LENDER’S VIEWPOINT

By: The Guy In The White Hat, Broker Forest Tardibuono

“Home prices, sales jump”

This is today’s front-page headline from my local newspaper.  It must really be good news as they usually are such gloom and doom about real estate – in spite of the facts within their own articles.  But I digress.

The current market is hot, hot, hot, where I live in Sonoma County, California.  This article also stated that the market, which is already hot, is expected to strengthen.   Check these statistics for your area.  I’ll bet the numbers are similar.

The main hotness gauge is median price.  Median means half sold for more and half the homes sold for less.  The median price in this County rose in April by 8% over March.  The number of homes sold in April increased by 22% over a year ago.

Sales for the first 4 months of the year are the strongest since the 2005 market, which by many estimates, is when the bubble burst.

Because I am in the know, the most telling statistics are the ones that show sales of the move-up homes.  Those are the sales of homes to what were entry-level buyers selling that home and getting a more expensive one.  Those higher end homes are now seeing multiple offers.  Not only that but upper end homes over $1 million have had their best month “in more than 3 years”.

Finally, 30 year fixed rates were the lowest ever last week.  Lowest ever!  In my Hard Money business, March and April saw the highest numbers ever for Buyers applying for home loans using Hard Money. 

The trend will only continue.  This morning already, I Pre-Approved a Buyer who is short selling a rental property and had 2 of them foreclosed 2 years ago.  He is renting a home right now and has picked out a house in the same neighborhood he used to live in.  His house payment will be just a bit more than his current rent, but with the tax savings by owning instead of renting, his house payment is way lower than his rent!

What are you waiting for?? 

It can’t get better than this.

 

 

Forest Tardibuono- the Guy in the White Hat – is a CA DRE Broker with more than 24 years of

experience in real estate and lending.  His phone number is (707) 523-2099.  Email is

Forest@sunpacmortgage.com.  See newly designed website @ www.sunpacmortgage.com.

DRE license #01000559.  NMLS #289456.

 

LENDER’S VIEWPOINT
By Broker, Forest Tardibuono

The current line-up to accommodate almost any Buyer for any residential property type is as follows:

1.  A 30 year fixed rate lender (FNMA/FHLMC).

2.  An FHA and VA lender.

3.  A credit union for those that just miss getting a 30 year fixed rate loan.

4.  A Hard Money Lender.

Keep in mind that most Hard Money lenders typically will also do more than 4 units, commercial, land loans and construction loans. Hard Money is pretty forgiving on credit.  A person can have recent foreclosures, be in bankruptcy, done a recent short sale, low credit scores, have collections, liens, etc., or a combinations of these.

I recently saw a Wall Street Journal article Explaining the Methods of Hard-Money Lenders (written July 21, 2011).  It begins with “As banks continue tightening their purse strings…” which is the theme of the article.  The article mentioned the increased use of Hard Money due to the “…tight lending these days…” of institutional lenders. 

It then goes on to explain the fact that these hard money loans are concerned with “asset valuations and loan to value-ratios.”….”There’s no red tape.”…. “Because there is little bureaucracy when compared with big banks, deals can be approved and closed in just a few days.”

The busy Realtor in today’s market (and well into the future) has to know about Hard Money.  The fact is there are the 30 year fixed rate type lenders out there, call them “A” paper lenders, and then there is Hard Money which is now the catch-all for everything else as there are no “B”, “C”, “D” or “sub-prime” lenders in today’s market.  So be well versed in Hard Money and make it easy Buyers to get into contract.

True, Hard Money loans average 12% interest but for many buyers Hard Money is the only option.  And it is well worth it to get into that new home.  Down the line one can refinance once qualified for one of the other loan programs covered above – but one won’t miss out right now!  Don’t fret about rate objections, just acknowledge and get the contract signed. 

Hard Money is here to stay and is a vital tool for the busy realtor.  2/3 of the loans I do are for purchases. The Buyers are so grateful too, as they thought they had no chance for home ownership. 

Why not give me a call at 707-523-2099 and I will get you/your Buyer fully set up for a Hard Money loan and you can go ahead and get the house deal closed!

