Tree Farms Placer County and Vacinity

Tree Farms in and around Placer County

A helpful note: Christmas Tree Recycling will be offered by the City of Roseville. Simply remove all your ornaments and drop off your tree at the designated locations on Dec. 27-28 or Jan. 3-4. For more information, contact the Department of Public Works at 645-8576 or visit www.roseville.ca.us/eu for locations.

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

 

 

 

Winter Activities Sacramento Area

Tree Lighting — Roseville’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration will take place on Friday, December 5 from 5-8pm outside of the Civic Center (311 Vernon Street). Visit Santa and watch the dazzling display as the Mayor flips the switch to light the City’s official Christmas tree.

 

Santa Around the Neighborhood — Santa Roseville’s Neighborhood Santa will ride through our streets atop a sleigh while being escorted by police cars and fire engines during the second and third weeks in December. To find out when Santa will be traveling through your area, check out www.roseville.ca.us/santa or call Santa’s hotline at 916.746.1388.

 

SNO-PARKS — The California Department of Parks and Recreation operates 21 sites that provide snow-cleared parking lots with sanitation facilities and access to snow play areas, cross-country ski and snowmobile trails. Visit www.ohv.parks.ca.gov and click on “SNO-PARKS” on the left side.

 

Downtown Plaza Ice Rink — This is the Sacramento area’s only outdoor ice rink, located in the heart of downtown Sacramento at 7^th and K Streets. Open through January 19th. Please call 916.442.8575 for information and hours.

 

Victorian Christmas in Nevada City — Nevada City’s historic district reminds visitors of another time and place with Victorian singers, bagpipers, a live nativity scene, walking Christmas tree and visits with Santa Claus. Wednesdays: December 3, 10, & 17 from 6-9pm and Sundays, December 14 & 21 from 1:30-6pm. Call 800.655.NJOY for information.

Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley — Mill and Main Streets fill with old-fashioned Christmas carolers, carriage rides, bell ringers, musicians, and Santa Claus. Fridays: November 28, December 5, 12, & 19 from 6-9pm. Call 530.272.8315 for information. in person at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street, Sacramento.

 

 Sacramento Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” — Shows from December 6th to December 24th. Tickets available by calling 916.264.5181 or in person at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street, Sacramento.

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

10 Top Seller Questions

Thinking about selling your home and you got some questions about the process. You are not alone. Here are some common questions:

 

 

1. When do I get my sale proceeds?

On the date of recording, your escrow officer will have your sale proceeds available for you. At the time of signing, you may request that your escrow officer either cut you a check for your proceeds or wire funds directly into your bank account.

 

2. Why do I have to pay interest on my loan payoff past the date of recording?

Your lender continues to accrue interest to the date that they post your loan as being paid in full. This could be one or two days from the date your escrow officer sends your check.

 

3. When do I get a refund from my impound account?

After your escrow officer sends your payoff check to your existing lender, you can expect to get your impound account back directly from your lender within thirty to sixty days. If you have any questions after that time, we suggest calling your lender.

 

4. When do I cancel my homeowner’s/fire insurance?

Please do not cancel your insurance until you have received your sale proceeds.

 

5. Why does my escrow officer require that I complete a 1099 questionnaire?

A 1099 form is the reporting form adopted by the I.R.S. for submitting the information required by law. The form you complete at closing determines whether or not we need to report the gross proceeds to the I.R.S. or not.

 

6. What is the Statement of Information?

A Statement of Information provides title companies with the information they need to distinguish the buyers and sellers of real property from other people with similar names. After identifying the true buyers and sellers, title companies may disregard the judgments, liens, or other matters on the public records under similar names.

 

7. I don’t understand tax pro-rations; how do they work?

Taxes are based on a fiscal year from July to July. Based on what taxes are paid or are being paid, the pro-ration is from COE to the next date taxes are due. This can be explained more at signing.

 

8. What will I need to take to the Title Company when I go to sign my papers?

You will need to bring your checkbook for the purpose of routing information in case you want your funds wired to your account. Bring a valid form of picture ID.

 

9. What do I do if I’m an out-of-state seller and selling property in California?

Immediately contact your real estate agent or your escrow officer—this can be a time consuming process.

 

10. What is a Deed of Reconveyance?

A Deed of Reconveyance is issued by your previous lender in conjunction with the payoff on your loan. This document is recorded at the county recorder’s office and shows that the mortgage in your name has been released from the property and paid in full.

 

Pack Early Before your sell

8 Steps to Selling your Home

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

Placer County September 2008 Real Estate Sales Statistics

Data for resale single-family detached homes that closed escrow in Placer County September 2008. Percent changes are from the same month one year earlier.

