There are likely more months ahead of gradually falling home prices & stricter loan requirements. However, for qualified home buyers, the low interest rates, large home selection and considerably reduced home prices are providing some remarkable opportunities.
In Ventura County over the last 12 months, home prices have fallen 38%! Homes are selling at an average of 97% of list price, when they are priced near market average. This is a strong sign of the beginnings of market recovery.
There are some rather compelling indicators from a variety of sources that indicate continued positive pressures on our markets since the start of the year. Anything being offered for sale for less than $500,000 and especially in the $350,000 and below range is being snapped up by investors and first time home buyers.It is not unusual for me to call a listing agent for my clients and be told there are 20 to 25 offers!
This is like the market 3 years ago but in reverse.
Prices have fallen so far that first time buyers are jumping at the opportunity to realize their home ownership dream.At the same time, investors are snapping up homes with all cash offers making it very difficult for many first time buyers to compete. Their frustration is that list prices are in their price range, but competition from investors and austere bank terms drive the actual sale prices much higher.
There are still a number of banks that have not figured out that a short sale is an opportunity for them to cut their losses. Some of these banks take 8 to 10 months to approve these short sales and consequently they loose numerous deals from frustrated and impatient buyers. Often a buyer waits months for bank approval of short sale, only to have the bank foreclose on the property and auction it off for many thousands less than their offer! It makes no sense and can't be predicted.
First time home buyers need to take a hard look at their needs and be realistic about the cost of home ownership. You simply cannot low ball a listing with a reasonable expectation of success now. The market is much more competitive than a year ago. The days of offering $50,000 less than market average for a home are coming to an end.
Your realtor should be doing a Comparative Market Analysis on any home you want to make an offer on.Once you know the market value of the home, make an offer based on the market price. If you have taken the time to be pre-approved with a lender, you'll know already if this home makes financial sense.
Be prepared to negotiate and expect competition! If you cannot be flexible in price and terms, this market will be extremely difficult for you. A take it or leave it attitude will not serve a buyer well either, and many folks have lost wonderful opportunities for home ownership for the sake of a few dollars.
One rule of thumb to keep in mind is: for every $1,000 you borrow for a home, it increases your mortgage cost by about $7 to $8 dollars. Develop your buying strategy, negotiate price and terms based on market price, be pre-approved with your lender, and beware of short sales. Be flexible and have a backup plan.
Let your real estate professional guide you through the 30 pages of the offer process and handle all the followup escrow details. Expect them to schedule and track all the inspection, termite, and home repair and home warranty details for you and to provide you with experience based guidance for a successful transaction.
You can buy a home for a lower price than we have seen in many years.
You are invited to explore the latest in Video Real Estate News and Information at http://www.RealtyTimes.com/REUv/MarkThorngren. Produced and updated daily, it provides comprehensive upbeat information on the latest developments in our fast changing market.
ZIP Code: 93010
Approximate Location Boundaries: Camarillo straddles the 101 highway West of Thousand Oaks/Newbury park and East of Oxnard. Stick a pin on a roadmap showing the 101 between LA and Santa Barbara and Camarillo will be right in the middle.
Location Characteristics: Mild Mediterranean Climate year round. Excellent schools and 20 minutes from the beach. No smog, great shopping and friendly small town feel. Camarillo is a showpiece for Ventura County. A very upscale town of 63,000 people, with summer "Concerts in the Park", Frequent community events and celebrations, this town has an abundance of attractions.
LA is an hour South and separated by a mountain range. Beach and harbor activities are available within a few minutes drive for boaters, swimmers, divers or a romantic dining experience at one of our many premium restaurants.
Camarillo has it's own premium outlet mall for upscale shopping at discount prices. Hiking, horseback riding, off-road biking, ATV exploring and fishing are all within an hours drive at scores of State Parks and National Recreation Areas. Take a boat trip out to the Channel Islands for a unique camping or hiking experience, or observe the twice a year dolphin and whale migration back and forth to Mexico.
Visit http://www.markthorngren.com/ for access to local home searches, more blogs, listings, real estate reports, and many to local schools, churches and city resources.
It's important that you know, that I do have time for you, your family, friends and business associates who could use my help right now.
Warmest Regards,
Mark Thorngren
Office Direct (805) 504-0228
mark@markthorngren.com
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sedona at Dos Vientos in Thousand Oaks
Sedona
at Dos Vientos Ranch
There is a newer section of Thousand Oaks set within an elevated bowl surrounded by the gorgeous and scenic, Santa Monica Mountains. Located just north of the Pacific Coast and perched at the very western edge of the Conejo Valley Shelf, this area is bordered by Malibu to the Southeast, the much lower Oxnard Plain to the West and Newbury Park to the North East.
Drive down Borchard Road away from the older neighborhoods of Newbury park, up and over the Potrero Ridge line, and back down the other side into the valley bowl that is Dos Vientos Ranch. As you coast down the hill through the rustic, rocky, cactus and yucca lined hillsides, you follow a gentle left curving roadway until you begin to glimpse the sprawling, stucco tribute to expensive tract homes that is Dos Vientos Ranch.
In the far Southwest corner in a little L- shaped bowl of rocks, cactus and coyotes is Sedona, the newest tract. These are roughly 4500 sq ft to 6,000 sq ft homes which are offered in what the developer calls Italianate, Spanish and Tuscan Elevations. Sixty nine homes are currently planned which range in price from roughly $1,446,000 to about $1,600,000.
There are 7 phases planned and they are currently selling the 8 homes of Phase 1. These 8 homes were put on the market Saturday the 16th of May. Today, Monday the 18th, four of the homes have already sold! When my wife and I visited the site on Sunday, there were cars lining both sides of the road, for a block on either side of the model homes. Clearly, our newspapers and tv have failed to convince these people how bad our economy is, and how poorly real estate is faring. Imagine that.
The Phase 1 homes are being offered at a “low introductory price.” Each of these 8 homes is being offered with an additional $25,000 worth of interior options. Buyers can pick their lot, or they can pick the model of home they want, but the builder has already determined which models will be built on which lots.
By the way, the developer has the A- team working to serve prospective buyers. I was very impressed by the professionalism of the Sales Counselors I met. They were friendly and composed even when there were 3 and 4 groups of people actively seeking their help at any given time. They answered all my toughest questions with no dodges or excuses and they were extremely knowledgeable.
Build time is about 9 months with the Phase 1 homes projected to be move-in ready next January 2010. I was told that Phase 2 may be built earlier than originally planned if demand continues, with a possible March 2010 move-in.
Buyers are expected to pre-qualify with either Chase or Bank of America, but they can use any bank for their loan. Bank of America is offering a long term rate lock of up to a year to cover build time on these homes.
There is no Mello-Roos on these homes ( see my blog on Mello-Roos ) but there is a $266/month combined HOA. A Master Association covers the cost of keeping the brush clear around the homes for fire protection, and a few other things like building and maintaining the Park Center. The Sedona Association takes care of the maintenance of the security gates, roads and walkways.
These are big homes, lavishly presented. Myself, I think some of the homes “flow” better than others. The models are not always very representative of what you can make the homes into either. There are numerous layouts available for the two story homes but only one example of each model is presented.
The two story models are the Santa Barbara and the La Jolla (which was my personal favorite). These homes have the option of a 3 car tandem garage with an optional bedroom and bathroom “suite” or what most of us would call a great big granny flat. Depending on the model, you can have a 5 car garage or you can substitute another Den, or you can move the dining room or granny flat location if you choose a 3 car garage.
Pick a design with up to 6 bedrooms, or fewer bedrooms and additional recreation/ family rooms. There are a lot of design opportunities for buyers to review before their specific home design is frozen. I like that the developer is offering a bit of flexibility to his buyers.
The thing I really like about the two story homes is the use of outside space. This is featured prominently in the marketing of these homes as well. Simply put, the designs encourage home owners to adapt the many courtyards, covered porticos, balconies, decks and covered loggias as everyday living space. The built-in barbeques, outside fireplaces, relaxing fountains and beautifully tiled courtyards encourage you to pull up a big comfortable chair and kick back with friends or family while everyone enjoys the open air and sunshine.
The covered loggia/balcony off of the master bedroom in the Santa Barbara model is particularly inviting, with gorgeous views and cool breezes and yet, a bit more privacy than most balcony designs. It has outdoor drapes which can be pulled across each side to enclose the room around a gas log fireplace. Very romantic.
