Joanie Williams - Your Wine Country Connection!

I know there's a great deal of bad news out there right now.  So I've been looking around for the silver lining in this very cloudly economy. 

As we all know, local governments are having a tough time balancing their budgets.  But here in Central California, we are figuring out a better way.  We Americans are a bright, innovative group and there is still a great deal of work ethic and initiative out there. 

Take for instance the $2,000 that the City of Atascadero spent last year on Doggie Walk Bags.  You know, the plastic bags that are found in dispensers along trails, for dog owners to use to clean up after their dogs and keep the parks clean.  Well, the City does not have the money for those bags any longer.  Now, citizens are asked to donate used plastic grocery bags to fill those dispensers.   Cost to the city.....$0.  Saved $2,000.  Nice!

Or how about the Babe Ruth Baseball players who now volunteer their time to clean up, weed, remove graffati, paint, replant and spread bark mulch in the same parks where they hold their ball games?    Cost to the City $0.  Lesson learned by the ball players:  Priviledges = responsibility.

Let's keep using our heads to save money, pay our own way, and not expect the "government" to take care of everything.  When the market does turn around, I hope that these ideas and many more will remain into our futures. 

Cost of recession:  Incalculable.  Saved:  Personal and civic responsibility.  Our American Pride!

Wow!  That's really a tough question to answer.  Loans, appraisals, inventory, the stock market, the local and national and global news all affect what's happening on a daily basis in our market on the Central Coast of California.  However, were I to venture a guess based on my own experience as a full-time Realtor here, this year will ultimately be better than last year.  We will sell more homes and may see slight appreciation of values by the time 2010 is over.

Remember that interest rates have not been this low in decades!  And although it is more difficult to obtain a loan, and by that I mean that the paperwork  for a purchaser is twice as frustrating, lenders are still lending.  And they WANT you the buyer, as a customer.  Without YOU, they aren't making any money.

And sellers want you TOO!  People have so many reasons for moving and in this market, sellers aren't listing their property unless they really NEED to sell.  So buyers are very important to them.  Everything I am showing, even short sale properties, are being dressed up and polished up as much as the owners possibly can.   And if the listing agents are smart (lots of those in our Re/Max office), they are getting clearance on pest and dry rot issues, and major needed repairs completed before the homes are placed on the market.  That's great news for buyers as well.

The biggest issues slowing down our market right now are lack of jobs and less liquid capital for making that purchase.  No lack of desire for people to move here.  And as the recession slowly "receeds" into history I predict that home sales in Central California will pick-up much more quickly than in other parts of this fine state and country.

So the news is not all bad.  Make that move while low interest rates and great inventory are here! 

Gee!  I am asked that question so often!  And I'm always happy to respond!

Real Estate is such an unusual business.  There are vast differences from state to state and region to region.  And then there are vast differences from the experiences of one agent to the next,  so that when I respond to that question, it can't be all about me and how much business I am doing.  This business, even when worked full time and full speed ahead, can be very cyclical as far as personal income is concerned.  In other words, you can work til you drop, do a great job and not make any money for months at a time.  However, taken as a whole, from year to year, all your efforts ultimately pay off as long as you work with honesty and integrity and put the client first.

OK.  So how is the business doing here along the Central Coast of California?  You can read my Quarterly Newsletter on my main webpage but in a nutshell, we have 1/2 the inventory today that we did 2 years ago and twice the number of sales!  Also, today 70% of the foreclosures are in escrow as compared to this time last year when only 30% of the foreclosures were in escrow.

The end result is that property is selling, we SEEM to have reached the bottom of the price drops, people want to buy especially at the low end of the market, and multiple offers in that category are frequent.  There is much more activity across the entire spectrum of property types and prices than this time last year as well.

I believe the only thing keeping this downturn from returning to an upswing in activity is the job market here. 

That will change.  It's like getting a loaded freight train moving again from a complete standstill.  The start up is slow and careful but when it starts moving again it will chug along quite nicely.   When?  My prediction is that by this time next year, we'll have a fairly stable market with slight appreciation.  I'm certainly no economist.  It's just what I see from my desk at Re/Max overlooking the pretty downtown park in Paso and watching people come and go at the local businesses. 

The real estate market will return to this area more quickly than other places because this is such a great place to live.  Ask me why anytime!    Joanie   805-674-1968 

A “short sale” is simply a real estate transaction wherein the lender is “shorted” what is owed to them.  When does a lender agree to a loan payoff when they are not receiving the full amount back that is due to them?  Only when they authorize it! 

Many properties currently listed for sale will have the term “short sale” in the explanation paragraph.  This means that the current homeowner is in the process of obtaining approval from their lender to basically “forgive” a portion of the debt that is owed.  The GOOD news for buyers here is that they can now purchase homes for tens of thousands of dollars less than homes generally sold for a few years ago.  This is GOOD for investors who were simply priced out of real estate as an investment a few years ago.  And it’s GOOD for a seller/homeowner if they can get the bank to agree because it might free them from debt they can never hope to repay.  But this is BAD for banks, and is one large reason why the economy is currently so sluggish.

Short sales and foreclosures are BAD DEBT.  The banks need to get rid of these so they can improve the return on investment for those who invest in mortgage backed securities.  Lots of money markets, individual investors, insurance companies, retirement funds, and others, invest in this type of security.

A buyer interested in purchasing a home that is a Short Sale needs to have a lot of patience.  Here’s how it works:  Your real estate agent writes an offer for you to purchase the home you have chosen.  That offer is first signed by the current owners  (once both buyer and seller reach an agreement of terms).  But this is just the beginning.  It is not a sure sale until you have written approval from the holder of the loan on that property.  This approval process is lengthy and can be complicated.  While you are waiting for the sellers lender to approve your offer, other offers from other real estate agents can still be written and accepted by the seller, and forwarded to the lender for approval.  Until the LENDER accepts the offer, you are basically in limbo.  Best to keep looking for a home while you are waiting for approval on your first offer.  Each state will vary as to the rules of writing secondary offers by you on other properties.  Leave those details to your local real estate agent.

