Design In Wood

The 31st annual Design In Wood competition features spectacular creations from wood, including violins, furniture, toys, and more. This is a juried competition, open to adults 18 and older

 

 

Shopping For a Homeownership Loan with Sherice Grainger, Wells Fargo.

Born and raised right here is beautiful San Diego, Sherice Grainger has become one of the most prominent lenders in our community. She is presently employed at Wells Fargo where its experience and expertise will benefit those who seek a new loan or refinancing.

Sherice is known to show the utmost commitment and compassion towards each and every client. Contact her to learn more about the powerful loan programs at Wells Fargo.

Buying your first home with Sherice Grainger from Wells Fargo has many benefits. You’ll become part of a community, experience the security of owning the roof over your head, and have the opportunity to create a home that meets your needs and style.
Your first-time homebuyer benefits also include opportunities to:

• Build home equity - Unlike rent, the principal portion of every mortgage payment you make has the potential to grow your asset.
• Gain potential tax benefits - Your mortgage interest and real estate property taxes are usually tax deductible when you file your income tax returns. (Consult a tax advisor regarding the deductibility of interest.)
• Build your credit - Making on-time mortgage payments can help you create and keep up a strong credit history.
• Take control - Rent increases, cancelled leases and other unexpected tenant hassles will be things of the past.

Get the loan information you need, whether you’re buying:

• Your first home.
• Your next home.
• A vacation or second home.
• A foreclosure property.
• An investment property.

Shopping For a Home with Terri Davids and Linda Ring, Century 21 Award

Buying a home in San Diego is one of the most important decisions you will make. That's why it's in your best interest to choose experienced Terri Davids and Linda Ring from Century 21 Award who listens to and understands your needs, and has detailed knowledge of the area in which you want to want to live.

When you choose Terri Davids and Linda Ring from Century 21 Award, you're dealing with professionals who understand your concerns and will provide you with the personalized service that makes all the difference.

What should you expect in your first meeting with a Terri Davids and Linda Ring? We will talk to you about the neighborhood where you want to live, home prices, schools, transportation, and the surrounding commercial and residential areas. We can also address the pros and cons of using a buyer's agent versus a sales or dual agent.

When you're ready to visit houses, ask your Century 21 Award agents, Terri Davids and Linda Ring, we will help you with:

• Arranging showings.
• Tracking the properties you've seen.
• Identifying homes that meet your criteria and keep track of your "what's right for you" list.

TIP: After touring each home, write down what you liked and didn't like. Terri Davids, Century 21 Award can help you develop a rating system to narrow the field. For example, pick the house you like best on day one and compare all other houses to it. When you find a better one, use the new favorite as your standard.

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Linda Ring and Terri Davids of Century 21 Award forecasts home values will be on the decline through December 2012 throughout San Diego County, but the decrease will be smaller than in 2011. Home values in the San Diego area fell in the fourth quarter, with the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) sinking 1.1 percent after a less significant decline for the two previous quarters. San Diego Realtors predicts that hardest hit cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles; Riverside, California will reach bottom and then stabilize or increase in value in 2012.  The rate of homes foreclosed on increased slightly to 8.2 out of every 10,000 in December, compared to 8 out of every 10,000 homes in November. The rate was lower than the end of the third quarter, when it was 8.6 out of every 10,000 homes. Foreclosure re-sales made up 19.1 percent of all December sales, which is an increase from August, when 17.1 percent of all sales were foreclosure re-sales nationwide.

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 VA, FHA, First Time Buyer Loans, click here

Calculate your debt-to-income ratio, or DIR. This is a ratio lenders in San Diego use to make sure you have the ability to repay the mortgage debt. Remember that if a spouse is leaving a mortgage contract, the remaining spouse alone must carry the full mortgage payment. To calculate this ratio, divide all monthly expenses, including a mortgage payment, by your gross monthly income. Lenders want to see a DIR under 40 percent. If you are receiving alimony as part of a divorce settlement, you can usually use this income in your DIR calculation.

