Interest Rates Up Slightly On Stock News

Interest Rates for most Loan Products rose slightly today, as the Stock market bounced up from its lows of yesterday.

Still boucing around at 2-month lows, the 30-year Fixed moved up by about .125% to 4.75% (4.98% APR).

This is still well under the 5% Rate that was available 3 weeks ago.

Rate should bounce around in this area (4.625% - 5%) for the foreseeable future, as world events continue to play havoc with the markets.

SB 931 Signed into Law – Prohibits Deficiency Judgements on all 1st liens in CA

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 931 into law this past week, prohibiting lenders from pursuing deficiency judgements after short sales on all 1st liens in California, including “recourse” loans where the borrower has refinanced.

In California, once a seller has refinanced their mortgage, whether it is a cash out refinance or simply a refinance to a better interest rate, the loan becomes a recourse loan, meaning the bank can pursue the seller after the short sale for the deficiency, unless stated in writing that the debt is settled on the short sale approval.

Now, with the passage into law of SB 931, lenders are prohibited from pursuing sellers on all first mortgages in CA after a short sale.

Recent clients share their experience working with Susan Botticelli

08.29.10

Dear Susan,

Dianne and I would like to thank you so much for the outstanding results you provided to us on the recent sale of our home in Rancho San Diego. Most people who own real estate soon come to realize that our homes are much more than a financial investment. Homes are full of fond memories. Memories of children growing up, unforgettable times with family and friends, and holiday memories that will always remain close to our hearts are really what our homes become for us. Susan, your personal touch as our real estate agent preserved for Dianne and I everything our home was for us for fifteen years.

You provided three key factors to our successful closing: First, your marketing plan during the initial phase of the transaction was in complete alignment with current real estate conditions. You adjusted and tailored the details as the market changed, always keeping us well informed.

Second, your advice throughout the process was timely, technically accurate, and always presented clearly and completely. As you know, this transaction had a great deal of complexity involving three lending institutions, legal, tax, building code, and repair issues, as well as a variety of other circumstances unique even in today’s real estate market.

Third, and most critically, your ability to coordinate each and every detail of this complex transaction during the final phase leading up to the successful closing of the sale was tremendous. Your real estate and business acumen, and most importantly, your “personal touch”, provided us with the best service possible, and helped avoid a potential short sale and the resulting consequences.

Susan, I would strongly advise anyone who is interested in buying or selling a home in Rancho San Diego and the greater San Diego area to call you as soon as they possibly can! You and your team came through for Dianne and I, and I’m confident will come through for many other homeowners and future homeowners as well.

Warm regards,
George Fadok

July 2010 - San Diego Real Estate Market Update - July 2010

Avg time it takes for a homeowner in default to lose their home has gone from 251 days in Jan 2008 to 438 days in April 2010 – a 75% increase.

40% of all mortgages issued in 2010 are FHA (gov insured) – up from 20% in 2009, and 2% in 2005 & 2006

Because FHA loans only require a 3.5% down payment (“a subprime loan in sheep’s clothing”), 25% of 2007 & 2008 FHA loans have defaulted.

David Stevens, current FHA Commissioner, “This is a real estate market purely on life support, sustained by the federal government. Having FHA do this much volume is a sign of a very sick system.”

New Home Building Permits fell 10.9% in April & 5.9% in May, to its lowest level in over 50 years. Historically, new home building permits are the best leading indicator for the overall US economy.

New Home Sales dropped by 33% from April to May to their lowest point since WWII

As of mid June, mortgage purchase applications are down 42% since the April 30 end of tax credits (a 13 yr low).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward looking indicator, dropped 30% in May compared to April, the worst decline in 9 years.

Susan Botticelli, Broker Opens New Real Estate Business!

With over 15 years of selling residential real estate and land throughout San Diego County, and more than 400 transactions completed, I can legitimately state that I have a wealth of real estate experiences to draw from when representing my clients! As of April 1, 2010 this wealth of experience and the desire to expand entrepreneurial opportunities has lead to the creation of my own real estate brokerage, San Diego Properties Group.

