Welcome to the "Z" Team!

FICO has launched myFICO en Español, the first Spanish-language website where consumers can obtain their personal credit report, credit report analysis, FICO Score and FICO Score analysis in Spanish.

The new site enables users to toggle between Spanish and English, a format that is preferred by many bilingual speakers. More than 600 pages of Spanish-language consumer financial educational materials are available to visitors.

Si tiene ud. interes en comprar una casa o conseguir un prestamo, llamenos ahora y nuestro equipo que habla espanol le puede ayudar. Este es el primer paso para comprar una casa!

To access the site, visit http://espanol.myfico.com

More information at: http://www.fico.com/en/Company/News/Pages/01-24-2012.aspx

Call us at (530) 409-8351 or email: zeller123@gmail.com for personal assistance.

Nearly three out of every four home owners say they are satisfied with their purchase – and the No. 1 reason for their satisfaction is pride they feel about owning a home, according to HomeGain’s 2012 National Home Ownership Survey.

In addition to pride, home owners also said they enjoy the freedom and control they have to make improvement and upgrades to their home. Positive thoughts like these reflect what we are hearing here in the “Sierra Foothills” region of Placerville, El Dorado County, California.

Of the 1,400 home owners surveyed nationwide, satisfaction was found to be highest in the Northeast at 77 percent, followed by the Southeast at 73 percent, the West at 71 percent, and the Midwest at 68 percent.

“The HomeGain 2012 National Home Ownership satisfaction survey shows in spite of declines in the values of homes nationwide, satisfaction among home owners remains high at 72 percent,” said Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.

Source of data is Erica Christoffer, REALTOR® Magazine.

More information at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zeller@realtor.com

Great to report that loan rates hit another all-time low this week, marking the seventh straight week it has averaged below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

Here’s a closer look at rates for the week ending Jan. 19: 

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.88 percent, with an average 0.8 point, a new all-time low and dropping from last week’s previous record of 3.89 percent. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.74 percent. 
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.17 percent, with an average 0.8 point, up slightly from last week’s record low of 3.16 percent. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.05 percent. 
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.82 percent, with an average 0.7 point, the same as last week’s average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.69 percent. 
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.74 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 2.76 percent average. Last year at this point, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.25 percent. 

Source: Freddie Mac

More news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zeller123@gmail.com

Record-low mortgage rates sparked a wave in mortgage applications for home purchase and refinancings last week, increasing more than 20 percent in a week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. 

for the week ending Jan. 13, mortgage applications for refinancing applications jumped 26.4 percent while home purchase applications, a future gauge for home buying, increased 10.3 percent.  

“With mortgage rates reaching new lows, refinance volume jumped,” Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said in a statement. “Purchase activity also increased as buyers returned to the market after the holiday season.”

Freddie Mac reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged a record low of 3.89 percent for the week ending Jan. 12. For six consecutive weeks, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages — the most popular choice among home buyers — has averaged below 4 percent. 

Source: “Mortgage Applications Surge on Refinancing Demand,” Reuters (Jan. 18, 2012)

More news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or www.dougandbudzeller.com

A new Spanish-language property search website that offers Spanish-speaking home buyers MLS listings based on the California Living Network’s database.   Powered by NAR’s REALTOR.com® (www.realtor.com/california), home buyers can search for California homes using common sorting characteristics such as city, price range, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Results appear in a list or on a map, and driving directions are available in Spanish. The website also is a useful tool for REALTORS®, allowing agents to forward their clients a link to a specific property in Spanish.

Si usted esta interesada en comprarar o vender una casa, podemos ayudarle. Hablamos espanol. Llamenos hoy con sus necesidades!

To view the site, please visit www.sucasa.net.

For more Spanish-speaking assistance in the Placerville, El Dorado County or Sacremento regions, call (530) 409-8351 or email: zeller123@gmail.com.

Borrowers who have a history of paying rent on time may see a boost to their credit score.

Experian, a leading credit report company, added a section to its credit reports last year that reflected on-time rent payments, which helped give a boost in the credit scores to some on-time rent payers. Now the two other major credit reporting companies are following suit. 

recently announced they are also adding a score that reflects payment histories from landlords, The New York Times reports.

“Evidence of positive rental payments could be a plus for consumers,”  Joanne Gaskin, FICO’s director of product management global scoring, told The New York Times. 

Nearly half of high-risk consumers saw an increase of 100 points or more after their rental history was added to their credit report, says Brannan Johnston, the managing director of Experian’s rent bureau. Consumers with average or higher credit scores, on the other hand, did not see any major difference to their scores. 

