Monthly Archives: June 2010

New Home Sales Plummet with Expiration of Tax Credits

The expiration of the latest government program has curtailed demand more than most analysts thought possible.

Irvine Home Address … 37 EXPLORATION Irvine, CA 92618

Resale Home Price …… $1,649,000

We're going down,

And you can see it too.

We're going down,

And you know that we're doomed.

My dear,

We're slow dancing in a burning room.

John Mayer — Slow Dancing In A Burning Room

As a worker in the homebuilding industry, it pains me to see bad news. Our industry is barely limping along dependent upon a plethora of government subsidies and facing a potential avalanche of distressed properties to compete with us for sales. The amend-pretend-extend policy of lenders has created a small degree of demand for our product, but with the overhang of distressed properties, it feels like we are slow dancing in a burning room.

New-home sales plunge 33 pct with tax credits gone

By ALAN ZIBEL (AP) – June 23,2010

WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer receive government tax credits.

The bleak report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday is the latest sign of a precarious housing market that is struggling to recover and could weaken the broader economic recovery. It follows a disappointing report issued earlier in the week showing sales of previously occupied homes had dipped in May.

Analysts linked the sudden drop in new-home sales to the expiration of federal tax credits of up to $8,000. But double-digit unemployment and slow job growth have also weighed on the market, even with mortgage rates at near-historic lows.

In most markets — at least those away from the California coast — affordability is not a problem. In Riverside County, houses are as affordable as they have ever been thanks to low interest rates. Right now, what the market lacks is wage earners who can qualify for a mortgage and absorb the inventory.

"We fear that the appetite to buy a home has disappeared alongside the tax credit," Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics," wrote in a note to clients. "After all, unemployment remains high, job security is low and credit conditions are tight."

To sustain the economic rebound, the Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates at record lows and repeat a pledge to keep them there for a while. The Fed resumed its two-day meeting Wednesday with policymakers having some cause for optimism as well as caution.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has expressed confidence that the nation won't fall back into a "double dip" recession. At the same time, the recovery remains vulnerable to threats and chief among them is a fragile housing market.

If a strong housing market is what is necessary to avoid a double-dip recession, then we are going to see a double-dip recession.

New-home sales fell in May from April to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 300,000, the government said Wednesday. That was the slowest sales pace on records dating back to 1963. It also was the largest monthly drop on record. Sales have now sunk 78 percent from their peak in July 2005.

Each month I go to the Building Industry Association's Riverside County Chapter meeting on Governmental Affairs. Each meeting we are updated on the number of building permits in the county. At the peak in 2005, we pulled about 35,000 permits. In 2009 we pulled about 3,500. This year — assuming demand does not drop off further, we may issue about 5,000 permits. Riverside County has seen a 90% drop in new home construction, and the recovery is very sluggish. When we finally get back to the sustainable rate of 20,000 houses a year, business will have picked up 400% from 2010 levels.

The tax credits expired on April 30. Buyers who signed sales contracts by the deadline have until June 30 to close on their homes and qualify.

The new-home sales report measures contracts to buy homes rather than completed sales. So it offered a glimpse of what the housing industry will endure throughout the summer.

"We all knew there would be a housing hangover from the expiration of the tax credit," wrote Mike Larson, real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research. "But this decline takes your breath away."

Breathtaking! Yes, the decline has certainly felt breathtaking to the homebuilding industry.

Sales of previously occupied homes are recorded when buyers close, so there were expectations for strong numbers in that sector through June. The 2.2 percent drop in May from the previous month showed the entire industry is weakening.

New-home sales fell nationwide from April's levels. They dropped 53 percent from a month earlier in the West and 33 percent in the Northeast. Sales in the South dropped 25 percent. The Midwest posted a 24 percent decline.

Builders have sharply scaled back construction in the face of a severe housing market bust. The number of new homes up for sale in March fell 0.5 percent to 213,000, the lowest level in nearly 40 years. But due to the sluggish sales pace in May, it would still take 8.5 months to exhaust that supply, above a healthy level of about six months.

The median sales price in May was $200,900. That was down 9.6 percent from a year earlier and down 1 percent from April.

New-homes sales made up about 7 percent of the housing market last year. That's down from about 15 percent before the bust.

The drop in new-home sales means fewer jobs in the construction industry, which normally powers economic recoveries but has remained lackluster this time.

Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes paid to local and federal authorities, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The impact is felt across multiple industries, from makers of faucets and dishwashers to lumber yards.

The only bright spot — if you want to call it that — is that Southern California doesn't have any standing inventory of unsold new homes like many other markets. If demand picks up, homebuilders will go to work and build more houses.

Now we need people to start getting jobs again in California….

Defaulting Dreamer

This was not a wise purchase. The owner of today's featured property paid $1,422,000 on 2/29/2008. He used a $995,400 first mortgage and a $426,600 down payment., then he defaulted.

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 06/03/2010

Document Type: Notice of Default

Rather than put the property for sale at a reasonable asking price to try to recover his investment, this owner is asking a WTF price hoping to make over $100,000. Good luck with that.

Irvine Home Address … 37 EXPLORATION Irvine, CA 92618

Resale Home Price … $1,649,000

Home Purchase Price … $1,422,000

Home Purchase Date …. 2/29/2008

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $128,060

Percent Change ………. 9.0%

Annual Appreciation … 6.0%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$1,649,000 ………. Asking Price

$329,800 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.80% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$1,319,200 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$333,710 ………. Income Requirement

$6,921 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$1429 ………. Property Tax

$600 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$137 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$175 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$9,263 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$1520 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$1645 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$605 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$206 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$6,909 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$16,490 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$16,490 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$13,192 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$329,800 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$375,972 ………. Total Cash Costs

$105,900 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$481,872 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 37 EXPLORATION Irvine, CA 92618

——————————————————————————

Beds: 5

Baths: 4 full 1 part baths

Home size: 4,209 sq ft

($392 / sq ft)

Lot Size: 7,192 sq ft

Year Built: 2008

Days on Market: 27

Listing Updated: 40344

MLS Number: P736173

Property Type: Single Family, Residential

Community: Portola Springs

Tract: Sera

——————————————————————————

This beautiful house is so unique and highly upgraded throughout. Totally custom fisnishes and awsome amenities. Imported chandelier, French doors that look out into the middle courtyard. Master suite w/walk-in closet and custom designed cabinets. Built-In security camera system monitored by computer.

so unique? I don't think the word unique can be modified.

fisnishes? awsome?

