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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

JUST SOLD - 3912 Westporter Dr, Sacramento Ca 95826 - Doug Reynolds Real Estate - www.SellWithDoug.com


JUST SOLD - 3912 Westporter Drive, Sacramento Ca 95826 - Doug Reynolds Real Estate -   www.SellWithDoug.com
JUST SOLD!!! 12/14/2012 in Rosemont. I represented the sellers of this short sale in Rosemont. With aggressive pricing and a full marketing campaign we received 13 offers. Ended up selling to a cash buyer/investor since they were able to provide the best terms compared to some of the financed buyers.  Which is a good thing since the second was not willing to take less than $5k but the first would only provide $3k.  So we negotiated the sales price down a bit and the buyer made up the $3k difference.  Here's the marketing remarks:

Rosemont home with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Shade trees in the front and back keep things cool during the summer, wood floors, recessed lights, formal dining room with French doors leading out to the covered patio. Dual pane windows and newer HVAC help with energy efficiency. Converted garage area adds some extra room for lots of different uses or can be converted back for cars and extra storage.
 
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Monday, December 10, 2012

Sierra Oaks, Wilhaggin, Del Dayo and Shelfield - Sales Data for November 2012






There were 8 homes sold in Sierra Oaks, Wilhaggin, Del Dayo and Shelfield in the month of November, 2012. This is the an decrease from the 19 sold in October, 2012.  Here are the addresses and specific details:








Currently there are: 30 Active listings, 1 Active short sale listings, 11 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 13 Pending Sales

If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the Sierra Oaks, Wilhaggin, Del Dayo and Shelfield areas.

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Arden Park and Arden Oaks - Sales Data for November 2012

There were 5 homes sold in Arden Park and Arden Oaks in November, 2012.  That is a decrease from the 11 sold in the month of October, 2012.  Here are the addresses and specific information:










Currently there are: 16 Active listings, 1 Active short sale listings, 4 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 11 Pending Sales

If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the Arden Park or Arden Oaks area.

Elmhurst and Tahoe Park Sales Data - November 2012 (Sacramento, Ca)







There were 22 homes sold in Elmhurst and Tahoe Park in the month of November, 2012.  That is a increase from the 16 homes sold in the area in the month of October, 2012.  Here are the addresses and specific information.



Currently there are: 7 Active listings, 3 Active short sale listings, 15 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 19 Pending Sales

If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the Tahoe Park / Elmhurst area.
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Land Park and Curtis Park Sales Data - November 2012 (Sacramento, Ca)







There were 13  homes sold in Land Park and Curtis Park in the month of November , 2012 .  That is a decrease from the 18
 homes sold in the month of  October2012.  Here are the addresses and specific information.














Currently there are: 28 Active listings, 5 Active short sale listings, 8 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 26 Pending Sales

If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the Land Park or Curtis Park area.

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

East Sacramento: McKinley Park, Fab 40's, River Park, East Sac, East Portal Park - Sales Data for November 2012







There were 28 homes sold in East Sacramento in the month of November, 2012.  That is a increase from the 26 homes sold in the area in the month of October, 2012 .  Here are the addresses and specific information.





Currently there are: 37 Active listings, 4 Active short sale listings, 8 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 34 Pending Sales



If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the East Sacramento area.

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Thursday, December 6, 2012

College Greens / Glenbrook Sales in November 2012 (Sacramento, Ca)


There were 18 homes sold in College Greens / Glenbrook / Larchmont / College Greens East for the month of November, 2012.  That is a small drop from the 23 sold in October, 2012.   Here are the addresses and specific information.








Currently there are: 9 Active listings, 0 Active short sale listings, 19 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 20 Pending Sales.


If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the 95826 zip code.  Check back each month for the updated statistics, as I keep a close eye on the 95826 zip code, where I live and own rental property.  Let me know if there are any particular properties you have questions about. 

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 

Rosemont Sales in November 2012 (Sacramento, Ca)







There were 24 homes sold in Rosemont in the month of November, 2012.  That is an increase from the 22 that sold in October, 2012.  Here are the addresses and specific information.






 Currently there are: 5 Active listings, 1 Active short sale listings, 29 Short Sales waiting for lender approval and 10 Pending Sales

If you would like more information (pictures, listing history, what type of sales they were, etc.) feel free to call or email and I’d be happy to provide that for you.  Call or email me if you are looking to buy or sell in the 95826 zip code.  Check back each month for the updated statistics, as I keep a close eye on the 95826 zip code, where I live and own rental property.  Let me know if there are any particular properties you have questions about. 

