Many potential borrowers have been hearing encouraging news lately in regards to the real estate market. In fact. today the numbers were released for construction spending and pending sales and they were both up. Other economic indicators over the past weeks have been improving also. But what does this all mean for the homeowner looking to refinance? All these improving numbers must be good for interest rates, right? Not so. If you are one of the many waiting for rates to decline even further, you may be missing out on your opportunity to refinance at the current historic lows. With each improving economic number that is released, there is a greater chance of rates starting to go up. Remember, the whole reason rates are where they are today is simply the fact that the Federal Reserve an... 05/12/2009

The Housing Affordability Fund has launched a new program designed to provide peace of mind to First Time Home Buyers that are hesitant to purchase property due to concerns about potential job loss, and subsequently being unable to meet their monthly mortgage obligations. With this HAF program and the $8000 Tax Credit - NOW is the Time to Purchase Your New Home!To qualify for the Mortgage Protection Program, Applicants must:· Be a First Time Home Buyer - someone who has not owned a home in the last three years.· Open escrow April 2, 2009, or later and close before December 31, 2009· Use a California REALTOR® in the transaction· Purchase the property in the state of California· Be a W-2 employee (cannot be self-employed).Contact us at http://www.KQuinones.ServingSonoma.com for more infor... 05/07/2009

The following is a copy of my intake form that I use for Staging. I generally keep this information in a clients folder on the left hand side. I also notate all communication between the client and on on the bottom of this form. Anyone is welcome to use it.   It is good to have an intake form because it keeps the client talking. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to post.   ~Linda     Initial Contact Person_____________________________________________________ Phone #__________________ Ext.______  Email ______________________________   Home Owners/Seller____________________________________________________ Realtor_______________________________________________________________ Trust_________________________________________________________________ Bank____________... 05/05/2009

    So I recently had a home owner who hired us to Stage her Semi Custom Single Level Home home but would not allow us to hang anything.   To compensate we brought in tall plants.         We also brought in tall furnishings.       We where able to hang curtains.   What would you do? 05/01/2009

With Divine Style was founded in 2005 by Linda D. Pufford. Linda started her business as a Professional Organizer and Interior Designer in 1988. Growing up Linda was surrounded by interior designers so she took naturally to interior design but it wasn’t until the passing of a family friend in 2002 that Linda discovered the art of Home Staging. Not knowing anything about Home Staging, Linda turned to books and shows on HDTV to guide the way. Once the home was staged it sold in just 2 weeks! Thus began her career in home Staging.Since then Linda has gone on to become an Accredited Staging Professional Master and in 2008 she was nominated for the Barb Swartz Home Staging Excellence Award.  Certifications and Associations:•    Affiliate Member of NORBAR and Women’s Council of Realtors Marin... 04/30/2009

I am in the process of preparing my website and one of the services I provide is Professional Organizing. So if anybody has time to make some comments or suggestions it would be appreciated.Professional Organizing is the art of developing systems that are custom tailored to your personality and natural organization style. The goal of professional organizing is to provide long term results. How the process works: Step 1. We perform an over the phone intake to help assess your needs for services. Step 2. For a set fee we come to your home or office and help you develop a plan to get organized. Step 3. Then for an additional set fee we come into your home and implement the plan. All work is preformed with you the client and is implemented in 4 hour intervals. In order to make the results o... 04/30/2009

Today the Senate defeated the anti-foreclosure bill 45-51/ The bill was intended to help homeowners keep their homes through the bankruptcy courts. In the bill was the so called cram down provision that allowed bankruptcy judges to reduce the principal on borrower's mortgages. This in turn would have put pressure on the loan servicers to modify the loans prior to borrower's filing for bankruptcy. Although some analysts have been stating that foreclosure have been slowing, in fact today's report showed that servicers have begun 290,000 new foreclosure proceedings against borrowers. This is a record high in foreclosure filings since foreclosures had started to be tracked in 2007. If your current situation may be causing you to think that down the road you too may be headed for foreclosure... 04/30/2009

