Buyer Strategy
How to buy without getting bulldozed. Playbooks for first-timers, move-up buyers, and skeptics.
Jesse’s Hot Picks of Thanksgiving Week
Here are my Hot Picks of last week. Let me know if you: *Want a copy of these picks with my notes on them, by clicking here HotPicks_11_27. *Want to schedule a custom tour of your own, by clicking…
Carmen’s Hot Picks of the week: 5 Homes in Chula Vista
The market has slowed down just a bit which is typical around the holidays. That means, the number of homes available compared to the usual frenzy of buyers is for the first time in a while, to…
How to Buy an Investment Property
How to Buy an Investment Property – It’s a question I get a lot and am amazed at the many misconceptions around this topic. I find that most people think you need more money down than you do, and…
Warning: Your PreApproval May No Longer Be Valid
This week I have some words of caution for you – Your PreApproval may no longer be valid. Last Friday Fannie Mae changed their guidelines for loans that they will accept. This means that nearly…
Search: College Towns & Great School Districts in San Diego, CA
Are you on the search for College Towns & Great School Districts in San Diego County? This could be one of the best parts that makes up our little real estate market here in San Diego. There are…
Home Prices Continue to Climb
By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney October 29, 2013: 9:28 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Home prices posted the largest annual gain since housing bubble days in August, although the month-over-month gain…
Hot Picks of the Week :: South Bay, San Diego [Chula Vista]
Ok crew, Here’s the Hot Picks of the Week for South Bay San Diego, Chula Vista. There are 5 homes on the docket today. Looks like things are beginning to get more homeostatic in South Bay a bit…
When Does My Mortgage Insurance Cancel?
One by-product of the banking crises and subsequent mortgage meltdown that started in 2007 was the elimination of second lien financing for loan-to-values exceeding 80%. This meant the return of…
VA Recognizes Same Sex Marriage
The VA has announced that beginning immediately it will abide by the presidential mandate to recognize same sex marriage. Prior to this decision, only veterans and a legal spouse could be…
The 3 Best and Easiest Ways to Improve Your Credit Before Buying a Home
Because I help a lot of First Time Homebuyers and Families on the Grow, I’m often asked what is the Best / Fastest / Easiest way to improve your credit before buying a home. Well the truth is that…
*HOME BUYERS MOST WANTED LIST* “Top 10 things” by Jesse Ibanez f/ The GreenHouse Group
The Home Buyers MOST WANTED LIST: According to a recent survey by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) these are the TOP 10 features buyers most want in their new home: 10) 85% want a…
Two Things You Must Know About Credit Before You Buy a Home
The Hardest and Easiest Home Loans to Get By: Chris Birk It seems the Great Thaw may be upon us. Credit score requirements have loosened in recent months, a sign that at least some mortgage…
Stated Income Loans are back! Just in time for Halloween
Well, just in time for Halloween – something scary for all of you who remember our recent history – Sated Income Loans are back! You may remember that a stated income loan allows one to qualify by…
Unintended Consequences
The implementation of the Qualified Mortgage guidelines (aka QM loans) is now two months away and set to begin in January of 2014. According to the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) here…
Why Credit Dispute Items on your Credit Report can Hurt not Help – 3 Easy Steps for Removal
In an effort to clean up their credit, many folks Dispute items on their credit reports. That’s a common method for fighting things that you feel you do not owe or shouldn’t be on your report. But…
Eliminating Conventional Financing With 3% Down Means Buyers Will Pay More
Fannie Mae has eliminated the 3% down financing option and now requires a minimum of 5% down. This will push buyers towards FHA loans which will increase their closing costs and monthly payments…
Where does your ‘hood rank for TOP 20 BEST Trick or Treating Cities?
Zillow got bored with fooling homeowners with their home values, or, “Zestimates” as they call them – and turned their programmers loose on more pressing issues. Like: name the Top 20 Trick or…
Urban Living – With Backyard Chickens
Here at The GreenHouse Group, we recently sold a home to a family in the heart of San Diego – literally a mile or two east of downtown. This cute, craftsman home is nestled snugly among the…
Mortgage Brokers Offer Closing Cost Credits That Banks Don’t
By Kenneth R. Harney – NAMB Government Affairs WASHINGTON — The government shutdown and the debt limit have dominated the headlines, but a behind-the-scenes fight over federal mortgage policy has…
Our Buyers BluePrint … & why Seth Godin always has it right
One of my heroes who happens to still be living, is Seth Godin. You can read his most circulated blog at http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com. He’s kind of a bid deal, because he’s kind of smart and…
Is an FHA loan still a good deal?
“Is FHA still a good deal?” That’s what many of my new homebuyers ask me when we first get together to create a mortgage plan. I believe that it all depends on your goals and current situation. As…
A Patrick & Mei Thank You. And, 5 ways why homemade jam might be like buying your 1st home with us.
Here’s what happens when great people intersect paths with great people: one family gets into their first home with bells on and the other family gets some bomb homemade jam (which has gone on…
Qualified Mortgage Guidelines = Cooling Market & Limited Purchase Power
We’ve seen a lot of financial regulation since 2010 and more is on the way. Next up is the Qualified Mortgage which begins in January of 2014. Like all regulation it is intended to protect…
What are HUD Homes, and, are they a good deal?
Here’s a question that we get about once or twice a week, because we are a HUD approved broker. Which means that we can represent buyers who are interested in buying HUD homes. On HUD’s website…
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