Buyer’s Resources
Cort Report for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta and Carpinteria CA. Areas - First 6 Months of 2008
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Market Statistics / Updates
Here is the Santa Barbara cort report for closed sales for the first 6 months of 2008. The cort report lists all closed sales of property regardless of whether they were reported in the Santa Barbara MLS or not. This includes for sale by owners, transfers of property between family members etc. Upwards of 95+ % of all sales are reported in the MLS, where as 100% are reported in the cort report.
If you would like further info about a certain month or area, please let me know so that I can be of help.
Further Reading: Cort Report April 2008, Cort Report May 2008, Market Statistics and Reports for the Year 2008
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Little Known Advantages of Blogging Realtors - Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers, Real Estate News, Seller's Resources
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 that working with a Realtor who blogs and blogs regularly (say 2-3 times per week) gives them many advantages.
Advantages for a buyer or seller of working with a Realtor who Blogs!!!
#1 - You as the consumer get to know the real estate agent and get to establish a rapport with them even before you meet them personally. Through their blogging, a buyer or seller will learn about an agent’s values, their style, their knowledge, their interests etc. Ultimately the consumer can then decide if they are someone they trust to help in achieving their real estate goals. There will be a definite comfort level achieved before you even begin.
#2 - You gain a definite insight into what the Realtor actually knows about their particular role in the real estate market they are in. Are they writing about short sales and foreclosures…if not, then most likely they don’t know much about them. Are they writing about oceanfront property and high-end property…if so, then most likely they do know about this market. No one knows everything about their particular business, but what they do know they tend to write about.
#3 - You will learn if the Realtor is an expert is your neighborhood of interest. If they have never written about Santa Barbara neighborhoods such as The Mesa, San Roque, Downtown, Oceanfront in Montecito, view homes and so on, then most likely they are not comfortable with those areas or markets for whatever reason. A Santa Barbara Realtor that blogs about certain areas demonstrates their knowledge of the area.
#4 - Does the Realtor cite facts and figures to support their points that they are making? Are other posts and websites they refer to in their own posts helpful as well? If this is all done clearly and of help, then the Realtor is taking their time to do their research. A definite criteria that any good Realtor should have.
#5 - The presence that a Realtor has online is extremely important these days with the Internet becoming THE MAIN TOOL in researching real estate. If you are looking for an agent to help you sell your home, make 100% sure that they have a good Internet presence and knowledge of how to market your property online. If you Google them for example, will they show up all over the place or are they hidden on the Web? If they are hidden, then most likely any online presence of your home being sold will also be hidden. If they are everywhere, then most likely your home will have a very good online presence.
#6 - Is their writing clear and precise. If so, then most likely your transaction with them will be smooth with good communication. This is obviously very important during any transaction. Through well thought out good writing you can learn how a Realtor thinks and communicates.
#7 - Lastly, a huge advantage of working with an agent that blogs is that you can learn about their character. Are they ethical and professional? Do they seem to have integrity and your interests at heart? Are they responsible, knowledgeable, likable and do they communicate clearly? You will learn about many advantages that a Realtor can bring to you as a client and into a transaction through their blogging.
As an active Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Blogger here in the Santa Barbara and Montecito CA areas, I feel that I am enabling the consumer with better transparency of information. I believe that the quality of the information is also extremely important. I also believe that by blogging I am more consumer focused and therefore a better Santa Barbara Realtor.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Is My Realtor a Santa Barbara Neighborhood Specialist in My Area?
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers, Seller's Resources
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 a sample list of some crucial information that a Santa Barbara neighborhood specialist will undoubtedly know, whereas an out-of-area real estate agent most likely will not:
- The history of the neighborhood and the homes, who lived where, when etc.
- Which homes were previously sold outside of the MLS, FSBO etc.
- What makes certain homes on a street worth more than the other homes
- Which streets in each neighborhood are considered more desirable than others
- Neighborhood nuisances such as loud pets, traffic etc. and their influence on value
- How to accurately price certain homes to determine specific values
- Which agents tend to take listings at market and who takes overpriced listings and for what reasons
- Listing agent’s individual reputations and how to negotiate and work with these agents
- Pending legislation, assessments or neighborhood changes and regulations
- How to potentially get inside information out of a listing agent because they know how a certain agent works
- New inventory that is not yet on the market but will be coming…or sellers that would sell if an offer was brought to them
Further Reading: The 2 Major Steps in Buying a Home in Santa Barbara CA
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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5 Reasons I Should Buy Into Santa Barbara Real Estate Today!!
