Isi Wu's Blog

HELLLLOOOOOO My Beautiful, Wonderful Bay Area!!… Its a gorgeous day today…  hope you’re out there enjoying it!… Wanted to share some food for thought for all you 

First Time Home Buyers out there…  

First Time Home Buyers – so excited, filled with anticipation and hope for the future… the first homes you see may well be foreclosed properties – terrible carpeting, damaged walls, missing items, various aromas inside the house… the excitement and hope may begin to fade…

All of a sudden your dream home appears!!… Brand new kitchen, remodeled bathrooms, new paint, new flooring, new windows… its perfect!!… It’s the only one you want… no way will you consider those awful foreclosed/distressed homes!… its too good to be true!!…

Your Realtor informs you it’s a “Flip”…  what the heck is a “Flip” you ask?… A flip is a property purchased by an investor at a discounted price, either on the courthouse steps or some other means… the investor “Flipper” will usually send in a crew to upgrade and improve the home before putting it back on the market for a profit.  The upgrades usually include new paint, new flooring, new kitchen cabinets, new counters, new appliances, new dual pane windows, new hot water heater, a new roof and more…

The drawback is… permits are required for many of the upgrades, and in many cases the “Flippers” don’t bother.

Whenever improvements are made without the necessary permits its creates a real problem. Permits are required for almost every kind of home improvement.

When a buyer purchases a home without the required permits, they become liable for bringing the home to compliance.  This is the problem… time is money, to make a profit “Flippers” must get the home improved and back on the market asap.  Obtaining permits can take more time and delays and more money.

Since the “flippers” buy properties “as is” they inherit the pre-existing improvements – many without permits.  They really should get these properties into compliance with the local building departments BEFORE doing anymore additional work and re-selling.  Its safe to say this isn’t happening in most cases.

In Summary…

The Good?  Flippers are upgrading homes and improving neighborhoods.

The Bad? Shortcuts. Buyers should check city records for permits… None? Ask the seller to provide them.

The Ugly?  Not all flippers do good work. Some just paint over issues and hide problems to turn a quick profit. There’s no guarantee all improvements were installed properly and safely.

Make sure you get a proper home inspection so you know what you’re getting into. BUYER BEWARE!..

Thanks for checking in!! Your comments are always welcome…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…
the right agent makes all the difference

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

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• House Flippers: The Forgotten “Victims” Of The Real Estate Implosion (247wallst.com)

HELLLOOOOOO My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!… Safety- Safety-Safety… Location is a key component to how we go about our daily lives.. our Safety is right up there with Location choices… Ever want to know what kind of crimes are going on in a specific area??… search by street address, neighborhoods, sort of crimes, sex offenders…one of the better sites I’ve found is …Welcome to CrimeReports.com … easy to use and very informative… you can even sign up for email alerts for any activity in a specific area…Check it out and pass it along to your family and friends…very useful information… please give me your feedback…

Thanks for checking in… visit me again…

Isi

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Isi Wu
the right agent makes all the difference
Realty World – Blue Property Group
DRE#01258838
Cell 925.997.2426
isiwu@comcast.net
www.isiwu.com

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Helllooooo My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!…

Today… we have an extension of  my posting on Tuesday October 12… Foreclosures Halting… Now What??!!!…

The breadth and ultimate effects of  this latest Foreclosure Issue may not be realized anytime soon, while we wait for more solid information to come down the pipeline etc… I thought you’d like to hear  from a trusted very experienced loan consultant and good  friend of mine, who was kind enough to share his personal perspective on the Foreclosure Situation…

(The content below is not be construed to be anything more than his own personal opinion)…

Hi Isi,

My personal belief is that lenders have been very patient with homeowners and to add this extra burden to already stretched banks and lending entities is simply suicidal for our economy.  Homeowners that are behind know very well they will lose their home.  Just like you and I know that on a clear day, the sky is blue.  Banks need to be able to move on their assets and eventually be solvent again.  Banks are not our adversaries.  Heavy and costly government along with the heavy and costly regulation that comes with it, is the problem. 

