Sacramento Real Estate

Reasons To Hire a Real Estate Appraiser

2010-03-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Provided by servicemagic.com

Real estate appraising is the evaluation of property including the land, the dwellings and all the features on it. Although everyone knows it is necessary to appraise real estate to sell it, there are many other reasons people would contact a real estate appraiser.

Establish value to buy insurance.

Settle insurance claims.

Establish market value to sell a home or buy new property.

Establish market value to refinance or use for collateral on another loan.

Assess current value to get rid of obligation to buy property mortgage insurance. (If value has risen, owner's percentage of equity in property may have increased enough to eliminate the lender's requirement to pay for property mortgage insurance.)

Reduce property taxes. (If market value or property value has decreased since the property tax assessor last valued it.)

Estate settlement (to be dispersed to heirs or sold).

Division of assets to establish market value in case of divorce, dissolutions of partnerships, etc.

Conduct a right-of-way or easement appraisal. (If owner must sell a piece of land for road widening or to grant an easement, an appraiser can make sure they are paid the fair current market value.)

Business appraisals for the purchase, liquidations, financing or estate tax settlement businesses.

Special requirements for appraisals for FHA and VA loans, which not all real estate appraisers meet.

Remember, real estate appraisers must be state-licensed and certified.

Professional affiliation is also available with the National Association of Independent Fee appraisers, which offers a professionally recognized testing and certifying program to afford reasonable assurance to the general public of professional expertise, integrity and responsibility.

Some other credentials to look for: IFA (member), IFAA (agricultural member), IFAS (senior member) or IFAC (appraiser-counselor).

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2010-03-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

By Beth Braverman From CNNMoney.com
Nab a real estate deal - while you still can!

If you've been holding off on a real estate purchase, glimmers of a turnaround in the housing market may have you wondering if it's finally time to make your move. While home prices remain low, they're no longer free-falling in most markets. Mortgages are historically cheap. And the sweet tax credit that was offered to new buyers last year has been extended to April 30 and expanded to include current homeowners too.

But for all the motivation to act quickly, buying right now is not a no-brainer. In some areas home prices may fall further. If you own a house now, it may take longer than you expect to sell it, and you may walk away with less cash than you thought.

"It's a good time to buy, but it's still a really difficult market," says Patrick Newport of IHS Global Insight. As the clock ticks toward the tax-credit deadline, answer these questions to decide whether it's time to get off the sidelines.

Can you really nab that tax credit?

Current homeowners who sign a contract to buy a home on or before April 30 get a dollar-for-dollar reduction on their taxes of 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to a maximum of $6,500 (first-time buyers can get up to $8,000).

But according to the National Association of Realtors, buyers spend about 12 weeks home shopping before making an offer, so if you haven't already started looking, you may be pressed to meet the deadline.

Plus, to qualify for the full credit, your household income must be under $225,000 if you're married and less than $125,000 if you're single; repeat buyers must have lived in the home they are selling for five of the past eight years. The good news: Once you've signed the contract, you have until June 30 to close the deal.

How much could you lose by waiting?

Besides the loss of the tax credit, the biggest game-changer facing buyers is a potential jump in mortgage rates. If the Fed moves ahead with its plan to stop buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of March, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is expected to increase nearly a percentage point from today's 5.18% to 6.1% by the end of 2010, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. On a $300,000 fixed-rate mortgage, that's an extra $174 per month.

But if home values are falling in your area, you don't have much to lose by waiting. If the house you want costs $375,000 today and you put down 20%, you'd pay $1,644 a month for a fixed-rate mortgage at 5.18%. Buy that same home for 5% less later on with rates at 6% and you'd only pay an extra $65 a month. If prices plunge 10% or more this year (as they are expected to in 12% of markets, according to Fiserv), you'll come out even or ahead.

To get a handle on the direction of your market, check trulia.com to see whether inventory levels are increasing, and visit realtytrac.com to find out whether foreclosure filings are still rising. A glut of properties and bank-owned homes means a recovery may not be in sight.

How quickly can you sell the home you now own?

