Recent Folsom, Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills, and Sacramento Real Estate News Posts
Housing Affordability Rises 18 Percent in First Quarter
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on May 24, 2008 at 2:36 PM.
C.A.R. reports entry-level housing affordability rises 18 percentage points in first quarter
LOS ANGELES (May 20)—The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California stood at 44 percent in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 26 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California. C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.
Read the entire C.A.R. article and take a look at the Sacramento area results.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
LOS ANGELES (May 20)—The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California stood at 44 percent in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 26 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).
C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California. C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.
Read the entire C.A.R. article and take a look at the Sacramento area results.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Real_Estate
Common Questions to Getting That Home Loan
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on October 4, 2007 at 9:04 PM.
What steps can I take to improve my chances of getting a loan?
Today many lenders are more flexible and allow a greater percentage of monthly income to go toward mortgage payments. But they are more stringent on credit card balances. Lenders often count 5% of the balance as a borrower's monthly payment, instead of the credit card’s minimum payment. If you are planning to pay off some debts before you apply for a loan, consider the ones with the largest monthly payment. Many lenders, for example, prefer to have a car loan paid off, because borrowers are not likely to go out and buy a new car right away. On the other hand, if credit cards are paid off, a borrower might start charging again.
Should I wait until interest rates drop?
Time is money. Can you afford to wait? Of course home buyers want to buy when interest rates are at their lowest. When interest rates are at near-record lows, potential buyers or homeowners looking to move up are asking themselves if the time is right to act. But no one can predict with certainty where rates are headed at any particular time. Waiting for a bottoming out may instead provide time for rates to rise.
What's the debt-to-income ratio lenders use to qualify borrowers?
Many lenders use two ratios when they decide whether to approve a mortgage. If, for example, the ratios are 28/36, the "front" ratio of 28% means the lender will allow a mortgage payment (including principal, interest, taxes and insurance) of up to 28% of the borrower’s monthly pre-tax income. The "back" ratio of 36% means all loan and credit payments cannot exceed 36% of the borrower’s monthly income.
For more information visit the California Home Network, your:
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Today many lenders are more flexible and allow a greater percentage of monthly income to go toward mortgage payments. But they are more stringent on credit card balances. Lenders often count 5% of the balance as a borrower's monthly payment, instead of the credit card’s minimum payment. If you are planning to pay off some debts before you apply for a loan, consider the ones with the largest monthly payment. Many lenders, for example, prefer to have a car loan paid off, because borrowers are not likely to go out and buy a new car right away. On the other hand, if credit cards are paid off, a borrower might start charging again.
Should I wait until interest rates drop?
Time is money. Can you afford to wait? Of course home buyers want to buy when interest rates are at their lowest. When interest rates are at near-record lows, potential buyers or homeowners looking to move up are asking themselves if the time is right to act. But no one can predict with certainty where rates are headed at any particular time. Waiting for a bottoming out may instead provide time for rates to rise.
What's the debt-to-income ratio lenders use to qualify borrowers?
Many lenders use two ratios when they decide whether to approve a mortgage. If, for example, the ratios are 28/36, the "front" ratio of 28% means the lender will allow a mortgage payment (including principal, interest, taxes and insurance) of up to 28% of the borrower’s monthly pre-tax income. The "back" ratio of 36% means all loan and credit payments cannot exceed 36% of the borrower’s monthly income.
For more information visit the California Home Network, your:
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Buying, Homes, Informational, Real_Estate, Tips
Avoiding Gapital Gains Tax on the Sale of Your Home
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on at 8:56 PM.
Worried about taxes eating away too much of the profit on your home? Under a law enacted about ten years ago, a married couple filing jointly usually can exclude as much as $500,000 of their gain. For someone who is single or married and filing separately, the limit is $250,000.
To qualify for the full exclusion, you typically must have owned the home and lived in it as your primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to sale.
