Monthly Archives: July 2011

Real Estate

Sorting Through Lending Costs

house made of dollars
Picture courtesy of Showcase Realty

Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the federal agency created to oversee mortgage lending, only recently opened, the Bureau started looking at ways to protect consumers during the loan-shopping period long before it’s official start date.

Making sense of the story:

  • The bureau is exploring avenues for combining the two forms that borrowers currently receive – the three-page Good Faith Estimate and the two-page Truth in Lending Act form.  These forms tell would-be borrowers the terms of their loan – for instance, how payments on an adjustable-rate mortgage change.  They also lay out fees.
  • Fees can make a big difference when comparison shopping.  The simplest way to compare loans is by looking at the Annual Percentage Rate, or A.P.R.  That calculation rolls in fees as well as the stated interest rate.  Because lenders are required to follow the same formula, useful comparisons can be made.
  • Borrowers are advised to request a Good Faith Estimate from every lender they approach.  While the Good Faith Estimate is in place to help borrowers, according to one lender, some lenders may provide interest-rate quotations that expire almost instantaneously, making it difficult for buyers to comparison shop.
  • Borrowers should be wary if they receive two or three different Good Faith Estimates and there is a difference of several thousand dollars.

Read the full story 

 

For all your real estate needs
Call or email:
John J. O’Dell  Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
<a href=”mailto:jodell@nevadacounty.com”>jodell@nevadacounty.com</a>

nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairgrounds & BloodSource Team Up For Community Blood Drive

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By Wendy Oaks

Donate blood on August 2 and receive a free admission ticket to the Fair

The Nevada County Fairgrounds and BloodSource have teamed up for a community blood drive. Make a blood donation on Tuesday, August 2, from 2 – 6 pm at the BloodSource bloodmobile located in the main parking lot at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, and receive a free admission ticket to any day of the Fair. Additionally, donors will receive a free t-shirt from BloodSource.

Donating blood is safe, easy and takes about an hour. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be generally healthy, and at least 17 years old. For more information and eligibility about blood donation, visit Nevada County Fair website for more information or call the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217. The Nevada County Fairgrounds are located on McCourtney Road in Grass Valley.

Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

Website: Nevada County Fair
Facebook: Nevada County Fairgrounds

For all your real estate needs
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

nevada county fair

Don & Georgine Wasley To Be Inducted Into Nevada County Fair’s Hall Of Fame

Don and Georgine Wasley
Don and Georgine Wasley

By Wendy Oaks

Don and Georgine Wasley have been named as the 2011 inductees into the Nevada County Fair’s Hall of Fame. The Fair’s Board of Directors recognized Don and Georgine for their commitment and long-time service to the Nevada County Fair.

The Wasleys have been dedicated employees and members of the Fair family for many decades. Don, who passed away in 2010, began working at the Fairgrounds in his youth, working in the parking lots. While Don went on to work at the U.S. Post Office, he would schedule his vacations around the Fair so that he could work at the Fair. After retiring, he continued working at the Fair – in the Main Office, as a ticket taker, and, eventually, as a cashier at Gate 1.

“Each year, working at the Fair just became part of our summer,” said Georgine. “We scheduled our vacation days to coincide with the Fair, and that’s how we spent our vacations. We couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Georgine, who retired in 2003 after 50 years with Bank of America, started at the Fair as part of Bank of America’s appraisal department, where she would work at the auction and sit in the ring to do sales slips. She later worked nights at the Fair – counting cash and assuming various cashier responsibilities. Her hours continued to increase, and in recent years, Georgine assumed the very responsible position of being the head cashier. With her retirement from the Fair in 2010, Georgine provided 25 years of service to the Fair.

“There was a dignity and quietude to the Wasleys, and their devotion to each other was evident in their effective teamwork,” said Fairgrounds CEO Sandy Woods. “Don and Georgine are the type of people you can always count on. They both shared a very strong work ethic and their significant years of contributing their energy and passion have greatly benefited the Nevada County Fair.”

Georgine, who will accept the award on behalf of herself and Don, is still surprised to be receiving the Hall of Fame honor. “Don and I never did any of this work for recognition. We did it to serve our community, and because we both love the Fair and the family it creates. I never expected this honor and I am still overwhelmed.”

Don and Georgine will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at opening day ceremonies on Wednesday, August 10. In addition to access to the Fair and its many activities, the honorees will receive a portrait donated by Shaffers Originals.