Research lenders based on your credit score if your income will carry a new San Diego mortgage loan. If you have excellent credit, concentrate your efforts on local banks and credit unions -- these institutions typically offer the most competitive rates and programs. If you've had credit problems or your credit scores are less than excellent, you'll need to broaden your search to include finance companies, too.

Apply at two or three lenders in San Diego. Too many applications may create excessive inquiries on your credit score, which will begin to drop your FICO score. Review all loan offers side-by-side. Pay special attention to fees on the offers. Common fees like origination, discount points and closing costs can add up quickly and become especially burdensome if you're paying them out of pocket.

Choose a lender and provide your San Diego loan officer with all the documents listed in the "Things You'll Need" section. This will expedite the underwriting process. Make sure the final terms of the loan are similar to those you agreed to during the initial consultation. Order a closing for the loan.

Obtain a blank copy of a quitclaim deed. This document removes or adds an individual to the title of the home. If you're removing a spouse from the mortgage, you should absolutely remove them from the title to the home as well. A quitclaim deed easily accomplishes this.

Bring the spouse you are removing to the mortgage closing, but do not let him or her sit in while you review the closing documents. Instead, bring him or her in at the end to complete the quitclaim deed. This will be witnessed, notarized and recorded -- along with the new mortgage.

Contact us for more information.

As Americans consider the best candidates for the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, housing is at the forefront of the debate for many. About 70 percent of Americans say a candidate’s position on housing could sway their vote, according to a survey released Tuesday by Move, Inc.

However, Americans differ in their views of what the housing market needs most.

The survey found 30.9 percent of Americans believe the next president’s priority for his or her first 100 days in office should be helping homeowners avoid foreclosures.

Keeping interest rates low was also a high priority with 26.4 percent of Americans responding that it should be the president’s priority in the first 100 days, while 14 percent of Americans believe the president’s first priority should be making affordable mortgage credit available.

As for the future of the government in the housing market — 21.3 percent of survey respondents said the govern-

ment’s role in the housing market should be increased, while 42 percent said it should be decreased.

Thirty-one percent of survey respondents believe the government should maintain its current level of involvement in the market.

A little more than two-thirds, 67.4 percent, of Millennials – the next generation of homebuyers, according to Move, Inc. – believe the president and Congress should either reduce or maintain their current level of involvement in the housing market.

“After four years of living in a housing downturn, American voters clearly want answers and are looking to our elected leaders for solutions,” said Errol Samuelson, chief revenue officer of Move, Inc.

The Move Inc., survey also examined Americans’ perceptions of the market, finding pessimism among many.

About 73 percent of Americans expect home buying conditions to stay the same or get worse over the next year.

“Perceptions as much as the realities of homeownership are standing in the way of boosting demand for housing,” Samuelson said

Despite an increase in affordability, the perception of affordability has declined, according to Move Inc.

While the qualifying income for a median priced home in August was less than the median household income in 2010, only 32 percent of Americans believe a median income family can afford a median income home in their area.

Contact us for all your real estate needs.

The average San Diego 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came in at 3.99 percent this week, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.It’s the second time this year the rate has dropped below the 4.00 percent mark, and is the second lowest reading in the history of the GSE’s survey.  It averaged 3.94 percent for the week ending October 6, 2011.

At 3.99 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending November 10, 2011, the 30-year rate shaved off one basis point from last week’s average of 4.00 percent. Last year at this time in San Diego, the 30-year fixed rate was 4.17 percent, and as recently as February, it was 5.05 percent.

Freddie Mac described rate movement overall as “changing little” from the previous week amid a mix of economic data reports.

The 15-year fixed rate also budged just one basis point, slipping from 3.31 percent last week to 3.30 percent (0.8 point) this week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year rate averaged 3.57 percent.

While fixed rates edged lower in San Diego, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) moved in the opposite direction.

The 5-year ARM rose to 2.98 percent (0.6 point) in Freddie’s study, up from 2.96 percent last week. Turn the clock back 12 months, and the 5-year ARM was averaging 3.25 percent.

