Project Homeowner

I’m sure by now you must have heard some news about a foreclosure prevention event going on in downtown San Jose this week but do these guys really help where most people have run into decline after decline to a modification request. I can’t really say that NACA will save your home from foreclosure but what I can tell you is what I have seen in my own experience with Project Homeowner.

Project Homeowner

A few years ago the Department of Real Estate and CHASE got together to create a traveling foreclosure prevention roadshow very similar to what you now see on a regular basis at events like the NACA one in San Jose.

• What has changed from few years ago is the investors willingness to participate in such events by allowing the borrower to modify.
• What hasn’t changed are the general guidelines of most investors and that is “Does this modification help the homeowner?”.

Project homeowner was revolutionary because it was able to bring the big lenders to the table (CHASE, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc…) and a few years ago lenders did not have staff on the ground to accommodate this need.

What NACA brings to the table

One of the reasons NACA has had much success nation wide is because of the media attention and I would imagine the lenders looking for an opportunity to create positive public relations impact with it’s homeowners.

Some things never change

The bottom line is this;

• If the lender owns the note(your loan) then your chances of a modification increase greatly. If an outside investor owns the note the bank must ask for investor for approval in order to modify your loan.
• Either way this scenario has not changed from past years and can dramatically increase your chances of a successful modification.

It doesn’t hurt to try

I received a call from a client over the weekend asking me if they should try to modify though NACA and may answer was “absolutely yes”. The great thing about this event is that most of the big lenders have staff to help escalate your situation to a level where the decision makers can help you get to your goal.

NACA Foreclosure Prevention infomration:

https://www.naca.com/index_main.jsp

April showers have been very good to one of my clients who participated in a garden home tour sponsored by the Santa Clara Water District. This is a perfect opportunity for San Jose homeowners to preview local gardens and explore the many possibilities without having to experiment on their back yard.

Jon and Janet’s Garden

Jon and Janet live in the Burbank area and  have seen their garden turn from dirt to a beautiful garden retreat after helping them buy their home. Among the many amazing accomplishments they have a self sustaining vegetable garden, an herb garden, a chicken coup, wild grasses and plants that need very little water, and a an Aquaponic garden fueled by a live fish tank.

Bay-Frendly Garden Tours

Jon and Janet will open their garden to the public this Sunday May 15th 2011 as part of a county wide garden tour.

Registration for Garden tour: http://www.bayfriendlycoalition.org

Gardening Resources

There are resources and gardening information for Santa Clara County home owners available to you from the following organization.

California Native Plant Society:  http://www.cnps.org

Going Native Garden Tour: http://www.gngt.org

Related articles

• Peninsula’s 9th Annual “Going Native” Garden Tour (naturalhistorywanderings.com)

Affordable housing and down payment and assistance programs are changing with the state budget deficit and elimination of the San Jose Redevelopment department.

First time homebuyers are now forced to look at the remaining Down Payment Assistance Programs(DAP) available though the rest of this year and for the foreseeable future.

The Santa Clara County Housing Trust has created a week long program to help you navigate through all the changes and help people in need of housing information. Among them we still have access to the 23 Million dollar grant for affordable housing and stabilization of the Santa Clara County communities.

Here is a list of available programs during affordable housing week.

Saturday, April 30

• All day: Rebuilding Together Day of Service – Home Rehabilitation for Seniors, Disabled and Families.

(Multiple sites in Santa Clara County) Contact: bjackson@rebuildingtogether-sv.org

• 10am – 6pm: 8-Hour Homebuyer Education Class, Project Sentinel

(San Jose) Rose Garden Library, 1580 Naglee Ave., San Jose.

Contact: mediate4us@housing.org

Tuesday, May 3

• 11am – MidPen Housing Fair Oaks Plaza Construction Tour. (Sunnyvale)

660 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Contact: kish@midpen-housing.org

• 1pm – 2pm; Palo Alto Housing Corp., tour of the Tree House.  (Palo Alto)

(currently under construction, hard hat area),  488 W. Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA.

Contact:cgonzalez@paloaltohousingcorp.org

• 6pm – 8pm: NHSSV Class, Foreclosure Intervention & Loan Modification.

(San Jose) Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95116.

Contact: jangulo@nhssv.org

Wednesday, May 4

• 8:30am to 3pm: Silicon Valley Housing Summit at Oshman Community Center (Palo Alto)

3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA. Hosted by Silicon Valley Leadership Group & Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. Contact: http://housingsummit2011.eventbrite.com

• 6pm – 8pm: Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, NSP Workshop (San Jose)

Santa Teresa Library, 290 International Circle, San Jose. Contact: Dan@housingtrustscc.org

• 6pm: South County Housing, Housing Fair (Morgan Hill)

Jasmine Square Community Rm., 16530 Monterey Rd., Morgan Hill, CA. Showcasing Madrone Plaza & Alexander Place. Contact: Robyn@scounty.com

Thursday, May 5

• 12pm – 1pm: Habitat for Humanity Construction Tour (Morgan Hill)

16804 Cory Drive, Morgan Hill, CA. Contact: espaulding@hfhsv.org

• 3pm – 5pm: Affordable Housing Resource Fair (Cupertino)

West Valley Community Services, 10104 Vista Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014
Contact:sarons@wvcommunityservices.org

• 6pm – 8pm: NHSSV Class, Homebuyer (San Jose)

Education & Orientation
Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95116
Contact:jangulo@nhssv.org

Friday, May 6

• 10am-11am: InnVision Villa Tour, (San Jose)

184 S. 11th St., San Jose, CA 95112. Contact:jburkhead@innvision.org

• 1pm – 2pm: Family Supportive Housing, Charities Housing & the Core Companies Three-Site Tour (San Jose)

686 N. King Rd. (Park on Dobbin St. at King). Showcasing Family Supportive Housing, Kings Crossing & Belovida. Contact:fwright@charitieshousing.org

Saturday, May 7

• 9am – 12 noon: First-time Homebuyer Seminar & Resource Fair, SILVAR & City of Cupertino Cupertino Community Hall, (Cupertino)

10350 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014. Contact: verag@cupertino.org

For More Information visit http://www.housingtrustscc.org/programs/nsp.php

Click here to download the flyer.

Related articles

• Mortgage assistance program questions answered (sfgate.com)
• Anti-Foreclosure Programs A Failure? (homeloans.org)
• Loan Mod Program Left Homeowners Fate in Hands of Dysfunctional Industry (propublica.org)

San Jose's Premere Jazz Festival this weekend

Its been a yearly tradition and the Jazz Festival arrives this weekend. For those of you who have not attended its well worth the trip out to one of San Jose’s Iconic events. I have personally experienced the joy of the many stages of this grand festival my favorite being the Latin Jazz stage. Among the most popular stages you will find are the main stage in Cesar Chavez Park and the HOT HOT HOT Salsa stage. The festival begins tomorrow Friday August 7th -9th. Weekend passes are available. Hope to see you out there.

San Jose Jazz Fest Website: Click Here