Could it be, that July 2010 is the right time to buy a home in the Santa Clarita real estate market? It's looking like it sure as heck couldn't possibly be bad timing! The main reason to go out on a limb like that is this: low interest rates + increasing home inventory + less homebuyer competition = great timing. Wouldn't you agree? Of course all that, in a market where home values have already come down a significant amount from their historic highs.

I believe homebuyers in Santa Clarita with FHA loans should especially heed this warning. In recent months, and over the last few years, you've run into some major competition when making offers, especially from buyers with conventional financing or all cash. Being in a multiple offer situation is by no means fun, when you think of the home you're making an offer on, as your dream home. You want to GET that home! So, it only stands to reason that if homebuying activity is decreasing, and interest rates are low as heck, and the choices of homes to browse through are increasing from their extreme lows (in the Santa Clarita real estate market), then, if you think you're close to being ready, and or ready now…I say it's time to pull the proverbial trigger!

Interested in buying a home in Santa Clarita, call us here at The Robert and Brian Team. We'd love to make your next real estate transaction, a successful one!

While you're contemplating all of this, watch our latest SCVRealEstate360 video (Episode 62) where Brian touches on much of what I noted above. Enjoy!

Have you checked out our YouTube channel for Santa Clarita real estate yet? Why not? We call it "SCV Real Estate 360." We have well over 50 episodes in the bag already, and we make more everyday. It's an awesome resource for the curious homebuyer, or the homeowner who is thinking about selling their home, and is looking for some tips.

Real estate is filled with personalities. We figured this was a way you could find out a bit more about ours. Afterall, until you buy a home, you don't fully comprehend what a huge financial decision it is. With that in mind, you want to most certainly want align yourself with someone you know has experience, insight you can benefit from, and most importantly, a person or team you can trust. Sometimes you get an entire team of Realtors working for you, like us @ The Robert and Brian Team.

Both Brian and I (Robert), have been born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley. We know all of the ins and outs, and have a mountain of experience in real estate transactions here in Santa Clarita. We specialize in Santa Clarita to simplify things. We don't bother trying to help people all over Los Angeles County, or Southern California for that matter. Our clients shopping for, and trying to sell their real estate in Santa Clarita, appreciate that fact very much!

Learn more about us, gain from our insight, and relax, while you watch YouTube channel – SCV Real Estate 360. We add new videos every week, sometimes daily. It's just another resource we offer to you. Let us know if you have any real estate questions….perhaps we can answer them in a Q & A episode on our show.

Go to our Santa Clarita Real Estate YouTube Channel (SCV Real Estate 360)

Call us if we can be of any assistance to you in your next real estate transaction! Contact The Robert and Brian Team.

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Before making an offer on a Santa Clarita home that is within a Homeowners Association (HOA), there are a few things you should find out about the HOA's "health" so to speak, especially if you are financing your home with less than 20% down and will be occupying the residence.

Each lenders' guidelines are different, so check with yours…but often times if you are putting less than 20% down and will occupy the home, and or you are an investor who is financing the home, despite putting 20% down, or more….your lender will probably scrutinize and investigate the condo or homes HOA for several items.

Those items "tend" to be:

• Any litigation/lawsuits the HOA is involved in
• Current non-occupied owner ratio (ie. how many are rentals)
• Percentage of units or homes that have a delinquent HOA dues balance

Unfortunately, a lot of this information is not learned until the 2nd or 3rd week of escrow, once your lender receives a report back from the HOA. Sometimes the HOA's are backed up on these sorts of information requests, and they don't get them back to your lender in a timely fashion. Sometimes they are just lazy or understaffed too.

By the time your lender receives this information back from the HOA, it's very likely you have already spent about $300-500 on the physical home inspection, and about $400-$500 on the appraisal your lender had you pay upfront for. Now, wouldn't it be a pity to find out, from your lender, that once they reviewed the HOA's certification, they subsequently determined that lending on that community, with your type of loan is not an option!? That would be shitty horrible! Why? Well because of that money, time, and emotion already invested into making the transaction work.

While not all details are able to be learned upfront, prior to opening up an escrow…do your best, have your agent and lender do their best, to investigate some of the key questions that need to be answered about the HOA. This way you may be able to save a lot of money, by not entering into a real estate transaction in Santa Clarita that is doomed to fail.

Check out our SCV Real Estate 360 video that Brian put together on this subject…enjoy!

When it comes time for you to buy a home in the Santa Clarita Valley, you will either choose to buy a resale home, or a new construction home, from one of the builders. Currently, Lennar and Pardee are building homes in the Santa Clarita Valley. They have various new home communities. Some of the Santa Clarita new homes can be found here.

