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Robert Kunzler
San Francisco Seals, who were among the leaders back in the 2008 season in the PDL league, but ultimately narrowly failed to make the playoffs, are back in action with an exhibiton match hosting a visiting side from Brazil, Figueirense FC. The difference: these are alums of both clubs! But what they lack in youth they should make up for in experience!
I have been a long time fan of the Seals and a friend of the Seals ownership, management, staff, and many other regular supporters.
The Seals provide soccer players from the local community with the oppportunity to prove themselves on a competitive, cosmopolitan stage. It is a vital stepping stone for many of the future's top potential Bay Area soccer stars. They appreciate your vocal support and applause. It's your Bay Area, and this is a club worth supporting. In fact, the youth team will be playing a noon-time "short game" against the College of Marin, where this event is located, prior to the Alum event which is slated for 1pm.
For more details please go to the Seals websites linked above.
What's new for May 2012
Added May 24, 2012:
Added May 23, 2012:
Added April 28, 2012: the new monthly Single Family Homes and Condo/townhouse median price comparisons for Santa Clara County cities. Please see right side column opposite under "Santa Clara Co cities median price comparisons" for most recently updated numbers.
Added April 19, 2012: the new County price comparisons, including median values and "days on market" for single family homes and condos/townhouses in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. See tables titled "Local County Watch" for the most recent numbers.
Find a home on this site! Note that the home search system available via this website is updated every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even more useful is that it can notify you whenever a new home comes onto the market that meets your requirements. Read on for further information.
The golden age for foreclosure squatters may soon be coming to an end now that the $26 billion mortgage settlement has been approved.
The settlement, agreed to by the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, is expected to speed up the foreclosure process by providing stricter guidelines for the banks to follow when repossessing homes.
The banks involved include Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citibank (C, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial.
Many foreclosures have been in limbo since fall 2010 following the so-called robo-signing scandal, when banks allowed employees to sign off on thousands of foreclosure documents a month with little verification.
Lenders hit the pause button on foreclosures because they "were afraid that anything they did would be under a microscope," said Eric Higgins, a professor of business at Kansas State University.
As a result, borrowers who were seriously delinquent on their loans have been able to stay in their homes for months or even years without making a single payment. Nationwide, the average time it takes to foreclose on a home -- from the first missed payment to the final bank repossession -- stretched to 370 days during the first quarter, almost twice as long as it took five years ago, according to Daren Blomquist, the marketing director at RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure free ride: 3 years, no mortgage payment
In some states, delinquent borrowers have been staying payment free in their homes much longer. In Florida, the average time was 861 days, and in New York it was 1,056 days: close to three years.
"Perhaps a million foreclosures could have been pursued last year but weren't," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president for real estate investment company, Carrington Holdings.
But that's all about to change, he said. "We're going to see an increase in the speed of foreclosures and a higher number of foreclosure starts."
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested on Feb 29 that affordable housing prices and low interest rates are not enticements for potential buyers lacking down payments and job security.
The central bank chairman testified before the House Financial Services Committee that household spending grew moderately in the second half of 2011 with higher vehicle sales even as income and wealth remained relatively flat in 2011.
"In the housing sector, affordability has increased dramatically as a result of the decline in house prices and historically low interest rates on conventional mortgages," Bernanke said. "Unfortunately, many potential buyers lack the down payment and credit history required to qualify for loans; others are reluctant to buy a house now because of concerns about their income, employment prospects and the future path of home prices."
At the same time, Bernanke said 30% of recent home sales involved foreclosed and distressed real estate, which continues to push home prices downward.
Mixed news on pending home sales Dec 30, 2011
California pending home sales fell 9.1 percent in November but were up from a year ago, according to the state's association of Realtors' "Pending Home Sales Index". However, the index was up 11 percent from November 2010 -- the seventh consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year. That's a positive trend to take into the New Year, and a happy one to you and yours!
BofA analyst: a quarter of all homeowners will be foreclosed by 2013 Dec 23, 2011
In fact, in her 2012 outlook piece, she says it's "far from over" and that prices still have another 7% to decline nationally.
The basic problem: There are still tons more foreclosures or "liquidations" yet to come.
