The real estate market in Ventura County and the whole country are coming to grips with terms that are relatively old, yet considerably relevent to our current market conditions.

I am often asked to explain the difference between sale conditions such as Foreclosure, Short Sale, and other real estate terms.

I have gathered some information for Ventura County Home buyers so the next time you come across phrases that explain the provisions for the sale of a particular home, you might be better informed and less confused:

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale is when a lender agrees to sell a home owner’s property that is in default for less than the loan balance.

Why would a lender consider a short sale? Short sales, in most occasions, are the first step to avoid foreclosure.  Although the lender will recover less than the total loan amount in a short sale, the short sale is nonetheless prefered due to the very high costs of foreclosure.  A home that is sold in foreclosure will usually cost the lender somewhere between 35-40%.  These costs consist of late mortgage payments, attorney fees, court fees, maintenance fees, and selling fees.

What is a Pre-Foreclosure?

Pre-Forclosure is another term for Short Sale.

What is a Foreclosure?

Foreclosure is a process where the home becomes the property of the lender. Whereas in a Short Sale the home owner’s name is still on title of the property, in a foreclosure the lender takes possesion of the house and as a result, the homeowner is no longer a party in the sale. When a home owner fails to make the payments on his/her mortgage the lender can begin forecloure proceedings.  The first phase is the receipt of a notice of default (NOD). At this time the home owner can negotiate a Short Sale with the lender. If the home does not sell within the predetermined time frame, the home will then be auctioned at a foreclosure sale.

What is a Trustee Sale?

A trustee sale is a verbal auction where anyone with the highest bid can acquire a property by paying off the remaining balance on a foreclosed loan. In Ventura County trustee sales (foreclosure sales) occur at the Ventura County Court House.

I urge you to be extremely careful at such auctions due to the very stringent terms of trustee sales.  When you purchase a home in this manor you could be at risk of various problems that are investigated by realtors and title professionals in normal sales transactions.  These problems are serious!!!! Problems such as: Title problems, Superior loan pay offs, IRS liens, and/or structural problems.

What is an REO?

REO is a abbreviation for Real Estate Owned properties. In my opinion REOs are the most economical way to purchase a property in Ventura County’s current Real Estate market.

When a home does not sell at a Trustee Sale (foreclosure sale) the lender takes back the title and all the rights to the property. The reason homes don’t sell in a trustee sale is not necessarily because of physical or structural problems.  Rather, it is often because the home owner (no longer on title) owed more to the bank than the homes Fair Market Value. And who would want to buy a home in a trustee auction for more than the homes that are already on the market?!!!

To sell the house as quickly as possible the lender will, in most cases, make any repair necessary to the property, remove any liens on title, and clear any other issues that may slow down the sell of the property. The lenders are more motivated to sell an REO than any other properties they may have for sale (short sales and foreclosures) because REOs tie up a lender’s capital reserves and the management of these properties can become very costly.

Ventura County Real Estate has recently seen more REOs for sale. If you are interested in purchasing a home and making a great deal, buying an REO is what this REALTOR suggests.

Feel free to contact me for a list of all Short Sale, Forecloses, and/or REOs, in Ventura County.

The rationale behind this viewpoint is not to convince you that this is a good time to buy a home in Ventura County.  Rather my intentions are to show you that the repeated trends in this Real Estate Market reveal that people cannot predict a change in real estate market phases (buyers’ market or sellers’ market) until that specific phase has past.

For example, geologist and scientist have taught us about the ongoing underground volcanic activities and the earth’s plate movements that eventually will cause an earthquake. However, even with all of the best technology in hand, none can tell us the exact time that an earthquake will occur. We all feel the earthquake together and prepare for aftershocks to follow.

A change in the real estate market can be compared to an earthquake. We all know that it’s coming, but don’t know exactly when and how strong and for how long it’s going to last. Just like an earthquake we don’t know when one phase in real estate ends and the other phase starts.

Three years ago, the real estate market was in a phase known as the Sellers’ Market. Many homeowners and investors sold their homes in different periods of this phase and benefited from their sales. At the same time many homeowners and investors held on to their homes thinking that Ventura County real estate market still had room to climb.

