There were a total of 226 homes that went into foreclosure in the Santa and Clarita and the surrounding areas in the month of December 2009. The homes that were included in my survey were Castaic homes, Valencia homes, Newhall homes, Stevenson Ranch homes, Saugus homes, and Canyon Country homes. This brings the grand total to 988homes that are in foreclosure in Santa Clarita, California. Many of these homes will be for sale soon. If you would like a list of these foreclosures before they hit the mls please email us. These homes had notice of defaults filed against them this is the very first step in the foreclosures process.

What is a notice of Default?

 

            In California, lenders typically do not file a Notice of Default until the borrower is at least 60 days behind in making payments. After the NOD has been filed lenders must then wait 90 days before filling a notice of trust deed sale. During that 90-day period, the borrower has the right to make up the back payments and reinstate the loan. After 90 days, the lender is required to publish a notice in the newspaper for 20 days and then may sell the property to the highest acceptable bidder on the courthouse steps. If no acceptable bid is received, the trustee then conveys the property to the lender.

If have a notice of default filed against your home please call me. You have rights and you need to know about them. We can stop the bank from taking your home!

Home sales in the Santa Clarita Valley were down in November, due to lack of inventory and bidding wars!

Listings dropped 45 percent from November 2008 to a total of 818 active listings at the end of last month, according to the Southland Regional Association of Realtors.

There are home out there in all price ranges the problem is getting loan approved. The economic bail out gave billions to the bank who were suppose to lender the money to home buyers to purchase homes. Instead they have made very difficult to give a loan kept of the bail out money. Lenders now day look for reasons not to give you a loan. Don’t give up hope at Two 4 One Real estate we have lenders that actually wanted to loan money. Strange I know. 

A total of 162 single-family homes changed hands last month, the association reported. That represents a 17.8-percent drop from November 2008 and a 5.8-percent drop from last October. This is not to buyer losing interest. It is due lack of inventory in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Castaic, and Newhall.

The latest figures represent a 3.5-month inventory, compared to a 6.4-month supply in November 2008, according to the real estate association, which stated a balanced market is reflected by a five- to six-month supply. Quite a change from 18 month of inventory two years ago.

The fed has extended their tax credit to April so don’t count on the completion for new homes subsiding any time soon.  If you are looking to get into a home have been getting beat out please give us a call. We have a couple technique that have been very successful in getting new buyers into home in the Santa Clarita, Castaic, Valencia, Newhall, and Saugus, Ca.

Scott Reiber

Broker/Owner Two 4 One Real Estate Inc.

   There are a lot of great deals in Santa Clarita and Castaic, but buyers beware: Purchasing a foreclosure is rife with pitfalls.

1. Don't get caught up in a feeding frenzy

Everybody and their grandmas are trying to buy foreclosures.

Those lowball prices represent golden opportunities, but they also attract dozens of buyers who may bid until homes are no longer bargains.

Don't get caught up in a bidding war. Instead, carefully calculate what you want to spend and do not exceed that price.

2. Get pre-approved from the lender you want to buy from

If you're trying to buy a property from, say Bank of America, it can help to get a pre-approved mortgage from Bank of America. Doing so may cause lenders to look more favorably on your bid if it's similar to others.

Plus, you're not locked in if other lenders offer you better terms. You can always change your mind and get your mortgage from another source.

4. Consider fix-ups

Most REOs, the industry term for bank owned properties, are sold as is. Most banks will do nothing to the houses before the sale. Somtimes they will let the buyer complete lender required repairs and sometimes they will even pay for them. We just closed a house in Acton where this was the case.

Often, the former owners were struggling to pay their bills and may have neglected routine maintenance or they may have trashed the properties before leaving

So be willing to consider a home that needs some work -- but budget accordingly.

5. Hire a real estate attorney

Once banks agree to sales, they often want to move fast and load contracts up with legal mumbo jumbo. As a result, buyers often do not have the time or expertise to figure all the angles.

The solution is to hire a real estate attorney -- even in states where home sales are usually completed without one. Considering you're making a six-figure investment, the legal fees are cheap insurance against the risks. At Two 4 One Audra Call is our in house real estate attorney.

6. Wait to make an offer?

Homebuyers may be well served to wait before making an offer but in recent days in Santa Clarita most are sold within a week.

 

   The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price index, covering 20 of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation, was unchanged in October, after four consecutive months of gains. The index is down 7.3% from 12 months earlier.

   "The turnaround in home prices seen in the spring and summer has faded," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, in a statement. "Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip," he said.

Just seven of the 20 cities recorded gains from a month earlier.

The modest gains earlier this year were in part propped up by government initiatives.

"We've seen recent stability because of low interest rates and the impact of the first-time homebuyers tax credit," said Pat Newport, a real estate analyst with IHS Global Insight.

Prices are down from their all-time highs set in 2006 by 29% for the 20-city index.

Among the 20 cities, the worst tumble was taken by Tampa during the month. Prices fell 1.6% from September. Chicago and Atlanta recorded 1% losses.

The biggest gainers were Phoenix, up 1.3%, and San Francisco, up 1.2%.

Las Vegas sellers continued to bleed. Prices there fell just 0.1% but that marked the 38th straight monthly decline. The market in Sin City is off 55.4% from its peak. You can buy a home in Las Vegas for the same price it sold for in October of 2000.

"In most of the hardest-hit markets, price declines are moderating," said Mike Larson, an analyst with Weiss Research.

Los Angeles recorded a rise of 0.3% and San Diego prices gained 0.4%. Miami, however, declined by 0.4%.

According to Larson, falling supplies of homes on the market are helping to stabilize conditions. "Inventories are plunging on the new-home side and going down for existing homes," he said.

Not that he's ready to break out the champagne, even with the New Year close at hand. "The market is recovering but it will be an anemic recovery," he said