The Montecito Plan is essentially a 1-story home with a second story recreation room. It is a 4 bedroom home with a 3 car tandem garage. Featuring a central courtyard, it tends to be a bit smaller than the 2-story homes having just under 5,000 sq ft. of living space. Three different walls of the courtyard have doors leading into the home, and an outside staircase leads up from the courtyard wall to the second story recreation room . This is just a little weird for me. Like the movie “Labyrinth”, you have to wonder what happens if you choose the wrong door.
The rest of the interior is like walking around a squarish mall. A narrow hallway runs in front of each of the bedrooms and widens out in front of the Den and Living Room. Like an echo of the nearby courtyard, an open dining room occupies a smaller framed area within a central atrium. The hallway skirts the dining room on two sides and runs past the Family Room entry on the left and Dining Room to the right. It narrows back down as it passes by the powder room on the right and on to the Master Bedroom entry on the left. I swear I passed some joggers along the way.
The Family Room is the largest room in the house and is open to the huge kitchen. I liked this combination layout. Each of these rooms has a nice outside view and backyard access. The kitchen has a large island with tall low-backed chairs for snacking. It adjoins a breakfast nook which is large enough for a smaller table. Unfortunately, you need to hire a guide to get from the kitchen through the family room and over to the main dining room.
The next largest room appears to be the Master Bedroom. The bedroom opens through double glass doors to the rear, outdoor patio. On the other side of the bedroom, a tall, rather narrow arched doorway leads to the Master Bath. There are two recessed reading lights in the ceiling above the headboard of the bed, but they are so high up in the 12’ coffered ceiling that they are useless for reading. There is a thin screen tv on the distant wall opposite the bed, but you need binoculars to see what’s on.
The Master Bath is quite large with separate tub and shower enclosures. The shower is nicely tiled and big enough for about a dozen of your closest friends. Strangely enough, the jetted jacuzzi tub is a mere 6’, two person bucket by comparison. I also think the tub surround should be made of a material that wouldn’t be slippery when wet. Maybe a small hand rail would be useful as well.
The walk-in “his closet” reminds me of my college dorm room and across the hallway, something about 3 times larger is obviously the “her closet”. Most of the models I saw have rather sparsely furnished walk-ins. Maybe a shelf, but not much in the way of quality wall organizers or center room fixtures. Lighting in these walk-in closets was similar to my garage and is a missed opportunity for the developer to please women with lots of needs.
The Monterey Plan is the other single story floor plan and does not have a model. The floor plan appears to be identical to the Montecito Plan but without the second story recreation room.
I have one major concern with each of these homes. The downstairs view for most of them is not much more than a brick wall or embankment. The best views were usually upstairs views from the front or rear of the homes. Being a tract home, each home has minimal set back from its’ neighbor, with homes in higher elevations enjoying greater privacy. This is a disappointment for homes in this price range.
My wife was a bit put off by the rather imposing kitchens. They are appropriately huge with ovens that look more like stereos - sprouting buttons, gauges and switches. The refrigerator in one model had 2 doors that were each about 3 feet wide and heavy as a safe. Once opened, the refrigerator shelving was only about a foot deep. Forget about walking by an open refrigerator door, it’s like crossing the border. You have to wait for the door to close.
The central island stands about chest high on me and a bit higher for my wife. The cabinets were fabulous but again a bit high. My wife could not see inside the microwave mounted on the overhead cabinets. If you are an NBA basketball player, you’ll love these kitchens.
Some of the family rooms were centered on fireplaces with the entertainment center off to one side. Other family rooms were centered on the entertainment center with the fireplace off to one side. Personally, I am more of a tired tv person in the evening than a romantic fireplace person. I’ve been married a long time.
A word about presentation. I expect to see all the most expensive upgrades on new home models. Designer nick-nacks and leather furniture do well in these homes. However, please don’t try to sell me a 6,000 sq ft home by employing undersized furniture and beds in the bedrooms! It’s a bit tawdry and silly in these huge homes.
If you want me to see the genius of design in your outside living areas, then impress me. Don’t stick a mid-priced home depot barbeque in the middle of a huge stucco wrap around. Show me some barbeque tech and a built-in refrigerator at least. Also, explain to your interior designer that outside design means not putting candle decorations in the sun. They melt all over the furniture!
From a strictly safety point of view, I was glad to see home sprinkler systems standard in these homes. I was a bit concerned that none of the second floor homes had a second way downstairs other than the main staircase. That might be an issue in a home fire. Why doesn’t someone develop a stylish way to hide a few fire extinguishers in these huge homes? Once the main sprinkler system trips, water damage can get expensive.
Speaking of technology, I didn’t see much. Lots of extra bedrooms/dens, but I didn’t see a single home theater. I saw no integrated solar panels powering these huge homes even though we live in an area of the world that just screams for them. Many local residences and businesses have already adapted them as eco-friendly and economic windfalls. There is no voice activated lighting or music. No adjustable polarizing windows on the sun side of the home or even personalized door locks. I guess that is just too much to ask for.
I did see 3 air-conditioning units lined up just outside the window of a ground floor bedroom in a 1.5 million dollar model home. Yuuch!
We all know a large part of our population is rapidly aging, but I saw none of the new elevator designs which are now available to two story residences. These new elevators are concealed behind what looks like closet doors, yet are wide enough for wheelchairs. They open up a whole new market for two story structures and enable long term home owners to maintain the full utilization of their homes, even if their owners develop physical limitations.
The lots themselves speak for the way our culture seems to have changed in the last few decades. The tract is locked away behind some really pretty wrought iron gates. Presumably this is for enhanced security and privacy. It just doesn’t work. People just follow each other through the opened gates.
If you are serious about security, you can employ an additional entry arm to separate individual vehicles as they pass through the gate or you hire real, live gate security. I’ve seen many less expensive neighborhoods with better security than this – (see Victoria Estates in Oxnard).
The individual lots remind me of pictures of aircraft parking revetments in a war zone. Stone walls atop earthen embankments surround each lot on the sides and back. It looks for all the world like someone hooked a tow bar to the front of each home and shoved it into its own parking spot. Whatever happened to neighborhoods with lot lines made of flowering hedges and property lines of fragrant evergreens? Sorry, I’m showing my age.
Considering what people seem to want in a new home these days, I give these homes a solid B. Although the design of the exterior spaces on some of the two story models is intriguing, I didn’t see much real innovation or serious new technology. These are just nice, big, expensive tract homes like they have been building for the last 10 years.
Just the way I see it.
Mark Thorngren
at Dos Vientos Ranch
There is a newer section of Thousand Oaks set within an elevated bowl surrounded by the gorgeous and scenic, Santa Monica Mountains. Located just north of the Pacific Coast and perched at the very western edge of the Conejo Valley Shelf, this area is bordered by Malibu to the Southeast, the much lower Oxnard Plain to the West and Newbury Park to the North East.
Drive down Borchard Road away from the older neighborhoods of Newbury park, up and over the Potrero Ridge line, and back down the other side into the valley bowl that is Dos Vientos Ranch. As you coast down the hill through the rustic, rocky, cactus and yucca lined hillsides, you follow a gentle left curving roadway until you begin to glimpse the sprawling, stucco tribute to expensive tract homes that is Dos Vientos Ranch.
In the far Southwest corner in a little L- shaped bowl of rocks, cactus and coyotes is Sedona, the newest tract. These are roughly 4500 sq ft to 6,000 sq ft homes which are offered in what the developer calls Italianate, Spanish and Tuscan Elevations. Sixty nine homes are currently planned which range in price from roughly $1,446,000 to about $1,600,000.
There are 7 phases planned and they are currently selling the 8 homes of Phase 1. These 8 homes were put on the market Saturday the 16th of May. Today, Monday the 18th, four of the homes have already sold! When my wife and I visited the site on Sunday, there were cars lining both sides of the road, for a block on either side of the model homes. Clearly, our newspapers and tv have failed to convince these people how bad our economy is, and how poorly real estate is faring. Imagine that.
The Phase 1 homes are being offered at a “low introductory price.” Each of these 8 homes is being offered with an additional $25,000 worth of interior options. Buyers can pick their lot, or they can pick the model of home they want, but the builder has already determined which models will be built on which lots.
By the way, the developer has the A- team working to serve prospective buyers. I was very impressed by the professionalism of the Sales Counselors I met. They were friendly and composed even when there were 3 and 4 groups of people actively seeking their help at any given time. They answered all my toughest questions with no dodges or excuses and they were extremely knowledgeable.
