonesy.wordpress.com)

Image by MauraNeill via Flickr

Greetings everyone, I hope all you had a wonderful, safe and productive week!

If you’re a First Time Home Buyer, it is important that you know that approximately 70% of all the sales that occur these days are completed with FHA financing.  FHA offers the best combination of low rates and low down payment, so it is used by the majority of today’s buyers.  Which means that if you are a seller, you really want your property to appeal to an FHA buyer for obvious reasons.

However, if you own a condo, appealing to an FHA buyer just got tougher in 2011 due to some new regulations imposed on condo developments by FHA.  Here’s what FHA is now requiring for them to make any type of loan on a condo.

1.  No more than 25% of the property’s total floor space can be used for commercial reasons.  This is primarily directed at the newer developments that have a business downstairs, and living quarters upstairs.  For most condo owners, this does not apply.

2.  No more than 10% of the units can be owned by more than one investor.  Again, generally not a problem, but beware…this applies to a developer who may still own a lot of units because they decided to rent them out if the original sales were slow.  Be careful here.

3. No more than 15% of the units can be late with their association payments.  This is a biggie.  In today’s market, it is hard to find a condo development that will pass this new rule.  Foreclosures, short sales, and job loss all contribute to the owner of a condo simply not being able (or willing) to make the association payments.  If the owner is not making payments to the bank, then the usually are not making payments to the association.  This rule will affect a lot of condo developments.

4. In the case of new construction, 50% of the units must be sold before FHA will make a new loan.  Since there is almost no condo development at the moment, this new rule will generally be moot.

5. At least 50% of units must be owner occupied.  This is a problem if many of the units have been repossessed by a bank.  In that case, the unit becomes “non owner occupied”, and therefore can really skew the occupancy numbers…so be aware.  Basically, FHA considers it a larger risk for them if the majority of the condo complex is renters as opposed to owners who live on site.

6. FHA will not make a loan to a new buyer if they have already made loans to over 50% of the complex…so if you are too late as a buyer and others got their FHA loan before you, tough luck.  FHA does not want to have all their eggs in one condo basket, so to speak.

Some of these rules may seem to be a bit harsh, but hey…when it comes to FHA financing, we all either play by their rules, or they will take their financing ball and go home and no one will get to play at all.  The climate of the real estate world has changed drastically and ALL of us must make the necessary adjustments to play the game.

If you’re interested in purchasing a condo, call me directly and I will be more then happy to walk you through it.

Shantell Owens: 925.594.0321

Related articles

• FHA Loan Requirements Tighten for Condos (nextgenrecorp.wordpress.com)
• FHA Pros and Cons for the Seller (brighthub.com)
• FHA Approved Condos, FHA Approved Condominium, List of FHA Approved Condos | FHA Approved Condos (atlantahoaservices.wordpress.com)

84 BERGAMOT CT, Oakley, CA 94561

• $230,000
• 4 Beds
• 2 Full | 1 Partial Baths
• 1991 sq ft
• Year Built: 2007

This property is the perfect investment.  Great area in a new development.  This home shows like new!! Has lots of upgrades with a gorgeous kitchen. This ones a WINNER!!  Submit your offers right away!

Call Shantell with questions: 925.594.0321

1621 HIGHLAND WAY, Brentwood, CA 94513

Perfect for the “Picky”buyer, this home is a winner. Clean, spacious, upgraded and ready to call home.  Located in a stable community within a great school district!  Taking offers now! Call Shantell for questions: 925.594.0321

• $349,000
• 5 Beds
• 3 Full Baths
• 2822 sq ft
• Year Built: 2001

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Baseball season is approaching fast! Here’s a great story about baseball – and perspective:

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat.  “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” he announced.  Then he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.

“Strike one!” he yelled.  Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!”  He tossed the ball into the air.  When it came down he swung again and missed.  “Strike two!” he cried.

The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully.  He spit on his hands and rubbed them together.  He straightened his cap and said once more, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!”  Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it.  He missed.  “Strike Three!”

“Wow!” he exclaimed.  “I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”

Either way – he’s right.  Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?

Some of us may have “swung and missed” over the past 3 years with underwater home values.  But, as the real estate market corrects itself  and improve here in East County, it is important that we keep things in perspective and stay optimistic about the future.  The  Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay area are great places to live, work and play.

Have you had a recent experience that changed your perspective about something?  I’d like to hear about it.  Please email me or call me directly.

Shantell Owens

Direct: 925.594.0321