Orange County Foreclosures
06/29/2008 – 3:03 pmList of distressed sales in Orange County California.
California VA Foreclosures
06/17/2008 – 12:53 pm| ID | State | City | Bdrms | Baths | Sqft | Price | Photo | Vendee Financing |
| 8000581663 | CA | Apple Valley | 3 | 2 | 1431 | $161,460 |  |
Available |
| 8000562952 | CA | Apple Valley | 4 | 2 | 2621 | $281,690 | |
Available |
| 8000566425 | CA | California City | 3 | 2 | 2351 | $169,900 | |
Available |
| 8000575673 | CA | Carmichael | 3 | 1 | 1020 | $176,200 | |
Available |
| 8000507981 | CA | Clearlake | 3 | 2 | 1315 | $153,945 | |
Available |
| 8000568561 | CA | Fresno | 2 | 2 | 1213 | $155,345 | |
Available |
| 8000591449 | CA | Hemet | 3 | 2 | 1537 | $195,700 | |
Available |
| 8000561996 | CA | Homeland | 3 | 2 | 1578 | $195,700 | |
Available |
| 8000556236 | CA | Madera | 3 | 2 | 1574 | $145,000 | |
Available |
| 8000574007 | CA | Marysville | 3 | 3 | 1828 | $185,470 | |
Available |
| 8000562663 | CA | Middletown | 3 | 2 | 1631 | $189,600 | |
Available |
| 8000547276 | CA | Mountain Ranch | 3 | 2 | 1500 | $260,000 | |
Available |
| 8000583131 | CA | Oakdale | 3 | 2 | 1660 | $231,200 | |
Available |
| 8000585490 | CA | Quail Valley | 2 | 2 | 1120 | $113,300 | |
Available |
| 8000546500 | CA | Redding | 3 | 2 | 1698 | $248,600 | |
Available |
| 8000574783 | CA | Ridgecrest | 4 | 2 | 2382 | $159,900 | |
Available |
| 8000585201 | CA | Sacramento | 3 | 4 | 1329 | $181,625 | |
Not Available |
| 8000581465 | CA | Sacramento | 3 | 2 | 1468 | $186,000 | |
Available |
| 8000557374 | CA | San Diego | 3 | 2 | 1240 | $259,500 | |
Available |
| 8000557531 | CA | San Diego | 2 | 2 | 893 | $266,900 | |
Available |
| 8000580541 | CA | San Jose | 2 | 2 | 1318 | $375,950 | |
Not Available |
| 8000564479 | CA | Sutter | 2 | 2 | 1100 | $186,000 | |
Available |
| 8000601925 | CA | Temecula | 4 | 3 | 1534 | $235,900 | |
Not Available |
| 8000594666 | CA | Twentynine Palms | 3 | 2 | 1250 | $125,900 | |
Available |
| 8000562903 | CA | Visalia | 3 | 2 | 1430 | $204,000 | |
Available |
| 8000535602 | CA | Visalia | 3 | 2 | 1752 | $224,200 | |
Available |
| 8000586670 | CA | Winchester | 4 | 3 | 2873 | $274,000 | |
Available |
| 8000539976 | CA | Wrightwood | 1 | 1 | 512 | $150,995 | |
Available |
| 8000505019 | CA | Yuba City | 3 | 2 | 1094 | $169,900 | |
Available |
| 8000572217 | CA | Yucca Valley | 4 | 2 | 1984 | $168,340 | |
Available |
Top Secret: Getting killer real estate deals
05/29/2008 – 3:12 pm
Depending on your area, many times it is not that hard to find a great real estate deal. In some areas you’ll see 20 to 50 percent as distressed sales. Even with this type of market, there tends to be an elite class of properties that stand out among the distress category.
It could be because of location, condition, price or terms that cause these types of properties to be stand outs and it is in this category that I’ll share some secrets as to how to get them.
PART I
Short Sales
Based on price these seem to be one of the most attractive categories to pick from. Not only that, but there are so many of them. The problem with short sales is that it comes with a HUGE contingency. It is subject to the lender’s approval.
That means the buyer and seller can agree on the price and terms, but it means nothing until the bank approves it. Many banks have a loss mitigation department and their objectives can be quite different from the seller and buyer.
Tip 1
One key is to work with approved short sales . That most likely means an offer was submitted and the bank had approved that offer and for some reason it fell out of escrow. The buyer and seller already know that the bank will accept the price they did previously. This helps a lot when looking to purchase short sales.
Tip 2
It’s a numbers game. Most experienced short sale agents do not think much of the first offer(s). The Listing agent knows it just starts a process with the bank and that statistically the buyer will end up finding another property instead of waiting 4 to 12 weeks for a response. In this case, a second key is to recognize that purchasing short sales is a numbers game and it usually takes about 10 offers to equate to 1 close. Play the game correctly and you’ll have a valid chance at owing some really good properties.
Tip 3
Think in nets. Usually, a good story and a strong qualified buyer with a large down matters to sellers and is essential to getting your offer accepted. With banks being so overwhelmed with loan defaults, the standard mode of operation is the path of least resistance. The primary indicator that they use is what they will net from this sale. So when making offers, look to see how you can show that the bank will net the most from working with you.
