RATES ARE STILL LOW & LUXURY MARKETS ARE IMPROVING, TOO!

Dear Friends,

For those home buyers who could not tap into the federal tax credit before it expired on April 30th, they are finding comfort in the continued low mortgage rates, which by the way dropped again this week to near-record lows. According to Freddie Mac interest on 30-year fixed loans averaged 4.78 percent compared to 4.84 percent last week, while the 15-year rate slipped to a new low of 4.21 percent from 4.24 percent.

As previously reported, the favorable borrowing costs will improve affordability and offset the impact of the tax credit program ending. However, please keep in mind that rates will increase as our economy improves.
Signs of improving economic conditions could lead Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to raise key interest rates, driving up mortgage rates.  As the evidence shows, more consumers are paying their bills on time with both American Express and Target Corp. reported lower delinquency rates in two years during the second quarter.  In another sign of economic improvement, fewer banks reported tightening lending standards this month, which lends to the reason consumer borrowing rose for the second time in three months.

“If lending standards start to stabilize, that’ll be another reason to remove the emergency measures, including the zero rate,” says Jay Bryson, a senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, N.C., who formerly worked at the Fed in Washington.  So after a tough 2009 and 2010, we are seeing solid evidence of the economic improvement, for example. The luxury home market is on the upswing. Sales are up 32 percent from the previous year of homes in price range of $2 million to $5 million in the first quarter and totaled 2,461.  Realistic selling price, increased buyer confidence, and improved financing options all contributed to the increased sales.

But as solid market improvements appear, there are still concerns.  Evidence shows that luxury homes are affected more by the movement of the stock market, and "if the markets don't recover soon, it will scare people and hurt demand for high-end homes," says Kenneth Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

We are not out of the woods, but we are definitely doing better!  Make sure you have all the tools necessary to buy, sell or finance your next home.  Call me now, for a "Free Market Analysis" or to Short Sale Your Home at NO COST to You!  Happy Memorial Weekend and stop by Homes With My to begin your property or loan search now!

Namaste.

STANDARD VS HOMEOWNER'S TITLE POLICIES, WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU?

Dear Friends,

I post these like clock work, but last Friday I decided to wait until today because I attended a "Title and Escrow" training offered by the San Diego Association of Realtors or SDAR. These training courses are held for us to stay abreast of today's market trends and practices, with the title of the course being the topic covered.  The most common trend, we found, is that in short sale or REO purchase the seller selects the Standard instead of the Homeowner's Title policy, which has less coverage for the buyer!

Most Standard Title Polices cover the following:

• Someone else owns an interest in your title
• A document is not properly signed
• Forgery, fraud, duress, incompetency
• Defective recording of a document
• Unmarketability of title
• Lack of a right of access to and from the land

Most Homeowner's Title Polices cover the following:

• All of the above, plus...
• Mechanic's lien protection
• Forced removal of residential structure--encroachments
• Forced removal of residential structure--restrictions
• Forced removal of residential structure --zoning
• Cannot use land for Single Family Residence due to zoning or restrictions
• Unrecorded liens by the homowner's association
• Unrecorded easements
• Others have rights arising out of leases, contracts or options
• Pays rent for substitute housing
• Plain language
• Building permit violations--forced removal
• Subdivision law violations
• Zoning violations---forced removal
• Boundary wall or fence encroachment
• Restrictive covenant violations
• Post-policy contract or lease rights
• Post-policy contract or lease rights
• Post-policy forgery
• Post-policy easement
• Post-policy limitations on use of land
• Post-policy encroachment by neighbor other than wall or fence
• Enhanced access--vehicular and pedestrian
• Damage to structure from use of easement
• Street address is contract
• Map shows correct location of the land
• Exercise of mineral rights
• Sale fails due to neighbor's encroachments
• Living trust coverage
• Coverage for spouse acquiring through divorce
• Automatic policy increase up to 150%
• Forced removal due to building setbacks
• Discriminatory covenants
• Insurance coverage forever

Now that was a lot to digest so call me to discuss.  And of course, all this information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, let's make sure your transaction is covered properly!!!

Namaste.