Are You in Shock? Did Loan Forgiveness Affect Your Credit Score?

But not in a postive direction?

A consumer or borrower might think that getting rid of a loan would improve a credit score.  But the reality is that in spite of all the talk about helping students, for example, by helping them obtain cancellation of the school loans, just the opposite happened. In fact, I know of a non-student case where a borrower's second mortgage was voluntarily forgiven by the lender, but then that person went to obtain a new purchase mortgage loan approval to buy a second property, and their credit report now showed a foreclosure. And apparently, according to the New York Times, some student borrowers are finding that their loan servicers are reporting they are delinquent in loan payments,  rather than a debt forgiveness.  The next problem is that the loan servicers seem reluctant to correct these reporting errors, and thus the borrower's FICO score drops, and it may be enough to prevent obtaining a credit card, or a loan.

A mortgage borrower could notify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, assuming he/she has the documentation that the loan was cancelled. Also, a dispute concerning the reporting error could also be initiated through the credit bureaus. 



Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Here Are Important Tips For Your Online Home Search

Hunting for a new home online is a great place to start your search, but it should not be your end all be all. Good listing agents are excellent at highlighting the best features of the home, but keep in mind there may be more than meets the eye. To make the most of your time and efforts and gather a well-rounded picture of home listings online, keep the following three things in mind.

1. Stay up to date. When you start your search, make sure you find a site that pulls up-to-date listings directly from the multiple listing service (MLS) where real estate agents actively post their most current homes for sale. Many online resources update less often or fail to remove listings that are off the market, making it more difficult to sort through the clutter.
2. Pictures can be deceiving. Real estate photographers are experts at showing a home in the best possible light. Many use tools and strategies to boost appeal, such as a fisheye lens to make areas look larger and creative editing to make colors and textures really pop. But, often listings will not contain photos of unappealing parts of the home, like small closets or outdated bathrooms.
3. See it to believe it. Once you find what appears to be your dream home online, call up your REALTOR and schedule a showing. You want to take the opportunity to vet the home in person and explore every part of it before beginning the offer process. Your REALTOR will help you cover all your bases and will ask questions you may not have thought of.

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Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

For Sale in Long Beach in El Dorado Park Estates

El Dorado Park Estates home

Just reduced, great opportunity in desirable area of Long Beach, CA. 

Would be great for a buyer who needs a downstairs bedroom, a pool, and a remodeled kitchen with newer cabinets and granite countertops.  Sliding door from living room to pool area, formal dining room plus large eating area next to kitchen.  Central air and heat, great for the warm weather days. 

Direct access from the two car garage. Home has a total of 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. There are only two other houses on the market besides this one that have 5 bedrooms, not common!  Near El Dorado Park, the Long Beach Animal Shelter, close to Rossmoor shopping center. Near Newcomb Academy in Long Beach.
Price is now $919,900.00.  To see this property, contact me, easy to show.



Listing Broker El Dorado Realty SoCal.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Average Selling Prices for June, 2019 in Long Beach,Lakewood, Cerritos, Huntington Beach and Three Counties

View of downtown Long Beach

All these prices are for the month of June, 2019, based on data from CRMLS Infosparks:

Average prices for single family homes in Orange County were showing a slow downward trend since early 2018 but shot upward in May of this year, while Los Angeles County is trending up from $919,000 in December 2018, and San Bernardino County's average is now up the highest in the last 18 months as homeowners and investors find buying opportunity there.
The average days on market for the four cities is about the same as before.  However, in the very high end markets in Long Beach, properties over $1 million are generally on the market longer than those under $1 million.

Average single family home prices vary according to area, and here's what they look like locally:

June, 2019

Long Beach
$749,502                 Avg Days on Market : 33

Lakewood
$612,286                 Avg Days on Market : 28

Cerritos
$784,959                 Avg Days on Market : 43

Huntington Beach
$1,239,491 (18 month high)   Avg Days on Market : 40

Los Angeles County
$968,802 (still down from a high in May, 2018)

San Bernardino County
$377,243 (highest average price in last 18 months)

Orange County
$1,085,899 (down slightly from May 2019 18-month high)

 

For condo prices, please contact me!

For an online and automated home valuation, try my site at http://www.juliahuntsman.com/home-evaluation.  It probably works more accurately for single family homes than condos in some areas, depending on what properties lie within about a one-mile radius.  Try it!  And I am always happy to do a more customized report to send out via e-mail.  If you're thinking about making a move, do it! It pays to keep an eye on things.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996 Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

The State of the Nation's Housing 2019: Harvard University Annual Report

What It Takes to Buy a Home in the U.S.

This forty-four page annual report describes housing issues on a national basis, so this is not the place to look for your local neighborhood or city stats.  Just keep these points in mind for your general knowledge.  The entire report may be viewed at the end of this post.

Housing supply has been discussed constantly, especially in California.  There was actually an oversupply of housing between 2000-2010, but since then builders have been slow to catch up, especially in the last 8 years.  The report goes on to list various reasons for this: builder hesitance, labor shortages, new housing being built for the high end of the market instead of lower end, rising  cost of materials make it difficult to build for the middle market, and objections to high density development in many areas.

