Foreclosure has always been around.  But, usually it happens to people who had an unfortunate event in their lives such as a job loss, serious illness and divorce. Lately, even people who are living normal lives, those whose circumstances before and during their mortgage never changed were also affected.  At present, foreclosures are so prevalent that it can affect a whole  neighborhood, a city and even the whole country.  In fact, the effects of the subprime crisis in the United States reached other countries such as Australia,  the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.  It can be quite overwhelming to understand why foreclosures increased to this level and why the subprime mortgage market fell.  The recent foreclosures in the United States... [Read more]

"Interest rates on prime conforming loans fell across the board in the past week, with rates on 30-year fixed mortgages averaging 0.15 percentage points below the previous week’s level." as announced by Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist in a news release. The current interest rates for the week ending September 13 are: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31% 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.97% Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMS) averaged 6.17% One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.66% However, certain conditions must be met to avail these rates: "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage required payment of an average 0.5 point, and the 15-year fixed-rate... [Read more]

Facing foreclosure can make any home owner emotional, confused and helpless.  A lot of people may offer to help, but not everyone is genuine with their intention.  The increase in foreclosure have resulted to an increase of foreclosure related scams. Sadly, these scam operators have found a lucrative business niche by taking advantage of people in their worst times. Yahoo Personal Finance, has this great article "Do’s and Don’ts for  fending off foreclosure".  It’s written in a straight-forward, easy to understand format.  It is a good read not only for those facing foreclosure, but also for every home owner or home buyer. Here are the 7 possible do’s when foreclosure looms: Sell the property Work out... [Read more]

According to RealtyTrac, Stockton is the foreclosure capital of USA.  In a population of 300000, 1 in 27 households is facing foreclosure.  Stockton had 8000 foreclosures so far in 2007.   Among the neighborhoods in the area, Weston Ranch; a 15-year old subdivision of modest tract homes has the worst foreclosure rate. In fact, it has 350 homes for sale right now, equivalent to 5 years in inventory.  According to a local broker in Weston Ranch, Geri Taylor: "Houses are sitting on the market three times as long as in 2006 and the average sale price had dropped by 10 percent…Nobody has a crystal ball, but I don’t expect to see an improvement until 2010." With foreclosures this bad, what have this community done wrong? Many... [Read more]

Home Staging:  Budget $100 Source: YouTube  Submitted By: Barbara Corcoran Total money spent in transforming the house was $91, used mainly on paint. Things Done: Painted the house in a light color. Removed the clutter Let the sunshine in Home Staging : Budget $500 Source: YouTube  Submitted by: BarbaraCorcoran Total money spent in transforming a studio apartment $486.01 Things Done: Rearranged the furniture to make the room appear bigger. Made the room a lot brighter by using lamps, brighter lights and sheer curtains Made up the bed using nice sheets and accent pillows to make it more inviting Replaced the old table with new ones to emphasize the dining area more. Home Staging : Budget $5000 Source: YouTube  Submitted by: Barbara... [Read more]