15338 Gundry Avenue Unit #213 Paramount, CA 90723

HUD Owned Condo for Sale in Paramount. This condo is just $85,000 and is 2 bedroom and 2 bath. It qualifies for FHA financing as well. The condo has a balcony and is 743sf. The community is gated and close to area amenities. If you have an interest in this condo or others like it please contact me asap to submit your bid.

Shelley Garza

Evergreen Realty

562-761-8497

HUD Homes offer many advantages to home buyers

A HUD home is a home that had a FHA loan which is insured by FHA and when the lender takes possession after default, the lender turns over ownership to HUD.

HUD then resells the home. Buyers through registered realtors bid for properties online and owner occupants have a 10 day exclusive bidding period.

There are many benefits to buying a HUD home such as:

• Up to 3% of closing costs paid if negotiated in the contract.
• The escrow fee is paid by HUD which can equal a large savings.
• A condo or townhome doesn’t have to be in a FHA approved community to get a FHA loan.
• FHA appraisals are good for 4 months up to a $400 savings if used.
• Escrow repairs up to $5000 can be included in a repair escrow.
• During the exclusive period owner occupants don’t compete with investors for HUD homes.
• There is only a $1000 deposit for most HUD homes in the area.
• HUD pays for section 1 termite clearance with FHA financing in California.
• Many HUD homes qualify for FHA 203(K) financing if they don’t qualify for regular FHA financing.

So if you are looking for a foreclosure a HUD is worth consideration. They even make sense for investors too in many circumstances. For a free list of HUD homes in your area please feel free to contact me.

There is no question these days that you have to be careful when looking for a place to rent or lease in the Long Beach area or anywhere for that matter. Identity theft, renting from owners in foreclosure, or renting from people who turn out to not be the owners are examples of situations to be on the lookout for when shopping for a rental.

Tips to help you avoid rental scams

• Stick to legitimate property management companies or apartment communities.
• Contact a licensed realtor
• Have a realtor check to see if there is a foreclosure notice on a property you are about to rent.
• Don’t turnover credit reports, deposit money, or rental applications until you have done due diligence such as checking the better business bureau, checked to see if company or realtor is licensed by the Department of Real Estate, or that the owner of the property is the owner.

As always if you have questions about leasing feel free to contact me at 562-761-8497.  Check local rental listings.

There are at present time 100 single family homes in Long Beach that are listed for sale and priced at $200,000 or under. Many of these homes are bank owned and some are regular sales, but the majority are short sales.

If you are using FHA financing you are looking at a payment of around $1420 a month for a $200,000 home. The key is to find and purchase one of these homes that will qualify for FHA is to have 3.5% for a down payment, and around 3% for closing costs or ask to get a credit for closing costs from the seller.

Many of these homes however are being purchased by investors and then gently rehabbed and flipped to make a profit. Some are also being rented out with positive cash flow meaning that the rent is more than the mortgage. With interest rates low many of these properties do make great investments.

Not all of these homes qualify for FHA however as some of them are in poor to fair condition and FHA will not insure them. A qualified realtor can help pick and sort out the ones that do qualify for FHA.

To see any of these home that are priced $200,000 or below go to Search MLS. Or feel free to contact me at 562-761-8497 or Shelley.Garza@evergreenrealty.net

When you purchase a Long Beach area home you must get homeowners insurance. This video offers great tips on how you can reduce your insurance costs.

You’ve read it in the paper and seen it on TV. There has never been a better time to buy your own Long Beach area home than now. But many people will miss out on the American dream because they don’t have enough money for the down payment.

Fannie Mae offers 3.5% in closing cost assistance on HomePath Properties

Fannie Mae wants to help more buyers afford to purchase their new home. That is why they are offering up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance for HomePath® properties beginning April 11 through June 30, 2011.

Eligibility Details

• Initial offers must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011.

o Buyers must be owner occupants (i.e., the home will be their primary residence), and buyers are required to sign an Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Purchase Addendum with all initial offer submissions.

• Sale must close on or before June 30, 2011.

• Other restrictions apply. For more information about the offer including the terms and conditions, visit the Special Offers tab at HomePath.com.

Search HomePath.com today for the most updated list of properties.

Call us to go over this fantastic program to get your great deal today.

After you have lost your home to foreclosure, it is still possible to buy another home, but it will take time often from 3-7 years.  Inportant factors are your credit score, down payment amount, income, and how long ago the foreclosure was. Short sales may make it easier to buy another home sooner as well. Watch this video from Freddie Mac for more information.

Belmont Heights in Long Beach, Ca.

Belmont Heights area Single Family homes

31 homes are currently listed

4 homes taking only back up offers

6 homes are in escrow

10 of these are short sales

3 are bank owned

Current market is 32% distressed

42 Single family homes have sold in the past 6 months

6 of those were short sales

7 were bank owned properties

Distressed sales were 33% of market in the past 6 months

Inventory is low for single family homes in Belmont Heights and distressed sales in the area are lower than in surrounding areas of Long Beach.

