Is this a Good Antioch Neighborhood? I get this question all the time. The first thing you have to understand is this is a loaded question to ask a Realtor, for a couple of reasons. The biggest legal concern of course is that the answer might be construed to be discriminatory, even if not meant to be. The other reason is what is a “Good Neighborhood” is subjective. What I consider a Good Neighborhood might be different from you consider a Good Neighborhood. There are a lot of different Neighborhoods in Antioch. There are some that I really like and there are some that I do not. However, my list of likes and do not likes might surprise you. There are older and more established areas in Antioch that many people turn there nose up at that I really like. Then there are newer areas that I th... 05/12/2012

Ready to Rent! Overview Maps Photos Features Market Stats $160,000 Single Family Home Main Features 3 Bedrooms2 Bathrooms1 UnitInterior: 1,573 sqftLot: 7,800 sqft Location 3023 El Monte CtAntioch, CA 94509USA To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below: Eugene Riemenschneider HomePointRealEstate(925) 260-4321Gene@HomePointRealEstate.comhttp://HomePointRealEstate.com   Listed by: Home Point Real Estate Nearby properties for sale 05/11/2012

Dollar Waiting on a Dime! - Just Hire the Property Manager! That is what they used to say when a laborer was holding up someone on a construction site that was a skilled worker or a supervisor. (I worked a little construction when I was young.) I helped an investor buy a property in early January of this year. He had asked me about people to do repairs and property management. I gave him some referrals and some suggestions. He even handed me a key so I could let the handy man in to do some estimates for him. However, as my handy man could not make it out the same day he advised me we needed him he told me to forget it that we were taking too long. Well today my phone rings. He says he wanted to show some perspective tenants the house. Well my first thought is I am shocked that 4 months ... 05/04/2012

    Antioch CA – The next most common type of loan that does not usually have a deficiency is an FHA loan. But, how do you determine whether or not you have an FHA loan? Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is the best way that I have found to do this. Look up your mortgage on the public records in your county. You can usually access the public records online. Just Google, “County, State Public Records.” For example, if we Google “Contra County County Public Records”, then you will get the clerk of court’s website on the second link. Most realtors will know how to look up this information. If not, then they will know a title company that can do the research for you. Once you access the public records you will want to pull ... 05/03/2012

  Antioch CA – OK, let’s talk about the most common types of loans that do not require a deficiency on a short sale. The first common loan type is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. I’ll call them Fannie & Freddie in this post. Freddie & Fannie are different quasi-governmental entities that own mortgages. For our conversation, they are very similar in the way they handle short sales. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. First, you need to find out if Fannie or Freddie own your loan. Fannie Mae has a website with a lookup tool. Go to this site to research if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae: www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ Freddie Mac has a lookup tool here: ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae, then yo... 05/02/2012

    Antioch CA – We recently received an email from Joy. She was thinking about a short sale, but was worried about a deficiency. Here is a sentence from her email: “We obviously want to get the price as close to fair market value as possible to eliminate or reduce any deficiency the bank may assess, but also want the house to move as quickly as possible.” Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is the good news for Joy. In about 80-90% of all cases the homeowner is allowed to walk away without a deficiency. Yes, banks are releasing homeowners from hundreds of thousands of dollars in upside debt. We’ve seen homeowners walk away from $300,000, $500,000, and more in upside down debt. It’s like a “Get Out Of Jail Free” Card. So,... 04/30/2012

”I'm Going to Wait for the Market to Settle Down!” Yes that is what a client e-mailed me the other day when I told him what we would have to do to get him an Investment Property in this market. Well there was only one thing I could say and it had to be said very bluntly, “No, you are waiting for the market to settle up!” Because when this market is not as crazy it will be because prices and interest rates have gone up and cooled it off. The market is crazy right now because people believe that the real estate recovery is starting. Now I am not saying all the foreclosures are done with and there is not a rocky road ahead; but the banks seem to finally understand that they need to work the Short Sales to save money. Obstacles to foreclosures are coming down. Interest rates are about as lo... 04/29/2012