Tip 4
You MUST have an agent team that is aggressive in follow up. Remember, your offer may be used just so that the Listing agent can start talking to the right bank department or person and you can easily be ‘forgotten.’ I can think of over a dozen stories like these from other agents in the past 2 weeks! Follow up is a must and you need to have someone who has the resources to do it.
Tip 5
Keep your deposit check. There is no reason to open escrow when such a major contingency exists. You can not tie up the property by being in escrow. Let’s say you open escrow and wait 8 weeks. In that time 4 other offers come in and are presented to the bank. The bank can accept another offer even if you are in escrow.
Tip 6
Work with an experienced team. Don’t get sold on what an agent can do for you, have them prove it to you. That’s right – if you miss this step you can waste a lot of time. Many agents do not have successful experience in this area, transact too infrequently or do not have a team.
Experience
If they are learning on you then you could be paying too much or missing out on the best deals. Ideally, you want someone that has been through a market cycle before, is working fulltime and has no other occupation. They should have specialization in what you are looking for. An easy way to tell is to look at their business card. If they are not even trying to brand themselves as an expert in the category you want, then why take that chance working with them.
Transactions
They should have no less than 10 qualified active buyer clients. If you are the only one or 1 of 3 then you should run. If you needed to do brain surgery, would you want a doctor that does 1 every 6 months or see the doctor that has 1 to 2 surgeries every day. There is safety in crowds and working with an agent that doesn’t have a strong active client following in your category is a huge indication to ask a lot more questions.
Team
If they do not have a team (a real team) that can service you then there is really no way you can find the best deals. The reason – it takes a lot of hard work. This is not rocket science type of hard, more like ditch digging hard. If you want a Grand Canyon real estate steal then you need to have an agent team that can throw their resources behind you.
Caution, don’t get tricked by a franchise name thinking familiar is better, because the reality is that all of their agents are independent contractors and the ‘team’ may be nothing more than promotion and not the ditch digging hard work needed to win the best real estate deals.
The best way to find out is to ask who is on the team, what do they do and how will they service you.
In the next series we’ll talk about how to get the best REOs on the market.
Orange County REO and Foreclosure
05/27/2008 – 10:40 am
Recent Orange County distressed sales.
update May 27, 2008
Hawaii Banked Owned Properties
05/27/2008 – 10:31 am| Address | Condo Project | Bd/Ba | Tenure | List Price | Zestimate |
| 2023 Ahuula St | SF | 4/3 | FS | $425,550 | $647,500 |
| 1778 Ala Moana Blvd. #1004 | Discovery Bay | 2/2 | LH | $391,500 | $400,000 |
| 2145 Palolo Ave | SF | 4/2 | FS | $590,000 | $717,000 |
| 54-177 Kawaeku St | SF | 3/2 | FS | $549,900 | $763,000 |
| 57-120 Lalo Kuilima Way #7B | Kuilima Estates East | 1/2 | LH | $275,500 | $340,000 |
| 84-937 Hanalei St | SF | 6/3 | FS | $419,900 | $420,000 |
| 85-175 Farrington Hwy C430 | Makaha Surfside | 0/1 | FS | $94,900 | $105,000 |
| 1506 Kaumualii St, B237 | Kaumualii Park | 1/1 | FS | $179,000 | $150,000 |
| 445 Kaiolu St #208 | Rosalei | 1/1 | FS | $207,900 | $255,000 |
| 211 Kawaihae St #D6 | Gateway Peninsula | 3/2.5 | FS | $769,900 | $800,000 |
| Just Listed | |||||
| 91-644 Makalea St | SF - Tiburon | 5/3 | FS | $469,900 | $538,000 |
How Much Home Can I Afford? Calculating Debt to Income Ratios
05/24/2008 – 3:16 amWhen calculating how much home you can afford to buy, lenders use debt to income ratios (DTI) to determine how much you can safely borrow. There are two ratios used; front and back end ratios.
The front end ratio is a measurement of just the total monthly house obligations. The acronym PITI is commonly used. It stands for Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. The Principle and Interest represents the montly mortgage payment, Taxes are the property taxes broken down to monthly increments, and Hazard Insurance to insure the structure from fire, natural disasters, etc. Although not part of the PITI acronym, monthly mortgage insurance payments and Association dues/fees if applicable would also be included when calculating the total monthly house expenses. The total of all of these monthly house expenses divided by your monthly gross income will be your front end ratio.
For conforming loans, the front end ratio is typically 28%
For FHA loans, the front end ratio is 31%.
Example:
Principle and interest payments= $1500
Property Taxes= $250
Insurance= $250
Total housing expenses= $2000
Gross annual income= $85,000
Gross monthly income= $7083 ($85,000 / 12 months)
Front end DTI= $2000 / $7083 = 28%
The back end ratio adds all monthly recurring debt to the total house debt to arrive at the back end ratio.
For conforming loans, the back end ratio is typically 36%
For FHA loans, the ratio is 43%.
