Newport Beach Real Estate

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Crystal Cove Real Estate ~ Market Update

Posted: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:42:02 +0000

Just a few days ago I was asked by someone about current values and my opinions about Crystal Cove real estate.

Aside from the anomaly of one recently sold property, selling prices have held slightly above $1,000 per square foot for Crystal Cove homes.

In a nutshell, I think between now and the first of the New Year is an excellent time to buy. The new Obama administration has stated the economy is the top priority. What is the foundation of the economy? The housing market. They will be doing their best to shore up the sagging housing market. As this happens, people will begin to feel more confident about purchasing a home. I think if these things happen, the window of opportunity will begin to close for our local market. By window of opportunity, I mean what Buyers are looking for now - a deal.

In Crystal Cove, we have seen the inventory grow, with sellers not reducing their prices. Crystal Cove real estate is one of the last to be battered and will be one of the first to stand back up. Sellers, who have been stubborn to begin with, will become rigid with their prices as the available number of properties dwindles.

A couple of months ago, 51% of the homes offered for sale were also for lease. To me, this is telling. Sellers who are well heeled, who don’t have to sell are saying, “If I can’t sell it, I’ll lease. I have watched this happen to several Crystal Cove homes. They were leased. The sellers will wait for a better day to sell their Crystal Cove real estate.

Today, I am advising people not to look at the sticker price, but to find the home that works for them, and then, see if the seller will come close to a price the buyer is willing to pay. There are properties that do not look like a “Deal” based on the asking price, but when I talk to listing agents, I hear a different story. Many, if not most, sellers in Crystal Cove say, “If they don’t like the price, why don’t they make an offer?” Many sellers just do not want to lower the price. Right or wrong, this is the prevalent thinking in the Crystal Cove real estate market.

What to do? With the current historic low interest rates and a large inventory of available homes in Crystal Cove - WoW! Find your dream home in Crystal Cove. Contact your Crystal Cove Realtor and make an offer. You never know, you just might end up with a deal.

My definition of a deal is any home you purchase today five years from now in Crystal Cove real estate.
Newport Beach Real Estate ~ I Voted ~ Did You?

Posted: Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:42:57 +0000

No matter your location, be it Newport Beach, Newport Coast or Corona Del Mar real estate - Orange County, California - Heck, let’s go large here — United States of America, listen up — Today is the day to have your say, cast your Vote!

I got out early and voted. The photo below is my sticker, which I wear proudly today.

Please don’t sit on the sidelines, get out and VOTE. It’s your country. Be proud, take interest and VOTE!
Newport Beach Real Estate ~ Notices of Defaults and Trustee Sales

Posted: Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:59:46 +0000

Today, when I meet people looking at Newport Beach, Newport Coast and Corona Del Mar real estate, I am frequently asked about how are the areas holding up against the Foreclosure storm. While we do have Notices of Defaults and Trustee sales, we are not experiencing the problems as seen in other parts of Orange County.

Below is data provided by DataQuick Informations Systems and reflects Residential, 1-4 units. The charts are for the period between 2006 and October 14, 2008.

As your Newport Beach Realtor, I am happy to provide information which enables you to make informed decisions about your Newport Beach real estate. I hope you find the charts useful.
Newport Beach Real Estate Checklist for Moving

Posted: Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:28:07 +0000

Even in Newport Beach Real Estate we need to have checklists. Recently, I visited a home where the lady of the house had checklists for everything. Her husband loved and hated it! I have created a Checklist for Moving just for you when the day comes to hit the trail. It’s pretty handy - you can download it here!

When moving day arrives and you feel a little less hectic because of the Checklist for Moving, you can thank your Newport Beach Real Estate agent for helping out just a little. By the way, if you are thinking of selling your Newport Beach home, just give me a call. I’m here to help.
12 Common Credit Report Myths

Posted: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:24:40 +0000

In these troubled economic times, when discussing Newport Beach Real Estate with customers, the topic turns to loans, which of course, turns into a conversation about credit scores. Banks are putting prospective borrowers under a microscope. Your credit score is where they begin their investigation of you.

I found this report on Bankrate.com. I hope you find it useful.

Here’s a look at 12 common credit report myths and what the truth really is:

1. Paying my debts will make my credit report instantly pristine.

2. I must give permission for a company to see my credit report.

3. Credit counseling always destroys my credit score.

4. Canceling credit cards boosts my score.

5. Too many inquiries hurt my score.

6. Checking my own credit report harms my standing.

7. FICO scores are locked in for six months.

8. I don’t need to check my credit report if I pay my bills on time.

9. All credit reports are the same.

10. A divorce decree automatically severs joint accounts.

11. Bad news comes off in seven years.

12. I can always pay someone to fix or repair my credit.

1. Paying my debts will make my credit report instantly pristine.

A credit report is a history of your payments, not just a snapshot of where you are at the moment, says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public affairs for Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies. As the author of the popular Web column “Ask Max,” she continuously reminds people that you can’t change the past.