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Just Sold 9109 Feather River Way,Sacramento 95826-www.SellWithDoug.com


Just Sold - 9109 Feather River Way - Doug Reynolds Real Estate - www.SellWithDoug
JUST SOLD!!! 11/30/2012 is Sacramento (La Riviera/Larchmont Riviera). This was an equity sale. I ended up with 10 offers, many of them over list price. The house was listed at $144,500 and eventually sold for $153,500. The sellers did a great job of listing to my simple advice of a few fixes before we went on the market and then we priced it well and i did a full blown marketing campaign that got full exposure for the property.  It's still a very hot market right now, even in the winter months.  Here's the Virtual Tour 

La Riviera/Larchmont 3-4 bed, 2 bath home features an open & bright floor plan. Entertainers delight layout that opens to a spacious backyard with covered patio, fruit trees, landscaping & storage shed. Bonus room has fireplace & closet for either fourth bedroom or family room/game room/office. Indoor laundry room, ceiling fans and lots of storage in this great property. Minutes from the American River, light rail, Sac State & HWY 50.

clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Rising Sacramento Home prices is helping underwater owners


As the home values have been incresing in Sacramento throughout 2012, many homeowners are finding themselves no longer under water.  This is slowing helping the market with equity sellers and move up buyers.  The inventory is greatly needed in the lower price range and as values continue to inch up, more owners will slowly become sellers.  Here's a recent article from the Sac Bee.
Housing markets improving - Doug Reynolds Real Estate Sacramento Ca

Sacramento's uptick in housing aids underwater owners

 

In the past six months, however, rising priceshave substantially reduced negative equity in the region, real estate tracking firm Zillow said in a recent report.
Today, nearly 5,000 underwater homeowners are nearing the point where their home valuesexceed their loan balances.
If prices continue to rise next year, as Zillow and others predict, an increasing number of area residents will be able to sell their homes without harming their credit scores through short sales, in which lenders take less than what is owed.
Some have already taken advantage of their newfound freedom.
"It was a miracle from God," said Leisha Aitken, who cleared her loan, paid her real estate agent and walked away with money to rent an apartment after she sold her 2,100-square-foot home in Folsom's Empire Ranch in September.
Aitken, a pharmacist, found herself out of work earlier this year and struggled with her $2,800 monthly mortgage payment. She was sure she would have to do a short sale and put a major strike on her credit rating.
Then she met with [her real estate agent]. The two decided to test the fast-changing market and push the asking price above $400,000 – enough to pay off Aitken's $373,000 loan balance and cover commissions and moving expenses. The house sold quickly for $400,000, or about $191 a square foot, higher than comparable sales in recent months.
"[My agent] said if I had called her a couple of months earlier, I would have had to do a short sale," said Aitken, who has a new job and is hoping to buy a condominium. "It was a good feeling to sell that house and get out. I never want another mortgage payment like that again."
A major factor in Aitken's favor was that she never sank too far underwater on her home loan. Even at the bottom of the market in January she owed only about 10 percent more than her home was worth. Thousands of others are in similar situations.
Almost half of area homeowners – nearly 168,000 households – remain upside-down on their mortgages to varying degrees. The total amount of negative equity in the Sacramento region is nearly $17 billion, according to Zillow.
Some homeowners are much closer to breaking the surface than others. About 53,000 homeowners across the region are underwater by 20 percent or less, Zillow estimates. About 9,000 owe less than 10 percent more than their homes are worth. And about half that number, 4,770, owe less than 5 percent more than their homes' value.
That last group is "extremely close to being in positive equity territory," said Zillow spokeswoman Camille Salama.
The Seattle-based firm, among the more conservative of forecasters, predicts home prices in the Sacramento region will increase by about 6 percent through the third quarter of 2013.
"As home values continue to rise in the Sacramento area there will be homeowners who will switch from being underwater to above water," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow senior economist.
When that happens, she said, a larger number of traditional home sales could come on the market.
In recent years, foreclosures and short sales have made up the bulk of the market, and investors have been the major buyers. Having families buy and sell homes in the traditional manner would help restore a sense of normalcy to the market, she said.
And those who have positive equity will start spending again on home upgrades, she said. "It has to do with confidence and seeing return on investment," she said.
Economist Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center in Stockton, said he agrees that "the prospect of those folks (who are only slightly underwater) getting above water in the next year or two is pretty good." But he said he was skeptical they would help drive the housing market with new purchases.
Those who are newly above water will "be able to sell their house," he said, but they "won't have a ton of equity." Only those who can bring other sources of cash to the table can buy another house, he said.
Local real estate professionals take a more optimistic view.
[The] president of Lyon Real Estate said he thinks there is pent-up demand from people who have been in their homes for years and need more room to accommodate growing families or less room because their children have grown up.
Many will be eager to sell, and even if they can manage only a small down payment, will look to take advantage of today's low prices and interest rates.
"You know there are some people itching to move up, down or sideways," he said. "When they can do it, they will."
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

