The Plumb Team

Staging a house, is it really worth it?

cplumb — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:12:12 +0000

When listing a house your goal is to sell it quickly. Some Real Estate agents swear by staging a property. Some have never staged a house.

Why when buying a brand new house the models are always staged? Does this help buyers make the big decision to buy a house? As for me, I love going into model homes because they are staged, most of the time unrealistic for everyday living but still for a moment I can picture myself living in that house. I think that is a benefit of staging, however; if you are a newer agent with little funds staging a house is out of your price range. I’ve been in many houses most vacant with nothing, a handful with some knick-knacks here and there but very few that have been completely staged.

I believe there is a time and place to stage a house, if you are listing a house that is a track home there is really no reason to stage but if you have a listing that is one of a kind or in a higher price point then I feel that staging the house would benefit you, as an agent and may even increase the chance of getting the house sold quicker.

Diana Lematua

Taking Lenders to Court

cplumb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:46:46 +0000

Foreclosures are on the rise and with it foreclosure lawsuits are also increasing. Many previous owners are going after the lender for wrongful foreclosure process. This is a major problem with many people and some are seeking lawsuits saying they were wrongfully foreclosed on. It is difficult to win a case but if you have proof that all the steps that the lender needed to do to foreclosure on the house were not completed then you may have a chance but the cost for the whole proceedings may not be worth it. You should check and be 100% sure you have the proof before to exhaust your time and money only for you to lose your case. Good luck and I’m sure there are many more foreclosure lawsuits that will be happening.

Diana Lematua

Making bets against homeowners

cplumb — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:58:05 +0000

Have you ever bet on something that you knew was wrong but you did it anyway?

Most people will have an overwhelming amount of stress or guilt when they are knowingly doing something wrong, but that is where being a human and being a large government corporation differ greatly.

If you are the CEO of a large government ran corporation like Freddie Mac, you may be human but you can hide behind your corporation. When your corporation makes bets against loans with high interest rates to make a profit then its okay, because at the end of the day it’s the corporation as a whole can be at fault. It is weird to think but because of this Freddie Mac was “not allowing” home owners with high interest rates to renegotiate the loan. This was wonderful from a corporation stand point because they were making more money off of these bad loans but from an individual who can barely pay their loan payment every month it was all bad. Freddie Mac claimed they were trying to renegotiate loans when they actually were not.

Short sales are here to stay…for now!

cplumb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:14:27 +0000

I got the pleasure of being a part of a tele-seminar today with Steve Harney.

It was an uplifting call instead of the usually news that we all have heard recently about the Real Estate Market. In Northern California the inventory is slim pickings for buyers but a great time to buy with mortgage rates so low right now ; however, for sellers not so good because of the depreciation that has occurred especially if the house was bought in the 2005-2006 time frame, many of those homeowners are now underwater. As a Real Estate agent it is a great time to put your all into you work and pound the pavement and target short sales. That is were the real estate market is heading because there are so many people who have a bad loan or two and a short sale is a way to get out and have a buyer come in with a more secure loan. Also banks are realizing that it’s actually not a bad idea. It is a way for the bad loans of the past to disappear.

Diana Lematua

Foreclosure Settlement REJECTED

cplumb — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:56:34 +0000

The Attorney general for California has rejected foreclosures settlement. This is a $25 Billion bailout that would let lenders get off with just a tap on the wrist. The reason why the housing market is as bad as it is is because of lenders that would practice unethical lending. Banks already are getting a pass also, when you buy a bank-owned property, most disclosures are REO exempt, releasing bank from all liability. There is a problem with the housing market and past lending practices, which is causing many people to lose their homes. It’s just a giant game of hot potato, just keep passing the hot potato and hopefully the lender and banks don’t get stuck with it, you and I are the ones left to get burned. With time it will get better but is there a way to cool things off in the mean time? At the same time having the banks and other lenders take responsibility for the unethically practices that where going on. Only time will tell!!!!

SuperStores

cplumb — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:23:25 +0000

The housing market is not the only this suffering right now.

Businesses as a whole are going down the hole! This is a challenging time for so many of us and many businesses have succumbed to the economy. There are many empty commercial buildings throughout so many cities. It’s an eyesore so many of us just overlook; It seems that the only businesses that are striving right now are these “ one-stop shop superstores” Yet these are the exact businesses that are putting Ma and Pop stores out of business. I happen to be guilty of contributing towards these superstores, but where else can you get eggs, a movie, a pair of shoes, a fish, and an assembled bike, a happy meal, and a bottle of wine all in the same stop.

NO WHERE except….a SUPERSTORE.

We hate the idea of a superstore but they are mighty convenient for all of us!

Diana Lematua

Are Echo Boomers likely to Buy

cplumb — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:55:59 +0000

With the first of generation Millennials or also known as Echo Boomers are turning 30 this year, how does the housing market fare for them? With low interest rates it is a great time to buy a house, however according to an article on Realtor.org most Echo boomers are more likely to rent. Why is this? There could be many reasons but the same article also states that only 20 percent of 18-29 year olds are married. This, I believe has a lot to do with how this generation is aware of so much more then past generations. With technology improving every day it seems that children born during this generation have more access to finding out more information. When I was 14 years old, the only way I would be able to connect with people around the world, would be writing letters and calling on a landline. Now, an 8 year old can look up anything they wish on the World Wide Web, log on to Playstation 3 and play with someone 3000 miles away within seconds, call or Text someone and again get a respond with seconds. This could have a lot to do with why the newer generation is less likely to get married because they are more aware of world issues, although we are all aware that the world is a big place but for the echo generation all that needs to be done is to do a search on the small Wi-Fi device that is in the palm of their hand and is able to look up any current issue and find out the latest up-to the minute information about anything.

For this generation there is no rush to buy a house or get married it will all happen within due time.

California and Job Loss

cplumb — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:36:52 +0000

Although banks stopped issuing notice of defaults in December, foreclosures are still occurring every day. According to Sacbee.com “In all, California locales comprised 10 of the top 20 foreclosure hotbeds in the nation in 2011.” This is not good news for California, considering that Sacramento unemployment rate is now at 10.9%. There is an obvious link between these two issues. When you lose your job how do you pay for anything including your mortgage? Times are very challenging for most people right now. Most of us know someone that has lost their job or is losing their homes. California is a great place to live but how can you live in a house when you have no income to pay your bills that support you and your family.

Diana Lematua

Supply and Demand!

cplumb — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:59:13 +0000

House’s are on Sale, in an article in Realtor Magazine. This may seem to be a bad time in Real Estate but because house prices are so low, mortgage rates are low and the supply is low. This is a great recipe for an increase in sales, with a high demand from home buyers. This will equal higher sales for agents.

This may be a bad time for the homeowners that are losing their houses, but I believe it was bound to happen because of past lending practices. With short sales and banked-owned properties on the rise I believe it as a type of house cleaning for the old loans that should have never been approved.

Hopefully order will restore in this field soon, making it a great 2012!

Basic economics: Supply and Demand

When Supply is down, Demand will increase.

Diana Lematua

Keep your home California

cplumb — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:20:27 +0000

The keep your home California program has more lenders participating! There are now 55 lenders that are responsible for 90% of the mortgages in California that participate in this program. This is a $2 billion assistance program that tries to help homeowners stay in their homes. There are four ways this program can help; Unemployment Mortgage Assistance: Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program: Principal Reduction Program: Transition Assistance Program

No one knows how this program will affect homeowners in the future or even how it will affect the economy it’s just nice to think that some people are getting help!

If you get approved- There is always a catch!