If you are sitting on the fence about buying, Congress just gave you another reason to jump into the market for foreclosures in Santa Maria, CA. According to James Liptak, President of the California Association of Realtors, the recently passed stimulus bill modestly increases the first time home buyer credit from $7500 to $8000. But more importantly, buyers now do not have to pay the credit back as long as they stay in the home a minimum of 3 years. The bill also extended the time period for this credit through the end of the year. This is fantastic news for first time home buyers in the Santa Maria CA market, where they can benefit from significant price recessions in a foreclosure driven market, interest rates at historical lows, and now a substantial tax credit available through the end of 2009.

Buyers should take note that even though prices are declining and and it is a buyer's market; it is still incredibly competitive to buy Santa Maria CA foreclosures. Lots of people think it is a great time to buy. There are only 440 available homes and condos on the market in Santa Maria - Orcutt CA and only 85 are REOs (about 20%), while there are 239 properties in escrow and 166 of them are bank owned properties (about 66%). So, the bank owned foreclosures (REOs) are the hot item right now; they also tend to offer the best prices and garner multiple bids from buyers.

I would advise first time buyers to begin looking long before the Fall season if they want to be sure that they close escrow before the end of the year. Often it can take 2-3 months for a suitable bank owned property to become available, and since most first time buyer's use FHA or VA financing, it can then take 45-60 days to close escrow given the requirements of these loan programs coupled with the bureaucracy of dealing with a bank seller. So, buyer's should make sure they have enough lead time to meet the deadline.

If you would like a list of foreclosure properties in Santa Maria CA or Orcutt CA, please send me an email request at tni@mintprop.com, or call me directly at (805) 878-9879. You can also search for properties on my websites: www.iLoveOrcutt.com, www.iLoveSantaMaria.com, www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com (map based search), www.SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com.

Tni LeBlanc, JD, M.A., e-PRO
Broker/Owner, Mint Properties
(805) 878-9879, tni@MintProp.com
www.iLoveOrcutt.com
www.iLoveSantaMaria.com
www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com
www.SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com

*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market

Currently, the market for bank owned properties in Santa Maria CA and Orcutt CA is very competitive. In the last couple of weeks, I placed offers for well priced listings where there were at least 10 other offers. REO listings fly off the market with multiple bidders in just a few days when they are offered in good condition and at the right price. You will tend to see the most intense competition where the bank-seller chooses to fix up properties before they list them. Not many are doing this - but it is happening more and more. "Fixing up" can be as simple as recarpeting and repainting a home. And even though these finishing touches don't cost much they can set a cash strapped buyer's heart on fire as most foreclosure listings need paint and carpet at a minimum. Good asset managers know this, so they do cosmetic repairs to the property, price it at the low end and then sit back and cherry pick the best offer.

When the bidding gets competitive, buyers are often left to wonder how asset managers make their decisions about which offer to choose. If you have 15 offers how do you select one over the other? The obvious selection would be based on the net to the seller, but there are other factors. In particular, time and time again, I see FHA buyers passed over for buyers using conventional financing. That is not to say that FHA financing is not being used in this market- it is. However, when the situation turns competitive FHA and VA buyers have difficulty edging out conventional buyers even when they offer more money for the property.

Some asset managers view an offer with more down payment as more substantial, and most FHA buyers are putting down only the minimum of 3.5% down and VA buyers are usually putting nothing down. Another reason why FHA (or VA) offers are sometimes disfavored is because the FHA or VA appraiser may indicate repairs to meet their standards; those repairs must be made in order for the transaction to close. Bank-sellers usually want to sell foreclosed properties with as little expense as possible, so many asset managers do not want to take the risk that the buyer will demand that the seller make repairs to the property in order to close. Of course, FHA buyers could pay for these repairs, but most are first time buyers who have just scraped together enough for their down payment and some closing costs.

Unfortunately for buyers, conventional financing is more difficult to obtain in this market. Some lenders require 10% down for conventional financing, but at a minimum the lowest figure I've heard lately is 5% for a home (not a condo). Also, if you are putting less than 20% down on a conventional loan, the requirement for your credit score could be as a high as 720. This leaves FHA as the only option for many buyers, even if they have more money to put down than the 3.5% FHA minimum requirement.

If you have any questions about how to succeed in buying bank owned properties with FHA or VA financing in this market, please feel free to give me a call at (805) 878-9879, as I have a great deal of experience helping FHA/VA buyers into homes in this foreclosure driven market. Also, if you would like a list of foreclosed properties in the Santa Maria or Orcutt areas, send an email request to tni@MintProp.com, or search for properties on my websites: www.iLoveSantaMaria.com, www.iLoveOrcutt.com, www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com, www.SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com.

Tni LeBlanc, JD, M.A., e-PRO
Broker/Owner, Mint Properties
(805) 878-9879, tni@MintProp.com
www.iLoveOrcutt.com
www.iLoveSantaMaria.com
www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com
www.SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com

*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

Are we beginning to turn the corner on foreclosures on the central coast? The number of notices of default ("NODs") filed in both counties marked a sharp decline last month.

For example in Santa Barbara county, in the proceeding 8 months of 2008, the number of notices of default averaged about 302 notices per month, and in August the number of NODs filed was 269. However, in September 2008 that number dropped almost 60% to 112. Prior to that month, the lowest number of NODs filed in one month in SB county was 266 in July 2008, so 112 appears to be quite a significant drop. Further in San Luis Obispo county, foreclosure statistics follow this pattern as well. In June, July, and August 2008, the average number of NODs filed was 156, whereas the number of NODs filed in September 2008 was 88. This marks an almost 45% drop from that previous 3 month average.

Of course one month's stats are only a small part of what is going on in the local housing market. It may indicate that lenders are simply too backed up to file NODs in a timely fashion, or that lenders are doing more loan modifications and workouts with borrowers instead of filing foreclosure actions, it could also mean that we are on the downslope of this trend. And of course, it could be a combination of all those things.  If you are interested in receiving additional foreclosure market information, please send a request to me at tni@mintprop.com, or call me at (805) 878-9879.

Tni LeBlanc, JD, M.A. , e-PRO
Broker/Owner
Mint Properties
(805) 878-9879
tni@MintProp.com

www.MintProp.com
www.YourMonthlyMint.com
www.SantaMariaRealEstateBlog.com
www.VAFBRealEstateSearch.com
www.CentralCoastRealEstateSearch.com

*Based on the information from the Stewart Title's Foreclosure Market Summary. Mint Properties does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data provided may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.