Do you rent out one of your properties?

Reporting is now easier for mom-and-pop landlords.

I had send earlier in the year an email to all my clients who rented out a property, to alert them about a new IRS reporting requirement.

Good news: this has changed, for the better. Here is how:

Households that find renters for a second property but are not in the business of real estate don’t have to send an IRS Form 1099 to vendors if the vendors do more than $600 worth of work in a year. Landlords have faced the 1099 reporting requirement for a while, and that requirement continues to apply to them, but last year the requirement was extended to households and entities that rent out property as a sideline but are not in the rental housing trade.

The National Association of Realtors and others strongly opposed that expansion and succeeded in persuading lawmakers to repeal it, which Congress did.

President Obama signed the repeal into law in late April, so, now the requirement applies as it always has: just to those in the business of real estate.

Francis Rolland

Silicon Valley real estate

Study: Homeowners Who Default on Mortgage Alone Not a Credit Risk

Today, many homeowners who defaulted on their mortgage payments have asked the question, "Will my mortgage delinquencies make me a higher credit risk to lenders?"

Good question.

On the surface, it is obvious that falling behind and becoming consistently delinquent on any bill is not a financially sound thing to do. However, your credit rating may not be as tarnished as some would leave you to believe.

A homeowner needs to consider what establishes poor credit and good credit in the eyes of the lender. Surprisingly enough, if you have other debt that you are in good standing with, such as credit cards or an auto loan, you will be less likely deemed as a credit risk. Those who have defaulted on their mortgage payment as well as other accounts are higher risks to a lending institution. The study below reveals why.

Mortgage-Only Defaulters

Transunion. , a global leader in credit and information management, released a study which stated, "...consumers who only defaulted on their mortgage during the economic recession were far better risks than those consumers who went delinquent on multiple credit accounts." This particular study explained that consumers, who were only default with their mortgage payment, displayed stronger ability to stay current with other loans.
"There appears to be a pocket of opportunity among mortgage-only defaulters that is not the result of excess liquidity, but rather the unique circumstances of the recent recession," said Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion's financial services business unit. "This new market segment that the recession created is an important one for lenders to understand. They have the potential, today, to be stronger and more reliable customers."

Breaking it down…
• The lack of cash flow that resulted in defaulted mortgage payments does not by itself make the consumer “high risk” to a lender.
• You are a risk if you have multiple delinquencies on other accounts including the mortgage.
• You are not a risk if you have mortgage-only defaults but are current with other debt, such as a car loan or credit card.

In conclusion, if you are a mortgage-only defaulter you have more hope than those who are not and should not consider yourself a high risk. For more information, here is the link again to the Transunion study Mortgage-only Defaulters.

Let me know, as always, how I can help!
Francis

Silicon Valley Specialist
Local _Real Estate resources
Silicon Valley Market Trends

Refinancing problems? here is a suggestion...

Are you trying to refinance but you cannot because your equity is too low?

This is the classic catch 22 in which you cannot take advantage of great rates because the bank’s appraisal is too low.

The HARP refinancing program is addressing precisely this need. HARP: Home Affordable Refinance Program, administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Good News !!

Set to expire June 30, 2011, this program has been extended one year. In 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased or guaranteed more than 6.8 million refinanced mortgages. Of this total, 621,800 were HARP refinances with Loan-To-Values between 80 percent and 125 percent !! This is more than 3 times the number in 2009.
Some limitations apply of course, but fairly reasonable.  One of them, for instance, is that you need to spend more than 31% of your pre-tax income on your mortgage payment. (thank you Nicolas!  ;-)  for the input). Check out the details on the Freddie Mac web site, or the Fannie Mae web site:  Fannie Mae web site.

Another program worthy of noting if you have financial problems: the "Making Home Affordable" Program.

Thanks for reading!
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate
Search the MLS

Some perspective on the Silicon Valley market....

Some recent headlines turned heads and generated a lot of questions among my clients recently, headlines such as: “Case-Schiller Down 5.1%; What Will Stop It?” and “The Depressing State of Housing”.

What is really going on in the Valley? I find that chosen graphs speak much better than headlines. Comparison of the first 5 months of last year, with the same months this year, for the Counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo:

This graph shows roughly the same movement as last year. If anything, it shows a better situation, since we do not have in 2011 the government incentives for 1st time homebuyers that we had in 2010 (Calif. 1st time homebuyers credits, and federal incentives). These created last year a rush to buy before June, which does not exist in 2011.

Comparison charts for Sunnyvale and Mountain View:

Comparison charts for Los Altos and Palo Alto:

Average prices can vary  a lot from month to month.  These charts just show that overall the market is fairly the same as last year, at the very least.
Thanks for reading!
Francis

Mortgage rates: Week ending 6/23/2011:  - 30-yr. fixed: 4.50 fees/points: 0.8%   - 15-yr. fixed: 3.69 fees/points: 0.7%    -  1-yr. adjustable: 2.99% Fees/points: 0.5%  (Source: Freddie Mac)

Silicon Valley real estate resource
Real estate links of interest 

Monoxide detectors: don't forget: it's the law...

