http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-housing-forecast-20120425,0,3386170.story

You can buy foreclosures for as much as 30% or 40% below market, but most foreclosures sell for less than 5% below market. That small savings may be offset by other factors in the transaction.
Price-conscious home buyers are lured by the low prices advertised for properties in foreclosure. They hope to show up at the auction and win the lowest bid. Before you rush forward to buy a foreclosure, stop to think about some of the drawbacks and repercussions of a foreclosure sale.
For most consumers, purchasing through the foreclosure process can prove daunting. Good buys are available, but they require research, preparation, patience and persistence. And retail sales are priced using the very same comparable sales, so their price is often comparable.
The foreclosure process starts when a property owner falls behind on mortgage payments. Many owners of homes that go into foreclosure have been struggling financially for almost a year before they give up, which usually means that the house has not received needed repairs or general maintenance for a while.
This may run the entire spectrum of issues, from missing light bulbs to roof leaks. Trash in front yards, dead landscaping, broken appliances and windows, and dirty carpets, floors and walls are found in properties even in very affluent areas. Homeowners who are angry about losing their house have been known to remove fixtures, cabinets, appliances, even the tub or toilets. Walls may be broken, and pipes for the plumbing removed.
Houses in poor condition might fetch bargain prices, but repairs can boost the cost again. Any savings in price is eaten up by cash that must be put into the property to make it habitable. If this is a first home for you, and you are living on a tight budget, your purchase may leave you no money afterwards for major repairs or upgrades. In that case, a "retail" purchase (one where the owner is the seller, as opposed to a bank) is a much better solution for you.
The first rule of real estate, ("location, location, location,") applies here. If there is trash in every room of the house, but the property is in a good area with highresale values, hold your nose, walk through the entire house and consider making a low offer.
Be sure you know who is living in the property. If the property is occupied, the successful bidder is typically responsible for removing the occupants, who may not be the previous owners. They could be relatives or friends of the owners, renters or squatters. These tenants have rights. Be sure you are aware of all local ordinances that may apply, because you might have to evict them. If you are unfamiliar with eviction processes, you should hire a lawyer to handle it for you.
Because these homes are purchased "as is" from the lender or HUD, there is no guarantee of condition, and properties are often sold "as-is", with no warranties. Sometimes it is possible to inspect these homes prior to making an offer, but sometimes access is not granted.
If the property is in poor enough condition, it will not be eligible for many loan programs that would otherwise be attractive to a first time home buyer, including FHA. Some foreclosures are advertised as "cash only" purchases for this very reason; no lender will make a loan on the property.
Buying foreclosures is not for the faint of heart. It's best handled by the pros and is not recommended for first-time homebuyers. This information is meant to prepare you for the reality of the foreclosure market.
If you still feel a foreclosure is for you, I would urge you to do the following:
1. Speak with a mortgage broker who is knowledgeable about lending on foreclosures. Get pre-qualified with several different loans you could use, depending on the overall property condition.
2. Hire a great Realtor as your exclusive buyer's agent. Have them run a property profile or preliminary title report on each property you are interested in, as well as a complete market analysis. Be sure that the "bargain" you are buying is really a bargain.
3. Speak with a home inspector and a contractor, so you are sure you know the condition of the property and the true cost of repairs.
4. If you can't see the home, don't buy it. If it's not a bargain, pass it up.
5. And please, remember to look at those retail sales. In the long run, it may be a simpler, happier way to go for a first time homebuyer. 

1. Move it Fast! Once the time and place of the auction is set, interested buyers are gathered all at once in either a live or online venue. A typical live event can be completed from beginning to end in about 1-4 hours, making auctions a quick and effective method of selling a home.

2. Motivated Sellers. Selling a property at auction eliminates long term carrying costs for the seller such as property taxes, continued mortgage payments, insurance, and maintenance costs.

3. Predetermined Sale Date. An auction date is set for the property so all parties have a clear timeframe to work with.

4. Luxury Sells. It’s a common myth that auction homes are either foreclosures and/or dilapidated properties. Luxury properties can generate serious interest and top dollar from bidders.    

5. Eliminate Price Negotiation. The time and energy spent on offers, counter-offers and counter-counter-offers on price is absent from the auction process. Can you remember the last time you bought or sold a home without discussion or debate over price?   

6. Bring on the Competition. Auctions create a sense of urgency and excitement, stimulating buyers to seize the moment and take action or the opportunity will be lost. Competitive bidding can serve as instant confirmation of value by fellow bidders, driving the sale price to true market value.

7. See Homes in Person. Up to 3 open house events are offered prior to most auctions, so buyers can tour the home in person prior to bidding.  

8. Banks are Motivated. With an abundance of foreclosures on the market, many houses are being placed on the auction block that may be acquired at significantly lower prices than through traditional real estate transactions.

One of the biggest natural-gas safety issues threatening Californians is a notoriously brittle brand of plastic pie, made in the 1970's, that failed and caused two recent explosions, both within the past year.

Ruptures on the DuPont pipe, made out of a plastic called Aldyl-A, were responsible for explosions in Cupertino and the Sacramento suburb of Roseville (Placer County) within a month's time in 2011. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., whose lines were involved in both blasts, said late last year that it would remove more than 1,200 miles of the pipe from its system.

Companies such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which owns the line that caused the Cupertino blast, don't have to routinely report what they know about failure rates of particular brands of plastic pipes, even to the federal and state agencies that regulate pipeline operators. The federal government, bowing to industry resistance, has never required it.

Officials with the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees PG&E, say the utility does account for plastic pipe leaks in quarterly reports, but does not indicate the maker of the pipes involved. PG&E provides that and other key information about plastic pipe failures on a voluntary, anonymous basis to an industry-maintained confidential database.

The pipes are found in distribution networks that deliver natural gas directly into people's homes and businesses. They are smaller than transmission lines such as the PG&E pipe that exploded in San Bruno in 2010, killing eight people, but they are capable of causing major damage - as evidenced by December 2008 blast in Rancho Cordova (Sacramento County) that killed a homeowner.

The Aug. 31 blast in Cupertino destroyed a condominium, and the Roseville explosion less than a month later resulted in the shutdown of a major intersection for more than 12 hours. No one was hurt in either incident.

A task force that the Public Utilities Commission formed after the San Bruno disaster said Wednesday that Aldyl-A pipe was among 17 major hazards connected with the state's natural-gas delivery system that require immediate action.

It said in a statement that it would investigate whether other utilities in California besides PG&E were taking steps to identify and deal with the risk from the plastic pipe, which federal officials first recommended be removed in 2002.

Aldyl-A pipe is especially failure prone when it is pressed against rocks or has been pinched off. DuPont issued warnings to utilities about the failure risk from its pre-1973 Aldyl-A starting in 1982.

A month after the Cupertino explosion, however, state regulators downplayed the risk from the pipe.

At a gas-safety workshop held last September, Sunil Shori, a gas engineer with the commission, said Aldyl-A leakage rates were "not drastically different" from other types of plastic lines, although he acknowledged that the material was "not as tough" as later plastics and was prone to sudden rips from cracking.

The next day, Sept. 27, the Roseville pipeline exploded. The utilities commission is investigating both failures.

The commission's task force said it would seek details about how widely Aldyl-A is used throughout the state. PG&E and other utilities nationwide have been reporting Aldyl-A failure rates to an industry-run data-tracking system, which is not required to share its findings with state regulators.

Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, who has been critical of the commission since the San Bruno blast, called its recognition of risks from Aldyl-A "a day late and a dollar short."

Hill is sponsoring legislation that would require state regulators to act on gas-safety recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board, which issued a 1998 warning about plastic pipe similar to Aldyl-A.

"It's about time they recognize something that was known about 14 years ago and was first identified in 1982 when DuPont said it was a problem," Hill said. "For all this time, they didn't do anything about it."

Other risks identified by the commission's task force include gas-transmission lines that were exempted from strength testing in 1970, accidental pipeline puncturing by third parties, utilities' ignorance of the quality of their pipes, inadequate pipeline leak surveys, lax regulation and utility mismanagement.

Deborah Bremner
The Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker
REALTOR, 00588885, ABR, CDPE, CIAS, eAgent, CSP, SFR, HRC, CRE
(O) 310-571-1364 DIRECT
(D) (310) 800-2954
http://www.thebremnergroup.com
Accredited Buyer Representative|Certified Distressed Property Expert |Pre-Foreclosure Specialist Certified

STREET CLOSURES

Because the Honda LA Marathon reaches from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica, there are streets in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica that will be impacted by the race course. 

CLICK HERE for a course closure grid.  These are streets directly on the Honda LA Marathon course in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica that will be closed for portions of March 18th.

CLICK HERE for a grid of additional streets that will be closed on March 18th.  Please note, that the streets listed on this grid are “Local Access Only”.  If your home or business is on the block adjacent to the course route, slowly approach the Officers or Transportation Engineers at the location and kindly ask them for access to the street and explain to them that you live or work locally within the closure area, but not on the course route itself.

To plan your trip on race-day, use the Commuterama map below to avoid road closures and use detour routes to get you to your destination.

http://www.commuterama.com/lamarathon/map/

FREEWAY RAMP CLOSURES

While freeways will be minimally impacted by the Honda LA Marathon, there are some freeway ramps that will be closed for portions of the morning of March 18th.  CLICK HERE for a freeway ramp closure grid and alternate routes to get to your destination.

IMPORTANT COMMUNITY MAPS

WEST HOLLYWOOD

BEVERLY HILLS

IMPORTANT COMMUNITY INFORMATION FLIER

Take a look at our Important Community Information flier for a general listing of street reopening times as well as other pertinent Honda LA Marathon information.

http://www.lamarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2012-LA-Marathon-Flyer.pdf

• Sometime after 3pm: President arrives at LAX
• Sometime between 3:45 and 4:15pm: President will be helicoptered from LAX to the VA
• Sometime between 4:15pm and 5pm: President will be driven across the westside to thefundraiser at the home of soap opera mogul Bradley Bell in the Holmby Hills / Beverly Hills area.  Will Ferrell will host.  Major east-west streets most likely to be affected are Sunset and Wilshire. 
• Sometime between 8pm and 9pm: President will likely return to Beverly Hilton hotel to spend the night.  This may occur even earlier as the President is attending a breakfast fundraiser in Corona del Mar at 7am.

The home was reportedly built in 1949 and sits on nearly an acre of land. The main house has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, while the guesthouse has two bedrooms. The Times says the home has an East Coast vibe with climbing roses and red brick accents. Other features of the home include a tennis court and swimming pool.

Sources say Foster will likely be moving into another California home as she continues to work as a producer in the Los Angeles area.

Foster is best-known for her roles in movies including The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, both of which made her an Oscar-award winning actress. She has recently directed and starred in films including Carnage and The Beaver.

Despite Thursday's encouraging sign that U.S. pending home sales rose 7.3% in November to their highest since April of last year, the nation's housing malaise runs deep. Nearly 29% of homeowners with mortgages owe more than the house is worth, says real estate site Zillow (Z). One home in every 579 totters in a phase of foreclosure, RealtyTrac says. In Nevada and California — frothy states in the price bubble — it's one in every 175 and 211.

Even record-low interest rates — like a 30-year fixed south of 4% for weeks — haven't stoked purchases. The count of homes for sale has slid for six months to the lowest since 2006, NAR says.

And yet, pockets of optimism are appearing in the beleaguered real estate industry. Some homeowners expect to build equity in the coming year. And there are buyers not completely paralyzed by fear of another price plunge flushing away their down payments.

Points South Look Up

Florida, a poster child for the bust, is again drawing buyers to some former hot spots. They often come from abroad and pay cash.

"We were like dead in the water the last few years," said Ralph De Martino, president of Ocean International Realty, in Miami Beach. "But 2011 has been one of my best years ever."

With many factors at play, it's tough to peg with certainty how specific areas of the U.S. will fare in the next year. But there's some consensus on what moves prices higher: influx of new residents, strong job growth, good schools and infrastructure; vs. what drags on values: high foreclosure rates, high unemployment and shrinking populations.

NAR doesn't expect gangbuster sales in 2012, likely just a 5% bump and 2% to 3% price appreciation.

"Really we're talking stabilization, with some areas with some modest growth," said Jed Smith, NAR's managing director for quantitative research. He says places to watch are ones with job growth, including Miami, parts of Texas, Utah and North Dakota.

"This year's Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report shows the value of putting your home's best façade forward, so to speak," said National Association of REALTORS® President Moe Veissi. "Inexpensive exterior replacement projects are not only crucial to a home's regular upkeep, but are also expected to recoup close to 70 percent of costs. Specific exterior projects such as siding, window and door replacements are part of regular home maintenance, so many homeowners are already undertaking them. These projects also do not require expensive materials and they have the added bonus of instantly adding curb appeal."

HouseLogic.com, NAR's consumer Web site, includes dozens of remodeling projects, from kitchens and baths to siding replacements, which indicate the recouped value of the project based on a national average. According to the Cost vs. Value, seven of the top 10 most cost-effective projects nationally in terms of value recouped are exterior replacement projects. REALTORS® judged an upscale fiber-cement siding replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 78 percent of costs recouped upon resale.

Two additional siding replacement projects were in the top 10, including foam-backed vinyl siding, expected to return 69.6 percent of costs, and upscale vinyl siding, expected to recoup 69.5 percent of costs. Three door replacements were also among the top exterior replacement projects. The steel entry door replacement is the least expensive project in the report, costing little more than $1,200 on average and expected to recoup 73 percent of costs.

The upscale garage door replacement jumped seven spots to number six this year, primarily due to the average cost of the project declining more than 15 percent nationally. The upscale and midrange garage door replacement projects are expected to return more than 71 percent of costs. One window replacement project - upscale vinyl - rounded out the last exterior replacement project in the top 10, expected to recoup 69.1 percent of costs.

The 2011-12 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels, and replacements in 80 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 14th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley Wood LLC, was completed in cooperation with NAR.

The mortgage market told a sad story throughout 2011: record low rates, but few people taking advantage of them to buy homes.

The likely scenario in the new year, according to many analysts, is more of the same. Although the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep rates low through 2013, the experts say high unemployment and home prices that are still falling in many areas provide little incentive for stressed-out consumers to surge back into the housing market.

"I think there may be a little bit of an uptick in units sold," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist at mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae. "But home prices will probably be down again, so the total dollars spent on purchases is likely to be pretty close" to 2011.