Do you think the realtor allowed her teenage daughter to write this description? Totally awesome!

Government Bureaucrat Recommends Against 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgages

Some ideas for reforming the mortgage and housing markets are better than others. Recommending borrowers stop using fixed-rate mortgages at the bottom of the interest-rate cycle is a very foolish recommendation.

Irvine Home Address … 28 COLDBROOK Irvine, CA 92604

Resale Home Price …… $1,199,000

Cocaine decisions…

You are a doctor or a lawyer

You got an office with a foyer

And the cocaine decisions that you make today

Will not be discovered till it's over 'n' done

By the customers you hold at bay

Frank Zappa — Cocaine Decisions

The decisions we make today concerning the mortgage and housing markets will have long-lasting ramifications. So far, the policies lenders have been following in cahoots with our government are fostering moral hazard. Now some bureaucrats are trying to undermine the very foundation of prudent borrowing: the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Radical Ideas From a Federal Housing Bureaucrat

By James R. Hagerty

As the chief economist of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Patrick Lawler … launched a frontal assault on the most sacred element in U.S. housing-policy dogma: the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan, providing the right to refinance at any time, with no prepayment penalty. If more members of the audience had been fully awake at this moment, I feel sure that their gasps would have been audible.

The reason people at this event might have gasped is because the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is a good idea, particularly now at the bottom of the interest rate cycle. The author of this article, James R. Hagerty, obviously disagrees. He is a fool.

Now, Americans are very attached to their 30-year fixed-rate freely prepayable mortgages. They like not having to fuss about the possibility of 28% interest rates in 2032, even though most of us will move or die long before then. They love to refinance every time rates drop and then brag to their neighbors about how much they are saving per month.

Notice the emotional derisiveness in the comments about bragging to the neighbors and the ridiculous overstatement about 28% interest rates after we die. People who managed their risk well by utilizing 30-year fixed-rate mortgages should brag to their neighbors. They were smarter than their neighbors who used adjustable-rate mortgages and assumed interest rate risk. People who use fixed-rate financing can still take advantage of lower interest rates by refinancing, and they lock in protection against higher rates. This is smart.

What they don’t stop to realize often enough is that they are paying a very large price for that privilege– twice.

This is an exaggeration. People do pay a premium for fixed-rate financing, but it isn't a "very large price" as this author erroneously contends.

In the first place, mortgage rates are higher than they otherwise would be. That’s because lenders and mortgage investors must build in protection for the risk that we will prepay and stick them with a lower yield than they were anticipating. Mr. Lawler estimates that Americans pay at least an extra 0.25 to 0.50 percentage point in rates because of this option to prepay without penalty. They also pay another premium-–sometimes a percentage point or two–for having a long-term fixed rate. Over 30 years, that translates into some real money, but no one ever mentions that when bragging to the neighbor.

Notice he slips in another comment about bragging to the neighbors. I suspect this guy has an adjustable-rate mortgage. When interest rates go up and his payments along with them, I wonder if he will feel so smug about his choices. Also, the premiums he stated are a ridiculous exaggeration. Nobody is paying one or two percent more for fixed-rate financing.

In the second place, our nation has created the likes of Fannie, Freddie and the FHA to facilitate these oddball 30-year fixed-rate loans, which aren’t normally provided by the private market.

That statement crosses the line between exaggeration and outright lie. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages are not "oddballs" that would not exist if not for the GSEs and the FHA. It may look that way today because there is no market other than what these entities provide, but that is because there is no private market of any kind for mortgages at today's interest rates. If it isn't government insured, it isn't underwritten. These oddball loans have been around for decades, and they are the stable base of a housing market.

For a long while, that seemed like a free lunch. Fannie and Freddie, we were told, were far better able to handle those complex risks than we dumb consumers ever could. But since the government had to rescue Fannie and Freddie in 2008, the taxpayers’ tab for this indigestible lunch has swollen to $145 billion, and it’s still rising. So that’s the second time we’ll pay for our irrational love of American-style mortgages – only this time, we all pay, not just mortgage borrowers.

This guy is saying that the problems with the GSEs are caused by 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. That is a lie, pure and simple. The GSEs got in trouble because they insured and purchased toxic mortgages. It isn't their 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that are causing massive losses. This writer is using lies and emotional exaggerations to support his contention that these loans are bad. It is irresponsible journalism, and he should be ashamed.

Meanwhile, other wealthy nations–notably Canada–do without our kind of mortgages and yet somehow manage to have homeownership rates similar to ours. They do not pretend that there are risk-free ways to buy houses on credit.

Canadians also do not have a mortgage interest deduction, so people are strongly encouraged to pay off debt rather than endlessly add to it and service it. Also, the wise Canadians recently inflated their own housing bubble as people foolishly used low-interest mortgages to bid up prices. The author forgot to mention that.

Mr. Lawler then skewered one of the favorite arguments of those who assert that we need Fannie and Freddie–their ability to borrow money all over the world, drawing in foreigners’ savings to finance ever-larger McMansions (which then need to be filled with Asian gadgets and European gewgaws). But why exactly do we need all of that foreign investment in our mortgages? Mr. Lawler asked: “A good case can be made that we massively over-invest in housing.” Indeed, we might be better off investing any money foreigners lend us in something that would help us sell more of our goods and services to those foreigners so we can hope to pay them back one day.

All too soon, Mr. Lawler’s time was up, but he blurted one last revolutionary chant before resuming his role as a bland bureaucrat: “We can do with a lot less government involvement and still get what we want, just by making some fundamental changes.”