Those sellers missed their boat!!

Now that we are in a different Market we can look back and see the top of the sellers’ market. We can see how high it reached, but while we were in that phase we had no idea how high the sellers’ market was going to rise.

We are in a different market now, a Buyers’ Market. I hear many buyers waiting for the real estate market to hit bottom. Again, we are not going to know where the bottom of the homebuyers’ market is until the market becomes the homesellers’ market once more.

By no means I am saying that you should run out now and buy a house. What I am saying is that if you are in any position to buy a home right now, don’t miss your boat!

The relaxing and tranquil atmosphere of Positive Affirmations, in Camarillo is saying goodbye to its faithful clientele for a short period of time.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday January 18th-20th, come and join the staff of Positive Affirmations to celebrate their last few days of business in their current location.

On these 3 days you will find great deals on everything in the store (40%-70% off) even some of the store furniture will be on sale!!!!

 2312 East Ventura Blvd.

Camarillo, CA 93010

@ Arneil Rd. and Ventura Blvd. intersection

After today’s announcement that Bank of will America purchase  Countrywide Financial Corp. for $4 billion, Ventura County’s real estate might be in a better shape than most people anticipated.

The Calabasas-based bank, Countrywide, was on the verge of bankruptcy due to its vast involvement in subprime lending. When the Real Estate market began to slow down, many of Countrywide’s subprime borrowers were delinquent with their payments or heading towards foreclosure.  However, Bank of America was able to protect itself by not participating in subprime lending.

This purchase will make Bank of America Corp. the largest mortgage lender in the country.

So what does this merger mean to Countrywide Borrowers?

It is too soon to tell, however there are different scenarios we can expect:

1) The merger of the two banks should have no affect on the homeowner. The only difference for Countrywide’s borrowers would be who they would have to make their payments to.

2)  The Countrywide borrowers are in a better situation. Seeing as Bank of America is the biggest retail bank in the country, hence has more liquidity, they can be more accommodating to the number of loans coming from Countrywide. This leaves Bank of America in a better position to freeze interest rates on majority of Countrywide’s subprime loans.

3) According to CNN Money, Bank of America, being the strongest financial institution, will probably consider modifying some of Countrywide’s distressed loans into prime loans in order to keep its customers happy.

For some time now Ventura County’s real estate has been under strain by Countrywide’s future. It seems that today Bank of America lifted pressure we were all feeling in the County. Bank of America has announced that it will respect countrywide’s network, establishment, and name.

If Bank of America keeps to this promise, Countrywide will continue to operate at its existing location and will avoid closing its doors. Many Countrywide employees will continue to work at the Calabasas location and won’t have to fear the imminent loss of their jobs or homes.

Countrywide, the biggest subprime lender, is no longer with us, however, the real estate market will begin to see more stable and secure loans.

Before Ventura could say goodbye to 2007, the city welcomed new and innovative measures to become one of the premiere environmental cities in California.

The City of Ventura’s Green Initiative includes all of the current green practices by the city plus the addition of the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. This Initiative also urges the Ventura city staff to become certified in programs such as the Cool Cities Program and the California Climate Action Registry.

As a result of this greener Ventura, the residents should benefit from cleaner air, greener products and greener homes.

It’s a New Year and Ventura County Real Estate is expected to show a better and more positive activity for home buyers. The number of homes for sale in Ventura County has decreased in the past 2 months, however the number of homes sold in most city’s of our County has shown an increase in numbers.

Home Prices have not changed significantly, nonetheless, most homeowners have come to terms with the changes in the market and starting to price their home accordingly or lower their prices.  

Here is a break down for December’s Real Estate Market Activities in Ventura County:

Please Note: Median Price is the price of the house that falls in the middle of the total number of homes for sale in that area.

There are currently 338 single family homes and 134 condos for sale in Camarillo and Santa Rosa Valley. Median single family listed price: $742,950   Median condo listed price: $425,000  

In December 25 single family homes and 11 condos were sold in Camarillo and Santa Rosa Valley.  Median single family selling price: $660,000   Median condo selling price: $350,000

There are currently 85 single family homes and 11 condos for sale in Fillmore. Median single family listed price: $485,000    Median condo listed price: $249,900.  

