The Moxley Team » Home Buying Info

Maximum FHA Loan Limits Restored To $729,750

The Moxley Team — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:53:41 +0000

We normally focus on housing stats, neighborhoods and homes for sale in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore , but a great article on the new loan limits was just published by Brian LeBars that gives great information on the recent change.

After a brief return to lower, pre-2009 levels, FHA loan limits have been restored. As signed into law last Friday, maximum FHA loan limits are — once again — as high as $729,750 in our San Francisco Bay Area.

FHA Fills Void in High LTV Financing

The move creates additional mortgage financing possibilities in more than 650 U.S. counties, and promises to increase the FHA’s mortgage market share, which has grown from 6% in 2007 to roughly 30% today.

The change in FHA loan limits also marks the first time that FHA loan limits exceed those of conventional mortgage-backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Conventional loans remain capped at a maximum of $625,500.

For home buyers in Pleasanton and the Bay Area, FHA-insured mortgage offer several advantages over comparable conventional loans, the most commonly cited of which is that FHA-insured loans require a down payment of just 3.5 percent.

FHA-insured mortgages carry other advantages, too, however.

First, FHA home loans are not subject to loan-level pricing adjustments (LLPA). This means that, all things equal, buyers and would-be refinancers with credit scores below 740; or, who live in multi-unit homes; or, who have high loan-to-values are not subject to additional loan fees as a conventional mortgage applicant might.

A Preapproval Letter May Not Be The Only Letter Needed

The Moxley Team — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:57:08 +0000

Adding A Personal Touch May Do The Trick

Most buyers will include a preapproval letter when submitting an offer to a seller. Sometimes it can feel like a bit too much work to go through the process, but it’s the only way to let a seller know you are qualified to enter into contract and purchase their home. If you are a cash buyer, well then, show the bank statment and you are good to go.

Now that you have assured the seller you are financilly able to purchase their home , have you told them why you are the best match? Put yourself in the seller’s shoes… They have lived in the home for many years and potentially raised a family there. They likely have spent numerous hours and lots of money remodeling and making the home perfect. The next door neighbor could be a best friend and it could be their dream home.

This is where you enter with your second letter. Show the seller how you plan to use the home, why you love it and how you hope to spend many years in it. Connecting emotionally could be just what you need ot get the home. Maybe add a photo too…

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Tri Valley Home Builders Will Buy Your Home

Check FHA Approval of Tri Valley Condos First

The Moxley Team — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:40:41 +0000

Checking FHA Approval for Tri Valley Condos

Getting an FHA loan? Before you get too far into the house hunting process in communities like the Dublin Ranch Villages, Livermore condos or condos in Pleasanton, check the approval first. If you have a knowledgeable FHA lender they will know what communities you can use an FHA loan in. I got a link to the website from one of my lenders Brian LeBars and was able to search by city all of the FHA approved areas.

If you are looking to buy a Dublin Ranch condo or a condo in Pleasanton, one of your first stops should be here https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm

Looking on the site you will see that Dublin Ranch has come out strong with many community approvals. The entire Dublin Ranch Villages neighborhood is approved. The Dublin Ranch Villas, Dublin Ranch Courtyards, Dublin Ranch Cottages and Dublin Ranch Terraces are all FHA approved communities.

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Looking at The Numbers Renting vs. Owning a Home

The Moxley Team — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:39:02 +0000

Looking at The Numbers Renting vs. Owning a Home

Homes for sale in Danville to Livermore homes and the rest of the Tri Valley housing market… it has all taken a hit! So what is your game plan? Do you continue renting or buy a home? With the market down 30% or more in some areas, real estate is on SALE! For the past year there have been tons of reports out predicting the market will fall another 5-10%, (For Housing Rebound, Once Again It’s Wait Until Next Year) but overall the Tri Valley market has not taken that huge of a hit because we are in an area people still want to live, N. California weather, economy and great amenities. The stats and reports are now showing mixed numbers with more improvement coming in housing throughout the Nation. With the economy off the lows of March ’09, employment improving and consumer savings rates higher, many people are now in better financial positions to make large long term purchases.

Real estate in the Tri Valley is at the lows. If you spend monry on rent you are wasting an opportunity in this market. Let’s look at the numbers.

$300,000 purchase with 3.5% down ($10,500) at 4.75% rate is a total monthly payment of $1,909 (includes taxes and insurance). You also are able through one of the greatest gifts from the government to deduct the interest you pay from taxes!

$500,000 purchase with 3.5% down ($17,500) at 4,875% rate is a total monthly payment of $3,218 (includes taxes and insurance).

$300,000 purchase with 20% down ($60,000) at 4.875% rate is a total monthly payment of $1,655.

$500,000 purchase with 20% down ($100,000) at 4.875% rate is a total monthly payment of $2,758.