An appraisal problem you say??


Recent buyers of Sacramento homes know all to well the potential issues with appraisals.  The Sacramento market has been experiencing extremely low inventory, high buyer demand and with that multiple offers that create bidding wars.  The problem: if the buyer is getting a loan, the house has to appraise for the value.  In 2011 this was a HUGE problem.  As the market was trying to turn positive, the appraisers just did not have the comparable sales to justify the higher prices.  Things have improved in 2012 in Sacramento as cash buyers are supporting higher values and a new wrinkle this year.  Some buyers that are getting loans, are removing their appraisal contingency in their initial offer.  That means if the house appraises for less than they offered, they are willing to make up the difference with cash!  Here's a recent news article discussing the topic.  The Sacramento Market is ahead of most of the country in the turn around so this has to do with what was going on mostly last year but still a little bit now as well.

2012 Sacramento Real Estate is a seller's market - Doug Reynolds Real Estate

Appraisals draw fire as housing market remains uneven

 

When Cris Robinson put her Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., townhouse on the market earlier this year, she noticed that the only nearby homes selling were foreclosures and short sales.
"There wasn't a single standard sale to (compare) me with," said Robinson, an equity seller.
Robinson said a buyer offered to pay $317,000, but the appraisal came in at $310,000 - the price at which another home in the neighborhood recently sold. That townhouse was the same model, Robinson said, but it was distressed and needed work. By contrast, her own place had thousands of dollars in custom upgrades, including travertine floors.
A homeowner looking askance at an appraisal is nothing new. But many Realtors also complain that lowball appraisals are hurting home sales.
The National Association of Realtors says a recent survey indicated that in some cases appraisals are lagging behind the recovering housing market. Appraisers aren't always familiar with neighborhoods, and some use foreclosures and short sales as comparable sales without adjusting for them.
Real estate agents note that the low inventory of homes for sale has created bidding wars for many homes, pushing prices higher than recent comparable sales.
In the national survey in September, 1 out of 3 Realtors said they had problems relating to home appraisals in the previous three months. Eleven percent of them said a contract was canceled because an appraised value came in below the price negotiated between the buyer and seller; 9 percent reported a contract was delayed; and 15 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a lower appraisal.
Appraisers say they don't set the value of a property; they reflect it. They say neither real estate agents nor homeowners are trained to appraise homes.
A nationwide appraisers' professional association, meanwhile, cites problems in the way appraisal management companies are assigning and paying appraisers. The appraisal management companies contend that their role is misunderstood.
Appraisers say they are the only people involved in real estate transactions who don't have a stake in the price of a property or whether it sells.
"We're there to protect the public trust," said Sara W. Stephens, president of the Appraisal Institute, the nation's largest association of real estate appraisers, addressing a group of real estate investors in Yorba Linda, Calif., last month.
Stephens testified before Congress in June, saying, "We often hear from real estate agents,homebuilders and others that appraisals are 'killing deals,' and/or holding back the economic recovery. These accusations are unfounded and misguided. ... Appraisals are not meant to simply support contracts - they are obtained to help lenders assess their overall risk.
"Fundamentally, it does neither the borrower nor lender any good to enter into a mortgage for more than the value of the property," she said.
Gilbert Valdez, owner of Coast Appraisal Network, has been appraising homes for nearly 30 years. "The biggest misconception is we're out there creating value. We're not," Valdez said recently as he stood outside a Fountain Valley, Calif., tract home with a measuring tape and a camera, ready to begin an appraisal. "We have a mirror. We're going to reflect it exactly the way it is."
Valdez said a home's location typically is given the most weight, followed by size and condition. He noted that upgrades don't necessarily pay off as much as a homeowner may expect. He also said the price gap has been closing between foreclosures and standard sales. Short sales, he said, have been "iffy" and "all over the place," but even short sales are improving.
Ideally, he said, he'll use three sales that closed in recent months, a pending sale and a listing most comparable to the home in question. He stressed the word "ideally."
In the case of Robinson's townhome, the appraiser could not be reached for comment, and it's unclear what adjustments might have been made. The townhome eventually sold, Robinson said, but for about $6,000 less than what she and the buyer initially agreed on.
Appraisers were among those blamed for the housing bubble - and bust. In turn, appraisers said they felt pressured by mortgage brokers to bump up their property valuations, which helped to drive deals and got borrowers bigger loans.
In 2007, then-New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a lawsuit against an appraisal company, which led to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac implementing the Home Valuation Code of Conduct of 2009. It required that lenders use a third party, typically an appraisal management company, to arrange for an appraisal. The code of conduct prohibited lenders from speaking directly with the appraiser about the valuation process.
The code was replaced by provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. In addition to working with appraisal management companies, lenders now can set up their own firms. There still are standards to ensure appraisal independence, and the firewall between the lender and the appraiser on any specific appraisal is supposed to remain intact.
Appraisers complain management companies pay them lower fees, and that many appraisers, after seeing their incomes reduced, have left the business.

