In 2005 the Streamlined "k" came on board as a new renovation product that was intended to make the process easier to use. I've heard it referred to as a 203k - Light. Like it was on a diet or something but that is about what you have with this product. What made it appealing was the fact that you don't have to have a "203k Consultant" to create the work write up, instead you can get a contractor bid or actually up to five different sub contractor bids each for their own specialties of course. No contractor wants to be on the same job at the same time as four other contractors for liability issues that could easily arise. By having the different trades each doing their own specific job you have resolved that potential conflict for most subs.  There are some other issues that remain unre... 10/13/2010

This week in Stockton - Real Estate related news summaries 10/2/10 - 10/9/10 The foreclosure crisis captured most of the headlines this week as the nation's largest lenders and loan servicing companies took protective postures regarding poorly or incorrectly documented foreclosure processes.  Additional bad news confronted the economy as the impact of the secondary recession issues start to become more visible. Oct 4 - Washington, AP  -  "Executive only checked date on foreclosure documents" - A Wells Fargo executive confirmed that he verified only the dates on the foreclosure documents he signed daily.  In a deposition made involving a Washington State homeowner, he said he relied on co-workers for up to 150 files a day.  Other lenders, GMAC, Bank of America and Chase have halted fore... 10/09/2010

The southern San Joaquin County community of Manteca continues to be the New Homes "hot spot." No new releases were added to new homes inventory in San Joaquin County this week.  On the plus side of economic indicators, both personal spending and income posted gains, out-performing expectations, according to the Wells Fargo Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary.  Consumers continue being concerned about employment and income forecasts.   Projections for income and employment six months from now both weakened, reflecting the slow economic growth expectation for the same time period. The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 10/03/10: San Joaquin County:                Total Projects Repor... 10/06/2010

This week's news is another mixed review of indicators that don't seem to create a great deal of "improvement" comfort for analysts.  Absent a strong motivating factor buyers will still sitting on the fence when it comes to making a home buying decision. Sept 28 - Stockton Record, Zachary Johnson - "Government invests in fix and flip program" - Nine million dollars, approximately, has been earmarked for a San Joaquin County program to fix and flip foreclosures. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program has purchased, rehabbed and resold dozens of homes to lower income homebuyers. City Councilwoman Kathy Miller says, "The mainthing is to get those properties rehabbed and sold and get people living in those neighborhoods."   However, Interim Economic Development Director, Gus Duran points o... 10/03/2010

Manteca continues to be the New Homes "hot spot" as eight new releases were added to new homes inventory in San Joaquin County this week.    Builders are currently breaking ground on an annualized number of 598,000 down from the 2 million unit pace of 2005.  However, according to the Wells Fargo Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary, "despite cheery headlines that pointed to the magnitude of the percentage gains in this week's housing data, the state of the residential real estate market remains abysmal." The commentary continues with the observation that while there was an increase in housing starts, most of the impact was in multi-units.  The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/26/... 10/03/2010

ADDIE SCHARFF, REALTOR | Beautiful Homes Realty | (408) 887-2142 960 Geddings Wy, Stockton, CA SO SPACIOUS!!! 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $155,200 Year Built 2005 Sq Footage 1,614 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 4,791 sqft HOA/Maint $99 per month DESCRIPTION Imaculate HUD home with nice tan carpet throughout. Spacious kitchen with beautiful white tile and large island w sink. Kitchen overlooks the large family room and the backyard. VISIT ME AT: www.HomesByAddie.com See other HUD homes at www.hudpemco.com CALL ME TO SEE ANY HUD HOME TODAY!!! see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Central A/C - Central heat - High/Vaulted ceiling - Walk-in closet - Family room - Living room - Breakfast nook - Dishwasher - Microwave - Laun... 10/01/2010

This week's news is a mixed bag and more than a little confusing.  If you are looking for consistent economic reports ... then you'll have to look at a future week.  It's little wonder that home buyers are still sitting on the fence when it comes to making a home buying decision. Sept 21 - Washington, AP - "Home builders still gloomy" - National Association of Home Builders report home-builder confidence remains at multi-month lows. The report shows August ties the worst showing since March 2009. "Regionally, builders in the West are the gloomiest, with their subindex a miserly 8."  Consumer confidence and glut of foreclosed homes are the market's two leading recovery obstacles, according to NAHB chief economist, David Crowe. Sept 22 - Stockton Record - Market Watch - Washington - "Hou... 09/26/2010

