If you have been waiting to buy a home, NOW is the time.
If you have been waiting to refinance your current home today is the day.
Neither these rates nor the sale prices will remain down here much longer. Some day soon the bills for “CHANGE” will come due and we’ll see the rates begin to rise.
Look at this AP article for more details.
Gilroy home values have already bounced off the bottom. Likewise, Morgan Hill and Hollister homes have seen a balance in demand and supply.
Time for your co-workers, friends and family to make their move.
What do you think?
Agent to prospective buyer: “There are 5 other offers on that home“. Buyer to agent: “Ah 
man! I’m getting tired of losing out on all of these homes! What can we do?” Agent to buyer: “Add another $15,000 to your offering sales price“.
That was the approach some agents were taking earlier this year. Many are still. Finally, however, the banks have gotten wise to this ‘blue sky’ approach.
I made an offer for a prospective buyer on a nice Ridgemark home in Hollister. The listing agent informed me there were 4 other offers and 2 were considerably higher offers than ours. Reluctantly the buyers did not want to try again on this home.
What was fascinating however, was the bank countered that the offerees had to agree to pay for the amount over and above the appraised value when it came in. I like that! Finally, some intelligent approaches to this frenzy we’re seeing in the starter-priced homes. If the accepted offer was, say, $350,000, but the appraisal came in at $325,000 the buyer would have to pay $25,000 over and above the appraisal. Of course their loan amount is computed from the appraised value or sales price, whichever is lower. They would pay their down payment PLUS the amount over value.
Hopefully, more banks will begin handling the question of value up front in this manner rather than 3 weeks later when the other prospective buyers have moved on and the appraisal comes in low.
So, what do you think? Will this smooth out the ‘offering’ process some?
A veteran buyer was looking at looking at some nice homes in Hollister. There seemed to be a disconnect between their enthusiasm for the homes and making the comment to buy one of them. It wasn’t that they didn’t qualify. I had already pre-approved them for much more than they were looking at. As we talked the light bulb came on! The transition from their comfortable rent to a significantly higher payment was a quantum leap for them and it was hard to swallow – until…….
I sat them down and shared what many homeowners have learned over the years. Your accountant can tell you what your new tax liability will be if you buy that tempting home. In most cases the amount you will be required to pay in income tax will DROP because of the larger amount paid toward interest and taxes. Some of us have figured that it is better to reduce our income tax withholding from our paychecks each payday rather than get our refund in a lump sum (with no earned interest) at the end of the year.
Here is their example: Sales Price: $650,000; New VA Loan: $591,800; Total Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance: $4,210; Income Tax Deduction at a 26% tax bracket: $898/mth; Net “House Payment” after income tax deduction: $3,312.
Same home, same terms but a house payment that feels like $3,312. That made the difference. They will simply need to take a new W4 form to their employers and have them reduce their withholdings by $898 so they will have that much more to take-home each month. While they still make the actual payment of $4,210 the additional take-home pay makes the leap in house payment more palitable.
They will break even at the end of the year: they won’t owe much income tax nor will they get much of a refund. HOWEVER, they will have received their refund during the year to help offset their new, higher payment.
Everybody was happy and moved forward with what they really wanted to do.
I love solving problems for people! Have you done this yet?
Imagine shopping around, from dealer to dealer, for a second car and paying $6,450 for
it. Then, the following week you read on-line that there is a program for a person in your situation where such a car is FREE! You would not have to pay even $1.00 for that car. What would you do? Do you really think that auto dealer is going to refund your money? Do you think any of them will fess up to not knowing about such a program?
This is what I deal with often – not in cars but Veteran’s Benefits. Many so-called VA Lenders fail to ask one simple question of every Veteran. “Do you receive any disability pay from the VA?” The failure to ask that question costs disabled Vets thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
Let’s say a Vet buys a $300,000 home and uses their Eligibility for a no-down VA. If that Vet receives disability pay, he/she does NOT have to pay the “VA Funding Fee”. A first time user of their VA Home Loan benefit has a Funding Fee of 2.15% of the VA Loan amount. So, our $300,000 sales price and VA Loan amount would have a $6,450 Funding Fee as part of the Veteran’s costs. HOWEVER, if the Lender asks that question and does the proper paperwork for the disabled Vet, the Veteran’s Administration will waive that $6,450 VA Funding Fee. Good news for the 267,318 disabled CA vets (3,268,045 nationally).