2. I must give permission for a company to see my credit report.

It’s scary, but the fact is that unless it’s for employment purposes, your signature or consent is irrelative.

3. Credit counseling always destroys my credit score.

Attending a credit counselor’s debt management program is not considered negative in the scoring models.

“We don’t want consumers to consider credit counseling to be detrimental to their FICO scores,” says Craig Watts, public affairs manager at Fair Isaac Corp., the company that developed the FICO score.

However, if the credit counselor negotiates a lesser contractual obligation, the lender decides how it wants to report that. So if your $500 monthly payment is refigured for $300, the creditor may either legally report that as $200 in arrears every month or reward you for not filing bankruptcy by reporting the account as up to date.

“As long as the accounts are delinquent and not brought up to date, it will be viewed negatively by lenders,” says Deborah McNaughton, owner of Professional Credit Counselors and author of “The Get Out of Debt Kit.” However, she says, “If everything is current, whether it’s a home loan or not, they’re not going to view it as negative. The FICO scores are not affected by it.” The credit score system ignores any reference to credit counseling that may be in your file.

Although credit counseling does not by itself influence your credit score, it is apparent on the report that you’ve been through, or are currently in, counseling — and that is something individual lenders may not like. Or they might never know.

“If they looked manually at your credit report and saw that debts were being repaid through a debt management program, they probably wouldn’t open a new account for you,” Sweet says. Of course, “you shouldn’t be opening a new account if you’re in a debt management plan.” However, most lenders these days will never see your actual report. “They don’t look at reports manually anymore,” Sweet says. “Some small creditors might, but most of any size use automated scoring systems of one model or another.”

Once you’ve successfully emerged from credit counseling with your formerly tattered credit pieced back together, the history of consistent payments is what matters the most. “Even mortgage lenders will work with consumers who have successfully gone through debt management counseling and will work to get them a mortgage,” McNaughton says.

4. Canceling credit cards boosts my score.

Open accounts spells available, potential debt, so better to close them, runs the legend. But experts agree that most creditors want to see at least two or three pieces of active credit to prove you can manage debt responsibly. And, Watts chimes in, those unused cards lying in your jewelry box aren’t wreaking havoc with your score. “The myth is that they look ominous to potential lenders,” he says. “Reality is that paying your bills on time and not being overextended is more important than having $5,000 worth of available credit on a card you’re not using. We continue to evaluate this ‘open to buy’ statistic, and we simply don’t find it falling into one of those highly predictive areas.”

On the other hand, extremes never look good. Opening one charge account occasionally to take advantage of a 10 percent offer is negligible. Going wild and signing up for five during the holiday season probably would invite a decreased score, he says.

5. Too many inquiries hurt my score.

Once upon a time, this statement was true. But get with the times — in this millennium, the credit agencies recognize a shopping mind-set when they see one. If a batch of mortgage or car loan inquiries arrives within 30 days, it doesn’t count at all, Watts says.

“Outside that 30-day period, if we locate a mortgage or car inquiry that occurred 180 days ago, and then see more mortgage- or auto-related hits in the accompanying 14-day window, we err on the consumer’s side and still assume she’s shopping for one item,” he says.

“We really feel like we are capturing the true consumer experience and not holding it against them for being an aggressive or smart rate shopper.”

Furthermore, there’s no such thing as some fixed number of points associated with these inquiries, Watts says.

“Inevitably when a consumer or a lender evaluates a credit file, they think this item must be worth 20 points, this is worth 100 points,” he says. “In reality we design the FICO scoring model so that each credit report item is given a reasonable or statistically valid number of points.”

In English, that means FICO is designed to predict the likelihood that you’ll fall seriously behind in repaying one of your creditors within the next two years. Some things have predictive value and some don’t. Inquiries fall in the middle. “They’re not incredibly predictive, so they’re in the model but they don’t drive the boat,” Watts says.

6. Checking my own credit report harms my standing.

The reporting agencies distinguish between soft and hard pulls. When Target calls to check before issuing its line of credit, the agencies chalk that up as a hard pull and it counts against your score. Personal requests and credit counselors — if they do it correctly, so insist on this as part of your agreement terms — fall under soft pulls, which do not reflect negatively on the evaluation. Using a company that promises credit reports as a perk can turn this myth into a self-fulfilling prophecy, however, McNaughton says. Because they are merchants in disguise, their freebie costs you. Citizens must go directly to the three bureaus if they want a soft pull. Ditto FICO. “Pulling your credit scores is quite empowering,” says Watts. “You have a choice: You can either be very aggressive with your credit management and pull your score with some regularity or take a more passive approach once a year to see how all those credit cards are actually doing.”