Build time is about 9 months with the Phase 1 homes projected to be move-in ready next January 2010. I was told that Phase 2 may be built earlier than originally planned if demand continues, with a possible March 2010 move-in.
Buyers are expected to pre-qualify with either Chase or Bank of America, but they can use any bank for their loan. Bank of America is offering a long term rate lock of up to a year to cover build time on these homes.
There is no Mello-Roos on these homes ( see my blog on Mello-Roos ) but there is a $266/month combined HOA. A Master Association covers the cost of keeping the brush clear around the homes for fire protection, and a few other things like building and maintaining the Park Center. The Sedona Association takes care of the maintenance of the security gates, roads and walkways.
These are big homes, lavishly presented. Myself, I think some of the homes “flow” better than others. The models are not always very representative of what you can make the homes into either. There are numerous layouts available for the two story homes but only one example of each model is presented.
The two story models are the Santa Barbara and the La Jolla (which was my personal favorite). These homes have the option of a 3 car tandem garage with an optional bedroom and bathroom “suite” or what most of us would call a great big granny flat. Depending on the model, you can have a 5 car garage or you can substitute another Den, or you can move the dining room or granny flat location if you choose a 3 car garage.
Pick a design with up to 6 bedrooms, or fewer bedrooms and additional recreation/ family rooms. There are a lot of design opportunities for buyers to review before their specific home design is frozen. I like that the developer is offering a bit of flexibility to his buyers.
The thing I really like about the two story homes is the use of outside space. This is featured prominently in the marketing of these homes as well. Simply put, the designs encourage home owners to adapt the many courtyards, covered porticos, balconies, decks and covered loggias as everyday living space. The built-in barbeques, outside fireplaces, relaxing fountains and beautifully tiled courtyards encourage you to pull up a big comfortable chair and kick back with friends or family while everyone enjoys the open air and sunshine.
The covered loggia/balcony off of the master bedroom in the Santa Barbara model is particularly inviting, with gorgeous views and cool breezes and yet, a bit more privacy than most balcony designs. It has outdoor drapes which can be pulled across each side to enclose the room around a gas log fireplace. Very romantic.
The Montecito Plan is essentially a 1-story home with a second story recreation room. It is a 4 bedroom home with a 3 car tandem garage. Featuring a central courtyard, it tends to be a bit smaller than the 2-story homes having just under 5,000 sq ft. of living space. Three different walls of the courtyard have doors leading into the home, and an outside staircase leads up from the courtyard wall to the second story recreation room . This is just a little weird for me. Like the movie “Labyrinth”, you have to wonder what happens if you choose the wrong door.
The rest of the interior is like walking around a squarish mall. A narrow hallway runs in front of each of the bedrooms and widens out in front of the Den and Living Room. Like an echo of the nearby courtyard, an open dining room occupies a smaller framed area within a central atrium. The hallway skirts the dining room on two sides and runs past the Family Room entry on the left and Dining Room to the right. It narrows back down as it passes by the powder room on the right and on to the Master Bedroom entry on the left. I swear I passed some joggers along the way.
The Family Room is the largest room in the house and is open to the huge kitchen. I liked this combination layout. Each of these rooms has a nice outside view and backyard access. The kitchen has a large island with tall low-backed chairs for snacking. It adjoins a breakfast nook which is large enough for a smaller table. Unfortunately, you need to hire a guide to get from the kitchen through the family room and over to the main dining room.
The next largest room appears to be the Master Bedroom. The bedroom opens through double glass doors to the rear, outdoor patio. On the other side of the bedroom, a tall, rather narrow arched doorway leads to the Master Bath. There are two recessed reading lights in the ceiling above the headboard of the bed, but they are so high up in the 12’ coffered ceiling that they are useless for reading. There is a thin screen tv on the distant wall opposite the bed, but you need binoculars to see what’s on.
The Master Bath is quite large with separate tub and shower enclosures. The shower is nicely tiled and big enough for about a dozen of your closest friends. Strangely enough, the jetted jacuzzi tub is a mere 6’, two person bucket by comparison. I also think the tub surround should be made of a material that wouldn’t be slippery when wet. Maybe a small hand rail would be useful as well.
The walk-in “his closet” reminds me of my college dorm room and across the hallway, something about 3 times larger is obviously the “her closet”. Most of the models I saw have rather sparsely furnished walk-ins. Maybe a shelf, but not much in the way of quality wall organizers or center room fixtures. Lighting in these walk-in closets was similar to my garage and is a missed opportunity for the developer to please women with lots of needs.
The Monterey Plan is the other single story floor plan and does not have a model. The floor plan appears to be identical to the Montecito Plan but without the second story recreation room.
I have one major concern with each of these homes. The downstairs view for most of them is not much more than a brick wall or embankment. The best views were usually upstairs views from the front or rear of the homes. Being a tract home, each home has minimal set back from its’ neighbor, with homes in higher elevations enjoying greater privacy. This is a disappointment for homes in this price range.
My wife was a bit put off by the rather imposing kitchens. They are appropriately huge with ovens that look more like stereos - sprouting buttons, gauges and switches. The refrigerator in one model had 2 doors that were each about 3 feet wide and heavy as a safe. Once opened, the refrigerator shelving was only about a foot deep. Forget about walking by an open refrigerator door, it’s like crossing the border. You have to wait for the door to close.
The central island stands about chest high on me and a bit higher for my wife. The cabinets were fabulous but again a bit high. My wife could not see inside the microwave mounted on the overhead cabinets. If you are an NBA basketball player, you’ll love these kitchens.
Some of the family rooms were centered on fireplaces with the entertainment center off to one side. Other family rooms were centered on the entertainment center with the fireplace off to one side. Personally, I am more of a tired tv person in the evening than a romantic fireplace person. I’ve been married a long time.
A word about presentation. I expect to see all the most expensive upgrades on new home models. Designer nick-nacks and leather furniture do well in these homes. However, please don’t try to sell me a 6,000 sq ft home by employing undersized furniture and beds in the bedrooms! It’s a bit tawdry and silly in these huge homes.
If you want me to see the genius of design in your outside living areas, then impress me. Don’t stick a mid-priced home depot barbeque in the middle of a huge stucco wrap around. Show me some barbeque tech and a built-in refrigerator at least. Also, explain to your interior designer that outside design means not putting candle decorations in the sun. They melt all over the furniture!
From a strictly safety point of view, I was glad to see home sprinkler systems standard in these homes. I was a bit concerned that none of the second floor homes had a second way downstairs other than the main staircase. That might be an issue in a home fire. Why doesn’t someone develop a stylish way to hide a few fire extinguishers in these huge homes? Once the main sprinkler system trips, water damage can get expensive.
Speaking of technology, I didn’t see much. Lots of extra bedrooms/dens, but I didn’t see a single home theater. I saw no integrated solar panels powering these huge homes even though we live in an area of the world that just screams for them. Many local residences and businesses have already adapted them as eco-friendly and economic windfalls. There is no voice activated lighting or music. No adjustable polarizing windows on the sun side of the home or even personalized door locks. I guess that is just too much to ask for.
I did see 3 air-conditioning units lined up just outside the window of a ground floor bedroom in a 1.5 million dollar model home. Yuuch!
We all know a large part of our population is rapidly aging, but I saw none of the new elevator designs which are now available to two story residences. These new elevators are concealed behind what looks like closet doors, yet are wide enough for wheelchairs. They open up a whole new market for two story structures and enable long term home owners to maintain the full utilization of their homes, even if their owners develop physical limitations.
The lots themselves speak for the way our culture seems to have changed in the last few decades. The tract is locked away behind some really pretty wrought iron gates. Presumably this is for enhanced security and privacy. It just doesn’t work. People just follow each other through the opened gates.
If you are serious about security, you can employ an additional entry arm to separate individual vehicles as they pass through the gate or you hire real, live gate security. I’ve seen many less expensive neighborhoods with better security than this – (see Victoria Estates in Oxnard).
The individual lots remind me of pictures of aircraft parking revetments in a war zone. Stone walls atop earthen embankments surround each lot on the sides and back. It looks for all the world like someone hooked a tow bar to the front of each home and shoved it into its own parking spot. Whatever happened to neighborhoods with lot lines made of flowering hedges and property lines of fragrant evergreens? Sorry, I’m showing my age.
