Did you hear about the, Buyer's Bonus Mortgage Program? This is a superb vehicle for, First Time Home Buyers. Primary residenceSingle family Residence, (Warrantable & condo-conversions), and Planned unit developments.Maximum loan amount $417,000.00  Buyers Bonus payments only apply to the first trust deed. Subordinate financing, taxes and insurance and HOA (if Applicable) are the buyers responsibly.  If you are a homebuyer, please contact me for details. Suzanne  08/09/2007

The median price for an Orange County home returned to record territory with the first monthly high since June 2006, DataQuick Information Systems reported today.June's median selling price for all residences was $645,000, or 0.4% above a year ago. (See how other O.C. home-price indexes have fared by The previous record was $642,500 set in June 2006.But don't interpret the new high to be a sign the housing downturn has bottomed out and started to recover, said DataQuick number cruncher Andrew LePage.Sales fell to 2,641 homes sold, or 31.6% below a year ago. It's the slowest-selling June in the 20 years DataQuick has tracked the market, and it follows the worst May on their books as well. The old bottom was 3,364 in June 1995.With nearly one-third fewer sales than a year ago -- and less ... 07/23/2007

An Heir's Steps to Getting, Sharing Home TitleQuestion: My parents died within four days of each other in 2005. In their will, they left their home to me. I am their only child. There is still a mortgage, which I have been paying. Can I have the title to this property changed to my name and my husband's name? We live in the house and will want to sell it someday.Answer: Unless the estates of your parents qualify for an exception, their wills must be probated by the local probate court, which will transfer the title to you as the sole heir.After you hold title, you should notify the lender to change the name on the mortgage to you. But the lender cannot call the mortgage due, nor can you be charged a mortgage assumption fee, because you are the offspring of the decedents and are living i... 07/22/2007

To Escape MIP, Refinance LoanQuestion: What is the difference between private mortgage insurance ? PMI ? and mortgage insurance premium ? MIP? After paying nine years on my FHA mortgage, I have tried to get my MIP canceled. But I have been told I can't get it removed. I paid $70,000 for the house and it now appraises for $137,000, so the MIP clearly is not needed by the FHA. How can I get my MIP canceled?Answer: Forget about canceling your MIP on that FHA mortgage. In your situation, the FHA clearly doesn't need your MIP to protect its mortgage if you should default. Yet every month you pay that extra cost. However, the only way to get rid of MIP is to refinance with a non-FHA mortgage.Information provided by, Catherine Sheldrick, United General Title 07/22/2007

Orange County officials gave the nod Wednesday, July 18, 2007 for Newport Beach to annex the 64 acre neighborhood known as Santa Ana Heights.  This has to be great news for the community that was nearly annexed by Costa Mesa back in 2001.  A neighborhood group fought back and thwarted Costa Mesa's annexation attempt.  On Wednesday, their hard work paid off.  The area which is an unincorporated area adjacent to John Wayne airport is an eclectic array of custom built homes, bungalows and a handful of tract homes.  The area has been undergoing a gentrification over the past decade and many of the homes are now garnering price tags similar to their Newport Heights neighbors.  With the annexation and a new mailing address, the area will most likely see an upswing in value.  The prestigious N... 07/21/2007

A Limit on Widow's Gains Exclusion Question: My husband and I owned a house as tenants in common. He died in 2005. Now I would like to sell the house. Am I entitled to the $500,000 exclusion on my capital gains?Answer: No. You would be entitled to the $500,000 principal-residence-sale capital gains tax exclusion only if you sold the house in 2005, the year of your husband's death.However, presuming you inherited your husband's share of the property; you received a new stepped-up basis to market value on at least that share as of the date of his death.Presuming you owned and occupied the principal residence at least 24 of the 60 months before its sale, Internal Revenue Code 121 entitles you to a $250,000 exemption upon its sale. Information provided by Catherine Sheldrick, United General... 07/21/2007

One of the projects I have begun working on for clients is to compile data from their specific communities on their recent sales, current listings, and tracking the trends on home values. I have begun creating reports for specific areas in Orange County, and am customizing these reports based upon data given to me from the MLS and my appraisers. If you are an Eastbluff resident and would like to request a customized report, you may do so at my custom website at: EastbluffHomeValues.com.  If you are interested in purchasing an Eastbluff home, be sure to contact me for a referral to a qualified REALTOR.   07/20/2007

Gina Dougherty from AR, her significant other, and me, sat down in the back row with our coffee in hand not knowing what to expect. The theme of the day was "The Inner Circle". The president of the Mark Victor Hansen organization introduced MVH and the show began.Before we knew it, MVH was having us draw happy faces on each other's index fingers. Okay, I know MVH likes to have fun but were we ready to deal with our reluctant inner child so early in the morning? Reluctantly, we drew them. I was worried about getting ink on our clothing but then he had us touch our foreheads. Were we going to have happy faces imprinted on our foreheads? About 400 well dressed 30-40-50's something entrepreneurs drawing happy faces on our body is against all the rules and so it began, breaking down the stee... 01/15/2007

Mark Victor Hansen, author of One Minute Millionaire and co-author of Chicken Soup For The Soul Series, is a powerhouse of inspiration and had the room on its feet more than in their seats. He is funny, brilliant, and influential. He and his entourage of power hitters such as Roger Hamilton who is the author of 'Wink and Grow Rich', and Robert Allen, authour of Multiple Streams of Income, are out to change the world. Their plan is to create millionaires and those millionaires in turn donate to charities. Their goal is to stamp out poverty. Count me in Mark. I will be posting some of the outstanding points made during this whirlwind event.  Stage It Forward!  No hat that day...  01/14/2007

30% Commission Referrals from Terry Alen Newhouse. Luxury high-end and extreme home specialist for Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Shady Canyon and Laguna Beach areas. Our Team,  The Mckown-Weinstein Group, specializes in the above $7,000,000 brackets. However, we regularly list and sell homes under this range. We usually carry between $150,000,000 and $200,000,000 + in listings at a given time, so please contact us for your needs! Experience in Feng Shui and foreign client care. Honest and fast paying, I will treat your clients like Gold. Excellent referrals.  Feel free to contact me anytime for questions. Sincerely, The McKown-Weinstein Group Terry Alen Newhouse Surterre Properties 1400 Newport Center Dr. Ste 100 Newport Beach, Ca 92660 949.933.3651 ... 01/07/2007

You heard it from me first folks - a month ago I said that more and more conventional brokerages are adding auctions to their list of services.  Surf and Country(tm) out of Newport Beach CA annouced today that it's adding auctions to its residential real estate services. Mark Whitehead of Surf & Country is one of California's largest individual brokers.  This truly is going to catch on like wild fire and become more mainstream. How quickly that happens depends on how successful conventional brokerages integrate and execute on the auction marketing and processes. it's a different ball game out there!http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060926/nytu085.html?.v=69 09/26/2006