San Jose Real Estate * Santa Clara County * Richard Gonzalez * Real Estate Silicon Valley Broker Blog – News, Views, and Opinions

Mortgage Protection for Silicon Valley homebuyers

The California Association of REALTORS has decided to extend this offer to 2010 and while the media continues to announce the Federal tax credit I am concerned that message is not getting out to everyone. Most buyers are unaware of this great program for first time homebuyers and have not registered themselves for this complementary program.

I have even talked to REALTORS who are unaware of this program and should be advocates for this piece of mind. The program is available to all first time homebuyers who used a REALTOR and are member of the California Association of REALTORS.

If you already closed escrow you can still take advantage of this program by filling out the application and including a copy of your purchase contract and HUD 1 final closing statement.

Whats the benefit you say?

Through the C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund’s Mortgage Protection Program, first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 per month, for six months, to help make their mortgage payments. A qualified co-buyer also can participate in the program, and receive a monthly benefit of $750 per month for up to six months.

Who Qualifies?

• TO QUALIFY FOR THE MORTGAGE PROTECTION PROGRAM APPLICANTS MUST: ·
  
• Be a first-time home buyer – someone who has not owned property in the last three years (includes co-buyer).
• Open escrow April 2, 2009, or later, and close on or before December 31, 2010 (purchase agreement cannot be dated before April 2, 2009)

• Use a California REALTOR® in the transaction (fee for referral does not qualify)

• Purchase the property in California

• Be a W-2 employee (cannot be self-employed)

Fill it out sign it, have your REALTOR sign it and mail it. It’s as simple as that. Don’t forget to add this to your list when you close escrow.

http://www.car.org/members/hafmainpage/carhafmortgageprotection/

Michael and his son stand in front of their new home

I met Michael years ago and would say hello to him from time to time. Little did I know that Michael would inspire me in the way that he did when I handed him the keys to his new home.

You see about a year ago Michael had a stroke and it changed his life. Michael is a hard working single parent of two great kids. His Daughter just started college at SFU and his son lives with Michael.

The best part of this story is that Michael triumphed over his predicament and ultimately made changes in his life to prevent a reoccurrence of a stroke.  One of the decisions that Michael made was to become a homeowner early this year and as a result contacted me. Michael was looking for a home under$250,000; a challenging task especially because this has been the hottest price range in 2009 and the competition is fierce.

After months of looking and making offers we were successful in finding a cool little 2 bed 1 bath remodeled home in Gilroy. The story doesn’t end there; we now had to navigate though the short sale gauntlet once we were successful in getting into contract.

Among some of the challenges we faced were appraisal issues and loan approval hurdles to overcome with the seller’s Short Sale investor. The entire process took three months to close escrow.

Michael’s faith and patience played a large role in helping him realize his homeownership dream. Thank you Michael for showing me that prayer, perseverance, and patience are the keys to life.

I’m so happy for you and your family. You are a wonderful role model and a hard working father. This will be a very happy Christmas for you.

Note: Michael is eligible for the Federal tax credit and I signed him up for the complementary California Association of REALTORS housing affordability fund. The C.A.R. fund is available through the end of the year and pays his mortgage up to $1,500 for six months should Michael lose his job or as a result of an injury. The only requirement is that Michael purchases his home with the assistance of a REALTOR.

Silicon valley Bidding War is Back

This mercury news article takes a tour of  the Silicon Valley housing market and affirms what all full time real estate brokers have been experiencing over the last 90 days. “The bidding war is back”  states the headline in this article and to say the least is a true  statement that describes the current housing environment.

Buyers beware; low ball offers will only end up in one frustration after another because of cash coming in from overseas investors and low interest rate loans.

Other buyers are doing their best to time the market and have been in the trenches for months on end. My suggestion to those of you caught up in this market is stay positive and be persistent.

Read Article Here

Newlywed Couple's Journey to Home Ownership

I recently posted a story of the challenges some of our first time home buyers are experiencing and wanted to give you an update on a young newlywed couples journey to home ownership.

“19 offers and counting” was the comment one of my agents made as her client rushed in to our office, signed several documents and ran out all in less than 5 minutes.

Normally we take the time to cover the terms of the contract but no need at this juncture in the process because the terms haven’t changed, only the names of the sellers and the property address.

The general criteria is the same,

• Homes listed between $250,000 and $300,000
• FHA loan product with 3.5% down payment
• 3 bedroom 2 bath in good condition
• Anything in San Jose

The challenge is the lack of available loan products and as such FHA, USDA, and Conventional loans are the name of the game. With that comes the bottle neck of underwriting guidelines choking the loan approval system to the point that it can take anywhere from 45 to 60 days in most cases to close a transaction.

Far too long of a wait for some sellers and riskier for some bank owned properties (REO) who have sustained multiple levels of losses in the process of recovering their investment and who can blame them?

Perseverance, expectation, and faith are the driving forces that will eventually get this couple into their home. A dream of homeownership that will be rewarded to those willing to keep their feet grounded and emotions in check in an ever changing market environment such as the one we are experiencing now.

To complicate the situation investor buyers are dropping cash as a means of wiping out the competition and further complicating the process of finding a home.

More to come in future posts about this newlywed couple’s journey to home ownership.