17th annual Studio Arts Festival

The Irvine Fine Arts Center will host the 17th annual Studio Arts Festival on Saturday, June 4 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Festival will showcase more than 100 local artists and more than 1,000 original works of art spanning across a variety of mediums including ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, painting, photography, textiles and glass. The Festival will also feature live music, food, art demonstrations, and the "crowd favorite" - ice cream sundaes sold in handmade ceramic collector bowls.

Admission and parking are free. Event proceeds benefit special projects and programs sponsored by the Irvine Fine Arts Center. The Irvine Fine Arts Center is located at 14321 Yale Avenue, Irvine. For more information, visit irvinefinearts.org or call 949-724-6880.

For other Irvine information, see http://tiny.ly/vCzJ

Appraisals: Why You Must Now Sell Your House Twice.

In today’s market the appraisal is more important than ever and in many cases it can be a deal breaker. It’s critically important that there is a plan in place to justify your selling price so that you can close your transaction smoothly. Our friends at Keeping Current Matters talk about the situation and how now with Appraisals: Why You Must Now Sell Your House Twice.

Banks have become very conservative when lending mortgage money today. With the current foreclosure challenges in the country, we can’t really blame them. The requirements now necessary to qualify for mortgages have gotten much more stringent and it seems will get even more stringent as we move forward. The banks want to make sure the prospective buyer has the ability to repay the loan.

However, this does not just involve the borrower buying the property.

The second way a bank can protect their investment in the mortgage is to make sure that the collateral backing that mortgage is secure. That is where the appraisal comes in. The bank wants to make sure that, should the buyer not be able to make their payments, the house they will be forced to take back will sell for an amount at least equal to the balance left on the mortgage. For that reason, the banks seem to be getting more conservative with appraisals also.

This past week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their
Existing Homes Sales Report. In that report, they said:

“11 percent of Realtors® report a contract was cancelled in April from an appraisal coming in below the price negotiated between a buyer and seller, 10 percent had a contract delayed, and 14 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a low appraisal.”

One out of four real estate transactions was either cancelled (11%) or renegotiated to a lower sales price (14%) because of a low appraisal!!

Bottom Line

Every house now has to be sold twice: first, to a potential purchaser and then to the bank appraiser. And, it seems that the second sale may be the more difficult of the two. Sit with a local real estate professional and make sure you put together a plan for both sales.

He didn't look like an agent so I called the police!

OK, there I was at my Broker Preview, wiping down the granite countertop where someone had dropped a piece of California Roll, and he walked in.

As usual, I said "Welcome", and "Come on back for refreshments", but this was before I had turned around and had a look at my latest visitor.

The first thing I noticed, was that his fly was undone. If this was the only odd thing about him, I wouldn't have been at all concerned, but he was wearing a faded pair of denim jeans, and a worn canvas jacket - not the kind of attire that an agent previewing a home usually wears.

On the other hand, I thought to myself, this is Southern California, and it's not like he has a client with him. Perhaps he was working from home
today, and just wanted to preview the home, (and sample some of the seared tuna sashimi or crab roll I had carefully laid out).

Things got a little, weirder. He didn't say a word, as he strode into the kitchen. I handed him the Agent MLS printout of the home, and asked him to drop a business card in the bowl. Still... not a word.... and no card either.

I had sent Mike, (my hubby), for more ice, and by this time, I wished I hadn't.

Irvine is a diverse community, so I rationalized again. Perhaps he doesn't speak English.
(I know, I know. Even if you don't speak English, you know how to say "hi", right!)

So unless he had speech issues, he wasn't an agent - the California Real Estate exam has to be taken in English.

Then he faced the living room & stretched his arms out, as if mentally measuring the room, before heading towards the staircase leading to the upstairs.

"OK", I said to myself, "Enough with giving this guy the benefit of all my doubts!". I headed him off at the bottom of the stairs and said "Sorry, the sellers asked that no-one go upstairs." Well, don't laugh - I was getting concerned by then. If I had a little more time I would thought of something else to say. Also, I wasn't about to let My Weird go upstairs on his own, and I didn't want to be upstairs alone with him either.

I was hoping like H E double-toothpicks that another agent would come in, and then he turned around and headed out the door.

Whew!

I followed him out to the street and saw that he had got on his BICYCLE and had ridden to the house next door. I watched as he opened the gate next door, and walked right into their back yard.



And THAT'S when I called the Irvine Police Department. "Was this an emergency?"
the operator asked. I told her that I didn't THINK so, but thought what if he surprised the neighbor's daughter sunbathing on their PRIVATE lawn, or what if a hundred other scenarios took place? I asked that she send a car over as soon as possible, and then described the man as best I could.

THEN my husband arrived with the extra ice I needed!

We watched the man cycle slowly away.

Two Irvine 5-0 officers arrived within minutes and started looking around. I don't think they ever found him.