What fundamental changes would those be? The author obviously thinks one of these fundamental changes should be eliminating the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. I think he is a fool.

I proposed this solution:

Loans for the purchase or refinance of residential real estate secured by a mortgage and recorded in the public record are limited by the following parameters based on the borrower’s documented income and general indebtedness and the appraised value of the property at the time of sale or refinance:

1. All payments must be calculated based on a 30-year fixed-rate conventionally-amortizing mortgage regardless of the loan program used. Negative amortization is not permitted.

2. The total debt-to-income ratio for the mortgage loan payment, taxes and insurance cannot exceed 28% of a borrower’s gross income.

3. The total debt-to-income of all debt obligations cannot exceed 36% of a borrower’s gross income.

4. The combined-loan-to-value of mortgage indebtedness cannot exceed 90% of the appraised value of the property or the purchase price, whichever value is smaller except in specially sanctioned government programs.

Any sums loaned in excess of these parameters do not need to be repaid by the borrower and no contractual provision is permitted that can be interpreted as limiting the borrower’s right to exercise this right, make the loan callable or otherwise abridge the mortgage agreement.

That is the kind of fundamental change we would live with.

Scheduled for auction 28 years after purchase

Family homes have historically been a great retirement savings vehicle because people were forced to save through the amortization on their loan. California owners in particular have had opportunity to fund their retirements from an influx of high wage earning buyers driving up home prices. Unfortunately, with the Great Housing Bubble, many owners extracted their retirement savings and spent it.

  • Today's featured property was purchased on 7/12/1982 for about $400,000 based on the property tax records. The owners original financing is unknown, but it was likely an 80% loan with a 20% down payment.

  • On 12/11/2001 they obtained a $600,000 first mortgage.

  • On 2/4/2003 they refinanced with a $605,000 first mortgage.

  • On 5/3/2004 they opened a $100,000 HELOC.

  • On 3/28/2005 they refinanced with a $743,000 first mortgage.

  • Here is where it gets strange; on 4/3/2007 the refinanced with a $600,000 first mortgage which required them to pay down the first by $143,000.

  • Total property debt is $600,000.

  • Total mortgage equity withdrawal is about $200,000.

According to Foreclosure Radar, these owners defaulted in April, and they are scheduled for auction in August. Since they have about $600,000 in equity, it is safe to assume they will sell prior to their auction or get a loan modification. It may be this is an unemployment problem. For whatever the reason, these owners are being compelled to sell a house they have been living in for almost 30 years under threat of foreclosure.

Twenty-eight years after purchase, and their mortgage has doubled, and they are about to lose their homes. Very foolish, and very sad.

Irvine Home Address … 28 COLDBROOK Irvine, CA 92604

Resale Home Price … $1,199,000

Home Purchase Price … $400,000

Home Purchase Date …. 7/12/1982

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $727,060

Percent Change ………. 181.8%

Annual Appreciation … 4.0%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$1,199,000 ………. Asking Price

$239,800 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.80% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$959,200 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$242,643 ………. Income Requirement

$5,033 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$1039 ………. Property Tax

$0 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$100 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$73 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$6,245 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$1365 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$1196 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$440 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$150 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$4,273 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$11,990 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$11,990 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$9,592 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$239,800 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$273,372 ………. Total Cash Costs

$65,500 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$338,872 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 28 COLDBROOK Irvine, CA 92604

——————————————————————————

Beds: 4

Baths: 3 full 1 part baths

Home size: 3,600 sq ft

($333 / sq ft)

Lot Size: 5,665 sq ft

Year Built: 1980

Days on Market: 60

Listing Updated: 40343

MLS Number: S613788

Property Type: Single Family, Residential

Community: Woodbridge

Tract: Gb

——————————————————————————

According to the listing agent, this listing may be a pre-foreclosure or short sale.

Classic home never goes out of style. Good taste, superb craftmanship, prime location combine to create this sought after home in Woodbridge. This beautifully constructed and appointment home is a haven for comfort and family. This home is beautifully remodeled throughout. A generous family room warmed by the brick fireplace, is a place where everyone can relax. Gourmet kitchen features stainless steel appliances, double oven, warmer and walk-in pantry. Den includes a bar with wine room, perfect for entertaining. Bonus room with built-in cabinets, ceiling fan and a balcony. Master Bedroom with plenty of closet space and a private deck with views of peaceful trees, tennis courts and a peek-a-boo view of Woodbrige North Lake, leads to the backyard with a spiral staircase. Enjoy the outdoors with a private pool, spa, fireplace and a built-in BBQ. Enjoy Woodbridge ammenities: two lakes, pools, tennis courts, parks and Lagoon.

More Than Half of Loan Modifications Fail within One Year

Loan modifications fail at a very high rate, not because borrowers are unemployed, but because borrowers were Ponzi borrowing, and now they are being cut off from credit necessary to continue making their payments.

37 Fresco Inside

Irvine Home Address … 37 FRESCO Irvine, CA 92603

Resale Home Price …… $1,750,000

I wanna go back

I wanna go back

Uh cause I remember way back when

Got kicked out the crib and had a place to stay

Sometimes I cant help but think, I Wanna Go Back

I Wanna Go Back…back in the time

I Wanna Go Back

I Wanna Go Back…go way back way back y'all

I Wanna Go Back…back in the time

Kid Rock — I wanna Go Back

Everyone who participated in the Great Housing Bubble wants to go back to the way things were before. That is the problem with Ponzi schemes; once they collapse, you can't rebuild them. Borrowers were only making their debt-service payments by borrowing more money. When faced with the prospect of paying their debts without continued borrowing, Ponzis can't do it.

Loan modifications seem like a great idea: borrowers resume making payments and get to keep their houses, and lenders don't have to foreclose and recognize any losses. In other circumstances, this solution may have worked, but with recidivism rates exceeding 50%, these programs are largely a failure.