If you choose to buy a new home, you should bring a Realtor along, so they can represent you in the purchase of that home, throughout the escrow. It's up to the builder to cooperate with Realtors/Brokers. Currently the main builders in Santa Clarita do cooperate with Realtors. That's because a large percentage of their sales are a direct result of Realtors' clients coming in and buying their homes. So it makes sense for them to do so. You don't pay a dime, for a Realtor to represent you in the purchase of a new home. It's free and you get all of the benefits. Afterall…doesn't it sound smart to have a third party, simply someone other than the seller, to be looking out for your best interest, and have a fiduciary obligation to you? Sure it does.

We think the people who work for the new home builders, in our experience are very hard working, and honest people. And to tell you to hire us, or any Realtor to represent you in a brand new home purchase, of course sounds self-serving. Common sense will tell you however that it's only obvious that when buying brand new homes, the builder (aka seller), has someone working on their team – the SALES STAFF. Don't you want someone to work on, YOUR TEAM? 

Watch our SCVRealEstate360 Show episode here, and listen in as Brian discusses the issue…enjoy!

Top 10 Reasons You Need A Realtor When Buying Santa Clarita New Construction Homes:

1) Do you prefer that the person/company selling you a home be the sole entity looking out for your best interest and financial investment? NO WAY.

2) Would you like to have an impartial 3rd party who is knowledgeable about the pro's and con's of the community and surrounding area, give you their professional opinion prior to committing a deposit? YES.

3) Wouldn't you prefer to have a professional Realtor so they can assist in the handling of any and all paperwork the builder needs signed prior to closing, for instance during those busy times when you or your significant other can't get to the community due to work, family , and other pressing issues? YES.

4) Do you feel comfortable reviewing by yourself closing costs statements and estimates that your lender and escrow are going to be providing you? PROBABLY NOT.

5) Don't you think it would be nice to have someone who sells homes EVERY month, to be there for you to catch any mistakes the builder may make during the escrow process? OF COURSE.

6) Do you feel that you will remember all of your rights granted in the sales contract and be sure that any and all disclosures will be fully understood? NOT LIKELY.

7) The new home community you buy from is likely staffed with about 2 or so employees in the sales office to handle day to day sales & problems with people who are currently buying, and for those who have just closed – moved in – and found problems with the home physically. Don't you think they may be a little burdened already to really focus a 100% of their efforts on just you? MORE THAN LIKELY.

8 ) Don't you think that it would be nice to establish a relationship with a local Realtor who is knowledgeable about the community and the business itself, so that when you are eventually ready to sell or buy another home, you have a connection in the business who wants to make you successful? YES.  

9) During the building process, wouldn't it be nice to have your Realtor press the new community to take action on any outstanding issues, give you frequent updates on progress, and let you know what expect in the coming days, weeks, and months? YES.

10) Can you come up with a good reason why you don't need professional representation when buying your new home, and for some of you, your first home? PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU CAN! 

Santa Clarita Real Estate Tip #8

Next time, when your in an escrow to purchase a home in Santa Clarita, at some point, your Realtor will present you with a California Association of Realtors form to remove any and all of your buyer contingencies.

Each home purchase, is usually contingent on a few items, such as your home inspection, investigation of disclosures, loan approval, and appraisal. Before you sign something saying you are removing your right to back out of the deal due to any of the above reasons, you need to have a detailed conversation with your Realtor about the consequences of doing so. Now, at some point in just about every transaction, you will have to remove all of your contingencies, but, it's important that you are in a position to do so. Only your Realtor, and you, could possibly know that. For instance, if you have performed your home inspection, you have gained full loan approval, and the home appraised, but you still haven't reviewed the Homeowners Association Documents/CC&R's, because it hadn't been received yet, then you wouldn't want to remove that particular contingency to investigate that disclosure. But what if your Realtor just put the full contingency form in front of you? And you signed it, not realizing that you still needed to review that HOA disclosure? That would certainly be bad, because you wouldn't be able to back out of the deal without possibly losing your deposit, were you to sign the full contingency removal prior to reviewing that HOA disclosure, even though you found something seriously negative about the CC&R's in the HOA that you did not like and agree with.

It's important that before you sign your name on the dotted line, removing any of your contingencies, you have a heart to heart with your Realtor, and make sure it's the right thing for you to be doing, at that point. Perhaps, an extension of time may be needed, to give you some extra time to think about whether you should be moving forward with the home purchase?

If you need a Realtor for your next Santa Clarita Real Estate transaction, look no further than us @ The Robert and Brian Team. We are here for all of your real estate needs in Santa Clarita.

Santa Clarita Real Estate Tip #7

For everyone who is in the process of buying a Santa Clarita home, or planning on buying a Santa Clarita home in the future, you may end up purchasing a Bank Owned Home. Some of these Santa Clarita Bank Owned Homes are distressed and need repairs. If you find yourself in a situation where the bank that's selling the home is willing to do certain repairs, and they're promising you that these certain repairs will happen, our advice is to get that in writing.

We've seen where a buyer will enter escrow, under the assumption certain repairs were going to take place, but it wasn't in the contract. The bank in some instances changed their mind and decided not to do certain things that were verbally promised.

