Buyer’s Resources & Advice

Jun 26th	Little Known Advantages of Blogging Realtors – Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Random Thoughts & Opinions, Seller's Resources & Advice

A few years ago blogging was almost an unknown in the real estate business. Here and there a few Realtors and other real estate professionals were blogging, but not to the extent that is seen today.  In the Santa Barbara and Montecito CA areas, there is currently very little blogging done by Realtors. To me this is very interesting since the use of the Internet continues to expand as THE MAIN TOOL (an often the main starting point) for buyers and sellers to search for homes, gather information about areas, learn real estate tips and meet potential real estate agents. For most buyers and sellers, I feel... Read more

Tags: advantages of a realtor blog, real estate blog montecito, real estate blog santa barbara, real estate blogger santa barbara, santa barbara blogger, santa barbara realtor

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Jun 9th	Is My Realtor a Santa Barbara Neighborhood Specialist in My Area?
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Seller's Resources & Advice

Sometimes buyers and sellers will hire a real estate agent who works outside of an area because of friendship or thinking they could save money since this Realtor will give them a "kick-back" on their commission.  From my experience, working with an agent who does not have intimate knowledge of the neighborhood you are looking to buy or sell in can hurt you in many ways...financially speaking.  Therefore, if you choose to want to work with someone you know who does not know your area well, have them team up with a Realtor who does know the area. Here is... Read more

Tags: santa barbara neighborhood, santa barbara neighborood specialist, santa barbara realtor

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May 26th	5 Reasons I Should Buy Into Santa Barbara Real Estate Today!!
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Santa Barbara

Many true buyers are sitting on the sidelines these days deciding on when to get into the real estate market.  Ultimately this decision for each individual will be based on many different factors.  If your own personal reasons are leading to you wanting to get into the Santa Barbara Real Estate market right now, here are 5 factors today that should be a part of your thoughts. 1) You can not time the bottom of the market. Timing the bottom of the market is incredibly hard to do and often harder to resist.  With current inventory at a decent amount and mortgage rates... Read more

Tags: buy in santa barbara, buyers in santa barbara, santa barbara real estate, santa barbara real estate market

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Apr 22nd	Are Short Sales a Good Path to Santa Barbara Real Estate Ownership?
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Seller's Resources & Advice, Short Sales

At the beginning of 2008, I wrote a few articles about short sales and foreclosures in our local areas here in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria.  At that point, we had only seen a handful of foreclosures in our areas and most of these were in the entry level condo market from the $300,000 to $650,000 price point as well as track homes from the $590,000 to $800,000 price point.  Short sales were also just starting to creep up in our local areas within the same market and price points. Now in the last several weeks, we have started to see a definite increase in short... Read more

Tags: santa barbara real estate, short sales carpinteria, short sales goleta, short sales santa barbara, short sales santa barbara real estate

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Apr 17th	The Positives of FHA Loans Here in the Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria Areas
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice

Here is a great list of positives about an FHA mortgage that I picked up from First Capital that I felt buyers should know about... Common sense underwriting Maximum loan amount $729,750 No declining market appraisal issues.  Lenders are not reducing the loan to value if a home is in a "declining market" whereas all traditional loan programs are being cut by 5% loan to value Buyer can put as little as 3% down of which all may be gifted Seller may contribute 6% credit to buyer - 3% for closing cost and 3 % for down payment Buyer may not need money out of pocket... Read more

Tags: below market interest rates, FHA mortgage santa barbara, full documentation loans, loans in Carpinteria, loans in goleta, loans in Santa Barbara

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Apr 14th	Search the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta CA MLS for Free
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources & Advice

Searching the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta area MLS is now easy and free. More and more buyers and sellers are wanting to start there search for real estate on the Internet, in the own comfort and privacy of their homes.  If you are looking for the MLS here in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta CA and surrounding areas, you have found the right place. SantaBarbaraRealEstateVoice provides you with all the tools you need to start your information gathering about real estate in our area for free, with no obligations or sign-ups.  You can search via any of the single criteria below as... Read more

Tags: goleta CA mls, mls in santa barbara, montecito ca mls, santa barbara area properties, santa barbara ca mls, search montecito mls, search santa barbara mls

