Living on the Sacramento River is a whole lot more affordable in today’s market than it was in the past. I wanted to share a bit of recent research as I just finished up an apprasial on Garden Highway. Here is a graph of all sales along Garden Highway in Sacramento County over the past ten years. Keep in mind these are only sales that closed in MLS, so there may be other private transactions or newly constructed custom properties not accounted for below. What do you see?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

It’s nice to take pause and see good things happening in the Sacramento real estate market. It’s not all bad news thankfully. Below are three houses on 37th Street in the Oak Park area that began construction several years back, but ended up going into foreclosure during the building process. These houses sat vacant for quite a while until they were purchased in January 2010 by an investor. All units have since been rehabbed throughout and are currently listed for sale. I snapped the half-built photo in October 2009 and the remodeled photo last week. 

This is a win for the neighborhood, don’t you think?  

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

Part 2 of 3: I sat down recently with Sacramento real estate broker Joel Wright to discuss the 2-4 unit residential-income market in Sacramento. Joel specializes in working with investors and he knows his stuff. We hit on topics such as prices, inventory, rent levels and current trends with duplexes and fourplexes in the Sacramento area. Let me know if you have any questions and check out The Wright Report also for a very detailed analysis of the local market. View Part 1 of this interview series here and watch the new segment below.

Here is a graph of all duplex and fourplex sales in Sacramento County over the past three years. What do you see? Does anything stand out to you?

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook.

A prospective buyer stumbled on my blog recently and watched a video about FHA and defective paint. She had some follow-up questions due to her situation, and I thought it would be helpful for others to see our interaction in case you are in a similar scenario.

Question from Buyer: Hello. I stumbled upon your video because I made an appointment to look at a house and the Realtor told me she hoped I had a conventional loan because an FHA loan has issues with the chipping paint on the outside. I have no idea if the paint is lead (the house was built in 1940 so there is a possibility). What are the options if the FHA loan is what I was approved for but don’t have the money to have the house painted? Could money be held in escrow to have the house painted or would the seller maybe pay to have it painted? Any help you could give me would be great! Great video!

My Response: Thanks for the comment and the question. Your options are really as follows: 1) Ask the seller to cure the problem; or 2) Find another way to cure the problem. The reality is that the issue needs to be cured – no matter how it gets done. Any paint surface that is defective (flaking, chipping or peeling paint) will have to be properly remedied and sealed. There won’t need to be any lead-base paint test. 3) A third option actually is to do an FHA 203K loan so you can get certain repairs like this taken care of without spending money out-of-pocket. You’d actually buy the property and then specific predetermined repairs would be made after the close of escrow from money bundled in your loan. Not all loan officers and brokers handle 203K loans or are good at doing them, so make sure you work with someone who knows about 203Ks. I’m glad to refer someone trustworthy to you.

The video below helps to explain the three ways to deal with FHA repairs. I hope this was helpful. Keep me posted if you have any questions or insight.

If you have any real estate appraisal, valuation consulting, or property tax appeal needs in Greater Sacramento, contact me at 916.595.3735 or www.LundquistCompany.com.

I run into real estate agents and loan officers in the Sacramento area who say, “I wish I could still refer you business, but I can’t anymore because of HVCC.” The common thought is that because the appraisal ordering process for loans has changed in recent years (basically appraisers cannot be hand-picked by loan officers or real estate agents for specific loans geared toward Fannie Mae), that our paths cannot cross for business any more. That’s not the case though, so I wanted to give you the skinny on how we can still connect for business. I know, this post seems very self-serving, but since I have this conversation at nearly every Chamber of Commerce or real estate related networking meeting, I figured it was definitely relevant blog fodder.

1. Estate Settlement / Probate Appraisals: When an estate has a transfer of ownership due to death or inheritance, it is very common for a real estate appraisal to be needed for tax purposes. Home owners and attorneys order these types of appraisals (www.SacramentoEstateSettlement.com).

2. Divorce Appraisals: I handle appraisals during the divorce / mediation process, and I run a website at www.SacramentoDivorceAppraisals.com.

3. Property Tax Appeals: Do you know anyone who is paying too much in property taxes? Send them to me. I cover multiple counties in the Greater Sacramento Region. I founded www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com.

4. Second opinion of value: Sometimes a second opinion of value is needed. Maybe the buyer wants an outside opinion in place of the appraisal the lender ordered. Or maybe you as the real estate agent need some additional research to help the lender see true market value. Or maybe a transaction is heading south very quickly, and some value reinforcement is needed (research or full appraisal).

