Welcome to the "Z" Team!

The House of Representatives passed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act on 09/23/10. The legislation, H.R. 5297, takes another step toward helping small businesses, creating jobs and fueling economic recovery. The legislation is expected to be signed into law by the President.

Under the bill’s provisions, much-needed lending will be increased to America’s 27 million small businesses that are facing a lack of credit and tight lending standards. The bill offers eight new tax incentives to companies helping them expand and hire workers. It also keeps jobs in America by closing tax loopholes that currently reward corporations shipping jobs overseas. It is expected to create 500,000 jobs.

“Small businesses and our workers remain the backbone of a strong economy,” said California Congressman Dennis Cardoza. “Increased access to capital and new tax cuts will not only keep jobs in America, it will allow small businesses to grow and flourish. I will continue to support common-sense legislation that helps creates jobs in the Valley and provides economic relief for my constituents.”

Among the mechanisms in the bill:

•    A 100-percent exclusion of small business capital gains to spur investment in small businesses.

•    An increase in the tax deduction for start-up expenditures to encourage the formation of new small businesses.

•    A $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund to provide community banks with capital to increase small business lending.

•    An extension of bonus depreciation and the doubling of expensing for small businesses.
 
•    Expansion of access, with lowered costs, for small businesses accessing SBA loans.

Under the PAYGO Congressional spending law enacted earlier this year, the legislation is fully paid for and will not add a single dime to the deficit. The Small Business Jobs Act is supported by a host of business organizations including the Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association, National Small Business Association, Small Business Majority, National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, among others.

Twitter announced its most ambitious site redesign to date. The rapidly growing “information network” is introducing “a new, re-engineered Twitter.com that provides an easier, faster and richer experience.”

The update will roll out to users gradually over the next several weeks and include such features as:

• New design: A rich details page that promises a cleaner timeline. “Infinite scroll” means you no longer will need to click “more” to view additional Tweets.
• Media: Twitter is partnering with numerous large players in Internet media such as Flickr, YouTube, Vimoe, Ustream, and TwitPic ,(to name just a few) to embed and integrate photos and video directly on Twitter.
• Related content: Click a Tweet, and a related content panel will show additional information on the author or subject.
• Mini profiles: Click on a user name and you’ll be presented with on-page access to the user’s bio and related Tweets.
  Here is a video that Twitter released highlighting some of the changes. Less than 24 hours after the video was published, it had been viewed almost 400,000 times …

 More information at:  http://twitter.com/newtwitter

Since its passage, Proposition 13 prohibits property tax increases until property ownership is changed.

If either spouse is over age 55 (when the old home is sold), PROP 60 allows replacement of a primary residence with a new home of equal or lesser value (but see below) within the same county and transfer of the Prop 13 assessed valuation from the old home to the new property.  This is allowed once in your lifetime, and a spouse who has done it before ‘taints’ both spouses.

PROP 90 allows counties to elect to accept transfers of Prop 13 values for moves from other counties when a primary residence is replaced with a less expensive (but see below) home. If you are over 55 and move into a county which accepts Prop 90, you may take your old, lower Prop 13 value, regardless of from which county you move.

Using Prop 90, you can sell your $400,000 San Francisco home [assessed value $80,000] and move to a new $300,000 home in El Dorado County; the new home assessed value will be $80,000!

8 COUNTIES WHICH ACCEPT PROP 90 are El Dorado, Alameda,  Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Ventura.

Energy Efficiency can be Your Advantage in the Current Home Market 

The California Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Program provides a reliable way to estimate and compare the energy efficiency of California homes and identify wise energy saving improvements. Whether you are buying or selling a home, or staying in your current residence, knowing your home energy rating will help you choose smart energy upgrades and investments that will save you in energy costs, improve your home comfort, and protect the environment. As buyers become more aware of the benefits of an energy-efficient home, homes with a favorable home energy rating may be more appealing to buyers.

In California, new homes must be built to comply with the latest Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Standards). A majority of homes, however, were built before the first Standards were established in 1978 with limited energy efficiency measures. Additionally, homes built after 1978 continue to have significant opportunities for energy efficiency improvements.

For more information, contact:
Energy Standards Hotline
Phone: (800) 772-3300 or (916) 654-5106
E-mail: title24@energy.state.ca.us

The Apple Hill® Growers Association looks forward to seeing you SOON!

More information at:  http://www.applehill.com/site/growers.html

Maps of area: http://www.applehill.com/CP10_pdf/CP10_20.pdf 
  http://www.applehill.com/CP10_pdf/CP10_21.pdf

VIDEO of Placerville, El Dorado County, California area: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGPoK87artA

As expected and forecast previously, August sales jumped back up to about the same as June, which computes to a whopping 19% increase over July.  This after a 25% drop in July from June, which of course nationally meant the entire real estate market was crashing beyond belief.  Can’t wait to see how the media handle this month if the nation followed El Dorado County sales.