Considering what people seem to want in a new home these days, I give these homes a solid B. Although the design of the exterior spaces on some of the two story models is intriguing, I didn’t see much real innovation or serious new technology. These are just nice, big, expensive tract homes like they have been building for the last 10 years.
Just the way I see it.
Mark Thorngren
See my Realty Times Video Newsletter for daily real estate updates
http://www.markthorngren.com/
mark@markthorngren.com
(805) 504-0228
Movwest Realty, Inc.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Camarillo's Montelena 1 Tract
Camarillo’s Montelena 1 Tract
There are many wonderful neighborhoods in Camarillo, but one of the nicer mid-priced tracts is Montelena 1. Built 1990 through 1995, these are very comfortable Mission Oaks homes, with a number of view locations. They are 3 and 4 bedroom homes with 2.5 to 3.5 bathrooms which range from about 1800 sq ft to almost 2800 sq ft. Lots range in size from about 6,000 sq ft to over 9,500 sq ft. The homes are all uniform stucco with red tile roofs, built with many luxury amenities, nicely landscaped and with no HOA!
The homes in Montelena 1 are located in the Mission Oaks area with a hilltop view overlooking the Calleguas Creek. Flynn and Lewis Roads are part of the expansive view to the North and West with mountain and partial ocean views on the horizon. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood with limited access to the busier streets of Creekside Drive and Mission Oaks Boulevard.
The neighborhood itself resembles a flattened loop with 3 streets and a cul-de-sac. Via Pacheco and Paseo Montelena have some amazing view locations, while Via Cupertino runs a block behind the cliffside homes. Chula Vista Court is a small cul-de-sac off of Paseo Montelena with a quiet, friendly feel.
Most of the homes I’ve seen have generous back yards that often sport large patio decks (especially the cliffside homes) or very private, lushly landscaped gardens. More than a few of these homes have gorgeous inground pools, built-in barbeques and decorator deck furniture.
Most of the kitchens I have seen are expensively upgraded with granite countertops and stainless appliances. They usually face the backyard and often have part of the valley view. Living rooms and family rooms enjoy vaulted ceilings and at least one fireplace. The master bedrooms are usually downstairs with backyard views or patio access. Huge master baths sport upgrades that may include double marble vanities, separate tub and tile shower enclosures, designer light fixtures and cabinetry.
There are usually 2 to 3 upstairs bedrooms which are quite a bit smaller than the downstairs master and a bit tight in my opinion for a home in this price range. That would be my main criticism of these homes. If Mom and Dad are using the downstairs master and the kids are upstairs, it’s okay. However, if grandma is living here or one of the kids have moved back in, the upstairs bedrooms are small.
Most homes have a downstairs hallway half bath that opens to the living room and the laundry is usually downstairs as well. Inside access to the two car garage is internal also, and a very few homes even have a 3 car garage. If you are retired or the kids are away at college, you essentially have a single story home with upstairs office and guest room. Pretty darn comfortable and often with the perfect backyard view for a couple to enjoy at sunset with an ice cold beverage or maybe a little barbeque with friends.
Eleven homes have come to market in the last year.
Two properties expired last summer after 6 month listings when they didn’t sell at $715,500 and $719,500 respectively.
Five homes have sold for an average of $635,000 with the highest sale price at $687,000 for a 2,400 sq ft home and the lowest sold at $600,000 for a 1,800 sq ft home.
There are four homes actively being marketed in this tract for an average listing price of just over $623,000. The lowest priced home is listed at $539,000 and 1,800 sq ft (it’s a short sale), while the highest priced home is listed at $690,000 for 1,800 sq ft. There is one home priced at $679,900 with almost 2,800 sq ft and a beautiful backyard pool.
By my calculations only one of these eleven homes was a distressed sale, meaning only one home was a short sale or foreclosure. That makes this tract a very stable investment for any home buyer. Just the same, values appear to have eroded about $1,000 to $1,500 a month over the last year. This compares to over $4,000 a month in some Oxnard neighborhoods with even larger, newer homes. (see my blog on Victoria Estates).
Four or five years ago, these homes were selling for the high $600,000’s to low $700,000 range, so they really have not come down as much as I would have expected. These homes are very comfortable, built in a premium location, and are a very solid investment for those with the means to take advantage of our current market.
Warmest Regards,
Mark Thorngren
www.markthorngren.com
mark@markthorngren.com
(805) 504-0228
There are many wonderful neighborhoods in Camarillo, but one of the nicer mid-priced tracts is Montelena 1. Built 1990 through 1995, these are very comfortable Mission Oaks homes, with a number of view locations. They are 3 and 4 bedroom homes with 2.5 to 3.5 bathrooms which range from about 1800 sq ft to almost 2800 sq ft. Lots range in size from about 6,000 sq ft to over 9,500 sq ft. The homes are all uniform stucco with red tile roofs, built with many luxury amenities, nicely landscaped and with no HOA!
The homes in Montelena 1 are located in the Mission Oaks area with a hilltop view overlooking the Calleguas Creek. Flynn and Lewis Roads are part of the expansive view to the North and West with mountain and partial ocean views on the horizon. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood with limited access to the busier streets of Creekside Drive and Mission Oaks Boulevard.
The neighborhood itself resembles a flattened loop with 3 streets and a cul-de-sac. Via Pacheco and Paseo Montelena have some amazing view locations, while Via Cupertino runs a block behind the cliffside homes. Chula Vista Court is a small cul-de-sac off of Paseo Montelena with a quiet, friendly feel.
Most of the homes I’ve seen have generous back yards that often sport large patio decks (especially the cliffside homes) or very private, lushly landscaped gardens. More than a few of these homes have gorgeous inground pools, built-in barbeques and decorator deck furniture.
Most of the kitchens I have seen are expensively upgraded with granite countertops and stainless appliances. They usually face the backyard and often have part of the valley view. Living rooms and family rooms enjoy vaulted ceilings and at least one fireplace. The master bedrooms are usually downstairs with backyard views or patio access. Huge master baths sport upgrades that may include double marble vanities, separate tub and tile shower enclosures, designer light fixtures and cabinetry.
There are usually 2 to 3 upstairs bedrooms which are quite a bit smaller than the downstairs master and a bit tight in my opinion for a home in this price range. That would be my main criticism of these homes. If Mom and Dad are using the downstairs master and the kids are upstairs, it’s okay. However, if grandma is living here or one of the kids have moved back in, the upstairs bedrooms are small.
Most homes have a downstairs hallway half bath that opens to the living room and the laundry is usually downstairs as well. Inside access to the two car garage is internal also, and a very few homes even have a 3 car garage. If you are retired or the kids are away at college, you essentially have a single story home with upstairs office and guest room. Pretty darn comfortable and often with the perfect backyard view for a couple to enjoy at sunset with an ice cold beverage or maybe a little barbeque with friends.
Eleven homes have come to market in the last year.
Two properties expired last summer after 6 month listings when they didn’t sell at $715,500 and $719,500 respectively.
Five homes have sold for an average of $635,000 with the highest sale price at $687,000 for a 2,400 sq ft home and the lowest sold at $600,000 for a 1,800 sq ft home.
There are four homes actively being marketed in this tract for an average listing price of just over $623,000. The lowest priced home is listed at $539,000 and 1,800 sq ft (it’s a short sale), while the highest priced home is listed at $690,000 for 1,800 sq ft. There is one home priced at $679,900 with almost 2,800 sq ft and a beautiful backyard pool.
By my calculations only one of these eleven homes was a distressed sale, meaning only one home was a short sale or foreclosure. That makes this tract a very stable investment for any home buyer. Just the same, values appear to have eroded about $1,000 to $1,500 a month over the last year. This compares to over $4,000 a month in some Oxnard neighborhoods with even larger, newer homes. (see my blog on Victoria Estates).
Four or five years ago, these homes were selling for the high $600,000’s to low $700,000 range, so they really have not come down as much as I would have expected. These homes are very comfortable, built in a premium location, and are a very solid investment for those with the means to take advantage of our current market.
Warmest Regards,
Mark Thorngren
www.markthorngren.com
mark@markthorngren.com
(805) 504-0228
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Will New Government Housing Aid Help Me?
Ventura County Star Article from 22 February 2009
By J.W. Elphinstone and Alan ZibelAP real estate writersSunday, February 22, 2009
Between the $75 billion foreclosure plan President Barack Obama revealed on Wednesday and the $787 billion economic stimulus he signed a day earlier, the government is promising a range of programs aimed at getting new help to homeowners.
But not everyone who needs help will get it.