My business is so laden with regulation now that the average applicant is paying a higher rate and more fees to obtain the same product and the new regulations have done very little to enlighten the consumer to what they are getting.  Sadly, the only benefit the consumer has received is the privilege of paying more for the same product.

 On a different subject.  The economy starts with the consumer ( you and I and our neighbor) – not with business as these administrations keep pushing.  If the consumer has money at the end of the month and is not worried about the future and heavy inevitable taxes, then the consumer will spend which then leads to demand for services and products.  Hence employment.   The only way the consumer is going to have money to spend and feel good about the future is heavy federal and state tax cuts along with heavy government spending cuts.  If I had an extra $10,000.00 at the end of the year and I see a government heavily cutting back and behaving fiscally responsible, I might just purchase that couch we need or maybe I will get a new car.  Multiply this spending by millions and hence demand will jump, businesses will see this demand and expand hiring people and the future would be bright.

This government is poised to spend and unless you are willing to cut government way back it is useless talking about tax cuts.  So vote them out and replace them with leaders who tremble at the thought of big government and spending.  In order to prosper, government must be squeezed, regulation must be loosed, and tax burdens must be lifted.  There is no other formula for a great and prosperous America. 

 Hope this helps. 

Tom Erbil
Mortgage Broker – DRE License# 00934494

Stay tuned in and check back for more updates as they become available…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you!

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay and Beyond…

Related articles

• Dory Rand: Robo-Signers Expose Weaknesses in Servicers’ Foreclosure Processes (huffingtonpost.com)
• Colossal Foreclosure Fraud (lewrockwell.com)
• So you bought a foreclosed home. Now what? (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Obama administration rejects nationwide foreclosure moratorium (usatoday.com)
• U.S. bank shares take hit over foreclosure woes (financialpost.com)

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HELLLLLOOOO My Wonderful – Beautiful Bay Area… The news is out… A number of major banks have volunteered to temporarily suspend foreclosures in 23 states and Bank of America is temporarily suspending foreclosures nationwide…

This situation is changing daily… this is just part of what we know so far… so far only Bank of America has extended its foreclosure moratorium to California, where the vast majority of foreclosures are conducted without a court order… the other 22 states are processed through the court system.  However non-judicial foreclosures in California do have legal requirements that lenders must follow… Other lenders and servicers placing foreclosure moratoriums are… Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s Litton Loan Servicing, Ally Financial Inc‘s GMAC Mortgage unit, JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial… please keep in mind they are only Temporarily halting the foreclosure process until they have reviewed whether some lenders/servicers were following correct procedures prior to foreclosing on properties.  This is all taking place voluntarily there has not been any mandates by either State or Federal entities. The bigger question is… just how long will it really take to straighten this mess up??!!!

The immediate impact of this moratorium on your transactions may cause delays and may even remove the listed foreclosures.

Lets all hope these latest events will be resolved swiftly to minimize the impact on our housing market in the Bay Area!

Stay tuned in and check back for updates as they become available…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Hellllloooo My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area…  With all the terrible devastations left by fires, hurricanes, heavy rains, earthquakes… etc… it brings to the forefront what we really need to do and the importance of carrying insurance!!

Here’s a quick checklist of what YOU SHOULD KNOW is in your policy…

KNOW how much fire, theft, wind and explosion coverage you have… most standard policies DONT include earthquake, flood or landslide… DO MAKE A DECISION whether you should carry some or not…

BE SURE TO GET… Replacement Coverage to rebuild your home at Today’s Cost/s… DO GET FULL Replacement Value at Today’s Cost.

MAKE THE TIME TO INVENTORY Everything in your home… either with a camera or video… go room by room open your closet doors, open your drawers, open your cupboards… take shots of everything… DO NOT KEEP AT YOUR HOME… Store this away from your home somewhere…

OR… check out “knowyourstuff.org” …

Be Pro-Active… take care of your home and belongings… I really really would hate for you to lose your stuff and not have any help.

