Why dont we require Solar of some type on new buildings & houses like they did in California in the 1980's?

During the oil embargo years during the 1980's, the State of California required all new residential buildings to install Solar hot water heating systems. Hot Water costs a family of 4 an avg of $55/month according to Sempra Energy. With the current federal tax credits it pays for itself in just 2-3 years, so why not require it on all new residential construction across the U.S.?

Solar Electric (Photovolataics) has come down in price to the point where it can pay for itself in just 10 years(or less) in desert areas like Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico & large portions of Texas where summer cooling bills are outrageous. Why not require it on all new construction?

With long term(10+ yr) Sallie Mae loans Solar Electric can actually pay for itself from the start when you factor in Federal Tax Credits and State(like California) or Utility Company(like Nevada) incentives. Why not require it & give property owners Govt secured, long term low interest loans to pay for it?
california construction loan

FHA loan to buy a house that needs work.?

My brother was approved for $200,000 through an FHA loan, 3% down payment, he offered the full asking price for a house that is in foreclosure ($179,900). Its been on the market for 3 months and the price has been lowered twice. (3,071sq ft. 4bd/3.5 on 4.2 acres)
The last owners, took all the light fixtures, all the doors, and made some holes on the walls. The property is full of garbage and overgrown shrubs, but no damage or anything that will have to be fixed, just cleaned up.
I've been reading about FHA loans, and most people say that properties that need work can not be purchased with an FHA loan. Is it true?
We have family and friends that work in construction, so we would be doing all the repairs.. Won't go over $5,000.
We were told by our realtor, that we would get a respond from the bank in about 5 business days...

What are your thoughts on this?

This is in central California, where most home prices have fallen by 50%
california construction loan

Funding for log-style construction vacation home, refinance?

I am a mortgage broker searching for a funding source to refinance a 2nd home in northern California. LTV will be under 75%, credit scores over 700 and full doc. Property is the question, exterior is log cabin style and rock facia. Interior is finished drywall with log style beams in roof and rafters. Loan amount will need to ba jumbo - $550,000. Does not qualify as conforming jumbo. Any thoughts?
california construction loan

Loan against real estate question...?

My mother has a house in California that was transferred to my brother and I. The house had a remaining mortgage of about 30K. Shortly after it was transfered my brother asked if he could take a loan out against it to complete the construction of his business. Since this time my brother and I do not get along very well. I know that I should have never let him borrow the money against it. However, I would like to know what can I do to 1. Either remove my name from the house 2. Get the loan unattached from the house 3. other advise?
Thanks.
california construction loan

Can I ask for more money on a home construction/mortgage loan?

I recently built a house and asked for a $140,000 construction loan. I was approved for more than that and only took $140,000. I've gone over budget but the house is complete. I put in about $10,000 from my pocket. Is it possible to ask for more money from my lender? I was hoping to finish the house and with left over money pay off a personal loan I have which I took out to buy the acreage I built my house on. The interest rate on the personal loan is about 5.2-5.5 percent, don't recall the exact number. Would it be wise to ask the lender for more money to pay off the personal loan and pay myself back what I put in from my own pocket. It won't hurt me to pay my mortgage monthly, but will hurt to pay $10,000 out of my own pocket all at once and not get it back. Any suggestions on what I can do?
construction loan mortgage

Would a construction loan be the type of loan for building a new home?

If you wanted to build your own house, would you apply for a construction loan? What are the terms of a construction loan? How hard is it to get one?

www.realestate-network.net Video by William Bamish of TheReal Estate Network, a real estate Brokerage and investment company located in Newport Beach California. We have direct access to MANY bank owned properties and investor owned properties before they come to market for the general public and Multiple listing Service. Please contact use directly to see how we can help you find homes or investment below market value. We specialize in many real estate investments, wholesale property acquisitions, direct hard- private money lending, financing of conventional and FHA mortgages. We service five southern California counties Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino. The Real Estate Network has been at this location for 10 years. Broker has 27 years of real estate investment experience. California Licensed Broker DRE #01185564 California Licensed Appraiser OREA #008704 California Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS #345030 Visit our website at www.realestate-network.net call 949-574-4900 or email wb@realestate-network.net Office location 6400 W. Oceanfront Newport Beach California 92663. The Real Estate Network has enjoyed three decades as a Southern California real estate brokerage and investment company helping many investors and clients achieve their financial goals.

