Foreclosures Dragging Down Home Appraisals

I recently saw a car parked on our private road. There is a home across the street from us that has been on the market for over a year. Since I am a real estate agent and since having been very frustrated with the home being listed twice by two different agents that did nothing to market the home, my desire to investigate took over. "Can I help you" I asked the driver sitting in the car in front of the home.
He responded, "I am an appraiser and I am setting the value on this home for the bank". I inquired further. Having been an appraiser for 26 years prior to going into sales and marketing,I could not resist pressing further. "Are you a local appraiser?"
The answer I received was shocking and typical. "Oh no, I am from Los Angeles!" This home I am speaking about is located approximately 2 hours north of Los Angeles in Oak View, California. I inquired further...... "How do you determine the value with limited knowledge of the comparable properties?" He responded, "Oh, well you know it is hard to find appraisers to do rural type properties, I just look up the closest comparable properties and adjust".
VERY Fascinating!! Since I live in the area, I happen to know that the last two comparable properties was one that needed a $100,000 beam replacement and the other one was such a dysfunctional floor plan it was a joke and needed a total rehab on the inside and was bank owned!!
Well, you have probably figured out by now that the beautiful home near mine will be appraised well below what it should actually be selling for.
This leads me to the fact that across the country, agents and homebuilders are complaining that too many appraisals are coming in low, scuttling deals and keeping prices depressed. The National Association of Realtors says nearly one in four of its members has reported clients losing sales because of botched appraisals. Designed to limit conflicts of interest that can bias an appraisal, the rules bar mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals themselves, forcing them to order them through mortgage lenders. The result can be.....appraiser hired from outside the area and finding they do NOT have the local knowledge to find homes that can be better benchmarks for regular homes.
I am a witness to this!! The houses falling under this scenario are often not appraised accurately and in my opinion are actually pulling our market fictitiously down.....just food for thought.

Check out the local ventura real estate and ventura homes for sale at:

www.venturahomesforsale.org/

First Time Homebuyer Credit Extended

Federal legislation passed this month extended the $8,000
federal income-tax credit for first-time homebuyers
and added a $6,500 credit for qualified repeat buyers and raised qualifying income limits for buyers of homes that closed Nov. 7 or later.

The credit applies to purchases of new or existing primary homes. For both first-time and replacement homes purchased Nov. 7 or later, the purchase price cannot exceed $800,000.

First-time homebuyers can receive a credit worth 10 percent
of the home"s purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000. A first-time homebuyer is someone who has not owned a home in three or more years.

Qualified repeat buyers can receive a credit worth as much as 10 percent of the replacement home"s purchase price, up to a maximum of $6,500.

The full credit amount is available to single taxpayers with
an annual adjusted gross income of as much as $125,000
(credit phases out for incomes of $125,000 to $145,000) and married couples filing jointly with annual adjusted gross income of as much as $225,000 (credit phases out for incomes of $225,000 to $245,000.)

As we enter into the holidays, it is a great time to think about making that home purchase. Traditionally real estate slows down as many focus on the family and get busy with other things. However, the months of November, December and January can be the perfect time to jump into the market. The advantage of less competition is huge as the banks continue to have a need to sell off homes in Ventura County.


For information on local Ventura County Bank Owned Homes and Foreclosed Homes visit my website at:
http://www.Venturahomesforsale.org

Property Tax Impact in Today's Market-Something You Should Know!

I recently talked with another agents clients who exclaimed that they did not realize they would owe $6000 in taxes on a home they just purchased for $320,000! In todays market many buyers are purchasing homes for less than what the Ventura County Assessor shows as current market value on the tax roll. When a property is purchased and goes into escrow, the escrow company will be prorating property taxes based on the market value shown on the current tax roll. This is very important to understand because if the house that your client just purchased for $320,000 is a bank owned home and is now selling for $320,000 but previously sold for $550,000 several years ago, the assessor may very well have a tax base on the assessment roll of 1% of $550,000 (or approx. $5500 per year.). If so, then the buyer will be prorated on the $5500. HOWEVER, due to the subsequent supplemental tax roll one time billing for new purchases, this property will be reassessed at the lower market value (as of the date of purchase) and a prorated refund will be issued through the supplemental tax billing process.

It is extremely important to realize that your buyer will be out of pocket the extra amount until the new assessment is processed and the refund issued. This process can take up to a year. A phone call to the local assessor could help speed the process by bringing attention to your individual property. Also, remember all requests for reassessments are FREE!! Many people are receiving deceptive solicitations by mail requiring a fee for reassessment. Tell your clients not to be mislead by these official looking offers for tax relief.

Helping with all your Ventura Real Estate needs and Homes for Sale in Ventura!
Ventura Real Estate is HOT right now...multiple offers. Get into action BEFORE rates go up!!

Hope this information helps! For current real estate listings in Ventura County check out:

www.Venturahomesforsale.org