Imagine a residential real estate market where all the owners borrowed using fixed-rate financing with at least 20% down and reasonable debt-to-income ratios and there was limited mortgage equity withdrawal (think Texas). A market like that would have significant equity and owners capable to withstanding some financial distress. An economic downturn would cause problems, but in a market like that, loan modification programs offering temporary payment relief would probably keep a majority of homeowners in their properties.

Unfortunately, that is not our housing market.

Borrowers in our market used 100% financing with debt-to-income ratios exceeding 50% and borrowed any equity as it appeared. In a market that has gone Ponzi, people can't afford their debt-service payments without additional debt. That is the essence of a Ponzi scheme. Loan modifications will not be successful in a Ponzi market because borrowers could not afford the debt prior to the financial distress. Therefore, loan modifications in our current market environment are doomed, and the statistics prove it.

Mortgage Mods: Most Borrowers Are Likely to Redefault Within a Year

By Lita Epstein

Mortgage modifications may not be the solution to the nation's housing problems, after all. Fitch Ratings predicts that 65 percent to 75 percent of modifications on subprime mortgages will redefault in 12 months. The redefault level predicted for prime loans that have been modified is slightly lower — 55 percent to 65 percent within 12 months of modification.

Along with foreclosures, the use of short sales and short payoffs increased in 2009, according the the recent report from Fitch. "Currently 50 percent of prime and 35 percent of subprime and Alt A distressed liquidation sales are not by REO [lender-owned] sale," according to Fitch. The percentage of loans that ended up in foreclosure was 25.7 percent by the end of 2009, up from 11.7 percent in the first half of that year.

All those statistics show how little can be done to help people as long as the job market continues to be weak.

Even when the job market picks up, these statistics will not improve. These borrowers went Ponzi. The only thing the recession did was accelerate their financial demise.

Yet Fitch said that "potential new moratoriums and mandated mediations are becoming more widely required," which Fitch thinks will delay final resolution on many of these properties until sometime in 2012. So we're still looking at distressed sales impacting the housing market for at least another two years. Maybe these delays will be long enough to help some people find a job and keep their homes.

Hope is not a plan, but that is all lenders have. Everyone seems to think they are benefiting from the amend-pretend-extend policies of lenders. Expect that behavior to continue until the cartel falls apart.

The good news for borrowers looking to get out of property underwater is that short sales appear to be increasing in popularity. While lenders have discouraged short sales until recently, the use of short sales has increased since mid-2009.

California leads the way in the use of short sales. Fitch found that 50 percent of all short sales or short payoffs were located in California. About 8 percent were in Florida and 7 percent in Arizona. With new guidelines from the Obama administration changing the rules for short sales, Fitch expects the percentage of loans "liquidated outside of REO sale will continue to increase."

Short sales are the solution du jour. Once lenders realize that will not solve the problem, look for foreclosure rates to go back up… unless lenders are going to enable permanent squatting through gifts of homes.

Even when a home defaults, it does not necessarily result in foreclosure. Fitch found that about 15 percent of all modified non-agency residential mortgage back securities (RMBS) get additional modifications. Of the modifications that were completed in the first quarter of 2009, 18 percent have been remodified to date.

Second, third, forth modifications. The amend-pretend-extend dance is getting ridiculous.

The data for the U.S. Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) still are not available, since the first completed modifications under HAMP were seen in July 2009. Of the 1.7 million loans identified as HAMP eligible, 1.4 million were offered a trial plan by their servicer, but only 299,000 had actually converted to a permanent modification plan. Fitch expects that these modifications will default at about the same rate as the RMBS modifications.

Those modifications could show up later in the process, since the reduced payments are allowed over a five-year period. Then the payments increase to established caps.

When those payments start increasing another wave a defaults could be been.

No, when those payments start increasing there will be another wave of defaults. The policies being implemented by lenders will ensure we have supplies of distressed properties for many years to come.

Eat the Nouveau Riche

I first profiled today's featured property last year. The owner has now been squatting in a multi-million dollar mansion for a very long time. He certainly isn't complaining about the amend-pretend-extend dance.

Over two years squatting in a $2,000,000 mansion

I must admit, when I see people living with no payments for over two years in an opulent mansion, it pisses me off.

This property was purchased on 7/28/2006 for $2,337,000. The owners used a $1,635,700 first mortgage, a $467,350 HELOC and a $233,950 down payment. Then, the fun begins….

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 06/02/2010

Document Type: Notice of Sale

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 07/28/2008

Document Type: Notice of Default

37 Fresco Inside

Irvine Home Address … 37 FRESCO Irvine, CA 92603

Resale Home Price … $1,750,000

Home Purchase Price … $759,000

Home Purchase Date …. 5/27/2005

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $886,000

Percent Change ………. 116.7%

Annual Appreciation … 16.2%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$1,750,000 ………. Asking Price

$350,000 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.80% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$1,400,000 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$354,149 ………. Income Requirement

$7,345 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$1517 ………. Property Tax

$400 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$146 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$245 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$9,653 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$1545 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$1745 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$642 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$219 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$7,223 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$17,500 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$17,500 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$14,000 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$350,000 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$399,000 ………. Total Cash Costs

$110,700 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$509,700 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 37 FRESCO Irvine, CA 92603

——————————————————————————

Beds:: 5

Baths:: 5

Sq. Ft.:: 4750

$0,368

Lot Size:: 7,225 Sq. Ft.

Property Type:: Residential, Single Family

Style:: Two Level, Contemporary

View:: City Lights, City, Mountain, Faces South

Year Built:: 2006

Community:: Quail Hill

County:: Orange

MLS#:: P674831

——————————————————————————

Best Value at Quail Hill, Over $500,000 spent in Custom Upgrades. Beautiful Trevertine and Exotic Hardwood Floors. Custum Built in Family Room and Hallway & Kitchen. Central Vacuum & Clean Air Purification System and Much More!!!!

Custum?

The realtor is really excited about that central vacuum and air purification system.