The 1-year ARM posted the biggest change in one week’s time, jumping to 2.95 percent (0.6 point) from 2.88 percent. This time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.26 percent.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, says these low mortgage rates, combined with soft house prices have kept homebuyer affordability historically high.

He cites data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which shows 74 percent of major metros with annual home price declines in the third quarter. Over that same period, Nothaft says 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.3 percent as opposed to 4.7 percent in the second quarter.

“These factors helped raise September’s NAR Housing Affordability Index to the third highest reading on record which dates back to 1971,” Nothaft said.

Freddie Mac’s regularly weekly rate study draws its results from 125 lenders across the country.

Call us for a San Diego real estate loan.

In the second quarter of 2011, single-family home prices fell 5.9 percent on an annual basis, according to the latest national Fiserv.   In fact, Fiserv predicts prices will continue to fall into the coming year in San Diego — dropping another 3.6 percent by the first half of 2012.

However, Fiserv does see a light at the end of the tunnel. According to its predictions, prices will rise 2.4 percent from the second quarter of 2012 to the second quarter of 2013.

Capital Economics agrees with Fiserv’s forecast of further price declines in the short term, predicting “prices will continue to edge a little lower in San Diego over the coming months,” according to its monthly housing report released Wednesday.

The timeline for clearing the current inventory of homes on the market rose from 8.2 months in August to 8.3 months in September, according to Capital Economics. “This is consistent with further falls in prices over the coming year,” the firm states.

Falling prices in San Diego and mortgage rates have increased housing affordability. The monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced, single-family home is currently about 40 percent lower than at its peak.

“Nationally, purchase mortgage payments now account for only 13 percent of monthly median family income, the lowest percentage on record (since 1971), and compared to 23 percent in the first quarter of 2006,” said David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv.

The markets that experienced the largest home price bubbles and ensuing crashes have experienced the greatest rises in affordability. Las Vegas saw a 32 percent drop in the ratio of monthly mortgage payment to family income.

 Contact us for more information.

Too many consumers are confused about credit scores in San Diego. Most did not know who makes credit scores available, what is a strong score, nor the financial cost of a poor score.

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and VantageScore Solutions say on 22 credit score questions administered by Opinion Research Corp. to over 1,000 consumers late last month, on average, consumers answered only 60 percent correctly.

"The good news is that a large majority of consumers in San Diego know the key factors used to calculate scores and the creditors who use these scores," said CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck.

Your credit score is a numerical rendition of your creditworthiness. It indicates how well or how poorly you'll repay a debt. The higher the number, the more likely you'll repay on time.

Credit scores are important in San Diego, influencing whether consumers can purchase a wide range of important services and at what price, including mortgages.

What the survey found a majority consumers know is what all consumers should know.

• The three main credit bureaus -- Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion -- collect information on which credit scores are most frequently based (68 percent correct).

The survey also advises, an individual has many different credit scores, which are either generic or lender-based. Generic credit scores are available from many sources -- not just FICO and the three credit bureaus but also many other websites.

Most scores, however, are based on information in a credit report at one of the three bureaus, although some websites allow consumers to estimate their score by answering questions about their credit use, according to CFA and VantageScore.

• Most Americans have more than one generic credit score (71 percent correct).

• Three key ways to raise a credit score or maintain a high score are making all loan payments on time, for each credit card keeping balances under 25 percent of the card's credit limit, and avoiding opening several credit card accounts at the same time (69 percent correct).

• Many non-financial services -- such as cell phone companies (60 percent correct) and landlords (64 percent correct) -- use credit scores to determine whether to offer a service and/or at what price.

• A large majority of consumers correctly understand the following about scores: Missed payments (93 percent correct), high credit card balances (88 percent correct), and many applications for new accounts at one time (81 percent) are factors used to calculate credit scores.

It's a lot more difficult to raise your score than it is to lower it. Making a couple credit card or mortgage payments late may take a year of on-time payments to restore one's old scores.

• Mortgage lenders (86 percent correct) and credit card issuers (85 percent correct) use these scores to determine whether to extend credit and/or at what price.

The study also comes with some advise.

