Redding Ca Real Estate : July 2008

The new act is signed and set to start soon but will you be able to take advantage of it if you have an adjustable rate mortgage currently? That is a great question.This now act is a 694 page bill and if you are so inclined and just plain bored and have all day with nothing to do you can check it out here.

Here are some main points that you need to know if you have been hoping for something like this.

 

#1. You will be sharing your equity with uncle sam when you sell your home...What? you might be asking...well you don't get something for nothing so sharing the equity is just the start! You have to share 50% of all profits to be exact.That is assuming you sell.

#2.Not all lenders are going to be rushing or excited to be doing this for you..Why? Well they like what they have right now...it benefits them more than you so you may have to push them to re fi for you...Public and Political pressure may be needed to get them to "Get on board"!

3.This may not benefit those that have lost their employment etc. You have to qualify for the new loan so if your income has gone away and you can't make your payment re-fi ing isn't going to work for you and you should look at other options such as a deed in lieu or a short sale.

Here is a summary if you don't want to read the entire 694 pages....

Talk to your mortgage professional soon if you need any expert advice on loan/mortgages. If you need a reference contact me.

 

Regards

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca 96001

530-248-5627

 

I have had two calls in the last couple of weeks from unknown people asking to take away or help clean up a couple properties that I have listed. It sounded pretty weird until I checked into what some of the metal prices have been doing in the last couple of years.

Now I know why...Wow I had no idea that Aluminum had gone up so much in the last 5 years!

It all makes sense now. All I can say is if you have any metal items that you value you might want to secure them or they may disappear!

I head that someone took a metal sculpture here in Redding recently...sad but true!

Here is a chart courtesy of Kitco Metals that shows some of the prices over the years.

If you want to know all the metals prices click here now.

Regards

 

Rick Goates

I heard the news on the quake in Southern California yesterday. It doesn't suprise me but none the less it should serve as a wake up call and a test of the systems in place when they have that 7.0 someday...No one exects a large quake but when they hit they are extremely destructive. With the fires and the quake some may be thinking...what is mother nature trying to tell us?? Not sure what she is saying but it might have something to do with thinking "Green" and respecting nature more?? What did the Indian wise man say? Well your own food source and your own pure water are a good start..... Rick Goates

Tensions are rising in some citys across the nation as more and more people are riding bikes,moped's and other alternative forms of transportation.With gas over $4.00 a gallon recently sharing the road has made it difficult for many people. In this video we see a cyclist going for the ride of his life...he is on the hood of a car and the driver is not going to stop...The driver was later stopped and arrested. The cyclist was apparantly drunk and the two of them got into it over sharing the road and the next thing you know the cyclist is going for the ride of his life...and he didn't even have a ticket!! Wow...it is amazing the things people do... Rick Goates

The housing rescue bill is soon to become law and this article covers all the major areas of it to help you find out if you can take advantage of it.Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch...TANSTAFL...and yes it applies to housing also.

Whether you take advantage of the new government program or not is up to you but having the low down on it is the first step to see if it may be of benefit for your particular situation.

There are some interesting points in this article one of which states that "Down payment assistance" may soon be a thing of the past!! Just another reason to consider puchasing now if you need to use this vehicle!

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Redding Ca

Keller Williams Realty

www.inforedding.com

530-248-5627

Here are some tips for growing better cucumbers in the heat of the Redding California area.

#1 Make sure your plants have plenty of water.At  least 2 different times during the hot day!

#2.Make sure they dont get too hot...I know its hard here when it is 112 out to make sure they dont get too hot but they will produce some bitter little cucumbers if they get too hot and they don't get enough water...

3.Refer to #1 if all else fails!

4.I like to give my garden a good watering early in the morning....say around 6-7am and then again around 1-2 pm...This ensures that the plants don't get too stressed out from lack of water and start doing funny things.

5. A sure sign that the plants are not getting enough water is wilting leaves and cucumbers that will make you pucker!! I learned this the hard way!!

