Realtor & Loan Officer

With San Jose facing a growing crisis over a lack of affordable housing and rising homelessness, the city says it desperately needs more money to fix the problem. But getting enough voters in the nation’s 10th largest city to willingly foot the bill has proven difficult. According to a new survey of more than 1,200 registered voters, a general obligation bond measure aimed at providing housing for homeless residents would be unlikely to clear the two-thirds majority required to pass in 2020. So instead, the city is considering a new real property transfer tax — a tax that is paid by the buyer, the seller or split when a property is sold or ownership transfers, with some exceptions, such as for an inheritance. Unlike a bond measure, such a tax would only require a simple majority to pass. If it goes that direction, San Jose would join a handful of East Bay cities that approved new or amended real property transfer taxes in 2018 — including Berkeley, which named addressing homelessne...

Fannie Mae economists are forecasting two more quarter-point interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, expecting that the Fed will move to cut rates in September and again in December. That could bode well for lowering mortgage rates for the remainder of the year. Even though the Fed's short-term interest rate does not have a direct effect on mortgage rates, it does tend to influence them. Consumer demand for housing remains strong, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group notes in a recent report. However, limited inventory—notably at the affordable end—is inhibiting growth in the single-family housing market, the report notes. Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index surged to a record high in July as home buyers showed stronger interest in the real estate market. But even as mortgage rates near record lows, the limited availability of homes for sale is constraining growth, researchers note. "Though the current expansion recently be...

California has unique requirements regarding computation of value for property tax. A very simple summary is that a property’s value for tax rates are determined by the value of the property at the time of purchase. While this does have some benefits, it can cause problems for older citizens who might be interested in moving or downsizing because upon purchase of the new residence, the property tax represents a significant hardship. To assist with this, California passed Propositions 60 & 90.   Propositions 60 & 90 amended section 2 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution to allow a person who is over age 55 to sell his or her principal place of residence and transfer its base year value to a replacement dwelling of equal or lesser value that is purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale. Proposition 60 allows for the transfers of a base year value within the same county (intracounty). Proposition 90 allows for the transfers of a bas...

As mortgage rates plunge, millions more homeowners can benefit from refinancing According to CNBC's Diana Olick, There are now about 5.9 million borrowers who could see their rates drop by at least 75 basis points by refinancing their mortgages. That is an increase of 2 million in just the past month, according to Black Knight, a mortgage software and analytics company. That is the largest population of eligible candidates in nearly three years and represents an aggregate of $1.6 billion in potential monthly savings. Per borrower, the savings is about $271 per month. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed has fallen from a recent high of 4.23% on May 21 to 3.94% now, according to Mortgage News Daily. Mortgage rates are falling unexpectedly and sharply, and that means millions more homeowners can now benefit from refinancing their loans. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed has fallen from a recent high of 4.23% on May 21 to 3.94% now, according t...

A flood certification is required on all mortgage applications. The certification is provided by a third-party vendor for the lender to verify whether the domicile and any structures that are used as a security for a mortgage loan are in an area which requires flood insurance as determined by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Flood zone classifications are designated by a letter. These are: A – 100 Year Flood Plain B – 500 Year Flood Plain C – Mapped areas with no known flood hazards V – Areas subject to coastal or tidal flooding X – Areas that are not mapped by the Corps of Engineers Properties which are located in flood zones are “A” and “V” are required to have flood insurance. The others areas are required to be disclosed to the borrowers, but flood insurance is not required. If properties are located in “A” or “V”, the notice regarding required flood insurance must be provided a minimum of 10 days prior to the date of closing. Occasionally, a flood certificate w...