You can see that sales are up 50- 200% since last year this time. Roseville and Rocklin areas Median Price % is down -7% to-16% from last Sept.

 

If you are interested in knowing the value of your home, feel free to email us and we will be happy to assist you.

 

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls. 

 

What is a Loan Remodification?

What Is a Loan Modification?

A Loan Modification is a negotiation between a lender and a borrower whereas the loan terms are restructured without refinancing.  The rate and terms of your loan are restructured to fit your current financial situation.
 
In these market conditions, the banks and lenders have been mandated by the president to do everything they can to work out a payment plan with their borrowers. This is a great thing for today’s borrowers, especially for those who are running late on their payments or are having trouble making them on time.The banks and lenders would rather take less money and keep you in your home making a payment that you can afford, rather than go through the expense of foreclosing on the home, hiring a listing agent, rehabilitating the home, and letting it sit empty on the market for months, only to lose thousands in the process.

 

We have referrals if you need any lenders help you with a loan re-modification, give us a call or email us.

 

Read below for more information:

 http://rosevillerealtor.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/mortgage-modification-programs/

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

 

JP Morgan Instituting a 90 day Freeze on Foreclosures

  

          JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reported that it is instituting a 90-day foreclosure freeze while it searches for ways to make payments easier for consumers. The program may enable up to 400,000 borrowers to reduce their interest rates or principal amounts. The bank also will open 24 mortgage counseling centers in areas with the highest delinquency rates. JPMorgan also is planning to hire 300 loan counselors to work with delinquent borrowers and employ approximately 150 additional staffers to review each mortgage prior to sending it through the foreclosure process. The program offer is extended to borrowers who have loans through Washington Mutual Inc., and clients of EMC, a mortgage unit of Bear Stearns Companies. Both companies were acquired by JPMorgan in recent buyouts and takeovers.

To read the full story, please click here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aR3.7ix83s6s&refer=home

  

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

    

 

What is a Short Sale?

I can’t afford my payment any more and I owe more than I can sell it for, what can I do?

You have several options if you have to sell, we will dicuss one in this article called a short sale.

A short sale is a transaction in which a lender allows you to sell your home for less than what is owed on it. The bank accepts less than the remaining mortgage amount due and accepts the proceeds as full payment of the loan.  A lender may accept a short sale when you, the borrower, is in severe financial straits and market conditions make a short sale the best choice to mitigate the lender’s damages.  Like a deed in lieu of foreclosure, this saves the lender the costs of foreclosure and the borrower avoids having a foreclosure on his or her credit report. 

Why would a lender agree to accept a short sale?

Lenders may have ample incentive to negotiate a short sale with a distressed borrower. For example, should the lender take back a property pursuant to a foreclosure sale, the lender would become responsible for a variety of costs, including property maintenance, utilities, HOA fees, and might risk destruction of the property by vandalism. Furthermore, lender-owned properties (REO) may take a long time to sell, in part because so many REO properties are now for sale.
 
A lender will typically evaluate the financial situation of the borrower as well as current market conditions to determine whether or not to agree to a short sale. It is really a business decision for the lender to determine whether it would receive more money by accepting the short sale, or completing a foreclosure, reselling the property, and pursuing personal liability (i.e., deficiency judgment against the borrower and/or claims against guarantors, for loans on which those remedies are available.)

Does a short sale adversely affect a defaulting borrower’s credit rating?

Yes.  Lenders will report the short sale as being settled for less than the full balance.  This would show up on the borrower’s credit report as a negative mark for seven years. 

For more related Bogs:

What is the Difference between and Bank Foreclosure and an REO Property

Tips to Buy a Bank Foreclosure

 

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls. 

 

 

Selling your Home? Tips to Compete with Bank Foreclosures

What! You want to sell your Home Now?  How to Compete with Bank Foreclosures-  Right now, with so much inventory, pricing is your #1 marketing tool.  Your main competition is:

1.  REO (bank owned, foreclosures): We are seeing bank owned home prices sink lower and lower which is driving the wave of home prices downward.  Good news though- inventory levels are lower now and starting to level out. The inventory absorption rate in this market is improving and hovering at 4.7 months and down from 12 months this time last year. People are attracted to REO listings because they think they are getting a bargain.  The problem is, most times they are not.  When your list price is low and you are in competition with distressed properties, even though yours is not, you will generate more interest. Most buyers will have to go through less red tape to get an accepted offer plus not worry about what is wrong with the property. There are fewer disclosures when you buy a bank foreclosure and you may not know the history of the house when you buy it from the bank.

2.  New Construction:  New construction set the trend with prices. There are lots of new home construction just sitting there on the market, in some cases for good pricing. Some builder‘s are giving away upgrades. Make sure you price your home competitively with the new home market and adjust for age and upgrades.

