Boo! Foreclosures effect on Halloween

I don't know about your neighborhood, but over the least 3 years I have seen a steady decline in the amount of "trick or treaters" and Halloween activity.

This is partly due to the amount of foreclosures our communities have seen. I spoke with a few other people tonight and they also agreed. There has been a reduction in the number of people participating in Halloween. Don't worry! It will pick up as more people are buying up the foreclosures. 

My family and I were out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and saw about 20 other families, compared to double that the past years. There were still lots of kids, but I can't wait until it gets packed again.

Let's keep Halloween alive!

My Nephew and Niece

Skylar Lewis

Halloweenist
Murrieta Homes
Temecula Homes For Sale
Water Damage Temecula

Murder Myster Dinner - tickets still available for THIS SATURDAY's performance

"Death Is a Cabernet, Ol' Chum!" is the title of this year's Murder Mystery Dinner benefitting the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center. This is the 3rd year in a row that Councilman John Denver's wife, Linda, has graciously volunteered to direct a variety of inexperienced locals in a "Murder Mystery" where dinner guests must use their sleuthing skills to figure out "WHO DONE IT?"

I have attended the last 2 years...the meals were fantastic and it was great fun for our table to try to figure out who the murderer was. (I was wrong both times!)

The Players this year are:

"Pierre La Paine" played by Tom Furhman
"Stan Milton" by John Overton
"Nina Grigio" by Judy Hyneman
"Carter Cabot" by John Denver
"Sue Veneer" by Linda Overton
"Ben Breakfast" by Brian Walker
"Renee Melee" by Mysti Scargill
"Dective Durite" by Bob Stinson
"Lawrence Law" by Captain Dan Feltenberger
And I am the lucky lady who gets to play the part of "Leelah Eagle".
(Did I do it? "No Comment. That's Privileged Information!")

Tickets are available at the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center at $45 per person or $80 per couple.

The show will go on this Saturday, October 30th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center, 29995 Evans Rd., Menifee (951) 672-9673

How to partner up with Trulia.com

Each day Trulia.com is becoming more and more popular to search for homes on . How can you as a real estate agent partner up with Trulia to create a win win team?

Well first off, Trulia was one of the first online real estate searches for mobile phones. They were also the first one to consistantly upgrade their mobile software with new features and new looks. This is the key. Trulia mobile  has created the #1 mobile software for real estate.

Every day more consumers are using Trulia Mobile to search for homes in their general area ( using the GEO search ). This creates a unique opportunity for real estate agents to market to potential buyers. Trulia has the ability to list you, as the agent, on listings in certain zip codes. When a Buyer is searching for a home in 92563, your picture and information will show up. You information is displayed in a way that looks like you are the listing agent. This is a great tool to get leads.

Also having a premier account with Trulia.com allows your listings to stand out. If you are working with a seller, you can use this tool to show them how their listing will be set apart from all the other listings in Menifee. Let them know that you pay each month to have your clients show up as a premier listing to get the best visibility.

Trulia truly is becoming the #1 real estate tool along with Zillow. Either for Agents or for consumers. The easiest way to get started with Trulia is to contact one of their sales reps and they can go over some different packages. Some of their options are much cheaper than Zillow.com

Good Luck!

Skylar Lewis

Keller Williams

Menifee Homes
Tile Cleaning Temecula

Bank of America - temporarily halts foreclosures

Concerned about how their foreclosure legal documents have been processed, the nation's largest mortage lender has immediately halted foreclosure proceedings in all 50 states. This is interesting as California is a non-judicial foreclosure state, and recently the other large mortgage companies have excluded California and have only halted foreclosures in those states that are "judicial" foreclosure states. (To learn more about the difference of judicial and non-judicial foreclosures, go to: www.all-foreclosure/com/judicial.htm)

Indicated that this process will take "a few weeks", B of A will not proceed with Trustee Sales or Judgements, however they will to continue to process delinquent loans.


Questions and Answers can be found in this article from the LA Times:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/09/business/la-fi-foreclosure-qa-20101009

Foreign investors sprung on US homes

There has been a recent influx of foreign investors purchasing as many homes as they can get their hands on in the US.

Foreign investors from Canada, Columbia, Italy and many other countries see United States real estate as the perfect place for their money. These investors once had their money in US stocks and other securities but have recently moved it to our real estate. Why United States Real Esate? Local experts think our market may have another decline, which is contrary to what most foreign investors think...

One investor in Chicago has bought up over 100 homes in the last 90 days in the Suburban areas. He says that the real estate market in Chicago is on sale and he can't get enough properties. Foreign investors that are buying up California properties say that the values, they feel, can't go any lower. Homes in our area, Menifee, Temecula, and Homes in Hemet, haven't seen as many foreign investors. Our market has been saturated from investors in local counties like Orange County and San Diego. We could possibly see foreign investors come into our market in the near future...

Skylar Lewis
Keller Williams - The Lewis Team
Hemet Homes
Carpet Cleaning Temecula

Banks gearing up for new wave of foreclosures

On my weekly drive through the neighborhood of McCall Canyon the other day, I was surprised to see over 5 houses with new "Trustee Sale" notices taped to their doors. The sale dates were all to take place within a 2 week period of time.

These particular properties have been vacant for several weeks or months. Why now the Trustee's Sale? I hear it is because the banks are gearing up for year 2011, where they will be able to start fresh with their ability to absorb their losses. Trustees' sales now, eviction or Cash-for-Keys negotiations to have most of the occupants out of the properties within 45 days... another 15 days to get the property cleaned out, etc.... and there you have it... homes ready for market as of January 1st.

Current number of homes to be auctioned between 10/1 and 10/15:

Zip 92584 45 houses up for Auction
Zip 92585 20 houses up for Auction
Zip 92586 15 houses up for Auction

Interesting to note, an article on Bloomberg.com reports:

" Defaulted mortgages as of July took an average 469 days to reach foreclosure, up from 319 days in January 2009. That’s an indication lenders -- with the help of the government loan modification programs -- are delaying resolutions and preventing the market from flooding with distressed properties, said Herb Blecher, senior vice president for analytics at LPS. “The efforts to date have been worthwhile,” Blecher said in a telephone interview from Denver. “They both helped borrowers stay in their homes and kept that supply of distressed properties on the market somewhat limited.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-15/u-s-home-prices-face-three-year-drop-as-inventory-surge-looms.html

469 days to reach foreclosure...that is why I always stress to our clients. "DO NOT JUST WALK AWAY.... STAY IN YOUR HOMES FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN".... work on a loan modification, and if that doesn't work, try for a Short Sale. Banks would much rather have occupied properties, that are being taken care of, as opposed to vacant properties. Stay in your home, help keep your neighborhood safe, and looking good, and save your money!