If you have a rental property, and if you receive my monthly e-newsletter, you have probably already received about 6 months ago a note about this new law that has passed: you need a monoxide detector in the house as of the 1st of July.

Whereas in your own house, there is little chance to have an inspector come and check you out, you must remember if you rent a property out that it is mandatory.
Typically you would put a CO detector on each level of your house, near appliances that emit carbon monoxide (furnace, wall heater, stoves, etc... although other sources of carbon monoxide include cars - in a garage for instance, and fireplaces).  Where exactly should it go? it is advised to "follow the manufacturer's instructions".

Also, it is good to check with your City: some Cities have special requirements.  Here is the link to the City of Palo Alto smoke and Co detector requirements.

Carbon monoxide is particularly dangerous: it has no color and no odor. 
If you have an old furnace in your home, or a wall heater, you have a risk of having a source of CO leakage.
Detectors seemed to cost at least $45 or $50 about 6 months ago, but it is possible nowadays to find the units below $30.

Do you find this note useful? Forward it to someone you know who might need to read it.
- or "like" it on FB

Thank you, have a great week-end!
Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate
local resources (schools, Cities, etc...)

In the Valley: sell or become a landlord?

Sell or become a landlord?  That is the question.  A study by Zillow recently showed that more than 1/4 of homeowners considering a move in the next 3 years were considering renting out their home.

This question is being asked more often right now as people either are moving away from the Valley, or want to move up or down to change something to their present lifestyle. 
It is asked more often now that values have gone down from, may be, a high purchase price 3 or 4 years ago.
It is asked more often now that banks do not grant "bridge loans" like they used to, and now that rental prices go up (Nationwide, but also locally), and that it seems like just a matter of time until prices go up from where they stand now (even if it is not doing so like it was in the past 15 years).

To keep a property for ever makes a lot of sense to diversify one's portfolio.  It can and should be, long-term, a part of a retirement account if you already have a lot of money in the banking system.  Down the line, in 20 years, it will seem like impossible to afford to rent the house that today seems so high in price.

Today, as many people loose their property to short sale or foreclosure, they need to find a place to live, and this explains in part why there is pressure on rental prices.

If you are faced with this dilemna, consider the following factors:
- your confidence in the future of home values in the Valley,
- the tax implications, which could be positive or neutral for you depending on your tax situation and income, and the way the property would be managed,
- how comfortable you are with 2 mortgages,
- appeal of that kind of diversification of your retirement assets,
- who will manage the property?
- are you cut out to be a landlord?

Note: if you are moving up or down in lifestyle, the money that you may "lose" in the sale of your real estate asset might be quite equivalent to what you will gain by buying a cheaper replacement property.  So then it is a question of strategizing such a move.  If you are in this situation, contact me and we will review all the options together.

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate news
Smart Market Trends

Time to appeal that tax bill?

Is it time to appeal your tax bill?

It is that time of the year again when the Tax Assessor's Office of the County of Santa Clara sends to all homeowners a notice of the assessed value of their property.

If you think it is too high for your home (it always seems too high doesn't it, since you pay a yearly percentage of the assessed value) you have between July 2 and September 15 to file a review, or an appeal - depending on when you want to contest it.  The specific rules, and the specific dates to check for are on this page of the Santa Clara County official web site.

Where I can help is by providing you with MLS sales data that happened around the turn of the year of assessment.  This is information that you can send to the County in support of your request, along with any other data you may have (that would not be in the Realtors' MLS for instance).

One thing to remember though, as they point out on the web site - and I quote: "IMPORTANT NOTE: It is very important to understand that filing an assessment appeal does not relieve an owner of the responsibility for paying any outstanding tax bill no matter how unfair the owner may feel a bill might be."
.. no surprise there I guess :-\

For the County of San Mateo, the dates when one can appeal the assessed home value are different.  Details can be found on this page: County of San Mateo Treasurer Tax Collector.

Let me know, as always, how I can help!
Francis

Silicon Valley Realtor
Local Real Estate resources

A link worthy of interest: http://www.ourbrothershome.org/

Real Estate Investors Compete Against First-Time Homebuyers.

With regards to this recent blog about investors competing against would-be homebuyers, it has definitely been my experience that this is taking place - in a large percentage of the offers I have seen recenty, especially in the low price ranges. One sure sign: in about 30 to 50% of the cases, the winning offer was all cash.

This is absolutely prevalent where a condominium is offered for sale, and more than 15% of the units in the complex are deficient in their dues payments to the association. In that case, I do not know of a bank that will lend money to buy the property. Only a cash buyer can puchase. Why buy in such a complex, with a fair risk that for lack of funds there will be deferred maintenance all around?  Because the rental income is worth it. And later on, when the real estate market improves, valuations will bring in more gains.  It is clear to me that many (real estate) investors have confidence in the Valley.

But I have also seen it in regular sales, where the dues problem does not exist. With prices very low now in the Valley, investors have been moving in; this has been taking place for at least a year in my experience, - and a little more for houses. Lowest prices were mid-2009.


Francis

Silicon Valley real estate