When a home buyer looks into purchasing a home in Ventura County they need to consider the inevitable buyer’s closing cost.

Once a home buyer settles on a property and decides to make an offer a Good Faith Deposit, also known as Earnest Money Deposit, is required from the home buyer.  Good faith deposit is a means to show the home seller that you are serious about purchasing the property.

In different areas of Ventura County, different expectations are set for the amount of the home buyer’s good faith deposit.  The amount of the good faith deposit can be requested by the home seller or can be determined by the home buyer’s own discretion (with the help of their Realtor).  Some home sellers prefer to have a good faith deposit check of at least 3% of the asking price of their home.

The home buyer’s good faith deposit check is kept with their Realtor until the home seller indicates acceptance of the offer they have made.

Once the home buyer’s offer has been accepted, the home buyer’s Realtor has 3 days to deposit the good faith check into escrow. The home buyer’s down payment is deposited into escrow at a latter date.  The home buyer’s closing costs are deducted from these funds.

The good faith deposit amount is returned to the home buyer if the buyer decides to cancel escrow within 17 days after escrow has been opened.

If you need any help finding a home in Ventura County please don’t hesitate to contact me or call me:
805-443-8898.

As a home buyer in Ventura County one of the expenses you will attain during the escrow period is the cost of Title Insurance.

What Is Title Insurance?

Title insurance is a report prepared by a title company that shows all liens, judgments, or encumbrances against the property you are planning to purchase.  During escrow, the title company will order and review records from the Ventura County’s Recorders office and other tax collecting agencies.  The Title company’s findings are a means to assure the home buyer and their lender that the property to be purchased is clear from any burdens.  Title insurance is purchased to protect the home owner and their lender from any oversight during the title search.

In the State of California there are two types of Title Insurance Policies.  The California Land Title Association (CLTA) insures the property owner and the American Land Tittle Association (ALTA) insures the lender.

Who Pays For Title Insurance?

In Ventura County the CLTA insurance is a one time fee paid for by the home seller.  The fee is part of the home seller’s closing cost and remains in effect until the property is sold again.

The ALTA insurance is a one time fee paid for by the home buyer. The fee for the ALTA insurance is a part of the home buyer’s closing costs and remains in effect until the loan is paid off.

However, the allocation of title insurance costs can be negotiated and determined in the purchase contract between the home buyer and the home seller.

The amount that each party in a home buying transaction pays for the Title Insurance depends on the
purchase price of the home and the type of coverage you will need.

Title insurance is one of the best purchases you will make as a home owner to protect yourself and your home from any unforeseen claims.

In Ventura County since January 1st 2008-October 26 2008 there have been 853 short sale homes for sale and only 471 of these short sale homes in Ventura County have actually sold.  I wrote an article earlier this year which explains what happens to all the short sale homes in Ventura County that don’t sell.

Many Ventura County home buyers who have made an offer on a short sale home voice their frustration and disappointment with purchasing a short sale home.  In few instances the home buyers have grown tired of waiting for the home sellers’ lender and have moved to look at other homes.

It is important to understand that in many short sale instances there are more than one lending institution involved in the sale of a home.  This is true in cases where the home owner has a 1st  and a 2nd mortgage or a 1st and a home equity line of credit on their home.   When two lending institutions are apart of a short sale both lenders have to approve the terms and the price of a short sale.  As it is to get an answer from even one lender is like pulling teeth, so imagine having two lenders involved in the sale of a home.

Normally lenders are not familiar with the Real Estate Market of the region in which the short sale property is located.

In many areas of the country including Ventura County a few Realtors have engaged in a deceitful practice in pricing short sale homes.  In order to attract many home buyers, some Realtors price the property facing short sale for an incredibly low price.

In a short sale the lender(s) has the final say on the sale price of a home.  When a home is priced too low the lender might not agree to offers near the “sale” price.  In such a case after the lender studies the short sale terms a raise in the asking price might be requested by the lender.  As the price is modified by the lender on a short sale home some home buyers who were attracted to the property because of the low price might walk away.  In other cases, the low price causes a bidding war and the home might actually sell for a higher price than the lender had expected to receive from the short sale.

If you are interested in purchasing a short sale home make sure your Realtor contacts the selling agent first and discover if the lender has ordered a Broker’s Price Opinion (BPO).  In a BPO the lender looks at what the homes have sold in the vicinity of the short sale home and bases the price of the short sale home accordingly.

If you are in the market to purchase a home in Ventura County please don’t hesitate to contact me, Mana Tulberg: 805-443-8898.