5. Appraisals during a short sale: Sometimes a bank will absolutely not budge to accept an offer lower than what they deem to be acceptable (even though their price is way too high), so the Listing Agent or home owner will hire me to do a full appraisal. I wrote a full post on this topic here.

6. Pre-listing appraisals:What is the current market doing? A pre-listing appraisal helps give some perspective for the home owner or agent.

7. Home owner wants an appraisal: I’m so grateful when local real estate professionals trust me with their clients’ needs. Sometimes a home owner will want to see an actual appraisal before listing their property. Or other times an all-cash buyer wants to make sure the cash purchase is consistent with market value. Or an owner needs an appraisal for some other reason, and their trusted agent will refer the owner to me.

8. Approval List: You can get me on the approved appraiser list for your favorite lender or attorney. I had a fantastic referral this year to a really great local company. They sent me quite a bit of work and they run an excellent shop. In fact, I sent the loan officer a referral this morning because he got me on their approved appraiser list (and he does a fantastic job).

9. Bankruptcy Appraisals: If a home owner needs an appraisal during the bankruptcy process, I can certainly help them with that. Read a full post here.

I sincerely vaule the relationships I have with local Realtors, real estate agents, and loan officers in the Sacramento area, and I appreciate the business we can send to one another. If you have any questions or a need for an appraisal or property tax consulting in the Sacramento area, give me a call at 916.595.3735, send me an email, or catch me on Facebook.

What does a good referral look like for you?

I am hired periodically from local real estate agents and home owners to do an appraisal during a short sale situation. Sometimes a bank will absolutely not budge to accept an offer lower than what they deem to be acceptable (even though their price is way too high), so the Listing Agent or home owner will hire me to do a full appraisal. The goal for the agent and owner is to show the bank what true market value is so that the sale can hopefully proceed at a more realistic price based on the market rather than a number the bank has picked. For example, if a bank says they will accept $200,000 for a property, but all other sales are at $175,000, a solid appraisal could potentially give the bank a realistic view of the market and thus help the home owner avoid foreclosure.

Should you hire an appraiser during a short sale situation? My advice is to first attempt to negotiate with your bank. Don’t spend money on an appraisal if you don’t have to. If the bank will absolutely not budge on their price though, and your sense is that market value is really lower than what they are saying, then it’s time to hire a local and experienced appraiser to provide you with a credible and detailed appraisal. 

Here is an example of some graphs below in a Sacramento neighborhood based on research I did during a short sale for a 2-bedroom house. All offers on this property had come in 10-15% lower than the bank’s approved number, but the bank would still not accept a lower price on this property. 

As you can see in the graphs, over the past few years and recently, the 2-bedroom units have tended to sell at the lowest end of the market. In this particular case, the final appraised value ended up being about 10% less than what the bank was willing to accept, which is very helpful and relevant information for the bank to consider. When dealing with a huge number of short sale and foreclosure inventory, a bank will not always be in touch with market trends, particularly when something like bedroom count might make a huge impact on the value of a property.

If you have any questions or a need for an appraisal or consulting in the Sacramento area, give me a call at 916.595.3735, send me an email, catch me on Facebook, or see my company website at www.LundquistCompany.com.

No, this is not a storage container, but a stripped AC unit on a bank-owned multi-unit property in Sacramento. Why do you think REO properties are such easy targets for theft? I gave some thoughts to this a few days back in an audio post. Obviously the properties are vacant, so it makes it easier to give the “five finger discount”, but is there something more sociological to consider here. Is it deemed more “acceptable” to take things that belong to a faceless bank as opposed to an actual person? Your insight and thoughts are welcome in comments below.

I took the day off yesterday to enjoy some fishing at Ice House Reservoir. I sure needed a break in life, so it was nice to have a friend take me out on his boat. We ended up bagging ten trout and having ten or more others get away too. We were out on the lake for six hours, and the weather was pretty cold (with wind). It actually started to snow while we were packing up. On that note, I’d never been fishing before when there was a glimpse of snow on the shore, so that was neat. I could get used to a four-day work week and then fishing on Fridays. Anyone else with me on that?

Enjoy a few pictures.

It’s my youngest son’s birthday tomorrow and it’s also the one-year anniversary of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. People ask me all the time what I think about HVCC, so I figured on the eve of twelve months of HVCC, it would be appropriate to have a little discussion. In short, I think the Home Valuation Code of Conduct has been difficult for the appraisal industry, the consumer, and the real estate industry.

