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Chico, CA Real Estate News

By Sandi Bauman, Chico CA Realtor
(Chico Homes Real Estate)
2995 Wingfield Avenue, Chico, CA 95928 - $626,500.002995 Wingfield Avenue, Chico, CA 95928FEATURESBedrooms: 3Bathrooms: 2Year Built: 2020Lot Size: 0.17Garage Size: 2School District: Chico UnifiedSquare Footage: 1964Agent Name: Sandi BaumanBroker: Chico Homes Real Estate Sales IncMLS #: SN24071475DESCRIPTIONA discerning buyer will be delighted- this beauty is better than new, and absolutely LOADED with upgrades! The owners elevated a high-quality build with exceptional finishes. Unlike most 'new' construction, all you have to do is move in! The outdoor living space is impeccably designed with easy care landscaping, and multiple patios (both covered and uncovered) to enjoy the incredible views of rolling green pastures, majestic oak trees, and even the Sutter Buttes on a clear day! Tastef...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
I'm the Chairman of the Affiliate Committee for our local Association of Realtors and we conduct a Fall and Spring Mixer for the local Realtors. During the mixers, Realtors and Affiliates network with each other and we usually throw a theme behind each one. For our Fall Mixer in October, we are having a wine night theme. We will have a wine tasting and appetizers. We decided to raffle off wine coolers, filled with bottles of wine that were donated by the Affiliates. Each Affiliate had the opportunity to decorate their bottles the way they wanted and everyone had a lot of fun doing so! Tickets are selling for $20 and we plan on raising up $4,000 to $5,000 for Ability First and the Chico Challengers. Both groups support children with physical disabilities and are very important causes in ...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Kiss private mortgage insurance goodbye California! I've received new announcements today from multiple investors, stating that they are doing 100% first trust deed loans with NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE. In the past, investors were doing maxed 80% first trust deeds and 20% seconds to avoid PMI. Now you can avoid those higher interest rate seconds by refinancing or purchasing with a single 100% loan with NO PMI on your Primary Residence, Second Home or Investment Properties!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find the perfect loan!"
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
 Are you looking for a great place to live? I'll tell you about  a hidden gem in California, but don't tell too many people! Chico is located 90 miles north of Sacramento, California and home to 105,000 Chicoans. Boasting a "home town college feel to it", Chico is the home to California State University,Chico and a variety of amazing things. Chico is one of the only places I have lived in the world where residents take a strong pride in their community and speak so gracefully about it. So what makes Chico so unique? Here's a few things:Bidwell Park (This is where the original Robin Hood was filmed and it is the third largest municipal park in the United States, boasting 3,670 acres!),One Mile (A large public swimming pool in Bidwell park) ,Bidwell Mansion (First home in NorCal to have r...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
One of my favorite things about being a member of the Active Rain Real Estate community is the network I'm growing for my clients' benefit. Think about it, having not necessarily more...but better directions to send your clients is a great thing, adding value to what I do for them. Now I can feel comfortable with learning about professionals within the network and sending my clients in the correct direction. There is a great peace of mind that comes with such opportunities. My hats off to the AR community and I look forward to sending business in your direction when the time comes!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find the perfect...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Over the years, I have heard many questions about how to prepare for an appraisal. I thought it might be to your advantage to know what your appraiser is looking for, and what you can do to get the most out of your appraisal. Here are a couple of hints:Make a ListIf you are refinancing it is likely that you have owned your home for a couple of years and you have made improvements,additions,upgrades and general maintenance. Make a list of anything you have done to the home over the past few years. Report roof,appliances,floor coverings,water heaters,window upgreades, etc..Do this before your appraiser arrives!PicturesYour appraiser will need to take pictures of the home front,rear,outbuildings and view. The underwriter who approves your loan will never see your home and will depend on th...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Do you have any ideas of what the banks and investors will come up with next in product innovation to get homebuyers into homes? We've seen mortgage loan types that my dad would not have even imagined 25 years ago, but now they are a reality...Zero Down,Interest Only,100% Financing,6% sellers concessions,No Mortgage Insurance,Stated Programs,40 and now 50 year terms,Option Arms with 1% start rates (Neg Am loans), I've now seen loans with start rates of 25 basis points...Think about that...If you have a 30% equity position in a home, they will loan you up to 70%! On a $1,000,000 home with a $700,000 mortgage, your payment would be a little over $2,000 a month!So what's next in store for the year 2010? I propose a 100 year loan with a $100 monthly mortgage payment on a $1,000,000 home, so...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
I've lived and conducted Real Estate business in two types of areas/markets. In one you feel like a little fish in BIG pond and in the other you feel like a BIG fish in a little pond. I'm curios to see what AR members feelings are about being in each kind of market and which scenario offers greater opportunities in the Real Estate business. In the small pond, you feel like you can have a faster and more impactful message, but the business seems slower. In the big pond, it feels more impresonal and competitve, taking you longer to penetrate the market with a dominant presence....