    Antioch CA – Thinking about a loan modification. If you can afford to, then order an appraisal. Or, do your own appraisal. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Ask your realtor “Hey, what are houses in my area selling for?” I’ve seen people who bought a house for $500,000. Guess what’s it selling for today? $300,000. If your house has had a 40% drop in value, then you shouldn’t be paying a mortgage payment based on a value of $500,000. You should be paying a mortgage payment based on a value of $300,000. Make sense? Here’s how to find calculate you should be paying. Google “amortization calculator.” Type in what your home is currently worth. Enter the interest rate you were originally paying. Look at the example numbers bel... 04/27/2012

  Antioch CA – I received a note the other day from Andrew. He was upset that I would tell people that are upside down on their house to ask for a principal reduction from their lender. Here was his email. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. “I saw your blog post about how the banks won’t approve principal reductions for people who are struggling financially. You recommended that anyone upside down should short sale their house because that is the only way to get the amount they owe reduced. These people took out a loan and made a promise to do everything in their power to repay it. I think it is wrong that you would openly recommend them break that promise. All that does is make it harder for someone responsible to get a loan... 04/26/2012

    Antioch CA – Are you pulling your hair out trying to convince your lender to reduce the amount you owe on your home? People have a hard time grasping how difficult it is to get a loan modification that is fair. These banks just do everything they can to squeeze homeowners for as much money as possible. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Here is an example of a homeowner that accepted a forbearance agreement with their lender. The homeowner was desperate to keep his home and just accepted the first offer his lender made. Today, he is paying $4,400 monthly. The sad thing is that it would cost her about $2,500 a month to rent a comparable home. He could save $1,900 monthly if he moved out and rented a similar home. But, even... 04/25/2012

  Antioch CA – When you negotiate your loan mod you need to remember that the banks are professional negotiators. They know the tricks. They know how to suck as much money out of you as is legally possible. Don’t kid yourself. They’re going to use every single tool in their tool chest to squeeze you. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. So before you start negotiations with the bank, you’ve got to be prepared. You can’t just walk into a gunfight with a knife. You’ve got to go prepared so you get yourself the best deal. Research your options. The lender’s negotiator can sense weakness. They can sense when you’ll take any payment amount they tell you. Guess what happens next? You’re going to be stuck with a much higher monthly pa... 04/24/2012

A Great Time to Buy a Home in Antioch, CA.   What a great time to buy a home in Antioch, CA. Currently there are many great options available to prospective home buyers. The inventory of homes for sale in Antioch include foreclosures, auctions, and short sales as well as  a few remaining tradtional homes for sale. Spring is in the air in Antioch with Cherry Blossom trees in bloom, tulips springing up and yards arrayed with spring flowers. What a great time to buy a home in Antioch! Outdoor living is factored in when choosing a home in Antioch. With mild weather for much of the year, outdoor living space is a vital componenet for many home buyers in Antioch. Viewing homes for sale in the spring time gives the prospective home buyer a good perspective on the outdoor living area of the hom... 04/24/2012

One more reason to buy a home in Antioch, CA. One more reason to buy a home in Antioch, CA. is what California is reknowned for, weather! Antioch is perfectly situated geographically, like a diamond in a picture perfect setting. As a suburb of San Francisco, Antioch is located in East Contra Costa County, offering the best of both worlds. Unlike San Francisco's infamous fog and cool summer's, Antioch offers plenty of sunshine, warm days and summer water activities. Yet Antioch is just a brief trip away from excursions to the City by the Bay. Antioch offers lovely Spring weather usually beginning in April, with warm Summers, crisp Autumn days, and Winter possessing just a slight chill. Antioch is perched on the Delta waterway which brings an occassional day with light fog rolling in and ... 04/24/2012

