Starting February 1, 2013, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA) will undergo some major changes that will speed up the short sale approval process.  Servicers must make a decision on a borrower's short sale request within 30 days, and borrowers who are 90 days delinquent and have a FICO score under 620 will have a pre-determined hardship.  More changes are coming too! 05/03/2013

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Builders are buying and renovating old homes as well as constructing new homes in Mountain House! Supply doesn't meet demand yet, but it's a positive sign for Mountain House/Tracy area economic growth. List your property with us and get into a new or renovated home. Prices range from $320,000 to $500,000. 05/03/2013

It's currently a home sellers market in California due to the low inventory of property listings. Home sellers should take advantage of the multiple offers and over appraised value offers that are coming in.  If sellers wait and interest rates go up a bit, the real estate market will adjust and they will have missed their chance to capitalize on the low inventory and multiple offer situation.   “The demand for homes remains solid, but a shortage of homes for sale, especially in the lower-priced segments, is negatively impacting housing sales,” said C.A.R. President Don Faught.  “Sales of homes priced above $500,000 continue to be strong, posting nearly 31 percent higher than a year ago, while homes priced below $300,000 were down 27 percent from last February due to fewer available home... 05/03/2013

Tracy mayor praises city's job growth, potential City sees largest job growth in 40 years TRACY, Calif. (KCRA) —Dozens of city leaders, business and community members showed up at the Grand Theatre in Tracy to hear their mayor deliver his State of the City address. It was all good news for the Central Valley city. Tracy Mayor Brent Ives said the city has seen the largest job growth in 40 years. The city added 2,500 jobs in 2012. "Twenty-five hundred jobs is significant for this part of the Valley, for the Central Valley, at all. And, this is before Amazon," Ives said. Amazon will open fulfillment centers in Patterson and Tracy later this summer. Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-modesto/Tracy-mayor-praises-city-s-job-growth-potential/-/12970436/19492210/-/format/rsss_2... 05/03/2013

Do You Want To Pocket More Money When You Sell Your Home? 05/03/2013

Great tips from Tara@Trulia regarding emotional mistakes home sellers make including home price reduction paralysis, excessive attachment, and ignoring the needs of your target audience. 5 Emotional Mistakes Home Sellers Make Have you ever said something in the heat of the moment, then wished for weeks later you could reel those words back in?  Truth is, all of us commit emotion-driven mistakes in some areas of our lives.  But when it comes to selling your home - read: cashing out your most valuable asset - the stakes are simply too, too high to allow yourself and your transaction to fall prey to predictable emotional pitfalls.  Fortunately, when it comes to emotion, what’s predictable is avoidable if you’re willing to acknowledge and correct for your own feelings and how they can foul ... 05/03/2013

Join us at Keller Williams Tracy on Thursday, 5/9/13 as we support Case for Kids (helping our local foster children). Contact me for details on how you can help! So proud to be part of a company where EVERY OFFICE all over our great nation commits a day to volunteering in their local community.   Red Day Alert!!! The Modesto Keller Williams office has teamed up with Girl Scout Troop 752 and Center for Human Services for the 2013 Red Day! Troop 752 is working on earning their Bronze Award and they have chosen a project to help children. These fantastic 4th grade girls came up with an idea to create a "Comfort Basket" for children that are displaced or in need of help. Keller Williams is going to help them accomplish that by gathering items, i.e. blankets, toothbrushes, toiletries, journ... 05/03/2013

Thinking of selling your home? It's a great time for sellers as they have an advantage, but don't just take my word for it. CNNMoney thinks it's a good time to sell too. http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/08/real_estate/home-sellers.moneymag/index.html   The Aguilera Real Estate Team can sell ANY home in the US, regardless of location! 05/03/2013

According the the National Housing Survey by Fannie Mae, even though Americans have some concerns about personal finances, their outlook toward the housing market is optimistic. More Americans view the present as a good time to sell. Read Article: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/04082013_fannie_mae_housing_survey.asp 05/03/2013

