For more information regarding this organization, click here:

http://www.rebuildingtogether-sv.org/

To apply and see if you qualify, click here:

http://www.rebuildingtogether-sv.org/?q=node/18

1. Home values are recovering
U.S. home values rose 0.5% from February to March, the largest monthly increase since May 2006, before values at the national level peaked, according to a recent report from Zillow this month. In addition, the company said in its home value forecast that it expects 19 of the 30 markets it covers will reach a bottom in values this year. Phoenix and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale are expected to see significant home value increases.

2. Interest rates are still extraordinarily low
The cost of borrowing is still extremely attractive for buyers who qualify and are ready for the financial responsibility of a home mortgage. Saying mortgage rates have hit a new “record low” has become a bit of a broken record. At an average 4.04% in the latest Mortgage Bankers Association survey, rates on the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are almost too good to be true. While there’s no sign from the Federal Reserve that rates will increase significantly anytime soon, it’s definitely a great condition for buyers right now.

3. Multiple offers are back
Demand for housing is starting to outweigh supply in some markets across the country. We covered the return of bidding wars this spring in markets like Silicon Valley, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Even despite the presence of “war” like situations, multiple offers are once again a fact of life in markets with strong economies and job prospects.

4. Rents are rising with no end in sight
The median U.S. rent was $721 per month in the first quarter, up 5.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department. Altogether, rental income has increased 12% in the year ended in March. In addition to rising rent, the supply of units is the tightest in more than 10 years, with 8.8% of units vacant in the first quarter. This at a time when the demand for rental units is at the highest in 15 years. This means more buyers likely will continue to jump from that tight market into owning while the numbers make sense.

As you can see, the buyer market is about to get more crowded than it’s been the last few years. These are each solid market forces that could push more and more buyers off the fence, creating more transactions and helping to lift home values this year and next. If you think you want to buy – or know buyers who are testing the waters – now is your chance to take advantage of prime home-buying conditions.

If ever there was a fantastic time to buy a home, it’s right now. Never mind the fact that I head a leading real estate brokerage company. Let the statistics show you why now is your best bet to get into the housing market:

1. Home values are recovering
U.S. home values rose 0.5% from February to March, the largest monthly increase since May 2006, before values at the national level peaked, according to a recent report from Zillow this month. In addition, the company said in its home value forecast that it expects 19 of the 30 markets it covers will reach a bottom in values this year. Phoenix and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale are expected to see significant home value increases.

2. Interest rates are still extraordinarily low
The cost of borrowing is still extremely attractive for buyers who qualify and are ready for the financial responsibility of a home mortgage. Saying mortgage rates have hit a new “record low” has become a bit of a broken record. At an average 4.04% in the latest Mortgage Bankers Association survey, rates on the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are almost too good to be true. While there’s no sign from the Federal Reserve that rates will increase significantly anytime soon, it’s definitely a great condition for buyers right now.

3. Multiple offers are back
Demand for housing is starting to outweigh supply in some markets across the country. We covered the return of bidding wars this spring in markets like Silicon Valley, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Even despite the presence of “war” like situations, multiple offers are once again a fact of life in markets with strong economies and job prospects.

4. Rents are rising with no end in sight
The median U.S. rent was $721 per month in the first quarter, up 5.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department. Altogether, rental income has increased 12% in the year ended in March. In addition to rising rent, the supply of units is the tightest in more than 10 years, with 8.8% of units vacant in the first quarter. This at a time when the demand for rental units is at the highest in 15 years. This means more buyers likely will continue to jump from that tight market into owning while the numbers make sense.

As you can see, the buyer market is about to get more crowded than it’s been the last few years. These are each solid market forces that could push more and more buyers off the fence, creating more transactions and helping to lift home values this year and next. If you think you want to buy – or know buyers who are testing the waters – now is your chance to take advantage of prime home-buying conditions.