7. FICO scores are locked in for six months.

Fair Isaac Corp.’s models are dynamic, meaning that your FICO score changes as soon as data on your credit report change. “When we calculate a score, for all intents and purposes it then goes away and is recalculated the next time someone pulls your file,” says Watts.

8. I don’t need to check my credit report if I pay my bills on time.

When the Consumer Federation of America and the National Credit Reporting Association analyzed credit scores in the summer of 2002, they discovered that 78 percent of the files were missing a revolving account in good standing, while 33 percent of files lacked a mortgage account that had never been late. Twenty-nine percent contained conflicting information on how many times the consumer had been 60 days late on payments. “There can be a lot of other activity going on that you don’t have any clue about,” McNaughton says. In her experience, 80 percent of all credit reports have erroneous information ranging from a wrong birth date to accounts you never applied for.

9. All credit reports are the same.

Way wrong. These days, most creditors across the country do report their information to all three major agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. But “that was not true in the past,” Sweet says. And, because they are separate companies, the speed in which they update records isn’t necessarily equal.

Additionally, the agencies use inquiry activity to update your address, phone numbers, employment status and the like. Because creditors typically pull only one company’s report, it’s possible that, say, TransUnion doesn’t show your current address.

According to McNaughton, she’s never seen a client yet for whom all three reports spit out the same records and scores.

10. A divorce decree automatically severs joint accounts.

The judge may have rubber-stamped your plans to divide credit card, car and house payments, but that carries absolutely no legal weight with the creditors themselves, Sweet says.

“We see so many people who, a year or two after the divorce, are just outraged and hurt because their credit report reflects their ex-spouse’s missed payments,” she says.

Unfortunately, at that point, they are helpless to erase the damage.

Divorcing parties must contact the creditors and either close current accounts or have the booted name sign a letter of consent for this action. And assuming certain debts isn’t a unilateral decision on your part, says Sweet. Creditors typically do a credit check on your name and if they don’t deem you financially stable enough to assume that $30,000 car loan, for instance, they won’t agree to remove the other person.

11. Bad news comes off in seven years.

Some of it does. Chapter 13 (reorganization of debt) disappears seven years from the filing date. But if you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (exoneration of all debt), the window is 10 years from the filing date.

On the good-news side, accounts in bankruptcy can be deleted seven years after the date of your first missed payment, so those individual pieces may disappear before the word “bankruptcy” on your report. And if you pay off or close an account that had no delinquencies or problems, it, too, remains on the record for 10 years rather than the previous seven, say Experian experts. Again, this means positive information hangs around longer, as a consumer benefit.

12. I can always pay someone to fix or repair my credit.

Yes, you can clear up erroneous information posted to your account, such as a repossessed car that you didn’t purchase in the first place, but if you paid your Sears bill three months late in 1997, that’s a hard fact.

Companies claiming to fix your credit deliver on their promises by generating a flood of dispute letters to the credit reporting agencies, which in turn ask the creditor to verify or document the entry. If they cannot, the listing must come off at that time. But if the creditor later does verify or document it, the agency slaps it right back into the file after 30 days.
HOPE for Homeowners

Posted: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:43:16 +0000

While many folks in the areas of Newport Beach Real Estate might not need assistance with their home mortgages, there will be some that will need help to keep their homes. If you do need help, the following information might be useful to you.

Signed into law in July, the Federal Housing Administration’s HOPE for Homeowners program began October 1. While it was debated for several months before being approved, it’s been a bit overshadowed by the $700 billion bailout bill. The program, which will offer 30-year fixed mortgages, will end on September 30, 2011. It’s expected that it will be a few weeks before consumers can take advantage of the program because banks just recently received the details. There is also some speculation on how many lenders will actually use of the program. To be eligible for the program, borrowers must meet the following qualifications as listed on the FHA website: Borrowers are encouraged to contact their lender to determine eligibility, but may be eligible if, among other factors:

• The home is their primary residence, and they have no ownership interest in any other residential property, such as second homes.
• Their existing mortgage was originated on or before January 1, 2008, and they have made at least six payments.
• They are not able to pay their existing mortgage without help.
• As of March 2008, their total monthly mortgage payments due were more than 31 percent of their gross monthly income.
• They certify they have not been convicted of fraud in the past 10 years, intentionally defaulted on debts, and did not knowingly or willingly provide material false information to obtain their existing mortgage(s).