Appraisers definitely make less money now for loan work. I know, who cares, right? But listen between the lines because what if the government stepped into your industry and said you could no longer do business with clients you’ve had a relationship with for years. Many appraisers have gone out of business because their client-base was swept under the rug last year when HVCC was implemented.

Secondly, the consumer pays more for a real estate appraisal now. Under the direction of HVCC, appraisals geared toward Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac cannot be ordered directly by a lender or broker, but must be ordered from a neutral third-party (often times an AMC – Appraisal Management Company). These companies charge the consumer more than what an appraiser would typically charge, and many times pay the appraiser quite a bit less than what is customary in the market. There are some upstanding AMCs out there that I am thankful to do business with, but on the other hand it’s too bad to see some companies really taking advantage of the situation at hand. For example, I received an email yesterday from an AMC offering appraisers $125 for an appraisal order, while their website shows fees at nearly $500.

Lastly, HVCC has definitely impacted the real estate market. Since appraisers cannot be chosen directly by lenders, loan officers or brokers, the best appraiser for the job may no longer be hired. One might make the case therefore that there is a serious issue right now with the quality of real estate appraisals because of less experienced appraisers being hired to complete appraisals they are not as qualified to do. That’s definitely the case, but on the other hand I also think HVCC has been a bit of a microscope to the appraisal industry in some regards because it has illuminuated some shoddy work in the appraisal field.

Ultimately, I’m thankful that HVCC only applies to loans geared toward Fannie & Freddie (HUD/FHA has something similar in place now too). I still do many appraisals for investors, Realtors, and home owners, and these types of valuations are NOT affected at all by HVCC. Of course I’m not immune to some of the consequences of HVCC as I mentioned above, and the whole thing upsets me, but I’m choosing to focus on other things. I may be limited in business right now with what I can do for loan appraisals, but I can still chase other avenues of appraisal work such as bankruptcy, divorce, estate settlement, investor valuations, and assignments from local governmental agencies. In fact, just yesterday I had another Sacramento estate settlement retrospective appraisal come my way.

I know this almost sounds like a positive spin, but there is something philosophical here for me because it’s about focus. HVCC has been a sincere difficulty, but focusing all my attention on it and being negative won’t do me any good (and it won’t pay the bills either). Therefore HVCC won’t define me today, and it won’t be fuel on the fire tomorrow either on the one-year anniversary. Tomorrow I’ll be burning some hot dogs on a grill, enjoying the company of family as we celebrate my youngest son’s birthday, and intentionally not focusing on HVCC.

I’d like to hear from you as a real estate agent, consumer, or appraiser. How have you seen HVCC impact the real estate market over this past year?

A local realtor named Jesse Garcia of Keller Williams Realty interviewed me last week and the video is live today. We talked about the real estate market in Sacramento, property values, property tax appeals, and Project 680. Jesse is a good guy and I feel honored for the opportunity to chat a bit in his “Information You can Use” blog series. You can view more videos in Jesse’s series on his YouTube channel or on The Sacramento Real Estate Tube. Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think.

Language is important. The way we describe things can evoke certain emotions and reactions, so we must choose our words carefully. This is true in all aspects of life, and definitely true in real estate. I always smile when I see the ways agents attempt to not say “bank-owned” or “REO” or “Foreclosure” in listings. I suppose if potential buyers would be put off by “FORECLOSURE”, then by all means, use a different word or phrase. In place of “bank-owned” I’ve seen “corporate-owned” or “owned by the mortgage company” or “lender-owned” or “liquidation sale”.

If you were in the market to purchase a property, would it matter to you whether something was labeled as “corporate-owned” or “foreclosure”? Is there any stigma in your mind for a home that is selling as bank-owned?

EDD finally posted January 2010 unemployment rates. They typically get new data on their website about 20 days into the next month (for the previous month), but this time around they took quite a bit longer. Maybe they didn’t want to release discouraging numbers (just kidding). Actually, they have a new schedule posted HERE in case you’re interested.

The graph to the right was taken from the EDD website. It looks like California is not doing too well compared with the rest of the United States. When looking at the graph or the data below, what stands out to you? Does anything surprise you? In Sacramento County, Gold River has the lowest unemployment rate at 2.6% and Walnut Grove takes home the top rate at 30.5%. These two have actually been bookends on the unemployment rate spectrum for quite some time. Overall Sacramento County has an unemployment rate of 13.10% as of January 2010.

What strikes you about the information above? How do you think unemployment influences the real estate market?