What is a Short Sale?

When a homeowner owes more on his mortgage than his house is worth, and he cannot afford his payments anymore (loss of a job, interest rate hike, for example) one of his options is called a "short sale."

When lenders agree to do a short sale in real estate, it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due. Not everyone qualifies for a short sale however, and if you are considering a short sale on your home, there could be drawbacks. For your protection, I suggest that all borrowers:

•Obtain legal advice from a competent real estate lawyer about a short sale

•Call an accountant to discuss short sale tax ramifications on a short sale

Although all lenders have varying requirements for short sales and may require that a borrower submit a wide array of documentation, the following steps will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

•Call your Lender

You will need to contact the short sale department and get the short sale supervisor's name - the name of the individual capable of making a decision.

•Submit Letter of Authorization for a short sale

The short sale request letter should include the following:


•Property Address
•Loan Reference Number
•Your Name
•The Date
•Your Realtors' name & Contact Information

and

•Hardship Letter

Make it honest, tell the lender why you are in such a financial hardship situation, it makes a plea to the lender to accept less than full payment. Lenders looking at a short sale understand, especially these days, how the economy can affect income and expenses.

Your Realtor will also provide your lender with paperwork to help with the short sale process, and it can take a while for the short sale to be approved.

You will need to find a buyer willing to wait through the approval process, sometimes there may be more than one buyer, the first offer will be submitted, while any and all others will be held by your Realtor as back-ups in case the first offer disappears during the process. This is quite common, and short sales are becoming the norm, we Realtors are very knowledgeable about the process, if you need help contact me and I will be able to help you.





Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
Licence # 01439083
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego
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A day in the life of Real Estate!

It’s not easy, but there are some funny times and funny stories – in Real Estate there’s always something unusual happening. How about a house with absolutely nothing in it – no flooring, light switches, bathrooms (including the toilets), nada – it happens even in the best neighborhoods.

There was a Realtor in England who showed a home, thinking the owner was asleep, showed the clients out only to go back and discover the owner had passed away on the sofa!

A colleague of mine was feeling ill at his open house, again, laid down on the sofa only to be woken up by visitors poking him, he’d fallen totally asleep, thank goodness is still around!

Another colleague shared that he went to one house thinking he had an appointment to show it, the owner wasn’t aware but said it was ok to show, only to find out he was at the wrong house on the same street – embarrassing just a little.

Or my favorite – showing condos downtown San Diego, thank goodness my client was in her own car and I was in mine – we came out of one particular building only for me to find my car had been towed – we continued looking in her car!

There are so many different stories, some funny, some sad, but always a day in the life in Real Estate is never boring!


Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

Searching for a new home on the Internet!

Are you starting your search for a new home on the Internet? Do you visit Realtor.com, Trulia.com, Zillow.com? Of these Realtor.com is the most accurate, here you will find all the updated listings. Trulia has a lot of innacurate information, homes that are now in escrow still show up as being active, and Zillow with it's Zestimates can be way off base!

However, to get the most accurate information when searching the internet you need to start your new home search via the internet with a Realtor, such as myself, who has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) - you should be able to search through their website, and you can also have them set up a completely customized search based on your own criteria, anything from price, size of yard, location of laundry, how many garage/parking spaces, patio, balcony, pool, just about anything you can think of.

Customized internet home searches can be emailed directly to you as soon as a new home is listed, ir there is a price reduction on one already mailed to you or if one goes into escrow. Or you can have it notify you on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. And it's completely FREE! You can continue to search other sites, but a customized search through a Realtor, will give you up-to-the-minute accurate information without you having to do the hard work yourself!

Start your internet home search here - http://www.janeloveday.com - or contact me directly to set up a customized search for you today!

Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://www.janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

The Nordstrom Way for Real Estate!

When looking for a new home, be it a condo or house, what are your top requirements? If you go into Nordstroms you have your personal shopper waiting, here you have your personal Realtor to help you!

As with Nordstroms, you have your wants and needs - Is having a washer and dryer in your condo a priority, parking spaces, a pool, rec room, ground floor with patio, upper floor with balcony, low HOA’s?

How about a house – how big of a yard, attached/detached garage, combo kitchen/family room, corner lot, quiet neighborhood or urban? Again the Nordstrom Way is replicated!

