housing

There still remains greater than $10 trillion of untapped home equity stock. As fewer homes are sold, fewer loans are taken out to finance purchases and surviving mortgage firms are refocusing their market to getting homeowners to refinance. Lenders promote refinancing as a flexible option to reduce bills by lowering interest rates and stretching out payments. The problem with such a mortgage pitch is that it plays down or doesn’t disclose the fact that they are temporary. Critics say such an offer appeals to the same inclination that led many borrowers astray, living beyond their means.

Facing Foreclosure: general proceedings.

California is averaging 1 foreclosure out of 88 homes. Job loss, divorce and health problems are the main reasons people stop making mortgage payments. Many homeowners are also finding their fix rate near expiration or an adjustable rate payment greater then they can afford. Due to the state of the current housing market, many people are facing foreclosure. It’s all over the news, all those statistics and explanations about what happened doesn’t tell us what to do next. This series of blogs is intended to reach those who are looking for answers and common ground. Please feel free to post your own experience, questions and answers.

Anyone interested in the J-14 condos please visit

http://www.huffcon.com/survey.aspx

to fill out a survey.

My own selections were ammenities that were structural and had to be built-in were prioritized over items like appliances which could easily be added in later.

Condos are coming downtown in 3 years. Affordable Condos around Modesto coming in 3-5 years. Affordable Single Family Homes available now.

A General response to last night's council meeting.

Artist is noted to do real estate lookups for fun, just to see what my average house is worth if nothing else. Average price in modesto last month was $370,000 but market started in on these gimmicks to get you to buy, as quite a few out there. So.....remember we had a bust last month, evidently houses, cars, well, on the front page of yesterday's RE section, this ad made me wonder, 4/2 house, 374k, but besides all the great features, built in 2004, call realtor for details on the new mercedes that comes with right offer. Odd bonus to go with the average priced house in Modesto. I have a bike.

Good things are taking shape over at the Stanislaus Community Assistance Project (SCAP.) The local non-profit has landed over $5 million in grants to help house low income people in our community that suffer from AIDS or are HIV positive.

The group, Stamp Out Sprawl could not be very happy this morning. The board of supervisors voted 3-2 last night to not put growth restrictions in Stanislaus County on the ballot until at least 2008.

Nathan Magsig is a busy guy. At 29, the father of two is the Mayor of Clovis, part-time MBA student at Fresno State, executive director of the nonprofit affordable housing group CURE (Coalition for Urban Renewal Excellence), and plaintiff in a lawsuit against the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Acording to The Bee, Modesto residents may soon be asked to vote on whether ot not to increase the cost of their storm drain bills. The article states that some city council members are thinking about a nickel or dime increase in the bills while some city staffers seem to think an increase of $3 to $4 dollars per month is more appropriate. The estimate from the city staffers would practically double the current rate.