Tim Garton Vallejo ----                     Housing foreclosure authorities LoanSafe.org andYouWalkAway.com have created a new website to help people re-enter the housing market after having been through a previous foreclosure. The website is calledAfterForeclosure.com and helps those most affected by the housing crisis take charge of their financial future and own their own home again. Based on a poll of their combined members, LoanSafe.org and AfterForeclosure.com are confident that these potential buyers will make 2014 the year of the “boomerang” buyer. Changes in lending guidelines and population shifts make these buyers essential to the recovery of the housing market. Jon Maddux, co-founder of AfterForeclosure.com says: “Alienating this large and growing pool of potential buye... 12/26/2013

THINKING OF BUYING VALLEJO CA REAL ESTATE OR AREAS NEAR VALLEJO AND YOUR PAYING RENT NOW?  VALLEJO IS THE MOST AFFORADBLE OUT OF THE 9 BAY AREA COUNTIES. CLINK THE LINK BELOW AND IT MIGHT BE THE DECISION MAKER FOR YOU.  FOR MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT BUYING VALLEJO REAL ESTATE CALL TIM GARTON 707-315-5555.     BUYING OR RENTING VALLEJO REAL ESTATE WHICH IS BETTER? 12/22/2013

Planning on buying a home next year? Be warned: A mortgage may be harder to get, at least in the early months of the year.  “You’ve heard all the stories about how difficult it is to get a mortgage and all the documentation required -- there’s going to be a lot more of the same,” said Ron Haynie, senior vice president of the Independent and Community Bankers Association. A slew of new mortgage regulations will take effect between Jan. 10 and Jan. 20 next year. The most noteworthy of these for borrowers is the ability-to-repay rule and the qualified mortgage, or QM, rule, which together establish new standards and practices for mortgages that lenders must follow. While not every loan has to be a QM loan, lenders have a good reason to make them that way: QM loans, when done right, shields... 12/18/2013

Glen Cove Vallejo is close to the Freeway, it has a great shopping Center with the main hub being Safeway. The Glen Cove Shopping Center also has Dry Cleaners, GNC Store, and some Restaurants.   Glen Cove properties are close to the water and a Marina with plenty of walking trails. There is a Glen Cove Elementary School and near by parks. Thinking of selling your Glen Cove Home or buying  call a Trained Professional  707-315-5555 Tim Garton Vallejo RE/MAX Realtor. Another true benefit about buying a Glen Cove Vallejo Property is at Christmas time there is a Stunning Christmas light home decorated upon entering the Glen Cove Community.  See below   12/11/2013

Thinking of  getting a loan in Vallejo Ca or areas near Vallejo?  I work very close to some of the best lenders in Vallejo  if you  are considering a home loan.  There are Vallejo Loan options available with little down payment because of assistance programs. There are also Vallejo Home Loans for people who lost there home to foreclosure, short sale, or bankruptcy after 1 year this Loan program is available. So considering buying in Vallejo or the surrounding area call Tim Garton   707 -315-5555 and ask me about these Vallejo Home Loan Products so we can consider all your home buying options. Today's Vallejo home loan rates  --   CONF 15 YEARLoan Bal - $300,000 3.500%  3.72% APR @ 1pt CONF 30 YEARLoan Bal - $300,000 4.500%  4.63% APR @ 1pt Current Trend: Mortgage Rates Sideways for Vall... 12/10/2013

Remember Real Estate is local,  thinking of selling your Vallejo home or areas around Vallejo? Call a local expert 707-315-5555 or visit my website at www.propertyinvallejo.com   This link below is a market snap shot of California Real Estate    See attached  California Market Snapshot from a Vallejo Realtor Tim Garton  12/08/2013

The year 2013 can be categorized by a significant turnaround in the housing market across the nation. While lack of homes available for sale constrained home sales in many markets across California, it contributed to a substantial increase in home prices. Existing single family sales for 2013 are predicted to fall 2.1 percent short of 2012 sales, yet median home prices are expected to show a 28 percent improvement over 2012-- with the median reaching $408,600. Please remember every market has its own market including VALLEJO REAL ESTATE. The increase in home prices coupled with a percentage point increase in mortgage interest rates led to a sharp decrease in affordability. Despite decreased affordability, current market conditions still warrant buying a home sooner rather than later. Fi... 12/08/2013

Those who lost their home due to financial hardships may get another shot at being home owners again soon. The Federal Housing Administration recently announced that they would shorten the waiting period for qualified borrowers who’ve had a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or short sale who want to buy a home again. Under the FHA's Back-to-Work program, home owners must show that they have their finances back in order and they must receive counseling from a HUD-approved agency. Those who meet the requirements can apply to buy a property in as little as a year. “The Back to Work program is a great opportunity for us to help those impacted by the recent housing crisis,” Heather Shanahan, a representative with a HUD-approved housing counseling agency called Springboard... 12/07/2013

Distressed California Homeowners May Qualify for California's Keep Your Home California Transition Assistance Program (TAP) If your financially distressed California clients can no longer afford their homes and are pursuing a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure, they may be eligible for financial help with their relocation to alternative housing.The funds come from the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), part of the Keep Your Home California Program.The state of California is providing up to $5,000 in transition assistance to qualified homeowners who can no longer afford to stay in their homes.  You can help by advising your distressed clients that they must:  Apply for the funds through their state's website or by calling 1.888.954.5337.   Maintain their property until their ... 12/05/2013

