Points are up-front fees paid to obtain a better interest rate on a loan. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. A lower interest rate may result in a lower monthly payment, but it is important to consider how long you intend to be in the loan, and to compare current rates to historical market trends.

If you take out a $300,000 mortgage and decide to pay one point, this translates into an up-front closing cost of $3,000. Paying a point up front saves $100 a month but it will take 30 months to recuperate the cost of that point. If you decide to refinance or sell the home before the 30-month mark, your money is lost. In this case, you would benefit financially by remaining in the home longer than the 30 months.

Rates run in cycles. When rates are at historical lows, it is sensible to pay points if you plan to live in the home for an extended period of time. It is unlikely that rates will go down; hence, there will be no need to refinance.

When rates are up, there is a strong likelihood that they will come down. This is no time to pay points. The chances of refinancing in the future are extremely high, and you will likely not be in the loan long enough to recuperate the cost of the points.

The question remains, given today’s guidelines what are the absolute bare-minimums to obtain a mortgage?
….and perhaps more interesting…how to obtain a mortgage immediately after a Short Sale..read on…
By far the easiest mortgage to obtain is a FHA loan:
1) 3.5 percent down payment, based on the purchase price of the home (e.g., $7,000 on a $200,000 home), or a gift of that same amount;
2) 3 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price, on top of the down payment, for closing costs, or a credit from the seller of the same amount; and
3) 640 FICO credit score — the middle score of those generated by the three credit bureaus (some banks will lend to borrowers with middle scores lower than 640, but will require more than the minimum down payment).
Lenders will want you to document income, asset and job history documentation, current paycheck stubs, two months’ bank statements and two years of W-2 forms or tax returns, and:
a minimum of two years have passed since the discharge of a bankruptcy;
a minimum of three years have passed since a foreclosure;
anywhere from zero to three years have passed since a short sale, depending on the circumstances surrounding the short sale.

Ski skate week in Tahoe, durning Presidents Day week is a wonderful ski holiday for us here in the Sierras as we welcome many families as visitors.

Come up see some property and the kids can learn to ski at Tahoe Donner next week with the special deal available to all.

Tahoe Donner has wonderful ammenties, golf and skiing availble to homeowners and the public alike.

This is the second lasgest HOA in the country and a must see for all interested in a second home with great rental potential and stable investment properties available $300,000- 1.2 M.

We are anticipating being busy as realtors for the next 2 weekends as visitors are curious about the market and looking for great deals that are here to be had!

The weather has been good for some time, it is easy to look at property currently due to snow having been melting back for weeks.

We do anticipate a couple feet of fresh snow next week prior to the week of Presidents Day.

The skiing will be fantastic!

6-29-2010  ~ Happy week of the 4th of July!

Every realtor I know seems to have people looking to buy a house right now. There is a healthy uptick currently in this market place. There are 190 homes in escrow pending closure today. Tahoe Donner  is continuing to be the hot spot due to the many amenities it has to offer.

The weather is spectacular- it had been a long winter and there are a lot of people out and enjoying this hot summer weather.  The fourth of July events at North Lake Tahoe draw a nice crowd.  Additionally, there is no better place to come cool down and see fireworks. This is a great week to come up and do some boating. There is very little wind and hot temps! The best way to see fireworks is from a boat on Lake Tahoe!

While here visiting many people call a realtor to go look at property. This is the busiest month of all. Look ahead to the closing sales in the months September and October that will reflect July’s contract activity. Buyers at this time of the year must compete with other buyers, creating increased competition. If you want your best deal go make offers in November- March in this part of the country.

 I know we all hear on the news how bad the market is; all too much. It almost puts buyers in the wrong state of mind coming into this part of the country. I have seen many deals fall apart since buyers think everyone is in such dire straights. NOT TRUE- to come into a negotiation so low it insults someone, not to mention the fact there are more buyers in action mode. This cut throat approach does not turn out fruitful for the buyer trying to come in and kick you when your down. There are just too many qualified investors and savy buyers/sellers to try to swindle. So- FYI think it over again!

 The properties on the market under $500,000 are still in need of a lot of work and they are the very first to sell under $400,000.  120 of the 180 currently pending sales are under this $500,000 mark leaving only 50 properties in the higher price group.

Cash sales have been really popular- People are parting with there cash for these great deals in the hopes of the market returning. This is what every buyer that in the past- I did not sell a house to has been waiting for. The bottom of the market. From my lips to gods ears right! The indications are good. Prices remain low, interest rates are falling. I am unsure how far this will go since my crystal ball quit working but it can be a self fulfilling prophecy. Don’t be afraid to get into the market now. It is what so many people in the past had told me they had been hoping for to enter the market place, prices to come way down.

