Residents who bought their home in Orange County in the past 3 years may find themselves with the somewhat good news of a temporary reduction in their property taxes. The county is allowing homeowners who believe their actual value is less than the assessed value to go through an informal review in order to possibly lower their taxes.
The form is available from the county, or clicking on our link for the Request for Informal Assessment Review.
The deadline is quickly approaching - March 30, 2008!
A few things to remember:
1. Your assessed value may already be below the market value depending on when you purchased your property or had it significantly reassessed due to remodelling, etc. Find your assessed value at the county’s Tax Collector page.
2. Any victory will be short lived. Your property will jump back to the earlier (higher) assessed value when property begins to climb again. You will not be able to enjoy the cost of living maximum allowance of 2% per year dictated by Prop. 13.
Here is Dataquick’s chart showing the property taxes for a Prop. 13 home versus the median sales price home in Orange County in just seven years.
orange county property taxes prop 13
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Initial FannieMae Guidelines for “Jumbo” Conforming Loans
More and more information is coming out on the higher conforming loans instigated by Congress as part of the Economic Stimulus Package. FannieMae has a detailed outline available as a .pdf. Listed below is a summary of the Eligible Products, Purpose and Occupancy Requirements:
Products
* 15-, 20-, 30- and 40-year fixed-rate, fully amortizing mortgages (no balloons)
* 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with 10-year interest-only periods
* Fully amortizing 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)
* 5/1 ARMs with 10-year interest-only periods
Purpose
* Purchase
* No cash-out refinance
* Cash-out refinances for primary residence only
Occupancy
* 1-unit primary residences, including condos and PUDs
* 1-unit second homes
* 1-unit investment properties
30 year fixed rate mortgages economic stimulus package eligible products fanniemae fixed rate mortgages
Products
* 15-, 20-, 30- and 40-year fixed-rate, fully amortizing mortgages (no balloons)
* 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with 10-year interest-only periods
* Fully amortizing 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)
* 5/1 ARMs with 10-year interest-only periods
Purpose
* Purchase
* No cash-out refinance
* Cash-out refinances for primary residence only
Occupancy
* 1-unit primary residences, including condos and PUDs
* 1-unit second homes
* 1-unit investment properties
30 year fixed rate mortgages economic stimulus package eligible products fanniemae fixed rate mortgages
What are the Acutual Numbers...Latest Jan. 2008 Results!
The total number of sales for January (the latest month available) is 1,286 and that is a 46% decline over January 2007. There were 806 resale houses, 327 condos sold and 153 new homes. Orange County had 4,276 Notices of Default (not foreclosures) for the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with 1,983 for the same time period 2006. That is a 115.6% upswing. Actual foreclosures have been running about 1 in 4 of total defaults. Inland Empire and Los Angeles fared far worse with Defaults over 17,000 for each county respectively.
Finally Some Realisting (And Yes Positive) Headlines About Socal Real Estate
The news varied from a positive “negative headline” such as “O.C. homebuilder’s woes may reach bottom in ‘08” (OC Register, Lansner), to a downright positive headline such as “Ignore the Headlines! Except this one. Sure housing’s in a hole. But there’s a potent case for buying now, whether it’s real estate or stocks.” (Time Magazine, Keadlec). What is the reason for the sudden optimism within the broader pessimism? The answer to that question is a multitude of factors that this newsletter has been drumming into you for the past few months; factors such as low interest rates, selection, seller concessions, lack of competition and ultimately, more bang for your buck.
Both of the articles mentioned above really hinge on mortgage rates as key. Jeff Meyers, the founder of the Meyers Builder Advisors consultancy in Corona Del Mar notes the loan limit changes as bringing liquidity to the market. He states, “…2008 will be the bottom year for builders in Orange County.” The time magazine article says if you are, “emotionally ready to be a homeowner, you have good credit, plan to stay put for five years and have been waiting for the perfect entry point… It’s time to get serious— before an inevitable rise in interest rates wipes out your advantage.” There may be some plausible arguments to waiting for prices to finish falling in other parts of the country where appreciation isn’t the foregone conclusion to this story. But it’s tough to sit out in California. Housing prices have not fallen as fast as the doomsayers predicted. It has been a correction, just as this newsletter stated over a year ago. Will prices continue to come down? Yes, there is probably some air left in the balloon. But if you’re not careful rising interest rates will be buoying up that balloon that you want to see fall. Prices aren’t everything. Leverage is.
