Testimonials just in!
Here are three recent testimonials. It brings me joy when my clients are so pleased.
The seller of this Pasadena home says:
Local Knowledge: 5 stars
Process Expertise: 5 stars
Responsiveness: 5 stars
Negotiation Skills: 5 stars
Donna was engaged, innovative and responsive throughout the inexplicably protracted sale of our historic home in Pasadena. She knows the neighborhood intimately and played a very personal role in marketing it. During this summer and autumn’s long spates of 90-plus degree weather, she held four open houses and drew hundreds of prospective buyers, advertised far and wide and even served as a docent when our home was o the Craftsman Weekend tour and already in escrow. I can highly recommend Donna for her devotion to her work and attention to client’s needs and desires.
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The buyers of this Pasadena home say:
Local Knowledge: 5 stars
Process Expertise: 5 stars
Responsiveness: 5 stars
Negotiation Skills: 5 stars
My husband and I have known Donna for close to 10 years and she has always been our go-to agent whenever we have considered buyer or selling a home. She is personable yet professional, reliable yet flexible with all of the demands, paperwork, and red tape that accompany the escrow process. She is exemplary in clarifying the sometimes confusing terminology of all of the document that constitute a real estate transaction. In addition, Donna has always been instantly responsive to our question and concerns regarding our real estate needs, helping us with everything from deadline extensions to home inspections. We would definitely recommend Donna, along with her team members, Kim and Millie, for their efficiency, hard work, and desire to assist us with all of our real estate needs. They make a great team, warm-hearted, and down to earth.
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The buyer of this Monrovia home says:
Donna was professional and punctual. She upheld all of her initial commitments throughout the full escrow process. She and her team were always eager to help, listen, and provide any material/information requested. They even scheduled a meeting at the close of escrow with the seller and I to discuss all of the intricacies of the house. Great experience and love the new home!
Local Knowledge: 5 stars
Process Expertise: 5 stars
Responsiveness: 5 stars
Negotiation Skills: 5 stars
The Fed decides to make a move – how about you?
What does the latest financial news mean to Monrovia home sellers? Home buyers? Here is a great article. In other words, yes, now is a good time to make the move and get your home on the market. Buyers are motivated. If you are a buyer, no need to panic, but please, just give me a call so we can get the conversation started and get you well positioned for making a purchase in the near future.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/16/why-the-fed-move-doesnt-matter-to-mortgage-rates.html
Mortgage Options Reflect Changing Landscape
Mortgage Options Reflect Changing Landscape
Whenever an unplanned and unwelcome financial situation develops, a Monrovia mortgage-holder can find himself or herself in the onerous position of being unable to keep up with the monthly home loan payments. If the unhappy situation continues long enough, the likely result is a foreclosure or short sale. In addition to losing the property, the impact on personal credit then takes years to undo. That means it takes that much longer for a consumer to acquire a new home and start to build equity again.
Here as elsewhere, there were a raft of such local mortgage defaults following the global financial meltdown. Even those who had no trouble servicing their mortgages could have suffered when they found that falling property values prevented them from refinancing—even when the purpose was to improve their property. Although those events happened years ago, it’s only now that their aftereffects are finally working their way out of the system.
A recent article in NMP—the national Mortgage Professional’s magazine—delved into the changing status of those who lost homes in the turndown. The details they researched are interesting in themselves—details that are bound to have an impact on San Gabriel Valley residential sales.
First off is the fact that enough time has elapsed for those who weathered a short sale or foreclosure to begin to return to eligibility. They’re called “Boomerang Buyers”—and nationwide, there are estimated to be 7,300,000 of them! In 2016 alone, more than a million will become eligible to return to the home-buying market. According to NMP, “they’re returning to the market in droves.” The hardest-hit states were Nevada, Florida and Illinois—but there are plenty of Boomerang Buyers scattered across the rest of the nation.
The improving mortgage eligibility landscape extends beyond those who suffered the actual loss of their homes. To the more than 7 million “distressed” homeowners whose properties are still underwater (those who owe more than market value), the government’s HARP 2 program is one possible remedy. Its guidelines encourage lenders to relax the loan-to-value caps that had prevented refinancing for many of those homeowners. Reports are that it has already resulted in an increase in such refinances.
Other program combinations are helping loan originators and Realtors® get more bank-owned homes back into homeowners’ hands. These are properties that make up the ‘shadow inventory’ of unsold homes, many of which have fallen into disrepair. Because of that, they’ve been difficult to finance—and therefore difficult to sell. Through FHA 203K and Fannie Mae’s Homestyle® renovation mortgages, more ambitious prospective owners—including investors—are discovering they now have mortgage options that can put those fixer-uppers within reach.
For those who have previously found it problematic to secure a mortgage with acceptable terms, it may be worth looking into today’s improved financing alternatives. Even with the latest changes at the Fed (which may or may not influence mortgage rates to increase) at the rates we’re seeing this winter, and with some of the latest loan products, what you find may be a pleasant surprise—one that puts you into the house of your dreams. Call me to discuss first steps!