Freddie Mac, the other big government-backed mortgage company, had predicted two years ago that lenders would write $1.8 trillion in home loans in 2011. They later revised that estimate to just over $1 trillion.

In the end, home lending last year totaled $1.3 trillion, down from $1.7 trillion in 2010 and an all-time high of nearly $3.3 trillion in 2005.

Last year's better-than-expected finish had nothing to do with home purchases. Instead, a decline in 30-year fixed mortgage rates to historic lows of less than 4% triggered a massive wave of refinancings.

As last year began, Freddie Mac expected applications for home-purchase loans to make up two-thirds of all mortgage demand by the end of 2011. As it turned out, about 4 in 5 mortgage applications in December were from homeowners wanting to refinance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn.

Little wonder why. Lenders were offering 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to solid borrowers at an average of 3.95% last week, the ninth consecutive week of rates at or below 4%, Freddie Mac said. (The survey covers loans up to $417,000 with borrowers paying less than 1% of the amount in upfront lender fees.)

That wrapped up a year of record lows. In 1981 and 1982, the average 30-year mortgage carried an interest rate of more than 16%, and the typical rate was above 8% as recently as 2000, Freddie Mac said. The average last year was 4.45%. Freddie Mac economists are predicting an average of 4.5% for 2012, increasing to 5.4% in 2013 — still phenomenally low by historic standards.

But in the long-suffering economy, "remarkably low rates are not enough," said Michael Fratantoni, an economist for the Mortgage Bankers Assn. He noted that many homeowners can't even take advantage of the opportunity to refinance because of "lack of equity in their properties, poor credit and a weak job market."

With lending standards still tight and demand for home loans waning, Morgan Stanley analysts titled their housing outlook for 2012 "The Year of the Landlord."

"While we had forecast lower prices [for 2011], we did hold out some hope that at the very least transactions would pick up slightly from 2010 levels," said the report from a team led by analyst Oliver Chang.

"However, it proved to be too optimistic a prediction," the report said. "Not only did total home sales fail to rise, but also mortgage applications for purchase continued to fall — indicating that not only is tight mortgage credit limiting demand, but even the desire to buy a home continued to wane."

Analysts aren't universally pessimistic: "Housing has hit the bottom and has begun to heal slowly," said Cal State Channel Islands professor Sung Won Sohn, a former top economics advisor to the White House and Wells Fargo & Co.

Although large numbers of foreclosures and other distressed home sales are keeping housing prices from rising, the inventory of new homes is at a 49-year low, setting the stage for a rebound, Sohn said in his 2011 housing forecast.

Question: I requested copies of our budgets and minutes for several years back. The association's attorney wrote me: "The costs for copying and providing the pro forma operating budgets for 2008-11 and minutes of annual meetings of members and open board meetings for those years is twelve cents ($0.12) per page and $55 per hour to locate and copy the documents requested plus postage, unless you wish to pick up the documents at management. Management estimates copying charges of $40 and clerical charges of two hours or $110 to provide these documents." These costs sound steep. Are they correct?

Answer: There is nothing in the statute about charging the homeowner for "locating and copying the documents." This appears to be an association tactic to deter owners from accessing documents. Read More....

Deborah Bremner
The Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker
REALTOR, 00588885, ABR, CDPE, eAgent, CSP, SFR, HRC, CRE
(O) 310-571-1364 DIRECT
(D) (310) 800-2954
http://www.thebremnergroup.com

Just recently, Congress raised the ceiling on FHA loans in more than 600 of the costlier counties in America. After factoring in at least a 3.5 percent down payment, borrowers in these upper-limit cities can now now qualify for an FHA home purchase of around $750,000.  Read More...

Deborah Bremner
The Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker
REALTOR, 00588885, ABR, CDPE, eAgent, CSP, SFR, HRC, CRE
(O) 310-571-1364 DIRECT
(D) (310) 800-2954
http://www.thebremnergroup.com

Answer: $2,442

*As reported in the survey A Study of Homeowners’ Appliance and Home System Service Experiences, Decision Analyst (2011)

Declutter. There’s a reason this is the most important rule of home staging: It makes the rooms look bigger, creates a sense of calm and order, and helps potential buyers envision the home filled with their own belongings. Banishing clutter means getting rid of both the big things (awkward pieces of furniture) and small things (clothes, toys).

Remember, viewers will be opening every door and touring your entire house, so don’t just move the clutter into the garage or a spare bedroom. If you can’t part with these items but don’t have the extra space for them, you should rent a storage unit short term.  Remember, you'll be moving soon...now is the time to box up and get rid of everything you don't need.

Fill an empty house. Of course, a vacant house can be a disadvantage too. Many national furniture rental companies, such as Cort and Rent-A-Center, offer several rental options that range from furnishing an entire home to just a room. While you might be reluctant to take on another monthly payment, if it means your house will move quicker, you might reconsider. An added plus is that most companies don’t require contracts. Most also deliver and set up the furniture.

Think small. Staging a home doesn’t have to be an expensive project. Small changes go a long way. Consider these easy upgrades to give rooms a refreshed look:

• Switch out old lampshades with modern ones
• Get rid of dark drapes and install simple wood blinds—they’ll let in more light
• Add a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color
• Replace old or dated light fixtures, light switch plates, and outlet covers
• Buy new decorative pillow covers—or sew them yourself
• Hang new artwork
• Buy new ceiling fans—or spray paint the housing and/or replace the blades of the current ones

And don’t forget the little repairs. Running toilets, pipe leaks and door squeaks should be fixed before buyers see the home. Chipped or smudged paint should be touched up.

Clean thoroughly. The details matter. Dust the blinds and furniture; clean the counters, sinks and windows; sweep and mop the floors; remove ceiling fan cobwebs. When every inch of the house is spotless, buyers will take notice. If you don’t have the time or energy to embark on a complete house cleaning, you can hire a professional cleaning service, such as Merry Maids, who can get the house ready before the professional photography.

Don’t overthink it. You don’t have to be particularly creative to add special touches to a room. Put out large bowls of colorful fruit like oranges, apples and bananas. Arrange hardcover books on coffee tables and cookbooks on the kitchen counter. Fill baskets with decorative towels, scented soaps and moisturizers, and place them in the bathrooms.

Take a tip from the pros and keep decorative objects restricted to groups of one, three, or five. The idea is that items arranged in odd numbers are more pleasing and memorable than pairings of even numbers. Within each grouping, create a hierarchy of different heights, textures or shapes. HGTV.com’s accessories section has photo galleries of art, lamps, pillows and other items to help with decorating ideas and information.

Be scent-conscious. You might love the smell of sandalwood or vanilla, but don’t assume potential buyers have the same preferences. The house should smell fresh—not like air freshener. The key is not to add aroma, but to get rid of offensive or stale odors.

How do you do this? Tackle the source(s). This may mean cleaning out the fridge, taking out the trash, doing the laundry, cleaning the garbage disposal, or changing the kitty litter. Opening windows and vents can help. If the basement smells musty, run a dehumidifier—just make sure to remove it before the showing, since a dehumidifier in the basement can signal water damage to some buyers. Dry-cleaning kits like Dryel can get rid of laundry odors. At around $10.00,  Citrus Magic Solid Air Freshener is an inexpensive yet effective method for eliminating food and general household smells.

Call a professional. You may prefer to have a professional handle home staging. A directory of Accredited Staging Professionals can be found at StagedHomes.com. The Bremner Group can give you a list of names, and friends and colleagues might also have recommendations based on home stagers they’ve worked with. 