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Servings Clients All Over the Eastbay…

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Hellloooo My Wonderful Beautiful Bay Area!!… How many of you have gone through the home buying process and gone to the title company to sign off your loan documents and actually experienced waiting the day or two before your home finally became officially yours??… For those of you who have never gone through the process here’s a glimpse of what actually happens when you go to sign off your closing documents just prior to your home loan funding and recording at the County Recorder’s Office and getting your keys to your new home!…  the following video is an actual signing for one of my clients (who happens to be just 23 years of age, who purchased her first home without any financial help from her parents… (I want to make clear that this example is one that is happening much more frequently than ever before … and I want to emphasize that anyone I mean anyone no matter how young or old can achieve homeownership if the desire is there…)

I hope this will enlighten you and give you extra insight as to what happens towards the end of a transaction in escrow… By all means please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have… it will be my pleasure to assist you…

Maddi is now a very happy and proud homeowner and I’m very honored to have represented her!…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

Hellooooo My Wonderful, Beautiful Bay Area!!… Please take a few minutes to preview this Darling Bungalow in San Jose, CA…  Located in the Central District near everything in Downtown San Jose… Perfect little home in a nice single family home neighborhood… for 1st x homebuyer/s, empty nesting, spacious private backyard, huge tandem driveway,beautiful floors,  new roof, new dual pane windows throughout, new gas heater, appliances, ceiling fans, upgraded bath, inside laundry room… Just Move Right In!!… Put on your thinking caps this one is a real little gem…Get it while you can!!… This one is NOT a Short Sale is Not an REO… its a straight sale… Response time will be fast…

Thanks for checking in… Cheers!!…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay…

 

Hellooooo My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!…  Happy Day to You!!… You may or may not have heard… but its Happy Hallelujah Day for all First Time Homebuyers who have ratified contracts in place as of  April 30, 2010!!… As of last nite the Senate passed the bill and the House of Representatives passed the same bill earlier this week to EXTEND the closing deadline for Homebuyer Tax Credit Eligibility from June 30, 2010 to the new date of September 30, 2010… The bill now goes to the President for his signature..

To be clear… the extension applies only to transactions with ratified contracts by April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed?  (Nearly 180,000 homebuyers would have missed out on the tax credit had Congress not taken action to extend the deadline to close escrow… Estimates from the National Association of Realtors show as many as 17,700 home buyers in California would not have received the tax credit without this extension…)

Will keep you posted… Thanks for checking in…

Cheers Everyone!…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you…

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

Related articles …

• Congress extends closing deadline for home buyer tax credit (sfgate.com)
• Home buyers must scramble to claim federal tax credit (sfgate.com)
• House votes to extend homebuyer credit 3 months (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Rush on to meet tax credit deadline (lansner.ocregister.com)

Hello My Beautiful Wonderful Bay Area!!   Happy Sunday to you…  Summer is here, the sun is out, the days are longer, the kids are out of school, lots of great activities swirling all around our Beautiful Bay Area… and the nagging question remains… just what are you going to do with that old frig… its old and ugly, but still works but its costing you up to $100 or more a year for electricity… what to do… what to do… there’s plenty of folks not happy with PG&E‘s  “smart meter“.. in fact there’s quite an uproar going on currently about the effectiveness of this program… I’m sure it will get ironed out in some way in the not too distant future… HOWEVER…  did you know PG&E has an “appliance recycling program”?…  They will actually come and pick up your old refrigerator for FREE, Recycle it and PAY YOU $35.00… if you recycle an old air conditioner at the same time you’ll receive an extra $25.00…  Find out more and Schedule a Pick Up at…

http://bit.ly/c8jIjy

Sounds like this will not only help you,  but help the environment and help someone else as well… whats not to like??… Go ahead be kind and nice… Make Someone’s Day… share this info with your family, friends and neighbors…

Happy Sunday & Cheers Everyone…

Thanks for checking in…

Isi

Isi Wu… the realtor for you

Serving Clients All Over the Eastbay!

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