So I am in the process of developing my website and am attempting to come up with catchy verb age to describe the services I offer. Does anyone have a suggestion?Wording for Real Estate Home Staging Page:Curb Appeal Home Staging (Free In Home Estimates)•    Your home may have what it takes on the inside to sell but if your outside is not in great shape it will be difficult to get buyers in the door. From the front yard to the back 40 we can develop a plan that is sure to make your house the hottest item on the block with out breaking the bank. Vacant Home Staging (Free In Home Estimates)•    Design an Interior and Exterior Floor Plan for the entire home. •    Make recommendation of necessary preparations before staging. (i.e. paint, carpet cleaning, landscape design, ect.)•    Bring in ... 04/29/2009

For many borrowers it has been a long and hard road over the past months to try to refinance their homes. Credit has been tight, mortgage companies are making it harder every day to qualify for a loan, and some borrower's mortgages are more than their homes are worth. But now there may be some relief for many borrowers. As part of the Home Affordable Act, Fannie Mae has introduced the Fannie Mae Refi Plus program. The Refi Plus program is designed to help borrowers who are current on their monthly mortgage payments, but may benefit from refinancing into a mortgage with better terms and a lower payment. Who can benefit from the Refi Plus Program? Borrowers trying to refinance out of an adjustable rate mortgage, or a borrower looking to lower their monthly payment. Another important benef... 04/27/2009

REALTORS - AMBASSADORS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY? Sonoma County has recently announced a community action plan to generate discussion and education about the issues and challenges we face in dealing with the impact of global climate change. We are very proud of our county for initiating this undertaking as many "talk" about what needs to be "done" but few implement the difficult tasks necessary to change. I was happy to attend a meeting sponsored by the county to promote the involvement of Eco-Green certified real estate agents in this enterprise. This is NOT going to be an easy fix and most of us know it. What we need is leadership and direction and the real estate community can be a part of it. Here are the main points discussed at the meeting. 1. Home Energy Rating Service (HERS).. The H... 04/01/2009

   VINTAGE HOMES - MORE THAN JUST CHARMING! My first vintage home was a 1917 Edwardian built in the inner Richmond district in San Francisco. Since then I have owned 10 homes and renovated 6 of them, all of which were vintage. This may be considered an indicator of high mobility or mental derangement! Obviously I find homes of earlier historical periods appealing for their architectural and aesthetic character. But I have come to realize that they offer other advantages as well. In earlier times large, spacious homes and amenities were built exclusively for the economic and social elite. Homes for the majority of the population, if they owned a home at all, were simply built and much smaller in scale. Given what we now know about climate change the need to conserve energy and lower our... 03/23/2009

WILL BANKS BALK AT LOWERING MORTGAGE RATES?     Some reporters and analyst in the financial media are now saying mortgage rates will not decline appreciably despite the feds purchase of another trillion dollars in mortgage backed securities and federal debt. According to these sources banks have no incentive to pass through the lower interest rates to consumers, home buyers and other creditors because they are already doing a brisk refinancing and loan origination business at current historically low rates.Iit may be in this view to keep the spread between what they pay for funds and what they charge for funds as wide as possible in order to restore their balance sheets to better health. All this may seem logical from the point of view of the banks immediate financial interest. But it ... 03/19/2009

With so many questions about what is selling and what is not and what prices these listings are selling for I figured I would start posting current market statistics.   This page contains local sales stats for Santa Rosa California Real Estate?   Following are the stats for the February 2009 market as well as what is currently available in the Santa Rosa residential real estate market.    Residential meaning, Single Family Homes as well as Condos Farms/Ranches. As of Today March 17, 2009 Santa Rosa has the following: 1127 Active Listings with: List Price Range $65,500 -  $10,900,000  Average List Price $475,691  Median List Price $300,000  Of these 1127 listings, 305 are Bank Owned aka REO or Foreclosure properties & 470 are Short Sales Out of these 1127 Listings, 499 are in Escrow in t... 03/17/2009

  The administration's plan for stemming the tide of foreclosures that has been drowning the housing market and threatening the entire economy has several elements. But its focus is on loan modification for homeowners who are under extreme financial stress or hold underwater mortgages. In essence, it provides a framework of rules and incentives to; (1) encourage lenders and servicers to reduce the monthly mortgage payments of homeowners whose mortgage debt is too high as a proportion of monthly income or whose mortgages are "under-water;" and (2) and make refinancing available to homeowners whose loan - to - value is less than 80% through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This plan has sparked spirited debate among housing experts for its scope and workability. In the plus column the imitativ... 03/15/2009