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers, 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 very low, find a perfect place with your Realtor and then try and bargain. Even if the selling price seems to be very good, offer lower…if it is not accepted you can move on.
2) Low mortgage rates. Most economists agree that financing will become more expensive in the future. By now we have all heard our share of stories about financing woes even for well qualified people. Currently, the 30 year loan is now roughly at 6.1% and most economists see it reaching 6.5% by the end of the year and up to a 7% forecast sometime in 2009. So even if home prices do fall some more, there will most likely be a penalty to pay with higher interest rates.
3) Rates on “larger conforming mortgages”, which is almost a given for most buyers in the Santa Barbara area, won’t be dropping much. Even though the conforming amount has risen to $729,000 in the Santa Barbara area, investors are shunning these big jumbo loans. Because of this, these larger loans are unlikely to see a drop in rates in the coming year and then the program for these “jumbo conforming” loan amounts are set to all disappear.
4) Don’t just by for a cheap price, buy in a good area. Sure you might get excited about that great foreclosure price, but when you are buying a home, you are also buying the neighborhood. If more than a few foreclosures have come up in one area, there most likely will be more. They tend to be bunched in particular areas and this might not be the best recipe for stability in a neighborhood. An old rule of thumb is to buy the worst house on the best block…not the worst house on a bad block.
5) Work with a great Realtor that has experience and who you personally have a good connection with. This I think just needs to be accepted since times are tough for many Realtors. Make sure your Realtor is not desperate and just steering you into a home to finally make a deal. Sit down with your agent, express your needs and plans and get a good sense of whether they are looking out for you or just looking to get paid.
Further Reading: The Positives of FHA Loans here in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria areas, The 2 Major First Steps in Buying a Home in the Santa Barbara area
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Are Short Sales a Good Path to Santa Barbara Real Estate Ownership?
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Carpinteria, Goleta, Seller's Resources
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 sales with many sellers looking at short sales as a great opportunity to attempt to sell their home and many buyers looking at short sales as a great opportunity to get into the market here in the Santa Barbara area.
Here is the Catch: Not all short sales are actually going to be sold…in fact most won’t from what we are seeing. Ruth Simon and James Hagerty have written a very informative article in the Wall Street Journal talking about this fact.
I myself have now represented both buyers and sellers with short sales here in that last few months and here is what I can recommend:
1) You have to be patient. Start to finish can take 3-4 months or more and offer many headaches.
2) Look at what the seller currently owes on the property. If they currently owe a lot more than the asking price (for example $650,000 and they are trying to sell if for $550,000 and you write an offer for $500,000), most likely the investor that buys up the loan from the lender will not accept your offer.
3) There is a definite difference if the seller has only a 1st or a 1st and a 2nd on the property or has refinanced the property or owns the property as a second home / investment.
4) If you are currently an active buyer, continue to look at properties for sale and don’t just count on the one property that you have an offer in on if it is a short sale. You don’t want to pass up 6-10 weeks of properties coming on the market to then learn that your offer is not going to be accepted.
If you have any questions…I would be happy to talk and share what I know.
Further Reading: Any Great Short Sale Opportunites in Santa Barbara and Goleta CA?
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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The Positives of FHA Loans Here in the Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria Areas
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers
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 with some assistance programs
- An employer / parent may co-sign and qualify for the loan as a non-owner occupant co-borrower
- Flaws in credit history are allowable
- Debt to income ratio of 31% / 43% or higher
- Interest rates are generally at or below market - full documentation required for most loans
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Search the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta CA MLS for Free
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Goleta, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources
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 well as any combination of criteria:
- price
- cities as well as neighborhoods
- style of housing (condo / single family etc.)
- beds and baths
- schools
- zip codes
If you see any homes of interest, you can request information about the particular listing(s). After searching on your own, if you would like to then be personally set up to receive listings as soon as they are listed in the MLS that meet only your specific needs, contact me as well or sign up.
Further Reading: Search the Santa Barbara MLS and More
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
Subscribe to Receive Personal Listings of Santa Barbara Area Properties
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