VA loans only use one ratio of 41%
Example:
Car payment= $200
Credit card payments= $200
Student loan= $150
PITI= $2000
Total monthly debt obligations= $2550
Car payment= $200
Credit card payments= $200
Student loan= $150
PITI= $2000
Total monthly debt obligations= $2550
Back end DTI = $2550 / $7083 = 36%
When a borrower’s DTI exceeds conforming ratios of 28/36, the borrower will have to consider nonconforming loans that allow higher debt ratios, some as high as 55%. These nonconforming loans, also known as sub-prime loans, come with higher interest rates to accommodate for the higher risk to the lender. With the recent meltdown in the mortgage industry due to the high rate of sub-prime loans defaulting, the industry will probably see a market correction that will revise these high sub-prime ratio limits downward.
Calculating FHA loans are a little different. You can click on this link to learn how to calculate FHA DTI ratios. http://www.crystalclearmarket.com/?p=142
Hope this helps. Until next time, Happy house hunting.
Elliot Lau
California REO List
05/18/2008 – 12:36 pmNew list of Southern California distressed sales. This post will focus more on bank owned properties (REOs).
Orange County
Los Angeles
Riverside
San Bernardino
Courthouse-step auctions offer 1,336 properties in foreclosure — 17 are sold
05/15/2008 – 9:16 amOn Friday, O’Toole said, a foreclosed five-bedroom Modesto home on Hemstead Avenue went up for auction with a starting bid of $301,500, even though the lender was owed $537,000 from a delinquent mortgage.
But that $235,500 discount apparently wasn’t enough. O’Toole said no one bid, so the lender now owns the house.
Lenders get more desperate
O’Toole said the size of these discounts continues to grow as lenders get more and more desperate to unload properties.
Early in 2007, O’Toole said, discounts were offered on about one-third of the homes in foreclosure auctions statewide, and those discounts averaged about $9,000. By November, he said, two-thirds of the state’s homes in foreclosure auctions were discounted, with discounts averaging $48,000.
Many of the foreclosed houses in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, however, are being discounted by $100,000 or more, O’Toole said.
Dave Rhodes of Oakdale recently took advantage of one such deal. Two weeks ago, he bid $1 over the starting price for a 1,356-square-foot home on Poppy Patch Drive in Modesto. He was the only bidder and bought the house for $163,181, even though the lender had been owed about $264,000.
"I’m not a big spender. I’m a bottom feeder," said Rhodes, who has been a regular at Modesto’s foreclosure auctions for more than a year. He researches many of the homes being foreclosed, but rarely bids at auctions. His last purchase was in January, when he bought a fixer-upper in Empire.
Hundreds receive no bids
Discounted starting bids "have become more and more prevalent the last three months" in Modesto, Rhodes said. That’s why he comes prepared to bid on great deals.
Before potential buyers are allowed to bid, they must show the auctioneer a cashier’s check for the full amount they’re willing to bid. Rhodes said he had a cashier’s check for $185,000 with him the day he bought the Poppy Patch home, so he could have gone higher had someone bid against him and he wanted to keep bidding.
Competitive bidding is rare, however, even with discounted starting prices.
Example: An Oakdale home on Ranger Street sold new in 2006 for $610,000. It went into default with an outstanding loan balance of $530,892. Last month at the foreclosure auction, the starting price was $395,000. No one bid.
Also last month, a Manteca home on South Sonora Avenue that had an outstanding loan balance of $487,956 was offered for a starting bid of $331,500. No one bid.
And in Merced, a home on West 22nd Street with an outstanding mortgage of $279,785 was offered at $153,000. No one bid.
"There are literally hundreds of examples in these counties," O’Toole said about discounted properties going unpurchased. "They … represent good opportunities for folks to buy properties directly from the bank at a deep discount."
Lenders don’t want the houses
In San Joaquin County last month, for instance, 664 foreclosed homes went to auction, but only eight were sold to bidders. Lenders took back 656 houses with unpaid debts of more than $245 million.
In Merced County last month, 253 homes went to auction, with only one receiving bids and being sold. Lenders took back the rest with unpaid debts of nearly $88.4 million.
Statewide, 12,282 properties went to foreclosure auctions, but only 321 were sold to bidders. Lenders took back the rest, which had unpaid debts of nearly $4.8 billion.
Those lender-owned foreclosed houses then typically are listed for sale with real estate agents or are privately auctioned off. Either way, lenders end up paying assorted commissions and fees to sell the property. While waiting for deals to close, the lenders must maintain the homes and pay taxes, insurance and assorted other ownership costs.
"They don’t want to hang onto those homes, mow those laws and pay those Realtor fees," said Rhodes, explaining why lenders are willing to give foreclosure auction bidders such good deals.
Article at http://www.modbee.com/local/story/152921.html
Orange County Market Strengthening?
05/13/2008 – 2:41 pmAn indicator that is tried and tested is the months of remaining inventory. You can read up on it in this article ‘How do I know if we’re in a buyer’s market.’
Orange County real estate statistics are out for April and the months of remaining inventory has dropped by 14.2% holding at 9.6. Last year during the same period it held at 9.3 just 0.03% off from 2008.
So is this market strengthening?