 

3.  Short sales:  Short sales are when people are selling for less than what they owe and they (hope) the bank will forgive part of their debt when the home closes.  There is an huge abundance of these listings as competition but fortunately for you, as a seller or potential seller, these deals that a long time to close and get approved. 

Pricing will not be the only factor to entice a quick offer.  Here are some more suggestions:

• Stage your home to make it stand out from the competition. Why do new home builders send over 100,000 to stage their homes? Because staging sells more homes. People can’t imagine what the home will look like with their furniture in your home, so staging it that appeals to the masses is smart marketing. Hiring a Professional Stager will know what works and what doesn’t.
• Make your home easy to show. Do you have pets to worry about? Often times, pets can make it hard for you to show your home. Talk to your Realtor about ways to keep you pet safe and still show your home without a lot of notice.
• Make sure the agent has a good marketing plan to get your home the most exposure:  Multiple offers are not UNHEARD of right now with homes that are priced right.
• Offer incentives to attract buyers. Offer lender allowed closing costs or other incentives.
• Keep it clean.  If you are competing with new homes, wouldn’t it make sense to keep it “model perfect” at all times?

Click on Price Your Home To Sell

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

8 Holiday Tips that Matter

The Holiday Season can be the most memorable time and also the most stressed out time. Don’t let the pressure of the past put you in debt, keep you broke, stressed or busy. Plan you time ahead and put these 8 Tips to the Test for a more memorable Holiday Season.

1. Be a good example. Thanksgiving is a time to rejoice in the bounty of the harvest season, but, we don’t have to eat until we become “food stupid” – irritable, groggy, sending a loud message to our children that Thanksgiving is the season to be a glutton;
2. Avoid carting your children around the malls shopping for gifts – they don’t like it and neither do you (be honest);
3. Do not take your children to the grocery store (infants exempt). They will want to buy all the wrong foods for the right reasons – they heard about it on TV and it must be good for you;
4. Remember that children have short attention spans. By the time you have dragged out the Christmas lights and unwound the tangles, they are no longer interested in stringing 1000 lights around the roof of the house;
5. Children remember experiences and tend to forget ‘things”. There is no earthly reason to go into debt to buy numerous gifts for kids that are either broken by the end of Christmas day or ignored in the excess of present overload. Find ½ hour to bake healthy cookies with your children. Teach them how to make warm apple cider in a mug with a cinnamon stick. Carve out 15 minutes each evening to read and plan for the next day. Decorate the family Christmas tree with craft items your children bring home from school and forget about perfection;
6. Turn off the TV. At this time of year, retail merchants are invading our homes with endless radio and television commercials aimed at children. These ads signal children to ask for toys that they do not really want and certainly do not need. We wind up wasting time and energy in endless negotiations over topics such as “the real meaning of the Holidays”, “you already have 50 action figurines, that’s enough”, “mommy already changes lots of diapers and doesn’t want to change your baby doll’s diapers, too”, etc;
7. Concentrate as much as possible upon the changing of the seasons, try all the different vegetables and fruits that are available in the autumn and winter months, make soup (it’s healthy, nutritious and warming), cut down on as many social engagements as possible and spend time with your family and close friends;
8. Chill out and keep warm.

For more tips visit BetterLifeInstitute

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.

Mortgage Modification Programs

Homeowners seeking information on existing mortgage workout programs

 

Below is a snapshot on eligibility requirements and contact information for a loan workout. If a lender or loan servicer is not mentioned below, homeowners may wish to contact their lender or loan servicer to determine if a workout program is available. In general, the loan modification programs below and consumer information sheets are intended for primary residences only.

It’s important to stress to clients that mortgage loan modifications typically are handled on a case-by-case basis. Prior to calling a lender or loan servicer, homeowners should have the following information available:

·         Loan number

·         Income information and documentation

·         Most recent mortgage statement

·         Bank statements

·         Letter demonstrating financial hardship

 

Hope for Homeowners (H4H)

Designed for borrowers at risk of default and foreclosure. Provides new 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages insured by FHA, mostly via refinance.      Lender must willingly participate.

·         Loans originated on or before Jan. 1, 2008

·         Primary residence, owner occupied (Borrower may not own a second home)

·         Unable to pay existing mortgage without assistance and has made at least six payments

·         Current total monthly mortgage payments exceed 31 percent of gross monthly income as of March 2008

·         Homeowner has not been convicted of fraud in the last 10 years and did not knowingly or willingly provide false information to obtain existing mortgage

·         Contact your lender to check for participation in H4H program

·         Need to apply through participating lenders

Program timeline: Oct. 1, 2008 – Sept. 30, 2011

For a list of participating lenders visit the site: www.fha.gov

 

 

Countrywide Financial (Bank of America)

Homeownership Retention Program for Countrywide Customers Will modify troubled mortgages with interest rate and principle reductions.