1. Move it Fast! Once the time and place of the auction is set, interested buyers are gathered all at once in either a live or online venue. A typical live event can be completed from beginning to end in about 1-4 hours, making auctions a quick and effective method of selling a home.

2. Motivated Sellers. Selling a property at auction eliminates long term carrying costs for the seller such as property taxes, continued mortgage payments, insurance, and maintenance costs.

3. Predetermined Sale Date. An auction date is set for the property so all parties have a clear timeframe to work with.

4. Luxury Sells. It’s a common myth that auction homes are either foreclosures and/or dilapidated properties. Luxury properties can generate serious interest and top dollar from bidders.    

5. Eliminate Price Negotiation. The time and energy spent on offers, counter-offers and counter-counter-offers on price is absent from the auction process. Can you remember the last time you bought or sold a home without discussion or debate over price?   

6. Bring on the Competition. Auctions create a sense of urgency and excitement, stimulating buyers to seize the moment and take action or the opportunity will be lost. Competitive bidding can serve as instant confirmation of value by fellow bidders, driving the sale price to true market value.

7. See Homes in Person. Up to 3 open house events are offered prior to most auctions, so buyers can tour the home in person prior to bidding.  

8. Banks are Motivated. With an abundance of foreclosures on the market, many houses are being placed on the auction block that may be acquired at significantly lower prices than through traditional real estate transactions.

Following passing votes in the House of Representatives and Senate, President Obama signed HR 2112, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012, into law, renewing the expired higher loan limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans for an additional two years, through December 31, 2013.

The limit to conforming loans was reduced to $625,500 on October 1, 2011, when a previous increase in conforming loan limits expired. With the passage of this legislation, the FHA loan limit has been restored to $729,750. While the loan limit has been increased for FHA loans, the increase does not affect limits for conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Higher loan limits give borrowers another home-financing option to consider in all high-cost areas of the country, such as California and New York. Borrowers could take out a jumbo loan, which typically requires a larger down payment. They now have the option of using an FHA loan with a lower 3.5% down payment requirement.

Let's discuss the exciting opportunities generated by higher FHA and VA loan limits combined with historically low interest rates. I am ready for your call!

*One-unit, primary, owner-occupied residences determined by HUD to be in high-cost areas.

Rebecca Mieliwocki teaches English at Luther Burbank middle school in the Burbank Unified School District and was selected to continue to the national competition to become teacher of the year.

Tom Collett of Newark Junior high school in Newark Unified School District and Shari Ann Herout, of Foxboro Elementary in the Travis Unified District were also part of the five selected. Collett teaches eighth-grade science and Herout is a kindergarten teacher.

Two teachers from Los Angeles County also made the list. Florence Avognon is an English teacher at the Phoenix Academy, and was part of the Reading Intervention Specialists Teachers program at Central Juvenile Hall before being transferred because of budget cuts. Ken LaVigne is also an English teacher at La Serna High School in the Whittier Union High School District.

“Like all teachers in California, they are struggling with budget challenges and cutbacks in programs. That is what makes them even more extraordinary,” said Torlakson.

Here are five tips when considering a short sale:

1. Don't assume you have to sell your home and move: check about other options. Do you really prefer to keep your home if your payment could be made more affordable instead of selling? If so, you should call your Loan Servicer - the company that sends you your mortgage bill every month. Ask them about any loan modification programs you may qualify for.
2. Document your financial hardship. Lenders are much more willing to forgive debt for homeowners who have been hit with an unplanned hardship such as job loss or medical emergency. Get your paperwork together so you can make a case for any debts you are unable to pay back to be forgiven.  We have lists of items that lenders will consider as true hardship.
3. Be sure you review the terms approved by the lenders on your short sale: and don't be afraid to say "no" later in the process. In a short sale, you often won't know the final terms offered to you by your lenders until long after you have listed your property and received an offer. Be aware of this timing issue and be sure to review the final short sale terms approved by your lender or lenders before closing the transaction.
4. Ask about relocation support. Some loan servicers have special programs and offer financial support for relocation in the context of a short sale.
5. Check with your tax advisor. Even if you don't have one, check with someone to ensure your don't have a bad tax surprise caused by debt forgiveness. In some cases it is included as income on your tax return. This is particularly true for anyone who refinanced their loan and pulled cash out in the past, or took out a home equity line of credit.

Why existing-home sales are calculated on a seasonally adjusted annual rate. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting existing-home sales data to factor seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family-buying patterns in the U.S.

How seasonally adjusted annual sales rates are calculated. When calculating seasonally adjusted annual rates, the sales rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months.

Why median prices are compared with the same period a year earlier. Median prices in the existing-home sales report are not calculated on a month-to-month basis because seasonal changes and family-buying patterns in the composition of sales data can distort the median price. As a result, median price comparisons for existing-home sales are compared with the same period a year earlier. This is viewed as a more accurate and valid comparison of existing-home prices.

Why condo prices tend to be high. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes. But in the existing-home sales report, condo prices tend to be high because there's a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas. In fact, the national median condo price — which excludes the concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas — is usually lower than the median single-family price.

But that doesn't stop some desperate home owners from smashing walls to rip out Romex wiring or copper pipes and selling them for scrap in back alleys. Some misguided home owners, angry at the bank for foreclosing, think it's somehow permissible to strip every salvageable component from the home.  Crews of scam artists look for vacant homes to pilfer of their appliances, cabinets, flat screens, pedestal sinks, etc.

They don't stop to think about the consequences for the homeowner who is already fighting to stay afloat and do the right thing, or for the next set of home buyers who have pinched, saved and worked hard to qualify to buy a home priced at the bottom of the market, in "as is" condition, from a lender who couldn't sell it on the county courthouse steps because the home was trashed by its previous occupants.

Assets Home Owners Cannot Remove from Homes

I look at many homes during a short sale or after a foreclosure and cringe at what I might find inside when I put the key into the lock, providing, of course, there is a lock or even a door. Often homes have had the front door boarded up because the door has been removed, or all hardware has been stripped.

The following items are assets, fixtures that should not be removed from a home that is in short sale or foreclosure:

• Cabinets and counter tops
• Built in appliances such as stoves, built-in microwaves, dishwashers, etc.
• Furnaces and air conditioning units
• Plumbing and copper pipes
• Romex or other electrical wiring
• Light fixtures and ceiling fans
• Doors, locks and hardware
• Flooring, ceilings and walls
• Windows and vents
• Window coverings that are attached, such as plantation shutters
• Medicine cabinets, sinks, tubs, toilets and showers
• Sink drains and faucets
• Built-in shelving / bookcases
• Landscaping, outdoor potted plants, fencing, built-in pools and spas

Assets Home Owners Can Remove from Homes

Here are items a home owner can remove without fearing prosecution:

• All personal items brought into the home by the owner such as furniture, clothing and common household items such as dishes, pans and silverware
• Mirrors that are not attached to the wall (freely hung)
• Personal artwork and photographs from walls
• Free-standing lamps
• Pet-related items such as dog houses, aquariums, bird cages
• Easily removable window coverings such as drapes or curtains
• Non- built in refrigerators, washer/ dryers, televisions, computers and stereo equipment
• Throw and area rugs
• Indoor plants
• Portable fans and heaters

Vandalism of Homes in Foreclosure

Vandalism is against the law.  It's considered vandalism to spray paint the walls or windows with graphic images or tagging, or for windows be broken or removed.  Some previous occupants have deposited feces on counter tops or in the middle of the living room floor. Sometimes home owners turn on all the water faucets and plug up the drains before departing.

