More Americans consider renting--good time to buy income property!!!!

Fannie Mae survey shows more Americans consider renting

by KERRI PANCHUK

• Americans expect falling home prices and higher rental rates: Fannie Mae
• Delinquent borrowers would rather rent: Fannie Mae survey
• Fannie Mae survey finds traditional homeownership changing
• Zillow accommodates growing pool of renters
• 70% of Americans surveyed tell Fannie Mae it's a good time to buy a home

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011, 7:51 am

About 70% of Americans interviewed for Fannie Mae'sJuly consumer survey said they are growing more pessimistic about the direction of the economy and they expect home prices to fall even further.
Some 23% of respondents to the national poll believe the economy is moving in the right direction.
"The impact of recent financial market volatility on household wealth has been a setback to consumer confidence, which we're seeing in our survey results and in Americans' continued restraint in their willingness to take on additional financial commitments," said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae.
Only 11% of respondents said it's a good time to sell a home, while most of those surveyed expect home prices to decline from a year ago.
More Americans plan to rent in the future, even though they anticipate rental prices to increase over the next 12 months. The number of Americans who said they will buy their next home went down 5 percentage points, while rentals are up 3 points.
Personal finance also remains a sour spot with only 35% of respondents expecting finances to get better, down from 40% of respondents in April.
Write to Kerri Panchuk.

The Bungalows HPOZ In Jefferson Park, An Elegant Early Street Car Suburb

http://www.preservation.lacity.org/node/493


Jefferson Park

Often referred to by locals as “The Bungalows,” the Jefferson Park neighborhood is perhaps one of the City’s finest examples of both an early street car suburb, and the proliferation of the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s, in the form of simple, yet elegant, single-story bungalows for the growing middle class. Fanciful eaves, intricate wood work, turrets, stone, masonry and shingle are displayed in ways that defy the modest scale of these houses and make the many streets of this vast district instantly charming. A significant number of Jefferson Park houses were built using prefabricated kits or plan books produced by the likes of Sears and Pacific Ready-Cut Homes. In addition to its celebrated architecture, Jefferson Park has long embodied the ethnic and cultural diversity for which Los Angeles is known. Upon the elimination of racially restrictive covenants in the 1940s Jefferson Park found instant favor with African American and Japanese American families and while the neighborhood demographics today are substantially more diverse, many of the business and institutions along Adams and Jefferson Boulevards and Western Avenue, within the HPOZ, reflect the contributions of these predominant communities.

• Jefferson Park Survey Map
• Jefferson Park Adopting Ordinance [PDF, 348KB]
• Jefferson Park Preservation Plan [PDF, 2.3MB]
• Citywide HPOZ Ordinance [PDF, 256KB]

a little about me....

Natalie Neith has 22 years of experience in Los Angeles real estate and is a consistent top producer
for the John Aaroe Group.  An expert in marketing historic and architecturally distinctive properties,
Natalie has served some of LA’s most distinctive neighborhoods - Historic West Adams, Larchmont,
Hancock Park, Miracle Mile, West Hollywood, Country Club Park, Hollywood Hills, Silverlake, Echo
Park, Glassell Park, Leimert Park, Highland Park and the Westside. From vintage mansions to
contemporary condos to everything in between, she has sold hundreds of homes in the LA area,
representing celebrity sellers, repeat customers, investors and first-time buyers alike.

California Car Registration changes-- not real estate, but important

For your iinformation, in case you didn't know.

- Subject: Calif. car registration changes      As of July 1, 2011, California DMV is no longer required to mail out advance notices for upcoming vehicle registration. They are balancing that change with an additional grace period of 30 days before penalties would be applied. They are also adding $12 to the registration fee. I understand the state is trying to cut back on the costs of mailing out the notices and trying to increase revenue with the increased fee as well as hoping that many of us simply forget to pay our registration on time, thereby adding even more through penalties.    Key here is that if we don't remind ourselves with post-it notes or iPhone alarms, we will pay extra for our vehicle registration.   Check the tag on your plates. It will tell you what month you must renew.....  Who will be the first in the family to forget and say,,, "I didn't know."  ? See website for more info and on-line re-registration :   http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ You might want to pass this one on to your friends in California...

John Aaroe Group--Architectural Properties Division

L.A.'s Architectural Moment #8

This 1960s building by Edward Durell Stone, FAIA, featured in the Spring 1965 issue of "Architectural Digest," should look familiar as it's on the SW corner of Wilshire & McCarthy in Beverly Hills...and...it houses the Beverly Hills office of the John Aaroe Group. The 1960s interiors were completed by the venerable firm of Cannell & Chaffin...(and yes, nephew & prolific television writer Steven J. Cannell would hammer-out scrips during his lunch hour there.) 


Bret Parsons
Founder & Managing Director, Aaroe Architectural

Newly Remodeled Echo Park Gem With Backyard Views of Downtown LA!