I have been a top producing agent throughout my career. With Coldwell Banker Real Estate I garnered the Distinguished Achievement Award for being the top real estate sales agent as a rookie. After 5 years with Coldwell Banker I moved to One Source Realty to work with a locally owned and operated firm. Monthly sales meetings with One Source Realty honored me as the top listing agent and top sales agent over 5 years of business. Then Keller Williams Realty lured me away to join the La Mesa office and begin the process of opening a Keller Williams office in Mission Valley, San Diego. It was at that time I obtained my broker's license to prepare to become the broker of that office.

I quickly realized it would be an impossible task for me to continue to serve the needs of my loyal clientele and be an effective broker of this new office, and be a great mom and single parent to my daughter Stefani and my son Andrew. I decided to keep my focus on selling real estate rather than managing a multitude of agents. I loved working with Keller Williams from the standpoint of that company's ethics and multilevel training programs. As with working with any company though, a successful business relationship is formed by staying within the companies corporate box and there are restraints on how you run your business.

My own brokerage, San Diego Properties Group, is a real estate services company providing expert guidance in the sale and purchase of single family homes, condos, investment properties and land. With California real estate values at a low point over the last 3 years, investors are acting on the opportunities to place their dollars in tangible assets like real estate. First time buyers have turned out in great numbers to take advantage of the available $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a home. Families who have outgrown smaller homes are now buying larger, newly built homes at lower market prices with their own tax advantage of $10,000 in tax credits.

Another focus of San Diego Properties Group is helping clients work through financial problems of the current economic downturn. New government programs are beginning this month to assist homeowners with modifications of their mortgages through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). This program is designed to assist homeowners with retaining their homes through a modification of their existing loan terms. For those who are unable to retain their home another program called Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) has been created to provide incentives for short sales and deed-in-lieu of foreclosures. Both government programs are focused on making the quagmire of steps required for successful loan modifications or short sales simpler. San Diego Properties Group has the experience of short sales helping homeowners get relief from burdensome property debt.

San Diego Properties Group not only handles transactions throughout San Diego County, but is also networked with other brokers and real estate companies across America in order to provide relocation assistance. My clients who need to sell their homes in San Diego County, in order to make a job-related move to other states, find that I can provide the services they need to make this transition as smooth as possible. With the network of agents in other cities and states I have created, I can research which real estate companies, but specifically which agents or brokers, have the expertise to best help them find the perfect replacement home.

Having lived in the community of Rancho San Diego in the East County for 15 years I have focused on making my community a better place to live and given back to the community in many ways. As a board member with the Cottonwood Homeowner's Association I saw the problem of this group dwindling away which resulted in it's dissolution. I have worked to bring back a sense of community by holding neighborhood meetings to discuss ways to monitor crime, improve the maintenance and use of parks and open spaces, as well as hosted parties in the parks and annual neighborhood garage sales.

My website http://www.ranchosandiegolifestyle.com/ has become a great source of information on community developments as well as a place where neighbors can network with each other. The monthly email newsletter is read by over 1,000 residents each month. The website provides neighborly referrals for business owners, updates on new companies and business in the community, real estate articles with data on changing values and trends, a job search site and lots of articles for homeowners.

As a board member for the East County YMCA I have worked for many years raising funds and helping to guide decisions on building and operating the new McGrath Family YMCA just open in April 2010. This state-of-the-art facility offers a much needed community site for families and individuals of all ages to gather for exercise, sports leagues, youth programs, senior social activities and other community based programs. This year I will co-chair the 16th annual fund raising event The Branding where over 600 area residents and companies will turn out for an evening under the stars and the shadows of this new facility to raise funds for this new facility

East County YMCA supporters have raised $8 milllion so far to fund this building project which is debt free! The facility includes the Tuttle Indoor Soccer Field, the Scott Mc Donald Baseball Field, the Dallas Pugh Gymnasium and the Hendrix Youth Center. An additional $3 million is being raised to build three pools at this site. Supervisor Dianne Jacob has committed to building a signature East County pool complex here which will include a kiddie splash pad, a 25 meter indoor pool and a competition pool. A total of $500,000 has been donated so far to build this pool complex. Contact Susan Botticelli at 619-441-8473 to discuss donation and naming opportunities and how you can participate in making this dream become a reality!

For more information on our changing real estate market, or to talk with Susan about selling or buying real estate, contact her at 619-441-8473 or email at sbotticelli@att.net today!