If possible plant some other vegetation to help shade the cucumber plants so they don't have direct sun ALL day long.They like the sun don't get me wrong but they don't like it when it is 112 out...come to think of it who does??

 

Heres to happy Cu_c's.

Regards,

Your Green Realtor with a Green thumb...

Rick

Wow it's been a long 3-4 weeks now with smoke filled skies around here. In fact one day it was so smokey that I could hardly see a tree behind my fence about 80 feet away.The skies are clear today and the fires are almost out.

A special big thanks to all those hard working firefighters and all the people that helped in this area to get those forest fires out!! They are heroes in my book!!

The people at the farmers market are probably very happy also that the smoke has cleared.I went by and got a couple vine ripened cantaloupes this past weekend and oh my goodness....let me tell you it was the best I have ever had.Makes me happy we planted a bunch of those this year in the garden!

The peach lady had incredibly beautiful peaches...again...wow the Red Havens a couple weeks ago were to die for...Got to get there early though...There was almost a fight one Saturday as the peach lady was about to run out of the Red Havens!!

Here's to a smoke free environment!!

 

Regards

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Redding Ca

http://inforedding.com

 

There is no G phone...this is a software only application that runs on mobile phones.Google is offering up to $10 million dollars to developers to build new software with the architecture.Google is hoping that people take to this like all the other Google projects. It has 3 G networking built in. See Google maps and so many other things. Enjoy Rick Goates Your Techy Realtor

We all get them...sometimes 3-4 a month...no I am not talking about headaches! But in a sense they are headaches....not to mention how many trees were killed!! I am talking about those credit card offers we get in the mail...I got two from the same credit card company on the same day...TWO.The same exact offer with the same exact info and same name-mine on both...Wow talk about wasting paper and killing some more trees here!

To get rid of the majority of these pesky offers in the mail just go to optoutprescreen.com and fill out the info. In less than a month they are supposed to take you "OFF THE LIST" and you should only recieve one here and there per year after that.

And no cutting them up and sending them back does not work...it might piss someone off AND cost you a stamp but it doesn't work...That's just a wifes tale...kind of like standing in the cold with wet hair will causet you to catch a COLD.

Remember there is no 100% way to stop them ALL but what I found was about 95% has stopped for me after about 2 months.Thats a great relief!!

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

It happens all the time.Renters move in and pay their rent and security deposit and then months or years later they start getting notices on thier door and things don't quite seem right.

With the default rate going up on homes across California and other parts of the country it is important to know your rights as a renter when the home you rent goes to foreclosure.

In many case across the Golden State renters have lost thier deposits simply because the didn't know who to look for after the home went back to the bank. In some instances the bank contacted the renters and told them to move out and they would cover the deposit only to not do it later when they finally got the tenants out!

Tenants in California can sue thier fromer landlords for expenses of moving,new credit checks and the difference of what they were originally paying on thier lease VS the new lease.But finding the old owner might be the hard part as many have moved...and moved on.

The old saying of "you can't get blood out of a turnip" have never been truer for some tenants that have to go through this experience.

My advice to tenants that question a notice on the front door one day is look in the local newspaper under the legal section.If you see the home that you are living in the "Notice of Trustees" sale section then you know its time to start making plans to move....and to try and get your deposit back ASAP...before they flee!

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

I went on a listing appointment about a month ago and talked with a seller. He was having a very hard time getting his home sold FSBO and wanted to know what exactly the market was doing. I spent an hour with him and we listed the home and have been marketing it ever since.

The problem was that he asked me what he should list it for and then proceeded to want to start the price higher than what I suggested. I explained that we can look at this current market like a ball that is rolling down the hill....you can either chase the ball and never catch it....or you can get ahead of the ball and stop it...in other words get your home sold while the others sit.

I asked if he understood this and he said "Yes". I then explained that if he listed his home too high and did not take my professional advice that there was a VERY GOOD chance that he would end up getting LESS in the future...I asked did he understand this? He response "yes but I want to list it at my price"! We ended up splitting the difference on the listing price but it was still too high as has been evidenced in the lack of offers.