If ever there was a fantastic time to buy a home, it’s right now. Never mind the fact that I head a leading real estate brokerage company. Let the statistics show you why now is your best bet to get into the housing market:

1. Home values are recovering
U.S. home values rose 0.5% from February to March, the largest monthly increase since May 2006, before values at the national level peaked, according to a recent report from Zillow this month. In addition, the company said in its home value forecast that it expects 19 of the 30 markets it covers will reach a bottom in values this year. Phoenix and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale are expected to see significant home value increases.

2. Interest rates are still extraordinarily low
The cost of borrowing is still extremely attractive for buyers who qualify and are ready for the financial responsibility of a home mortgage. Saying mortgage rates have hit a new “record low” has become a bit of a broken record. At an average 4.04% in the latest Mortgage Bankers Association survey, rates on the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are almost too good to be true. While there’s no sign from the Federal Reserve that rates will increase significantly anytime soon, it’s definitely a great condition for buyers right now.

3. Multiple offers are back
Demand for housing is starting to outweigh supply in some markets across the country. We covered the return of bidding wars this spring in markets like Silicon Valley, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Even despite the presence of “war” like situations, multiple offers are once again a fact of life in markets with strong economies and job prospects.

4. Rents are rising with no end in sight
The median U.S. rent was $721 per month in the first quarter, up 5.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department. Altogether, rental income has increased 12% in the year ended in March. In addition to rising rent, the supply of units is the tightest in more than 10 years, with 8.8% of units vacant in the first quarter. This at a time when the demand for rental units is at the highest in 15 years. This means more buyers likely will continue to jump from that tight market into owning while the numbers make sense.

As you can see, the buyer market is about to get more crowded than it’s been the last few years. These are each solid market forces that could push more and more buyers off the fence, creating more transactions and helping to lift home values this year and next. If you think you want to buy – or know buyers who are testing the waters – now is your chance to take advantage of prime home-buying conditions.

By: Gino Blefari

If you have any questions, you may contact Michael Ramos @ 408-342-3125

This workshop was designed to educate buyers just like you, so bring a friend and don’t miss out on this great opportunity!
For more information regarding this workshop or to R.S.V.P, you may contact Michael Ramos @ 408-342-3125.

Michael Ramos
Realtor and Consultant for LIFE
Intero Real Estate Services
10275 N De Anza Blvd, Cupertino 95014

http://www.interorealestate.com/agents/michaelramos

Direct: 408-807-4673
Efax: 408-317-1765

Co- Founder of:
www.BayAreasBestReos.com
www.mikecanstopforeclosure.com/

A recent appeal overturned an adverse arbitration judgment against a “trust,” holding that trusts are not persons or entities and therefore cannot be named defendants. This basic legal principle is very important to remember when executing agreements and documents concerning trust property.

Portico Management Group, LLCv. Alan J. Harrison et al.

In Portico Management Group, LLC v.Alan J. Harrison et al., the buyer entered into a purchase agreement for an apartment complex with the seller trustee. Title was vested in the trustee by the original owners pursuant to a valid trust agreement. Prior to closing, the trustee withdrew from the sale and breached the agreement. The buyer filed arbitration and erroneously named the trust as respondent – not the trustee in his representative capacity. The arbitrator found for the buyer and awarded damages.

When the trustee failed to pay out of the trust according to the judgment, the buyer petitioned the local court to confirm the award. The court held that it could not compel the trust to act because a trust is simply a relationship – not a person or legal entity. Since courts generally do not have authority to change arbitration judgments, the court could not amend the erroneous judgment so that it compelled the trustee. As a result, the buyer was stuck with an unenforceable judgment against a non-entity.
More information on the case can be found here.

Trusts

A trust is a relationship where a grantor delivers property to a trustee to hold and use for the benefit of a beneficiary. The trust itself is usually nothing more than a relationship.