While some homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will get help, many of those who are most severely “underwater” in their mortgages won’t get bailed out.
So who does qualify for the assistance? What exactly will they get — and when will they get it?
Here are some questions and answers:
Q: What if I’m a homeowner on the brink of foreclosure?
A: Homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments or struggling to keep current may qualify for a mortgage modification under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that Obama unveiled Wednesday.
To qualify, the house must be your primary residence, your mortgage payment must be greater than 31 percent of your monthly gross income and your loan mustn’t exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits, which vary by region and max out at nearly $729,750.
Owners of two-, three- and four-unit properties are eligible as long as they live in one unit as a primary residence. Only first mortgages are eligible for a modification. More detailed requirements will be available March 4.
Q: What if I’m not near foreclosure? Do I get any assistance?
A: Borrowers who are current on their mortgages but can’t refinance into lower interest-rate loans because their homes have fallen in value are eligible to refinance into a 30- or 15-year, fixed-rate loan under the plan, but only if their loan is held by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
To qualify, homeowners can’t owe more than 105 percent of their home’s current value on their first mortgage. Borrowers with a second mortgage are eligible as long as their first mortgage isn’t more than 105 percent of their home’s value. The value of your property will be determined after you apply to refinance.
Skeptics say it’s going to be difficult for borrowers to figure out whether their loans are held by Fannie or Freddie. “I’m not sure people are always going to get a straight answer,” said Bert Ely, a banking industry consultant in Alexandria, Va.
Q: Any breaks for first-time homebuyers?
A: Under the economic stimulus plan that Obama signed Tuesday, first-time homebuyers who purchase a home between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 will be eligible for a tax credit of 10 percent of the value of the home, up to $8,000.
Homeowners don’t have to pay back this credit over the next 15 years, the way they had to with the $7,500 tax credit enacted last summer. However, homebuyers would have to repay the credit if they sold their homes within three years.
First-time buyers are defined as those who haven’t owned a house for at least three years.
Q: Any other breaks for current homeowners?
A: Homeowners also can get a tax credit of up to $1,500 by making their homes more energy efficient this year or next. Many projects qualify, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces or air conditioners, or adding insulation. Homeowners can get back 30 percent of their expenses, up to $1,500.
Q: Will there be more assistance down the road?
A: The Obama administration is working with lawmakers to pass a bill that will allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of primary home loans in court.
The lending industry is fighting this plan, arguing that it will make lending a risky proposition in the future. But with support mounting, the industry’s efforts are primarily focused on limiting the scope of the bankruptcy proposal, rather than blocking it completely.
Q: How soon can I expect to take advantage of these benefits or aid?
A: The refinancing and loan modification programs start March 4. The first-time homebuyer tax credit is in effect from the first of the year through the end of November. The “green” home tax credit applies to energy-efficient improvements made through 2010.
Q: What should I do until March 4?
A: If you’re interested in refinancing or applying for a loan modification, collect all necessary documents to give to your lender.
These include your most recent pay stubs and/or other documents detailing the income you receive, your most recent tax return, information about your second mortgage if you have one, payment information on your credit cards if you carry a monthly balance and payment information on all other loans, like student loans and car loans.
Q: What if I’m facing foreclosure now, and can’t wait until March 4?
A: Contact your mortgage servicer or mortgage lender. Many lenders said they will postpone foreclosure sales on home loans that could qualify for the modification.
By J.W. Elphinstone and Alan ZibelAP real estate writersSunday, February 22, 2009
Between the $75 billion foreclosure plan President Barack Obama revealed on Wednesday and the $787 billion economic stimulus he signed a day earlier, the government is promising a range of programs aimed at getting new help to homeowners.
But not everyone who needs help will get it.
While some homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will get help, many of those who are most severely “underwater” in their mortgages won’t get bailed out.
So who does qualify for the assistance? What exactly will they get — and when will they get it?
Here are some questions and answers:
Q: What if I’m a homeowner on the brink of foreclosure?
A: Homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments or struggling to keep current may qualify for a mortgage modification under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan that Obama unveiled Wednesday.
To qualify, the house must be your primary residence, your mortgage payment must be greater than 31 percent of your monthly gross income and your loan mustn’t exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits, which vary by region and max out at nearly $729,750.
Owners of two-, three- and four-unit properties are eligible as long as they live in one unit as a primary residence. Only first mortgages are eligible for a modification. More detailed requirements will be available March 4.
Q: What if I’m not near foreclosure? Do I get any assistance?
A: Borrowers who are current on their mortgages but can’t refinance into lower interest-rate loans because their homes have fallen in value are eligible to refinance into a 30- or 15-year, fixed-rate loan under the plan, but only if their loan is held by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
To qualify, homeowners can’t owe more than 105 percent of their home’s current value on their first mortgage. Borrowers with a second mortgage are eligible as long as their first mortgage isn’t more than 105 percent of their home’s value. The value of your property will be determined after you apply to refinance.
Skeptics say it’s going to be difficult for borrowers to figure out whether their loans are held by Fannie or Freddie. “I’m not sure people are always going to get a straight answer,” said Bert Ely, a banking industry consultant in Alexandria, Va.
Q: Any breaks for first-time homebuyers?
A: Under the economic stimulus plan that Obama signed Tuesday, first-time homebuyers who purchase a home between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 will be eligible for a tax credit of 10 percent of the value of the home, up to $8,000.
Homeowners don’t have to pay back this credit over the next 15 years, the way they had to with the $7,500 tax credit enacted last summer. However, homebuyers would have to repay the credit if they sold their homes within three years.
First-time buyers are defined as those who haven’t owned a house for at least three years.
Q: Any other breaks for current homeowners?
A: Homeowners also can get a tax credit of up to $1,500 by making their homes more energy efficient this year or next. Many projects qualify, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces or air conditioners, or adding insulation. Homeowners can get back 30 percent of their expenses, up to $1,500.
Q: Will there be more assistance down the road?
A: The Obama administration is working with lawmakers to pass a bill that will allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of primary home loans in court.
The lending industry is fighting this plan, arguing that it will make lending a risky proposition in the future. But with support mounting, the industry’s efforts are primarily focused on limiting the scope of the bankruptcy proposal, rather than blocking it completely.
Q: How soon can I expect to take advantage of these benefits or aid?
A: The refinancing and loan modification programs start March 4. The first-time homebuyer tax credit is in effect from the first of the year through the end of November. The “green” home tax credit applies to energy-efficient improvements made through 2010.
Q: What should I do until March 4?
A: If you’re interested in refinancing or applying for a loan modification, collect all necessary documents to give to your lender.
These include your most recent pay stubs and/or other documents detailing the income you receive, your most recent tax return, information about your second mortgage if you have one, payment information on your credit cards if you carry a monthly balance and payment information on all other loans, like student loans and car loans.
Q: What if I’m facing foreclosure now, and can’t wait until March 4?
A: Contact your mortgage servicer or mortgage lender. Many lenders said they will postpone foreclosure sales on home loans that could qualify for the modification.
Stimulus Plan Includes Tax Breaks for Individuals
Article from Ventura County Star - 22 February, 2009
By Michelle Singletarymailto:Singletarysingletarym@washpost.com
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The stimulus plan that President Barack Obama has signed into law contains a few tax treats for individuals. But before you jump for joy, please pay close attention to the details so you know exactly which provisions can benefit you, and how.
One of the biggest breaks being trumpeted is a new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. I say “new” because some believe it completely replaces the $7,500 tax credit passed as part of last year’s Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
It does not.
There are two breaks for first-time homeowners in the tax code now. Which credit you can take depends on when you purchased your home.
If you’re a first-time homebuyer and you purchased your home on or after April 8, 2008, and by Dec. 31, 2008, you do not qualify for the $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s credit recently signed into law by Obama.
You can still take the $7,500 tax credit, but you have to pay that back because it’s not really a credit. It’s a 15-year, interest-free loan from the IRS.
The $8,000 tax credit is available for qualifying home purchases made from Jan. 1, 2009, until Dec. 1, 2009. Did you notice I wrote Dec. 1?
That’s how it’s worded in the law.
I know there will be people who will read Dec. 1 as the end of the year, Dec. 31 — and those who make that mistake may be in for a nasty surprise. You naturally would think the cutoff would be the end of the year. After committing to spend $787 billion dollars, it’s idiotic that homebuyers weren’t given the extra month to qualify for this credit.
