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Diamond Bar, CA Real Estate News

By Barbara Rounds
(Coldwell Banker Tri-Counties)
Diamond Bar High School (DBHS) is located on Pathfinder Rd., southeast of the intersection of the 57 and 60 freeways, in the city of Diamond Bar. The southern portion of the city is served by the Walnut Valley Unified School District. Diamond Bar High School serves approximately 3300 students in grades 9-12. Diamond Bar High School diverse student population is best described as "cosmopolitan" (both multi-ethnic and multi-cultural). A language other than English is spoken in the homes of over fifty percent of our student population.
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By Barbara Rounds
(Coldwell Banker Tri-Counties)
 If you would like to see the Market Trends in the area where you are currently living or thinking about moving. Contact me and I will give you detailed graphs with data researching, Home Sales, How Long On The Market, Price per sqft., Most informitive Company to work with & this report can go to any County in CA.   
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By Barbara Rounds
(Coldwell Banker Tri-Counties)
FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS: If you are at risk or in Foreclosure you should be on the lookout for foreclosure scams! I have a list of "RED FLAGS" that you should beware of. Contact me direct and I will be more than happy to get this information to you. If you have been a victim of foreclosure scam or feel that you might be, I can provide you with organizations and government enforcement agencies.  Also available a 24/7toll-free HOPE hot-line.   
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
In order for lender to issue a loan to buyer to purchase a property, lender hires an appraiser to evaluate the market value of the subject property to ensure lender's interest. Only comparable market sales (comps) of local properties sold within the last six months are allowed to value your home. In today's down market, appraisal can come in low due to the fact that our market is foreclosure driven and the bank owned and short sale properties are selling 10% to 40% below market. The value of those short sales and bank owned homes could affect the value of standard sales tremendously. In order to avoid appraisal problem, home owners need to either bring their price down to the bank owned price level or deal with the appraisal problem after escrow opens. If the appraisal value comes in to...
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Recently I have lots of buyer's inquiries on buying un-approved short sale. un-approved short sale occurs when the seller owes more money than the house is worth and the selling price of the house is subject to the lender's approval. For un-approved short sale, the listing price is not real because it depends on the final approval of the bank. It will take about 2 to 6 months to buy a short sale and the chance of buying it successfully is only 50/50 due to lots of uncontrollable factors such as: 1. Buyer finds another house that is a better deal. 2. Seller gives up on the house by not paying the loan. 3. Bank declines on buyer's initial offer and counter back at a higher price. 4. Multiple buyers bidding on the same house over 2 to 6 months short sale process. For un-approved short sale...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
In California, tenant can not use the security deposit in lieu of the last month rent. If landlord did not receive the last month rent after tenant gives a 30-day move out notice, landlord need to contact tenant immediately to collect the rent or serve the "3-Day Notice To Pay Rent Or Quit" notice. Security deposit will be refunded within 21 days after tenant moves out. Tenant shall not expect early refund of the deposit at the time of move out inspection. If you are looking for an experienced agent to help renting your home, please call Caroline at (626) 922-8408.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Often times, I have clients who are getting married or in need of transfer title to a family member. To do so in California, you can do it yourself by performing the following 3 tasks: 1. Sign a quick claim deed 2. Have it notarize and 3. Record it with the county. Or you can have a escrow company do all of the above by making just one trip. The company I am working with is Platinum Hills EscrowEsther Murcia 1409 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. Diamond Bar, Ca 91765 (909) 860-8668 esther@platinumhills.com Just let Esther know that you are my client and she will process your request accordingly. Please be sure to consult your accountant and lawyer for the tax and legal implication prior to the actual transfer.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Here are some general reasons for using agents as a means to procuring tenants: 1. Interviewing prospected tenants can be very frightening especially for new landlords. Agents do this as a matter of course and can generally ascertain a lot more information by experience and asking the right questions. 2. No upfront fee until the house is rented. Agents handle all the initial transactions including property showings, collecting applications, pull out credit reports, verify employment, prepare lease and disclosures and collecting first month rent and deposits in cashier's check. 3. Agents constantly advertising in the newspapers and internet and have more advertising resources than private owners. 4. The agent can give the landlord 'an arm's length distance. Landlords can sometime be take...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Black Friday today keeps off the holiday shopping season. One of my favorite shopping places is Outlet at Cabazon near Palm Springs. It is about an hour away from Diamond Bar via 10 Freeway. The outlet has over 150 stores. Since there are so many stores, it is almost impossible to see them all. Nevertheless, it is fun to stroll around the outdoor shopping mall and enjoy the wonderful Southern California weather.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
This winter, the market is over saturated with rental properties with 5 times more inventory than last year. As a result of that, the market rent drops from 10% to 20% depending on the area. The followings are two main reasons why we are experience such a rapid surge of rental inventories. 1. Due to the rapid housing price decline in the past year, a lot of sellers decided to rent their houses out instead of selling them. By doing so, it creates a huge number of rental inventories. 2. A lot of renters with good credit who sold their houses at the heights of the market decide to make a purchase now instead of continue renting since market price has drop as much as 45%. Because of that, we see a large shrinkage of quality renters with good credit and also the increase of available rental...