People who vandalize a home they are losing through foreclosure are not harming the bank by their illegal actions. They are harming innocent home buyers who, just like they once were, are hoping to achieve the American dream of home ownership. In short, owners who trash their homes are hurting themselves. 

What Happens to Sellers Who Strip Their Homes?

According to a representative from LAPD, it's the home owner's insurance companies that are most likely to pursue and prosecute sellers who vandalize or strip their homes while in foreclosure. When the bank receives title to the home through foreclosure proceedings, many banks submit an insurance claim to the existing insurance company to cover damage and missing real property items.

Insurance companies then actively go after the sellers because the company has faced a loss due to the seller's intentional behavior. Insurance companies are relentless, committed to collection and will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. 

Metro has not provided bus advisories yet – but they will release as the afternoon continues.

Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus is alerting riders to delays on routes 1, 2, 3, 8, and 12. 

We’re still piecing together the sparse details but here’s what we have so far:

Obama will attend a dinner in Hancock Park at the home of “Hitch” producer James Lassiter in the “late afternoon” according to the Hollywood Reporter.  That means he will most likely arrive mid-afternoon sometime between 2 and 3pm.

After that he will attend another fundraising gala at the “nearby” home of Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas.

This means he will probably arrive sometime between 2pm and 3:30pm at LAX, from which he will be helicoptered to the VA.  From there the motorcade will cross the westside prompting rolling closures of streets, likely Santa Monica, Sunset, Wilshire, Pico and Olympic. 

When in town, he usually stays at the Beverly Hilton, so his motorcade will prompt more rolling street closures sometime between 8 and 10.

He is also scheduled to make an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  That will also require street closures in the Burbank Media District and NBC Studios area, especially along streets like Alameda and Olive.  The Tonight Show tapes in the early afternoon – so traffic impacts will occur sometime between 3pm and 6pm.

After you read this short article, you will know if buying a house is right for you. Perhaps you are a first time home buyer or own ten homes. The basics remain the same.

The right of home ownership is an integral part of the American dream but thankfully, does not have to remain merely a dream. Like most dreams, desire is important and is the first ingredient. If you have the desire to own a home, you have already satisfied the most important step to home ownership.

Because your home is a financial asset, the desire for equity appreciation over time is certainly part of the dream. Besides gaining equity during some real estate cycles, pride of home ownership and financial security result from buying a house. Home ownership dates back to early American heritage. Our constitution providing freedom for home ownership, strengthens our country and makes us proud.

Try to set aside the discomfort of applying for a mortgage since your home purchase is most likely based on obtaining financing. Let’s figure out if buying a house is right for you by reviewing some basic items.

#1 How much money you make is first on the list. Income should be consistent and dependable. A steady income refers to your income’s consistency. The more consistent your income the better. The reliability of your income mostly refers to its predictability. What is the likelihood of your income continuing into the future?

#2 We all understand that your job supplies the money. So the second question to determining if you are prepared to buy a home is related to job history. You’ll move quickly past the employment issue if you have been in the same line of work for over two years.

Tip: After you apply for a home loan, the bank or mortgage company will review your financial stability. Popular misconceptions are that lenders are looking for reasons to deny you but in truth, lending is how these mortgage institutions make money. So don’t feel intruded upon. Instead seek the guidance of a reputable mortgage lender to elp guide you through this process.

#3 How you handle debt is extremely important to your financial health and is the third question to address if you are preparing to buy a home. Paying your bills before they are late will get you further toward your goal of home loan approval than anything else. Make a conscious decision today to begin paying your obligations timely. Going past the due dates of your bills damages your credit rating but you can alter this behavior today.

Tip: Zero down payment programs became the staple of home loan programs the last ten years. But due to the recent mortgage crisis, these products are not going to be as available.

#5 In addition to examining total debt, are you saving for a down payment. For those who have saved for the cost of buying a home including a down payment, they are a step ahead. It is never too late to begin a gradual savings plan toward a buying a house.

#6 The last issue is one some people don’t think of but is also important to your overall financial life. Can you afford to make monthly payments plus the additional cost related to owning a home? Owning a home also includes expenses such as liability and fire insurance, real estate taxes, roofs, furnaces and water heaters.

Don’t allow doubt to extinguish your hopes of home ownership by taking the next step. Now is the best time to contact a home loan lender and begin the application process. Understanding your options will increase your opportunity of of home ownership. A reputable and experienced mortgage lender can help you zero in on the most important issues that you may need to address.

Sellers Disclosing Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures: C.A.R. successfully sponsored a new law, effective January 1, 2012, revising the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) to include a checkbox in Section A for the seller to disclose whether the property has water-conserving plumbing fixtures.  The revised TDS also clarifies at the end of Section B that, by January 1, 2017, a single-family residence built on or before January 1, 1994 must generally be equipped with water-conserving plumbing fixtures.  If, however, that single-family home is altered or improved on or after January 1, 2014, the water-conserving plumbing fixtures must be a condition of final permit approval.  Water-conserving plumbing fixtures are low-flow toilets, shower heads, and faucets under section 1101.3 of the California Civil Code.  Senate Bill 837.

NHD Companies Disclosing Mining Operations: Starting January 1, 2012, a company preparing a natural hazard disclosure (NHD) statement for a prospective buyer, as required for certain transactions, must also disclose whether the property is located within one mile of a mining operation, according to map coordinate data from the Office of Mine Reclamation.  If a property is within one mile, the NHD company must give a specified notice that such mining operations may cause inconveniences.  Senate Bill 110.

No Fee Bundling for HOA Disclosures: Beginning January 1, 2012, another C.A.R.-sponsored bill requires a homeowner’s association (HOA) to, upon written request, give an estimate of the fee for providing a prospective buyer with the governing documents of the common interest development and other required HOA disclosures.  The fee must be reasonable based upon the HOA’s actual cost for procuring, preparing, reproducing, and delivering the HOA documents.  If the fee is paid, the HOA cannot withhold the required HOA disclosures for any reason.  Moreover, the HOA cannot bundle the fee for providing required HOA disclosures with any other fees, fines, or assessments.  This law will prevent an HOA’s third-party document preparation company from bundling together both mandatory and non-mandatory HOA documents, and charging a higher fee for providing all the documents.  The HOA is also prohibited from charging any additional fees for electronic delivery of HOA documents, which must be available to a requesting party if the HOA maintains the documents electronically.  Additionally, at a buyer’s request, the HOA must provide 12 months of approved minutes of the association’s board of directors meetings (excluding executive sessions).  Delivery of the required HOA documents must be accompanied by a cover sheet itemizing the documents required by law and those provided.  Assembly Bill 771.

Brokers Designating Managers: Under another law that C.A.R. sponsored, effective July 1, 2012, an employing broker may appoint a licensee as a manager to supervise the licensed activities, clerical staff, and day-to-day operations of a branch office or division.  An appointed manager who fails to properly supervise licensed activities will be subject to disciplinary action by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE).  Appointing a manager, however, does not limit the employing broker’s supervisory responsibilities.  The appointment of a manager must be in a written agreement in which the manager accepts the delegated responsibility.  The employing broker must notify the DRE when a manager has been appointed or terminated.  A licensee cannot be an appointed manager if the licensee holds a restricted license, is or has been subject to a debarment order, or is a salesperson with less than two years of full-time real estate experience within the last five years.  Senate Bill 510.

