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Fresno, CA Real Estate News

By Brian Skaar, Purchase Loan Specialist - VA, FHA, Conventional
(VanDyk Mortgage - VA, FHA, Conventional, VA Jumbo, Jumbo, Purchase Loans, & Refinance, Direct Lender)
I just posted a FHA Refinance Case Study for a loan over $417K, here is another FHA Refinance Case Study to show another area where FHA can help homeowners.  Let's say you live in Los Angeles California.  Your home is now worth $400K.   Your First Mortgage is $340K, and you have a small second mortgage of $36K, which you used to finance your child's college expenses.  Your first loan has been denied for a HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program, aka DU Refi +) due to the fact that it was a Non-conforming mortgage from Ameriquest.  That rate is now set to adjust, and you explore Refinance options further before your payment increases.   The big bank says no, because you live in California, their limit for a conventional loan is 90% in CA.  Also, they have to consider your second mortgage...
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By Kim Darling, CRS,GRI, "Your Home Team" Fresno/Clovis Homes
(Keller Williams Westland Realty BRE# 01864461)
It's been a great season so far the Lady Mustangs of Malloch Elementary in Fresno, Ca.   They are 8-0-1.  Last night they battled against our biggest rival, Manchester.  It was a very rough and intense game, which ended in a tie.  Malloch had a chance to win it at the line, but came up short.  Manchester played well and I wouldn't want to take anything away from their great effort, but Malloch did have a huge disadvantage the first half with Manchester's own principal, who loves championships :), as the referree.  I was less than happy with this, and you could say I was just a little crazy!!!!   At half time, I couldn't take it anymore and asked for a new ref from the stands, someone from Malloch, but luckily, we got the boys ref to come over and finish our game.  He still let a lot of ...
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By Harold Penner
(Guarantee Real Estate)
HAROLD PENNER: Fresno Real Estate Market AnalysisMission of the Heart!This Christmas season I am reminded of all good that can come from people. I had the privilege of working with a buyer and seller on a unique sale this fall. An investor bought a foreclosed home in the south Fig Garden area of Fresno. Previously, the location for one of the largest drug busts in Fresno's history and later partially renovated and then vandalized, the home needed to be stripped to the studs and rebuilt. Click to View Fresno Bee Article   Instead of a traditional renovation and sale, this home construction project became a mission of the heart. The investor (who wishes to remain anonymous) organized the effort for donations of services and materials from local contractors and companies to renovate this ...
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By Kim Darling, CRS,GRI, "Your Home Team" Fresno/Clovis Homes
(Keller Williams Westland Realty BRE# 01864461)
Come view this beautiful 2288 sf Cambridge, 4 bedroom/3 bath home located in wonderful Northwest Fresno neighborhood on Tuesday, November 17 from 10-12 am. This home has a wonderful, spacious kitchen with Stainless appliances, large breakfast bar, lots of counter space, huge pantry, dark wood cabinents, and eating area with bay windows. The formal dining room is great for the holidays and those large gatherings. You will be pleased with all chair railing,the updated light fixtures and ceiling fans, as well as all the brushed nickel door knobs throughout. This home features one large bedroom and bathroom downstairs, which has door out to the gorgeous pebble tec pool and built in spa. Upstairs features a Jack and Jill bedroom set-up, another large room which is currently being used as a 5...
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WELCOME REALTORS® Searching for that perfect home for your clients can be a long process. Many clients are interested in short sales and foreclosures, but are not prepared for the lengthy purchase process or possible extensive repairs. Lennar Fresno has homes priced competitively---even when up against a foreclosure. There are many reasons to buy a new home. At the top of my list is peace of mind. Lennar Fresno has new homes ranging from the $100's - $400's featuring 3-5 bedrooms. More details are available at www.lennar.com/Fresno This simple guide will help you navigate through our website with ease. GETTING STARTED Go to Lennar.com/FRESNO. Here you will be able to: LEARN ABOUT OUR CURRENT PROMOTIONS Click on the flash banner at the top of the page to view Lennar's latest promotion. V...
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By Lori Pennebaker, Lennar Fresno, Inc.
(Lennar)
NEW HOME Quick List Hello home hunters! Looking for a NEW HOME in the Central Valley, but not sure where to start? Start online, of course! You can visit Lennar Central Valley  to find a quick list of move-in ready homes. There is an advanced search option, which allows you to enter search criteria, like price, plan name, square feet, and bedroom and bathroom count. After you view our quick move-in list and floorplans, let's connect! I'm here to assist you through every step of your search. I'm available online or by phone at 559-994-6567 or 888-215-7581. I hope to hear from you soon-- Happy Home Hunting!  