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For homeowners who are interested to learn more about home retention, Bank Of America and RE/MAX Realty 100 join together to provide a free Home Retention Seminar. The seminar will cover the following subjects: 1. Loan Modification 2. HOPE for Homeowners 3. Short Sales 4. Steps in A Foreclosure It will be held on Thursday, Dec 4th at 7 pm at Ayres Suites Diamond Bar 21951 Golden Springs Drive Diamond Bar, Ca 91765 (909) 860-6290 You are welcome drop by and attend the free seminar on the day of event. However, RSVP will be highly appreciated by Dec. 1, 2008 with RE/MAX at (909) 861-9985.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
To purchase a property, besides the down payment, buyer needs to prepare some additional money for closing cost. Here is a list of fee involved to close the escrow. 1.Title fee. 2. Escrow fee. 3. Loan processing fee. 4. 1st month prorated mortgage payment. 5. Prorated property tax. 6. Home insurance. 7. Appraisal fee. 8. Credit report fee. 9. Notary fee. 10. Wire fee. 11. Carrier fee. 12. Home inspection fee. 13. Private Mortgage Insurance (if applicable). 14. Impound account reserves (if applicable). The closing cost runs about 2% to 4% of the purchase price. Much of it depends on how much lender charges on point and origination fee. Depending on the credit score and amount of down payment, lender might allow up to 6% of the purchase price as credit towards buyer's closing cost from th...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
As we grow older and take on more and more responsibilities, it is easy to get lost in the "work" maze. To rekindle that fun loving part of our inner beings, my family takes monthly pilgrimage to Disneyland. It is a simple joy just to watch children's smiling faces. It is also very romantic at night to sit back and relax in front of the Disney Harbor watching the beautiful boardwalk. Since we are only 20 minutes away from Disneyland, we can afford to visit on a monthly basis. It is such a blessing to be there to unwind and take the mind away for a day!
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
The recent pullback in market price gives homeowners an opportunity to ease their property tax squeeze if the property was purchased after 2003. Here a quick outline on how to lower your property tax: 1. Contact me to get 3 comps on the similar houses that was sold from January 1st to March 31. Those are the acceptable comps for the County Assessors to re-assess the value of your property. 2. If the value of the comps are lower than your assessed value, file an application with county assessor. Here's the link to the application: Los Angeles County San Bernardino County Riverside County For those who purchase bank owned or short sale properties, your assessed value may be higher than the purchase price. Please be sure to take photos of the house prior repair/remodeling to support your a...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Recently I have a client who was referred by her friend to a loan modification company that already modified her friend's loan. My client is trying to modify her option arm loan of $460,000. The modification company charges a flat fee of $4500 and requests $1500 up front. Reading the contract of the loan modification company, it states: "Service provided by the company are not guaranteed, no particular result has been promised, no prediction of result has been made, other than that the company will modify or restructure the current mortgage to some unspecified degree. No promise or guarantee implied or directly made by the independent contractor is the company obligated to maintain." Any homeowner who is interested in modify the loan can call and talk to the lender's "Loss Mitigation" d...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Escrow company is a neutral third party who facilitate the transfer of the title from seller to buyer by holding funds or documents and distribute them accordingly to the instructions from both parties. Escrow officer will obtain funds and documents from buyer, seller and lender, when all the terms of the agreement are met, escrow officer make sure money and papers wind up in the right hands. Buyer is responsible to pay for escrow fee, loan fee, prorated property tax, prorated first month mortgage payment, appraisal fee, credit check fee, home inspection fee and other miscellaneous closing cost. Seller is responsible to pay for escrow fee, title fee, prorated property tax, prorated last month mortgage payment, home warranty, termite repair fee, home repair fee and other miscellaneous cl...
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
Recently, I have quiet a few buyers asking me about the difference between bank owned and short sale listings. To help clarify, here's a quick comparison chart: Bank Owned Approved Short Sale Un-Approved Short Sale Who owns the property? Lenders Owners Owners Who approves the sale? Lenders Owners and lenders. Owners and lenders. Response time to offers? 1-2 days 1 weeks. 1 to 6 months. Un-approved short sale will take 1 to 6 months to get a response from the lenders depending on number of loans on the property and lender's processing time. There is no guarantee of approval from the lender after waiting for months. Buyers can secure very good deals with both bank owned and approved short sale listings.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
If you are searching to buy a house online, which of the following house will be more appealing? 1. House with no photo. 2. House with 1 photo of the front of the house. 3. House with 20 exterior and interior photos of the house. Most buyers prefer property with more photos. Why? It all boils down to establishing basic communication with the prospected buyers. The more photos buyers see, the more understanding they will gain about the house. The same principle applies to real estate agents searching for houses in Realtor's database for their clients. When they see a house with more photos, they will have more confidence to show it to prospected buyers. Since there are so many houses for sale on the market, finding a real estate agent who is willing to do the work of putting as many phot...
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I often get question from buyers asking whether it is better to purchase a newly constructed home in Rancho Cugamonga or Eastvale (North Corona next to Chino). For most buyer, depending on where you work, the decision should be very simple. For others who work at home or work near Ontario, here's a quick comparison chart to help you decide: $350,000 Will Buy You Shopping Malls Rancho Cugamonga 2300 sq ft House with 5000 sq ft lot Fully Developed Eastvale 3000 sq ft House with 8000 sq ft lot Very Little Development You can get a larger home with larger lot in Eastvale with the same budget. If you like to be close to shopping, Rancho Cugamonga may be a better fit for your lifestyle.
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By Caroline Chai
(RE/MAX Realty 100)
According to the newest sales report by California Association of Realtors, the number of home sold this July increased 43.3% comparing to July 2007.While sales volume increased, the median price of an existing single-family detached home in California dropped 40.3% from $587,560 for July 2007 to $350,760 for July 2008. Why are we seeing an increase in sales but decrease in price? According to C.A.R. President William E. Brown, "Deep-discounted, distressed sales continue to drive volume in many regions of the state."Since lenders are dumping foreclosed properties back to the market at a huge 10% to 30% discount, we are seeing large sales volume with substantially lower price than last year.Due to the huge price drop this year, it creates a great opportunity for home buyers to secure exc...
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