Strengthening DRE Enforcement: Effective January 1, 2012, the DRE will have greater disciplinary authority to achieve its highest priority of protecting the public.  A licensee will be required to report to the DRE within 30 days of any of the following: (1) disciplinary action taken by another licensing entity in California or another state, or by a federal governmental agency; (2) an indictment or information charging a felony against the licensee; or (3) a conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, including a plea of guilty or no contest.  Failure to comply with this reporting requirement will be cause for discipline.  The DRE’s broader disciplinary authority will also include, among other things, the ability to automatically suspend the license of anyone incarcerated after a felony conviction.  For disciplinary actions, the DRE can conclusively presume without a hearing that a licensee’s conviction of murder, rape, lewd and lascivious acts, or a violation of dangerous drugs or controlled substances laws is substantially related to the licensee’s qualifications, functions, or duties.  The DRE will also be able to enter into a pre-prosecution settlement with a licensee or applicant instead of issuing an accusation or statement of issues, but the settlement shall be considered discipline.  Additionally, the DRE can request that a disciplinary order requires the disciplined licensee to pay reasonable investigation and prosecution costs.  Failure to pay can result in non-renewal of license.  The DRE can also require that a restricted licensee pays the costs for monitoring the licensee and monetary restitution to any person who sustained damages caused by the licensee’s misconduct.  Again, failure to pay can result in non-renewal of license.  Senate Bill 706.

DRE Issuing Citations and Fines: Starting January 1, 2012, the DRE can issue a citation and fine up to $2,500 if, upon investigation, it has cause to believe that a licensee has violated the DRE rules, or a unlicensed person has engaged in licensed activities.  The person cited can request a hearing within 30 days from receipt of the citation.  The citation and fine will be in lieu of DRE disciplinary action for the offense cited, and the citation will not be reported as discipline.  However, failure to comply with the terms of the citation or pay the fine within a reasonable time specified by the DRE shall result in disciplinary action and non-renewal of license.  The DRE may also apply to a superior court for a judgment in the amount of the fine and an order compelling compliance.  All administrative fines collected will be deposited into the Real Estate Recovery Fund, which has, under Senate Bill 706, been renamed the Consumer Recovery Account.  Additionally under this law, if the DRE delays the renewal of a license due to a pending disciplinary action, the license will not expire until the results of the disciplinary action are final or the license is voluntarily surrendered, whichever occurs first.  This law also gives the DRE the authority to make public information confirming the fact of certain investigations or proceedings regarding a licensee, and to apply for a court order to enforce a subpoena if a licensee has refused to obey.  Senate Bill 53.

Reporting Broker-Owned Escrows and Securities Qualification Exemptions: Starting July 1, 2012, a broker who conducts escrow activities for five or more transactions in a calendar year under the broker exemption from the Escrow Law, or whose escrow activities are $1 million or more in a calendar year, must file with the DRE an annual report of the number of escrows and dollar volume.  The report must be filed within 60 days after the end of a calendar year in which the threshold is met.  A failure to submit the report will be penalized at $50 per day for the first 30 days and $100 per day thereafter, up to $10,000.  A broker who fails to pay the penalty may be subject to license suspension or revocation.  All penalties collected will be deposited into the Consumer Recovery Account under the Real Estate Recovery Program.  Effective January 1, 2012, this law also requires a broker who files certain information with the DRE for an exemption from securities qualification to submit a copy of that information to any investor who gives funds to the broker in connection with a transaction involving the sale of a series of notes (or undivided interests in a note) secured by real property under section 10237 of the California Business and Professions Code.  Senate Bill 53.

DRE Suspending Largest Tax Delinquents: Commencing January 1, 2012, both the State Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board must periodically make public a list of the 500 persons with the largest tax delinquencies in excess of $100,000.  The lists must include, among other things, each taxpayer’s occupational or professional license numbers.  The DRE and other state governmental licensing entities (with certain exceptions) must suspend and refuse to issue or renew an occupational or professional license for anyone on either tax delinquency list.  Assembly Bill 1424.

Agents Handling Appraisal Issues: Beginning January 1, 2012, a licensee cannot knowingly or intentionally misrepresent the value of real property.  Furthermore, a licensee who offers or provides an opinion of value of residential real property that is used as the basis for originating a mortgage loan cannot have any direct or indirect interest in the property or transaction as defined under Regulation Z (at 12 C.F.R. section 226.42(d)).  A licensee or other interested party is also prohibited from using coercion, extortion, bribery, intimidation, compensation, or instruction to improperly influence a person preparing an appraisal or valuation for a real estate transaction.  Senate Bill 6.

Increasing Small Claims to $10,000: Commencing January 1, 2012, the small claims court jurisdiction will generally increase from $7,500 to $10,000 for an action brought by a natural person.  For a claim of bodily injury from a car accident, the increase to $10,000 will not occur until 2015.  The dollar limit in small claims court for an action brought by a corporation or other entity will remain at $5,000.  Senate Bill 221.

Revising the Notice of Sale: Effective April 1, 2012, a notice of trustee’s sale for the non-judicial foreclosure of one-to-four residential units must contain specified notices to the owner on how to seek postponement of the trustee’s sale, and to potential bidders on the risks involved in bidding at trustee auctions.  Additionally, a lender or authorized agent must make a good faith effort to provide up-to-date information about sale dates and postponements to persons who want this information.  The lender must also provide updated information through the Internet, a telephone recording, or any other means that allows free access at any time.  Senate Bill 4.

Renting Out Condominiums: C.A.R. also successfully sponsored legislation protecting owners’ right to rent out their units in common interest developments.  Starting January 1, 2012, an owner in a common interest development is exempt from any prohibition in a governing document against renting or leasing the unit, unless that prohibition was in effect before the owner acquired title to his or her unit.  When renting out a unit, the owner must give the HOA verification of the owner’s acquisition date, and name and contact information of the prospective tenant.  An owner’s right to rent under this law does not terminate for certain transfers of title, including, but not limited to, probate, spousal, parent-to-child, adding a joint tenant, and other transfers exempt from property tax reassessment.  For sales transactions, the required HOA disclosures must include a statement describing any prohibition in the governing documents against renting or leasing.  This law does not apply to rental prohibitions in effect before 2012.  Senate Bill 150.

Tenants Smoking Ban: Beginning January 1, 2012, a residential landlord can prohibit the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products on the property, including any dwelling unit, building, other interior or exterior area, or the premises on which the property is located.  For new tenants on or after January 1, 2012, the areas where smoking is prohibited must be stated in the lease or rental agreement.  For preexisting tenants before 2012, a new provision prohibiting smoking is a change in the terms of tenancy that requires adequate written notice, depending on whether the tenancy is month-to-month or for a fixed term.  Senate Bill 332.

