So how’s the market? That’s the million dollar question. The question everybody, including you, want to know. So what are we looking at? Is it a buyers market… a sellers market? Are home prices going to keep coming down, or will they start going up? How about foreclosures? Well let’s take a look at the latest statistics and see if we can’t figure it out shall we? Modesto Home Sales Prices Take a look at the graph below to see the sales prices for Modesto over the last year. Click Here To See The Original Article At Lovely Modesto Homes For Graphs And Pictures As you can see, we’ve had some pretty large swings over the last year so let me explain why. First of all, the peaks and valleys may look big on the graph, but take a quick look at the prices. The change in dollar value is only ab... 05/25/2011

So how’s the market? That’s the million dollar question. The question everybody, including you, want to know. So what are we looking at? Is it a buyers market… a sellers market? Are home prices going to keep coming down, or will they start going up? How about foreclosures? Well let’s take a look at the latest statistics and see if we can’t figure it out shall we? Modesto Home Sales Prices Take a look at the graph below to see the sales prices for Modesto over the last year. Click Here To See The Original Article At Lovely Modesto Homes For Graphs And Pictures As you can see, we’ve had some pretty large swings over the last year so let me explain why. First of all, the peaks and valleys may look big on the graph, but take a quick look at the prices. The change in dollar value is only ab... 05/25/2011

This week we have some top notch new listings that popped up in some of the best neighborhoods in Modesto. When you’re talking about great, and desirable, neighborhoods in Modesto, there are a few names that always come up. Names like the Lakewood neighborhood, Sylvan Meadows, and the Village One neighborhood all come to mind. Well this week, we have them all along with a few other nice homes thrown in for good measure. Modesto Home For Sale On Robbie Ave In Modesto The home for sale on Robbie Avenue in Modesto is a prime example of just how low the prices homes are getting. This home, which is listed by Rivers Realty in Modesto, is a simple three bedroom two bathroom home with close to 1300 sq ft of living space. Now let’s be honest. Robbie Avenue isn’t going to win any design awards.... 05/25/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sales - SOLD!!! We closed another Stanislaus County Short Sale on Friday 4/29/11.  This one was located in Modesto and was a Bank of America Short Sale.  This one took longer than most of my Bank of America short sales but in the end we got it done. The first buyer changed her mind on the property.   It seems she really didn't want to pay what she had offered.  And this was after getting the trustee sale postponed and the approval from BofA.  So we put it back on the market and got another offer on it right away. That's when the waiting started.  Most of the time working with Bank of America on a short sale is not too difficult.  Every thing is uploaded and all communication is done through Equator.com.  The key word here is communication.  With this new offer th... 04/30/2011

I am hearing this more and more, especially in our market where the fall was hard and the recovery slow.  It is a tough place to be...knowing that you can continue to make your house payment for years and never see the lightat the end of the tunnel.  I have conversations with people that have a great deal of integraty but struggle with this issue.  They start to rationalize it as a "business decision" and maybe they are right. Is there a solution...?  I don't know.  My thought on it is that for those who can afford to purchase another home...Do It...purchase another home but keep the one you are upside down in.  Let a renter offset as much of the payment as possible while you are catching the bottom of the market (we hope) on the new home.  If you have children plan on letting them inhe... 04/30/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sales and the Modesto Nuts! While I am a Stanislaus County Short Sale Specialist and spend a lot of time listing and selling short sales there are other things in Stanislaus County that interest me. Sometimes it seems like this part of the country only makes the news for the large number of foreclosures and short sales that we have.  I think Stanislaus County and the Central Valley in general is a great place to live. I am a huge baseball fan and have been for as long as I can remember.  Living here in Stanislaus County we are only about 90 minutes away from the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants.  We also have a California League baseball team right here in Stanislaus County.  The Modesto Nuts are the class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. That's right the... 04/26/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sales - I need my car running its best! Being a Stanislaus County Short Sale Specialist I do a lot of driving.  In fact I also list and sell Short Sales in Merced and San Joaquin Counties.  I put on a lot of miles driving up and down the Central Valley. Since I am in my car so much I need it to be running it's best.  I need to be sure I am going to get to where I need to be when I need to be there.  I also need to know that my car is getting the best gas mileage possible.  With gas in Stanislaus County at $4.00 or more per gallon that is important. When I need work done on my car I take it to USA Auto Service Center in Modesto Ca.  They are located at 3300 McHenry Ave and their phone number is 209-524-3567.  Their technicians can do just about anything from an oi... 03/26/2011