    Vallejo consumers wanting to purchase Real Estate with special loan programs or other areas in the state can view the link below for assistance. If you are thinking of selling your Vallejo home or moving to the Vallejo area call Tim Garton a Vallejo REMAX Realtor and the surrounding area. 707-315-5555 http://www.car.org/aboutus/forconsumers/mortgageresource/ 12/04/2013

C.A.R. announced today it received a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), obtained by Board of Equalization (BOE) member George Runner, clarifying that California families who have lost their home in a short sale are not subject to state income tax liability on debt forgiveness “phantom income” they never received in a short sale.  Last month, in a letter to California Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognized that the debt written off in a short sale does not constitute recourse debt under California law, and thus does not create so-called “cancellation of debt” income to the underwater home seller for federal income tax purposes.  Following the IRS’s clarification, C.A.R. sought a similar ruling by the California FTB.  Now with the FTB’s clarif... 12/04/2013

As more inventory hits the housing market and buyers rebel against rising home prices, the real estate market is likely to shift from seller dominance to one that is more counterbalanced by buyer reluctance to acquire homes deemed too expensive. The tighter inventory conditions of this recent spring and summer are going away as the spring months of next year start to approach, analysts say. Right now, builders are trying to make up for a lack of inventory with new homes,  Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, claimed. According to the latest Home Price Index report fromCoreLogic, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by only 0.2% in October when compared to September. "In October, the year-over-year appreciation rate remained strong, but th... 12/03/2013

Mortgage rates moved higher today, bringing them to their worst levels since the morning of September 18th.  The average 30yr fixed rate for the most ideally qualified borrowers was already on the move up at the end of last week, but today's weakness solidifies the move up from 4.375 to 4.5% (best-execution). Before September 18th, rates were higher still, in anticipation of the FOMC (the "Fed") policy announcement that afternoon.  A clear majority of market participants expected the Fed to announce a reduction in asset purchases (QE).  When that didn't happen, rates moved swiftly lower and have held in that range ever since.  Even with today's losses, we're still not back up to the pre-September FOMC levels (though we're getting closer).  It's an important consideration at the moment g... 12/02/2013

Since the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures a sizable portion of the mortgage loans used by today’s home buyers, it stands to reason that making your house FHA-friendly will increase its appeal to more buyers. In preparation, you should know some of the basics of FHA loan rules so that you increase your home’s potential to reach as many buyers as possible. First-time home buyers in particular rely on FHA loans to achieve homeownership. First, the FHA has lending limits, so you need to check prices for your region to see if your home’s listed price falls within the requirements. Note that the limits vary greatly, depending on the state and location. For example, in high-cost areas, the FHA might insure a mortgage of up to $729,750, but only $271,050 in New Hampshire. Find out ... 12/01/2013

Under regular tax rules, when a lender forgives a debt — that is, relieves the borrower from having to pay it back — the amount of the debt is taxable income to the borrower. A homeowner who has $100,000 in mortgage debt forgiven through a short sale, for example, would have to pay income tax on the $100,000.  This “cancellation of indebtedness” rule could have caused enormous financial hardship to the millions of homeowners whose homes were “underwater” during the home foreclosure crisis that began in 2007. To prevent this, Congress enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. This law allowed homeowners to exclude from their taxable income up to $2 million of debt forgiven on their principal residence by a lender in a short sale, mortgage restructuring, or forgiven in a f... 12/01/2013

  The link below is the closed report for Vallejo and Benicia in 2013 and for the months of September and October.  If you have any questions about this report feel free to contact Tim Garton Vallejo & Benicia Realtor at 707-315-5555.   Or visit my website at www.propertyinvallejo.com.   http://bareis.com/sites/bareis.com/files/ssol-2-mon-1013.pdf 11/26/2013

A survey of real estate brokers’ attitudes toward national listing portals like Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com shows that while most don’t feel threatened by them, they’re not depending all that heavily on them for new business, either. The survey, by Bellevue, Wash.-based Imprev Inc., a provider of integrated marketing tools, also found that while brokers are generally satisfied with the quality of “leads” they get from national sites, they’re less thrilled with the job their agents do following up on them. The bottom line was that brokers still see traditional methods of drumming up business like open houses, yard signs, walk-in business and getting in touch with past clients as a better value than national portals. The online survey of more than 260 brokers and franchise executives, ... 11/26/2013

Home improvement store Home Depot (HD) released a much strong third-quarter earnings report, with the company’s sales increasing to $19.5 billion, up 7.4% from a year earlier. The company’s net earnings for the third-quarter reached $1.4 billion, or 95 cents a share, compared to $947 million, or 63 cents a share, for 3Q-2012. "All three U.S. regions experienced strong growth on the back of continued favorable housing trends, giving us more confidence that 4Q13 comp-store sales could rise 6%. Sales to the professional continued to grow faster than to do-it-yourselfers," said Wayne Hood with BMO Capital Markets Corp.  11/23/2013

RE/MAX Gold sells more homes each year than any other independently owned real estate brokerage in Northern California and Central California.* We currently serve areas throughout Northern and Central California; from Yuba City to Fresno and Cameron Park to Marin.     *RIS Media Power Broker Report for 2012 11/23/2013

Japanese Television  Reporters visiting my office on 11/6/13 to do a story on Vallejo Real Estate. 11/14/2013