Mark Wisterman's Paradise & Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog

OOPS! Sorry for getting carrried away with the headline. I’ve got to stop watching and reading the news.

Sales did actually double over last weeks number but that was because last week was so ugly. Also remember that the 10 sales for the week were during a week that contained only 3 workdays, so there is a bit of a silver lining here for the Lake Oroville real estate market.

So you just had your offer accepted on a property in the Lake Oroville real estate market that is owned by a bank. Your agent opens escrow with the title company and advises you that the bank’s agent will be sending the appropriate disclosures for your review.

When you finally get the disclosures all you see written across them are the words, “Bank owned, Seller Exempt.” You ask your REALTOR® about the lack of disclosure and he or she tells you that the bank is not obligated to provide disclosures to you because the home was taken back in foreclosure.  Only problem is, that this is not exactly true.

While it is accurate that the banks are exempt from providing some disclosure documents, they are not exempt from ALL disclosure requirements. And your REALTOR is not exempt from ANY disclosure requirements. Unfortunately what I am seeing is banks, and agents alike, ignoring their disclosure obligations by hiding behind the “bank owned”  excuse.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.  The following link will take you to a disclosure a BROKER from another office sent to one of my associates as part of the broker’s disclosures. By the way, I really wanted to leave the broker’s name and office information visible but thought  that even though it demonstrated his incompetence, I don’t want to appear unprofessional.

Click Here to See “Disclosure” 

This document is a form that most REALTORS® are now using to fulfill their duty to perform a diligent visual inspection of a home and report their findings to the buyer. Writing “exempt” across the front of this form does not relieve the broker of his LEGAL duty to disclose and is not a correct use of this particular form.

As a buyer you, and more importantly your REALTOR® need to insist on getting the required disclosures from the seller, whether it be a bank, or not. Don’t continue with your transaction if you are being deprived of your legally required disclosures.

We’ll review what these disclosure documents are in upcoming posts.

oroville homes chico real estate, orland listings, willows, paradise property for sale

Related articles by Zemanta

• US home sales rose 10pc in October(telegraph.co.uk)
• Lower Housing Inventory? Try ‘Lower For Now’  blogs.wsj.com)
• Everybody Thinks the Real Estate Market has Recovered movephilly.blogspot.com)

It seems that my blog posts may be being read even by Congress.

On November 14, 2009 I blogged about the financial state of The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the possibility of an increase in the minimum downpayment requirement from 3.5 percent to 5% in order to obtain an FHA loan to purchase a home in the Lake Oroville real estate market and beyond.

Seems that I am not the only one thinking this way. RealtyTimes.com has an article about this very thing.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

President Obama signed into law the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit. Included in this extension was an expansion of the credit to current homeowners who have owned a home in 5 of the last 8 years.

The extension and expansion allow buyers in the Lake Oroville real estate market, and beyond,  to claim the credit as long as you are in a binding contract no later than April 30, 2009 and close not later than June 30, 2009.

And no ,you are not allowed, on May 5th, to back date your contract to April 30th.

Below are links to  further information from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) on the new rules for the credit. Please take the time to read and understand them as you are ultimately responsible for following the rules. And please let me know if you need any further explanation on how this credit works.

NAR Tax Credit FAQ

NAR Tax Credit Extension Chart

Oroville Homes, chico real estate California properties, paradise for sale listings

CNBC is reporting that the United States House of Representatives has just passed the Senate version of  the extension and expansion of the federal home buyer tax credit.

Upon being signed by the President the credit of the $8,000 credit for first time home buyers in the Lake Oroville real estate market, as well as the rest of America, will be extended until June 30, 2010 In order to take advantage of this new deadline, first time home will have to be in a binding contract no later that April 30th.

In addition, a credit of $6500 will be granted to home buyers who currently own a home and have done so for at least 5 years.

Here is the link to the report from CNBC.   Click Here

5:19pm – Attention buyers and sellers in the Lake Oroville real estate market.

The California Association of REALTORS® (CAR) just announced that the U.S. Senate has passed the unemployment extension bill which also contains an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. According to CAR the bill now moves to the House of Representatives for their consideration.

As usual, I will update you as more information comes available.

5:35 pm- Here are more specifics on the bill that passed the U.S. Senate earlier today. Click here for report

Scary headline isn’t it.  But it will be a reality if the Lake Oroville Area Public Utility District (LOAPUD) has it’s way.

The rulers of the district are just days away from implementing a policy of stopping sales of homes that lie within the district’s boundaries until those homes have had their sewer lines tested, at the owners expense. Apparently the comrades at the district feel that the only way they can get the sewer system upgraded is to hold your real estate transaction hostage until somebody caves in and pays for the test and any repairs that THEY deem necessary.

To make things even more outrageous, the district is also invoking their mafia style tactics onto homeowners that apply for permits to do any renovations on their homes. Want a permit? Then test your sewer lines!

Oh, and one more thing,  your test is only good for 6 years then you will be on the hook to do it all over again.

What’s wrong with having the line from your house, in the Oroville real estate market,  to the mainline tested? Absolutely nothing. I feel very strongly that our infrastructure needs to be maintained. And of course proper sewage disposal is vital.

What I oppose is the approach that is being taken to address the issue. Placing this requirement on the back of an Oroville  real estate transaction will not only cost  buyers & sellers time, money, and maybe their transaction, it will do virtually nothing to accomplish what the district is trying to do, which is to bring the sewer system up to date. On top of that, by singling out home sellers, the policy if  forced upon its customers in its current form, is discriminatory by its very nature by singling out home sellers while letting any other home owners with leaky lines escape the scrutiny of the policy.

Even at the frenzied sales pace of  recent real estate sales boom in the middle part of this decade, the policy would not make a dent in improving the system. There are simply not enough homes changing hands to force every home  to be tested every 6 years for compliance.

A better approach is to divide the district into 6 sections and each year have one section tested for compliance.  Any home out of compliance would be given 6 months to make any repairs. In 6 1/2 years you would have all homes in compliance..Problem solved.

Another, less attractive option, would be to create a special assessment district where funds would be collected from all sewer customers to be used specifically for repairs.

The other thing the district can do is smoke test the entire system and when finding non-compliant homes require the homeowner to make the fix. Trouble is, according to LOAPUD, they can do that but it would require them to get the District Attorney involved. And of course they don’t want to do this. They prefer to have local REALTORS be their enforcement arm. I, for one, don’t feel like being their hit man.

As a homeowner in the district myself,  I am calling on all other homeowners in the district to make your voices heard at the next LOAPUD board meeting. Don’t stand idly by and let them walk all over us with their dictatorial policies.

If we don’t get this repealed it will affect EVERYONE!!!!!