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Modesto, CA Real Estate News

By Bryan Knowlton
(Appraise All)
Express Appraisal provides Real Estate Appraisal Services in Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin county since 2006. If you need a Modesto Appraisal in Silicon Valley and Bay Area Counties, as well as the northern San Joaquin Valley counties, including Sacramento, please call us 1-800-584-3879. We are also available to assist in the languages of Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian. Spanish interpretation is also available. Call us to order at 1-800-584-3879 or fax your order to 408-228-0879. Visit our website - Modesto Appraisal We have a variety of appraisal services that include: Pre-listing Pre-purchase Tax assessment Tax re-assessment Estate settlement Financial planning, trusts, etc. Partnership dissolution Matrimonial, divorce Bankruptcy   Some of the cities...
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By Christina ONeal, Realtor - Ripon California
(At Home Real Estate Group)
At Christmas time, my husband & I had the pleasure of driving by Jamison's Country Antiques.  I am so glad we stopped in to see what they had and it was so fun to find the treasure that we bought for my sister-in-law for Christmas this year. They are opening again for 3 weeks only this Spring. February 25, 2011 - March 19, 2011 normal hours are 11am - 6pm FIRST TWO DAYS (Feb 25 & 26) OPENING at 9am! They will be closed Sundays (of course). Jamison's Country Antiques 5307 Tully Rd, Modesto, CA  209-545-3487 from Hwy 99, exit Salida #233, East on Kiernan, North on Tully Rd (on the left hand side) They have Authentic 1800's to ealy 1900's American Antiques.  When we were there at Christmas time, we bought an old fashioned metal milk container.  The owner was really right when she told us h...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Tawny. Here is Tawny's Question. "I have not been late on any payments but my income will be changing dramatically towards the end of the summer. What is your exact service and what are the fees involved? I do not have any cash in savings and pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. Tawny." Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is the answer to Tawny's Question: A Short Sale doesn't cost the homeowner any money. All of the costs are paid for by the homeowner's lender. Now, I'm sure you are asking, "The bank is losing money on the short sale. They wouldn't want to have to pay to sell the property." Many people also think this. After all, it makes sens...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – The Star Tribune, a newspaper in Minneapolis, recently ran a story about loan modifications. Here is an excerpt from the article: “Many people who sought help under a federal program created to keep them from losing their homes are instead getting saddled with huge, unexpected bills. Thousands now face a stark choice: Go deeper into debt, or foreclosure. Lenders routinely approved short-term "trial" loan modifications that reduced payments for desperate borrowers under the umbrella of the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program. But lenders continued to count the mortgages as delinquent or in default. Now instead of granting permanent modifications, lenders often are reinstating the original loan terms and demanding big back payments. Carl Christensen, ...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – A home owner thinking of a short sale recently asked us why they should short sale versus just walking away and letting their lender foreclose on the home. We gave them the normal answer: “It’s much better for your credit.” That was the first thing that popped into our head. But, I knew there are more benefits to a home owner than simply better credit. So I put together the entire list and here they are. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. 1. The upside down debt is erased in most cases. If you are selling because of a financial hardship, then the upside down debt will be automatically erased in most cases. Is your loan is owned or insured by the following agencies: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and or VA? If you a...
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Modesto CA – Have you heard the following myths about short sales? Myth #1: You can buy short sales for dirt cheap and then turn around and resell them for a profit. Myth #2: Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Bank Owned Homes can be bought for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar with no money down. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Myth #3: Lenders will accept any short sale offer even if it is for only 50% of what the home is worth. After all, they don’t want a foreclosure on their books. These myths are just not true. Lenders are willing to foreclosure on properties. They have entire departments handle the sale of properties that they have foreclosed on. Another foreclosure is nothing to fear. At the same time, they do prefer short s...
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By Julia Hull, Realtor Modesto, California
(California Real Estate Mart, Inc.)