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
 In an article recently posted by James R. Hagerty at RealEstateJournal.com, James explains that African-American and Hispanic borrowers are "much more likely than whites to pay high interest rates on mortgage loans", according to a Federal Reserve study released recently! My first reaction was, WOW! I would not figure that this would even be a topic to write about and I think it is a sad fact. In my business, I bring forward the need for Equal Housing Lending. Obviously, the ability to make on time mortgage payments has nothing to do with race. This is my mind bottling thought of the day...Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find t...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
In a competitive market where there are many choices for buyers, agents must bring the topic up of "curb appeal" to their clients. Questions such as, "what does the home look like from the front?", and "what will potential buyers first reactions be from the outside?" are VERY IMPORTANT! The home may be beutiful from the inside, but potential buyers won't give it the time of day if the outside is scary. Trimming you lawn, pulling weeds, sweeping the porch and getting rid of spider webs can make a lasting first impression! When it comes down to it, how long do you want your listing on the market?Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll fin...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
One of the most important decisions that Real Estate professionals need to make is who will do their website hosting. There is a large range of offerings that are out there and comparing and differering their services can be time consuming, but I assure you that it is worth every second! Why? It is estimated that close to 70% of all home purchases started with the consumer's "research phase". If a potential buyer goes to your website and it takes 1 minute to load up, YOU'VE LOST THEM and their potential business! It is human nature to want things immediatly at our fingertips and if you don't offer it, I will find someone else that does. Find out what type of server your hosting company is going to put you on and find out what the benefits and setbacks are of that server. You may find th...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
With the influx of homes on the market, things have switched to a buyer's market! So, what does that mean? Well, from the sellers perspective, you need to offer incentives that will differentiate your home from the rest of the flock. You can do so with offering a credit towards the buyers closing costs to ease the burden of coming up with "on hand cash", or you could do seller carryback financing, offering a rate that is lower than the prevailing rate on the open market to induce a purchase. Coming up with creative ways to market your home can make all the difference. For buyers, this is a great time to buy with interest rates at a yearly low and more choices. It seems like just a short while ago, you had to take what you could find. Now, you have the opportunity to look around and true...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
I think community involvement is one of the most important things that each of us can participate in as Real Estate professionals. Everyday, each of us in some way contributes to people moving into our neighborhoods. Helping someone find a home, sell a home, finance a home, insure a home, etc. Participating in the various organizations and understanding their roles within your community will help you to explain what makes your community so unique. In Chico, I'm involved with:Big Brothers Big Sisters-To take a little to their first baseball game is pretty cool! Ability First-Week long camp for children with physical disabilities. Chico Challengers-Local baseball team for children with physical disabilities WTC-The Work Training Center helps people get back on their feet with local jobs.D...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
I'm looking forward to finding a website that does a great job at offering an MLS to RSS service...Say what?That's right, an RSS feed that will update my website in "Real Time" with homes that have just hit the market! Maybe a "New Home of the Hour" or "Just Listed!" link on our homepage. This is the only website that I have found remotely close so far in California....http://homes.point2.com/Has anyone else found anything?Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find the perfect loan!"
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
My wife (fiancee then), recently sold her condo, which was an overall smooth experience. I have dealt with many agents so far in this business, but last night I experienced one of my firsts. Her agent, Sheree Darner, invited us over to her house for dessert and coffee after we went out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. Let me tell you, what a difference it makes to have an agent that cares enough to welcome you to her home and personal life after the deal is already done. I felt as though she really did care and it wasn't merely for the commission. When it comes down to it, she will get many referrals and our business again. Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.co...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Should I Pay Points?The best way to decide whether you should pay points or not is to perform a break- even analysis. This is done as follows:1.) Calculate the cost of the points. **Note: 1 point is equivalent to 1 percent of the loan amount. Example: 2 points on a $100,000 loan is $2,000.2.) Calculate the monthly savings on the loan as a result of obtaining a lower interest rate. Example: $50 per month.3.) Divide the cost of the points by the monthly savings to come up with the number of months to break even. In the above example, this number is 40 months. If you plan to keep the house for longer than the break-even number of months, then it makes sense to pay points; otherwise, it does not.4.) The above calculation does not take into account the tax advantages of points.When you are b...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Here's an old saying that I use to hear from my dad growing up, "early bird catches the worm!" This is a phrase that I would not come to understand better than when I grew up and graduated from college...Ahh, the good old days of waking up at noon. But as I get older, I have learned to appreciate the things that can be done in the morning. Think about it, you start setting up your day at 7am and you have a "game plan" to work by 8am. On the flipside, Joe Schmoe gets in the office at 8:30am, starts working on his game plan and isn't even productive till 10am after a cup of coffee. In the competitve marketplace we are facing, there is little room for error...Be an early bird and catch the worm!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDire...
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By Scott Gormley
(Oak Valley Mortgage-California Home Loans and Refinancing)
Zero Point/Zero Fee Loans (Part 2) What are the benefits of a zero-point/zero-fee loan?The main benefit is that you have no out-of-pocket costs. As a result, if the rates drop in the future, you could refinance again even for a small drop in rates. So if you refinanced on the zero-point/zero-fee loan to get a rate of 8.75% and if the rates drop½%, you can refinance again to 8.25%. On the other hand, if you refinanced by paying1 point and got a rate of 8.25, it may not make sense to refinance again. Now, if the rates drop another ½%, a zero-point/zero-fee loan eliminates the need to do a break-even analysis since there is no up-front expense that needs to be recovered. It also is a great way to take advantage of falling rates.Some consumers have used zero-point/zero-fee loans on adjustab...
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By Sue Gutierrez
(Mid Valley Title and Escrow)
Service you can trust, Mid Valley Titlle and Escrow Company.  The number 1 title and escrow service provider in Butte County for over 25 years.  Professional services include Title Insurance, Escrow services, Bulk sale - Business Opportunity escrow services, foreclosures.  For more information please feel free to email me or visit our website at www.midvalleytitle.com. 
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