Santa Maria Ca homes Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Santa Maria CA Real Estate Blog & Information, REALTOR® Selling Santa Maria CA Homes

Can I find 100% Financing in the Central Coast market?

03/09/2009
Central Coast Real Estate

I get this question all the time forom buyers looking to jump into the market. For the most part, the answer to that is no. There is a program through the USDA that provides 100% financing for rural properties. I'm told by a local lender that this applies to some areas of Guadalupe, and also some areas of Nipomo, but I haven't been able to verify it. There is also the Veterans Affairs (VA) Loan Program which offers 100% financing to qualifying veterans. But unless you have some military service under your belt, you are not eligible. Other than that, right now I don't know of any 100% financing program available to buyers.

Buying Central Coast Foreclosures: Pre-Qualification Blues

03/03/2009
Central Coast Real Estate, Foreclosure / Bank Owned (REO) Info

Home buyers focusing on central coast foreclosure properties are running up against lender pre-qualification requirements when bidding for bank owned properties. Many of the bank owned (REO) property listings require that potential buyers get pre-qualified with their company in order to place a bid on the property. Countrywide, Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae (Express Path) listings frequently have this requirement.

Buying Central Coast Foreclosed Properties at Auction

02/25/2009
Central Coast Real Estate

I attended a foreclosed home property auction hosted by Hudson & Marshall in Ventura last evening. Fortunately, my client was successful in his bid so it was worth the trip down for both of us. He was also able to save about $80,000 off the list price of the property. It was an exciting event and we were both still on a high while we waited with the other winners to sign contracts. All the winning bids are subject to investor/bank approval which will take about 5-7 days to obtain, so we will know if the deal will stick in about a week.

Bank Owned Bidding Wars in the Santa Maria – Orcutt CA Foreclosure Market

02/17/2009
Buyer Info, Foreclosure / Bank Owned (REO) Info, Santa Maria

Is it a great time to buy? Yes. Interest rates are at historic lows, Congress just passed an $8000 tax credit for first time buyers, and prices just keep getting better and better. There are plenty of folks who are taking advantage of this opportunity. As such, jumping into the current market for foreclosure properties in Santa Maria - Orcutt CA can be a rude awakening for potential buyers. Currently, there is a lot of competition for foreclosed properties. REOs comprise the majority of sold properties in the Santa Maria and Orcutt housing market.

Santa Maria CA & Orcutt CA Short Sale Buyer Information

02/16/2009
Santa Maria, Short Sale Info

With the majority of single family homes and condos being listed as "short sales" in the Santa Maria CA and Orcutt CA market, buyers are considering this type of listing more often. A "short sale" is a property listing where the owner owes more than the homes' current value, but still desires/needs to sell. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon position for sellers in Santa Maria CA.

Santa Maria CA Foreclosure Buyer Alert – $8000 First Time Home Buyer Credit Approved

02/13/2009
Santa Maria

If you are sitting on the fence about buying, Congress just gave you another reason to jump into the market for foreclosures in Santa Maria, CA. The recently passed stimulus bill modestly increases the first time home buyer credit from $7500 to $8000. But more importantly, buyers now do not have to pay the credit back as long as they stay in the home a minimum of 3 years.

River Oaks Market Update & Santa Maria CA MLS Home Listing Search

02/11/2009
Santa Maria

Sold listings were on the market an average of 77 days, were about 1900 sq.ft., and sold for about $155 per square foot. 12 of the 17 sold homes were REOs, 3 were closed short sales, and only two were regular sales. 88% of the sold activity in this neghborhood was forelcosure related; so, like many other developments that were built during the housing boom River Oaks is now overloaded with foreclosures during the housing bust.

Buying Bank Owned Homes (REOs) in the Santa Maria CA & Orcutt CA Market – Should I Use FHA/VA or Conventional Financing?

02/01/2009
Foreclosure / Bank Owned (REO) Info, Santa Maria

When the bidding gets competitive, buyers are often left to wonder how asset managers make their decisions about which offer to choose. If you have 15 offers how do you select one over the other? The obvious selection would be based on the net to the lender, but there are other factors. In particular, time and time again, I see FHA buyers assed over in this market for buyers using conventional financing. That is not to say that FHA financing is not being used -- it is.