SDblog

So early this afternoon I picked my mom up from the Beauty College here in La Mesa, after having a $22 perm.  It looked great!  It was lunch time, so she asked if we could go to McDonalds and get the $1 McChicken sandwich, one of her favorites.  We were pretty close, so off we went.

Being lunch time, there was a fairly good sized line for the drive thru, but it is usually quick, so we waited.  We finally got almost up to the place to order and the car ahead of me didn't move forward.  I waited a reasonable amount of time, then honked ever so slightly and politely.  The driver of the little pickup (a woman) held her keys out the window, so I suspected car trouble.  Since there was a long line of cars behind me, I decided to get out, ask her what the trouble was, and see if anyone could help.

Her truck had stalled, so I started walking to all the cars behind me, letting them know the problem and wondering if we could all back up a little, we could park and go in to order.  Just then her truck started, she pulled up to the window to pay, then proceeded to the order pick up window. 

All seemed good until I watched her receive her bag of food - and not move!  I waited thinking they had not finished her order, but it finally became apparent she had stalled again.  I went to see if she wanted some of the men in cars behind me to come and perhaps push her truck, and asked the woman at the window if they could help.  She explained that there was only one man working right now, and he was a manager.  I went back to the man in the SUV behind me again to see if he might be willing to help push her out, but he was not hearing any of it.  So I went back to the window and told them "the natives are getting restless" and made eye contact with the manager dude.  So out 3 employees came and it was very easy to push her truck out of the lane.  Could have been settle so much more quickly, but no one wanted to DO ANYTHING!  We all wasted about a half an hour because of inaction.

That's my life in the very fast lane.  What would you have done?

We are living in unprecedented times!  What we are seeing in the mortgage industry has NEVER happened before.  They say there is nothing new under the sun, but this one IS new.  And no one really knows what to do, or can be done, about it.

So the Fed FINALLY cut the discount rate by .5% - that affects all lines of credit that are tied to the prime rate, so if you have a line of credit (Heloc), yeah!  you just saved 1/2 of 1% on your payment next month!  Of course, that won't stop even 1 foreclosure or force lenders to work with the borrowers to help them AVOID foreclosure.

I am usually not a "legislation" kind of gal, but I am kind of thinking they are going to have to find a way to have these mortgage companies work with the borrower a bit.  For instance, I have a client right now that has a 5.5% rate with interest only and a prepayment penalty that lasts until October 1.  On October 1, the rate will go up 2% and the interest only payment will go away.  The client has been trying to sell since May, but it hasn't sold yet.  When they called their lender to ask them for a little help for even a few months, for instance, just require the interest only payment on 7.5%, they were met with "sorry, not our problem".  This has been the answer for most people in this position.

I don't know what kind of legislation it would take, but maybe even a temporary moritorium on interest rate and payment changes would be enough to get some people through this mess.

What do you think?

For a limited time only, the seller of our listing at 880 Crystal Creek Ct., Chula Vista, CA (Rancho del Rey area) is offering the buyer a 2% credit towards closing costs, buy down the interest rate, get new carpeting, almost anything!  And this for only using the services of our inhouse buyer's specialist.  What a great opportunity!

OK, we know that this particular home won't meet everyone's needs.  So we are also extending an offer of up to 1% credit on ANY home listed on the MLS, just for using the services of our inhouse buyers specialist.  This is IN ADDITION to the excellent price the buyer's specialist will secure for you, and any seller-paid closing costs secured for you!  What a great deal!

This is a limited time offer! Call now 888-791-8006 x 81!

Was that painful to watch or what???  The Chargers were lucky enough to go to New England in SEPTEMBER instead of frozen tundra time, and it was a grudge match as well.  So what happened?  Are the Pats still cheating, as the New York Jets are claiming, by using radio frequencies to pick up on what the opposing coaches are saying?  Does this cast doubt on them for previous seasons, not to mention this one? 

Or were the Chargers overconfident after beating the superbowl champion Bears?  sluggish?  sorry they didn't play LT in the preseason?????

Lets hope they get it together by next week - they have a tough schedule.  Stay tuned!

Every day I hear people who want to buy a home say "Gee maybe I should wait a while and the market might go down even further before I buy."   The market is mainly going down for houses that are less desirable - the houses and condos that are in great areas and have great features are still selling very quickly.  If you are in a position to buy and want your "dream home", waiting doesn't make any sense. 

There is a perception that values have really dropped, but in reality the median price of homes in San Diego County has really only gone down about 5%.  With interest rates staying very low, it makes great sense to buy now and start saving on your income taxes and getting into a position for the appreciation that WILL come. 

If you are eligible for a VA loan, this has become an excellent option: 100% financing, no mortgage insurance, and great rates.  Call me to see if you qualify, it only takes a few minutes.

Jan