We listed at the compromised price with the understanding that he would have to come down if we didn't get any offers within a month....I have contacted him 5 times now and have not heard back from him.....mmmm

I also explained that with the price higher than it should be for "this market" did he understand that he would not get the number of showing that I would like to see to actually get an offer...once again...Do you understand what listing your home too high means? He answer..."Yes"....wow......

You can only help those that truly want help......The rest expire......or go back to the bank!

The question is....Do you really want to be helped? If so, and want the honest straight forward "here is where we are in the marketplace and here is what we need to do to get your home sold" call me.....

If you want someone to blame when you don't get "Your price" please call another professional in the business...There are still plenty of people that will be happy to have to an overpriced listing....

Honest-straight forward-Professional help.....that's what I offer....Some like it and some hate to hear it...But it is just the way it is with me.

Get ahead of the ball....get your home SOLD!

 

Regards

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Redding Ca

http://rickgoates.com

 

Oil at record prices just a month ago,prices on almost everything going up,what can we do to make money in the stock market if we don't want to make money in Real Estate?

Think "Green".That's what will make you money in the stock market.Just take little companies that started up green and are getting huge not mention make their stockholders very happy.

Move over Internet companies like Google etc...the next real money is to be made in companies that are doing green projects or are green related!

Check out companies such as Suntech power Holdings or First Solar.

• Suntech Power Holdings, Stock- STP. The Chief of Suntech,Zhengrong Shi, who is 40ish, is worth at least $2 billion. He owns 57.9 million shares of Suntech, which recently traded for $34+ a share...not too shabby!
• 
  
• Look at Akeena Solar, stock-AKNS.They are one of the larger if not the largest installers of solar in the country right now.Their stock has been up and down but if you time it right...ja jing.
• 
  

• Since late 2006, insiders at First Solar, stock FSLR have cashed out $1.3 billion worth of stock options. Chief Michael Ahearn alone has grossed $691 million. Together, the insiders exercised options at $2 to $4 a share and sold much of their stock in the $200-to-$300 range. Again not too shabby....
• 
  
• Lets not forget T.Boone Pickens and what he is doing right now with wind power either!!
  
• The Government has mandated that utilities have to purchase much more power from "Green"sources in the coming years so look for companies that can deliver this.Some are not publicly traded like Bright Source energy but will be making a large impact on "Green Power" in the foreseeable future.

 

• The question is will we learn from this latest gas price spike or will we conveniently "Forget" and go back to driving the Hummers and Suv's once gas comes down to $3.00 a gallon??
• 
  
• Investors pumped around $148 BILLION into clean energy in 2007....up from only $33 Billion in 2004. Next year looking back, will probably show that 2008 saw about $200 Billion being invested in alternatives!
• Will Silicon Valley have to change it's name to Solar Valley??
• We shall see but with the large amount of start ups in the SV that are Solar, or solar related, the direction is clear....The question is are you going to invest your Green into "Green"?

All this and we won't even touch here on the promise of using algae as a biofuel producing product...We'll save that one for later!!

 

 

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

I have been reading that people are getting a little, how do we say it...yancy about some of the banks failing in the country...and in California. To find out if your bank is FDIC insured go to this link now and check it out. The FDIC has a great website full of information on banks and what is insured and what is not.

Good information to have in this time of Bank Meltdowns!!

Find your bank with this link and check them out!

It was interesting locally to see one bank has much more deposits that some of the others...Any guess which one?

Find out now.

WE all work hard for what we have....now find out if your money is in a good spot.....

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

530-248-5627

Wow what a deal....I came across this property on the FDIC's website.It is in Michigan yes but I didn't know they sold homes so cheap there? It looks to be a fixer upper...what do you think? When was the last time you heard of a home for under $1000?

Unless you need a gun and tank to get to this home it might be a good deal for someone.It is sold as is the website states but then bank repos are as is anyway so it isn't a real surprise.

Any investors in Michigan up for a bargain??

Happy bargain hunting!

