Fremont Real Estate Blog

Rates are amazingly low.   If you bought   a house for $500,000 with 20% down and got a 30yr fixed at 4.375% your monthly payment would be $2,397.   At 6% your monthly payment becomes $2,878 or $481 higher per month. So you’re saving $5,772 per year and over 30 years that equates to $173,160.   Mortgage Rates for 30-Year Loans Decline to Record 4.36%, Freddie Mac Says   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-26/mortgage-rates-for-30-year-loans-decline-to-record-4-36-freddie-mac-says.html  

Here’s a link to get a 10% off coupon from Lowes.     http://www.lowes.com/cd_Coupon+Registration_253641591_ SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pkwy Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com    CA DRE#: 01173766  

Sunil Sethi SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE (510) 200-0505 2224 Peacock Pl, Union City, CA Great Investment Property or 1st Time Buyer near UC Bart 2BR/1BA Single Family House offered at $150,000 Year Built 1972 Sq Footage 903 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $270 per month DESCRIPTION Regular Sale - (not REO or Short sale). Great Starter Home. Good size bedrooms. Easy Access to San Mateo and Dumbarton Bridges. Walk to Union City Bart, Shopping, Grocery stores (Safeway and Marina Foods). Best Dim Sum you'll find in the Tri-cities (Mayflower). Walk to Quarry lakes, Union City Library and other activities. more pictures/info www.sunilsethi.com/Listings/2224-Peacock-Pl-Union-City-CA.htm see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Living room - Dining room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven COMMUNITY FEATURES - Covered parking - Laundry on-site - Swimming pool(s) OPEN HOUSE SAT/SUN AUG 28/29 2PM-4PM ADDITIONAL PHOT

CAR passed me this nice article.   Appraisal sites on Net often fail to pin down accurate prices Over the last five years, one of the newest developments in real estate is the ability for home buyers and sellers to search online for a home’s value.  Popular Web sites such as Zillow.com, Cyberhomes.com, and Eppraisal.com offer free home estimates, but some consumers and real estate industry professionals say the values calculated often are inaccurate and misleading.   MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY Online home appraisal Web sites assign home values without knowing the features or upgrades of a home or the neighborhood in which it is located.  Some Web sites offer a price range of $20,000 - $40,000 more or less than the actual value of the home. Since housing markets are local and not every home of a certain size is the same value, consumers can be misled into believing a home is worth more or less than the actual value.  Working with a local REA

Got this from tip from Old Republic Home Warranty Home Maintenance Tip - Tennis, Anyone? Do you have tennis balls just sitting around losing their bounce? Here are some creative ways to use them without ever setting foot on the court. Cut an X in a tennis ball and slip it over the end of an old broom handle. Rub the ball over scuff marks on your wood or hard surface floors, and voila...they're gone...with no bending, stooping or scrubbing! Got a light bulb that broke off in the socket? Carefully clear away any remaining shards of glass, then gently push a tennis ball against the light socket and twist to remove the bulb's embedded stem. Cut an X in a tennis ball and slip it over the head of a hammer. Now you're less likely to ding up fragile or expensive wood. Cut a tennis ball in half and use one of the sides to open those stubborn jars. In the garage, hang a tennis ball on a string from the ceiling

This was passed to me by a lender, and it’s got some helpful tidbits on FHA. -sunil   Hello,   Here are some helpful information about FHA loans:   If the borrower is able to deposit their gift funds from an immediate family member before the actual application date, once the offer is accepted then the lender does not require the complete  paper trail requirement , which makes it more convenient for the buyer . The lender will require an executed gift fund letter only.   If you have two borrowers and one borrower does not have any credit score, a FHA loan will accept this, as long as the other borrower has a minimum 620 credit score **If you have a borrower that has valid credit scores then most lenders (not all) will require a minimum 620 credit score   Energy Efficient Mortgage *The cost of energy efficient improvements that may eligible for financing into the mortgage is the greater of 5% of the sal

TransUnion: Mortgage Delinquencies Drop for Second Straight Quarter The national mortgage delinquency rate - measuring the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days behind on their payments - fell again in the second quarter of 2010, suggesting credit conditions in the housing sector have begun to stabilize, according to TransUnion. Data released Tuesday by the credit bureau show that the national delinquency rate dropped to 6.67 percent in Q2. That's down from 6.77 percent during the previous three-month period, which marked the first time in 12 quarters that TransUnion recorded a decline in mortgage delinquencies. read more   -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com CA DRE#: 01173766  