A SECRET STRATEGY TO TURN LOSERS INTO WINNERS

I received a question from a Realtor last week that will give you insight into a purchase strategy that you can use with a commercial property whose current cash flow can’t support a loan large enough to complete its purchase. In other words, loan to value is restricted to 50% or less because values have shot up and cap rates have declined. We see this a lot on the coasts, in large cities, and on high quality properties.

In this particular situation, we were dealing with an apartment building in a beach community that was selling for 22 times the current gross rent! (I kid you, not!) And believe it or not, that is a fairly standard Gross Rent Multiplier in higher end beach communities in California.

The property could only support a loan of about $1.5 Million and the asking price was over $3.5 Million. To purchase that property “as is” would require a $2 Million down payment and would only offer the investor a 3.7% cash on cash cap rate with its current income (less with the loan). You’d be better off finding a good money market account!

However, there were two options we could take that involve looking at what the property could be, not what it is. And herein lay one of the most powerful financing/acquisition strategies involving construction loans you could ever learn as a real estate investor.

Option 1 was to look at the building as apartments, but with upgraded rooms, exterior, and hallways. Adding some granite counter tops, wood floors, better appliances, and the like would allow the new owner to raise rents approximately 33% to 40%. This would raise the maximum loan to almost $2.2 Million on a permanent basis. We could potentially get a construction loan to acquire and renovate the property in that amount, preserving the Buyer’s capital and increasing return.

Option 2 involved looking at the building as a potential condo conversion. Condos located that close to the beach and the local towns were selling from $800,000 to $1.2 Million. There were 9 units in the building. Taking the low end of the range would give us a final sales value of $7.2 Million!!! That’s a potential profit of over $3 Million on what might amount to a $300,000 renovation and conversion. In this case, a lot of investigation remains to be done to see if this is a viable alternative. On top of that, the overall market for condominiums has become rather soft and it might be a hard project to sell to a financial institution at this time.

So what’s the lesson? In older investment properties, commercial properties that have been neglected by the current owner, or properties whose owners’ have fallen on hard times, there exists an opportunity for an educated investor to purchase real estate at a significant discount with high leverage! Construction loans on commercial property usually allow the investor to come in with 15% to 20% of the total costs of the project, provided the construction loan doesn’t exceed 75% to 80% of the final, stabilized value. On multifamily and tract homes, the loan to costs can be as high as 90%.

So the next time a lender tells you “no” because a project doesn’t cash flow, is in need of repair, or has had an ownership problem, turn the tables and consider using a construction loan to acquire and add value in one step.

Craig Higdon

Situated in Santa Clara County, 50 miles south of San Francisco, Silicon Valley luxury homes can be found in San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Milpitas, Menlo Park, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Campbell and Santa Clara.  Silicon Valley luxury real estate houses more high-tech jobs per capita than anywhere else in the nation, so it's reasonable to assume the residents living in Silicon Valley homes are quite affluent.

Computer technology was born in Silicon Valley luxury real estate. Some of the high-paying companies that have their headquarters or at least a major presence here include: IBM, Sun, Intel, Sony, Yahoo, Cisco, Apple, Hitachi, Netscape, Microsoft, Google, Symantec, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, TiVo and more. A number of high-level government and military employees work at Moffett Federal Airfield, NASA Ames Research Center and Onizuka Air Force Station. Students congregate at Stanford University, San Jose University and Santa Clara University.

Typically, there has been so many jobs in Silicon Valley
Why Choose a Rainmaker Properties Agent as Your Silicon Valley Realtor?

that local recruitment efforts spawned a whole industry of its own. The California Employment Development Department says that jobs still abound in biomedicine, software programming, secondary-school teachers, environmental consultants, biofuel research, infrastructure and commercial loan officers. The shaky economy brought bad news for mid-wage earners living in Silicon Valley luxury homes, as the region shed construction, hospitality, retail and financial service jobs. However, the Valley saw gains in higher-paying education, social assistance, healthcare and business service jobs. Also, more than 1.5 million "green" jobs have been created in California over the last thirty-five years, generating $45 billion in payroll, with many of those jobs right here in Silicon Valley luxury real estate.

Of course, career opportunities are just one component of this gorgeous region. Mountainous, fertile valleys bordering the Pacific Ocean and pleasant weather all-year-round are some of the obvious perks. Residents never need heat or air conditioning, since the temperature is so mild. San Jose is ranked "one of the best places to live" by Money Magazine. The cost of living here is considered expensive, but it keeps the riffraff out. San Jose has the least expensive Silicon Valley luxury homes, while Palo Alto and Menlo Park are two of the ritzier areas. That being said, Silicon Valley paychecks compensate for the higher cost of living, with the average salaried working bringing in around $93,876.