For information about the Nevada County Fair, August 10 – 14, visit Nevada County Fair

 

Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

 

For all your real estate needs
Call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

 

Community Events, nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation To Host Barbecue Dinner And Rodeo

Rodeo Nevada County Fairgrounds
Photo Courtesy Barbara Matthews www.mtmmatthews.blogspot.com

By Wendy Oaks

Join the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation for its annual barbecue and a night at the rodeo on Thursday, August 11 at 5:30 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

This fun, popular event is a great family event held during the Nevada County Fair! A delicious barbecue dinner will be served on the VIP Patio at the Fairgrounds. Following dinner, the fun continues at the Fairgrounds Arena for the rodeo.

Tickets are $35 each, and include admission to the Fair on Thursday, a complete dinner and rodeo tickets.   RSVP by Monday, August 1, by visiting the Fairgrounds office, calling the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217, e-mailing Foundation@NevadaCountyFair.com, or by downloading an order form at www.NevadaCountyFair.com/Foundation/.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundations and its mission of supporting and improving the community’s Fairgrounds.

For more Foundation information, visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com/Foundation or call the (530) 273-6217. The 2011 Nevada County Fair is August 10 – 14.

Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

 
Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Community Events

Nevada County Airfest 2011

httpv://youtu.be/pHbr-1As3fI

I was there for the dinner dance. The theme is the 40’s 50’s with a lot of the attendees dressing  for the era.   Lots of fun and I have to thank Brian and Rachel O’Brien for tickets to the dinner – dance. This was a great Airfest!

 

Video by

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Short Sale Fraud Rampant, Investigators Say

Caution protect yourself against mortgage relief scams
Picture courtesy of Utah Home Group

 

Lenders are losing out on thousands of dollars–sometimes within just mere hours–due to short sale fraud, which is skyrocketing and plaguing the housing market, investigators say.

In one of the most common short sale scams, an investor submits a low offer on a home that is underwater, in which the borrower owes more on the mortgage than the home is currently worth. Scam artists, working with the investor, present the lowball offer to the lender, asking for a short sale to be completed. Appraisals or broker price opinions may be manipulated to help persuade lenders to do the short sale (one common method: Misstating the home’s location so that the home is compared to lower cost homes).

The lender agrees to the short sale, but is unaware that there is really a higher bid on the home from a legitimate buyer. Once the lender approves the short sale, the scammer then resells the home to the higher, legitimate bidder–often on the same day.

“These same-day resales are on average nearly $50,000 greater than the lender agreed upon short-sale price,” said Tim Grace, senior vice president of product management and analytics at CoreLogic. Short sale fraud is expected to cost lenders more than $375 million this year, which is an increase of more than 20 percent from last year, according to CoreLogic.

Last year, fraud associated with short sales comprised half of all fraud investigations for mortgage companies like Freddie Mac, said Robert Hagberg, an investigator for Freddie Mac.

Source: “Short Sale Fraud Plagues the Housing Market,” CNNMoney (July 14, 2011) 

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Are Great, If You Can Qualify!

Interest rates are near historic lows and home prices are affordable; however, many borrowers are finding they must have nearly pristine credit records and hefty down payments to get the best rates.

  • Since 2009, credit standards have become much tighter.  For borrowers, this emphasizes the importance of paying close attention to credit scores.
  • New rules unveiled last week, the result of last year’s Dodd-Frank financial-services legislation, require banks and other lenders to disclose to consumers the scores used to determine interest rates charged borrowers, or to deny credit, making it easier for borrowers to see how their credit scores affect the interest rates they pay.
  • The FICO credit scores on loans that banks are giving out and that are backed by government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac show the new reality.  Currently, the two agencies essentially finance 75 percent of all mortgages by purchasing the loans from banks, thus shaping how much it costs to borrow.
  • FICO scores range from 300 to 850.  Prior to the decline in home prices, a score of 700 to 725 was considered solid and, a borrower could expect to be approved for a “conventional” mortgage at the lowest rates.
  • From 2003 to 2006, 82 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages were for borrowers with a score between 700 and 750, but so far in 2011, only 13 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages carry that score, and just 1.7 percent have a score of 700 to 725.  This year, 75 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages are for FICO scores of 750 to 755, up from less than 5 percent before 2005.
  • These trends demonstrate the importance of understanding credit scores and ensuring credit reports are accurate.  Consumers can check their credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Read the full story

 

Thinking of buying or selling? Call or email:
John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com