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Welcome to Our Website!
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Home Market Snapshots Now Available
Our website includes monthly Home Market Snapshots for the 19 Zip Codes in Chino, Claremont, Fontana, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, and Upland. (See list at right.)
Each Snapshot includes details about current listings, homes in escrow, and the price ranges of home sales during the past 60 days. Each Snapshot has a chart showing median home price changes since January 2008 and the number of pre-foreclosures, homes scheduled for foreclosure auction, and bank-owned homes in the Zip Code area.
We are full-time Realtors dedicated to helping you. When you’re ready to sell or buy a home, call us. We will prepare a Competitive Analysis with current market conditions in your neighborhood.
What a Difference a Year (Or Two) Makes!
News reports in 2009 led many home owners toa believe prices were steadily dropping throughout the region. That was true in some areas – but not everywhere. In most sections of the Inland Valley, home prices leveled off during the year. Read more ...
2010 Home Buyers Planning Ahead
Finding a home can be daunting. Look online and you’ll likely find dozens of appealing homes to choose from. But today’s buyers are not impulse buyers. They have seen how a hasty decision can turn lives upside down and want to make sure they have affordable monthly payments. We have outlined a 5-Step Home Purchase Plan. Read More ...
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Ready to Move Up to a Bigger 'Better' Home?
Home owners who want to “move up” to a home that is larger, “better” in some way, or in a different school district, will influence the local housing market in the coming months.
Because there is more competition for lower-priced homes, they will increase in value faster than higher-priced homes, creating opportunities for home owners with equity who have outgrown their present residence. In fact, that house you couldn’t afford a few years ago may not cost any more than the one you now own. Your monthly payments could be very similar!
We can help you determine if this is the right time to make your move. Call (909) 261-3541 for an appointment. We’ll prepare a neighborhood market analysis for your present home and find a home that will meet your future needs.
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Be in Escrow by April 30 to Claim Tax Credits
Ready to buy another home? Prices and interest rates are low right now, but starting to go up. You may be able to collect a tax credit if you purchase your next home by April 30 and close escrow by June 30.
The November economic stimulus package that extended the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit included a tax credit of up to $6,500 for home owners who want to purchase another principal residence for up to $800,000. Home owners must have lived in their present home for at least 5 of the last 8 years to get the tax credit.
“Repeat” home buyers can claim the credit if their modified adjusted gross income is less than $125,000 if single, or $225,000 if married and filing a joint tax return. Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000 and married couples who earn between $225,000 and $245,000 can get a partial tax credit.
The tax credit is refundable and you can apply it to your 2009 tax bill
If you’ve been thinking about moving, call us. We will help you find your next home, negotiate on your behalf and guide you through escrow. If you decide to sell your present home, we can do that too, Someone may want to take advantage of the tax credit to move into your home! We’re here to help you get where you want to be! More information ...
New Federal Incentives Help Struggling Home Owners
New federal incentives to help struggling homeowners is likely to result in more mortgage modifications and further stabilize the local housing market. Home loan modifications begun after Sept. 1 are eligible for Home Price Decline Protection Incentives.
Last February, the Obama Administration launched the first in a series of programs to stabilize the housing market – Making Home Affordable, Hope for Homeowners, Foreclosure Alternatives and now the Home Price Decline Protection Incentives. To encourage loan servicers to make more modifications, lenders are offered cash payments for every eligible loan, addressing investor fears that home prices could continue to fall.
Contact your lender for information on available home loan modification or refinancing programs. You can also get free counseling from the Inland Fair Housing and Mediation board (www.ifhmb.com), which serves 14 cities in San Bernardino County.
If you decide to sell your home before it is foreclosed, call us. We can market your home to get the best possible offers, and negotiate with your lender on your behalf. We have prepared a Foreclosure Options booklet. Ask us for a paper copy or download a copy at our website, www.ilajosephs.com.
Short Sales’ Attract Determined Buyers
Many Realtors shy away from properties that require lender approval as a sale condition. Frankly, short sales are a nightmare, but a patient buyer willing to wait months for a decision often winds up with a house in better condition than a bank-owned property. In addition, sellers who have lived in the house must provide disclosures revealing any known problems.
We just closed a short sale in Upland, where the buyer waited four long months for a decision from the lender and then was given just two weeks to close escrow. Our client is now the proud owner of a 3-year-old house in great condition – and thrilled about paying half what the house cost when it was built.
Why are short sales so difficult? Mainly, lenders are overwhelmed by the huge number of borrowers who are unable to make monthly payments – and, of course, are obliged to protect the investors who financed the original loan as much as possible. The process takes time. A “negotiator” is appointed to review the financial hardship documents submitted by the seller, ascertain if modification or refinancing is an option, and establish the current market value of the property.
Another client submitted an offer two months ago and recently was told a broker price opinion (something like an appraisal) will be ordered in about a month because the negotiator is still working on files opened in June. Our client has decided the house will be worth the wait. More impatient buyers may give up and move on. With the next offer, the process begins again – from the beginning.
We tell clients what to expect, but unlike less experienced Realtors, we do not discourage buyers from considering or writing offers for short sale listings. There often is less competition for short sales, the properties are more likely to be in good to excellent condition, and if you are getting an FHA loan, both are very important considerations.
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