    Antioch CA – It’s sad that the banks aren’t willing to give anyone a principal reduction. The banks reasoning is that if they start granting principal reductions, then every single upside down homeowner will want one. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. As a result people are stuck overpaying for their upside down homes. Take an example of a family who bought their home at the peak of the market. Their monthly payment was $2,650. Their lender agreed to forgive their missed back payments. But, they wouldn’t reduce their monthly payment. So, this family start looking at other options. They had recently had their first kid and wanted to move out of their townhouse. They wanted a house with a yard. They found a bigger home wit... 04/23/2012

  Antioch CA – The return on investment is very good because of a tight rental market caused by the housing crisis. Rents have increased while home prices have dropped. Single Family Homes are the best way to go because they are easy to rent and you can prescreen for the absolute best tenants. Good tenants are the key to avoiding problems. Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. Have you ever noticed how apartment complexes have to work hard to rent their apartments? Meanwhile, most single family homes are rented without much effort. Homes tend to attract more stable tenants that are older and have more stable, established jobs. How to avoid problems with a rental property. Before agreeing to rent to a prospective tenant, ask to l... 04/17/2012

Get the Hot List of East Contra Costa County Investment Properties – week of 4-16-12 East Contra Costa County is one of the hottest place to Invest in Real Estate!  Would you like a List of Top Investment Properties?  For Free? I have a list of 10 great Investment Properties that I will share with you.  Some of these properties have conservative Return on Investment of over 10%.  The last list I made like this every single property went Pending in 10 days. These Investment Properties are all in Antioch, Oakley, and Pittsburg California are all Hot areas for Real Estate Investment Properties. You should also get the Free Book of Real Estate Investing and Investor Calculator and just ask us to enclose the list. Or e-mail us directly and ask for the list – or just call 925-260-4321. There ... 04/17/2012

OK – All I could think about was the Real Estate Market! Did you read Dilbert on 4-16-12? In my head all I could do was substitute the word “Stock Market” with “Real Estate.” I cannot show the strip here – but follow the link. This describes some of my Investor Clients very well. There are only two types of Real Estate Investors: Those Investing Now and those that will wish they had! 04/17/2012

  Antioch CA – The Pros of Rental Property. The tenant pays your mortgage payment. You won’t make a lotof money while you have a mortgage. But, where else can you have someone buy and pay off something for you? Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure. You start to make real money after the mortgage is paid off. In addition, some properties are so cheap that the rent will pay offa 15 year mortgage. So in 15 years you have a free house. Rentals are a great hedge against inflation. Notice how gas prices are going up again? The prices of everything else increase with gas prices. Food, clothes, electricity, and everything else goes up. That means your house will go up in value over the long term. But, you locked in the price when you bo... 04/16/2012

Antioch Investment Properties – Try the Big Box Approach! Antioch Investment Properties are hot in fact they are so hot it is hard to buy many types of homes that Real Estate Investors like. Most Real Estate Investors like the more economical and older Ranch Style homes and such – nothing wrong with these. I have helped investors by lots of homes like this. However, many Real Estate Investors have taken this approach and it is driving up the prices of those obvious Real Estate Investments and lowering the profits. Profits are still excellent – maybe just not as good as they were last year. What is Big Box Real Estate Investing? However, there is another way that might be as profitable if not more – I call it Big Box Real Estate Investing. I think there are profits to be made in Larger H... 04/13/2012

How Much Rent can I get on my Antioch Investment Property? A Couple weeks ago I post on Antioch Rent Histories to provide guidance to Real Estate Investors on what they might expect for rents on an Investment Property. This week I completed an Estimator for Rents in Antioch. This tool will help Real Estate Investors estimate what to pay for an Investment Property. Knowing potential Cap Rate and Rate of Return are very important for Real Estate Investors. At Home Point Real Estate we work with a lot of Real Estate Investors. We like helping them find the right Investment Properties and giving them tools to make their own Investment choices. The Rent Guide can be updated and we could also adapt it for other communities or types of investments – such as Multi-family or Commercial Real Esta... 04/05/2012