Beautifully Remodeled Echo Park Stucco House, 3+2 with avocado, fig, lime & orange trees in backyard plus great views of Downtown LA!  Built in 1932 on a lovely hillside near Sunset & Beaudry btw Downtown and Dodger Stadium. 

APX 1468 sq. ft. on 4500 sq. ft. lot!

Interested Buyer?  Call me and we'll set up an appointment with the Listing Agent! Standard Sale...no Short Sale/REO delays!!!  Let's make an offer fast before it disappears...

MLS #: K11086722MR  LA: Graciela Jacques, gracielajacques@sbcglobal.net

The Catbagan/Neith Team
The John Aaroe Group/aaroe+williamson	323 317-9696 Phone
849 So. Broadway, Ste 704	213 417-9135 Fax
Los Angeles, CA 90014	323 595-9414 Cell

STATUS:  Active

ADDRESS:  979 Marview Avenue , Echo Park 90012

LP:  $449,000

Add'l Photos

View Larger Map

RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY	AREA:  (21) Silver Lake - Echo Park
STYLE:  Craftsman	SUB:
APN:  5406-017-003	ZONE:
ADP:	VU:  Yes
APX ACREAGE:  0.10	GH:  N/A
HORSE PROP:	LSE:  No
ELEM:	JRHS:

DIRECTIONS:

REMARKS:  Beautifully remodelled 1932 home. New Stucco, new paint, new doors, new landscaping with sprinklers, new central heat, new flooring, new kitchen, new bath. Home in Echo park near Dodger Stadium , down town and freeway close

ROOMS:  Basement,Family
EQUIP:  Garbage Disposal,Microwave
AIR:  None	HEAT:  Central
FLOOR:  Laminate	LAUNDRY:  Room
FIREPL:  Family Room	ROOF:  Composition,Tile
POOL:  None	TENNIS:
PARK:  Garage & Attached	SPA:
VIEW TYPE:  City Lights	WATERFRONT:
SEC:	FIN:  Submit
SEWER:  In Street	POSS:  Close Of Escrow
DISC:  Seller Will Pay Sec. 1 Termite	SZONE:
OCC/SHOW:	SALE TYPE:  Standard

Major Lenders Offering Perks on Short Sales

07/28/2011BY: CARRIE BAY

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The nation’s leading mortgage lenders are extending extras for short sale transactions employed as an alternative to foreclosure – both in the form of monetary incentives for borrowers and streamlined procedures for real estate agents.

Wells Fargo  says it has been making “enhanced financial relocation assistance offers” that can be as much as $10,000 or $20,000 to certain borrowers who choose to go through with a short sale or transfer the title back to Wells via a deed-in-lieu.

This extra incentive is being offered to distressed borrowers in Florida and other states where the foreclosure process is lengthening, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo explained. The exact amount of the relocation funds provided to individual borrowers varies based on a number of factors, the company says.

Wells Fargo noted that this type of additional relocation assistance is only available on first-lien loans that the company itself owns – which represent only about 20 percent of the loans Wells Fargo services. The company must follow investor guidelines for the remaining loans it services.

JPMorgan Chase  is also offering a range of incentives to borrowers that agree to a pre-foreclosure sale “because if we can’t work out a modification, a short sale is a better result for the borrower, the servicer, the investor, and the neighborhood than a foreclosure,” the company said in a statement.

Chase says the amount of the offer “depends on a number of factors” but declined to share specific details on how much money it’s been providing to short sellers.

One agent in Florida confirms that he has indeed received a letter from Chase offering $20,000 to a borrower he’s representing in a short sale transaction.

Another agent in California says he closed a short sale with Chase where the borrower was paid $30,000 at closing for cooperating with the short sale.

“I have closed over 200 short sales and this was the most I have seen paid to a borrower,” the agent said.

Citi  has confirmed that its average incentive offer is currently $12,000 for borrowers in cases where Citi owns the loan.

“Incentives are offered to customers experiencing financial hardship who need funds to proceed with the short sale,” a spokesman for the lender explained.

The amount, which is agreed upon upfront, varies according to the borrower’s individual circumstances and loan characteristics, Citi said. It is disbursed to the homeowner when the short sale is completed.

Bank of America  says it is “committed to improving the short sale process” and has made procedural changes to cut some of the red tape for agents working with the bank on pre-foreclosure sales.

The lender now allows real estate agents to submit a backup offer on a transaction if the original buyer has walked away from the sale.

This means that agents no longer have to initiate a new short sale if the buyer changes, Bank of America explained. Instead, agents can move ahead with the original transaction in the Equator  system, BofA’s short sale technology platform of choice, and continue to work with the same short sale specialist.

Bank of America says this policy change  will save its agents time by not having to repeat a number of process steps.