Tenants Displaying Political Signs: Effective January 1, 2012, a residential tenant can generally display political signs related to elections, legislative votes, initiatives, and other political matters as specified, but the landlord can make reasonable restrictions as to location, size, and duration of display.  In a single-family dwelling, a tenant’s political signs can be displayed from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the leased premises.  In a multifamily dwelling, a tenant’s political signs can be posted in the window or door of the leased premises.  A landlord can restrict the size of a political sign to six square feet.  A landlord can also prohibit a tenant from displaying political signs that violate local, state or federal law, or a lawful provision in an HOA’s governing documents.  A tenant must remove political signs in compliance with time limits set by local ordinance, or absent such time limits, the landlord can reasonably restrict the posting of a sign to 90 days before an election or vote, and its removal within 15 days after the election or vote.  Senate Bill 337.

Tenants Recycling Rights: Commencing July 1, 2012, a multifamily residential dwelling of five or more units (or a multifamily residential dwelling or business that generates more than four cubic yards per week of commercial solid waste as defined) must arrange for recycling services.  The intent of this law is to address the challenges local governments are facing in reducing solid waste disposal in multifamily properties.  The required recycling services are to be consistent with state or local laws, to the extent that these services are offered and reasonably available from a local service provider.  The property owner of a multifamily residential dwelling may require tenants to source separate their recyclable materials to aid in compliance with this law.  Assembly Bill 341.

Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 7.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million in August from an upwardly revised 4.67 million in July, and are 18.6 percent higher than the 4.24 million unit level in August 2010.

Laurence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there are some positive market fundamentals. “Some of the improvement in August may result from sales that were delayed in preceding months, but favorable affordability conditions and rising rents are underlying motivations,” he said. “Investors were more active in absorbing foreclosed properties. In additional to bargain hunting, some investors are in the market to hedge against higher inflation.”

Investors accounted for 22 percent of purchase activity in August, up from 18 percent in July and 21 percent in August 2010. First-time buyers purchased 32 percent of homes in August, unchanged from July; they were 31 percent in August 2010.

All-cash sales accounted for 29 percent of transactions in August, unchanged from July; they were 28 percent in August 2010; investors account for the bulk of cash purchases.

“We had some disruptions from Hurricane Irene in the closing weekend of August, when many sales normally are finalized, along the Eastern seaboard and in New England,” Yun said. “As a result, the Northeast saw the smallest sales gain in August, and some general impact is expected in September with widespread flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Aberrations in housing data are possible over the next couple months as markets recover from disrupted closings and storm damage.”

Yun said an extremely important issue currently is the renewal and availability of the National Flood Insurance Program, scheduled to expire at the end of this month. “About one out of 10 homes in this country need flood insurance to get a mortgage, and we would see significant negative market impacts without it,” he said.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.27 percent in August, down from 4.55 percent in July; the rate was 4.43 percent in August 2010. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed rate fell to a record low 4.09 percent.

NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said the market is remarkably affordable for people with secure jobs, good credit and long-term plans. “All year, the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income has been hovering at historic highs, meaning the best housing affordability conditions in a generation,” he said.

“The biggest factors keeping home sales from a healthy recovery are mortgages being denied to creditworthy buyers, and appraised valuations below the negotiated price. Buyers may be able to find more favorable credit terms with community and small regional banks, and Realtors® can often give buyers advice to help them overcome some of the financing obstacles,” Phipps said.

Contract failures – cancellations caused largely by declined mortgage applications or failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price – were reported by 18 percent of NAR members in August, up from 16 percent July and 9 percent in August 2010.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $168,300 in August, which is 5.1 percent below August 2010. Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales typically sold at deep discounts – accounted for 31 percent of sales in August, compared with 29 percent in July and 34 percent in August 2010.

Total housing inventory at the end of August fell 3.0 percent to 3.58 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.5-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in July.

Single-family home sales rose 8.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million in August from 4.12 million in July, and are 20.2 percent above the 3.72 million pace in August 2010. The median existing single-family home price was $168,400 in August, which is 5.4 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 1.8 percent a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 in August from 550,000 in July, and are 8.3 percent higher than the 517,000-unit level one year ago. The median existing condo price was $167,500 in August, down 3.3 percent from August 2010.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 2.7 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in August and are 10.0 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $244,100, which is 5.1 percent below August 2010.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 3.8 percent in August to a level of 1.09 million and are 26.7 percent above August 2010. The median price in the Midwest was $141,700, down 3.5 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 5.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.94 million in August and are 16.9 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the South was $151,000, which is 0.8 percent below August 2010.

Existing-home sales in the West jumped 18.3 percent to an annual pace of 1.23 million in August and are 20.6 percent higher than August 2010. The median price in the West was $189,400, down 13.0 percent from a year ago.

Using the tricks of professional home stagers, you can "stage your home" to sell.

Show up the strengths, downplay the weaknesses

The key element to staging your home like a professional is to highlight the strengths and draw attention away from weaknesses.

Organize all of the cabinets, and remove clutter.  Messy cabinets make it look like you don't have enough storage. Storage sells. This is the #1 trick I tell my clients, and the biggest “bang for the buck” trick you can use.  Toys, tools, and extra countertop appliances must go.  Clean out medicine cabinets.

Too many books?  Pack most of them up, and keep a few “special items” to stack on the bookshelves.  Place them alongside a few treasured or unusual pieces to break up the space. If there is a weakness in a room, then decorate the room to distract attention from it.  

Float your furniture

When arranging furniture, make the rooms look spacious. Control the flow of the room. Home sellers tend to push furniture against walls to create space, but "floating" the furniture -- creating furniture groupings away from walls -- adds space to the room.

For example, group a love seat, coffee table and two wingback chairs across from the sofa, all in the middle of the living room on a decorative rug. Furniture should be in good condition, but less is more.  The bare minimum looks best.

Repurpose rooms

Give each room a purpose. If you have a spare bedroom that can be used as a storage room, start by decluttering the room. Instead of a junk room, create a craft room, sewing room, reading room, office or game room.  When each room has a purpose, you show how the space can be used -- without clutter.

Rethink your lighting

Lighting makes a home appear welcoming and inviting. Unfortunately, many homes do not have the proper lighting to create this ambience.

This is not the time for saving energy.  Replace low-wattage light bulbs with higher wattages. Have 100 watts of light for every 50 square feet of the room. Each room should have three types of lighting: general (overhead), task (pendant or reading lighting), and accent (lamps or sconces).

If you are fortunate enough to have natural lighting, then use this to your advantage when showing your home. Open all the shades halfway so light streams in. Remove heavy drapes -- they block light and make rooms appear smaller.  Try light linen panels for privacy yet airiness.  

Turn bathrooms into spas

Buyers are looking for restful and relaxing spaces to make their home a sanctuary.  Add accessories to your bathroom that transform it from a regular bathroom into a spa. When you visit a spa, you often find large and small towels rolled up and displayed inside of a basket or arranged on a decorative tray. Adding candles (lit or unlit) is another way to create a peaceful and calming atmosphere in the bath.  Fill the tub for photographs as well.  It's all about creating a welcoming space.

No matter what the situation is in the housing market, you want to make your home as appealing as possible to potential buyers. Presentation is everything and can mean the difference between offers rolling in and your house languishing on the market.

"Included in the report are detailed assessments for the 10 largest mortgage servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program with results from the second quarter of 2011. In addition to providing greater transparency about servicer performance in the program, the servicer assessments are intended to set a new industry benchmark for disclosure around servicer efforts to assist struggling homeowners, while prompting them to correct identified deficiencies.
 