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Most lenders today are looking for monthly cash flow shortfall, or pending shortfall and insolvency. If you meet these requirements of a verifiable hardship, and are running out of funds to continue making timely mortgage payments, you may qualify for a short sale. Deliquency or default is not required to initiate a short sale transaction. Don't wait until your only option is foreclosure! In a hardship letter for short sale (or short payoff), if a seller/borrower is currently not in default, but can make the case that it is unavoidable, they can proceed with a short sale according to Freddie Mac. A Sample of Freddie Mac Eligibility Standards for Borrowers: 1. Meet residency and occupancy eligibility 2. Meet hardship requirements (death of borrower, divorce/separation, disability, distan... 05/03/2013

Here are some interesting statistics for those looking to sell. Additional confirmation that it's a great time to sell from Mortgage News Daily. "The median price of a home in California shot up in March to $313,000 from 289,000 in February, a one-month increase of 8.3 percent.  The spike put the median price 24.7 percent above the price in March 2012, the 13th consecutive annual price increase.   California prices peaked at a median of $484,000 in the late spring/early summer of 2007 and hit a low of $221,000 in April 2009. Sales of new and existing single-family houses and condos increased 31.5 percent from February; 37,764 transactions as compared to 28,719.  DataQuick, which supplied today's data, said it is normal for sales to shoot up between February and March and it appears the... 05/03/2013

A look at how home buyers and sellers affect the economy and job creation through "The Ripple Effect."   05/03/2013

How homeowners can save big money with a shorter term mortgage loan.   05/03/2013

A few quick local real estate statistics from Trulia: Median sales price for homes Jan 2013 to Mar 2013 was $272,000 (Tracy), $359,500 (Mountain House), $234,000 (Manteca), and $220,000 (Lathrop). The average listing price for homes for sale on Trulia for week ending Apr 17 was $318,641 (Tracy), $429,962 (Mountain House), $363,103 (Manteca), and $173,303 (Lathrop). 05/03/2013

Statistics from Truila's Chief Economist show the housing market is almost 60% back to normal. "Each month, Trulia’s Housing Barometer charts how quickly the housing market is moving back to “normal.”  We summarize three key housing market indicators: construction starts (Census), existing home sales (NAR), and the delinquency-plus-foreclosure rate (LPS First Look). For each indicator, we compare this month’s data to (1) how bad the numbers got at their worst and (2) their pre-bubble “normal” levels. In March 2013, construction starts and the delinquency + foreclosure rate improved: Construction starts rocketed to a new post-bubble high. Starts were at a 1,036,000 seasonally adjusted annualized rate – up 7% month-over-month and 47% year-over-year – which is the highest level since June... 05/03/2013

Excerpt from the Making Home Affordable program 2011 Amendment: “This Supplemental Directive amends this restriction (requiring arm’s length transactions) to allow servicers the discretion to approve sales to non-profit organizations with the stated purpose that the property will be rented or resold to the borrower, so long as all other HAFA program requirements are met.”  A short sale leaseback program (SSLB) allows homeowners to remain in their house after a short sale. They’re allowed to rent it from the new owner rather than vacating after closing. A 2011 Amendment to the Making Home Affordable program helped to create this leaseback option. You sell your home to a non-profit and they lease it back to you for a set period of time. Once your credit has improved and you’re approved f... 05/03/2013

I remember my first open house quite well. I had passed the state exam but had yet to receive my license in the mail. An agent in my office sent out an infra-office email looking for an agent to do an open for that weekend. I responded back I would like to do it. She responded back “who are you, do you work for us? I responded back with more information and she agreed to let me hold it open. We laugh about that now.   I prepared well with signs, fliers, and information about the neighborhood. I arrived and set up almost an hour early and stood there for the next four hours waiting for anyone to arrive. No one did. I was GREATLY relieved that no one had shown up. I had no idea what to say or do, but my first open house was over and I had survived. My mother would be so proud of me. I did... 04/22/2013

So last Saturday I am sitting home taking the day off. My 17 year old is with me for a few days so I am keeping the time open for him. He is out with friends so when my broker calls me I am happy the phone is ringing. She says “Dale, a buyer called and wants to look at a few homes today but I have plans can you help them?” Sure no problem, happy to help. I call the people and they give me a few address and I say I will check them out on the MLS and call them back. They say fine. I find them on the MLS, one is vacant with a lock-box so no problem. The second is open that afternoon so again no problem. The third says “call HO for appointment. I call and a guy answers the phone. I quickly explain who I am and ask is this afternoon possible? He says, and I quote “Dude, we have been in contr... 04/16/2013