 

Forest Tardibuono is a CA DRE Broker with over 24 years experience in real estate and lending.  His number is (707) 523-2099.  See newly designed website @ www.sunpacmortgage.com. DRE license #01000559.  NMLS #289456.

Pride of Ownership:
Help Your Buyers Get Their Pride

LENDER’S VIEWPOINT
By Broker, Forest Tardibuono

From Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary…pride noun, b: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect.

That is why a person has almost a compulsion about buying a home. That “justifiable self-respect”. That “I did it” feeling when you get handed your very first set of keys to your home. It’s not like renting your first apartment. That’s a pretty good feeling but it’s not Pride of Ownership.

The funny thing is you don’t really know that that is what is compelling you. It’s almost innate that you are drawn to owning your own home. Now you might also be drawn to getting out of your parents house as a young adult but that may be more hormonal than innate. That would be more a Doctors Viewpoint than a Lenders Viewpoint!

I think it boils down to the security of it from a couple of angles. Back in caveman days I could see the security of having your own cave and guarding that cave. I have seen a rash of man-caves at homes I have been in recently. Same idea. Similarly today you have that security as well as security from the elements. You also have the fact that no one can take it from you as you own it. That security. You can do with it as you see fit. You can decorate it to your tastes, you can paint it any color you desire, you can move walls, change the structure, landscape it any way you want, etc.

Think about this. Picture the last time you felt pride. Nice feeling right? As a homeowner you get that every time you pull into your driveway, or play ball with your child in your yard, or water your lawn, or change a light bulb in your home, or clean out the gutters in your home, or cook in your kitchen, or go to your mailbox, etc., etc., etc.

That’s why you buy a home. That’s why you figure out what it takes you, using all your resources, to get the job done. Despite being turned down for a bank loan there are Hard Money loans available to those who want to take advantage of the current housing market and really want that Pride of Ownership – get yours today!

DRE license #01464899 & NMLS #360993
Forest Tardibuono- The Guy in the White Hat – is a CA DRE Broker with over 24 years of experience in real estate and lending. His phone number is (707) 523-2099. See website @ www.sunpacmortgage.com.

 

Thanksgiving Real Estate and Lending TIP for you.

 

Click here to watch the video on YouTube

Quick, helpful, holiday tip from me,

Forest Tardibuono

Holidays are upon us and I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!  Here’s a very short video and article that CAN HELP YOU this Holiday season, as an individual Homebuyer or as an Agent with Homebuyers, who aren’t quite getting off the dime…

IS THE MARKET TOO SCARY TO BUY?  (By the way – NO!)

Wow, we are being hit by all sides these days. It is being blared across the air waves that it’s as bad as the 1920s.  Why would anyone buy?

Did you know that A LOT of people made money during that depression.  How?  They did not follow the pack.  This is very hard to do.  The best managers of money (Boone Pickens, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates – for example) are a different breed of cat.  They seem to operate opposite of the crowd.  They buy when no one else is and they will freely tell you to do the same.  It takes a brave soul to not follow the crowd.

There are statistics that show things are not as bad as they seem.  In Sonoma County home sales are up – way up.  First time buyers can finally afford to buy and they are.  There are multiple offers on many homes.  Homebuyer loans are getting approved and people are moving into these homes.  There are not as many homes on the market as there were at the peak in November 2008, which will serve to drive the prices up.  Consequentially rent is going up all around – sometimes more than you would pay for your monthly home mortgage!

The moral of the story is – Buy Now!  If you have the required down payment (as low as 3.5%) and can afford the monthly payment (average $1,420 monthly) – do not wait.

Look to the statistics of what is occurring in THIS market (Sonoma County, Marin County, etc…).  The statistics show a brisk market that is competitive and will only go up from here – so…. It’s times to buy!)

Forest Tardibuono is a CA DRE Broker with over 23 years experience in real estate and lending. He offers Hard money loans for those with bad credit, difficult-to-prove income, etc.  His number is (707) 523-2099. 

See website @ www.sunpacmortgage.com. DRE license #0146899 and NMLS #360993.