This exclusion applies only to your primary residence. Even someone who couldn't pass those tests might qualify to exclude most or all of the gain under certain circumstances. The seller may be eligible for a reduced exclusion if that person had to sell because of a "change in place of employment", health reasons or "unforeseen circumstances." What are unforeseen circumstances? Examples cited by the Internal Revenue Service include divorce, death, or "multiple births resulting from the same pregnancy."
Some think they’re required to buy a new home to qualify for this home-sale gain exclusion. That's wrong. They're probably thinking about a law that was repealed about a decade ago, under which you could defer tax on the gain on the sale of your home by rolling over the proceeds into a new home that cost as much as, or more than, the old one. Congress eliminated that law, in part because it was viewed as unfair to people who wanted to downsize and buy a less expensive home or to sell and move into a rental. Contact Patrick Warholic, your Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Granite Bay Realtor for details.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
To qualify for the full exclusion, you typically must have owned the home and lived in it as your primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to sale.
This exclusion applies only to your primary residence. Even someone who couldn't pass those tests might qualify to exclude most or all of the gain under certain circumstances. The seller may be eligible for a reduced exclusion if that person had to sell because of a "change in place of employment", health reasons or "unforeseen circumstances." What are unforeseen circumstances? Examples cited by the Internal Revenue Service include divorce, death, or "multiple births resulting from the same pregnancy."
Some think they’re required to buy a new home to qualify for this home-sale gain exclusion. That's wrong. They're probably thinking about a law that was repealed about a decade ago, under which you could defer tax on the gain on the sale of your home by rolling over the proceeds into a new home that cost as much as, or more than, the old one. Congress eliminated that law, in part because it was viewed as unfair to people who wanted to downsize and buy a less expensive home or to sell and move into a rental. Contact Patrick Warholic, your Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Granite Bay Realtor for details.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always "Do the Right Thing", starting with providing premier executive service to buyers and sellers of luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Homes, Informational, Properties, Real_Estate, Taxes, Tips
Real-Estate Investors Should Beware of Scams
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on May 5, 2007 at 9:54 PM.
Make a million dollars now! No money down! No-risk offer!
Maybe you've heard these come-ons, or similar ones, offering you the chance to learn how to become a real-estate investing millionaire? One primary reason that real-estate investments attract newcomers is that debt is an accepted tool for doing business. Thus, you can get into the business with no money down. These high-volume, low-brow pitches are common from promoters of real-estate investing seminars.
But not all real-estate investing seminars are a bad bet. Indeed, many will help you learn about the business of investing and can be a worthwhile place to start, experts say. How can you tell the good from the bad?
Savvy would-be investors should take their time developing their knowledge of the real-estate industry and shouldn't look to get rich overnight. The number of seminars offered to would-be real-estate investors has exploded along with the booming real-estate market. Public seminars may be fine for an introduction to investing, but clearly the business of real-estate investing can't be learned in just a few days. The skills it takes to be successful in real estate take years to accumulate, such as the skills of a Professional Realtor.
A hint from the Federal Trade Commission: 1. Take your time. 2. Don't be rushed into buying anything at a seminar. 3. Avoid high-pressure sales pitches that require you to buy now or risk losing out on the opportunity.
Remember, solid opportunities are not sold through nerve-racking tactics.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Maybe you've heard these come-ons, or similar ones, offering you the chance to learn how to become a real-estate investing millionaire? One primary reason that real-estate investments attract newcomers is that debt is an accepted tool for doing business. Thus, you can get into the business with no money down. These high-volume, low-brow pitches are common from promoters of real-estate investing seminars.
- The first part usually is a goal-setting exercise.
- The middle part gives some information about what could be done but not how to do it.
- At the end, it all leads to having to take more expensive -- $3,000 to $5,000 -- seminars and boot camps to receive the actual hands-on experience you need, suggesting that if you didn’t take it, you would fail.
But not all real-estate investing seminars are a bad bet. Indeed, many will help you learn about the business of investing and can be a worthwhile place to start, experts say. How can you tell the good from the bad?