In contrast to corporations and partnerships, which the law often deems legal personhood, a trust is not a person but rather a fiduciary arrangement with respect to certain property. Legal title to property held in trust is actually vested in the trustee. The “trust” is simply the relationship between the grantor and the trustee and the beneficiary which describes the trustee’s collection of assets and liabilities. Therefore, it is only proper to execute contracts and other formalities with the trustee in his representative capacity.

The lesson: agreements and judgments naming “trusts” alone are often improper and may be unenforceable. Always be sure that formal agreements and actions name the trustee and reference the trustee’s capacity as such.

By: Chris Moles

FHA’s new MI pricing has been in effect since April 1st as they will increased the Mortgage Insurance premiums they collect. Here’s a summary of the changes for all loan amounts from zero to $729,750:

Then on June 1st there is an additional increase in premium for high loan amounts. This one is only for transactions with a base loan amount of from $625,500 to $729,750.

So What does all this mean? Well for starters if you are an FHA buyer actively looking to buy a home you should try to find something ASAP if you are borrowing above the $625,500 number then you want to be aware of the June 1st deadline to avoid the additional increase to MI premiums. Secondly, is that people who were pre-qualified to buy with FHA will under the old fee structure may qualify for slightly less house.

Some good news is the conventional mortgage insurance has been come back and guidelines have loosened up a bit. We are able to do 5% down on Conventional loans with MI below the $417,000 loan amount and 10% down with loan amounts between $417,000 and $625,500. Also if your buyers are looking into Condos the complex would not need an FHA approval. This can be big help to open up more properties.

By: Tony Guaraldi

For more information on this subject, you can contact me @ 408-342-3125

Foreclosure occurs when a borrower or owner is incapable of paying their mortgage, and allowing the lender to take control of the property to secure the loan.

Since the fourth quarter of 2007, foreclosures have never been as low as it is now, according to a report from RealtyTrac. Just last month, foreclosure activity fell 2% from the previous quarter and down 16% from the first quarter of 2011. Some of the highest foreclosure states in America right now are Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, and California. In California, there were 45,122 foreclosure properties; one property in every 303 housing units. Don’t become a victim of foreclosure, try to avoid it by visiting www.mikecanstopforeclosure.com.

For more information regarding the foreclosure report, click below:

http://www.realtytrac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/foreclosure-trends–q1-2012-and-march-2012-foreclosure-report—–realtytrac-7111

Below are our current statistics:

· 1,251 homes are for sale in Santa Clara County and are broken up into the following:

o 936 or 74.8% are normal sales

o 106 or 8.5% are bank owned

o 179 or 14.3% are short sales

· Sold vs list price %: March 2012 100.3% compared to March 2011 99.0% – Increase of 1.3%

· Average Sale Price: (Single Family Home): March 2012 $792,067 compared to March 2011 $753,113 – Increase of 5.2%

· Number of closed transactions: (Single Family + Condo/Townhome): March 2012 1,932 compared to March 2011 1,446 – Increase of 33.6%

· Current inventory: (Single Family + Condo/Townhome): March 26, 2012 (1,328 + 359) = 1,687 compared to March 28, 2011 (2,318 + 1,079) = 3,397 – A decrease of 50.3%

· Pending sales: (Single Family + Condo/Townhome): March 26, 2012 (2,704 + 1,203) = 3,907 compared to March 28, 2011 ( 2,782 + 1,151) = 3,933 – A decrease of .7%

A few interesting articles from last month:

· Buyers Compete for Short Supply of Homes in Bay Area

o http://business-news.thestreet.com/mercury-news/story/buyers-compete-short-supply-homes-bay-area/1?IADID=Search-business-news.thestreet.com-www.mercurynews.com

· Residential Real Estate Is Ready to Recover

o http://business-news.thestreet.com/mercury-news-real-estate/story/residential-real-estate-is-ready-to-recover/11473655

· Housing experts optimistic, despite dismal data

o http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/housing-experts-optimistic-despite-dismal-data/2012/03/26/gIQA7UH2eS_story.html