At least the $8,000 is a true credit, that is, if you don’t plan on moving within three years. A tax credit is much more valuable than a deduction. A credit reduces dollar for dollar the amount of tax you owe. A deduction merely reduces the amount of your income that is taxable.
If you take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and then sell your home or it no longer remains your principal residence within 36 months of the purchase date, you will have to pay back the full $8,000.
However, as with the $7,500 credit, if you sell and your gain is less than the credit, then you only have to repay up to the amount of the gain. If you die before the credit/loan is repaid, any outstanding amount is forgiven.
I’ve never liked the $7,500 credit because of its lengthy loan feature. Repayment for the $7,500 begins the second tax year after you take the credit. So if you claim the credit on your 2008 tax return, you have to begin paying back the money in 2010.
There’s something else to take into account. If your status is married filing separately, you can’t get the full $8,000 credit or $7,500 credit.
Instead, you get $4,000 of the $8,000 credit and $3,750 of the $7,500 credit. People filing as single are eligible for the full credit. Don’t complain to me about the difference in treatment between a single tax filer and married filing separately. It is what it is.
If you are still not sure which first-time homebuyer credit you qualify for, call the IRS. You don’t want to end up owing money on a loan you thought was a credit.
Here are several other tax breaks passed into law:
- For 2008, the child tax credit is refundable if 15 percent of the taxpayer’s earned income is in excess of $8,500. The new law would reduce this floor in 2009 and 2010 to $3,000. “It makes the full benefit of the child tax credit available to a larger number of low- and moderate-income workers,” said Eric Smith, a spokesman for the IRS.
- You get a one-year deduction for state or local sales or excise tax paid on new-car purchases up to $49,500. The deduction does not include interest on the loan, as some media reports have said. Additionally, the deduction is “above the line,” which means that it can be taken even by those who do not itemize other deductions on their tax returns. To qualify, you have to have an annual adjusted gross income below $135,000 for individuals or $260,000 in the case of joint returns.
- Money withdrawn from a 529 college savings plan is not taxable if it’s used for qualifying expenses. Under the stimulus plan, computer expenses will now be considered an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans.
- The plan exempts the first $2,400 of unemployment insurance benefits from federal income taxes in 2009.
One more thing, please note that many of the tax breaks in the stimulus plan apply only for your 2009 tax return — not the current tax filing season.
— Listen to Michelle Singletary discuss personal finance every Tuesday on NPR’s “Day to Day.’’ To hear her reports online, go to http://www.npr.org/.
Readers can write to her c/o The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her e-mail address is singletarym@washpost.com.
By Michelle Singletarymailto:Singletarysingletarym@washpost.com
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The stimulus plan that President Barack Obama has signed into law contains a few tax treats for individuals. But before you jump for joy, please pay close attention to the details so you know exactly which provisions can benefit you, and how.
One of the biggest breaks being trumpeted is a new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. I say “new” because some believe it completely replaces the $7,500 tax credit passed as part of last year’s Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
It does not.
There are two breaks for first-time homeowners in the tax code now. Which credit you can take depends on when you purchased your home.
If you’re a first-time homebuyer and you purchased your home on or after April 8, 2008, and by Dec. 31, 2008, you do not qualify for the $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s credit recently signed into law by Obama.
You can still take the $7,500 tax credit, but you have to pay that back because it’s not really a credit. It’s a 15-year, interest-free loan from the IRS.
The $8,000 tax credit is available for qualifying home purchases made from Jan. 1, 2009, until Dec. 1, 2009. Did you notice I wrote Dec. 1?
That’s how it’s worded in the law.
I know there will be people who will read Dec. 1 as the end of the year, Dec. 31 — and those who make that mistake may be in for a nasty surprise. You naturally would think the cutoff would be the end of the year. After committing to spend $787 billion dollars, it’s idiotic that homebuyers weren’t given the extra month to qualify for this credit.
At least the $8,000 is a true credit, that is, if you don’t plan on moving within three years. A tax credit is much more valuable than a deduction. A credit reduces dollar for dollar the amount of tax you owe. A deduction merely reduces the amount of your income that is taxable.
If you take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and then sell your home or it no longer remains your principal residence within 36 months of the purchase date, you will have to pay back the full $8,000.
However, as with the $7,500 credit, if you sell and your gain is less than the credit, then you only have to repay up to the amount of the gain. If you die before the credit/loan is repaid, any outstanding amount is forgiven.
I’ve never liked the $7,500 credit because of its lengthy loan feature. Repayment for the $7,500 begins the second tax year after you take the credit. So if you claim the credit on your 2008 tax return, you have to begin paying back the money in 2010.
There’s something else to take into account. If your status is married filing separately, you can’t get the full $8,000 credit or $7,500 credit.
Instead, you get $4,000 of the $8,000 credit and $3,750 of the $7,500 credit. People filing as single are eligible for the full credit. Don’t complain to me about the difference in treatment between a single tax filer and married filing separately. It is what it is.
If you are still not sure which first-time homebuyer credit you qualify for, call the IRS. You don’t want to end up owing money on a loan you thought was a credit.
Here are several other tax breaks passed into law:
- For 2008, the child tax credit is refundable if 15 percent of the taxpayer’s earned income is in excess of $8,500. The new law would reduce this floor in 2009 and 2010 to $3,000. “It makes the full benefit of the child tax credit available to a larger number of low- and moderate-income workers,” said Eric Smith, a spokesman for the IRS.
- You get a one-year deduction for state or local sales or excise tax paid on new-car purchases up to $49,500. The deduction does not include interest on the loan, as some media reports have said. Additionally, the deduction is “above the line,” which means that it can be taken even by those who do not itemize other deductions on their tax returns. To qualify, you have to have an annual adjusted gross income below $135,000 for individuals or $260,000 in the case of joint returns.
- Money withdrawn from a 529 college savings plan is not taxable if it’s used for qualifying expenses. Under the stimulus plan, computer expenses will now be considered an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans.
- The plan exempts the first $2,400 of unemployment insurance benefits from federal income taxes in 2009.
One more thing, please note that many of the tax breaks in the stimulus plan apply only for your 2009 tax return — not the current tax filing season.
— Listen to Michelle Singletary discuss personal finance every Tuesday on NPR’s “Day to Day.’’ To hear her reports online, go to http://www.npr.org/.
Readers can write to her c/o The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her e-mail address is singletarym@washpost.com.
"Show me the note" Can Stall Banks' Efforts to Foreclose
Ventura County Star Newspaper Article from 22 February 2009
Request for original buys time
By Mitch StacyThe Associated PressSunday, February 22, 2009
How the mortgage process worked
Kathy Lovelace, of Zephyrhills, Fla., says she was able to stop foreclosure proceedings by asking that the lender produce the original mortgage note.
Attorney Chris Hoyer of Tampa, Fla., runs the Consumer Warning Network Web site, which offers free court documents to homeowners faced with foreclosure.
ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — Kathy Lovelace lost her job and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork.
And just like that, the foreclosure proceedings came to a standstill.
Lovelace and other homeowners around the country are managing to stave off foreclosure by employing a strategy that goes to the heart of the whole nationwide mess.
During the real estate frenzy of the past decade, mortgages were sold and resold, bundled into securities and peddled to investors. In many cases, the original note signed by the homeowner was lost, stored away in a distant warehouse or destroyed.
Persuading a judge to compel production of hard-to-find or nonexistent documents can, at the very least, delay foreclosure, buying the homeowner some time and turning up the pressure on the lender to renegotiate the mortgage.
“I’m going to hang on for dear life until they can prove to me it belongs to them,” said Lovelace, a 50-year-old divorced mother who owns a $200,000 home in Zephyrhills, near Tampa. “I’ll try everything I can because it’s all I have left.”
In interviews with The Associated Press, lawyers, homeowners and advocates outlined the produce-the-note strategy. Exactly how many homeowners have employed it is unknown. Nor is it clear how successful it has been; some judges are more sympathetic than others.
More than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year and millions more are in danger of losing their homes. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to spend $75 billion to help homeowners fend off foreclosure.
Chris Hoyer, a Tampa lawyer whose Consumer Warning Network Web site offers the free court documents Lovelace used to file her request, has played a major role in promoting the produce-the-note strategy.
“We knew early on that the only relief that would ever come to people would be to the people who were in their houses,” Hoyer said. “Nobody was going to fashion any relief for people who have already lost their houses. So your only hope was to hang on any way you could.”