I know some of you are thinking I was making a fuss about nothing, but we are talking about Irvine
here - voted by the FBI as the SAFEST CITY IN AMERICA. And not just Irvine. This happened in WOODBRIDGE. This kind of thing just does not happen in Woodbridge, (until now).

My advice to (especially female), agents, is NOT to be alone if possible. Yes, we all know that for Open Houses, that's old advice, but I was at a Broker Preview. I went online and ordered some Pepper Spray for NEXT TIME!

Some are Confused about Foreclosures:

The numerous foreclosure reports we read in the papers and online often contradict each other. One headline will say that foreclosures are increasing, and another discusses the decrease in the number of properties that are foreclosing.


Of course this causes a lot of confusion about
the foreclosure issue.


Let’s try to simplify the foreclosure process.


There are five individual stages in the foreclosure process:

(1) 90 Day (plus) Delinquencies
Most banks include homes where the homeowners are three months behind on their payments, in their foreclosure numbers, but some don't.

This is because less than 2% of those who fall that far behind ever catch up in their payments. The rest will end up as a short sale or foreclosure, and these homeowners hardly ever get a foreclosure notice right away. Sometimes a homeowner trying a short sale will miss a year
or more of mortgage payments, without having received a foreclosure notice.

(2) Homes Already in the Foreclosure Process
Owners of these homes have received a formal court notice which officially starts the foreclosure process.

(3) Homes Already Repossessed by the Bank
These homes have finished the foreclosure process and are now owned by the bank. These
homes are known as REOs (Real EstateOwned).

(4) REOs placed on the Market
This is when the banks hire someone like me to list their REO properties on the market for sale. Some have to be fixed up before being advertised for sale, (you have to see the condition some leave the homes in, even faucets and light bulbs are removed!), while others are put up on the
MLS right away.

(5) REOs Sold
Obviously, these are the REOs, (bank owned homes), that actually sell.

I know, it still sounds confusing….

To truly understand the distressed property situation in Irvine and what impact it may have on prices, contact me.

I’ll be able to simply and effectively explain, with the use of charts & graphs, what is happening in our area, and how it may impact you.

Irvine, Orange County Foreclosure Data, Listings & Trends

Here's an interesting chart from foreclosureradar.com showing the whole city of Irvine.

Thankfully there's not many in the Woodbridge zip codes.

The Foreclosure outcomes can be:
(1) The sale can be cancelled for reasons that include a successful loan modification or short sale, a filing error, or a legal requirement to re-file the notice after extended postponements.

(2) If the property is taken to sale, the bank will place the opening bid.

(3) If a 3rd party, typically an investor, bids more than the bank's opening bid, the property will be Sold to 3rd Party; if not, it will go Back to the Bank and become part of that bank's REO inventory.

Irvine,CA - Foreclosure Outcomes

Real Estate is PERSONAL

Every day we get are bombarded with data & statistics. Housing demand is up, then housing demand is down; more job losses, then unemployment is improving; foreclosures, short sales, housing inventory, interest rate movements and much more. It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin! There’s an old saying that claims: “All real estate is local”. I believe that means that we should looks at individual neighborhoods, (like Woodbridge for example), or even tracts within neighborhoods, (there are 40 tracts in Woodbridge), rather than look at the whole US market as reported on TV. How can the average or mean numbers in the whole country be even close to the numbers in one tract in one neighborhood? It’s very unlikely, don’t you agree? When prices are falling nationally, there are some places where prices are holding steady or rising. Look at the real estate section of today’s OC Register & see for yourself. I also believe that even that old saying is too broad. Buying a home isn’t a local phenomenon….it is a personal one. It’s the same as the economy. Even though the US of A has been going through a national downturn, a lot of peeps are having their best years ever. I agree that unemployment and foreclosure are tragic realities and things to be aware of, (let’s not stick our head in the sand like ostriches), but for those of us not in those situations, we need to make decisions that will best serve our personal goals. To that end, I am confident that is a great time to buy a home because: (1) Historic low interest rates make more house more affordable, (2) There’s a huge amount of available inventory, and (3) Finally home prices are back in line with income levels again. I believe that it’s also a terrific time to sell. Correctly priced homes are selling almost immediately. Sure you wish you had sold in January 2007, but remember that sellers become buyers. When you buy your next home, you’ll get the advantages that buyers are enjoying now, as well.

Woodbridge Market Update

The highest priced Woodbridge home right now is a 5 bedroom 3,860 square foot SFR on Coldbrook in the Gables. It is definitely worth a look! The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $245,000 for a 2 bedroom attached short sale condo on Rockwood, to $1,350,000 for the Gables home. There are 101 Woodbridge homes currently for sale, including the very spacious 400 E Yale Loop townhome, which is offered at $630,000. Priced to sell! See more at http://www.sagorin.com/ 26 Woodbridge home sold in March 2011, at prices from $245,000, (for a 1-bedroom Standard Sale in Park Vista), to $695,000 for a 4-bedroom home on Bitterwood.