Once you have Short Sale approval from the lender, you often are given a very short period of time to inspect the property, obtain pest and dry rot reports, generally make certain that you are completely satisfied with the home AND close the transaction.  Sometimes this time period can be as short as 2 weeks.   Best to have your financing lined up, an appraiser ready to appraise the home for your own financing and inspectors ready to act within days.  The reason you might want to hold off on the inspections is that you don’t want to spend your hard earned cash on inspections unless you are sure the sellers lender has approved YOUR specific offer.

Buying a home is a complicated process, and these complications are multiplied when you are attempting to buy a “short sale” and you are given so little time to perform.  But don’t be faint hearted!  A good real estate agent can calmly walk you through this maze and the result for you can be a home for your family at an amazing price!!

Foreclosures are much easier to understand.  The seller “lost” the home to the bank who foreclosed on the property because the seller quit making monthly payments on the loan.

With a foreclosed property, the bank now has complete ownership.  The GOOD news here is that we only need lender approval on an offer.  That means that the response time is much shorter.  The BAD news is that the offer is usually reviewed by an unemotional committee who oversees these transactions and they are not very interested in “negotiating” back and forth with the buyer.  They will also usually NOT perform any inspections or agree to pay for any repairs.  The buyer is purchasing the home without warranties of any kind.  When the sale closes, the bank doesn’t want to ever hear from the purchaser again.  So it’s in the buyers court to COMPLETELY determine if this home is suitable in every way.  Again, a great real estate agent can provide lists and help with all of the things you might want to consider about any property you are considering.

The very GOOD news about foreclosures is that the pricing on these properties, from the day they are listed, is usually rock bottom.  Depending on the particular market in which you live, these homes sometimes get multiple offers.  So be prepared to jump when your agent calls and says “let’s go look!”

Hopefully this has helped to clarify these rather unfamiliar categories in the real estate market.  Depend on your real estate agent to answer even more questions you may have….or better yet, email me anytime!  I’m glad to help in any way I can! 

Joanie    805-674-1968    or joaniewilliams@remax.net        www.joaniewilliams.com

Welcome to 2009!  Wow!  It usually turns pretty cold around here this time of year.  Sometimes blue skies and cold and sometimes gray and cold.  But no matter the weather, I have always found this to be the very BEST time of year for a buyer to purchase a home.

Right now, sellers are nervous that the market may NEVER come back to them.  They are past those always too costly Christmas celebrations, New Years Day has past, and reality sets in.  Their home is still NOT sold.

So Buyers, Heads up!  This is your moment.  It's cold outside and only the serious purchasers should venture out and look at homes.  But be prepared!  Short Sale properties in our area, when priced right, are receiving multiple appts to be seen, multiple offers, and can sell above list price for a clean home in a decent area.

Know your market.  But better yet, use an AGENT who knows the market!  You could try calling me! 

Happy hunting, and dress warm!  Joanie   805-674-1968 

Wow!  How depressing can they get?!  And what a pointless waste of our time the 'entertaining news' media can be!

We need to be focusing on what we have, our health, our families, any roof over our head......a safe, warm place to sleep and a few groceries in the pantry.  Although this is a very difficult time for so many families in this country, it can truly help us to refocus our thoughts on what is most important in our lives.

When my young adult children who are just getting started out along career paths go shopping, they look at each item in the grocery store and ask themselves...."Necessity or luxury?"  Whenever the answer is "luxury" they pass on it in order to balance their budgets.  Even when that luxury is a package of poppy seed muffins!   We should all learn from such simple logic and planning.

Take stock of your blessings!  And before you spend on that next item, ask yourself that simple question.....Necessity or Luxury?  

And then be grateful to God that your "necessities" are always met!  We will make it through this!  Let's depend on one another more and on our God given intellect and wisdom to make the right choices for each day and the future we all hope to share. 

Well, it seems that either no one has any money to spend these days....or else they don't want to spend what they have.  But how tough are these times that we are in right now?  If you listen to the media, the sky is falling again.  But with the media, the sky is always falling!

It just seems that those of us with gainful employment are simply spending our dollars more carefully these days.  Not a bad habit to get into.  Isn't it possible that we were all just spending too much and not being careful enough with our precious resources?

I am blessed to live in this area.  And although retail tax dollars are down, the tax dollars from hotels (the tourism business) are up alot!  They are currently almost balancing each other out, at least in the City of Paso Robles.  And there are still people who want to live here and are actively looking at homes.

In prior "down" markets, we didn't see any buyers at all!  Even in todays market, we are all showing homes and our listings are being looked at by serious buyers.  The media says that 2009 will be an even tougher year.  But I see great prices for homes, great interest rates, great inventory to choose from and one of the nicest places in the country to live.  We'll do all right here.  We just need to spend carefully, tighten our belts, and we'll get through this....no matter WHO wins in November! 

 By the way, if you're thinking of buying a home, NOW is a great time!  :)

1919 Vintage Home

• 1,200 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story "set up as duplex" - MLS® $399,000 - Just Reduced!

Paso Robles, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)  -  Charming vintage home just blocks from the downtown city park in Paso Robles! This home is currently set-up as a duplex and has a great rental history. However, it's best use may be within the current Office/Professional overlay designated by the City or the R3 zoing allowed. Please check with the city for your desired use. This home retains a great deal of character and has a useable back yard, side patio and laundry hook-ups interior to one of the units. Shown by appt only with tenant notice.

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