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Most people have their furnace cleaned regularly because they are concerned for their safety. Sadly, very few people think of clothes dryer in relation to safety.  A clothes dryer is more likely to start a fire than any other appliance in your home.  Over 15,000 dryer fires are reported each year.  Most could have been prevented with proper dryer maintenance.    A clothes dryer requires air-flow to do its job; the dryer vent and duct system is responsible for carrying the hot, moist air and lint from the wet laundry in the dryer drum to the outdoors.   Only about 60 percent of the lint is caught in the lint screen; the rest goes through the dryer ducts; some makes it outside through the vent.  The rest is trapped somewhere in the dryer duct.    A clothes dryer fire occurs when lint accu...
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By Randy "Lazarus" McAtee, Owner/Broker, Lazarus Realty, Fresno California
(Lazarus Realty)
... and you thought this was just a podunk hick-town full of raisin farmers.   NOT! According to the latest statistics released yesterday by the Department of Finance Fresno's population grew by 10,578 people in 2008.  That was enough to bump the city up over Long Beach and make it the fifth largest City in the State with a total population of 495,913. TOP 10 CITIES IN CALIFORNIA California's 10 most populous cities as of Jan. 1, 2009, with percentage of growth since 2008:   1. Los Angeles, 4,065,585, 1.1% 2. San Diego, 1,353,993, 1.5% 3. San Jose, 1,006,892, 2.2% 4. San Francisco, 845,559, 1.2% 5. Fresno, 495,913, 2.2% 6. Long Beach, 492,682, 0.6% 7. Sacramento, 481,097, 1.4% 8. Oakland, 425,068, 1.4% 9. Santa Ana, 355,662, 1.2% 10. Anaheim, 348,467, 0.9%   Source: California Departmen...
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By Lori Pennebaker, Lennar Fresno, Inc.
(Lennar)
WELCOME REALTORS® Searching for that perfect home for your clients can be a long process. Many clients are interested in short sales and foreclosures, but are not prepared for the lengthy purchase process or possible extensive repairs. Lennar Fresno has homes priced competitively---even when up against a foreclosure. There are many reasons to buy a new home. At the top of my list is peace of mind. Lennar Fresno has new homes ranging from the $100's - $400's featuring 3-5 bedrooms. More details are available at www.lennar.com/Fresno This simple guide will help you navigate through our website with ease. GETTING STARTED Go to Lennar.com/FRESNO. Here you will be able to: LEARN ABOUT OUR CURRENT PROMOTIONS Click on the flash banner at the top of the page to view Lennar's latest promotion. V...
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By Harold Penner
(Guarantee Real Estate)
HAROLD PENNER: Fresno, California Real Estate Market Analysis Obama Policy Implications for Fresno Homeowners On March 4, 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department released guidelines for a new program to assist homeowners. Here are some of the basics of that program: View U.S. Treasury Press Release Refinancing Assistance for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Loans: Typically, owners cannot refinance unless their loan is 80% or lower of current market value. So, for example, if your home is currently worth $200,000, you need to owe less than $160,000 in order to refinance. With this new program, some homeowners with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loans who are current with their payments may be able to refinance as long as their first mortgage is similar or lower than the current market value. This is po...
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By Jason Farris
(Fresyes Realty)
I like to call it FresYes, as many people do.. the positive YES ending is much better. Talk about the heart of California! Fresno County is located just about right in the middle of the state and provides great opportunity for diverse living.  The beauty is magnificent with three national parks, forests and wilderness areas in the area.  The San Joaquin Valley is complete with mountain ranges, foothills, and bodies of water to amaze you. You’ll find agriculture, museums, festivals, outdoor activities, financial, industrial, and commercial living. If you are considering a move to the area - It would be my pleasure to introduce you to Fresyes and help find you the perfect place to call home.  
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I can't believed I've lived here in the Central Valley my entire life!  Never moved out of the area and never strayed very far from home!  (Dad asked me to stay close, if I could - so I did!)  I was born and raised in a small farming community, like lots of folks here in the Valley.  Dinuba is a small, but growing city. By the time I graduated from high school, Dinuba had just welcomed it's 10,000th citizen!  I loved the springtime the best - and still do!  There's lots of peach, plum, nectarine and almond trees surrounding town and in full bloom!  And the sweet scent of the orange blossoms a couple months later - unforgettable!  Summers were great, too!  With such an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, there was always something in season on the dinner table. I moved from my homet...
