Real estate analysts say low mortgage rates can help improve home sales. Head economist at Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, states that as the mortgage rates continue to decrease this will help promote home buyer affordability, which will lead to more sales and perhaps additional construction.

Whatever effect low interest rates will have on the housing market in the future, they’re already having a positive impact on the economy. People who are refinancing their mortgages are cutting their monthly payments. Nearly 80 percent of the loan applications filed last week were for re-financing existing mortgages. Lenders are urging people to take advantage of the historically low rates.

With rates at 40-year lows, if you or a friend are thinking about buying or refinancing a home, this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss! Need a lender… call me, I can help.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129021148

• Lakeside Multi-Purpose Trail in Tahoe City
• Dollar Hill/Tahoe Vista Class 1 Bicycle Trail
• Northstar Community Multi-Purpose Trail
• Squaw Valley-Truckee Bike Trail
• Homewood Class 1 Bicycle Trail
• Tahoe Vista Recreation Area Access and Bike Trail
• Tahoe Vista to North Star Multi-Purpose Trail

If you or your friends and family, have any favorite rides, please let me know.

Active: These are the easiest transactions as the seller is in control of the property and there are no lenders involved. Escrow is typically 30 – 60 days.

Active REO: Property was repossessed and is owned by the lender. This is an “as is” sale and the seller has no knowledge of the condition of the property and will not fix anything. It is imperative that the buyer inspect the property thoroughly. Sellers are looking to close escrow in less than 45 days and may impose a penalty, as much as $100 per day, if escrow does not close on time.

Active Short Sale: Property is still in control of the seller, but the asking price is below what is owed to the lender. The seller’s lender must approve the sale – this will take time typically, 1 to 6 months. Sellers will typically not do any repairs.

Active Short Sale Contingent: An offer has been submitted to the seller’s lender and the buyer is waiting for a response. The property continues to be marketed and new offers will be considered and may be submitted to the lender. Being the first offer in line may not put you in first position.

1 large Cucumber, chopped
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1 5 oz jar pitted Kalamata Olives
1 4 oz package crumbled Feta Cheese
1 Red Onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 Package Romaine Lettuce Leaves

Vinaigrette:
6 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups White Wine Vinegar

Preparation:
Add chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, sliced red onion and romaine lettuce to large serving bowl.

Vinaigrette:
In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice and White Wine Vinegar.

FHA Loan Assistance offers several down payment assistance and community redevelopment programs for first-time homebuyers, low-income and moderate-income individuals and families who wish to achieve homeownership.

The USDA offers different programs and opportunities for homebuyers living in or looking to move to rural communities of our state.

Good Neighbor Next Door is a program for law enforcement, pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade teachers and firefighters/emergency medical technicians where HUD offers a substantial incentive in the form of a discount of 50% from the list price of the home.

The FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan allows a borrower with limited funds to purchase, or refinance, and fix up a property.

The Nevada Housing Division offers a Down Payment and Closing Cost Loan Program to homebuyers under its First Time Homebuyer Program.

Home at Last is a program from the Nevada Rural Housing Authority which helps Nevadans looking to purchase in rural cities or towns with fewer than 100,000 residents and who have not owned a home in the past three years or are a veteran to realize their dream of home ownership.

• Fill Out Any Necessary Forms – Registration, Medical, etc.
• Purchase School Supplies – Some of the basic items most students need include, notebooks or paper, pens, pencils, crayons, a ruler, an eraser, a glue stick, and a backpack.
• Confirm Any Childcare Arrangements – Will you be having someone pick up your child from school? Confirm with them when you’ll need them to be available, their pay rate and the planned payment schedule.
• Plan Healthy Lunches and Snacks – Purchase new lunch bags, if necessary, and stock up on lunchbox staples when you see them on sale.
• Organize Closets & Purchase Any Additional Items – Go through the closets and dressers making sure to try on any clothes that haven’t been worn since last year. If something no longer fits, donate it to a local charity. Purchase any additional items needed for school and organize the closet so everyone can get out the door a little faster in the morning.
• Update Calendars and Contact Info– Add school-related items to your calendar, like half-days and holidays, along with any activities like soccer, ballet or karate. Be sure to add and update any contact information such as the school phone number, teacher’s email, after school activities, etc.
• Create a System for Organizing and Storing Papers – On the first day of school kids will come home with 5 – 10 papers for you to sign. You’ll want to create a place for any paperwork requiring a signature and a spot for information you’ll frequently need.
• Set up a Homework/Study Area – Make sure to stock the area with any items your child might need to help them complete their homework such as, a lamp, paper, pencils, etc.
• Gradually Move Bedtimes Up – You’ll want to make sure your kids are getting plenty of sleep when school starts. Gradually move up their bedtimes by 15 minutes a night.

Good luck on your first day of school!

California Homebuyer’s Down Payment Assistance Program is a deferred payment, simple interest rate junior loan. The loans are available up to, but cannot exceed 3% of the sales price or appraised value, whichever is less. It can be used for down payment assistance or closing costs with CalHFA’s first mortgage loan or non-CalHFA fixed rate, first mortgage loans.

FHA Loan Assistance offers several down payment assistance and community redevelopment programs for first-time homebuyers, low-income and moderate-income individuals and families who wish to achieve homeownership.

The USDA offers many different programs and opportunities for homebuyers living in or looking to move to rural communities of our state.

CalVet offers competitive interest rates with low or no down payments for nearly any veteran wanting to buy a home in California.

Good Neighbor Next Door is a program for law enforcement, pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade teachers and firefighters/emergency medical technicians where HUD offers a substantial incentive in the form of a discount of 50% from the list price of the home.

The FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan allows a borrower with limited funds to purchase, or refinance, and fix up a property.

Placer County offers several housing programs and activities from a First Time Homebuyer Assistance Program to Rehabilitation Loans and a Senior First Program.

This final installment of the Path to a Home series will cover the final remaining steps before you receive the keys to your new home. Last month we ended with receiving the approval. Let’s continue and wrap up the last few details so we can get you moved in!

Gathering the Conditions

After the approval is received, your mortgage advisor will need to gather all of the remaining conditions. These usually fall into two categories, prior-to-doc and prior-to-funding. Prior-to-doc means the loan documents will not be issued until these conditions are received and signed off by the underwriter. Prior-to-funding means the underwriter will allow the loan documents to go through escrow without these conditions. Be that as it may, they will not fund the loan until they are met. The prior-to-doc conditions are usually the most important and the prior-to-funding are smaller conditions the underwriter believes should not be difficult to meet. To ensure timely funding, it’s very important to provide the requested items as soon as possible.

Submitting & Signing Off the Conditions

Your mortgage advisor now submits all of the necessary conditions to the lender. They are reviewed and signed off that they have been met. Please remember, underwriters have many files they are working on at any given time, so often it will have to wait in line anywhere from a few hours to a few days. To guarantee closing all conditions need to be forwarded to the underwriter as soon as possible.

Ordering the Docs

When the underwriter has signed off on all prior-to-doc conditions, the next step is for your mortgage advisor to order the loan documents. Depending on how busy the loan office is it can take several hours or several days for the docs to be sent to the escrow company.

The Docs Arrive at Escrow

Many times the escrow office will not schedule an appointment until they actually have the loan documents in hand. Once the loan documents arrive at the escrow office, they will not be in their final form. They will need to add additional information such as payoffs, taxes and prepaid interest due, along with other final figures in preparing them for you to sign. This step is referred to as working up the docs.

Signing Your Docs

When the docs are in the final form they will need your signature. The escrow office will contact you and the seller to arrange signing appointments.

Funding Your Loan

Now that the loan docs have been signed, they will be sent back to the lender’s funding department. The docs will be proofed to make sure everything is signed correctly and the last of your prior-to-funding conditions should be signed off by the underwriter. That being the case, the lender’s funding department will order the money to be wired to the escrow company. One thing to keep in mind is that many lenders do not fund the same day as signing but will require the signed loan documents are back from them in a matter of hours or even days to review and facilitate funding. Your mortgage advisor will know and communicate with you the day you need to sign in relation to your close date. It’s very important your loan funds the day it is specified on the purchase/sales contract. Otherwise, you could be out of contract and the seller might be able to back out of the transaction.

Receiving Your Keys

Most of the time, funding the loan and recording the new owner with public records occurs on the same day. Normally, you will receive your keys late in the afternoon on this day. I will be the one who obtains them from the seller.

Moving into Your New Home

Starting a new life in a new home is exciting, however moving is hard. There are three things which will greatly reduce your anxiety during the actual move: planning, being organized and securing the assistance of a good, professional moving company. All of this should be set into motion in advance of receiving your keys.

Here are my top 10 budget-minded, return on investment, home remodeling projects, sure to make your home stand out.

1. Tidy up kitchen cabinets – Potential buyers will open your kitchen cabinets and look inside. Why not add some rollout organizing trays so they feel as though there’s lots of room for their stuff.
2. Add or replace tiles – Every city has a store which offers $1 – $2 tile and with a little work you can make your kitchen or bathroom look much cleaner.
3. Add a breakfast bar – Does a wall separate your kitchen from the family room? Why not cut out an opening to create a breakfast bar and help to tie the rooms together?
4. Install Granite tile instead of a slab – Granite kitchen countertops can be a $5,000 upgrade, and in this economy that’s a lot of money. Instead, you can put in 12-inch granite tiles for about $300 in materials. Talk about a high impact for little money!
5. Freshen up the bathroom without retiling – If you have a dated bathroom, I would recommend putting in a new vanity for $200 – $300, a medicine cabinet for about $100 – $150, upgraded light fixtures for about $100, a faucet for $50 – $75 and install glass shower door. A French door style will run around $250. Also, instead of retiling, have the existing grout lightly scraped and re-grouted. It can make the tile look like new.
6. Freshen up the basement – If you have a cement block or poured concrete basement, have a contractor fill in the cracks with hydraulic cement and then paint the room with waterproofing paint. You can then add a top coat of paint for some color and paint the basement floor which will really clean it up. No longer will it look like a dungeon.
7. Add a room – Take a look around for a large space which can be enclosed to create a new bedroom for just the price of creating a wall.
8. Spruce up cabinet fronts – If you have tired looking cabinets, reconditioning is the least expensive route you can take for under $1,000. You can also replace cabinet doors and drawer fronts for $1,500 – $4,000 or have them refaced for about $4,000 – $12,000.
9. Replace light fixtures – The foyer, bathroom and kitchen are popular places where lighting can be replaced and add a lot of impact for little money. If the kitchen has track lighting, have an electrician replace it with recessed canned lighting on a dimmer switch to add some ambiance for about $450 – $600. Also, consider installing pendant lights over a kitchen island or peninsula for about $700.
10. Tech-up the garage – Replace the garage door opener with a remote touch pad entry system which costs about $425 and makes it look like a high-end system

• Coldwell Bankers OnLocation YouTube Channel
• JustSnooping’s YouTube Channel
• Coldwell Bankers Previews Videos

Give me a call today to find out more, I’m certain you’ll want to take advantage of these great interactive features.