This wonderful lakeside home is being held open this Sunday, 9/26 from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.  Flexible floorplan features two bedrooms downstairs, including the master suite.  Three more bedrooms upstairs.  Lots of water .. the lake and full-sized inground pool.  Lounge on the dock, or cast off and travel around the private lake ... no wakes .... no skiers .... just quiet and serene living.  Hosted by Steve Ewing; he is presenting this opportunity to live on the lake.  This is a short sale with a very cooperative single loan lender.  Call Steve for details or for directions at: 209-663-9372. 09/25/2010

The experience of a courthouse steps auction is one that no agent should miss. It's not so much that the agent will learn anything of great value in the practice of real estate, but hopefully they will come away with a far deeper understanding of the personal nature of the profession with which we are involved.   After struggling with Bank of America for months, my client as of the first of September finally had a reasonable offer and everything seemed to be moving forward in the Equator system.  Just to be careful, Wednesday my coordinator called to verify the sale for Friday had been postponed.  Customer service announced that they had "just received" a denial on the postponement request.  Immediately we contacted the seller and gave them an update.   I accompanied my seller to the st... 09/25/2010

Not too long ago, I attended an auction on the court house steps.  I went to the auction without any expectations or any idea of what I was about to experience.  My first impression of the proceedings was that even though it is held outside and in a very public place, it still had the feeling of a secret society.  There seemed to be a small group of participants that really knew what was happening.  These people had been working together for some time and so had developed a system of looks, nods, signals and nomenclature all their own.  It truly felt like I had stumbled upon a secret society operating right at the front door of the court house. Ok, maybe I am being a bit dramatic.  People talk all the time about going down to the court house steps and picking up this or that property li... 09/25/2010

Sept 17- Stockton Record- "Stockton third in foreclosure notices" - Stockton was ranked third in the nation for foreclosure notices according to RealtyTrac.  The tracking form noted that 1 in 100 housing units received a notice.  Nationally, one in every 381 housing units received foreclosure notices. Sept 17 - Los Angeles, AP - "Home sale decline in August" - California homes sales dropped 14 percent from the year ago period reaching the lowest period for the month in three years. (San Diego based DataQuick is reporting source). Bay Area homes fell 10.9 percent and median home prices dipped to $385,000.  Foreclosures continue to account for over 30% of homes sales. Sept 19 - Stockton Record - Weekly guide to Managing Money from Walls Street Journal -"Why it pays to pay off your mortga... 09/25/2010

Manteca is still the hot spot for New Home Sales in San Joaquin County.  Projects report much lower traffic numbers than have been reported over the last 8 weeks, coming in at a two-month low.  Nationally single family starts continue to reduce and have for the last three months now hitting a 23.3 percent decline since the April tax-credit signing dead-line.  "Economic indicators" are mixed but still suggesting a very modest growth pace for the third quarter.  The county saw no new properties released into the new construction inventory.    The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/19/10: San Joaquin County:     Total Projects Reporting:  26; Traffic: 218; Sales: 4; Cancellations: 0; Net S... 09/23/2010

5 Things to Know about Homeowners Insurance 1. Know about exclusions to coverage. For example, most insurance policies do not cover flood or earthquake damage as a standard item. These types of coverage must be bought separately.2. Know about dollar limitations on claims. Even if you are covered for a risk, there may be a limit on how much the insurer will pay. For example, many policies limit the amount paid for stolen jewelry unless items are insured separately.3. Know the replacement cost. If your home is destroyed you'll receive money to replace it only to the maximum of your coverage, so be sure your insurance is sufficient. This means that if your home is insured for $150,000 and it costs $180,000 to replace it, you'll only receive $150,000.4. Know the actual cash value. If you ch... 09/20/2010

We all pretty much agree that "jobs" is one of the major issues surrounding the "recession" - not so much jobs, as the lack of them.  So about a month ago, when I started to see these signs popping up, I was bothered ... but I wasn't certain what it was that was eating at me.  I'm still not sure, but here are some of the things I've been pondering about:  1) How much did this sign cost - and which individual tax payer has the honor of paying for it? 2) How many individuals were employed in the making of these signs? 3) When I look at both 1 and 2 - am I seeing a classic catch 22? - If we don't order the signs, do the sign people go without employment? 4) Are the contractors executing this job, local? From out-of-town? From out-of-state? So who exactly, are we putting back to work? 5) W... 09/18/2010