Per the California Association of Realtors: As of this writing, California’s first-time home buyer tax credit expired effective midnight, August 15. That announcement came after the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) realized it had received more than enough applications to cover the $100 million allocated for eligible first-time home buyers. It is encouraging to learn that more than 33,000 Californians have taken advantage of this credit. When working with your buyers, keep in mind that the FTB will continue to accept applications for the state’s New Home Credit. As of this writing, the state had received 12,090 reservation requests and applications, which is expected to utilize nearly 80 percent of the $100 million allocated to this program. The FTB will stop accepting applications for that program once it determines it has received sufficient applications and requests. You can follow that tax credit’s status at http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/New_Home_Credit.shtml . -sunil SUNIL SETHI

If you’re thinking of selling some capital gain property 2010 may be a better option for you over 2011, and thereafter.   Read more here: http://blog.marcusmillichap.com/2010/08/15/capital-gains-tax-set-to-rise-at-year-end-transaction-activity/     -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com CA DRE#: 01173766  

No New Foreclosure Wave in Sight for California: Report Foreclosure activity in California was again mixed last month, according to ForeclosureRadar. The company's latest report shows that foreclosure filings and cancellations dropped in July after rising the month before, while foreclosure sales rose. But even with the wrong indicators heading upward and a large "shadow inventory" of properties in default, ForeclosureRadar says it doesn't expect the foreclosure picture in the Golden State to worsen any time soon, namely because it currently takes lenders 226 days to complete the process. READ MORE   -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com CA DRE#: 01173766  

I just changed insurance companies after being with AAA for 10 years for my home policy. I have nothing against AAA, but Sunny sits in the office next to me and he finally convinced me to change. Yesterday when I mentioned a client of mine had a metal roof, he started talking about how they’re given  levels of rating by Underwriter Labs (UL).  The better the roof, the bigger the discount offered on the home insurance policy. See his letter below. ------   Hi Sunil, Welcome to the American National Family, I really appreciate you giving me a chance to be of service to you and am looking forward to our friendship for the times to come.   For your clients who need roof replacement, they should be aware that there is UL rating given to roofs and American National gives an extra discount for the insurance premium based on roofs with better UL ratings.  Other insurance companies probably offer that discount as well.  Documentation is needed to get the discount.  Ask the contrac

It was amazing to see the community come out this past weekend to support "stuff the bus" .  School supplies were purchased by the bag fulls and donated to New Haven Unified School District , which will be inventoried and divided equally among the schools.  Although unfortunate that the school district must resort to asking for school supplies because of budget cuts, it's comforting to see the community's support.  Thanks to all the volunteers who were out in full force to make the event possible: Rick La Plante, Tony Prestella, Cheri Benafield , Barbara Aro-Valle , Abhi Brar , Art & Cheryl Kuhlmann, Hui Stevens, Marsha Badella , Bill Stone, Irma Pere, Teresa Ybarra, Steven Fong , Juan "Alice" Sundberg, Ken Young, Jean Harper , Artria Lewis, Caroline Perez, Sarabjit Cheema , Emily Delgado, Cathie Kelly , John Hazatone, Tommie McCray, Bridget Swan , Rena & Joseph Cota , Rinkoo Chadha, Marcus Lam , Julie Zhu, Ramon Amequita, Annie Zaragarian, Jo

Fannie Mae Launches Online Resource for Struggling Homeowners Fannie Mae has rolled out a new interactive online resource for homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments. It's KnowYourOptions.com, and it's designed to be a virtual one-stop-shop for anyone facing financial hardship and in need of a foreclosure prevention solution. Eight months in the making, the site offers tools and guidance for refinancing, repayment plans, forbearance, modifications, Fannie Mae's Deed-for-Lease program, short sales, and deeds-in-lieu.   -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com CA DRE#: 01173766  

Fannie Mae's Serious Delinquency Rate Falls for Third Straight Month The percentage of loans 90 or more days past due held by the nation's largest mortgage company has declined for three months in a row. According to a new monthly summary report released by Fannie Mae on Friday, the GSE's single-family serious delinquency rate dropped 15 basis points to 5.15 percent in May. That follows a decline of 17 basis points in April and 12 basis points in March. The March reading was the first time Fannie’s delinquency rate had dropped since March 2007, when it was a mere 0.62 percent.   -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com CA DRE#: 01173766  

Fed Raises Fee Amount for TILA and HOEPA Disclosures The Federal Reserve has decided to raise the dollar amount of mortgage fees that trigger additional regulatory disclosure requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA). On Friday, the central bank's board of governors issued an adjustment to the rule, bumping the amount of the fee-based trigger up 2 percent to $592, effective January 1, 2011. Currently that threshold is set at $579.   -sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Sunil Sethi / Broker, President, REALTOR, MBA / SUNIL SETHI  REAL ESTATE 38750 Paseo Padre Pwky Suite B3 / Fremont, CA 94536 www.sunilsethi.com   CA DRE#: 01173766