Express Appraisal provides Real Estate Appraisal Services in Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin county since 2006. If you need a Modesto Appraisal in Silicon Valley and Bay Area Counties, as well as the northern San Joaquin Valley counties, including Sacramento, please call us 1-800-584-3879. We are also available to assist in the languages of Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian. Spanish interpretation is also available. Call us to order at 1-800-584-3879 or fax your order to 408-228-0879. Visit our website - Modesto Appraisal We have a variety of appraisal services that include: Pre-listing Pre-purchase Tax assessment Tax re-assessment Estate settlement Financial planning, trusts, etc. Partnership dissolution Matrimonial, divorce Bankruptcy   Some of the cities... 03/24/2011

At Christmas time, my husband & I had the pleasure of driving by Jamison's Country Antiques.  I am so glad we stopped in to see what they had and it was so fun to find the treasure that we bought for my sister-in-law for Christmas this year. They are opening again for 3 weeks only this Spring. February 25, 2011 - March 19, 2011 normal hours are 11am - 6pm FIRST TWO DAYS (Feb 25 & 26) OPENING at 9am! They will be closed Sundays (of course). Jamison's Country Antiques 5307 Tully Rd, Modesto, CA  209-545-3487 from Hwy 99, exit Salida #233, East on Kiernan, North on Tully Rd (on the left hand side) They have Authentic 1800's to ealy 1900's American Antiques.  When we were there at Christmas time, we bought an old fashioned metal milk container.  The owner was really right when she told us h... 02/20/2011

Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tawny. Here is Tawny's Question. "I have not been late on any payments but my income will be changing dramatically towards the end of the summer. What is your exact service and what are the fees involved? I do not have any cash in savings and pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. Tawny." Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer to Tawny's Question: A Short Sale doesn't cost the homeowner any money. All of the costs are paid for by the homeowner's lender. Now, I'm sure you are asking, "The bank is losing money on the short sale. They wouldn't want to have to pay to sell the property." Many people also think this. After all, it makes sens... 02/07/2011

Modesto CA – The Star Tribune, a newspaper in Minneapolis, recently ran a story about loan modifications. Here is an excerpt from the article: “Many people who sought help under a federal program created to keep them from losing their homes are instead getting saddled with huge, unexpected bills. Thousands now face a stark choice: Go deeper into debt, or foreclosure. Lenders routinely approved short-term "trial" loan modifications that reduced payments for desperate borrowers under the umbrella of the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program. But lenders continued to count the mortgages as delinquent or in default. Now instead of granting permanent modifications, lenders often are reinstating the original loan terms and demanding big back payments. Carl Christensen, ... 01/31/2011

Modesto CA – A home owner thinking of a short sale recently asked us why they should short sale versus just walking away and letting their lender foreclose on the home. We gave them the normal answer: “It’s much better for your credit.” That was the first thing that popped into our head. But, I knew there are more benefits to a home owner than simply better credit. So I put together the entire list and here they are. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. 1. The upside down debt is erased in most cases. If you are selling because of a financial hardship, then the upside down debt will be automatically erased in most cases. Is your loan is owned or insured by the following agencies: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and or VA? If you a... 01/31/2011