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Apr 7th	Where Are Those “Jumbo Conforming” Loans with Lower Interest Rates?
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice

Here is a quick fact in the life within the lending business that no one can refute... The larger the mortgage, the riskier the loan and therefore the tougher it is for a home-buyer to get a mortgage approved. Now weeks after the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 changed the maximum amount on a conventional conforming loan from $417,000 to about $729,500 in high valued areas such as Santa Barbara CA, substantially lower interest rates on these larger loans are not being doled out to consumers as many thought they would be. This new adjustment and the conforming loan was in theory supposed to reduce... Read more

Tags: conforming jumbo loans, Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, lower interest rates, Montecito, Santa Barbara

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Apr 2nd	Any Great Short Sale Opportunities in Santa Barbara and Goleta CA?
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Short Sales

Over the last 4-6 months we have started to see an increase in the amount of short sales and foreclosures here in the Santa Barbara area...especially in the Goleta and Carpinteria areas.  Almost all of these have predominantly fallen into the price point from $250,000 to $800,000. Question - Is a short sale a great opportunity to buy a home for cheaper than market value? Answer - It can be if you have the time, patience and the wherewithal to deal with a lot of potential frustration, uncertainty and waiting? What is a short sale? - A short sale is simply an unfortunate situation where... Read more

Tags: carpinteria short sale, goleta short sale, santa barbara short sale, short sale opportunities, steps taken for a short sale

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Mar 6th	Santa Barbara Real Estate Gets Wish Granted from the FHA
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice

After a fair amount of backlash and letter writing, the government this week raised the mortgage limits for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration in several high cost California counties, including Santa Barbara.  The maximum amount of $729,750 will now be allowed for the Santa Barbara area and only time will tell what effect this will have on the housing market here.  For many residents here in the Santa Barbara area where the average price of a single family home is over $ 1 Million, this will allow homeowners with high-rate sub-prime mortgages to refinance into federally insured loans.  Additionally, it... Read more

Tags: FHA Loans, jumbo loans santa barbara, maximum amount, maximum level, Santa Barbara, santa barbara real estate, subprime mortgages

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Mar 5th	Search The Santa Barbara Area MLS…and More!!
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources & Advice

Question- What has been the biggest change in Real Estate in the last few years (outside of the sub-prime fallout)? Answer -  The amount of real estate information that buyers and sellers can gather on their own by going online. A few years ago, the standard features for a Realtor were to simply have a static website with contact info, some pictures of a few properties, offerings of a CMA and some links to various "resources".  Buyers had to start the early process of their search by contacting a Realtor and asking a bunch of questions...Today, buyers and sellers want to be equipped with more... Read more

Tags: real estate information, santa barbara area listings, santa barbara area mls, santa barbara real estate, search santa barbara mls

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Feb 18th	Plan for your Santa Barbara Remodel Now, so that you don’t go Crazy Later
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Seller's Resources & Advice

Many of us have heard our share of drama stories and even read articles about the drama involved with many Santa Barbara home remodels.  Whether it is a simple kitchen make-over or a complete addition to your Santa Barbara home, here is a quick planning strategy to hopefully save you wasted time, energy and money. Start with a wish list, even if this will have to be dwindled down in the future.  This is surely one of the most fun activities in the entire remodelling process, so have a great time and get creative.  Keep all of your notes, drawings and cut-outs... Read more

Tags: building codes santa barbara, contractor, permitting process santa barbara, realtor, remodel, Santa Barbara, santa barbara home, santa barbara remodel

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Feb 15th	Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice, Your Online Real Estate Resource
2008	Categories: Buyer's Resources & Advice, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources & Advice

Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice is an online resource for Santa Barbara Real Estate, Montecito Real Estate and the surrounding areas.  When you work with a real estate agent to sell or buy a home, it will in all likelihood be the first or second largest financial decision of your life!!  That is a very big decision.  With that in mind, Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice is here to help you with finding information for all your real estate related questions and needs for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Goleta, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria and the Santa Barbara Wine Country. You can search the Santa Barbara... Read more

Tags: Carpinteria, Goleta, Hope Ranch, market statistics, market updates, montecito real estate, neighborhood info, santa barbara area listings, santa barbara area mls, santa barbara real estate, schools, Summerland

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