An Online New Year's Tradition!! Have you ever heard the saying  - If your house is clean going into the New Year that it will be clean All Year! Or How about - If you have money in your pocket going into the New Year you will have money throughout the Year! Well, the house is almost done and Benjamin Franklin is my pocket. Now what about the people around you? Are you surrounding yourself by friends and family? People that want the best for you? Positive and uplifting individuals? With more and more time being spent in Social Media I have to ask  - Who are you surrounding yourself with online? Maybe it is time for a New online New Year's tradition. A tradition that surrounds you with successful business professionals. My gift to you is a Lifetime membership (Free, yes free) to a Commun...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – This is one of the first questions potential short sale sellers ask us. “I heard of something called “forgiveness of debt income and that it is taxable. How does that work?” they ask. The following article is my personal opinion only. I recommend that you consult with a competent legal or tax professional before moving forward with a short sale. In most cases the answer is that a short sale will usually not cause you to owe income tax. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. It used to be that you owed income tax on any forgiveness of debt. When a lender decides to forgive all or a portion of a borrower's debt, the forgiven amount is considered as income for the borrower and is liable to be taxed. Here are the followin...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – GMAC, was the financing arm of General Motors. It was taken over by Uncle Sam and has been mostly privatized as Ally Financial. However, many people still have loans from the original GMAC. Some of these homeowners want to short sale, but are curious about how it works. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. A GMAC short sale is not too much different from other short sales. To start a short sale with GMAC, first call them at the 800 number on your most recent statement. That number is currently 800-850-4622. Most of GMAC’s loans have been sold. The first thing you or your short sale realtors should do is find out who owns the loan now. On our last GMAC short sale, the loan had been sold to a Wall Street “Sliced and ...
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Modesto CA – Many of the short sale sellers we help are selling their home to avoid foreclosure. In addition, they are receiving lots of harassing calls from debt collectors. These debt collectors seem to think that if you call someone with no extra money, then you can still get them to pay. Here is a little tip on how to stop their phone calls. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. A friend of mine looks for missing people. The database he uses is also a prominent debt collection database. He told me something interesting. Apparently people are suing debt collectors for breaking Debt Collection Laws all the time. These lawsuits are expensive for them to defend against and easy for the consumer to file. (I can’t agree more. In my...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
[caption id="attachment_1169" align="alignright" width="425" caption="Past Due Notice"][/caption] Modesto CA – If you are facing financial hardship, then paying credit cards and other unsecured debts is your lowest priority. An unsecured debt is a debt where they can't take away your car or house. A secured debt has something as collateral, such as your car, house, or anything else of value. The most commons unsecured debt is a credit card. When you stop paying them, they will call you nonstop. The reason is because they don't have any other way to collect from you. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. They can't come get your car or take your house. So, they make up for that by blowing up your phone with harassing calls. In add...
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By Julia Hull, Realtor Modesto, California
(California Real Estate Mart, Inc.)
  DECEMBER-2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter Are you keeping an eye on the Market??? Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general. The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.  Please click here to view t...
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Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Werner. “I am behind on my payments and thinking of just letting my home go into foreclosure. What does that do to the neighborhood?” he asked. Here is our answer to his question. It does hurt the neighborhood. But, it also hurts you. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Most banks do not do a good job and processing and handling foreclosures. They take 12-18 months to foreclosure on a house and then sell it. In the meantime they do little to maintain the home. I estimate that half of all the properties I have seen in foreclosure have never even been checked on by the lender. It has gotten so bad that one homeowner even started up a website to report o...
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By Christina ONeal, Realtor - Ripon California
(At Home Real Estate Group)
Go to Macy's in Modesto, CA at Vintaige Faire Mall if you want to write a letter to Santa.  It's at the Macy's Mens & Home Store (in the middle of the mall). They have the cutest display that is interactive for kids.  There are blank notes that look like mail on one side & the Santa postal box is on the right.  Notice the quote that says, "Write a letter to Santa and help make wishes come true." For every letter they receive, Macy's will donate $1 to Make a Wish Foundation.  I love the Believe Meter also.  It's rating high (probably because I was standing there).