In December 4 single family home and 0 condos were sold in Fillmore. Median single family selling price: $458,000  Median condo selling price: N/A.

In December 15 single family homes and 3 condos were sold in Newbury Park. Median single family selling price: $592,000   Median condo selling price: $540,000.

In October 2007, California Association of Realtors (CAR), published a forecast for California’s 2008 housing market. 

In this publication CAR predicts that the median home price in California will decline 4 percent to $553,000 in 2008 compared with a projected median of $576,000 this year, while sales for 2008 are projected to decrease 9 percent to 334,500 units, compared with 367,500 units (projected) in 2007. 

 “Tighter credit standards, affordability concerns, and a continued standoff between buyers and sellers will contribute to continued weakness in the market going into next year,” said C.A.R. President Colleen Badagliacco. “Now is not the time for homeowners to ‘test the waters’ – only serious sellers should put their homes on the market in what will continue to be a challenging sales environment.” 

“By price-range, the highest-priced markets – those with medians over $1 million — will show less stress,” she said. “The lower-priced markets will continue to face fallout from the subprime crisis, tighter underwriting standards, and competition from new home developments where price-cutting has been even more severe.” 

So the troubled news for 2008 is directed towards sellers. Although further price drops in California’s Housing market has been predicted for this year, the decrease in the number of home sales seems more significant. 

As I tell most of my buyers if you see a house that is within your budget, this is the time to jump in and take advantage of the slow market. We will never know when the market has hit its bottom until we are moving towards a different market again. 

And remember these are all just predictions and even though they are based on thorough studies, no one can absolutely know or predict the future.  

I wish all you home sellers and home buyers the best of luck in 2008, and if you need any advice or assistance, remember I am just a phone call away.

The majority of home buyers now begin their search for their new home online. Subsequently, more and more web sites geared towards home buyers and home sellers are introduced daily to the world wide web. Zillow.com,Trulia.com, and homevalues.com are just a few of these real estate search and real estate help sites used all over the country by thousands of home buyers and home sellers. The services these sites provide their visitors are extensive and, best of all, free. However, may I remind you that nothing is free. Even the purpose behind all the monthly reports and free advices on this blog are in the hope that one day you would choose me, Mana Tulberg , to represent you in your real estate transaction.

On a site like Zillow for example, you could conduct all your searches and Zestimates (Zillows term for estimates), but ultimately if a service was to be rendered a fee is required. And regarding the Estimates and prices on a particular house I pray you be more careful.

In fall of 2006, the frequent inaccuracy of the estimated values was one of the major points of a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission against Zillow by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, or NCRC. In the compliant NCRC claimed that Zillow misleads the public about the accuracy of its estimates. Also, NCRC declared that Zillow overvalued homes in some neighborhoods and undervalued homes in neighborhoods where minorities tend to reside.

Many have found the services at Zillow and similar sites convenient because of the control and privacy one can have on their own home search. I am here to tell you that these days most Realtors’ websites or blogs can offer you the same or even more information than these real estae search sites can provide.

The benefit you may ask?

Realtors receive all their information from their local Multiple Listing Services (MLS), therefore, every bit of information and all the estimates that you see on your computer screen are up to date.

If you need any information on homes sold, homes for sale, estimates, or reports regarding Ventura County Real Estate feel free to put in your request and you will automatically get your information without unsolicited advertising.  Also, you can be sure that you will never be “spammed” as a result of providing your email address at manatulberg.com !

“Ain’t Misbehavin” 

Dates: January 4, 2008-January 13, 2008 

Day and time: Thursday & Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m., Sunday 1/6 at 7:00 p.m.  

Admission: Tickets from: $14-$40 

Location: Cabrillo Music Theatre, Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks 

For further information and hours of operation please call: (805) 449-2787.

Understanding Your Palate & Evenings with the Wine Maker 

Dates: Ends February 13, 2008 

Location: Los Olivos wine Merchant & Café, Santa Barbara. 

For further information please call: (805) 688-7265. 

 “Alice in Wonderland”