HOPE for Homeowners also includes the following provisions:

• The loan amount may not exceed a maximum of $550,440.
• The new mortgage will be no more than 90 percent of the new appraised value including any financed Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium.
• The Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium is 3 percent and the Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium is 1.5 percent.
• The holders of existing mortgage liens must waive all prepayment penalties and late payment fees.
• The existing first mortgage must accept the proceeds of the HOPE for Homeowners loan as full settlement of all outstanding indebtedness.
• Existing subordinate lenders must release their outstanding mortgage liens.
• Standard FHA policy regarding closing costs applies, and they may be:
o Financed into the new loan provided the value of the mortgage (including the Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium) does not exceed 90 percent of the new appraised value of the home.
o Paid from the borrowers’ own assets.
o Paid by the servicing lender or third party (e.g., federal, state, or local program).
o Paid by the originating lender through premium pricing.
o The borrower must agree to share with FHA both the equity created at the beginning of this new mortgage and any future appreciation in the value of the home.
o The borrower cannot take out a second mortgage for the first five years of the loan, except under certain circumstances for emergency repairs.

For more information, you can go to http://www.hud.gov/hopeforhomeowners/ — the updated website for the HOPE for Homeowners program.

With some luck and, hopefully, some smart moves from the government, we will come out the other side of this crisis and once again, feel great about our investments in Newport Beach real estate.
Newport Beach Real Estate Shows Increasing Property Values

Posted: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:32:51 +0000

While the housing “Crisis” is souring the taste for real estate in the country and parts of Orange County, three Newport Beach ZIP codes have increased in value! Showing Newport Beach real estate is resilient, and maybe, one could surmise, this is the first sign of the bottom that so many people are looking for.

Recently reported by The Daily Pilot, and according to information compiled by DataQuick, home prices have risen in only seven of the 82 Orange County ZIP codes in the past year. Newport Beach real estate accounted for three of the seven ZIP codes with increased property values. The winning Newport Beach ZIP codes are: 92660, 92661 and 92662.

Buyers beware - once sellers get wind of increasing prices watch out - they may not be so willing to drop the price. Get off the fence and make an offer!
If I Can’t Sell, I’ll Lease!

Posted: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:39:21 +0000

Today, more and more I am hearing these words, “If I can’t sell, I’ll lease”. Tough minded or unrealistic sellers are deciding to become landlords rather than price a home to sell. To be fair, even if a home is priced to sell, it still may sit. In Newport Beach real estate this is true, but in Crystal Cove real estate this is especially true.

Recently, a Los Angeles Times story discussed the realities of sellers becoming a landlords. This article made me curious about our local market - what is the percentage of homes for sale vs. homes for lease? More importantly, what does it mean?

I set about looking at the number of homes on the market and homes for lease in the four major local markets: Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Newport Coast and Crystal Cove.

What I found was interesting:

1) Corona Del Mar, 21% of the homes on the market are for lease

2) Newport Beach, 31%

3) Newport Coast, 35%

4) Crystal Cove, 51%

When I first came up with these numbers I wasn’t sure what to make of them - I’m thinking, ok, so what? What does this mean? During a conversation with a client, we were discussing seller mentality - like so many people I speak with, posed the question, if they have it on the market, and they say, they are motivated to sell, why is it not priced to sell? I started thinking about my numbers - Ah ha! Here is a thought…in Corona Del Mar real estate, homes are selling, people want to live there and as you can see, it’s a tight rental market.

Contrast CDM with Crystal Cove real estate and you get a different picture and draw some interesting conclusions: Crystal Cove in general has well-heeled owners. Many of these folks have two, three or more homes. So, it’s safe to say, while they would like to sell, most would say they don’t “Have” to sell. They sit tight on price, telling their real estate professionals to just tell people to make an offer. The sellers have now, in mass, it seems, to have taken the attitude of well, if I can’t sell it, I’ll lease it and wait for a better day. With a whopping 51% of the homes on the market in Crystal Cove for lease the numbers appear to support the, “Wait for a better day” approach.
Free Air = More Green in Your Pockets

Posted: Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:11:03 +0000

With all the fuss about air pressure in your tires between McCain and Obama, one thing seems to have gotten lost in the back and forth jabs — it works! Correct tire air pressure does improve gas mileage. If you find yourself at the gas station and just can’t stand the idea of paying for air - don’t! Just go up to the window and tell the station attendant to turn on the air pump. Stations are required by state law to provide free air and water to customers who buy gas and diesel. That’s right - Free Air! The next time you are driving around the streets checking out Newport Beach real estate, take time to check out your tires. The money you save can be used to go out and buy yourself a tire pressure guage to keep in your car - or buy a bigger house!
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On ~ 5.4 Earthquake Jolts Newport Beach

Posted: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:30:06 +0000

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook Newport Beach at 11:42 AM today. The epicenter was located near Chino Hills. Within thirty minutes of the quake, more than a dozen aftershocks were reported. No reports of damage to Newport Beach Real Estate have been reported.

When everything settles down, owners of Newport Beach Real Estate should take a look at their homes for new foundation or stucco cracks. There are some great new tools and products to fill cracks. It’s always a good idea to check around the house after an earthquake.

Do you have an automatic gas shut-off valve? I’ll write about that later. Stay tuned!