For entertainment, residents of Silicon Valley luxury real estate can drive just five hours to Lake Tahoe, home to skiing, and snowboarding in the winter, or boating, gambling and nature walks in the warmer months. Moreover, Reno nightlife is just another hour away, making it a perfect weekender. San Francisco, with all its historic charm and culture, is only one hour North of Silicon Valley as well. Napa Valley wineries are a big draw for the Silicon Valley aristocracy. The Santa Cruz beach boardwalk is a great place to take the kids for an afternoon. Yosemite National Park is nearby with mountains, rock formations, valleys, geysers, wildlife and waterfalls. The Monterey Peninsula also has one of the nation's best aquariums and a number of historical sites. Amusement parks are located in Los Gatos, Gilroy, Willow Glen, Santa Clara and East San Jose. For the nature enthusiasts, there are more than twenty-two national and state parks in the area, with hiking trails and amazing views of the Valley. Silicon Valley luxury homes offer the most convenient location in California, right in the heart of it all.

Adam Morien

There are two major sources of mortgage financing.

(1)Primary Mortgage Markets- where mortgage loans are originated. It is made up of

(A) Institutional lender- which are Insurance companies, Savings and Loans (Savings bank) and Commercial Banks. They receive most of their deposits from "Household Savings" (Savings of individual depositors)

(i) Insurance Companies-They prefer long terms loans on existing commercial property such as shopping center loans. Mortgage bankers (Loan Correcpondents) usallu negotiate and service their loans.

(ii) Savings and Loan Association(Savings Banks)-- Savings and Loanhave the greatest percentage of their asset in real estate loans. This is main source of 1-4 family unit home loans.

(iii) Commercial Bank-Commercial banks prefer short term loans and they are the primary source of construction financing.

(B) Non-Institutional lenders.-Which basically represents Private lender and Mortgage Companies such as Mortgage Bankers and Mortgage Loan correspondents.

(i) Private Lenders-This is major source of Junior loans. Junior loans are second, third and fourth loans.

(ii) Mortgage Companies such as Mortgage Bankers and Mortgage Loan correspondents-They are licensed by Department of Real Estate or by Departmentr of Corporations as Residential Mortgage lenders or California Finance Lenders. They originate conventional loans.

(2)Secondary Mortgage Market- This is resale market place for loans, where existing loans are bought and sold. The participant in the secondary mortgage market have increased the amount of housing credit available to the economy. The major participants in the secondary mortgage market are

(A)Federal National Mortgage Association ( Fannie Mae) - Originally a government agency, it is now a corporation with shares traded on New York Stock Exchange. It was created for the purpose of increasing the amount of housing credit available to the economy. It is concerned primarily with the development of the secondary mortgage market for conventional , FHA, and VA loans originated in the primary mortgage market.

(B)Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)-A federal agency within the Deparment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

(C)Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ( Freddie Mac) - Works with Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae to Increase the availability of mortgage money and maintain the secondary market for residential mortgages.

Real Estate Pros

realestatemarketingthisweek.com - Real Estate Marketing - The median income family can afford twice the median priced home - With Michael J Barnes and Dan Havey of Real Estate Marketing This Week Part 2 - And now I mentioned Dan Havey is back in the studio with us, Dan has done a lot of great things in the mortgage industry. He left us about a year and a half ago, is that right Dan? Yes, I left the mortgage industry in October of 2007. Tell us a little bit more about yourself. As you know I came originally from Wisconsin, where I got a degree in Business Finance and I came out here in 1989 and started working with my brother selling real estate owned-REO, bank owned properties for Fannie Mae, Countrywide, and the Resolution Trust Corporation-RTC which was the government entity that was put in charge of disposing of all the real estate owned by the 1800 S&Ls that had failed. I did that until about 1995 when I moved into the mortgage industry and there for 12 years I worked predominately with bankruptcy attorneys helping their clients get out of bankruptcy and foreclosure. I left the mortgage industry in October of 2007. Now I am working predominately in the arena of marketing for real estate and mortgage companies, helping out companies, just like Im here helping out Michael today, to get people to realize that right now actually is a really good time to buy. There are a couple of points I want to make and it was something that Michael had said earlier. The first one was <b>...</b>