Both of the articles mentioned above really hinge on mortgage rates as key. Jeff Meyers, the founder of the Meyers Builder Advisors consultancy in Corona Del Mar notes the loan limit changes as bringing liquidity to the market. He states, “…2008 will be the bottom year for builders in Orange County.” The time magazine article says if you are, “emotionally ready to be a homeowner, you have good credit, plan to stay put for five years and have been waiting for the perfect entry point… It’s time to get serious— before an inevitable rise in interest rates wipes out your advantage.” There may be some plausible arguments to waiting for prices to finish falling in other parts of the country where appreciation isn’t the foregone conclusion to this story. But it’s tough to sit out in California. Housing prices have not fallen as fast as the doomsayers predicted. It has been a correction, just as this newsletter stated over a year ago. Will prices continue to come down? Yes, there is probably some air left in the balloon. But if you’re not careful rising interest rates will be buoying up that balloon that you want to see fall. Prices aren’t everything. Leverage is.
Wireless Telephones & Driving Rules from the CHP
We’ve all heard or read about the new laws that will take effect this summer regarding the use of cell phones while driving. As Realtors and title reps, we spend many hours in the car and many of those hours on the phone.
Getting a ticket can be costly, as can the outcome of the distractions while negotiating the streets with one hand on the wheel and the other on our ear.
The CHP produced a 3 page FAQ regarding both VC 23123 and VC 23124 that take effect July 1, 2008.
Below are some of the Q/A to know:
- Effective July 1, 2008 without a grace period;
- Bluetooth or wired earpieces or speaker phones comply with the handsfree rule;
- Both ears cannot be covered by a device;
- Exempted are emergency calls to: police, medical provider, fire department or other emergency service;
- Texting - ironically - is not excluded but you can be pulled over if the police feel you’re distracted;
- No one under the age of 18 can use a cell phone in any manner while operating a vehicle
- The fines start small but graduate with each offense; and
- Violations will show on your driving record, but no point will be added against your record.Have a safe trip.
Getting a ticket can be costly, as can the outcome of the distractions while negotiating the streets with one hand on the wheel and the other on our ear.
The CHP produced a 3 page FAQ regarding both VC 23123 and VC 23124 that take effect July 1, 2008.
Below are some of the Q/A to know:
- Effective July 1, 2008 without a grace period;
- Bluetooth or wired earpieces or speaker phones comply with the handsfree rule;
- Both ears cannot be covered by a device;
- Exempted are emergency calls to: police, medical provider, fire department or other emergency service;
- Texting - ironically - is not excluded but you can be pulled over if the police feel you’re distracted;
- No one under the age of 18 can use a cell phone in any manner while operating a vehicle
- The fines start small but graduate with each offense; and
- Violations will show on your driving record, but no point will be added against your record.Have a safe trip.
Price, Price, Price...The Keys to Successful Selling!
Some sellers desire to test the market. Perhaps their motivation for selling is not the greatest or they simply have some time before their drop dead move date. At any rate, price is generating a lot of buzz. The Wall Street Journal had a great article, “PRICE FIXING: IN THIS MARKET, SELLING A HOME REQUIRES SAVVY.” The article points out three distinct philosophies of price. “Round numbers signal prestige, while precise numbers suggest a bargain. Buyers anchor off the first digit, so $3,999 seems cheaper than $4,000.” Finally, “if you cut your asking price, make it easy to calculate the discount.”
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Simplology Blog Course - FREE
I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.
It covers:
- The best blogging techniques.
- How to get traffic to your blog.
- How to turn your blog into money.
I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.
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