But homeownership nationally is up to 64.4 percent, with the largest increase in the 25-39 age group, in spite of worsening affordability.  In California in 2017, homeowners numbered 7,137,000, at 54.9 percent of the population of 13,005,000 households. California ranked the highest of all states in the nation for number of homeowners, but states such as Delaware, Iowa, Michigan, Utah, and others, ranked higher in percent of homeowners, with New York being slightly lower in homeowner percentage compared to California, per the US Census Bureau, 2017 Community Survey.

The millennial and baby-boomer generations will be the two largest groups for housing demand:  "These two large generations will propel growth in 35–44 year-olds and lift the number of older adults to new heights." The 65 and older crowd  will grow by 11.1 million, and 35-44 year olds will grow by 2.9 million, all in the next decade.  This will be an increase of 8.4 million households for baby boomers, who are largely expected to age in place.  The demand for entry level homes will increase for the 35-44 year olds, the group with the most children.

The highest affordability rates are in metro areas where the home values are less than 3 times the income, and the median-income home could afford 84% of recently sold homes.  These markets are primarily in the midwest and northeast, where as the California coastal areas have home values approximately 6 times the income.

Assuming the current housing supply issues, and the continued demand for more housing, house prices and rents are expected to continue an upward trend.  And the constraints on housing development must be addressed.  In 2018, single family starts rose 9 percent in the West.

For the full report, go to the State of the Nation's Housing site.



Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

What Is An iBuyer?

.... an internet buyer making an offer through one of several companies which claim to speed up and simplify real estate transactions, appealing to the convenience factor for both buyers and sellers. Offers are made sight unseen, based on a proprietary valuation model.  Maybe the speed is appealing, these after all are investor buyers, and you may need to sell quickly because you're in foreclosure, or some other type of distressed situation.

But the seller doesn't always know that these companies will still charge full commission, plus discount the fair value of your home in exchange for all that ease of sale. While this type of sale is relatively new to the market, some estimates are that the actual costs to the seller amount to a fullj 10% of the value of the home, whereas selling with a traditional agent could mean a 6 percent commission. 

"So what does this really mean for the homeowner’s bottom line? Most homeowners purchase their home with a mortgage. If you purchased your home for $400,000 with 20% down, you showed up to closing with $80,000 of your own money, which is also your equity. If the value of your home remains the same and an iBuyer offers you $380,000 for your home — a 5% discount to fair value — you will lose $20,000 on the value of your home, plus pay a 5% commission (an additional $19,000). This is a higher transaction cost compared to selling on the open market for $400,000. More importantly, compare that combined $39,000 to your original down payment of $80,000 -- you will be giving up close to 50% of the equity you put into your home partly for the convenience of a quicker sale. Does the added cost make sense for the consumer?" *

 In 2018, Zillow said that 90 percent of sellers who engaged its Instant Offers platform did not follow through and chose a traditional agent instead. A traditional agent is there to guide the seller through the many disclosures and legal requirements of selling a home, and in California there are many. Before a seller considers this type of transaction, he or she should carefully investigate the actual costs, the home's fair market value, and the completeness of the transaction.

For an estimate on your home, please contact me.  I've been helping buyers and sellers for almost 25 years!



*Forbes Magazine, June 5,2018

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

When Owner Occupant Dies and The Home Has a Reverse Mortgage

This is a situation many heirs are beginning to deal with, and it's important to know what can happen after the death of a loved one who had such a mortgage.

Simply put, an heir has options: 1) He or she can pay back the loan; 2) sell the home to pay back the current loan amount, and keep the remaining proceeds; 3) deed the home back to the lender; 4) let the lender foreclose.

But really, the last two options should only be options when there is no equity left in the home, because why would an heir want to walk away from a potential sale and receive the remaining equity?  The first option may work for some people, if they have the ability to refinance with their own mortgage, thereby paying off the reverse mortgage.  But if an heir doesn't have the desire or financial ability to keep the home with a new loan, the remaining option is to sell the home.

Most original loan documents give a year to dispose of the property, but in practice, HUD will find out when the borrower passes away, and a due-and-payable notice will go out to the heirs giving them an opportunity to decide what to do. An appraisal may be required within 30 days, and a longer time period may be allowed for the heir to decide whether they're selling or staying.
It's a huge mistake to ignore this letter, because if 6 months passes by after the issuance of that letter, the home may be foreclosed on.  In California, from the initial filing of the foreclosure, there is another 121 days after which time the foreclosure is complete, and the heirs have now lost the home.

So the desirable situation is for the heir to keep in touch with the lender, answer their questions and get the home prepared for sale.  The lender really doesn't want to file foreclosure, they will only take the home back when they have no other choice, it's a cost to the lender, and they are not in the business of acquiring homes. So the lender will probably be very willing to work with an heir who plans on listing the home and getting it sold. That also sounds simple, but preparing the home for sale in order to get the best price may require pre-marketing work because an aged occupant may not have kept up maintainence, repairs, or upgrades for many years.  Be prepared for this, but it will be worth it for the heir if they stand to recoup a sizeable amount from the sale, i.e., what if the last statement balance on the mortgage was around $450,000, but the house is worth $750,000! A Realtor's job in this instance is to guide you through the preparation and actual sale of the home. See more information here.

If you need a Realtor to help you determine the value of a home with a reverse mortgage, please contact me right away, because time is of the essence! I have been helping clients with residential real estate since 1994.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996