Lenders Aggressively Pursue Short Sale and Foreclosure Deficiencies

Most borrowers who walk away from their homes, agree to short sales, or get pushed out in foreclosure assume that is the end of the matter. They are wrong.

Irvine Home Address … 29 ANTIQUE ROSE Irvine, CA 92620

Resale Home Price …… $1,350,000

I was blown away.

What could I say?

It all seemed to make sense.

You've taken away everything,

And I can't deal with that.

I try to see the good in life,

But good things in life are hard to find.

Daughtry — It's Not Over

It all seemed to make sense; leave the house and leave the debts behind. How could property debt follow a borrower once they left the property? Well, just because a debt was secured by property doesn't mean that debt is extinguished when the borrower leaves the property. In particular, many borrowers who naively agreed to short sales thought they were avoiding liability for the outstanding debt. They were tragically mistaken.

California is a non-recourse state. This means that any debt used for the purchase of real estate is secured only by the real estate itself, and lenders cannot pursue deficiency judgments or otherwise attempt to collect on any shortfall at sale. However, these recourse protections currently apply only to purchase money mortgages. Any borrower who refinanced their original mortgage gives up their non-recourse protections. Any HELOCs opened or used after the purchase do not enjoy non-recourse status. Since many purchase money mortgages were refinanced, and since many HELOCs were added to the purchase money mortgages, many California borrowers have lost their non-recourse protections.

Lenders go after money lost in foreclosures

By Dina ElBoghdady

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

After the bank foreclosed on Fernando Palacios's Gainesville home in March, he thought he was done with what he described as the most stressful financial situation of his life.

The bank sold the home for far less than Palacios owed on it, as often happens with foreclosures. What Palacios did not see coming was the letter from his lender demanding that he pay the shortfall: $148,064.02. "I really thought I was through with this house," said Palacios, who fell behind on payments when the economy soured and his cleaning business stumbled.

How would you like to get that letter? How many people live in fear of that letter? How many people live in blissful ignorance of the fact that a collection letter like that one is coming soon?

Over the past year, lenders have become much more aggressive in trying to recoup money lost in foreclosures and other distressed sales, creating more grief for people who thought their real estate headaches were far behind.

In many localities — including Virginia, Maryland and the District — lenders have the right to pursue borrowers whose homes have sold at a loss to collect the difference between what the property sold for and what the borrower owed on it, also called a deficiency.

Before the housing bust, when the volume of foreclosures was relatively low, lenders seldom bothered to chase after deficiencies because borrowers had few remaining assets to claim and doing so involved hassles and costs. But with foreclosures soaring, lenders are more determined to get their money back, especially if they suspect borrowers are skipping out on loan they could afford, an increasingly common practice in areas where home values have tanked.

The threat of collection is the only remaining defense lenders have against strategic default. It is a good defense.

The people who will be most harmed by collections are those borrowers with assets. People who walk away, agree to short sales, or are pushed out in foreclosure are going to get calls from collections. Why would a lender take a $100,000 loss when the borrower has assets they can take?

Palacios said he was committed to staying in his house, which he bought in 2005. He sunk $20,000 into improving it and hoped to raise his children there. But his lender refused to modify his loan, he said. To avoid personal liability for the deficiency, Palacios is filing for bankruptcy protection, as many people do who are in similar situations, said Nancy Ryan, his bankruptcy attorney.

"I am definitely seeing more people come through my door who walked away from houses a year or two ago and thought they were as free as the dead," Ryan said. "They're stunned when they realize they're not."

I am surprised that people think its over when they leave the house. When people stop paying on car loans and either give back the car or get it repossessed, there is a widespread understanding that they still owe on the loan. The presence of non-recourse laws in some states has convinced people that they don't owe on a house even when they do. Perhaps there is also an optimistic denial because the deficiencies are so large that most borrowers know they could never repay the shortfall even if they wanted to.

Several lenders contacted for this story declined to say how often they pursue deficiencies. But many said they try to collect the debt if they conclude the borrower can repay all or part of it.

"Lenders are not going after people who face a hardship," said John Mechem, a spokesman for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "If they can't pay their mortgage because they have a loss of income, there is no point in going after them."

There may not be much point in going after these people today, but once their circumstances improve after the recession, lenders will come looking for that money, and many borrowers who may have long forgotten the house debt are going to be shocked.

Those who had a second mortgage, such as a home-equity line of credit, in addition to their primary mortgage may find themselves particularly vulnerable, especially if they tapped into the equity line for cash.

Second lenders are last in line to get paid when a distressed property is sold. There's usually little or no money left over for them, making it more likely that they will pursue large deficiencies, several attorneys said.

The gold in second mortgage debt is in future collections. These loans have little or no value today — which makes them attractive purchases to distressed debt buyers — but these loans may have considerable value in the future as the financial circumstances of debtors improves. California Ponzis are going to be drained for years by these old debts.

Gretchen Somers said she and her husband understood the risks last year when they completed a "short sale," a transaction that allowed them to sell their Manassas home for about $150,000 less than they owed on it. But they felt they had no other options.

Somers said her family hung onto the house as long as possible. They tried but failed to sell it when her husband was transferred to Arizona for his job in early 2006, just as home prices were softening. They moved back into the house then tried to sell it again in 2008, after their adjustable-rate mortgage reset and their monthly mortgage payment nearly doubled. But home prices had plunged further by then, making it even tougher to sell.

Last year, their first lender and their home-equity line lender granted permission for the short sale. But the second lender reserved the right to come after the couple. Six months later, a collection agency called demanding $85,000 for related losses.

There must be more to this story. In early 2006, prices were not softening, they were at the peak. If they were going to sell at that time, they must have owned for a while meaning they had equity to lower price and close the sale if they wanted to. The only reason someone could not sell would be due to greed and foolishness. Since they were paying on a time-bomb toxic mortage due to explode two years later, failure to sell the home reveals just how foolish they were.