The Appraisal Institute says on its website: "Today, many lenders utilize third-party management companies to conduct administrative functions. These firms often seek out the lowest-cost service providers, not necessarily the most qualified."
The National Association of Appraisal Management Companies disagrees with that description. George Panichas, president of the association, said while the companies take a cut of what a lender pays for an appraisal, the firms provide services for appraisers including quality-control reviews and marketing, which helps appraisers get more business. "There are many reasons why an appraiser will work for a reduced fee," he said.
He added, "It is undeniable there are a handful of appraisal management companies that will try to grind an appraiser down on fee. (But) the vast majority of appraisal companies, we want to pay the appraiser a good fee because we want a good product."
Stephens, the institute president, also said some appraisers are being required to use eight to 10 comparable homes, more than twice as many as in the past, and appraisers have been sent as far as 400 miles away to evaluate property.
"Having someone who's local ... someone who understands what's going on in the market is key," she told the real estate investors gathered in Yorba Linda.
Panichas said lenders, not the appraisal management companies, are requesting additional comparable homes. And he said appraisers may be sent far distances at times, but they should never accept an assignment unless they're "geographically competent."
Appraising real estate is not a black and white matter. Adjustments need to be weighed. Judgment is involved. Even appraisers don't always agree.
Mortgage broker Dennis Smith cited an appraisal on a small apartment property in Long Beach,Calif. The seller and buyer agreed on a sales price of $730,000. The appraisal came in at $620,000.
Smith said some comparable sales the appraiser used were more than three miles away, and a few were sales dating back more than a year.
The appraisal may have been a challenge, Smith said, "But over $100,000 (lower than) what the seller, listing agent, selling agent and buyer felt the property was worth?"
He found some fresher sales for comparable properties with fewer units, but his appeal was rejected.
"So we canceled with that lender and went to another lender and ordered a new appraisal," said Smith, co-owner of Stratis Financial in Huntington Beach, Calif. The second appraisal came in at $720,000 - with some of the comparable homes he cited in the appeal.
"Same property, same price, same transaction," Smith said.
The initial appraiser could not be reached for comment.
Realtor Patti Zermeno said she appealed an appraisal of a four-bedroom, three-bath home on more than five acres in Corona, Calif., that she listed this year.
The contract purchase price was for $565,000, but the appraisal came in at $450,000.
"When the numbers came in low, I called (the loan rep) and told her, 'I know there's value there. We need to appeal this appraisal,' " said Zermeno, with Century 21 Award in Rancho Santa Margarita.
She said the lender allowed a second appraisal, which raised the value by $15,000, to $465,000.
That appraisal was still much lower than the contract price. But it didn't kill the deal.
"We were able to close at $500,000 with the seller reducing his price and the buyers increasing their purchase price," Zermeno said.
"It was a team effort to get it done," she said. "But I knew I could fight the appraisal."
In Stephens' view, the appeal process is not always fair to the appraiser.
Sometimes the person reviewing an appraisal for a lender has less experience than the appraiser does, she said.
"It's a matter of asking for more and more information (from an appraiser)," she said, "and less and less weight being placed on that information."
APPRAISAL TIPS:
Here are some tips for consumers from the Appraisal Institute, a professional association:
-Make sure your lender hires a qualified appraiser. Ask the lender for an appraiser's qualifications and whether he or she has a designation from an appraisal organization.
-Accompany the appraiser during the inspection. "Did the appraiser spend enough time at the property to observe important features or improvements or potential problems?"
-Ask for a copy of the appraisal report. "Federal law requires lenders provide routine delivery of the appraisal to consumers whether credit is granted, denied, or the application is withdrawn."
-Examine the appraisal report. "Appraising the Appraisal: The Art of Appraisal Review," says common errors in appraisals include "misuse of adjustments to comparables, disregarding special financing and concessions, or miscalculation of ... living area."
-"Ask yourself: Do adjacent homes add or detract from the value of the subject property? Is the subject property equal to or lower in price than surrounding homes? Does the floor plan have any functional problems? Does the house (particularly the kitchen and bathrooms) require major remodeling to make it comparable with similar homes in the same price range?"
-Appeal the appraisal if you believe it is incorrect, or ask your lender to review the report. Most lenders have appraisal appeal procedures, known as "reconsiderations of value."
-You can ask your lender to order a second appraisal. If problems were found with the first appraisal, you should get a second one.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/21/5002063/appraisals-draw-fire-as-housing.html#storylink=cpy
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Monday, December 3, 2012