Improving economic indicators in trade deficit, labor, consumer credit and retail sales relieved fears somewhat over a possible double dip recession. However, buyers still remain cautious and are thinking through buying decisions, looking for really good deals. The county saw 20 new properties released into the new construction inventory.  Manteca continues to lead the San Joaquin County area in "New Homes" activity.  The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/12/10: San Joaquin County:               Total Projects Reporting:  25; Traffic: 308; Sales: 7; Cancellations: 2; Net Sales: 5; YTD Sales: 441 Focus on Stockton Statistics: Total Projects Reporting: 4; Traffic: 48; Sales 4; Cancellati... 09/18/2010

Sept 4 - Washington, McClatchy Press via Stockton Record - "Home woes may affect children's success in school" - Eric Rosengren, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston told attendees at a conference on neighborhood stabilization, "A foreclosure is likely to mean not only the loss of a home, but also a disruption in where, or whether, kids are in school."  He went on to express his personal view that too little focus is being placed on community problems.  Sept 4- Stockton Record- Jennie Rodriguez - "Latinos hit hardest by state foreclosure crisis" - "In excess of 2.4 million Americans are expected to lose their homes to foreclosure this year."  This sobering statement was followed by observations from the report "Dreams Deferred: Impacts and Characteristics of the California F... 09/11/2010

"To be quite candid, most of our builders are sitting the recession out ..." was a comment shared by the Central Valley Business Journal made by Steve Madison, Executive Vice President for the Building Industry Association of Central California (BIACC). The evidence of the candor of his statement might be reflected by the Week 36 report by the Ryness Company showing new homes activity in the "Central Valley."  The Central Valley report includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera and Modesto Counties.  Currently 41 projects are in the reporting area with a 16:1 traffic to sales ratio.  Last year (2009) 66 projects were reporting a 23:1 ratio.  California Building Industry Association president and CEO, Liz Snow's office recently sent out a press release commenting that although the... 09/09/2010

Traffic counts stumbled this week, perhaps due to incomplete data caused by the holiday.  However new inventory has been added to the San Joaquin County new homes landscape and two cancelations increased available opportunities.   The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/05/10: San Joaquin County:               Total Projects Reporting:  25; Traffic: 236; Sales: 11; Cancellations: 2; Net Sales: 9; YTD Sales: 431 Focus on Stockton Statistics: Total Projects Reporting: 4; Traffic: 37; Sales 0; Cancellations: 1; Net Sales: -1; YTD Sales: 67. Lathrop reporting 3 projects: 6 new releases, 20 available inventories; Linden reporting 1 project: 0 new releases, 0 available inventories; Lodi report... 09/09/2010

I was recently talking with a relative who was born and raised on a large lake in Washington State.  He related with the editing of long memory, about life on the lake.  He talked about how, over the passage of time, the activity on the Lake deprived many of the residents of the tranquility they once enjoyed before the recreation explosion.  He eventually moved away from the lake, the traffic, congestion and public access just became too much for him. BUT the images of his earlier life on the lake reminded me of one of the areas of Stockton where that mellow, relaxing feeling still exists.  There are a number of Lakes in Stockton, but the largest and perhaps best known is Quail Lakes area.  Quail Lakes consists of two lakes: the first is Quail Lake and the smaller Meadow Lake to the im... 09/06/2010

Aug 22 - Stockton Record - CLOSED listing real estate transaction for July 25-Aug 2 from information compiled from County records:           Total sales:  196; Sellers identified as Banks or REO-type:  79, with 63 different firms selling (top 3: Federal National Mortgage-15; Federal Home Loan Mortgage-11 ; REO Capital Asset-4) New Homes: 5 Side note:  216 of the closings were Private Trust single sale transactions. Focus on Stockton: Total: 84; REO: 34; New: 1 Aug 29 - Los Angeles, AP - "Prices for artistic homes hit the skids" - reports Southern California's listings "are beginning to resemble an index to the country's most famous mid-20th century architect" as more or their creations stall on the market. The inflation of values a few years ago figured prominently in architecturally si... 09/04/2010