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Richard. “I accepted a job transfer and had to move. Unfortunately we were upside down on the house. I decided to rent it out rather than short sale it. The renters just moved out. I just checked the house. They trashed it! I could rent the house out again, but I would have to spend several thousand dollars fixing it up first. What would you recommend that I do?” Richard asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here was our recommendation. That is a tough situation. You could fix up the house and rent it out again. But, you risk having the same thing happen all over again. Here is the other problem. The amount you can charge for rent has gone down i...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Typical Abandoned Real Estate Modesto CA– The New York Time had an interesting article about one man’s mission in the fight to stop foreclosure. According to the article, Mark Guerette, attempted to make use of all the empty, abandoned houses he saw. I get frustrated when I see homes sitting empty for months and months. “Those homes should be put to good use!” I thought to myself. It bugged me that homes would sit empty for months and even years at a time. The lawn would become overgrown. A window might leak. Or, vandals would break the windows. Rain would start getting inside the house, thereby causing mold on the walls and ceiling. The house would get uglier and uglier. As a working short sale realtor, I knew how much this would cause the home’s value to drop. Most of the homes were i...
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Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Jennifer. She is having a hard time selling her home. “I have had my house for sale for a little while, but it hasn’t sold. No buyers have come to look at it. At first I thought the price was fair. But, now that no one has come to see the home, I am beginning to realize that I am upside down. My realtor hasn’t talked to me about a short sale. What should I do?” Jennifer asked. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here. Here is what I would recommend to her. First, talk to your current agent about a short sale. The might be uncomfortable with bringing it up. Short sales are a sensitive issue. Some people get offended when you ask them about a short sale. It d...
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Modesto CA - In this case I would recommend you sell the house. Now, if you are reading this blog, then you must be researching a short sale. Which means that you are probably upside down on the home. You have three options. Option #1: Let your lender foreclose on the home. You just stop making the payments and surrender the home to your lender. Option #2: Short Sale the house and get the debt wiped out. A short sale offers the following benefits over a foreclosure. Issue: Can I get a Future Fannie Mae Loan? Foreclosure: The current Fannie Mae Guidelines require you to wait 5-7 years before you can buy another home with a Fannie Mae Loan. Most other banks and lenders have the same or even stricter procedures. Short Sale: If are back on your feet 2 years after the short sale, then Fannie...
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By Christina ONeal, Realtor - Ripon California
(At Home Real Estate Group)
My hubby & I were driving down Kiernan from Modesto towards Salida, CA.  We were following each other in separate cars when he decides he wants to call me on my cell.  "Follow Me," he says. We pull into this sweet country property right near Tully Rd & Kiernan.  (actually 5307 Tully Rd, Modesto, CA)  Here's what we found, hidden treasures, old antique furniture, wash basins, washboards, world war I marine metal toothbrush holder (could've been WWII), window panes, gas cans, ALL of it so beautifully displayed. The place smelled like Hot Apple Cider (it was brewing & ready for anyone to help themselves too).  It seemed like my hubby & I found a gold mine.  Their prices were reasonable & we couldn't wait to come back later to figure out what to buy. Leland & Sue Jamison have figured this a...
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By Daniel Seider
(BTRE Big Trees Real Estate)
Modesto CA - The big banks made mistakes and received a bailout. They have the resources to lobby congress and the courts to have laws written to suit them. But, what has the little guy received? Nothing. So we decided to put together a Homeowner's Bill of Rights. It's time we had Washington look at what we want, versus taking care of the big banks. Considering that the big banks have way more rights than the little guy, here is what we think should be done to "level the playing field." The Homeowner's Bill of Rights. 1. Stop The Loan Modification Insanity! The Right to an open and transparent loan modification process. Any homeowner that can no longer afford their mortgage payment, petitions their lender for a loan modification, and it turned down shall receive a written, coherent resp...
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