In hindsight, Somers said she and her husband should have just walked away from the house. "We took care of the house because we wanted it to sell," Somers said. "If they were going to come after us anyway, we shouldn't have done them the favor of making sure it looked good and cutting the grass even after we moved out, We should have mailed them the key and said: 'Here you go.' "

I have never understood why people bother with short sales. Their credit is already trashed, and most short sale agreements have language slipped into them where the borrower agrees to repay the shortfall thus giving up any non-recourse protections. I don't see the upside of a short sale. Lenders are hoping to utilize short sales to increase their loan loss recovery. If underwater owners fail to see a benefit, there will be fewer short sales and more foreclosures.

Carlos Cortez and his wife managed to escape that fate after their second lender came after them for $70,000 when their short sale was completed on his Manassas Park townhouse in 2008.

Cortez knew that was a possibility, but he went through with the sale because his real estate agent said the lender was engaging in scare tactics.

This guy took legal advice from his realtor? It is foolish to take investment advice from a realtor, but it is even more foolish to take legal or tax advice from one. It amazes me that realtors get away with this behavior.

James Scruggs, an attorney at Legal Services of Northern Virginia, said the lender appears to have backed off after Cortez argued that that the loan officer falsely qualified him and his wife for a home-equity line by fabricating key details about their finances.

Liar loans to the rescue….

A handful of states do not allow lenders to pursue deficiencies, nor does a federal program that took effect April 10. Lenders participating in that initiative are paid for approving short sales and as a condition, they cannot go after outstanding debt.

In many states, lenders can go after deficiencies, though laws vary widely, said John Rao, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Some states limit how long the banks have to file a claim or collect the debt. Others may calculate deficiencies based on the fair-market value of the house, Rao said. For instance, if a home sells for $200,000 yet its fair market value is $250,000, "the borrower who owes $240,000 on the mortgage would not have a deficiency," he said.

Borrowers should get a waiver in writing from their lenders to protect themselves, said Diane Cipollone, an attorney at the nonprofit Civil Justice. "Nobody should assume the deficiency is forgiven," she said.

Nobody should assume a deficiency is forgiven, but almost all borrowers make that assumption.

I can foresee circumstances were new converts to financial prudence are punished for their good behavior. Many people will dutifully save for that 20% down payment that is now required only to see that money taken away by a collection company in the future.

People who default on recourse debt should also declare bankruptcy to make sure the slate is wiped clean. Denial of the debt problem will only serve to create more problems later.

Bought late, squeezed out a few bucks, and squatted

  • This property was purchased on 11/3/2005 for $1,434,000. The owners used a $1,145,000 first mortgage, a $143,800 HELOC, and a $145,200 down payment.

  • On 1/4/2007 they refinanced with a $1,293,750 Option ARM, and a $86,250 stand-alone second.

  • On 1/31/2007 Washington Mutual gave them a $250,000 HELOC as a third mortgage. No wonder WAMU bit the dust.

  • Total property debt is $1,630,000.

  • Total mortgage equity withdrawal is $196,000.

  • Total squatting time is at least 11 months.

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 09/02/2009

Document Type: Notice of Default

Irvine Home Address … 29 ANTIQUE ROSE Irvine, CA 92620

Resale Home Price … $1,350,000

Home Purchase Price … $1,434,000

Home Purchase Date …. 11/3/2005

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $(165,000)

Percent Change ………. -11.5%

Annual Appreciation … -1.3%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$1,350,000 ………. Asking Price

$270,000 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.80% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$1,080,000 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$273,201 ………. Income Requirement

$5,666 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$1170 ………. Property Tax

$300 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$113 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$142 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$7,391 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$1448 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$1346 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$495 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$169 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$5,261 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$13,500 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$13,500 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$10,800 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$270,000 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$307,800 ………. Total Cash Costs

$80,600 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$388,400 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 29 ANTIQUE ROSE Irvine, CA 92620

——————————————————————————

Beds: 5

Baths: 5 full 1 part baths

Home size: 4,100 sq ft

($329 / sq ft)

Lot Size: 6,949 sq ft

Year Built: 2005

Days on Market: 15

Listing Updated: 40332

MLS Number: P737893

Property Type: Single Family, Residential

Community: Northwood

Tract: Arbr

——————————————————————————

Exquisite model perfect home in gated Northwood II. Highly sought after floorplan with fully built loft on third floor; perfect for a home office, game room or additional bedroom. Large kitchen with granite countertops, stainless appliances and center island that opens to welcoming family room with fireplace. Crown moulding, custom paint, window shutters, thick upgraded carpet and gorgeous travertine flooring throughout the downstairs. Spacious backyard is perfect for entertaining with a built in BBQ, relaxing patio with fire pit, lush landscaping and upgraded hardscape. Association amenities include clubhouse, park area and exercise facilities. Excellent location near great schools and shopping.

IHB News 6-19-2010

This weekend's featured property may be a sad case of unemployment causing a distressed sale.

Irvine Home Address … 8 DESCANSO Irvine, CA 92620

Resale Home Price …… $950,000

But that was yesterday

I had the world in my hands

But it's not the end of my world

Just a slight change of plans

That was yesterday

But today life goes on

No more hiding in yesterday

'Cause yesterday's gone, ah-ah ah-ah

Foreigner — That Was Yesterday

IHB News

Wednesday night was entertaining with talk about the local real estate market and national issues influencing it with Pat Regnier from Money Magazine who was in attendance doing research for an upcoming story. We will be having gatherings more frequently going forward.

Several posts this week were picked up by Patrick.net. Each post he picks up gets double readership. The post is seen by regular IHB readers when it debuts, then he sends nearly the same amount of traffic the from his site a day or two later. Thank you, Patrick.

Writer's Corner

The story of the week was my email address getting hacked. A couple of weeks ago someone gained access to a different email account of mine and set an autoresponder to deliver a spam message. That account had the same password as my primary account, so the perpetrator discovered my primary account, tried the password and got it. Then they went over to Yahoo, established golfplan18@yahoo.com as an impersonation account. If you see any email from that account, it isn't me.