Interest rates are HOW LOW?!?!?!


Rates are still ridiculously low!!  Owners are refinancing like crazy and low rates have are a large reason for the market seeing rising prices and multiple offers on properties in the Sacramento Area.  here's a recent AP article talking about the record low rates.
Low interest rates - Doug Reynolds Real Estate Sacramento, Ca - www.SellWithDoug.com

Rate on US 30-year mortgage hits record 3.31 pct.

 

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell to fresh record lows this week, a trend that is boosting home sales and aiding the housing recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday that the average rate on the 30-year loan dipped to 3.31 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1971. That's down from 3.34 percent last week, the previous record low.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage also dropped to 2.63 percent. That's down from 2.65 percent last week and also a new record.
The average rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent all year. It has fallen further since the Federal Reserve started buying mortgage bonds in September to encourage more borrowing and spending.
Home sales and construction are rising, providing a much-needed boost to the economy. Home prices are also increasing, which makes consumers feel wealthier and more likely to spend.
Lower rates have also persuaded more people to refinance. That usually leads to lower monthly mortgage payments and more spending. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.
Still, the housing market has a long way to a full recovery. And many people are unable to take advantage of the low rates, either because they can't qualify for stricter lending rules or they can't afford the larger down payments that many banks require.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also remained at 0.7 point.
The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage ticked up to 2.56 percent from 2.55 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans rose two-tenths to 0.5 point.
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage 2.74 percent, the same as the previous week. The fee was unchanged at 0.6 point.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/21/5002256/rate-on-us-30-year-mortgage-hits.html#storylink=cpy
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Friday, November 30, 2012

Sacramento County first installment of Property Taxes dues soon


Just a friendly reminder that the first installment of your property taxes are due soon, December 10th.  In fact, they are actually due November first but are not delinquent until the 10th of December.  The second installment is Due February 1st but not delinquent until April 10th.  The trick in real estate school to remember that is NDarn Fooling Around (November December February and April).



Taxes due soon for Sacramento County property owners

 

Sacramento County property owners are reminded that the first installment of theirproperty tax bill is due Dec. 10.
The secured annual property tax bill is mailed only once each year, by Nov. 1, and can be paid in two installments. The last day to pay the first and second installments without penalty is Dec. 10 and April 10, respectively.
Supplemental, additional, escaped or corrected assessment bills may be issued in addition to the annual tax bill.
Property owners who recently purchased the property for a lesser value, or who are disputing theassessed value with the Assessor's Office, must still pay the annual tax bill by the delinquent date to avoid the addition of penalties, according to a county news release.
Those who have not received their tax bill may print tax bill payment stubs, obtain tax amounts and due dates online at www.eproptax.saccounty.net. Additional information may be obtained by calling a 24-hour automated system at (916) 874-6622. Select Option 1. Tax specialists are available to assist callers during regular business hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. © Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Last chance to appeal property taxes...