Modesto CA – Have you heard the following myths about short sales? Myth #1: You can buy short sales for dirt cheap and then turn around and resell them for a profit. Myth #2: Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Bank Owned Homes can be bought for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar with no money down. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Myth #3: Lenders will accept any short sale offer even if it is for only 50% of what the home is worth. After all, they don’t want a foreclosure on their books. These myths are just not true. Lenders are willing to foreclosure on properties. They have entire departments handle the sale of properties that they have foreclosed on. Another foreclosure is nothing to fear. At the same time, they do prefer short s... 01/31/2011

An Online New Year's Tradition!! Have you ever heard the saying  - If your house is clean going into the New Year that it will be clean All Year! Or How about - If you have money in your pocket going into the New Year you will have money throughout the Year! Well, the house is almost done and Benjamin Franklin is my pocket. Now what about the people around you? Are you surrounding yourself by friends and family? People that want the best for you? Positive and uplifting individuals? With more and more time being spent in Social Media I have to ask  - Who are you surrounding yourself with online? Maybe it is time for a New online New Year's tradition. A tradition that surrounds you with successful business professionals. My gift to you is a Lifetime membership (Free, yes free) to a Commun... 12/31/2010

Modesto CA – This is one of the first questions potential short sale sellers ask us. “I heard of something called “forgiveness of debt income and that it is taxable. How does that work?” they ask. The following article is my personal opinion only. I recommend that you consult with a competent legal or tax professional before moving forward with a short sale. In most cases the answer is that a short sale will usually not cause you to owe income tax. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. It used to be that you owed income tax on any forgiveness of debt. When a lender decides to forgive all or a portion of a borrower's debt, the forgiven amount is considered as income for the borrower and is liable to be taxed. Here are the followin... 12/27/2010

Modesto CA – GMAC, was the financing arm of General Motors. It was taken over by Uncle Sam and has been mostly privatized as Ally Financial. However, many people still have loans from the original GMAC. Some of these homeowners want to short sale, but are curious about how it works. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. A GMAC short sale is not too much different from other short sales. To start a short sale with GMAC, first call them at the 800 number on your most recent statement. That number is currently 800-850-4622. Most of GMAC’s loans have been sold. The first thing you or your short sale realtors should do is find out who owns the loan now. On our last GMAC short sale, the loan had been sold to a Wall Street “Sliced and ... 12/22/2010

Modesto CA – Many of the short sale sellers we help are selling their home to avoid foreclosure. In addition, they are receiving lots of harassing calls from debt collectors. These debt collectors seem to think that if you call someone with no extra money, then you can still get them to pay. Here is a little tip on how to stop their phone calls. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. A friend of mine looks for missing people. The database he uses is also a prominent debt collection database. He told me something interesting. Apparently people are suing debt collectors for breaking Debt Collection Laws all the time. These lawsuits are expensive for them to defend against and easy for the consumer to file. (I can’t agree more. In my... 12/21/2010

[caption id="attachment_1169" align="alignright" width="425" caption="Past Due Notice"][/caption] Modesto CA – If you are facing financial hardship, then paying credit cards and other unsecured debts is your lowest priority. An unsecured debt is a debt where they can't take away your car or house. A secured debt has something as collateral, such as your car, house, or anything else of value. The most commons unsecured debt is a credit card. When you stop paying them, they will call you nonstop. The reason is because they don't have any other way to collect from you. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. They can't come get your car or take your house. So, they make up for that by blowing up your phone with harassing calls. In add... 12/21/2010

  DECEMBER-2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter Are you keeping an eye on the Market??? Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general. The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.  Please click here to view t... 12/19/2010

Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Werner. “I am behind on my payments and thinking of just letting my home go into foreclosure. What does that do to the neighborhood?” he asked. Here is our answer to his question. It does hurt the neighborhood. But, it also hurts you. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Most banks do not do a good job and processing and handling foreclosures. They take 12-18 months to foreclosure on a house and then sell it. In the meantime they do little to maintain the home. I estimate that half of all the properties I have seen in foreclosure have never even been checked on by the lender. It has gotten so bad that one homeowner even started up a website to report o... 12/17/2010