When I used to lisen to people say this back in the early part of 2000’s, I thought it was almost mean to wish for a colapse. What about all the people that would suffer financial losses? Here we are. I am going through my data bank and calling all these folks, there are no excuses now are there! People really didnt realize what would have to happen for the prices to fall like this. Now that we have lived it, we know. Dont wish for the ballon to pop. You could get taken out of the loop yourself. 

A slow recovery will be at play in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe market place due to our world wide notoriety and popularity over my years. Don’t miss the boat again!

Happy 4th of July! God bless all the people who sacrafice there lives for our freedom- Thank You

As I review the closed sales daily it has become quite apparent the majority of the properties that are closing escrow are bank owned properties with inexperienced agents that have some contact at a bank. So the broken banks are selling properties well below what others sellers cannot compete with forcing them into short selling there properties to actually procure offers.  If there was ever a time to pick up a deal it is now. To take advantage of this window of opportunity as many seem to be doing you must be pre-approved for the loan at the time the offer is presented. The bank contracts are not our California Association of Realtors standard contracts written by our state attorneys to be impartial to both parties, rather the bank presents a counter offer which is there own version of a contract that is in the best interest of the bank. They can be very one sided to the banks benefit. So the realtor turns into facilitator for the broken bank. Sales prices are very low and you take the property as it is without room to further negotiate the terms. Price can over come all objections. Today 3/4 of the closed sales were REO bank owned. The sooner we get these properties off the market the sooner the real estate market can truely recover. In the meantime, I feel like people are being assaulted by these banks.  Poisoning the market place by ignorance that could have been avoided by working more loans out or approving short sales years ago. So many of the homes I see get foreclosed on had owners that did try working with the banks but to no avail. They wont seem to help these people yet they turn around and slash the price as it was no big deal to them anyway- where is the common sense?

Use an experienced agent like myself to advise you and guide you through the process- you will need it.

We have quite a flurry of sales scheduled to close escrow this month, including the Ritz Carlton 11  new construction condominiums at Northstar, These properties originally went into contract June 2009 and have just been completed and are getting ready to post closing prices this month.

There are a total of 142 properties slated to close escrow this month for a total dollar volume of $128,308,785.00 which is quite a large number. This breaks down to an average sale price of $903,569  and  median sales price of $489,450.  There is a great variety of areas showing recent sales activity which makes me start to feel better about the market in this area as a whole. Skiers are buyers too! The snow just keeps coming- hope the buyers do too!

Did you make your New Years resolution to buy your Tahoe or Truckee second home in 2010? The unfortunate part of life is hind sight right? You don’t really know for certainty when the best time to act is, until it has passed you by.

Take a leap of faith- there are spectacular deals out there selling everyday with multiple offers being presented. This is a good indication that the consumer is seeing value in the new prices. I believe we have found the bottom to our market in the Truckee- Lake Tahoe real estate market.

It could be contributed to being a widely recognized tourist destination, awesome skiing, sight seeing and extreme sports.  Tahoe is valuable to those who travel here to find themselves in this wide world of pressures and responsibilities. Come relax with us!

Yes, the storms are rolling in one after the other. Driving conditions are good! The news had everyone worried but all is good with traveling in and out of Truckee and North Lake Tahoe.

Skiers are buyers too! There are 148 properties in escrow today and 7 closed escrow today. More people are figuring out how having a sport the whole family can participate in can be so rewarding. In these times of periodic frustration it is beneficial to have an outlet for the stresses in our lives and day to day grind that can at times become monotonous. Come heal your mind and make some turns on the mountain!

Check out all the resorts ! Plan a trip to come up and show your family a good time, the skiing is fantastic. I would be happy to show your family around the best real estate deals in town at your convenience.

Go make it a great day!

The market seems to be heeding the warning of the potential threat from the Federal goverment about whether they will continue to buy the goverment back mortgage loan securities available on the stock market that no invester seems to want right now. If the goverment quits buying these securities many think interest rates will rise a full percent or more in the very near future.

I would say activity is on the rise for people who will be purchasing with the assistance of a loan due to this potential of rates to rise.  A cash buyer is likely to wait it out to obtain an even better deal if rates do rise in March.

The goverment backed loan securites are a major source of new money to make loans. Wall street is shy to invest in these stocks since they have dropped in value so much due to the default rates of the borrows who make up the portfolios.