I have contacted Yahoo about the situation, and they actually want me to verify my identity and send them a copy of my ID and a statement that it isn't me. That is wrong. I am the one being impersonated. They should be contacting the person claiming to be me and asking them for ID. If they can't prove they are me, then the account should be closed. Yahoo has come to believe it is my responsibility to prove I am real. That is crazy. It isn't like Yahoo has to combat thousands of false claims about identity theft. They should be asking the impersonator for ID. If Google challenged me to produce ID on my account because someone claimed I wasn't me, I could prove it to them, and that would be the end of the claim. If I am being unreasonable, please let me know.

Housing Bubble News from Patrick.net

Fri Jun 18 2010

Seattle Housing Prices: How Low Can We Go? (publicola.net)

Demanding Buyers "Hinder" the Housing Market (nytimes.com)

Current Market Conditions: Its Wild and Weird On the Top (housingstory.net)

Multi-Million-Dollar Mansion Markdowns (huffingtonpost.com)

Two prominent SF Bay Area office buildings have flopped into default (contracostatimes.com)

Three reasons why you should be happy about renting in California (doctorhousingbubble.com)

Banking charge-offs at record levels (financemymoney.com)

Analysts believe loan mod redefaults could hit 70% (snl.com)

Challenges to Foreclosure Docs Reach a Fever Pitch (americanbanker.com)

We are legally forced to use incompetent credit rating agencies (chicagotribune.com)

Elliot Wave predicts triple-digit Dow (marketwatch.com)

Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly (again) Rose Last Week (bloomberg.com)

Debt Default: It Can Happen Here (capitalgainsandgames.com)

Consumer price index 'inflation report' shows deflation (csmonitor.com)

FBI targets 485 mortgage frauds, but not Federal Reserve (money.cnn.com)

FBI: Mortgage fraud increasing as housing market remains distressed (centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)

91 Banks Miss May TARP Payment; New "Merle Hazard" Song – "Legal Tender" (Mish)

Translation of Fed-speak into English (patrick.net)

Do we need a new consitutional convention? (huffingtonpost.com)

Strategic default as explained by rapper Chamillionaire (legalblogwatch.typepad.com)

Thu Jun 17 2010

Fannie and Freddie money pit may suck down $1 trillion of taxpayer cash (finance.yahoo.com)

Fannie and Freddie: Hopelessly unproductive works (theautomaticearth.blogspot.com)

FBI busts billion-dollar fraud; Federal Reserve's multi-TRILLION dollar fraud still ignored (cnn.com)

Fed Ponders What To Do If Re-Inflation Fails (Mish)

Housing bubble in Australia? Not if you ask their Central Bank (perthnow.com.au)

Czech National Bank more honest; says prices rose too high and should fall (radio.cz)

Currency Fall Curbs Europe's Taste for New York Property (online.wsj.com)

Chinese debt binge is fuelling a dangerous property bubble (smh.com.au)

Senate OKs new buyer-bait closing deadline (inman.com)

Welcome to the post-buyer-bait housing malaise (marketwatch.com)

Bankers Let Empty Houses Rot. How Do We Fix This? (721.seiu.org)

Will HOA Lawsuits Compel Lenders to Foreclose on Shadow Inventory? (irvinehousingblog.com)

The "5 second" listing scam to get short sale permission (calculatedriskblog.com)

The Next Housing Crisis (truthiscontagious.com)

Long road ahead for housing "recovery" (chicagotribune.com)

Some Are Born on Third Base But Think They Hit A Triple (hussman.net)

Gear up for another lost decade in real estate (mybudget360.com)

The cheapskate's revenge (salon.com)

Free Trial of the Landlord's Bargain Finder

Wed Jun 16 2010

Radical Ideas From a Federal Housing Bureaucrat (blogs.wsj.com)

Arizona immigration law may increase Phoenix foreclosures (azcentral.com)

What We Know and Don't Want to Know About Housing (Charles Hugh Smith)

Builders in U.S. Lost Confidence After Buyer-Bait Credit Ended (bloomberg.com)

Banks stop foreclosing, letting squatters live free (centralvalleybusinesstimes.com)

Foreclose or let houseowner squat? (patrick.net)

Is Squatting a Viable Long-Term Solution to Stabilize the Housing Market? (irvinehousingblog.com)

Stephen Roach says China's Housing Boom is Not a Bubble; I say "Nonsense" (Mish)

In Desperately Poor Rwanda, Most Have Health Insurance (nytimes.com)

Deficits, Social Security and Medicare, and national security (latimes.com)

Toxic partisan politics is killing capitalism, democracy, your retirement (marketwatch.com)

Financial Reform Bill – Audit the Fed! (bullnotbull.com)

The Coming Financial Derivative Meltdown (fool.com)

Fannie Mae Proposes Bulldozing U.S. Houses (bullionbullscanada.com)

Government-sponsored mortgage debt leads to murder-suicide (ocregister.com)

Pacoima residents want city to fight blight (latimes.com)

Murrieta volunteer "retires" from cleaning yards of abandoned houses (pe.com)

Tue Jun 15 2010

Real Estate Relapse Has Arrived (blogs.forbes.com)

There are 36,000+ Distressed Properties in Orange County (irvinehousingblog.com)

Las Vegas House-Ownership Rate: Officially 59%, But Effectively 15% (dailyfinance.com)

U.S. housing prices still more expensive than any other point in last 120 years (pragcap.com)

Rep. Waters FHA "Reform" Bill to Allow Smaller Down Payments, More Defaults At Your Expense (housingwatch.com)

Sen. Reid Seeks Bubble Re-Inflation (news.firedoglake.com)

Fannie-Freddie Fix at $160 Billion With $1 Trillion Worst Case (Thanks Sen. Reid) (businessweek.com)

Private Sector Closely Watches Federal Decision to Unload Properties (nreionline.com)

Housebuyers Hit by Commercial Real Estate Slide (housingwatch.com)

Strategic defaults on mortgages: The price we pay for the housing folly (latimes.com)

2 ways to justify a price reduction to a seller (inman.com)