Apart from the number of bedrooms and baths in your new house or condo, all these things, and many more help you choose exactly what you are looking for. When we search the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for you we can narrow down your criteria with much more detail than if you were to look on Zillow, Trulia, even Realtor.com.

Think of us as your personal Nordstrom assistance a la real estate! You call, stop by, email or text and we service your requirements! And most importantly for us to search for you is completely FREE, just like the Nordstrom way, if you don’t like what we show you, we’ll keep searching until we find that perfect house or condo that fits you perfectly!


Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

Home prices are rising in virtually every corner of the state. They've climbed for nine consecutive months, and in July posted a 10.4% gain year-over-year. That puts the state's median price at $315,000 -- nearly twice the national median of $183,000.
And the news is even better in coastal cities.

San Francisco posted the biggest gain of any U.S. metro over the past year, rising 14.3%. The median price there is now more than $607,000. Meanwhile, San Diego has climbed 11.2% (median price: $389,000) and Los Angeles jumped 9.2% (median price: $345,000).
Meanwhile, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- California's erstwhile bubble-state partners -- continue to struggle. So where is the Golden State's strength coming from?

"I think it comes from the fact that prices went down so far and so quick," said Lesley Appleton-Young, California Association of Realtors' chief economist. "That left a lot of people here saying, 'Wow, affordable California housing.'"
However, a quick home price rebound was delayed by the crush of foreclosures that accompanied the subprime mortgage meltdown. California real estate had become so expensive that a basic single-family home required many buyers to overextend themselves with exotic loans.

That is no longer the case. Most of the subprime-related distressed properties have been flushed from the system. And when a foreclosure does hit the market, it's snapped up. The median days it took to sell a home in July was just 44 -- lightening fast.

"It's the dearth of supply for distressed properties that has put pressure on home prices," said Appleton-Young. "More than half the homes on the market last year drew multiple offers."

Plus, the California economy is picking up. Even in a recession, it has remained one of the world's 10 largest economies, mainly because it is driven by every major industry -- aerospace, tech, software, finance, agriculture, tourism. So as more of those industries recover and employment picks up, demand for housing will jump.

"California is a much larger, stronger and more diversified economy than the other [bubble] states," according to Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA.

Courtesy of CNNMoney.


Jane LovedayWindermere
Real Estate Agent
Licence # 01439083
janeloveday@cox.net
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

San Diego Downtown Condos

San Diego Downtown condos were a hot commodity a few years ago, buildings were going up left and right. As of right now there are 442 San Diego Downtown condos for sale with a huge difference in prices!

The least expensive San Diego Downtown Condo is listed at just $144,900, it's a studio with stainless appliances and a monthly HOA fee of $410.00. The most expensive San Diego Downtown condo is listed at a mere $8,695.00 (see photo above) for 3 bedrooms and 4 baths, and a monthly HOA fee of $1,396.00 - yes that's right - over $1,000 a month!

The average list price per square foot for the least expensive San Diego Downtown condo is just $203.45 with the penthouse at $1,951.75!

The average asking price for a San Diego Downtown condo is $721,000, which makes for a variety of properties to choose from.

If you are interested in buying a condo in Downtown San Diego, let me know, I amhere, I can help!


Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

First-Time Home Buyers - Attention Please!

First-time home buyers are having a tough time - why? The tax credit has expired which encouraged all first-time home buyers to think about getting into their first home. Now prices are flattening out and first-time home buyers are thinking they are going to fall again.

When you hear talk of the median price of a home in the U.S. it is understandable, but that is like saying the median temperature in the U.S. is 60 degrees, when it could be 110 degrees in the deserts and 45 degrees in the Northern states. Prices are regional.

In San Diego, first-time home buyers have a great opportunity to get out and begin thinking again, we have a lot of homes for sale, our prices are stable, we aren't seeing any decreases in most areas, and the interest rate is at it's all time historic low, just over 4% for a 30 year fixed, and just over 3% for a 15 year fixed mortgage.

If you are thinking of buying, search the internet, search here for ALL the up-to-date property listings http://www.janeloveday.com or visit my First-Time Home Buyers page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiegoonline

I am here, I can help!

Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego