San Diego Foreclosure Search

West of the Five has some very exciting news to share with you.

A perfect storm is brewing in the San Diego real estate market for buyers. An opportunity that only comes along once in a 10 year real estate cycle is upon us now. To help you maximize this buyers opportunity we have acquired the latest website technology and are in the early stage of making it available to you.

SDForeclosureSearch.com

- This is an exclusive San Diego Foreclosure-Only MLS technology. So Cool!
- Search, Sort and Save properties that meet your specific criteria
- There are over 1,400 foreclosed properties currently available. Wow!
- 2008 & 2009 will be ideal years to buy Foreclosures

This new technology also allows you to utilize these other useful tools 24 hours a day:
- Search the Entire San Diego MLS, currently over 24,000 properties
- Check Up On Current Values in you neighborhood
- Take Virtual Tours of Any Home Listed For Sale and a whole lot more…

To get you started with this great new service create a FREE VIP Membership account to use anytime you visit our site at SDForeclosureSearch.com.

California Historical Median Sales Price

The real secret of real estate is that there is No Secret. To see how the real estate market works one only needs to click on the link below to see the statistics and make the connection that real estate goes up, down and sideways. Over the past 40 years California single family homes have appreciated at 7.41% according to the California Association of Realtors.

California Existing Single Family Home Annual Median Sales Price 1968 to 2007

What do you think real estate will do over the next 10 years in California? Do you think now is a huge opportunity for buying real estate or time to wait?

California Real Estate Conforming Loan Limits Increased!

Just found out this morning and I’m excited to announce HUD’s new conforming loan limits for San Diego, California Real Estate. The real play here is the FHA loan limits—flexibility in ratios, credit, downpayment and appraisals!! ROCK N ROLL…

Median price FHA limit Conforming loan limit
San Diego County $558,000 $697,500 $697,500

Time to get off the fence and get investing. Happy House Hunting.

To check other loan limits click HERE.

Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development

HOT FORECLOSURES in Pacific Beach (92109)

I’m continually keeping an eye on great foreclosure deals West of the Five and here are a few in Pacific Beach at the moment:

1: 2058 Beryl St
3bed, 2 bath, 1377 sqft, 2 car garage,  on a 7000 sqft lot
Listed for $629,900
Sold for $745,000 in April of 2006

2. 4820 Beryl Way
3 bed, 3 bath, 1959 sqft,  2 car garage
Listed for $829,900
Sold for $1,250,000 in Feb of 2007

3.  1885 Diamond St.
2 bed, 2 bath, 1033 Sqft, 2 parking spaces
Listed for $327,000
Sold for $376,000 in Jan of 2006

These listings are listed by various brokerages in San Diego and are not my listings. Call Travis for details or a showing @ 858.232.2008

Gregory Smith has a Proposition for YOU…

Who says our declining real estate market isn’t benefiting homeowners? Hey, my property dropped 10’s of thousands already and it’s possible yours has too. It’s an odd down market, kind of like it was an odd up market. Anyhow, here’s what you NEED TO KNOW about the benefits of going down in value for San Diego Real Estate.

Our effervescent County Assessor, Gregory Smith, has a proposition for you, Proposition 8 to be exact. Between now and May 30th, 2008 you can apply for a Review of Assessment. What’s a Review of Assessment you ask? Here’s the skinny straight from the government:

“Under State law, Proposition 8, a temporary reduction in assessed value can be made when themarket value falls below the assessed value. Once reduced, the Assessor’s Office must then annually review the value of the property. When the property values increase, the assessed value will also be increased but no higher than the original assessed value (plus the annual CPI increase, not to exceed 2%, as required by Proposition 13).

Property owners who believe their property’s market value has fallen below its assessed valueshould file an Application for Review of Assessment with the Assessor’s Office as soon as possible but no later than May 30, 2008. They should provide their opinion of value andsupporting documentation, such as comparable sales, current listings, or a recent appraisal.For apartments or other income-producing property, income and expense information should also be provided.”

You’ll need a solid Comparable Market Analysis of similar current listings, pending listings and what’s sold over the past 6 months. I would be happy to help you with this. I’ve got a PDF package ready to email or snail-mail out if you are interested. The PDF contains the Application and Instructions. It is REALLY simple to do this and mostly applies to properties purchased in the past few years.

Application for Assessment Appeal Online

Give me a call if you need help.

Travis Houston

858.232.2008

Travis [@] WestoftheFive [dot] com

These are a few of My Favorite Things…

Thought I might share a few of the sites, services, products and such that top the personal MFT (My Favorite Things) List… at the moment.

1. Google411: Need directions, an address or a company… like 30 seconds ago? Then you need 1-800-GOOG-411. I love this service and it’s at a price you can’t beat. FREE.
2. Pandora: Online radio based on MY or preferably YOUR preferences not some Morning Zoo DJ. Find great new music based on stations that YOU choose. Very Cool indeed and as my wifey says… “It’s like I get to do the DJing”
3. Moo Cards: These cards are, to use my daughter’s phrase, “SO CUTE”. I use them for all kinds of fun projects. Big Ups to our friends from across the pond at Moo for a job well done.
4. Yelp: Looking for a good auto mechanic, wanting to know where the HOT new restaurants are in your hood or just looking to get your hair did? This is the place to post and peruse user generated reviews.
5. George Lange: This is what I watch when I want a smile and to remind me why I love photography as a creative outlet.
6. Lynda.com: When you need to get your learn on… Give Lynda at try.
7. AliceQ: Chowhounds already know Alice and if you want to get the low down on the up side of San Diego food I suggest you bookmark her site pronto.
8. The Brary: If my library card had a mileage plan I’d have endless round the world trips for life. Reserve books, movies, cd’s and audio’s for FREE and have them sent to the library closet to you. It a thing of wonder. I Love The Brary!
9. Saving the best for last… Click HERE for our family’s newest addiction.

Down Payment Assistance

Good News San Diego 1st Time Home Buyers!!!! A new down payment assistance program is available to help. Check out their website below.

www.GetDownPayment.com

Information from their website:

“Thanks to The Nehemiah Program ^®, more than 250,000 individuals and families now own homes.

Let us help you achieve the American dream:

• Gift funds up to 6% of the final contract sales towards your downpayment and/or closing costs
• Gift funds for both first time and repeat homebuyers
(Nehemiah charges a nominal processing fee that may be paid by the seller, homebuyer, or lender.)
• Gift funds for both new construction and resale homes
• No repayment of gift money
• No income or asset limits
• No geographical restrictions

If you are a qualified homebuyer using an eligible loan program, such as an FHA loan, you may be able to move into your new home with zero cash out of pocket! The Nehemiah Program can help you become a homeowner!”