Even in markets that are recovering, sellers must price aggressively to make a fast deal.

"Everybody thinks their house is worth more than it is," says Dallas realtor Bruce Lynn. Before you sign a contract for a new place, ask a few agents to give you a realistic figure that will generate a quick sale. Can't bear to part with your home at that price? Waiting may be your only option.

Also keep in mind that, with the credit crunch not far in the past, lenders may not approve your purchase until you've sold your home. A delay in sale could also stick you with two mortgages, far outstripping any savings from the tax credit.

See if the sellers will let you put a contingency in the contract that negates the sale if you don't find a buyer -- it's a long shot but worth a try. If they won't, propose adding a kick-out clause that allows the sellers to keep their home on the market, but lets you either pull out or quickly move ahead with the deal if they get another offer.

While extra contract negotiations may be a hassle, the past few years have proved that a purchase decision shouldn't be taken lightly. "This may be the best time in history to buy a home," says Denver realtor Jeff Fogler, "but only if you can really afford it."

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2010-03-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

Data Extracted From Sacrealtor.org
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Demand rises for purchase loans, refis
A dip in mortgage rates during the week ending Feb. 26 was accompanied by a 14.6 percent surge in demand for loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Demand for refinancings was up 17.2 percent from the previous week, and purchase loan applications were up a seasonally adjusted 9 percent.
Requests for refinancings accounted for 69.1 percent of all applications. Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said demand for purchase loans remained "subdued," with application volumes within the narrow range seen in the last few months.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.95 percent from 5.03 percent. Points decreased to 0.99 from 1.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.27 percent from 4.35 percent, with points increasing to 1.36 from 1.31 for 80 percent LTV loans.The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans decreased to 6.77 percent from 6.8 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans

2010-02-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Data Extracted From Sacrealtor.org on Tuesday 2/23/2010
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MLS STATISTICS for January 2010

January shows decreased activity, median price remains higher than year ago.A seasonally normal decrease in home sales signaled the open of the 2010 Sacramento real estate market.
The 1,159 home sales in January, a 29.7% decrease from the 1,648 sales of December. The trend continued year-to-year, showing a 24.8% decrease from the 1,542 sales of January 2009. The winter months affected the distribution of types of sales, with bank-owned properties making up 44.4% of the 1,159 sales. This is up 3.7% from the previous month. Short sales decreased by .9% (to 23.6% of sales) and conventional sales dropped by 3.4% (32% of sales). Many homeowners take their properties off the market during slow winter months while bank-owned and short sale properties remain to maximize activity.
The current median sales price of $170,000 is .6% higher than the $169,000 median price of January 2009. Month-to-month, the median price dropped 9.3% from $187,500, likely reflective of the many REO and short sale properties remaining on the market. According to the January MLS summary, nearly 31% of all homes sold were between $120,000 - $179,999, while 26.8% sold for $200,000 - $249,999.
“Inventory for buyers is lower than the numbers indicate, because homes listed as active short sale contingent aren’t really available,” Barbara Harsch, SAR President, commented. Active Short Sale Contingent properties are short sale properties on which initial offers have been made. SAR is now breaking out “Active Short Sale Contingent” in the listing inventory. When split from the total number, these properties number 2,224, making up 41.3% of all “active” listings. The total listing inventory decreased slightly (.8%) month-to-month from 5,425 to 5,379. This is a 9.4% decrease from the 5,935 listing inventory of January 2009.
The Housing Market Supply figure increased 39.4% month from 3.3 to 4.6 Months. This figure is 21.8% below the Housing Market Supply figure of January 2009. This figure represents the amount of time – in months – it would take to deplete the total listing inventory given the current rate of sales. According to MetroList® MLS data, the average home spent 54 days on market (from the time it was listed to the time escrow was opened) and was 1,657 square feet. Of the 1,159 sales this month, 125 (10.7%) had 2 bedrooms or fewer, 601 (51.8%) had 3 bedrooms, 335 (28.9%) were 4 bedroom properties and 98 properties (8.4%) had 5+ bedrooms.