Want some fun? Take the “Walking Tour of Old Town” Saturday, March 22. The tour starts at the Temecula Valley Museum in Sam Hicks Park across the street from the post office.

I really enjoyed the tour when I first moved to Temecula. The guide told stories of the Wild West Days of Temecula when there were shoot-outs and other wild happenings. If you like local history, you’ll probably love the tour.

The tour is offered at two different times: 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. The cost is $2.00 Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.

House hunters often ask me to find the houses with NO Mello-Roos taxes or HOA. There are no lists kept by the county, no map of neighborhoods free from extra taxes and home owner’s associations. Here’s the next best thing:

Go to this www.RiversideTaxInfo.com. Click on “Property Tax Payment Info”. Click “Online Info & Payment System”. Click “Continue to Online Payment”. Enter the APN (assessment number) or address. This takes you to “Secured Assessments” and lists the tax installments with due dates. Then click “View Tax Info”. This takes you to the “Property Tax Details” page with a complete breakdown of special assessments.

In general, newer Riverside County neighborhoods have Mello-Roos to help pay for the new streets, schools, parks, etc. However, there are exceptions and some older neighborhoods do have special assessments while many do not. Check out the county’s website and you’ll know for sure.

blessings,
Claudia

Here’s how I see the best bargains in today’s market:

#1 Short Sales where you buy the home at 70-80% of Fair Market Value regardless of what loan is on the property. You just have to be patient and be willing to wait 2-4 months for close of escrow.

#2 Auction where there are bargains, yet there is also a lot of competition, 5-10% Buyer’s premium and your final bid must be higher than the unpublished reserve price.

#3 REO or bank-owned properties can be a bargain, yet the bank wants to recoup their holding, carrying and fix-up costs.

blessings,
Claudia

[Just so you know…I posted the question about Short Sales since I received an email containing the question. The author gave me her permission to answer her on the blog for everyone’s benefit. CR]

I love your question! Thanks again for asking. You have the basics right about the definition of a Short Sale. (That’s a lot more than most people!) I’ll cover a few points below:

1. I don’t know all the details about your credit, income etc. However, there are some wonderful First-Time Homebuyers programs. FHA loans are back which enable the seller to help you with costs. Interest rates are currently low. Though you might want toi stick with your loan guy, it might be worth speaking with someone who specializes in government guarantee programs. I don’t do loans so I’m not biased. I know a couple of lenders and one in particular who specializes in these loans for First-Time Homebuyers. Let me know if you’d like some contact numbers.

2. I do have clients in a jam, but think this one through. I don’t know anyone who would do a quitclaim except with a close relative. You have no protection from a cloud on title, liens on the property, etc. It could be very risky.

3. While it seems logical to just “take over” someone’s loan, it might not make sense. For example, I have two Short Sale listings right now. On Albacete, the seller purchased the property last year for $619,000. We have it listed for $339,000. On Summersweet, he paid $575,000 last year and we have it listed for $393,000. Many people (perhaps most) in a jam right now owe more than the house is worth in today’s market. If you took over the loan, you would be paying far more than the house is worth! Would you want to do that?

Hi Claudia,
I’m curious- if people are in the process of short sales and such- wouldn’t it be easier for them to get a small down payment and have someone take over their loan or payments? If I understand short sales right- that’s when the person may be looking at a forclosure because they owe more than the home is worth and can’t make the payments (in most cases), or they HAVE to sell the home for whatever other reason (relocation) and don’t want to rent it out, etc and they still are upside down in the house.

I’m wondering because we would like to be able to get into a home and are working with a loan guy and it’s taking FOREVER… Anyway, we’re wanting to buy a home and I started thinking of ways to get into a house asap…if we knew of people out there that needed to save their credit from a forclosure and we could do one of those AITD things or quitclaim or what have you- then it would benefit everyone. Well, at least, in theory from what I’ve researched- it seems it would benefit everyone. Any ideas on that? Do you have clients out there that are in a jam and have a home that someone could “take over?”

I appreciate your reading through all of this! Thanks. M.C.

One of my clients had a bad experience by using www.connectutilities.com. They use 3rd party companies who add extra fees.

Here’s my recommendation–use the links on the right side to contact the utility companies DIRECTLY. You’ll save some money and (chances are) have a better experience with Customer Service.

with blessings,
Claudia