More than 5 million mortgage aid arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of July 2011. In July, more than 28,000 additional homeowners received a permanent modification through the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP); more than 790,000 homeowners across the country have now received a HAMP permanent modification with a median payment reduction of 37 percent.  To date, homeowners in permanent modifications have realized aggregate savings in monthly mortgage payments of nearly $7.8 billion.

The Servicer Assessments summarize performance for the 10 largest Making Home Affordable participating servicers from reviews largely conducted throughout the second quarter of 2011 on three categories of program implementation: identifying and contacting homeowners; homeowner evaluation and assistance; and program reporting, management and governance.  Although some improvements have been made, based on the reviews for this quarter, Bank of America, NA and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, NA remain in need of substantial improvement.  Both servicers were subject to withholding of financial incentives under the program based on results from the first quarter and will continue to have their incentives withheld until their performance improves.
 
While Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, NA were both found to be in need of substantial improvement in the first quarter of 2011, compliance activities conducted to follow up on their progress and assess other areas of program implementation found that both mortgage servicers have corrected identified deficiencies from the first quarter.  Both servicers were found to be in need of moderate improvement in the second quarter."

Is it all doom and gloom?  No!  This week we look at the reasons we have to be optimistic about what's ahead.

So, when something gets stolen or damaged and you’d like to report a claim to your insurance company, pulling out a record of the purchase isn’t likely going to happen. It is going to end up being your word against theirs.

• Don't be put off! 
  If you are just setting up a household, starting an inventory list can be relatively simple. If you’ve been living in the same house for many years, however, the task of creating a list can be daunting. However, it’s better to have an incomplete inventory than nothing at all. Start with recent purchases and then try to remember what you can about older possessions.
• Big ticket items 
  Valuable items like jewelry, art work and collectibles may have increased in value since you received them. Check with your agent to make sure that you have adequate insurance for these items. They may need to be insured separately.
• Take a picture
  Besides the list, you can take pictures of rooms and important individual items. On the back of the photos, note what is shown and where you bought it or the make. Don’t forget things that are in closets or drawers.
• Videotape it 
  Walk through your house or apartment videotaping and describing the contents. Or do the same thing using a tape recorder.
• Use a personal computer 
  Use your PC to make your inventory list. Personal finance software packages often include a homeowners room-by-room inventory program. (http://www.stuffsafe.com/) and (http://www.knowyourstuff.org/iii/login.html) are two software programs designed to assist you store your data.
• Storing the list, photos and tapes 
  Regardless of how you do it (written list, floppy disk, photos, videotape or audio tape), keep your inventory along with receipts in your safe deposit box or at a friend's or relative's home. That way you’ll be sure to have something to give your insurance representative if your home is damaged. When you make a significant purchase, add the information to your inventory while the details are fresh in your mind.

• Bankruptcy laws prevent homeowners from eliminating the debt of a first mortgage if they plan to stay in their home.  But second mortgages are treated differently.  Second mortgages can be declared unsecured debt when there is no equity to cover them.
• When that happens in a personal bankruptcy proceeding, the second mortgage is put on hold and no payments are required while the homeowner completes a repayment plan for other debts, which typically takes three to five years.  At that point, the second mortgage is eliminated.
• While this strategy has gained in popularity among homeowners, mortgage bankers are not in favor of the practice, and have called it “a troubling phenomenon.”  However, there is little the mortgage industry can do, aside from seeking to change the law, which could be difficult given the current partisan lineup in Washington.

• If you've ever been curious about what I, as an Accredited Buyer's Representative, can do for you,this article recently released by foxbusiness.com explains my role in the buying process. If you have any questions, please let me know.

The reason is tighter credit standards.  Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and most other Mortgage Lenders have a policy of re running your credit report immediately before authorizing that the new mortgage be funded to confirm that you are still in good standing and that no other credit has been opened.  If your score has dropped or new debts are found, the mortgage is subject to a re-underwrite and a possible decline. 

The underwriters will be looking for three things in particular -- even after your loan is approved.

First, your updated credit report will show your current credit card bills and minimum monthly payments.  Those numbers will replace your original numbers made at the time of application.  If the debts exceed a certain threshold your loan may be declined.

Second, underwriters will be looking at your updated credit score.  If you're credit score has dropped below minimum lending standards, your loan may be declined.   OR, may be subject to a “loan-level pricing adjustment” which could increase your interest rate and/or points.  Loan-level pricing adjustments are required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are based on your credit score in relation to your down payment.  Generally, middle credit scores greater than or equal to 740 do not incur these adjustments.

And, lastly, underwriters will be looking at your credit report’s Credit Inquiry section.  The goal is to see if you have been applying for credit elsewhere.  Underwriters can use this information at their discretion. Please note that Inquires can bring your score down so it is advised that you do not allow anyone to run your credit report until after you have closed your loan.

So what can you do?  You need to take extra care of your credit between the time of application and the time of closing.  Don't buy new cars, don't buy new appliances and -- most definitely -- don't open new credit obligations OR close existing credit.  Be extra safe with your credit because there is a possibility that the mortgage application that's supposedly cleared-to-close can be revoked at the eleventh hour.  

The good news is that homeowners don't have to navigate this process on their own. I am available for those who need my expertise to get back on the path to stability.

The more proactive we are, the better the chance of finding financial freedom and stability. 

Lender Processing Services, a loan data aggregator, estimated that 2.18 million mortgages were in foreclosure, down nearly 2 percent from a record 2.22 million in March but up 9.5 percent from a year ago.  In addition, LPS data shows that foreclosure starts fell nearly 31 percent from March to April, totaling 187,423 -- a 14.7 percent decline from a year ago.

Another 1.96 million mortgages were delinquent by 90 days or more in April, down about 1.5 percent from the previous month and 29 percent from a year ago. 

Demolition activities will take place over a weekend for 53 consecutive hours, resulting in the full freeway closure of the I-405 freeway. The Mulholland Dr Bridge and both directions of the I-405 freeway will be closed roughly between the US 101 freeway to the Getty Center Dr ramps.  Some intermittent closures of the Mulholland Dr Bridge will occur during the preparation for bridge demolition and bridge reconstruction. Access will always be provided for emergency responders.

Severe traffic conditions are anticipated in local and regional areas during the weekend of the full freeway closure. Detour maps will be available to reroute local traffic through the area.  Also alternative regional freeway routes will be available to encourage the traveling public to avoid this area completely during the weekend of the bridge demolition.  Sepulveda Bl will be used as a detour route during the weekend of the Mulholland Bridge demolition.

To reduce the impacts on local traffic flow, the Mulholland Dr Bridge demolition and reconstruction will be conducted in two separate phases. The southern half of the bridge will be demolished first, followed by approximately 11 months of south side bridge reconstruction. Upon completion, the northern side of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt in the same manner.

During reconstruction, the Mulholland Dr Bridge will accommodate one lane of traffic in each direction. The new traffic configurations for the Mulholland Dr Bridge will go into effect in early summer 2011. Implementing these new traffic configurations and isolating the work zone will help the contractor prepare for demolition. The contractor will be:

• Surveying the existing bridge's condition
• Removing false deck from inside the bridge
• Installing temporary traffic signals and signs and street lighting
• Surveying and protecting existing utilities
• Setting up construction yards
• Developing detour routes for emergency vehicles

The I-405 project website will have the latest updates regarding construction work. ( http://lite.metro.net/projects/I-405/ )