Currently there are 3375 homes for sale in Ventura County. Of these, 901 are short sale homes and 569 of them are bank owned/REO homes (source: Ventura County MLS).  The primary cause for the increase in short sales and bank owned homes in Ventura County can be attributed to the fact that between 2003-2006 lenders offered a loan to nearly anybody with a pulse allowing many home buyers to fall for a more is better approach, and a government who sat on the sidelines watching the whole affair.

However, as the lending practices return to more conventional methods of evaluating debt-to-income ratios, home buyers who are truly qualified to purchase a home in Ventura County are peeking at Ventura County’s real estate market.

As the current home buyers look at the real estate inventory in Ventura County they can’t help but run into a few homes for sale that are either a short sale or a bank owned ( also referred to as REO) homes.

How Short Sales Work:

In a short sale scenario the home owners still hold title to the property.  In many cases the home owner might even still reside in the property.  In a short sale the home owner has defaulted on their mortgage loan and the lender agrees to a pay off amount that is less than what the home owner owes on the property.  In order for the home owner’s lender to consider a short sale the home owner needs to provide a series of documents to their lender.

As potential home buyers submit their offers, the home owner still has to sign off on the home buyers’ offers.  However, the final decision on what the home sells for and which offer is accepted is left to the lender.

Since many lenders are overwhelmed and understaffed, many of these offers on a short sale home can sit at the lender’s Loss Mitigation Department for 3-4 weeks or even 2-3 months.

In many cases, home buyers get tired of waiting for the lender’s reply and withdraw their offer.  In such cases when the lender comes back with an answer, the next qualified home buyer’s offer is studied. If the next home buyer has withdrawn their offer the lender looks at the next qualified home buyer’s offer, and so on and so on.

Since the home seller is still partially involved in the sale of their property, when escrow procedures start the home owners are required to release all necessary disclosures to the home buyer.

In some instances, if the lender determines that there is enough money to be made from the sale of the house, the lender might even consider the home buyer’s request for repairs.

How Bank Owned or REO Homes Work:

The term REO Homes (Real Estate Owned) is another way of saying Bank Owned Homes.

In a bank owned sale the lender is the institute that is selling the home. The lender acquires the home usually after the whole foreclosure process or after the home owner gives their lender title to the property in order to stop the foreclosure process. The lender owns the home and most likely has never seen the home. The individuals who resided in the home are long gone. This means the home buyer will NOT receive any disclosures about the property.

Since the lender owns the home, the time period to wait for an answer from the lender is much shorter than a short sale.  Usually lenders get back to the home buyers within a week after an offer is submitted.

In Ventura county, bank owned/REO homes that are in good neighborhoods and are kept reasonably well maintained tend to receive multiple offers.  It is common for a bank owned home to sell above the lender’s asking price!

So What Is The Difference Between Short Sale and Bank Owned Homes?

• In a short sale situation the home owner is still the seller where as in a bank owned or REO home situation the lender is the owner of the property.
• Home Buyers will NOT receive any disclosures from the lender in a bank owned/REO sale.
• No body really knows the period of time for the lender to get back to the home buyer on a short sale property.
  • Remember after the lender accepts the home buyer’s offer, an escrow is opened which by itself could be another 30-60 days (based on what the lender and home buyer have agreed upon).
• Sometimes in a short sale situation the lender does not reply to the home buyers offer and the property falls into foreclosure. This scenario usually happens when the lender has not received an offer close enough to their asking price.

There are many reasons for why I love Ventura County.  I can go on and on for pages on why I have chosen Ventura County as a place to live and raise a family, but I won’t.  They say a picture tells a thousand stories.

A Beautiful Fall Day In Ventura County

If you purchased your home in the past 4 years it is very likely that you are eligible to apply for Decline in Market Value Property Tax Relief (Proposition 8).

The Ventura County Tax Assessor has given Ventura County home owners until December 31, 2008 to Claim a Change in Assessment.

Who is Qualified For The Property Tax Relief?

Home owners whose home’s current value, as of January 1st, is less than the assessed value stated on their 2008 property tax bill.

How Does The Property Tax Relief Work?

• The value of your property will be based on the most recent January 1st.
• The Ventura County Assessor will use their own certified appraiser to analyze the comparable homes sold in your neighborhood to help set the current market value of your home.
• You still have to pay your property taxes. If the Assessors office qualifies you for a property tax relief a notification will be me mailed to your home.

How Do I Apply For The Property Tax Relief?