AVAILABLE HOMES IN DUBLIN AROUND $300,000

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 9. See more city of Dublin real estate.
(all data current as of 2/8/2012)

$299,000 : 7856 GATE WAY, DUBLIN

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,434 sq ft

Lot size: 1,306 sq ft
$305,000 : 3465 DUBLIN BLVD, Unit: 116, DUBLIN

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,066 sq ft
$309,000 : 4140 CLARINBRIDGE CIR, DUBLIN

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,347 sq ft
$310,000 : 10782 SORNOWAY LN, DUBLIN

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,103 sq ft
$314,900 : 5501 DEMARCUS BLVD, Unit: 251, DUBLIN

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,399 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

AVAILABLE HOMES IN PLEASANTON AROUND $500,000

Showing properties 1 - 1 of 1. See more city of Pleasanton real estate.
(all data current as of 2/8/2012)

$504,950 : 6041 VIA DE LOS CERROS, PLEASANTON

2 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,241 sq ft

Lot size: 3,920 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

AVAILABLE HOMES IN LIVERMORE AROUND $300,000

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 23. See more city of Livermore real estate.
(all data current as of 2/8/2012)

$329,900 : 1684 AUTUMN OAK DR, LIVERMORE

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,224 sq ft

Lot size: 5,554 sq ft
$320,000 : 367 LEE AVE, LIVERMORE

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,400 sq ft

Lot size: 5,999 sq ft
$338,000 : 1024 Baltusrol Road, LIVERMORE

4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,744 sq ft

Lot size: 4,791 sq ft
$329,000 : 3953 Santa Clara Way, LIVERMORE

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,204 sq ft

Lot size: 6,080 sq ft
$304,900 : 5179 CROCUS WAY, LIVERMORE

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,344 sq ft

Lot size: 8,340 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

AVAILABLE HOMES IN DANVILLE AROUND $500,000

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 7. See more city of Danville real estate.
(all data current as of 2/8/2012)

$520,000 : 166 CHANNI LOOP, DANVILLE

4 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 1,937 sq ft
$535,500 : 757 Glen Eagle Court, DANVILLE

3 beds, 2 full baths

Home size: 1,618 sq ft

Lot size: 3,443 sq ft
$484,950 : 46 COPPERFIELD LN, DANVILLE

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,884 sq ft

Lot size: 1,900 sq ft
$499,900 : 4 SANDPEBBLE CT, DANVILLE

4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 2,186 sq ft

Lot size: 3,360 sq ft
$525,000 : 196 Joaquin Drive, DANVILLE

3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 1,470 sq ft

Lot size: 5,227 sq ft

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

*Rates and terms subject to change

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Good News Bad News on New Home Sales

The Moxley Team — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:28:39 +0000

What do you want first, the good news or the bad news regarding new home sales for 2010?

Good news? Great. First 2010 is over. That is the best news.

The other good news released this week is that new home sales jumped 17.5% to a seasonally adjusted 329,000 homes for the month of December according to the National Association of Home Builders. They did preface that most of the increase came out of the west, which gained at a 71% rate, and most likely will have to be adjusted.

New Home sales were down 5.0% in the Northeast and up 3.2% in the Midwest and 1.8% in the South.

Now for the Bad News:

Sales for new homes in 2010 were down 14.4% for the year and ended up at 321,000 homes. This was the lowest number of new homes sold in the United States on record in the country. We started keeping track of new home sales in 1963…

New home sales construction is also at a record low rate. There are only 191,000 new homes in inventory nationwide. For reference, in the heat of the bubble, there were 528,000 new homes for sale in January, 2006. 2005 saw 1.28 million new homes sold.

——

So what does this mean?

Builders are doing the right thing. Until the market returns it is crazy to expose yourself to building homes on spec. My guess is that most of the homes being built right now are on contract and those contracts are much tighter than in 2006.

If you are looking to buy land this is probably a great time, prices are low and demand is weak. Eventually new home construction is going to come back and getting your raw land, or even partially completed properties, will significantly lower your cost basis.

Otherwise, the construction industry is just in a waiting mode for things to settle down.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit The Real Estate Bloggers. where it was originally published.

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San Ramon Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

The Moxley Team — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:28:44 +0000

San Ramon Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

San Ramon home sales saw strength in 2010 just as Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore did. Sales were in line with what we would expect for seasonal changes. What we mean by that is normally we start to see increasing pending activity around this time of the year then increasing sales as we move into spring and the summer from those pending homes. We expect that the months of February and March will see higher levels of activity than in the years past because of the stabilizing housing market. An interesting look at the chart of San Ramon homes and for the entire Tri Valley is that while yearend supplies are higher across the board, sales were also higher year over year. More buyers are optimistic about housing and the economy and sellers who were on hold are seeing the upside in many markets too.

