Chicago Title Company has been tracking the Bank/Mortgagee Real Estate Owned properties (properties taken back in foreclosure) in the three marketing areas of north Santa Barbara County. The results quantify that real estate markets are localized. What is happening in the Lompoc Valley and Santa Maria Valley troubled real estate markets is not happening in the Santa Ynez Valley market.

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Many people ask me if they should sell their home now, or wait a few months or a few years for the market to recover. During uncertain times, people tend to adopt a “let’s wait and see” approach – after all, it’s human nature. Unfortunately, this instinct doesn’t serve most homeowners, who should really be asking themselves the more difficult question: What will I NET if I sell my house now versus later? (more…)

The last time I ran the market data regarding the number of months of inventory available, (approx. September, 2007), the $0-1 million price range had 10.9 months of inventory.

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All real estate is local! “South County” real estate is doing very nicely thank you! With only 40 foreclosures total on the South Coast in the whole of 2007, there is no tipping point here to bring values down any further. (Those foreclosures have, for the most part, been purchased, not sitting unsold as is happening in other locales.) Indeed, only 2 local areas have had downturns in their median prices over the past 3-4 years: Carpinteria and Goleta, both down around 15%. Santa Barbara’s median price has remained steady for 3 years at $1,015,000-$1,050,000 and Montecito has enjoyed a “non-downturn” adding around10% to its median price each year for the past 4 years.
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Pertinent information from Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, delivered by our Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service: A bill likely to raise the conforming loan amount from $417,000 to $729,000 is due to be signed into law today!!!

This is even more good financial news for folks looking for an opportunity to buy a home in today’s market!!
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The city of Santa Barbara has passed a new law that requires all homes to have their sewer lateral inspected if they are extensively remodeling their home or have significant cracks that the city staff is aware of. Although the city does not require buyers or sellers to inspect the lateral during escrow I along with the city highly recommend doing so.

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A good way to start is by visiting homes for sale in the vicinity of your home. See how they are presented. Are they clean? Are they staged? Do they have pets and consequently pet odor? After you visit several homes, you will see what jumps out at you as clean and appealing or uninviting and cluttered. It is always a learning experience to see how other homes are kept. Then go back to your home and clean, clean, clean. If it’s broken…..have it repaired. If you think it’s clean……..clean it again. When people are deciding whether or not to buy your home as opposed to the one down the street or across town, an inviting and organized home is always a winner.

AARP defines a senior as a person age 50 or older and states, every 7 seconds an American turns 50!

The Seniors Real Estate Specialist designation was developed to focus on the needs of home buyers and sellers age 50 and older. It is awarded only to Realtors who have successfully completed the SRES education program.

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REO stands for Real Estate Owned. It is a term banks use for property they have acquired through the foreclosure process. In California the foreclosure process takes about 4 months, and is usually initiated by the bank after a monthly payment or two is delinquent. When the foreclosure sale occurs, the opening bid is what is owed to the bank, which includes the original loan plus missed payments, late charges and penalties, foreclosure costs, taxes and more. The person who wants to buy the foreclosure property at this sale auction must have all cash (or cashier’s checks). The opening bid is often more than the current market value. Usually the property goes back to the bank and becomes an REO. Generally it is then listed on the open market and competes with other properties for sale.

Whether you plan to own your house long-term, want to fix up a dump and sell it for big bucks or are just looking for a little change in your surroundings, knowing what to improve, what to gut and where to start are always challenging decisions. It is best to examine every room in the house and address either the area you frequent the most or the one that has forced your hand (How much longer can you wash the dishes in the bathtub?). The first two things you need to consider are your budget and time line.

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