• Even if you have high credit scores, especially if you have lower ones, it is essential to comparison shop for credit. Major lenders use somewhat different criteria in their own credit scores, and even when they use the same score, they may assign different risks to it. For example, using the same score for an individual, one lender may place that person in a higher-risk subprime category while another lender may assign that person to a lower-risk (and lower cost) prime category.

• The value of credit repair companies is questionable. They often over-promise, charge high prices, and perform services, such as correcting credit report inaccuracies, that consumers could do themselves by just contacting the lender and the credit bureaus.

• You are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the credit reporting bureaus -- Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion -- from the only federally-sanctioned web site for free reports AnnualCreditReport.com. Greater disclosures are coming for credit scores.

Contact us for your credit report.

Most people agree that buying a home without a down payment in Chula Vista is a risky decision and soon it might not be an option. As the crippled housing market is beginning to see signs of improvement, lawmakers and key housing industry agencies are debating exactly how much down payment should be required.

Congress and a group of federal regulatory agencies are attempting to create new rules for mortgage lenders in order to avoid a future housing crisis. The loan would be known as "qualified residential mortgages."

The Dodd-Frank law calls for financial reform and the setting of criteria for what would constitute a reasonably safe, basic mortgage. The agencies tasked with this, include the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The qualified residential mortgages would allow lenders issuing them to sell them to investors. In doing so, the lenders would avoid full risk associated with the possibility of a default on the loan. Other non-qualified residential loans, would be deemed riskier and, therefore, the lender would have to retain 5 percent ownership.

The law is aimed at prompting banks to take ownership and make sure that a borrower truly has the ability to repay a loan. In cases, where a riskier loan is made, and the standard of the qualified residential mortgage is not met, the bank would have to be prepared for a possible default and have set aside extra capital.

A 20 percent down payment is being considered but many are opposed, including banks, real estate agents, and consumer housing advocates. The opposition fears that a 20 percent or 10 percent down payment would price many homeowners out of the mortgage market.

Even if a borrower is creditworthy, coming up with the down payment could be a real stretch. It could take some borrowers more than a decade to save for just a 10 percent down payment.

The Center for Responsible Lending has created charts on its website ResponsibleLending.org to show how borrowers with different occupations would be impacted. According to the chart, it could take a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, earning a median salary of just over $30,000, nearly 20 years to save for a down payment.

The opposition argues that for the creditworthy borrowers, the loan could cost them more because the lender would raise interest rates on their loans in an effort to cover their extra costs.

Kathleen Day, representing the Center for Responsible Lending, told the New York Times, "We’re not advocating for zero percent down. We think down payments are good. But we think the market should set them, based on the underwriting."

Day says that underwriting (the process of looking at a borrower’s credit history and income and debt levels) should assess risk and determine a borrower’s ability to repay a loan.

Some loans, like those that can be obtained with a small down payment and are insured by the Federal Housing Agency, would be exempt from the qualified mortgage mandates.

Contact us to help you obtain a loan that is right for you.

Fixed mortgage rates showed little change for the second consecutive week amid mixed consumer confidence and housing data, and remain near their 60-year lows.

Freddie Mac released the results of its regular weekly rate survey Thursday.

The GSE puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.10 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending October 27. That down just one basis point from 4.11 percent last week. As a point of reference, last year at this time, the 30-year rate was averaging 4.23 percent.

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Mortgage rates in San Diego County are hovering not far above record lows set during the first week in October, but demand for purchase real estate loans hit a low last week not seen since 1996, surveys of lenders show.

Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.11 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending Oct. 20.

That's virtually unchanged from 4.12 last week, and not far above the all-time low in records dating to 1971 of 3.94 percent set during the week ending Oct. 6. Rates on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage were at 4.21 percent this time a year ago, before climbing to a 2011 high of 5.05 percent in February.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 3.38 percent with an average 0.8 point, essentially unchanged from 3.37 percent last week. The 15-year mortgage hit an all-time low in records dating to 1991 of 3.26 percent during the week ending Oct. 6.

Contact us to find the right real estate loan for you.