  Mega Open House  Sunday 3/8/09 1-4pm    2805 Marlow Ct Santa Rosa, CA 95403 $569,000 Room for Everyone! Cooks will love the spacious country kitchen w/ high-end appliances. Inlaid hardwood floors and tile make maintaining this meticulous home a breeze. Sunroom and living area wired for sound. Artist/hobbyist-checkout detached heated studio & attached garage workshop. Entertainment sized patio. Lge lot is a gardners paradise w/ raised beds & extensive sprinkler system. Close to schools. Enjoy nature walks along Piner Creek Trail. Directions: From Guerneville Rd go north on Marlow Rd, left at signal for Marlow Ct & W. Steele Lane.    ML#:20834687 Year Built: 1960  Other Structures Out Building(s)  Property Type Residential  Fireplace Yes  Property SubType Single Family  Yard/Grounds Gar... 03/08/2009

With so many questions about what is selling and what is not and what prices these listings are selling for I figured I would start posting current market statistics.   This page contains local sales stats for Santa Rosa California Real Estate?   Following are the stats for the January 2009 market as well as what is currently available in the Santa Rosa residential real estate market.    Residential meaning, Single Family Homes as well as Condos Farms/Ranches. As of Today February 28, 2009 Santa Rosa has the following: 1121 Active Listings: List Price Range $70,000  -  $10,900 Average List Price $467,776 Median List Price $300,000 Of these 1121 listings, 312 are Bank Owned aka REO or Foreclosure properties & 469 are Short Sales 453 Listings In Escrow in "Contingent" status: List Price R... 02/28/2009

  “Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow.”  Horace quotes (Ancient Roman Poet. 65 BC) The above words were never more true in today's mortgage climate. As I mentioned in my previous blog, "Refinance and Purchase Why Not Wait?", I explained why it was not wise to wait to lock in a rate at this time. But there are many of you who are still on the fence, debating with yourself whether this is the time to lock your interest rate.  If you are in the market to refinance, I am sure over the past weeks you have been getting quotes from various lenders. Go back and look at those rate quotes and do your own research. You will see that if you compare those quotes with the current markets they are considerably different. Rates are nearly 3/4 to almost 1 point higher in some in... 02/10/2009

Every month the mortgage industry and also the federal government report whether mortgage applications have increased or decreased. Since the government has started purchasing loans, interest rates have fallen into the mid 4 to 5% range. This has brought about the opportunity many have been waiting for to refinance out from under their option arm mortgage or those that have high interest 30 year fixed loan. It has also given many potential borrowers the chance to buy that dream home they have been eying for months. So why not wait a little longer to see if rates will drop further? What a borrower who may want to refinance or purchase a home must realize is how it stands right now. The government will only be purchasing loans until June of this year. Unless something changes once June ro... 01/15/2009

Many of you may remember or many of you may have not even known that months ago when the Fed issued the statement that they would be taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that interest rates dropped 5/8 to 3/4 of a point over night.  That had been a drop from 6.50% to 5.25%. Unfortunately, it only lasted 4 days and many borrowers felt they had missed out on the short lived opportunity. However, last week when the Fed announced they were going to buy up to $100 billion in Fannie/Freddie debt and $500 billion of mortgage backed securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and GNMA, interest rates once again dropped down to levels of 5.125% to 5.50% for 30 year fixed. For those that missed on out on refinancing, now is the time to take advantage of this drop. If you have a interest rate that is a... 12/03/2008

Dryer Vent Wizard was Awarded Diamond Certified Professional Status by the American Ratings Corporation      Dryer Vent Wizard of the Greater North Bay Area inspects, cleans, repairs, and installs dryer vents in residential and commercial buildings. Local owner Rhonda Nole has a background as a Systems Engineer and contributes all of her successes to her dedication to customer service and knowing her services have benefited her many happy clients. Many people take for granted the mechanical function that their dryer vent provides or the importance of regular maintenance. The number one reason is fire safety. The National Fire Protection Agency and FEMA both report that more than 15,000 reported fires occur each year due to dryer fires. Energy savings of 18% to 24% a year due to decrease... 11/28/2008