· Buying cheaper than renting in nearly 100 major U.S. markets: Trulia

o http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=5588195823688089636&ids=e34McjoPczAVcP8OdzkMejwRdiMScPoVe30Ue3oPczwRej4Ue3kRb34OdjoMdPcTc3wRc30Se3gUdjkIczsQejcRcj4Oej8TdPwQdPoRdiMTdz4Uc3AOe3gScjkPcPsTdzkR&aag=true&freq=weekly&trk=eml-tod2-b-ttl-3&ut=325DBRXUy99lc1

To summarize our bay area real estate market is continuing to improve due to high demand and low supply. The solid performance of our tech company stocks is giving many buyers the funds to increase their purchase price. Assuming interest rates remain low (expected), we will experience appreciation this year in most bay area neighborhoods. We are extremely busy working with buyers to identify good homes and then compete to get them into contract.

If you or someone you know is considering purchasing or selling a home or investment property, you are welcome to contact us so we can put together a great plan to take advantage of this market. We also have some informative web tools available for keeping you up to date with new home listings and/or market changes in your area.

We remain grateful for all of your referrals and continued support and please remember we are always here to help!
By: Carlos and Denise Padilla

OR

For more information, contact Michael Ramos @ 408-807-4673.

Intero Real Estate’s estates division, Prestigio, Tom Dallas lists $8 million home in Menlo Park.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA (April 2, 2012) – Another real estate record has been set in the Bay Area. Menlo Park just recorded its highest sale ever for a single family home. The property, 2 Robert S Dr, listed at $7.950M, sold just a few days ago and just closed escrow on Friday! The brand new French Renaissance style home sits on a 20,000 square foot lot and has over 6,200 square feet of living space. It boasts 6 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, a recreation room, guest quarters and library.

This majestic estate, listed by Tom Dallas along with partner David Kelsey of Intero Real Estate’s new Woodside office, stayed on the market only 3 days. This type of transaction is not uncommon for Tom Dallas who still holds the record for the highest dollar volume of sales in a year with $300 million in 2000. “I have known and worked with Tom for ages and never cease to be amazed at how brilliant he is at listing and selling luxury estates,” says Alain Pinel, Senior Vice President and Managing Officer for Intero Real Estate Services.

The tech savvy Dallas/Kelsey team utilized cross product partnerships and proprietary marketing resources to create a “buzz” felt in the marketplace by the agent community and their buyers.

This deal may be the shortest held listing, year-to-date, as it only took 10 days between the acceptance and the close. The sale also marked two other significant milestones:

It was the first listing placed into Intero “Prestigio,” a new luxury division providing an exclusive menu of global marketing services customized for each property. The program launched only days ago.
It is the first registered sale for “Prestigio.”

To see a tour of this home, visit this link. 2 Robert S Dr.

About the Intero® brand

Founded in 2002, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. has quickly become one of the premier real estate brands in the U.S. In 2004, Intero Franchise Services Inc. began franchising and currently is operating in many of the western states. In 2009, Intero International Franchise Services, LLC embarked on developing territories in Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. The companies are private and headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley.

Contact:

Teressa Francis

+1 408 342 3010

tfrancis@interorealestate.com

or

Michael Ramos

+1 408 342 3125

numberonereo@gmai.com

http://beta.local.yahoo.com/videos-monopoly-huge-scale-san-jose-video-san-jose-ca-20120215.html

Things have been quiet in Europe and this has lifted the safe haven trade, thereby further applying selling pressure on Bonds. Let’s be clear – there will be more to the Eurodrama – but the Long Term Refinance Operations were a pretty good kick of the can down the road and they have delayed the day of reckoning for some time in the future. So its unclear when US Bonds will benefit from more Euro-issues – but there will be more of them. So there should be better days ahead for bonds but we don’t know when. For now the current floor of support on the bond chart held the past two days so it appears the bleeding has stopped in the short term.

Have a good one!
Tony Guaraldi
Mortgage Banker