Whew what a day on the lending topic! In a meeting this morning at RE/MAX our in house lender spoke about the new rules that are making it harder to get a loan. By harder I mean it is now a longer process. We were advised to allow for 45 days to close an escrow. I won’t go into the rules here the list is too long for a quick post. At noon I heard a newscast about Barney Frank’s efforts to ease the lending guidelines for condos. So, in the short term it is tough to get a loan on a condo but the policy makers in Washington are kicking around the idea of relaxing the rules. See the article.
http://www.examiner.com/x-5187-Moving-and-Relocation-Examiner~y2009m6d22-New-Fannie-Mae-mortgage-lending-guidelines-discourage-relocation
June 23, 2009
Mixed Signals on Mortgages
June 19, 2009
Is there a Bubble in Education?
My experience bears out the gist of this article. In my area many High school graduations happened yesterday and the buzz was: let’s go to the JC for a couple of years to save money. They are asking what is the benefit of paying high tuition for undergrad course work that can be done at a JC for substantially less money?
The student can still get the prestige of the University degree even though half of his undergrad work was done at a JC.
To your point about foreign students being able to bring in enough money to keep the bubble inflated. I am skeptical because for many years in this area there has been a high ratio of foreign students to local students. How can we add more? I thought one of the big problems in higher education was there are not enough spots for the new students.
Just curious, is anyone in higher education talking about pay cuts or maybe shutting down for a month to save money?
Foothill Ranch, CA
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/06/19/is-higher-education-the-next-big-bubble/
California’s $10k credit is successful!
The California home new home buyer’s program is working well. Buyers better hurry because there is some concern that the program will run out of money. Did you know that many builders will cooperate with buyers who are represented by a Realtor? The builder will pay the commission and the buyer benefits by having an advocate who knows the contract and market dynamics.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/12/real_estate/10000_California_tax_credit/index.htm?postversion=2009061215
June 10, 2009
Tuscany Foothill Ranch foreclosure report
Golfer’s Delight
(This property is no longer on the market.) Fred visited this condo on 6/9/09. This foreclosure is in an interior location overlooking a putting green. The condition was good and the unit was clean. It could use some carpet and paint but it could work as a rental as is. Another unit with the same floor plan is on the rental market for $1499 a month. Assuming that an investor could get $1500 a month this unit will cash flow for approximately 30% down. I spoke to the listing agent about the garage and he is still awaiting the title report to see if it comes with a garage. If it does come with a garage it is a very good deal. This is currently the only foreclosure in Tuscany. The rest of the listings in there are short sales. Call Fred for details.
June 5, 2009
Alton Extension
Everyone I talk to in Foothill Ranch is not excited about this project. While on the one hand we need another route down the hill because Lake Forest Blvd and Bake Parkway get busy in the morning. On the other hand, traffic on Portola Parkway on the west side is bound to increase because people from east of Foothill Ranch will be using Alton for their commute.
http://www.city-lakeforest.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=4778
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/forest-lake-construction-2362610-phase-project
City of Lake Forest Projects Underway
Check this link to see what the city is working on now.
http://www.city-lakeforest.com/depts/pw/cip/projects_currently_underway.asp
Is Foothill Ranch really the weakest market in OC?
Johnathan Lansner declares in his blog that Foothill Ranch is the weakest market of the 83 zip codes that they keep track of with Dataquick and their Zippy Ranking.
http://lansner.freedomblogging.com/2009/05/13/foothill-ranch-is-ocs-weakest-home-market/21951/
Bummer! What should homeowners do now? Once again Jonathan has come up with an attention grabbing headline. The old newspaper saying is operating here; “If it bleeds it leads.” The Dataquick info is showing median prices falling because a high ratio of small entry level condos compared to large detached homes are selling in Foothill Ranch this year. About half of them are foreclosures or short sales. Next quarter, if the ratio of properties sold swings to the higher end Foothill Ranch will jump up in his Zippy Ranking. The problem with this sort of analysis is that it is too broad and too out of date to be of help in finding bargains or determining current value. Property owners and property buyers should be tracking what is going on in their niche right now. One way that Lansner is helpful with this story is in pointing out that there is lots of opportunity for real estate success in Foothill Ranch right now. Let’s talk about your niche.
Foothill Ranch news overview
The variety of news stories this past week in Foothill Ranch surprised me. A group of residents is fighting the Walmart expansion in court. The City of Lake Forest is going ahead with the Alton Parkway extension. The City also celebrated the park renovations. Wet Seal is having a bad quarter. A man got arrested for pointing a gun at his neighbor. Jonathan Lansner, the OC Register, pronounced Foothill Ranch the worst real estate market in South OC. Chipotle restaurant is coming to Foothill.
Do you have news to share? Or, would you like to make news, sound off here.
June 4, 2009
In N Out
The Foothill Ranch In N Out has a spectacular sunset view. I try to take the kids there and resist eating burgers, fries and malts myself. But,
In N Out Foothill Ranch
I am losing the battle of the buldge.
Foothill Ranch Maintenance
Foothill Ranch has a terrific home owners association that maintains our community. They deserve credit for helping the firefighters keep our homes safe when we had that horrible fire last summer by keeping the brush under control. They do a lot for $70 per home. Compared to other communities in South County our HOA dues are very low and last year we got one month free because the HOA has plenty of reserves.