You don’t have to use a third party service. There are many home owners all over Ventura County, including my parents, who have received very official-looking mail, offering a paid service to help reduce home owners’ property taxes.  I urge you to be careful of these types of services since they are charging you to complete paperwork that you can obtain directly from the Ventura County assessor’s website or contact the Assessor’s office (805) 645-1307.

If you wish to dispute what the assessor believes is your home assessed value, you need to fill out an application for changed assessment on the Ventura County’s Assessor’s website by November 30, 2008.

There have been many reports regarding an increase in Southern California’s 2008 Real Estate activity compare to 2007’s Real Estate trends.

This summer, 2008, I was much busier with home buyers’ inquiring about properties in Ventura County than last summer.  This could be correlated to an increase in bank owned/REO homes for sale and the lower pricing of bank owned/REO homes.

Below is a Comparable Real Estate Market Analysis for Ventura County. The table below demonstrates the number of homes sold and median home prices in the first 9 months of 2008 compared to the number of homes sold and median home prices in the first 9 months of 2007.

Source: Ventura County Regional Data Share.

It’s amazing to see that there were no bank owned homes sold in the first 9 months of 2007!

The number of homes sold in Ventura County in the first 9 months of 2008 increased by 3.1%  over the same period last year.

However, the median price of homes sold in Ventura County in the first 9 months of 2008 decreased by 26.5% compared to the same period last year.

If you are interested in purchasing a home anywhere in Ventura County, don’t hesitate to contact me: (805) 443-8898.

It is an annual tradition for our family to visit one or two farms in Ventura County for their great Pumpkin Patches.  This year we visited the amazing Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark and took the Pumpkinliner train from Fillmore to the ICHABOG pumpkin patch.
I personally loved the corn maze at the Underwood Family Farm. Getting to the haystack pyramid at the center of Underwood Family Farm’s challenging corn maze almost seemed impossible. Once you get to the center of this corn maze, make sure to climb to the top to enjoy the beauty and serenity of Underwood Farm.

The Pumpkinliner train ride to ICHABOG pumpkin patch was an adventurous ride. It was a warm, sunny day and we sat on one of the train’s open air cars.  The whole experience of boarding the train and waving to the motorists stopped at the crossings is a fantastic way to enjoy the beauty of the Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County.

It was at the ICHABOG pumpkin patch that we met Doug Goodreau, an amazing pumpkin artist.  Here are some of Doug’s great art works.

More of Doug’s pumpkins.

On Friday, October 17, 2008 the proponents of Measure U gathered at Camarillo’s City Hall on Carmen Drive to voice their support of Pleasant Valley School District “U”nification to the undecided voters.

The news of the proponents’ rally became known to the opponents of Measure U a few days before.

The opponents of Measure U took advantage of the proponents’ rally and stood on the east side of Carmen Drive, across from Camarillo’s City Hall.

I attended the rally for a short time and was surprised to see the demography on both sides of Measure U.

On the opponent side stood a few high school students with their parents.  The high school students refer to themselves as Shamu, Students Highly Against Measure U.

On the proponent side stood a few elementary school teachers, parents and their children who are in elementary or middle schools. Ron Speakmen, trustee member on the Pleasant Valley School District board, was also among the proponents of Measure U.

Altogether the Measure U rally was a peaceful and friendly get together of both sides of Measure U.  However, the proponents of Measure U decided to leave when a few students (opponents of Measure U) passed by shouting unnecessary language and demonstrating inappropriate gestures.  “We don’t need our kids to hear this or see this type of behavior” said a parent of a few elementary kids present on the proponent side of Measure U.

Proponents are not sure if the Measure U rallies will continue until the day residents of Camarillo vote.  If these rallies do continue, I hope both sides continue to respect each other and abstain from all profanity.

More Pictures of Camarillo’s Measure U Rally.

Stuart Gabriel, professor of finance and director of Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, was one of many speakers at the 2008 California Association of Realtors (CAR) Expo.

I attended Professor Gabriel’s session “The Road to Economic Recovery” and found some of Professor Gabriel’s observations very interesting.

Stuart Gabriel believes that if the Federal government had not involved itself in the financial crisis the country is experiencing, we would have faced another major Depression. However, as the Federal government implements the new economic rescue plan the country will be in Recession.

How much longer will the recession last?  Professor Gabriel indicated that we might be in recession for another 3-4 quarters.

What do you think?

Do you believe that the Federal governments new economic recovery plan is going to keep this country out of a depression or are we looking at even more troubled times ahead?

Do you think the economic crises we are facing right now will get better in 3-4 quarters?