Long Beach, Belmont Heights area Condos

40 condos are currently on the market

5 are taking back up offers only

4 condos are in escrow

21 of these are short sales

10 are bank owned

63% of current market is distressed

29 condos have sold in the past 6 months

9 were short sales

8 were bank owned

59% of sold condos were distressed sales

Inventory of condos is up and distressed sales are the majority of the condo market.

You can probably figure out that single family homes are fairing much better than condos right now in Belmont Heights real estate market. While average days on market for sold condos is 78 in the last 6 months and for single family homes it is 96 days, single family homes in the area for the most part are appreciating slightly while condos for the most part are in the midst of a buyer’s market.

Related articles

• O.C. home price at 10-month low

So you are looking to buy a home. In today’s market you have a choice of bank foreclosures, regular sales, and short sales. While bank foreclosures are still a big part of the market, right now a large number of homes on the market are short sales. Many realtors advise buyers to steer clear of short sales. Should you steer clear of that short sale?

Cons of buying a short sale

Fathom listings

One reason realtors are not showing buyers short sales is that many short sales showing active on the market already have one or more offers on them. The listing real estate agent by leaving the property on the market is trying to get back up offers in case the top offer falls through, which often happens on short sales.

When a short sale is showing as active on the multiple listing service and it actually already has offers on it, it should really be listed as taking backup offers only or it should be listed as pending. These types of fathom active short sale listings are frustrating to buyer’s agents and buyers alike.

Short sales can take a long time for bank approval

Once an offer is submitted to the bank for short sale approval it can take up to six months or longer for the bank to approve the short sale. A short sale means that the homeowner owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth and that the bank must approve the sale and agree to write off the debt or not.

The lengthy approval process for a short sale can be problematic for buyers that are trying to sell their own home and buy at the same time.

Bank may not approve the sale

The bank may not approve the sale. Not all short sales are approved. For one reason or another the bank may not approve a short sale. It could be as simple as paperwork was not in order or it may be that the bank does not want to pay for termite work or homeowner association dues and they want the buyer to pay for those costs.

There is competition

You may be competing against savvy investors. Investors oftentimes know the ins and outs of short sales and know how to structure offers. Investors also oftentimes can wait out the bank approval process whereas typical buyers cannot wait or just decide to give up.

Pros of buying a short sale

Sellers need an offer

The sellers need a sale. Most short sales are sellers that are having a hard time making their mortgage payments, are unemployed, or just underwater in mortgage debt, so they need a sale and prefer a fast sale.

There are bargains

You may get a bargain. Recently a townhome sold in the area for $250,000. It was a foreclosure. About a month later a similar size unit in more upgraded condition sold for $220,000-it was a short sale.

Basically it is the realtor’s job to help buyer’s find a property to buy and educate their clients about the positive and negative aspects of any type of purchase. Even though it is a lot of extra work, realtors should not steer their clients away from short sales. As a buyer, if you have a realtor that communicates with you every step of the way, and you understand what you are up against, you just may be able to find the property you are looking for.

Related articles

• Is a “short sale” worth my time and effort?
• Implosion of a Short Sale Transaction

When buying a condo, homeowners association dues are always a personal budget consideration. In Long Beach HOA dues amounts can vary a great deal. Around November is usually the time when condo owners get their annual budgets in mail and some condos owners may see increases and some may see no increases in their monthly dues.  

Many of the condominium buildings on Ocean Blvd. and some in Naples have notoriously high dues. This is primarily because of high maintenance requirements, high insurance costs, and high reserve or long term requirements. Condo owners may typically see increases in utility expenses, water, and insurance expenses. Property management companies may also increase expenses. 

According to the Davis-Stirling Act homeowners associations cannot increase dues more than 20 percent a year, unless a majority of homeowners approve the measure.  In the budget you will typically see operating expenses, and reserve requirements separated. Condo owners should look at both fixed and non fixed expenses and if possible compare to last years budget to get clues as to the soundness of the budget. 

Many condo associations are struggling because of the foreclosure crisis. Homeowners stricken with unemployment and those that have negative equity may fall behind on their homeowners association dues. Often the only hope for a condo community with a tight budget is for the condo in arrears to go to a new buyer that can pay the dues. 

Many buyers of short sale condos or condos that are bank owned want to get FHA loans that have more restrictive rules for buyers now. For a condo to be eligible for FHA it must be FHA approved, 50% owner occupied, 10% of budget must go to reserves, and no more than 15% of the condo owners in a community can be behind on association dues. 

With conventional loans there can be issues with down payments as there usually needs to be at least a 15-20% down payment or the buyer will  need to get mortgage insurance which can prove to be sometimes more difficult with condos as mortgage insurance companies are more restrictive with condos these days just like FHA is.

With due diligence and the help of a qualified realtor, condo buyers can make an excellent investment in a Long Beach condo. Current Long Beach condo owners can with participation in their associations help oversee and manage expenses even in tight budget environments. However the wide variety of condo communities in Long Beach, and the wide variety of financial needs in each community, does warrant that the annual HOA budget be given thoughtful consideration.