Tom Deutsch, deputy executive director of the American Securitization Forum, a group that represents banks, law firms and investors, dismissed the strategy as merely a stalling tactic, saying homeowners are “making lawyers jump through procedural hoops to delay what’s likely to be inevitable.”
Deutsch said the original note is almost always electronically retained and can eventually be found. Judges are often willing to accept electronic documentation. And lenders are sometimes allowed to produce other paperwork to establish they are the holders of loans.
Still, assembling such documents to a judge’s satisfaction takes time, which to homeowners is the point. Lovelace filed her produce-the-note demand last fall after the bank acknowledged that her original mortgage document had been lost or destroyed. Since then, there has been no activity on the foreclosure — no letters from the lender, no court filings.
The law firm handling the foreclosure for the lender refused to comment.
A University of Iowa study last year suggested that companies servicing mortgages are often negligent when it comes to producing the documentation to support foreclosure. In the study of more than 1,700 bankruptcy cases stemming from home foreclosures, the original note was missing more than 40 percent of the time, and other pieces of required documentation also were routinely left out.
The first big success of the produce-the-note movement came in 2007, when a federal judge in Cleveland threw out 14 foreclosures by Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. because the bank failed to produce the original notes.
Michael Silver, a lawyer for two of the families in that case, said at least one eventually lost its home. Still, he considers that a success.
“From the perspective of the person who’s in the home, you may have kept them in the house another 10 or 12 months,” he said. “If I can get a result with economic benefits to a client, then I think I won.”
Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio endorsed the strategy in a fiery speech on the House floor during debate on the federal bank bailout last month.
“Don’t leave your home,” she said. “Because you know what? When those companies say they have your mortgage, unless you have a lawyer that can put his or her finger on that mortgage, you don’t have that mortgage, and you are going to find they can’t find the paper up there on Wall Street.”
April Charney, head of foreclosure defense for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid in Florida, said the strategy has been so successful for her that she now travels around the country to train other lawyers in how to use it. She said she has gotten cases delayed for years by demanding that lenders produce paperwork they cannot find.
On the Net:
Consumer Warning Network: http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/
American Securitization Forum: http://www.americansecuritization.com/
Request for original buys time
By Mitch StacyThe Associated PressSunday, February 22, 2009
How the mortgage process worked
Kathy Lovelace, of Zephyrhills, Fla., says she was able to stop foreclosure proceedings by asking that the lender produce the original mortgage note.
Attorney Chris Hoyer of Tampa, Fla., runs the Consumer Warning Network Web site, which offers free court documents to homeowners faced with foreclosure.
ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — Kathy Lovelace lost her job and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork.
And just like that, the foreclosure proceedings came to a standstill.
Lovelace and other homeowners around the country are managing to stave off foreclosure by employing a strategy that goes to the heart of the whole nationwide mess.
During the real estate frenzy of the past decade, mortgages were sold and resold, bundled into securities and peddled to investors. In many cases, the original note signed by the homeowner was lost, stored away in a distant warehouse or destroyed.
Persuading a judge to compel production of hard-to-find or nonexistent documents can, at the very least, delay foreclosure, buying the homeowner some time and turning up the pressure on the lender to renegotiate the mortgage.
“I’m going to hang on for dear life until they can prove to me it belongs to them,” said Lovelace, a 50-year-old divorced mother who owns a $200,000 home in Zephyrhills, near Tampa. “I’ll try everything I can because it’s all I have left.”
In interviews with The Associated Press, lawyers, homeowners and advocates outlined the produce-the-note strategy. Exactly how many homeowners have employed it is unknown. Nor is it clear how successful it has been; some judges are more sympathetic than others.
More than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year and millions more are in danger of losing their homes. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to spend $75 billion to help homeowners fend off foreclosure.
Chris Hoyer, a Tampa lawyer whose Consumer Warning Network Web site offers the free court documents Lovelace used to file her request, has played a major role in promoting the produce-the-note strategy.
“We knew early on that the only relief that would ever come to people would be to the people who were in their houses,” Hoyer said. “Nobody was going to fashion any relief for people who have already lost their houses. So your only hope was to hang on any way you could.”
Tom Deutsch, deputy executive director of the American Securitization Forum, a group that represents banks, law firms and investors, dismissed the strategy as merely a stalling tactic, saying homeowners are “making lawyers jump through procedural hoops to delay what’s likely to be inevitable.”
Deutsch said the original note is almost always electronically retained and can eventually be found. Judges are often willing to accept electronic documentation. And lenders are sometimes allowed to produce other paperwork to establish they are the holders of loans.
Still, assembling such documents to a judge’s satisfaction takes time, which to homeowners is the point. Lovelace filed her produce-the-note demand last fall after the bank acknowledged that her original mortgage document had been lost or destroyed. Since then, there has been no activity on the foreclosure — no letters from the lender, no court filings.
The law firm handling the foreclosure for the lender refused to comment.
A University of Iowa study last year suggested that companies servicing mortgages are often negligent when it comes to producing the documentation to support foreclosure. In the study of more than 1,700 bankruptcy cases stemming from home foreclosures, the original note was missing more than 40 percent of the time, and other pieces of required documentation also were routinely left out.
The first big success of the produce-the-note movement came in 2007, when a federal judge in Cleveland threw out 14 foreclosures by Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. because the bank failed to produce the original notes.
Michael Silver, a lawyer for two of the families in that case, said at least one eventually lost its home. Still, he considers that a success.
“From the perspective of the person who’s in the home, you may have kept them in the house another 10 or 12 months,” he said. “If I can get a result with economic benefits to a client, then I think I won.”
Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio endorsed the strategy in a fiery speech on the House floor during debate on the federal bank bailout last month.
“Don’t leave your home,” she said. “Because you know what? When those companies say they have your mortgage, unless you have a lawyer that can put his or her finger on that mortgage, you don’t have that mortgage, and you are going to find they can’t find the paper up there on Wall Street.”
April Charney, head of foreclosure defense for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid in Florida, said the strategy has been so successful for her that she now travels around the country to train other lawyers in how to use it. She said she has gotten cases delayed for years by demanding that lenders produce paperwork they cannot find.
On the Net:
Consumer Warning Network: http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/
American Securitization Forum: http://www.americansecuritization.com/
Bargains Spur Feeding Frenzy at Low End of Home Market
Ventura County Star Article from February 20,2009
But housing prices still sliding, experts warn
By Jenni Mintz (Contact) Friday, February 20, 2009
Grim economic news isn’t stopping some homebuyers from pouncing on distressed properties, even as experts warn that prices could fall further.
Spurred by foreclosure sales, Ventura County’s home sales shot above year-ago levels for the seventh straight month in January, MDA DataQuick reported Thursday. There were 578 new and existing homes and condominiums sold last month, up 36.6 percent from 423 the previous year, but down 34 percent from 876 in December, according to the real estate information service.
The median, the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less, was $335,000 in January, falling 29.9 percent from $477,750 for the same month in 2008. The median has fallen for 30 consecutive months, plunging 46.8 percent from its $630,000 peak in December 2005.
The steep decline was attributed to sliding prices and types of homes that were sold.
Foreclosures comprised 49.1 percent of last month’s resale activity. Upper end of market listless “The bottom end is selling like hotcakes,” said Brian Troop, president of Simi Valley-based Troop Real Estate. “There’s not a lot of activity in the upper end of the market.”
Lower-end properties are hot sellers for several reasons, Troop said. Many buyers are investors wanting to buy at the bottom of the market, but there aren’t a lot of homeowners who are looking to move up, he said. If they did, the availability of mortgage loans might be an obstacle.
Lenders have been tight with upper-end mortgages, but Troop thinks that will change with the passage of the economic stimulus package, which increased loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $729,000 through the end of the year. Record low prices and interest rates and the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit available to first-time homebuyers are other perks, he said.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.04 percent this week from 5.16 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.04 percent.
“The opportunity for buyers is the best I’ve seen, and I’ve been in the business since 1978,” Troop said. He said the average sales price has flattened out in the lower market, where he’s seeing five to 10 offers on a home and properties selling for more than the listed price.
But many people are still skittish.
“Nobody I know is buying now — everybody is afraid of losing their job,” said Dave Lake, an IT analyst for a healthcare company in Westlake Village. Awaiting ‘break-even point’ Lake said he’s renting until the market corrects to a sustainable level. He expects prices to fall 20 to 30 percent in Westlake Village in the next year, and then drop an additional 5 to 10 percent for several years after that.
