Is Your Bank Safe?

With so many financial institutions closing in the past few weeks it is more important than ever to find out if our banks around the country and specifically in Ventura County are safe and secured. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) website provides the consumers (us) with a service called Bank Find where one can research the details of your bank, including headquarters, branch locations, acquisitions, and even the history of the bank.

Note that if you “bank” at a Credit Union, you will need to check the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) site at their Find A Credit Union page.

Since we are facing uncertain days ahead in our financial future and so far no solid answers as to where our banks and finances might be tomorrow, it is up to us to do our due diligence to survive these times of financial turmoil.

Times are tough but remember:

“The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.”
Horace Bushnell

Ventura County Home Buyers in Current Market

Today I received a call from one of my prospective buyers who had signed up on my website for a free daily (in her case twice daily) market report. A bank owned home in the area in which she has concentrated her search had just come on the market. The price of this home was $30,000 below every other home listed for sale within 1/4 mile.

It is Friday afternoon at 5:00pm and we meet in front of this North Oxnard home.  When we pulled up to the home we found an agent with his clients previewing the house. As we waited, other agents with their clients showed up. You could feel the anxiety, apprehension, and hesitation between the Realtors and home buyers rising by the minute.

My client fell in love with this home. As we were leaving the house I saw the look of concern on my client’s face. The number of Realtors and their clients had increased and she was sure that one or more of those home buyers was going to fall in love with this home. This meant a bidding war in a “down market”!!! A situation that my client was trying to avoid like the plague.

Last Friday’s occurrence was just one of many incidents I have experienced as a Realtor this summer. A home that is priced below the other homes in the market receives an offer within the few first hours after it is put on the market. In many cases these lower priced homes receive multiple offers.

Only one home buyer’s offer will be accepted by the home seller. My advice to the rest of the home buyers:

1. Narrow down the area you are interested in purchasing your home. There are only a few tracks per neighborhood. Decide which track is your favorite.
2. Decide how much money you are willing to spend to make the home livable. If the home is for sale by a bank, the home is sold in an as is condition.
   
3. Most important of all, get pre-qualified by a lender and know your limits. Since a majority of the well priced homes are bank owned homes and since lenders require that you provide them a qualification letter from a Direct Lender, I would recommend that you talk to a few Direct Lenders. Have these lenders’ numbers at hand. However, you are not required to use these lenders for your loan.
   

The right home for you is out there. With these hints and an experienced Realtor you can find it.