“It’s who you know that makes all the difference in the world”. That is true. But even if your Uncle Bob is an auto dealer, if he doesn’t know that your situation has benefits we have to tweak the slogan: “It’s not just who you know but what they know that counts”.
Do you know of any such situations? I’d love to hear from you.
‘Houston…the Eagle has landed’. I enjoyed recently the celebration of the Lunar landing. Let’s change the wording to fit our times: “Buyers, we’ve landed, and are now lifting off”.
Home values in San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista “have landed” at the bottom of their value slide and are beginning to “lift off” that bottom. We are not going to see these prices again for a very, very long time, if ever again.
Here’s the affect of waiting to buy a home: A home listed today for $350,000 and goes up 5.0% in value will then be worth $367,500. A buyer who waited and then buys this home will need $985 MORE CASH and $268/mth MORE INCOME to qualify for this same home.
If the interest rate is at 6.0% (vs. the 5.0% used above) when the buyer decides to purchase this increased-value-home, their income will need to be $843/mth. HIGHER to qualify!
Some prospective home buyers may be calling out: “Houston, we’ve got a problem“. The erosion of their purchasing power may make them permanent renters.
My crystal ball recommends that those who want to buy a home climb on board NOW while they can. What does yours forcast?
I had fun making the Video Tour for 1890 Orchard Rd. in Hollister, CA. Why not take a few minutes to watch it? As you do you will notice 3 things: One, this fresh 3 bd. 2 bth. home is nicely appointed and quite comfortable: Two, it sits on a peaceful, flat 5 acre parcel and is all decked out for your horses; and Three, this home is only a 1/4 mile from the Santa Clara County line so it is perfectly located for a comfortable commute, shopping at the Gilroy Outlets, hitting the beach or walking along famed Cannery Row. 15 minutes South and you are in Hollister. Another 30 min. and you arrive at the Pinnacles National Monument and, in 40 min. to the East you are on Hwy. 5 heading for Yosemite or Disneyland. Give me a call for your own tour of this nice property. I promise – you will be impressed.
Hollister’s housing is HOT! Last month (5/09) saw 27 more Closings than 5/08’s 33. That is an increase of 81.8%! Each month this year our number of Closings has leaped ahead of ’08’s. To date there has been a 151% increase in Closed Sales! In fact, try to buy a home in Hollister now. “Multiple Offers” is once again a standard phrase reported to buyers by their agents.
Contributing to this hot market: New Listings of homes for sale in Hollister are down 27.9% so far this year over last year. Last month alone we saw a drop in New Listings of 29.5% over 5/08.
The Gilroy housing market is experiencing a similar recovery with a 128.9% increase in closings and a 32.7% decrease in New Listings.
Make sure your Realtor knows all the current methods in getting an offer accepted. You are going to need that if you want to buy a home here in Hollister.
If you have thought about buying a home in Gilroy, it’s time to act! May’s Closed Sales were up 75.8% over 5/08! This is the 5th straight month of increased Closings over the same period last year. Year-to-date Gilroy Closings are up a whopping 128.9% over the first 5 months in ‘08!
The supply of homes listed for sale dropped 75.8% in May and was the 5th consecitive month this year where New Listings dropped. So far this year our Gilroy New Listings are down 32.7% from last year.
Similarly, Morgan Hill’s Closed Sales are up 59.4% and the number of New Listings is down 23.5% from 2008.
While the price levels and home loan interest rates are still low NOW is the time to come join us in the “Garlic Capital of the World” and buy your own home.
Have you noticed Morgan Hill’s housing activity? Wow! Recovery is well underway in our quaint town. In May there were 73.6% more Closings than in May ‘08. This is the 5th straight month this year where our Closings have increased over last year’s figures. To date, Closings have increased nearly 60% (59.4%)!
On the other hand New Listings of Morgan Hill homes for sale were down for the 5th straight month. The number of May’s New Listings were down 55.4% vs. 5/08 and year-to-date the drop totals 23.5% over the same period last year!
In nearby Gilroy the same housing trends are happening! Gilroy’s number of Closed Sales is up 128% from 2008! 128%! Wow! Our New Listings were lower by 27.9%.
The affects of ‘Supply and Demand‘ are being felt here in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. While the interest rates are still wonderfully low I wouldn’t wait to buy.