For former home owners who lost their homes to foreclosure, they may be able to rebuild their credit histories more quickly now by showing they are “very responsible renters,” Tim Grace, senior vice president of CoreLogic, told The New York Times. 

Full article at source: “A Good Rental History Can Help Borrowers,” The New York Times (1/ 5/12), other news from Placerville, El Dorado County, CA. at: www.sierraproperties.com

Three years ago Mark and Julie lost their home through foreclosure. Last week, they closed escrow on their newer, larger, nicer home in the same neighborhood. Their new home was about half the price as what they had paid for the home they lost. They are among a new category of buyers this year who are reentering the market after a two or three year respite.

Although thousands of families have left the region after losing their home to foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy, many remained. Most have been rebuilding their credit, paying down debt and some have been saving to buy another home. After three years and in some cases less, mortgage financing is again available.

REOs and short sales will be the new normal. Two years ago, REO and short sales accounted for one-third of all the sales in El Dorado County, California. Of the 200 home sales during December, about half were shorts or REOs. This next year, distressed sales will account for the majority.

Portion of an article by Ken Calhoon, Placerville, California Real Estate Broker. Ken@KenCalhoon.com

Freddie Mac announced it has eliminated its minimum credit score requirement for borrowers wanting to refinance, but they must have at least 20 percent equity in their home, HousingWire reports. Freddie Mac used to require a minimum credit score of 620. 

In following instructions from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, government-sponsored enterprises Freddie and Fannie Mae are both looking at how they can ease requirements to spur more refinances so more borrowers can take advantage of record-low mortgage rates.

Fannie Mae has removed a refinancing requirement that lenders must determine the borrower’s ability to repay — aimed at increasing refis and helping more underwater borrowers stay current on their mortgages. 

HousingWire reports that about 4 million loans serviced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are underwater, in which the borrower owes more on their loan then their home is currently worth. 

Source: “Freddie Cuts Some Refi Credit Score Requirements,” HousingWire (Jan. 5, 2012)

More news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or www.dougandbudzeller.com

For nine consecutive weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been hovering at or below record lows of 4 percent, pushing housing affordability for home buyers even higher. 

But will these low rates stick around much longer? 

The Federal Reserve has vowed to keep rates low through 2013 so rates likely will hang around for a few more months, at least, but whether mortgage rates will stay at the current record-lows, many experts say it’s unlikely. 

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is expected to inch up to an average 4.5 percent for 2012 and increase to 5.4 percent in 2013, according to Freddie Mac economists’ forecasts. 

While that forecast means rates are expected to move higher in the coming months, the rates will still be low by historical standards, economists told the Los Angeles Times. For comparison, 30-year rates averaged more than 16 percent in 1981 and 1982. What’s more, until 2000, rates typically were above 8 percent, Freddie Mac notes. 

Despite the drop in rates, however, many home buyers have been unable to take advantage of the low rates. Lenders’ tightening of their underwriting standards for loans in the recent years following the housing crisis has shut some buyers who have poor credit, low down payments, or unsteady employment from securing a loan at today’s low rates. Freddie Mac had predicted home-purchase applications to comprise two-thirds of all mortgage applications by the end of 2011. But the Mortgage Bankers Associations says that instead about 80 percent of the mortgage applications came from home owners who wanted to refinance.  

Source: “Low Mortgage Rates Likely to Continue Through 2012, Experts Say,” Los Angeles Times (Jan. 3, 2012)

Home buyer affordability continues to be pushed higher due to mortgage rates remaining at record lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. 

“Mortgage rates ended the year hovering near historic lows in an already affordable housing market,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement.  With affordability so high, Nothaft notes “it’s not surprising then that over 5 percent of households in December plan to purchase a home over the next six months, the highest share since May,” according to The Conference Board. 

For the ninth consecutive week, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most popular choice among home buyers, have been at or below 4 percent. In fact, only twice this year did 30-year rates average above 5 percent, Freddie Mac reports. 

Here’s a closer look at rates for the week ending Dec. 29.

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged3.95 percent, with an average 0.7 point, inching up from last week’s all-time record–a 3.91 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.86 percent. 
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.24 percent, with an average 0.8 point, also up slightly compared to last week’s record 3.21 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.20 percent.
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.88 percent, with an average 0.6 point, increasing from last week’s 2.85 percent average. Last year at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.77 percent. 
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.78 percent, with an average 0.6 point, slightly up from last week’s 2.77 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 3.26 percent. 

 Source: Freddie Mac

 More news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or www.dougandbudzeller.com