Santa Clarita Valley Real Estate

The Space Shuttle Endeavour buzzed Southern California Sunday afternoon, with an alerting double sonic boom just before landing at Edwards Air Force base approx. 70 miles north of Santa Clarita. Endeavour's mission saw the shuttle and its crew including Russian flight engineer Yury Lonchakov spend 16 days in space building and servicing the International Space Station (ISS), after launching from Cape Canaveral, on Veterans Day earlier this month. The American and Russian mission allowed Endeavour's crew to celebrate Thanksgiving in space. See the landing here. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7757803.stm A dramatic showdown that threatened to remove the US and its partners from the International Space Station (ISS) appears to almost over. US lawmakers eased a trade ban that will allow NASA to buy Russian space transportation services to the ISS until the US can produce their own vehicles not scheduled to launch until 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7638188.stm

· The First Thanksgiving Proclamation · Thanksgiving History · MayFlower Myths · National Museum of the American Indian · Pilgrim Hall Museum During the holiday season, I'm grateful and would like to thank you humbly and sincerely for making our progress possible. In this spirit, I send best wishes to you for a happy and warm Thanksgiving holiday. "The greatest gift you can receive is fuel to warm your heart; it´s that fire which also heals your body."

There's no doubt that sales are being driven by favorable prices. Purchases today indicates that buyers realize that housing remains a relatively rare commodity in Southern California, which is expected to add tens of thousands of new residents over the coming years.The median price of single-family homes sold during September declined 37.1 percent from a year ago to a median of $392,500. It was the first time since 2003 that the median dipped below $400,000. The real estate market received some welcomed good news yesterday; after U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson announced that the government would buy $500 billion worth of mortgage securities from Freddie, Fannie, and Ginnie, representing about 10% of all outstanding securities. That news sent interest rates dramatically lower, with many borrowers locking in 5.5% 30 year fixed mortgages yesterday. This action from the government should begin to increase real estate activity as fence sitters starting buying and locking availab

Buyers and Investors: The Real estate market has changed and the opportunity factor to own your home has been enhanced recently with a large amount of available REO Homes, pre-foreclosure homes, low interest rates, lower home prices, 3% down programs, government programs, first time home buyers benefits, tax advantages, and investment opportunities. Real estate has always been one of the best and safest investments available and the best time to buy is always when the prices are at or near the bottom. Call or email our office for more details on how you can get into a good opportunity! Current Homeowners: Do you need to get out from under your over encumbered property? We can facilitate and negotiate a loan modification with your current lender if you qualify. Sellers: If you need to sell we can arrange to have your property sold with no selling costs to you, or loan balances owed to the lender(s). Our experience with short sales will create the best possible outcome for you, and pr

C.A.R. has created several new resources for REALTORS® and homeowners seeking information on existing mortgage workout programs. To provide members with one easy-to-use document, we’ve developed a chart outlining programs offered by the larger lenders and government entities, including a snapshot on eligibility requirements and contact information. If a lender or loan servicer is not on the chart, homeowners may wish to contact their lender or loan servicer to determine if a workout program is available.We have also developed consumer information sheets containing detailed information on specific programs that you can print or e-mail to share with clients. Please click on the appropriate link below for information on a specific program. HOPE For Homeowners (H4H) Countrywide Financial (Bank of America) Citigroup, CitiMortgage JP Morgan Chase & Co. IndyMac Federal Bank, FDIC Federal Government Loan Modification (Participants include: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Home Lo

The City’s Planning Commission will hear a presentation from City planners and the project consultant regarding the draft Housing Element of the new General Plan on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 5 p.m. in City’s Century room located on the first floor of City Hall at 23920 Valencia Boulevard. The draft Housing Element is one of seven elements of the joint City/County General Plan, One Valley One Vision. As a required element of the General Plan, the Housing Element is part of the comprehensive planning document that provides a framework to guide new development in the City. The Housing Element contains information about the number and type of homes that must be built in order to ensure that all residents in the City will have a safe and healthy home in the future. The Element is being prepared to help Santa Clarita meet local and regional housing goals and to comply with State General Plan requirements. The public is invited to attend the study session which will be held before the Pla

Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency the regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) strongly supports the Enterprises’ leadership role in setting industry standards for assisting "at risk" borrowers who could lose their homes to foreclosure. Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a major program designed to greatly reduce preventable foreclosures with a simplified, streamlined loan modification program to get struggling homeowners into mortgages that they can afford. It is an achievable goal if homeowners, banks, mortgage servicers, investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all work together. This streamlined modification program with uniform eligibility requirements will be supported by a consistent, efficient process approved by key industry participants. This program resulted from a unified effort among the Enterprises, Hope Now and its twenty-seven servicer partners, the Department of the Tr

This government sponsored rehab program is a perfect for the purchase and rehab of of bank owned properties. FHA 203(k) renovation financing provides homeowners a cost-effective way to live in their dream home. And it gives homebuyers the opportunity to purchase properties in need of improvement. This is accomplished with a permanent mortgage that allows your client to purchase or refinance a home and then immediately begin the renovation - all with just one application and one closing. The FHA 203(k) loan is a fully disbursed loan which allows a borrower to purchase or refinance a property and finance the cost of rehabilitation with one loan. Because it is fully disbursed at closing, the 203(k) loan can be insured by HUD as soon as the loan closes. The mortgage amount for these loans is based on the projected value of the property with the work completed, taking into account the cost of the renovation. Advantages of FHA 203(k) Rehab Financing: More money to work with. The amount your

Get to know FHA, it's going to be a good friend of the real estate recovery for buyers and sellers. FHA loans can do many things that conventioanal loans cannot. Let's start by dispelling some of the myths that I keep hearing. Myth #1-- FHA loans are harder to get done then conventional. Actually, it is the opposite. In most cases, FHA has more lenient restrictions then conventional. Here are some examples: Only 3.5% down required Entire down can be a gift Can lend to a 55% expense ratio no reserves are required Seller can pay 6.0% credit towards ALL costs (not downpayment ) due at closing Lower credit score requirements You can add as many coborrowers as you need to make a deal work. Myth #2-- FHA is slow. It is true that they can't be rushed that fast, but they are not slow. I can have a lender approval for you within a day of taking the loan application. The file won't need a second signature, or to be passed around for different departments to review. Myth

For Immediate Release November 7, 2008 From the FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY CONFORMING LOAN LIMITS FOR U.S. TO REMAIN $417,000 IN 2009; HIGHER LIMITS OF $625,500 IN Los Angeles and Orange Counties California. For other counties please see: www.ofheo.gov/media/cll/HighCostLoanLimits2009.pdf

Wichert, Realtors, a national real estate brokerage with over 40,000 for-sale listings nationwide, announced a partnership enabling it to automatically feed all of its listings to http://www.zillow.com/ on a regular basis. Weichert, Realtors has a 500-plus company-owned and franchised sale offices in key U.S markets, including several offices throughout California, joined the Zillow Listings Feed program to “maximize marketing exposure” to allow for more qualified buyers and to enhance exposure of their sellers listings, given “Zillow’s 5.5 million visitors each month,” according to Michael Montsko, president of Weichert Lead Network. Each listing Weichert feeds to Zillow includes a description of the property with multiple photos and contact information for the listing agent, including links back to the Weichert Web site where Zillow where users can find more information and connect with a Weichert sales associate to guide them through the home buying and selling process. You can sea

The real estate market is always changing and just 2 days after the Nov. 4th 2008 election our inquires from the web, signs and referrals have more than doubled. Real estate is a long term investment, don't panic, the market is turning around,over the next few years it will come back. Now is the time to ride the wave if you can. Sales activity through September 2008 were up 85.7% from last year for the same time in 2007. Pending home sales through September 2008 were UP 148.4% from same time last year 2007. Active listings through September were DOWN 2008 36.3% from same time last year 2007. Information supplied from Santa Clarita Valley Multiple Listing Service

California is again paving the way toward sustainable development. The state is adopting a new Green Building Code that puts percentages on improvements in water use efficiency, energy consumption, and water conservation. After 2010, all new construction must meet the code’s requirements. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Business Properties Association, Sacramento, as well as local branches of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, NAIOP SoCal and NAIOP California State Council, support the green code. California is the first state to establish its own green code, the situation will not stay unique. “The International Code Council has been working with the National Association of Home Builders to develop a national standard for Green Homes, and the American National Standards Institute also is working on a standard as well,” the article states. Read the article at http://www.globest.com/news/1207_1207/sacramento/172819-1.html