 

Rick Goates

http://inforedding.com

530-248-5627

He came,he saw, he left...all in a day of the life of the President.My son and I were lucky enough to see Air Force one come by our home and then the Presidential Helicopters go by on the trip today.

Bush was in town to check the fires out,get briefed on what is going on and then off to the next engagement.

Here are some phone numbers in case you are having a hard time reaching your lender.Remember that many times loan are sold so if you had your orginal mortgage with one company and lost the numbers for the new company that has your mortgage these may help.

 

Free Credit Counseling 1-888-995-HOPE
Bank of America 1-800-846-2222
Carrington Mortgage Services 1-800-790-9502
Chase 1-800-446-8939 Prime Loans
Chase 1-877-838-1882 Non-Prime Loans
 CitiFinancial/Citi Trust Bank 1-800-422-1498
CitiMortgage/Loss Mitigation 1-866-272-4749
CitiResidential Lending 1-800-864-3428
Comerica Incorporated 1-800-437-5822
Countrywide  1-800-669-6607
Downey Savings & Loan Association 1-800-824-6902
First Federal Bank of California 310-665-2333
GMAC 1-800-627-0128
 HFC or Beneficial 1-800-333-5848
Home Loan Services, Inc. 1-800-622-5035
Homecomings Financial 800-206-2901
HomEq Servicing 1-800-414-0969
HSBC Bank Mortgage Corp 1-888-648-3124
JP Morgan Chase & Co. 1-800-848-9136
Litton Loan Servicing 1-800-247-9727
Mortgage Services or Decision One 1-800-365-6730
Option One Mortgage 1-888- 275-2648
PHH Mortgage Services 1-800-750-2518
Suntrust Mortgage 1-800-443-1032
U.S. Bancorp 1-800-365-7772
U.S. Bank Home Mortgage 1-800-365-7900
Visalia Community Bank 1-800-822-8733
Wachovia 1-800-282-3451 (Loan Counseling)
Washington Mutual 1-866-926-8937
Wells Fargo Bank 1-800-678-7986 and
1-866-480-5004 (Housing Counseling) 
Wilshire Credit Corporation 1-888-952-7339

 

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

The city is a buzz with the arrival of the President of the United States to look at the area wild fire devastation. Local residents and Bush fans are heading to the airport to catch a chance at seeing America's President.It has been over 40 years since a President has come to this small city in Northern California.

Hopefully the people waiting hours to catch a glimpse won't be disappointed in the 98 degree heat?

Regards

 

Rick Goates

The president is coming to Redding California today! This is great news for the Bush fans out there.I like Bush don't get me wrong but I really don't like some of the things he has done.He is coming to look at all the devastation from the 80,000+ acres that have burned outside Redding Ca.

I am thinking of going to the airport and holding up a banner that reads "No corn for Ethanol"...It's no secret that food prices have gone up and will continue to go up!! When you take a food based product and use it to make fuel, in this case ethanol...it's a bad deal!! The farmers of course will disagree...they are getting record prices per bushel right now!

We need to look more at Natural Gas as an intermediate steps to get off the dependency of foreign oil...We have plenty of natural gas in AMERICA right now without having to be held hostage to the oil magnates.

Lets look at the alternatives to oil....There are plenty!

As far as nuclear is concerned they won't build a new plant for a minimum of 8-10 years...Won't happen...When was the last time a new nuclear plant was built in America?? It's been awhile!

We need to do three things to get out of the current mess that we are having in the US!

1. Clean up the mortgage mess....Set up a Mortgage Resolution Trust to buy the banks bad notes.Sell bonds to cover these notes.Once the banks can get rid of this problem (yes that they created) then they can go on and do business as normal.This trust should NOT pay more than 60-65C on the dollar for these bad mortgages!! Why let the banks off Scott free? After all they got themselves into the mess in the first place.

2.Get rid of Ethanol and using corn as a fuel producing product...food price will come down as a result.

3.Use,develop and drill more for NATURAL GAS...it's a clean alternative to oil and will buy time until we can develop more technologies like algae for making Bio Oil.....