“I’m waiting for the break-even point, where the cost of owning approaches the cost of renting,” he said, adding that he expects that to happen in the next 18 months in Westlake Village.
For many first-time homebuyers and investors, it’s not worth trying to time the price bottom perfectly, said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “They’re happy to lock in substantial discounts relative to the peak.”
That was reflected in a sales spurt across Southern California, where a total of 15,227 new and existing homes and condominiums closed escrow last month, up 52.5 percent from 9,984 a year ago.
The Southland median was $250,000, down a record 39.8 percent from $415,000 in January 2008, and the lowest since it was $242,000 in February 2002, DataQuick reported.
Foreclosures represented 60 percent of all homes resold. Sales of newly built homes were the lowest for the month of January in at least 21 years, DataQuick reported.
Default notices and foreclosures have slowed, but many economists agree that it could take years for the housing market to recover and prices to rebound.
Dennis Torres, executive director of real estate operations and adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, expects prices to continue to fall at least through 2009.
“In Ventura County, I see them going down more than they are now, but I do not see the rate of decrease anywhere near what it was,” Torres said.
On the Net:
http://www.dqnews.com/
But housing prices still sliding, experts warn
By Jenni Mintz (Contact) Friday, February 20, 2009
Grim economic news isn’t stopping some homebuyers from pouncing on distressed properties, even as experts warn that prices could fall further.
Spurred by foreclosure sales, Ventura County’s home sales shot above year-ago levels for the seventh straight month in January, MDA DataQuick reported Thursday. There were 578 new and existing homes and condominiums sold last month, up 36.6 percent from 423 the previous year, but down 34 percent from 876 in December, according to the real estate information service.
The median, the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less, was $335,000 in January, falling 29.9 percent from $477,750 for the same month in 2008. The median has fallen for 30 consecutive months, plunging 46.8 percent from its $630,000 peak in December 2005.
The steep decline was attributed to sliding prices and types of homes that were sold.
Foreclosures comprised 49.1 percent of last month’s resale activity. Upper end of market listless “The bottom end is selling like hotcakes,” said Brian Troop, president of Simi Valley-based Troop Real Estate. “There’s not a lot of activity in the upper end of the market.”
Lower-end properties are hot sellers for several reasons, Troop said. Many buyers are investors wanting to buy at the bottom of the market, but there aren’t a lot of homeowners who are looking to move up, he said. If they did, the availability of mortgage loans might be an obstacle.
Lenders have been tight with upper-end mortgages, but Troop thinks that will change with the passage of the economic stimulus package, which increased loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $729,000 through the end of the year. Record low prices and interest rates and the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit available to first-time homebuyers are other perks, he said.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.04 percent this week from 5.16 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.04 percent.
“The opportunity for buyers is the best I’ve seen, and I’ve been in the business since 1978,” Troop said. He said the average sales price has flattened out in the lower market, where he’s seeing five to 10 offers on a home and properties selling for more than the listed price.
But many people are still skittish.
“Nobody I know is buying now — everybody is afraid of losing their job,” said Dave Lake, an IT analyst for a healthcare company in Westlake Village. Awaiting ‘break-even point’ Lake said he’s renting until the market corrects to a sustainable level. He expects prices to fall 20 to 30 percent in Westlake Village in the next year, and then drop an additional 5 to 10 percent for several years after that.
“I’m waiting for the break-even point, where the cost of owning approaches the cost of renting,” he said, adding that he expects that to happen in the next 18 months in Westlake Village.
For many first-time homebuyers and investors, it’s not worth trying to time the price bottom perfectly, said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “They’re happy to lock in substantial discounts relative to the peak.”
That was reflected in a sales spurt across Southern California, where a total of 15,227 new and existing homes and condominiums closed escrow last month, up 52.5 percent from 9,984 a year ago.
The Southland median was $250,000, down a record 39.8 percent from $415,000 in January 2008, and the lowest since it was $242,000 in February 2002, DataQuick reported.
Foreclosures represented 60 percent of all homes resold. Sales of newly built homes were the lowest for the month of January in at least 21 years, DataQuick reported.
Default notices and foreclosures have slowed, but many economists agree that it could take years for the housing market to recover and prices to rebound.
Dennis Torres, executive director of real estate operations and adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, expects prices to continue to fall at least through 2009.
“In Ventura County, I see them going down more than they are now, but I do not see the rate of decrease anywhere near what it was,” Torres said.
On the Net:
http://www.dqnews.com/
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Pier View Townhomes in Ventura
Pier View Townhomes
Mark Dragonchuck is a genius. He has done what very few other local developers have achieved.
He got it right.
Mr Dragonchuck has managed to place a group of townhomes where they ought to be, at a price that is very competitive and with a quality of workmanship and superb styling that we seldom see. This is very cutting edge stuff. This is Pier View Townhomes.
Nine units only, no pool or recreation center and hardly anything else that a buyer can be charged for in addition to their home. These are just small, really, really nice homes. Very energy efficient and very tech friendly. Wow, what a concept!
There are only four units left, but they represent some very comfortable offerings. The basic home layout is a 2 car garage with built-in laundry on the first floor and a very long straight staircase to the living areas on the second and third floors. These homes are not designed for folks with weak legs. You drop your newspaper at the top of the steps and it’s going to bounce all the way down to the street.
When you enter the living area you are going to be surprised at the level of workmanship and attention to detail you see everywhere around you. Take a look at the limestone flooring. It’s not just well executed, it’s breathtaking in design and colors used as well. All of the gorgeous tilework is framed by 5” dark natural wood floor trim and matching door frames. There are no two units that share designs or colors.
Everything you touch is nice. The doors are solid panel fir. The door knobs and hinges are oil rubbed bronze. Light fixtures are shaker style and sized for the home. The staircase banisters are varnished hard wood and installed on both sides of the steps – a nice touch.
The second floor has the kitchen, dining area, living room and 1 bathroom. There is a two chair deck off the dining area which may or may not have a view and which usually has a gas plug for your barbeque. You may have to give up a chair if you elect to have a barbeque on your deck.
The kitchens are mostly small with no islands, but with very high quality, hand finished natural wooden cabinetry, stainless appliances, and some marvelous granite counter tops that were evidently selected with great care. Under cabinet lighting and recessed room lighting keep everything comfortably lit for food preparation. Most kitchens have a window but the kitchen views may not always impress.
The stairways to the third floor may or may not be carpeted, but all are limestone or flagstone framed with hardwood trim and banisters. The top floor has one or two bedrooms and a bath. The bathrooms are masterpieces of stone work flooring and colorful granite vanity tops.
The smaller bedroom usually is rather compact with few frills, while the master bedroom will have an outside deck and a larger closet. There were a few master bedrooms that had absolutely wonderful views of the ocean and pier. One of the units we visited had a good-sized walk-in closet in addition to the deck and larger bedroom size. Another unit, had both bedrooms sharing the outside patio with their own separate access.
Everything you see runs counter to the normal new home trends. Bigger here is not better. The units are compact and scream efficiency, quality and high tech. No plastic anywhere, no built-in entertainment nooks and no 1000 square foot two story entryways. There really is no wasted space anywhere.
What you will find are dual pane PELLA windows, water saving shower heads, low flow toilets, set back thermostat controls for FAU, exterior house doors weather stripped and the list goes on. Hard wired smoke detectors, garage door safety sensors, fire sprinkler systems, HDTV ready, pre-wired for security system, pre-wired for On-Q network systems. Very impressive, very smart, very green, very nice.
Usually on one of the floors of each unit there is a view or partial view of mountains, ocean or some of the nearby Victorian Style mansions which have been converted to apartment or business use. There are several units which have a parking lot view of the next door restaurant and which absorb a bit of the loud music that it plays. There are also a few very poorly maintained rental homes just over the fence on both sides of the development. It just adds to the inner city ambiance.
People who like downtown Ventura with all it’s shops, restaurants, playhouses and clubs will find this a marvelous, convenient place to live. These homes are 1 block from the pedestrian bridge that crosses the 101 to the ocean front walkways, surfing beaches, restaurants and fairgrounds. You would have a difficult time finding another single location with such extraordinary access to the best attractions Ventura has to offer.
I give this enclave an A for style, A for quality, A for execution, and an A for location.
I like it! I want to see more from Mr Dragonchuck.
Warmest Regards,
Mark Thorngren
Find out more at http://www.pierviewtownhomes.com/
Visit more of my blogs at http://www.blogger.com/www.MarkThorngren.com.
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