Irish Central Bank Hid Housing Market Crash Forecast (prisonplanet.com)

Two Decades Of Greed – The Unraveling (zerohedge.com)

Number of millionaires back to late 1990s levels (mybudget360.com)

State Wants to Borrow From Pension Fund, to Pay the Fund (nytimes.com)

You Thought California State Pensions Were Out Of Control? Wait Until You See This (dailybail.com)

Are you paying too much rent? (patrick.net)

Mon Jun 14 2010

Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood hit hard by condo foreclosures (chicagotribune.com)

Accelerating Jumbo Mortgage Delinquencies Will Bash High-End Property Values (housingstory.net)

Soros Says We Have Just Entered Act II of Crisis (bloomberg.com)

Rosenberg warns the bear market isn't over yet (money.cnn.com)

Here's Why Many US Housing Markets Are Continuing To Weaken (businessinsider.com)

Applications Point to Slow Summer Housing Season (usnews.com)

Why Tampa Bay's 'real' home ownership rate is so much lower than we think (blogs.tampabay.com)

Waking Up From the American Dream (nytimes.com)

Houseowners in mediation programs face court backlog of foreclosure cases (washingtonpost.com)

In jail for being in debt (startribune.com)

Builders Rush to Complete Houses by U.S. Tax Credit Deadline (bloomberg.com)

Tax Credit Extension Could Help Tax Cheaters (blogs.wsj.com)

FBI to "arrest hundreds of people" next week for Mortgage Fraud (calculatedriskblog.com)

'Jack Nasty' pleads guilty to mortgage racketeering (signonsandiego.com)

Adverse possession: Latest housing fraud to strike South Florida (sun-sentinel.com)

Is Canada's housing bubble about to burst? (thecoast.ca)

The Anatomy of a Bubble (greatdepression2006.blogspot.com)

Oil Spill May Cost $4.3 Billion in Property Values (preview.bloomberg.com)

BP Spills Coffee (youtube.com)

Public employee unions on the defensive (sfgate.com)

SNL skewers unions in "Public Employee of the Year" (taxdollars.freedomblogging.com)

Unemployed?

This is a distressed property that looks like unemployment.

  • The property was purchased on 7/16/2004 for $1,036,500. The owners used a $500,000 first mortgage and a $536,500 down payment.

  • On 3/8/2005 they refinanced with a $503,000 first mortgage and did not extract their equity (the additional $3,000 was likely fees and points).

  • They have been in default for over a year.

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 04/23/2010

Document Type: Notice of Default

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 12/24/2009

Document Type: Notice of Rescission

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 11/19/2009

Document Type: Notice of Sale

Foreclosure Record

Recording Date: 08/17/2009

Document Type: Notice of Default

These owners tried to make loan modifications work to keep their house, but apparently, they simply can't afford to make the modest mortgage payment, and now they have to sell at a loss. The good news for them is that they have plenty of equity because unlike their nieghbors, they didn't pull it all out and spend it.

Irvine Home Address … 8 DESCANSO Irvine, CA 92620

Resale Home Price … $950,000

Home Purchase Price … $1,036,500

Home Purchase Date …. 7/16/2004

Net Gain (Loss) ………. $(143,500)

Percent Change ………. -13.8%

Annual Appreciation … -1.4%

Cost of Ownership

————————————————-

$950,000 ………. Asking Price

$190,000 ………. 20% Down Conventional

4.80% …………… Mortgage Interest Rate

$760,000 ………. 30-Year Mortgage

$192,252 ………. Income Requirement

$3,987 ………. Monthly Mortgage Payment

$823 ………. Property Tax

$0 ………. Special Taxes and Levies (Mello Roos)

$79 ………. Homeowners Insurance

$174 ………. Homeowners Association Fees

============================================

$5,064 ………. Monthly Cash Outlays

-$966 ………. Tax Savings (% of Interest and Property Tax)

-$947 ………. Equity Hidden in Payment

$348 ………. Lost Income to Down Payment (net of taxes)

$119 ………. Maintenance and Replacement Reserves

============================================

$3,618 ………. Monthly Cost of Ownership

Cash Acquisition Demands

——————————————————————————

$9,500 ………. Furnishing and Move In @1%

$9,500 ………. Closing Costs @1%

$7,600 ………… Interest Points @1% of Loan

$190,000 ………. Down Payment

============================================

$216,600 ………. Total Cash Costs

$55,400 ………… Emergency Cash Reserves

============================================

$272,000 ………. Total Savings Needed

Property Details for 8 DESCANSO Irvine, CA 92620

——————————————————————————

Beds: 4

Baths: 3 full 1 part baths

Home size: 3,000 sq ft

($317 / sq ft)

Lot Size: 6,370 sq ft

Year Built: 1980

Days on Market: 28

Listing Updated: 40332

MLS Number: S618132

Property Type: Single Family, Residential

Community: Northwood

Tract: Wm

——————————————————————————

This property is in backup or contingent offer status.

Welcome to This Beautiful Home in a Super Cul-De-Sac location on Greenbelt, in the Prestigious Gated Community of Windstream … No Mello-Roos, great neighborhood … Highly upgraded, bonus room w/built-in media center & wet bar, remodeled kitchen with center island and granite counter. Spacious master suite has remodeled master bath, vaulted ceiling and walk-in closet, wood/tile/upgraded carpet flooring, custom paint, brick fireplace in living and family room, Plantation shutters, crown molding, lighted ceiling fans, French doors and windows, Inside laundry … Private sunny backyard w/beautiful built-in spa and barbecue, 3 car attached garage with extended driveway, Great association with pool, spa, tennis, barbecues and gates, Enjoy walking the Hicks Canyon Trail to restaurants, shops and excellent Irvine schools. You will love this home and living in Windstream. You are minutes away from the beautiful Laguna Beach as well as Orange County s entertainment center The Irvine Spectrum!

That description isn't too bad, although I don't understand the Title Case of the first sentence. Perhaps if the bar is lowered enough, realtors can pass the test.