San Clemente Real Estate and Lifestyle Blog

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Home Loan Refinancing Program Proposed By President Obama

New plan would allow borrowers with private loans to refinance with FHA

Posted on February 03, 2012 by Matt.

A couple of days ago, President Obama announced his latest proposal to help turn around the struggling housing market. His plan is designed to help millions of homeowners with private, non-government bank home loans refinance their loan into a new one backed by the Federal Housing Administration. The article states that qualified borrowers would save an average of $3,000 a year through this plan and that the cost of the plan would be paid for by a fee imposed on large banks. The article, "Obama proposes new home loan refinancing plan," is available on CNN Money and is a great... Read More »
Mortgage Rates See Slight Uptick

Do not let historically low interest rates pass you by

Posted on February 01, 2012 by Matt.

A recent article in Realtor Magazine, "Mortgage Rates Rise After Posting Record Lows," concerns the rise in mortgage interest rates that occurred last week. While the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage remained below 4% for the 8th consecutive week (a historic high), the rate did climb from the previous week's average of 3.88% to 3.98%. To put these numbers in perspective, if you purchased a $500,000 home and put 20% down, you would have a loan balance of $400,000. At a 3.88% interest rate, your monthly payment would be about $1882; at a 3.98% interest rate, your month... Read More »
Know What You Can Afford Before Shopping For A Home

Speak with a lender and figure out your finances before home shopping

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Matt.

First-time homebuyers who are thinking about entering the San Clemente real estate marketplace are undoubtedly excited about owning their first home and have stars in their eyes about living the American Dream. However, do not be so quick to start looking at San Clemente homes or condos until you have a clear understanding of what you can afford. For many first-time buyers, a mortgage is a necessity due to a lack of funds; in this case, it is a good idea to speak with lender first before looking at homes. The last thing you want is to find the perfect home, only to hear from ... Read More »
California Mortgage Aid Program Gains More Lender Support

Over 30 new lenders have joined the program since June

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Matt.

Due to the high number of mortgage delinquencies and defaults in the state of California, the Keep Your Home California program was launched to aid low and moderate-income homeowners with loan difficulties. As of June 2011, there were 20 lenders participating in the program that has about $2 billion in aid that will help borrowers save their homes by working on their loans. There are four sub-areas to the program, including mortgage reinstatement assistance for borrowers in default; unemployment mortgage assistance; a transition assistance program; and the decrease of a borrower's ... Read More »
Paying Rent On Time May Help You Buy A Home

Credit Reporting Agencies Beginning To Add Rent Payments Into Credit Scores

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Matt.

Many people who are interested in purchasing a San Clemente home or San Clemente condo are finding it difficult to qualify for a home loan because of the stringent requirements lenders have these days, particularly with the size of the down payment and the borrower's credit score. With today's tough economy, millions of Americans have lost their jobs or experienced a substantial decrease in their monthly income, making it difficult to pay bills on time or at all. Over a month ago, we posted a blog ("Bad Credit One Of Many Things Slowing Housing Recovery") about the difficulties pot... Read More »
Digital Neighborhood Alert System Coming To San Clemente

Free alert system uses Internet, email and text messaging

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Matt.

For the most part, San Clemente is one of the safer cities in Orange County and an overall comfortable and pleasant place to live or visit. Neighbors tend to be very respectful of each other, which is one of the aspects that makes San Clemente such a unique city - a coastal community with a small-town feel is how you will hear many people describe San Clemente. However, like any city where you may choose to settle down, there will be crime. Cities in Orange County are consistently considered some of the safer ones in the state of California, and for good reason - local law en... Read More »
Freddie Mac Offers Help To Unemployed Borrowers

Borrowers out of work may be eligible for up to 12 months of loan forbearance

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Matt.

With millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet due to unemployment, the problems of the housing industry are not going away. Simply put, many homeowners cannot afford their mortgage payment due to the lack of a monthly paycheck, and foreclosures and short sales continue to flood the marketplace. This has caused a downward pull on home values that will not show signs of increasing until the large inventory of distressed real estate on the market begins to subside; on the San Clemente real estate market, 88 of the 287 current active listings are distressed homes and condos, ... Read More »
Major Projects On Tap In San Clemente For 2012

General Plan, beach improvements and La Pata extension in the mix

Posted on January 09, 2012 by Matt.

There is a great article in the San Clemente Times about the high-level projects that will be considered in San Clemente during the coming year. The article, "A Look Ahead: Busy 2012 for San Clemente," outlines a variety of large projects that are on the horizon in San Clemente and will hopefully see some progress during the next year. The first project in the article, the Vista Hermosa Sports Park, was just highlighted in our recent blog and is scheduled to open on January 28th. Many of the other projects touched on in the article have been in discussion for a while now and ... Read More »
New San Clemente Park Receives Name And Opening Date

San Clemente City Council Votes On Names of Park and Aquatics Center

Posted on January 06, 2012 by Matt.

One of the most eagerly anticipated projects in San Clemente is finally close to opening. For the past few years, the City of San Clemente and residents have been working tirelessly to build a new sports park on a large piece of vacant land at the corner of Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida La Pata, with many factors finally coming together to make this park a reality (including the brand new Target store across the street that helped fund the majority of the project). The brand new Sports Park will feature multiple baseball and soccer fields, a large multi-purpose field, a univers... Read More »
2012 Will Continue To See Record-Low Mortgage Rates

Slow housing recovery will continue trends of low housing prices and interest rates

Posted on January 03, 2012 by Matt.

According to a recent article in the Los Angeles, potential homebuyers who are interested in San Clemente real estate have a lot to look forward to in 2012. The article, "Low mortgage rates likely to continue through 2012, experts say," claims that due to the slow recovery of the housing recovery, home prices and mortgage interest rates will remain low throughout the next year. Over the past couple of months, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have been hovering at or below 4%, which is the lowest level seen since Freddie Mac began tracking mortgage rates over 40 years ago. In fact, last week the... Read More »