We want your Santa Clarita real estate experience to be the best one it can be. With the amount of foreclosure oriented purchases going on out there, we know that promises are being thrown on the table left and right. Bottom line, get it in writing!

Santa Clarita Real Estate Tip #6

Next time you enter into a Santa Clarita real estate transaction, as a buyer or seller, how would you like to get a discount? Discount? Do I have your attention now?

In some situations (not all), your Realtor can arrange for a portion of your closing costs to be discounted. Which portion depends on who the vendors in your real estate transaction are. For instance, your Realtor may be able to ask the Escrow and or Title company to lower their respective fees charged to you, in your closing costs. If you're a buyer, financing the home purchase, you certainly will have some fees charged to you, by the lender. We have had great success in having some lender fees reduced in the past to save our buyer clients money. And with respect to title insurance charges, to the seller especially, if a Title company is not negotiable on their price, we are allowed to help you as our client, shop around for the best prices available from a wide assortment of different title insurance companies.

It's all about negotiations. Your Realtor is there to get you the best possible deal, and to protect your best interests throughout the real estate transaction. Closing costs for a buyer, and seller, can be very expensive. Just like commissions the seller pays in each real estate transaction, other fees that buyers and sellers pay in their closing costs, can be negotiable (though some tend not to be, or are less likely to be negotiable).

When you're in the market for a home in the Santa Clarita Valley, why not work with a team of Realtors who will fight to protect your best interest, and save you the most amount of money? Those two core duties go very well together, and you deserve both to be in play, the next time you buy or sell a home in Santa Clarita.

Contact The Robert and Brian Team to discuss selling your Santa Clarita Home: 661-964-1760

Contact The Robert and Brian Team to discuss buying a Santa Clarita Home: 661-964-1760  

Santa Clarita Real Estate Tip #5

Have you ever thought of making an offer on a bank owned home, in this real estate market? The answer is probably, yes, especially if you're reading this. If you are planning on financing your home purchase, and you happen to pursue a Santa Clarita bank owned home, you may have to get pre-approved through the bank's preferred lender, in order for them to consider your offer.

Don't get me wrong, you can, and should, be able to go through whichever direct lender or loan broker you want for your home purchase financing, but you will find that MANY of the bank owned homes, at least here in the Santa Clarita Valley, require that you also cross-qualify with their preferred lender. That lender may be at the choosing of the actual bank or government agency who owns the home, or they may have been selected by the listing agent for the entity that owns the home. The reason some of these foreclosure listings make the prospective buyers do this, is 1) In order to possibly give their lender of choice more business (if it's a Bank of America foreclosure listing of course they want the buyer to entertain a Bank of America home loan), and 2) To "ensure" they feel the buyers offer they are accepting is "really" qualified.

A pain the the royal "arse" is exactly what it is, to qualify through yet another lender, just in order to get your offer looked at. But that is what's happening in this market. Bank owned homes, real foreclosures (not short sales), are hot items…and the listing agents for them, and most banks know this. And as such, they make the buyers jump through hoops in order to get them – often times. Our tip to you, is to have your preferred lender, handle the process of getting you approved with the bank's preferred lender. Just tell your loan agent you wish to use, to contact the bank's lender and for him/her to provide them any of the documentation needed, in order to cross-qualify you. That way you don't have to deal with the bank's lender at all, and get pressured from them to "switch" lenders.

Contact The Robert and Brian Team to discuss how we can help you purchase a bank owned foreclosure, in Santa Clarita. Visit our Santa Clarita real estate website here, or just call us @ 661-964-1760.

Keith Renno, from The Renno Lending Team @ Prospect Mortgage shares with us Step #1 To Buying Santa Clarita Real Estate. Contact The Robert and Brian Team of Realty Executives Valencia @ 661-964-1760 for assistance in finding your Santa Clarita home of choice!

Santa Clarita Real Estate Tip #4

Did you get your offer on a Santa Clarita bank owned home accepted? Was it in writing? No? Then hold up!

I could really write a very lengthy piece on this, but, not today. Essentially, when you write an offer on any Santa Clarita bank owned home, and that offer is accepted, you will generally first receive a verbal acceptance from the bank/listing agent. Then the bank will put the gears in motion to generate a bank addendum for you to sign. This bank addendum will solidify the deal once you sign it (first), and then finally once the bank signs off on it after you.

People (meaning the buyers) start running into problems once they get the verbal acceptance. Their love for the home goes from a 7 to a 10 on a scale of 10. My advice is to hold tight and wait for the bank addendum to be issued and signed off on by the bank until you get really excited. While most of the time when you get the verbal acceptance, you will in fact, get the home. But what's not in writing is NOT in writing.

There could be a communication issue between the bank and the listing agent, that might "kill" the verbal acceptance, or a myriad of other circumstances that negatively affect the outcome for you as the hopeful buyer. Your real estate transaction should be a positive experience. Work with a Realtor that will guide you down that positive path.  

Contact The Robert and Brian Team of Realty Executives Valencia to assist with your next Santa Clarita real estate transaction.