Prices made an unexpected drop this month from prior but with limited high-end sales activity, the price/foot will of course fall off, and it is only a quick informal check.   Prices had been up 7% through July.  Nationally and around California prices are up this year in spite of all the fears of the foreclosures dumping more inventory on.  On that note, August had the highest number of foreclosures (TD sales) of any month since the melt-down, but only up 3% from July.  We will see if that changes the mix of 50% bank controlled sales.

Inventory levels still amazingly low at only 6-1/2 month’s and when you consider that about 1/3 of the listings for sale aren’t even in contention, that would explain why agents are complaining about “nothing out there for sale”.  Are we picky or ???  What else do buyers want to steal other than what’s out there.  No stealing at $1 Million and up for the past two months, in fact nothing pending at all.   Ouch to you higher market listing agents.

In case you did not hear, rates have been edging up most of the week so we know we must be bouncing on the bottom of these good times.  Nothing in the wind to stay it will continue to rise, but buyers are well advised to get off the fence or lose out!

September pending sales are on track for another 200 unit month – yea!

Provided by Steve Cockerell, President, Western Foothill Mortgage, Inc., Placerville, California

Approximately 950,000 of the nearly 1.8 million Americans who claimed the federal first-time home buyer tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to repay the government, according to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

TIGTA’s study found that an estimated 4.1 percent of the approximately 1.77 million individuals receiving the tax credit had incorrect purchase dates recorded at the IRS.  The report also found that $10.1 million in home buyer credits were claimed by taxpayers who were identified as deceased by the Social Security Administration.

TIGTA recommended that the IRS take steps to correct the errors and IRS officials agreed with the recommendations and stated that they plan to take steps to improve controls.

More information at: http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2010-51.htm

The primary objective of a lender purporting to help a homeowner modify a loan is not to benefit the homeowner, but to keep the loan on their books at a loan balance that, in California, nearly always exceeds the value of the home. Lenders only reduce monthly payments below interest-only payments when they include a balloon payment in 3 to 5 years. The home is still upside down, now and then.

A simple mathematical calculation tells the lender if they will receive more money by foreclosing or through a loan modification. Their objective is to get the most net present value (NPV), or worth in “today’s” dollars, from each transaction. Homeowners are almost never aware that whether or not they qualify for a loan modification hinges on this NPV test.

A monthly payment reduction does nothing financially for homeowners who owe more than the fair market value (FMV) of their home.  Until lenders have to compete with bankruptcy judges to be the first to cram down loan balances, the only rational financial option available to negative equity homeowners is the strategic default. [For more information regarding HAMP, see the July 2010 first tuesday article, HAMP is losing participants; for more information regarding strategic default, see the April 2010 first tuesday article, The underwater homeowner, his future and his agent: a balance sheet reality check – Part II and the August 2010 first tuesday article, Fannie Mae, our government and strategic defaults.]

Real estate professionals are the gatekeepers for the multiple listing service (MLS) real estate, as well as the primary advisors to drowning homeowners. They need to inform the public, since the news media is not.

Re: “Surprise! Banks help more homeowners than Obama” from CNN Money

first tuesday take: By Kelli Galippo • Sep 8th, 2010 Copyright © 2010 by first tuesday Realty Publications, Inc. Readers are encouraged to reprint or distribute this information with credit given to the first tuesday Journal Online

If you’ve ever been surrounded by a bunch of young pups that make you feel old, here’s a humorous little story to put some pep in your step and remember that with age comes wisdom.

One day an old German Shepherd becomes lost in the woods while chasing rabbits. He notices a hungry panther approaching him, so he immediately lies down next to a nearby pile of bones. As the panther is about to attack, he says loudly, “Wow, that panther was delicious. I wonder where I can find another one.” The panther looked terrified and slinked back into the trees, relieved thinking he escaped the killer dog.

Meanwhile a squirrel who had been watching from a tree catches up with the panther and spills the beans about the farce. Furious about looking like a fool, the panther says, “Hop on my back and we’ll teach that old dog!” The German Shepherd sees them coming and just when they get close enough to hear, he says “Where is that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!”

Here’s the way I see it: If you can’t beat ‘em, use your experience to outsmart ‘em!

The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a new agreement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders to offer select state and local governments, including California, and nonprofit organizations a “first look” or right of first refusal to purchase foreclosed homes before making the properties available to private investors.

The National First Look Program is the first-ever public-private partnership agreement between HUD and the National Community Stabilization Trust and is intended to give communities participating in HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program  a brief exclusive opportunity to purchase bank-owned properties in certain neighborhoods so the homes can be rehabilitated, rented, resold, or demolished. 

More information at: http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-187