Pretty simple stuff folks...now will the president make it happen????

That's the question!

 

Regards

 

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Redding Ca

96001

530-248-5627

There is a lot of concern out there right now that Fannie and Freddie may be going the way some of the banks have, and disappear! This I can assure you will not happen. The Government simply can not and will not let organizations that represent about 90% of all mortgages go under....Won't happen folks!

With an election year in full swing I think it is safe to say that this problem will be resolved and resolved in a fairly fast manner.The President will not and can not let either or both of these organizations fail.

Here is an excerpt from the Treasury Dept on the matter:

 

July 13, 2008
HP-1079
Paulson Announces GSE Initiatives
Washington, DC-- Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. issued the following
statement:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in our housing finance system and
must continue to do so in their current form as shareholder-owned companies.
Their support for the housing market is particularly important as we work through
the current housing correction.
GSE debt is held by financial institutions around the world. Its continued strength is
important to maintaining confidence and stability in our financial system and our
financial markets. Therefore we must take steps to address the current situation as
we move to a stronger regulatory structure.
In recent days, I have consulted with the Federal Reserve, OFHEO, the SEC,
Congressional leaders of both parties and with the two companies to develop a
three-part plan for immediate action. The President has asked me to work with
Congress to act on this plan immediately.
First, as a liquidity backstop, the plan includes a temporary increase in the line of
credit the GSEs have with Treasury. Treasury would determine the terms and
conditions for accessing the line of credit and the amount to be drawn.
Second, to ensure the GSEs have access to sufficient capital to continue to serve
their mission, the plan includes temporary authority for Treasury to purchase equity
in either of the two GSEs if needed.
Use of either the line of credit or the equity investment would carry terms and
conditions necessary to protect the taxpayer.
Third, to protect the financial system from systemic risk going forward, the plan
strengthens the GSE regulatory reform legislation currently moving through
Congress by giving the Federal Reserve a consultative role in the new GSE
regulator's process for setting capital requirements and other prudential standards.
I look forward to working closely with the Congressional leaders to enact this
legislation as soon as possible, as one complete package.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

There are many other worries right now that you should spend more time on!!

 

Regards,

 

Rick Goates

The mortgage meltdown is still in full swing with banks scrambling and taking back homes and foreclosing on homes. I have recently had an experience that shows me some of the people at some of the banks just don't get it!

I was called to do BPO's like many Brokers/agents in our area. I always try and do a great job and always sleep very good at night with the values that I put on these homes.

A BPO (Broker Price Opinion) is an estimate of value that is done by and agent or broker on a subject property for the benefit of the bank.Most banks want to save money and order a BPO instead of an appraisal as it saves them 50-70%.They usually order these right before they foreclose on a home as a way to estimate what the home is worth and what they may lose.

I recently did one for a company and turned it in on a home that was WAY overbuilt for the area.Overbuilt by about 30-35% I would say. The BPO company called me up and said I would have to re do the whole thing as it was not the number that bank wanted! THE NUMBER THE BANK WANTED? I thought the bank wanted an accurate evaluation and the honest truth of what this over built monstrosity was worth but apparently not?

I told the BPO company that I used all close com parables in the same neighborhood and couldn't help that the home com parables were 30-40% smaller as this home was way OVERbuilt.The man called me back from the BPO company and said" If you don't come up with the number the bank needs then we can't use you and WON'T PAY YOU!!

Wow...I told him I wasn't the guy to use comps from a different subdivision to the north where the homes were 100% better and bigger and fancier etc as it was apples and oranges! He comment was well then we will find someone that will!!!

So I am not doing work for this BPO company anymore!! It is ok as I am still sleeping quite well at night and someone else can "Give them the number they need"!!!

I mentioned to the manager at the BPO company that is is EXACTLY why we have the problems we do right now!! The banks all wanted to have certain numbers and the appraisers were giving them the numbers and the buyers were paying the numbers.

Some banks just don't want to hear the truth I guess???

 

Rick Goates