"The most crucial input to our forecast for construction and home prices is our assumption for foreclosures. We estimate another eight million homes will be liquidated over the next four years, which adds to the six million homes that have already been liquidated since 2007. All told, we expect 14 million foreclosures or a quarter of all homeowners with a mortgage."
Buyers turning to alternative forms of funding Dec 23, 2011
Faced with finicky lenders, would-be home buyers are increasingly turning to Dad, Grandma, rich relatives, or even perfect strangers they met online. While these solutions are understandable, given the abundant bargains on the market, they also present significant risks.
This year, one-third of first-time home buyers received a cash gift or a loan for a down payment from family or friends, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is up from a historical average of 27%.
Meanwhile, so-called peer-to-peer lending sites Prosper and Lending Club say demand for home-related financing is on the rise. And Weemba, a social-networking site, launched a platform in September to connect lenders directly with prospective home buyers and other borrowers.
Driving the demand, say financial advisers, is that despite rock-bottom mortgage rates around 4%, traditional lenders remain reluctant to provide mortgages to anyone with less than stellar credit. And in certain markets lenders are requiring down payments of more than 20% of the home's purchase price.
Scott Nguyen, a human-resources analyst, was denied a mortgage by several banks before getting a $15,000 loan from his mother and sister to use as a down payment on a home in Costa Mesa, Calif. Mr. Nguyen says he has agreed to pay off the loan on a monthly basis over three years, and will end up paying $3,000 in interest.
"Without my mom and my sister's help, I don't think I would have been able to buy the house that I did," he says.
In so-called intrafamily loans, the borrower often saves on interest since parents are likely to charge less than the banks, says Michael Garry, a fee-only financial planner in Newtown, Pa. And parent lenders can earn a higher return from their child's interest payments than they would on a certificate of deposit or money-market fund. Under federal law, on a loan of more than nine years, parents in most cases must charge at least roughly 2.8%.
Of course, intrafamily loans can upset the family dynamic.
Jonathan Bergman, a certified financial planner at Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Scarsdale, N.Y., recommends that parents be clear about how repayment will work. In some cases, it may even make sense to hold back on future monetary gifts or inheritance if it isn't repaid. "The power of the parents' purse is strong," he says.
Consumers who want to look beyond the family can apply at online sites like Lending Club and Prosper. If approved for a loan after a screening by the companies, applicants may then receive money from investors.
At Miami-based Weemba, some 3,000 registered users have started posting loan proposals during the past couple months. Thirty companies including banks and credit unions [up from just a dozen in September] review the applicants and directly contact those they are interested in.
However, these alternative routes to financing can be expensive for borrowers. Rates at Lending Club run from around 7% to 28%, and at Prosper from roughly 7% to 35%. The companies say these rates, which are fixed, are higher than traditional mortgage rates in part because their loans are unsecured.
Selected previous news updates
Credit report web-site? One I recommend. July 4, 2011
One of the many facets of my business is property management and landlording, and of course this means talking to prospective tenants about credit reports. I've helped many of them by advising them to look for the "real" site that best provides this, not one of the commercial sites that tries to sell them other products or services as a means to get their report.
So it occured to me to link this site since it explains this topic in more detail, and in this way I can help prospective tenants get off on the right foot when it comes to obtaining their credit report.
Get e-mail updates of the newest listings
Through this site you can search the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and get automatic e-mail updates whenever a new home comes on the market that meets your criteria.
Why search manually if your time is at a premium? Let the technology do it for you.
Use "client log-in" to change a search, create a new search, or eliminate a current search.
Helpful note: After entering your e-mail address, please check your e-mail account for the confirmation number that allows you to complete your registration and begin creating your search and update requirements.
If you have any questions about your search, contact Robert via phone or e-mail.
Your feedback is always welcome and will assist in providing the most useful and continually improving system.
Useful Links
Community & City Links
Robert Kunzler, Associate Broker
-- excerpted from the Code of Ethics, National Association of Realtors
Santa Clara Co. cities median price comparisons
March 2012
Feb 2012
Jan 2012
Dec 2011
Nov 2011
Oct 2011
Sept 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
Local County Watch: Most recent median values
Local County Watch: Single Family Homes
Local County Watch: Condos & Townhouses DOM = median days on market.
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