BiggerPockets

Happy New Year - Top 10 Picks to Start

Tuesday, January 03

Top 10 Best Real Estate Deals in North San Diego County for the week of January 3, 2012

These are my favorites for the week!

Breaking up the price points to show that there are some really great deals out there might help everyone at every price.  Some great investment opportunities too! 

1.       Under $100,000 – 2 bedroom, 2 bath, mobile in Encinitas $49,900.

2.       Under $200,000 – 2 bedroom, 1 bath, twinhome in Oceanside $159,900.

3.       Under $300,000 – 3 bedroom,2 bath, in Oceanside $295,000 – So CUTE!

4.       Under $400,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, in Oceanside $350,000.

5.       Under $500,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Carlsbad $450,000.

6.       Under $600,000 – 4 bedroom, 3 bath, in Carlsbad $599,000

7.       Under $700,000 – 4 bedroom, 3 bath,  Carmel Valley $691,500.

8.       Under $1 Mil - 4 bedroom, 3 bath, the ocean views, huge lot, Olde Carlsbad $779,000.

9.       Under $2 Mil – 5 bedroom, 5 bath, in Encinitas $1.45 Mil.

10.   Over $2 Mil - 5 bedroom, 7 bath, Cardiff by the Sea - $3.85 Mil.

Contact me to set up a viewing for these or any property.

Top 10 Best Real Estate Deals San Diego September 21, 2011

Thursday, September 22

Top 10 Best Real Estate Deals in North San Diego County for the week of September 21, 2011

These are my favorites for the week! Breaking up the price points to show that there are some really great deals out there might help everyone at every price. Some great investment opportunities too!

1. Under $100,000 – 2 bedroom, 2 bath, mobile in Oceanside $37,500.

2. Under $200,000 – 2 bedroom, 1 bath, condo in Oceanside $119,000.

3. Under $300,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Oceanside $299,000 – So CUTE!

4. Under $400,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Encinitas $315,000.

5. Under $500,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, in Carlsbad $495,000.

6. Under $600,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, with ocean views in Carlsbad $595,000

7. Under $700,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, on the golf course, Carlsbad $699,000.

8. Under $1 Mil - 3 bedroom, 3 bath, the ocean views makes it, Olde Carlsbad $949,000.

9. Under $2 Mil – 4 bedroom, 3 bath, in Del Mar $1.35 Mil.

10. Over $2 Mil - 5 bedroom, 6 bath, Rancho Santa Fe - $3.8 Mil.

Contact me to set up a viewing for these or any property.

Top 10 Best Real Estate Deals in North San Diego County

Friday, September 09

Top 10 Best Real Estate Deals in North San Diego County for the week of September 9, 2011

These are my favorites for the week!

Breaking up the price points to show that there are some really great deals out there might help everyone at every price.  Some great investment opportunities too! 

1.       Under $100,000 – 1 bedroom, 1 bath, mobile in Encinitas $75,000.

2.       Under $200,000 – 3 bedroom, 1 bath, detached in Oceanside $200,000.

3.       Under $300,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Oceanside $285,000.

4.       Under $400,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, Oceanside $390,000.

5.       Under $500,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath,  in Carlsbad $499,900.

6.       Under $600,000 – 4 bedroom, 3 bath, in Olde Carlsbad $525,000

7.       Under $700,000 – 3 bedroom, 3 bath, big lot, Carlsbad $649,000.

8.       Under $1 Mil - 6 bedroom, 3 bath, in La Costa Valley, Carlsbad $899,000.

9.       Under $2 Mil – 6 bedroom, 5 bath, in Rancho Santa Fe $1.696 Mil.

10.   Over $2 Mil - 9 bedroom, 8 bath, Entertaining fun in Encinitas - $2.999 Mil.

Contact me to set up a viewing for these or any property.

Recycling Buyers and Creating New First-Time Buyers

Friday, September 02

There is a bit of critical information floating around that a lot of folks do not seem to know about.  I would like to let you in on this tidbit.  Did you know that even though at some point in you r life you owned a home you can still be considered a “First-Time Buyer”?  That’s right…if you have not owned a home for that past three years you have been recycled and placed back into the sea of what real estate agents, mortgage lenders, escrow officers, etc, consider a first time home buyer.

This is very good news for you if you are interested in getting free money or money at very low rates to help with your down payment.

What is a first-time buyer? 

1.       The obvious is someone that has never owned property of any kind – ever!

2.       The not-so-obvious is the person that has not owned property for the past three years.  As of today that would have been since September 2008. 

A lot of folks began losing their homes in 2008 and if you were one of those unfortunate souls and you had to short sale your house in 2008 – you have been recycled and may now be considered a first time buyer and may also qualify for some of the “Down-Payment Assistance” programs offered by your community.  Almost every county in the United States has a Down Payment Assistance program.