As i mentioned a few weeks ago, the last day to appear your properties assessed value for taxes is 11/30/2012 for this year.  I was successful this year in getting one of my properties lowered by $50,000 to save me a little bit of money.  In the future, it's always best to go to the assessor's site in September, look up the value and get an appeal in early if the number is way off the true value.  here's an article from the SacBee:
Appeal your property taxes Sacramento Real Estate Doug Reynolds www.sellwithdoug

Fewer tax appeals expected at Sacramento County assessor's office

 

The county received almost 12,000 appeals when the market soured in 2009. It was the highest number of appeals in at least 14 years.
Last year, that figure dropped to 6,700, and based on the number of appeals received as of early this week, the total will likely be even lower this year.
The deadline to file an appeal is Nov. 30.
The county sent notices to some people saying the deadline is Nov. 30, 2013, but tried to fix the mistake by resending notices with the correct date.
The deadline for the first payment on property taxes is Dec. 10, even if an appeal is filed.
The office of the assessor sets the value of property for tax purposes. A house that is valued too high can end up costing a property owner hundreds of dollars in additional taxes each year.
In addition to the improving market, the decline in appeals is also due to the Assessor's Office, on its own initiative, lowering the values of more than 200,000 properties, said Shawn Echols, chief appraiser for the county. The office identified areas of the county where sales prices were significantly lower than assessed values for similar properties.
Such reductions are required under Proposition 8. Assessments are also governed by Proposition 13,which limits increases in value to 2 percent annually unless a house is sold.
Echols recommends that property owners ask the Assessor's Office to review an assessment before filing an appeal.
A review can save property owners a $30 filing fee and the office will go through the same process to review the assessment as it would with an appeal.
However, property owners might not get a chance to get a review before appeals are due this year.
If the owner is not satisfied with the office's review, he or she can ask for a determination of the Assessment Appeals Board. Appeals can take up to two years to complete.
Walter Andrews asked for a review recently after he had done some checking on the sale of homes in his Folsom subdivision.
His home was given an assessed value of $335,000. Because his subdivision is made up of a just few housing models, it was easy to compare the value of his home to others.
He found two homes that are the same model as his and had sold around the time of his assessment for $265,000 and $260,000.
Andrews presented the sales information to the Assessor's Office, which found a third comparable sale, and agreed to lower his assessment to $265,000, chief appraiser Echols said.
All reviews and appeals are based on comparable properties, he said. Property owners need to find sales of similar sized properties made around the time of the assessment.
Andrews, a retired Aerojet program director, praised the work of the Assessor's Office, calling officials there helpful, professional and efficient.
However, he said he still wonders about the methods of assessment. He said he has found great variation in values among the 35 homes in his subdivision just like his.
The values range from $221,000 to $341,000, he said.
Echols said his office is extremely thorough and proactive when it comes to accurate assessments. He said the most common reason for an inaccurate assessment is the office doesn't have the right information about a property – such as a house being listed as having four bedrooms instead of three.
The State Board of Equalization checks county offices periodically to make sure assessments are done correctly. The board's last review of the Sacramento County office was in August 2010 and found that "most properties and property types are assessed correctly."© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com
 

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

2012 Sacramento Real Estate = Cash, Cash, Cash!!!


If you've been following my blog and YouTube Videos at all this year then you know sacramento real estate is all about: low inventory, high buyer demand, multiple offers and prices getting bid up.  The reason??  Cash buyers/investors.  They are everywhere and the buyers that need a loan to purchase their home are having a very difficult time competing with the cash buyers.  Here's a Sac Bee article about the subject:
Sacramento Real Estate cash buyers - Doug Reynolds - www.SellWithDoug

Sacramento cash-only home sales hit 10-year high

 

Roughly 37 percent of Sacramento County homes bought last month were purchased with cash and no loan, the highest rate in at least a decade, according to new data from the Sacramento Association of Realtors.
The figures represent another indication that investor activity in the Sacramento real estate market has reached a fever pitch. Most, but not all, homes bought with cash go to investors who don't plan to live in them.
Hundreds of homes recently bought with cash were purchased by Blackstone, the international investment fund, as the Bee reported Sunday.
Investors have focused most of their attention on low- to mid-income neighborhoods where rents remain high but prices remain low.
They've cleared a glut of vacant, bank-owned homes from many neighborhoods and helped drive home values higher. They've also outbid scores of would-be homeowners who want to live where they buy, and played a role in the ongoing shift of tens of thousands of local residents from owner- to renter-occupied homes.
This chart shows the percentage of homes purchased with cash in Sacramento County and West Sacramento during October of each of the last 10 years.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/26/5011896/sacramento-cash-home-purchases.html#storylink=cpy
clear skies,
Doug Reynolds
 
www.BHGshortsales.com