 

·         Subprime or pay option adjusted-rate mortgage loans originated on or before Dec. 31, 2007.

·         Primary residence, owner occupied (one to four units)

·         Borrower is 60 days or more delinquent and current loan-to-value is 75 percent or greater.

·         Borrower is current today but becomes 60 days or more delinquent at any time before June 30, 2012, and loan-to-value is 75 percent or greater at the time of the modification.

·         Modifications would be designed to achieve sustainable payments at a 34 percent debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of principal, interest, taxes and insurance

·         Call BofA/Countrywide to check for eligibility

Program timeline: Begins Dec. 1, 2008 with no end date specified.

Call (800) 669-6650 http://my.countrywide.com/media/FinancialAssistanceEN.html

 

 

Citigroup, CitiMortgage – Citi Homeowner Assistance Program

Will preemptively reach out to homeowners in need of assistance and will not initiate a foreclosure or complete a foreclosure sale on any eligible borrower where Citi owns the mortgage.

·         No requirements on origination.

·         Must be first mortgage and must be a loan Citi owns.

·         Primary residence, owner occupied (owner may own a second home).

·         Borrower is working in good faith with Citi.

·         Borrower may not be currently behind on their payments but may require help to stay current.

·         Current total monthly mortgage payments exceed 38 percent of gross monthly income

·         Call Citibank to check for eligibility

Program timeline: Nov. 11, 2008 – May 2009

(800) 667-8424 www.mortgagehelp.citi.com 

 

Chase’s mortgage modification program

includes extending modification programs to Washington Mutual and EMC Mortgage Corp. customers. Program is designed to actively contact borrowers and work with them to develop viable and sustainable options.

·         No requirements on origination.

·         Must be first mortgage and must be a loan JP Morgan Chase owns.

·         Primary residence, owner occupied (owner may own a second home).

·         Targets Chase, Washington Mutual or EMC Mortgage Corp., borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) including subprime and pay-option ARMs.

·         Modifications would be designed to achieve sustainable payments at 31 to 40 percent debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of principal, interest, taxes and insurance

·         Call Chase to check for eligibility

Program Timeline:  Chase expects to implement by Jan. 31, 2009 and will extend two years after implementation.

For help with Chase, WAMU or EMC loan, call (866) 550-5705 www.chase.com

 

  

IndyMac Federal Bank, FDIC

Program to modify troubled mortgages to achieve affordable and sustainable mortgage payments for borrowers, and increase the value of distressed mortgages by rehabilitating them into performing loans.

·         No requirements on origination.

·         Must be a first mortgage and must be a loan owned, or securitized and serviced, by IndyMac Federal

·         Primary residence, owner occupied

·         IndyMac borrower already seriously delinquent or in default.

·         IndyMac borrowers at risk of default due to payment resets or changes in the borrowers’ repayment capacities.

·         Modifications would be designed to achieve sustainable payments at a 38 percent debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of principal, interest, taxes and insurance

·         Call an IndyMac Federal customer service specialist to check for eligibility.

 Program Timeline: Aug. 2008 – no end date specified.

 Call (877) 908-4357 http://www.fdic.gov  http://www.indymac.com/ default.aspx?id=1178

 

 

Federal Government Loan Modification

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Home Loan Banks, Hope Now participants, Department of the Treasury, Federal Housing Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Wells Fargo

Designed to reduce preventable foreclosures with a simplified, streamlined loan modification program to put struggling homeowners into mortgages they can afford via a uniform process for loan modifications that the majority of lenders and servicers will use.

·         Borrower must have missed three or more payments.

·         Primary residence, owner occupied

·         Not filed for bankruptcy.

·         Modifications would be designed to achieve sustainable payments at a 38 percent debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of principal, interest, and association dues

·         Troubled homeowners should call with their lenders or servicers as to participation and eligibility for this new program.

 Program Timeline: Dec. 15, 2008, more details to follow.

www.fhfa.gov   http://www.hopenow.com/loan_services/servicer_Directory.php

 

For more info: http://www.car.org/legal/mortgage-workout-programs/

The Home Team Girls Realtors® Real Estate Team helping you with Homes For Sale, Seller Strategies, Certified Buyer’s Agent, Bank Foreclosure Specialist, Short Sale Specialist. We use the service of a certified  Home Stager on all of our listings. For Roseville and Sacramento Realtor Services call on the Home Team Girls.