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By Lee Whistler
(Century 21 M&M)
  A New Way In Real Estate           Regardless of minor differences, real estate has up to now been a creature of the broker operatingwithin the regulations of the DRE and the rules of the local MLS and the local association.             The business model has been to pursue sellers and buyers through opening offices, advertising, open houses, farming, networking, and web pages on the Internet. Brokers may participate as agents, as well as licensing agents to represent them.   Agents who survive and stay in real estate for periods exceeding 5 or 6 years develop a following among a group, groups or communities. At that point, the competency of the individual agent is relatively unimportant. Brokers are either inattentive to incompetence or staffed to supervise their agents and enforce c...
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By Kim Darling, CRS,GRI, "Your Home Team" Fresno/Clovis Homes
(Keller Williams Westland Realty BRE# 01864461)
In the last 24 hours we have had 83 new listings enter the market while we have had 54 Listings go into a Pending Status. 
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By Fred Williams Jr.
(Mid Valley Financial Services)
Hello, I wanted to take short time to let you know that 100% financing is still out there and I am still learning about it. 9 Years in the industry and I never had to worry about these other programs because we have 100% Conventional products to fall back on. Well folks, those days are well gone, but I am here to share with you that I have pulled some oldies but goodies out of the tool box! Take a look at the following programs that just today I have learned about that you can go up to 100%: USDA CalPERS CalSTERS FHA Access No doubt that times have changed, but we have to change with the times if we don't want to get left in the dust. If you need more information on these programs, you can email me at fredjr@mvfs.com and I will be more than happy to send you some information. Kind regar...
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DVW's services prevent dryer fires, keep dryers functioning properly and provide energy savings through dryer and dryer vent maintenance, cleaning, repair, replacement and alterations.     Fresno, CA - Jon Perry,  former owner of The Bike Doctor, a Fresno bicycle shop, traded his wrenches and grease for a service uniform to own and operate a Dryer Vent Wizard, Safe Homes, Dry Clothes (DVW), franchise in The San Joaquin Valley.   When Perry left the cycling industry he spent time raising his family. He still had the passion to serve others with a burning desire for customer service. With successful programs already in place, he looked into franchising to promote his goal to serve others. Having previously been an owner/operator of The Bike Doctor, it gave him a wealth of experience on wh...
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The US Fire Administration lists clothing dryer fires as the cause of approximately 15,600 fires annually, causing structural damage, injuries, and about 15 deaths per year. The USFA identifies "failure to clean" as the number one factor contributing to clothes dryer fires. Users should clean lint traps with each use and clean dryer vents on a regular basis, at least seasonally, to avoid fire hazards. The USFA refers to the lack of dryer maintenance as "Failure to clean".   The importance of maintaining your dryer and venting system cannot be stressed enough. In addition to performing regular dryer maintenance, consumers can check the effectiveness of venting systems by removing the vent and drying one or two loads of clothing. If drying time improves with the vent removed, the vent mus...
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Without proper maintenance, the dryer vent is a potential fire hazard for homeowners, though most are unaware the problem even exists. The result is venting systems that clog over time, with each load of laundry creating more of a hazard.   "It's hard for people to think of their clothes dryer as a fire hazard," said John Ryley, owner of the Dryer Vent Wizard (DVW), Dry Clothes, Safe Homes franchise, whose company specializes in maintaining, cleaning, repairing, replacing and altering dryer vents for residential and commercial consumers. Clothes dryer fires account for 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths and 400 injuries each year, with an estimated $88 million in property damage, according to the National Fire Data Center. Failure to clean lint out of the dryer vent is the leading cause....
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By Carole Jacoby, Residential and Relocation Specialist in Fresno
(Carole Jacoby & Co. Real Estate)
The first and most important step in purchasing a home is securing financing. This is especially true today, in the light of tightening credit standards and risk-based pricing. Before you begin your search on the internet for your dream home, it would be wiser for you to speak with a qualified lender regarding today's mortgage market. I recommend that you chose a lender that not only offers conventional financing but is an FHA approved lender as well. Your lender should also know what local and state home-buying assistance programs are available. Most states and even some counties and cities offer first-time buyers assistance when purchasing a home. This may be in the form of a tax credit or down payment assistance. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 has approved a temporary ...
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By Carole Jacoby, Residential and Relocation Specialist in Fresno
(Carole Jacoby & Co. Real Estate)
It is a very confusing time for John Q. Public. Half the economic forecasts say there will be a recession or inflation, while another segment is predicting that we will see neither but the economy will recover slowly. Half of the personal financial advisors are advising buyers to take advantage of the current real estate market, while the other half is advising that "a wait and see" approach is the wiser option. It is true that home values could depreciate even further, but that does not make purchasing a home today an unwise choice. It is a sure bet that rental costs will increase in the next 30 years. However, with a fixed rate mortgage loan, you will know exactly what your housing budget will be for the next 30 years. Owning a home offers certain tax advantages as well. As a long ter...
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