You may now be asking yourself “How do I find out about these programs?” and “How do I find out if I qualify for these programs?”  There are a few general rules but the rules do vary greatly from one community to the next so it will require some research on your part.  Each community should be able to provide you with a list of mortgage professionals that can help you navigate the paperwork and qualification requirements.  It can be a huge headache but the rewards can be worth the time and effort you put in.  I live in San Diego County, California and in some San Diego communities, first time buyers can get up to $70,000 in down payment assistance.  This can be the difference in even being able to buy a home for a lot of people.  Also – let’s say that you have played with one of the “How much home can I afford?” calculators that are online and based on your household income and expense you can afford a home in the $250,000 range.  If you qualify for any of the down payment assistance program you can pretty much add that amount to the purchase price of the home.  For example, you can afford a $250,000 home and you qualify for a program that will give (loan) you $50,000 – this means that you can now look at homes in the $300,000 range.  Does that make sense?

If you are over the household income limit for these programs, don’t lose heart.  You can still qualify for FHA loans with minimal down payment requirements of 3 ½ % down, and if you are a veteran you may qualify for a VA loan which does not require a down payment.  Please keep in mind there are still escrow and inspection fees, etc, that you will need to pay or your real estate professional may be able to negotiate and get these fees paid for you.

If you have any questions please contact me through my website at www.KathyFortenberry.com.

 

Top 10 Real Estate Deals in North San Diego August 19, 2011

Friday, August 19

These are my favorites for the week!
Breaking up the price points to show that there are some really great deals out there might help everyone at every price.  Some great investment opportunities too! 
1. Under $100,000 – Pretty much a dud in this price this week.
2. Under $200,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, detached in Oceanside $200,000.
3. Under $300,000 – 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2,200 sf, in Oceanside $255,000.
4. Under $400,000 – 2 bedroom, 2 bath, La Costa, Carlsbad $350,000.
5. Under $500,000 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath, blocks to the beach in Carlsbad $430,000.
6. Under $600,000 – 5 rental units & shop, 4 plus acres, buy, hold and then develop $550,000
7. Under $700,000 – 4 bedroom, 3 bath, in fabulous Encinitas $620,000.
8. Under $1 Mil - 5 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,585 sf, in Del Mar for under $900,000.
9. Under $2 Mil – 6 bedroom, 5 bath, Ocean views, 1 acre, ultimate beach neighborhood $1.7 Mil.
10. Over $2 Mil - 4 bedroom, 3 bath, bring your board & wetsuit, Oceanside - $2.26 Mil.
Square footages are within 10 sf.  Contact me to set up a viewing for these or any property.

Invest in Assets

Tuesday, August 02

The reason most people do not do what they need to do to be successful is because of the belief that it is too simple and therefore cannot work.  Invest in assets; three very powerful words.  I thought about them this morning on my way into work and I wondered about how best to describe using money to build an income producing portfolio.  In a theoretical situation let’s say that you qualify for a $700,000 loan to buy a house.  And let’s say that you want to use all that money to buy one house.  You pick a nice neighborhood and a comfortable house, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and it has about 2,000 square feet.  You have decent credit and you get a 30 year fixed loan for 4.5%.  You have the 20% to put down and that is what you do.  You now are buying a home for $700,000 with $140,000 down payment you get a loan for $560,000 at 4.5% and your monthly payment is about $2840 per month principal and interest only.  (We will keep it at principal and interest only to keep things simple.)
Now let’s choose a home that is a little smaller, still a nice neighborhood, maybe a little older without all the bells and whistles.  You instead buy a house that is in the $400,000 range, maybe it’s only 1,500 square feet.  Still comfortable, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, big yard, room for your stuff. You put your 20% down payment, you get a loan for $320,000 your monthly payment is about $1,625. 
Now let’s take the remaining $60,000 that you did not spend on buying a bigger, fancier house and instead let’s buy an income producing asset.  Let’s choose a house to buy as a rental in the $300,000 range.  You have 20% to put down and because you are not going to be living in the house your interest rate is 5.5%.  The payment on this house will be about $1,775; this is principal, interest, taxes and insurance.   Let’s say the house will rent for $1,850 per month.  This scenario will give you a whopping $75* per month income.  But wait, there’s more!  On top of that you will have tax deductions that will reduce your taxable income and you can depreciate the building itself giving you an even bigger tax break.  Currently the housing market is not appreciating but that will not always be the case.  Housing will begin to appreciate and if I had a crystal ball I would tell you when this will happen – but sense I don’t have a crystal ball you will have to look at history and know that history repeats itself.
Now you have a property that is paying for itself – if not totally, pretty close and equity is building every month providing you with the capital to buy another asset.  You are also saving $1,215 a month in your own house payment.  That money will go into a savings account while you look for other assets to purchase.  Your payments will remain the same because you have acquired fixed mortgages and the rents will go up as the years go by.  By the time you are ready to retire you will have an income you can depend on.

For help with finding a home and investment property please contact me – Kathy Fortenberry at 760-468-5642.

*Please remember too that you will not always have a renter in the house and you will have periodic maintenance that you will have to do.