New California Disclosure to be Made by Condo Associations per AB 596

Is your HOA FHA-approved?

This was actually signed into law last August 12th by Gov. Jerry Brown, requiring condominium associations to disclose to their members whether their developments have been approved for FHA or VA financing. This is an annual disclosure along with the other HOA disclosures submitted 30-90 days prior to the end of the fiscal year.  AB 596 adds the requirement that, on a separate piece of paper in at least 10-point font, there will be statements saying whether or not the development has been certified by FHA or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I believe I have posted before about the declining number of FHA (or VA) approved homeowner associations.  Why is this important?  Because the available number of buyers for a condominium increases accordingly.  There was a time when "spot" I believe I have posted before about the declining number of FHA (or VA) approved homeowner associations.  Why is this important?  Because the available number of buyers for a condominium increases accordingly.  There was a time when "spot" loans could be done, but no more.  The entire complex must be approved for FHA loan, that also applies for VA loans too.  But when a complex is approved for FHA, the VA requirements are similar.

To give an idea of how extreme the problem is, out of 228 complexes listed in Long Beach on Hud.gov, all of which were once FHA approved, 17 out of the first 25 on the list are expired; 20 out of 25 on the second set are expired.  That's 37 out of  50 complexes listed are unable to sell units to an FHA buyer. And so on.

One-quarter of the state's housing stock is located in common interest developments, and according to Bob Hunt, a California Association of Realtors director, fewer than 30% are approved for FHA financing, and even fewer for VA financing.  This situation does not have to exist.

Many association members are unaware of the status of their HOA, and many think it may be FHA approved because it was in the past.  The guidelines changed:  spot loans (per unit approval) was eliminated, and associations are required to renew their FHA status every 2 years.

If your association has a property manager, they should be able to help.  If not, there are lenders who are familiar with the application process and may readily give their assistance.  Please contact me for more information if you need it.

The important thing to realize is that many qualified buyers can buy with an FHA loan on 3.5 percent down payment, and obtaining a ready, willing and qualified buyer for a property can go much faster with FHA approved associations.

Selling Prices as of February, 2016 for Long Beach/Lakewood Single Family Homes

Here are the median closing prices for several zip codes covering

The far west area of Long Beach (90810);
Belmont Heights/Shore and Naples areas (90803);
Carson Park-Long Beach and Lakewood (90808);
and Lakewood Mutuals (90712).

Prices are current as of the last day of February, 2016, from one year prior.

Median Selling Prices

90810  $379,900 | +17.2%

90803  $992,500 | +13.8%

90808  $644,500 | +17.2%

90712  $495,000 | +6.5%

   The Average Selling Prices* are a little different :

 90810  $362,000 | +11.8%

   90803  $1,162,165 | +24.6% 

90808  $648,131 | +7.9%

90712  $498,489 | -1.6%

*(median=midpoint price of all selling prices; average=sum of all selling prices divided by total number of properties sold)

Law Enforcement Cracking Down on Online Home Rental Scams

Don't get fooled by a fraudulent "rental"

The rental housing landscape has been the target of fraudsters.

For instance, a legitimate "for sale" listing which shows up not only on the local REALTOR multiple listing service (MLS), and then (according to licenses) automatically fanned out to such sites as Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, etc., and also possibly manually entered by the listing agent into other sites such as Craig's List, is hijacked.

Actual listing agent information is deleted by person(s) attempting to misrepresent the listing, but the rest of the listing information, including photos, is resubmitted as a rental property with a new rental price, often one which does not support local neighborhood values, but gets the fraudster plenty of emails or phone calls.  The purpose of this is to get an unsuspecting renter to wire money to the "agent", before agreeing to see the property.  Of course, after they obtain money, there is no showing of the property--the fraudster may live on the other side of the country, or in another country.  This has personally happened to me, and to other area agents as well.  To get the false information and listing deleted online takes time and phone calls, including phone calls from renters who went to my listing to verify its existence, and then called me from the "for sale" sign.  Of course, it's not for rent, it's for sale.  Moral of the story:  Do not send money or personal information to see a rental.

Another local scenario in the 562 area code is where another rental company with a different area code goes to vacant properties and puts up their own rental sign so that they will get phone calls off someone else's property for which they have no contract to lease or to sell.  Yes, they've been reported so they quit for a while, but after a while, the signs pop up again. 

This is a nationwide problem.  If you are a landlord, you should also take notice of this issue.
Always try to first verify the actual agent or owner of a listing, because this is happening just often enough to cause headaches for all concerned.

Below is an online article for the Freddie Mac Blog published today about this very issue, worthwhile reading for everyone on how to recognize and protect yourself from these schemes. 
Law Enforcement Cracking Down on Online Home Rental Scams: Law enforcement started the year by cracking down on fraudsters using phony online real estate ads to fleece would-be renters.