Fun Stats for 2010:

659– Number of single family homes sold

149– Homes sold were short sales

68– Homes sold were REO

326– Condo/Townhomes sold

43– Average days on market

$730,000 – Median Price for single family home

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Livermore Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

The Moxley Team — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:32:33 +0000

Livermore Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

The trend with Livermore homes is similar to that of both Pleasanton and Dublin as we recently wrote about. Inventories rose towards the end of 2010, but pending homes in Livermore and sold homes remained consistent. The change from Dec. ’09 to Dec. ’10 was an increase of 129% of available homes. The end of ’09 to end of ’10 for sold homes was about the same level and the biggest spike in activity was pending homes in March up to 120 homes and making for May and June the highest levels in sold homes. We expect to see similar activity with more buyers coming into the market in February, March and April.

Fun Stats for 2010:

865– Number of single family homes sold

197– Homes sold were short sales

170– Homes sold were REO

222– Condo/Townhomes sold

43– Average days on the market

$433,000 – Median price for a single family home

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Dublin Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

The Moxley Team — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:06:42 +0000

Dublin Real Estate 2010 Year in Review

Dublin homes sold in May 2010 had on of the highest number of sold homes per month looking back even Jan. ’09. While the chart shows a huge increase in inventory of 240% from Dec. ’09 to Dec. ’10 sales were up overall from 2009. The number of sold homes per month is consistent with no huge spikes or decreases. We look to see 2011 real estate in Dublin to continue to improve and more buyers coming out to purchase and stabilizing inventory levels

Fun Stats for 2010:

355 – Number of single family homes sold

67 – Homes sold were short sales

58 – Homes sold were REO

235 – Condo/Townhomes sold

36 – Average days on the market

$633,000 – Median price for a single family home

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Livermore Wine Country, Another Great Reason To Live Here

The Moxley Team — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:04:05 +0000

Great Wine in Our Backyard – Another Great Reason to Live in Livermore

[[Show as slideshow]]

It’s all about location, not just for the homes in Livermore you buy, but the city you live in. We are fortunate to have one of the best wine regions in the state only minutes from us. With over 40 wineries growing award winning Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Syrah, Chardonnay and Champagne your choices are almost endless. Even if you are looking for a home in Danville or a Pleasanton home, you are only minutes away from the Livermore Valley Wine Country.

The Livermore Wineries are not all new, in 1883 James Concannon came from Ireland and began making wine here in Livermore. 50 years ago Concannon Vineyards produced America’s first Petite Sirah. Now 125 years after James Concannon first came to Livermore, we have over 40 amazing wineries.

Here is a sample of some South Livermore homes for sale

Showing properties 1 - 2 of 2. See more Vinsanto community real estate.
(all data current as of 2/8/2012)

$799,000 : 2681 Vernazza Drive, LIVERMORE

4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

Home size: 3,687 sq ft

Lot size: 9,583 sq ft

Year built: 2003

Parking spots: 3

Days on market: 7
$719,000 : 2790 SAN MINETE DR, LIVERMORE

3 beds, 3 full baths

Home size: 2,906 sq ft

Lot size: 9,190 sq ft

Year built: 2004

Parking spots: 3

Days on market: 56

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

For more information check out:

Livermore Valley Wine Country lvwine.org

Download the Livermore Valley Wine Map

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Remember When… 18% Interest Rates

The Moxley Team — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:32:13 +0000

There was once a time when an 18% interest rate was, well, good…

In the 1970′s you could expect to get a mortgage a be paying 18%. Today rates are leaving 4% territory and creeping towards 5%. By the end of 2011 many experts predict rates to hit 5.5%. Why? With the economy improving, retail sales up, consumer spending recovering and more people getting back to work, the fed will move to increase the fed funds rate which increases your mortgage rate. An article diving deeper into why rates will go up can be found at LoanSquawk.com.

Why does this matter to a home buyer?

If you are a first time buyer comparing lenders and rates keep in mind, buyers in the past were jumping with excitement to get a 9% rate. Today, many people moan and complain over 1/8th of a percentage point and leave their lender if another lender can beat it. Here is the advice and point of the article. A buyer needs to focus on credit score, reserves and debt-to-income ratio and they will qualify for the best rate. Today more homes are receiving multiple offers because of the small supply of QUALITY homes. Not everyone is looking for a fixer upper bank repo. The best thing a buyer can do is to work with a mortgage professional with great service and who knows the market. In a multiple offer bid, the last thing you want is your lender to mess it up because they could get you the loan at the low rate they quoted.

Here is an interesting graph to show how All Cash offers are increasing and putting more pressure on buyers needing a loan. After all, a seller would normally prefer a buyer who dosen’t need a loan. Put yourself in the best position and make sure you are qualified for a loan with a seasoned mortgage professional.