Savvy would-be investors should take their time developing their knowledge of the real-estate industry and shouldn't look to get rich overnight. The number of seminars offered to would-be real-estate investors has exploded along with the booming real-estate market. Public seminars may be fine for an introduction to investing, but clearly the business of real-estate investing can't be learned in just a few days. The skills it takes to be successful in real estate take years to accumulate, such as the skills of a Professional Realtor.
A hint from the Federal Trade Commission: 1. Take your time. 2. Don't be rushed into buying anything at a seminar. 3. Avoid high-pressure sales pitches that require you to buy now or risk losing out on the opportunity.
Remember, solid opportunities are not sold through nerve-racking tactics.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Buying, Informational, Real_Estate
Tips for House Hunting With Resale in Mind
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on March 5, 2007 at 5:39 PM.
When looking for a home you probably have a checklist of characteristics that are important to you. However, if you know you are going to be a short-term homeowner here are some special considerations to keep in mind for good resale potential:
House Size — Don’t buy the largest model in the neighborhood. If most of the houses near yours are smaller than your house, they can act as a drag on appreciation. On the other hand, if you buy a small or medium house for the neighborhood, the larger homes can pull up your value.
Prime Neighborhoods — Buying what you need in a more prestigious neighborhood may provide more financial reward that getting what you want in a less desirable neighborhood.
Public Transportation — Even though you many not use them, consider accessibility to public transportation, as well as distance to a major airport.
The Commute — Check the morning and afternoon commute time by driving the major commute routes and to schools and shopping areas.
Schools — Log on to the local school districts website and check out how the schools in the area rank, even if you don’t have school-aged children.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms — three and four bedroom houses are the most popular among home buyers, so if you can stick in that range you will have more potential buyers when it comes time to resell. There should always be at least two bathrooms in a house, or at least the potential
to insert a second one.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
House Size — Don’t buy the largest model in the neighborhood. If most of the houses near yours are smaller than your house, they can act as a drag on appreciation. On the other hand, if you buy a small or medium house for the neighborhood, the larger homes can pull up your value.
Prime Neighborhoods — Buying what you need in a more prestigious neighborhood may provide more financial reward that getting what you want in a less desirable neighborhood.
Public Transportation — Even though you many not use them, consider accessibility to public transportation, as well as distance to a major airport.
The Commute — Check the morning and afternoon commute time by driving the major commute routes and to schools and shopping areas.
Schools — Log on to the local school districts website and check out how the schools in the area rank, even if you don’t have school-aged children.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms — three and four bedroom houses are the most popular among home buyers, so if you can stick in that range you will have more potential buyers when it comes time to resell. There should always be at least two bathrooms in a house, or at least the potential
to insert a second one.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS Home and property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Buying, Homes, Informational, Properties, Real_Estate, Selling, Tips
It's a Great Time to Buy a Home
Post Your Comments Published by Patrick Warholic on January 5, 2007 at 1:42 AM.
Low rates and extraordinary Inventory have created perfect conditions for home buyers.
Take a moment to consider these facts:
You've never had more homes to choose from...
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Take a moment to consider these facts:
You've never had more homes to choose from...
- There are currently 3.75 million homes for sale. Inventories in recent months have been at record levels, offering consumers the greatest choice in decades.
- However, inventory levels are falling, and the selection of homes will become limited once again.
- Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan recently said that housing prospects are looking up. "Most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us. The fourth quarter should be reasonably good, certainly better than the third quarter." According to industry estimates, 2006 will be the third-best year on record for home sales.
- At 6.4 percent, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate remains near 40-year lows. This is more than an entire percentage point below 2000 levels. For a $250,000 loan, a drop from 7.5 percent to 6.5 percent means an annual savings of $2,000.
- The average home value increased by 88 percent over the last ten years. In the decade to come, the number of US households is expected to increase by 15 percent, which means housing will stay in high demand.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free MLS property searches, free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Labels: Buying, Homes, Properties, Real_Estate
