Power of House Talks by The Cerdafied Development Group

Homeownership rate to decline further, analyst says - latimes.com As more and more families fall victim to the homeownership crisis, we are in a turmultous position to declare Renting a saving grace.

Short sales soar in California, U.S. - latimes.com The short sale phenomenon can only be as successful as the individuals who are attempting to work at them. Until we've educated our ourselves on the Benefits, Features and Outcomes of the positive nature of the Short Sale, the industry will never be strong enough to offset the political tension between the President and the Banks.

This story is taken from Sacbee / Business / Real Estate jwasserman@sacbee.com Published Wednesday, Jun. 23, 2010 First in a series examining how banks and buyers operate in a distressed real estate market. This is no work for the faint of heart. Inside the real estate business, investors talk of unwittingly buying uncleaned scenes of suicides, taking on unexpected and expensive tax liens, finding air conditioners missing, and paying occupants nearly $2,000 to leave. But oh, the upside to buying from banks that sell short on the courthouse steps. From December through the end of April, 23 real estate investors and limited liability companies collectively earned $1.4 million in the capital region for less than a month's work, according to data from Onboard Informatics, a home sales tracker. These investor groups bought severely discounted houses at auctions held by banks that had repossessed them from homeowners. Then, within days or weeks, but always in l

Business Street fresno Neighborhood Revitalization Fixing Local Neighborhoods Posted Wednesday, April 28, 2010; 14:49 PM Eugene “Gus” Newport gives suggestions during a Fresno luncheon by Business Street Online Staff Neighborhood revitalization expert Eugene “Gus” Newport speaks to a luncheon crowd at Fresno’s Westside Church of God Wednesday afternoon. Newport had some suggestions for revitalizing local neighborhoods in Fresno. Fresno, CA (April 28, 2010) – Nationally known neighborhood revitalization expert Eugene “Gus” Newport was the keynote speaker at a luncheon Wednesday afternoon in Fresno’s Westside Church of God. Newport was a contributor to the “Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative” in Boston, Mass., one of the most successful neighborhood revitalization efforts in the United States. Some organizations he has been involved with over the years include the Community Training and Assistance Center, working with the Leadership, Effectiveness, Action & Partnership init

Business Street fresno Downtown Ready for Baseball, Other Events Posted Thursday, April 15, 2010; 19:01 PM Downtown Fresno is prepared for the mass of visitors expected with the start of the Fresno Grizzlies home season by Business Street Online Staff Fresno, CA (April 15, 2010) – Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin has stated that downtown is ready for the large numbers of visitors to the downtown area for the start of the Fresno Grizzlies 2010 home season, beginning on Friday, April 16 at Chukchansi Park. “Over the next several months, we’ll be welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to the downtown area for baseball and other events,” Swearengin said. “At the City of Fresno, we’re committed to providing visitors from throughout the area with an enjoyable experience that keeps them coming back again and again.” The city has taken great effort to ensure that visitors to Chukchansi Park and other events held in downtown will have pleasurable experiences. City workers have been clea

Springwise newsletter 24 March 2010 Custom notebooks feature your tweets or Facebook feed Now that sites like Facebook and Twitter have become a major part of many consumers' lives, there's a growing need to bridge the online and offline worlds, as we've noted before. Efforts like HotPrints , News from YOUs and Kodak's new kiosk capabilities all get at that to some extent, and recently we came across two more interesting examples: Famebook and TweetNotebook, both of which embellish custom notebooks with select online content. With Famebook , Facebook users can create a unique notebook featuring a post from their Facebook feed at the bottom of each page. By connecting to Facebook from the Famebook site, users allow Famebook to access their status updates. If there are fewer than 320 available, Famebook will duplicate some to fill the pages; if there are more, it makes a random selection. Either way, the result is a mostly-blank notebook with one timestamped update on

California rebound boosts 20-city home price index California rebound boosts 20-city home price index Written by Alan Zibel and Alex Veiga, AP Writers Tuesday, 30 March 2010 10:31 (AP) — A surprisingly strong rebound in California's real estate market helped lift a key home price index for the eighth month in a row. That's good news for people who plan to sell their homes this spring. Prices are now up almost 4 percent from the bottom in May 2009, but still almost 30 percent below the May 2006 peak. Prices rose 0.3 percent from December to January on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday. Prices increased in 12 cities in the index. The biggest monthly gain was in Los Angeles, where prices rose 1.8 percent from December. And real estate agents say there's a distinct sense the worst of the downturn is over. Buyers are "seeing that prices are creeping up," said Tony Middlet

Written by ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Friday, 26 March 2010 06:18 Gov't unveils plan to shrink some home loans Written by ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Friday, 26 March 2010 06:18 (AP) — After months of criticism that it hasn't done enough to prevent foreclosures, the Obama administration is announcing a plan to reduce the amount some troubled borrowers owe on their home loans. The multifaceted effort will let people who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth get new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency that insures home loans against default. That would be funded by $14 billion from the administration's existing $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program. But it could spark criticism that the government is shouldering too much risk by taking on bad loans made during the housing boom. In addition, their existing mortgage companies will be able to receive incentives to lower their principal balanc

Business Street fresno Schwarzenegger Signs Homebuyer Tax Credit Bill Posted Friday, March 26, 2010; 20:50 PM Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill in Fresno Thursday afternoon allocating an extra $200 million in homebuyer tax credits by James Olinger Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (far right) at Granville’s project La Ventana Homes in Fresno on Thursday afternoon. Schwarzenegger was in Fresno to sign a bill for a $200 million homebuyer tax credit extension. (Photo by Tony Kalanjian) Fresno, CA (March 25, 2010) – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill at the La Ventana Homes project in Fresno today that would allocate an extra $200 million in homebuyer tax credits. The signing was attended by the co-authors of bill AB 183 Sen. Roy Ashburn and Assemblymember Anna Caballero, as well as Fresno County Supervisor Debbie Poochigian. “The governor is here to share with us special news about a program that’s intended to improve our economi

Swearengin: Downtown Fresno a crucial mission Written by Gabriel Dillard Tuesday, 26 January 2010 08:41 On the eve of the Fresno City Council's decision on one of the most significant steps to downtown revitalization in a long time, Mayor Ashley Swearengin delivered a rousing pep talk to community leaders this morning. A sold-out crowd of more than 470 people were expected to hear Swearengin speak during The State of Downtown Breakfast, hosted by the Downtown Association of Fresno. The event was held at The Grand @ 1401 Fulton, located in the historic downtown Trade Center building. Swearengin ran down the litany of challenges facing downtown development, then offered a slate of solutions her and her staff are committed to offer. The "most important and urgent" is a $2.6 million contract being considered by the council at its Thursday meeting for consulting firm Elizabeth Moule & Stefanos Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists, to complete

EXTENDED INTO 2010! Due to the popularity of this program, the qualifying period has been extended to December 31, 2010 or when allocated funds have depleted, whichever occurs first. On April 2, 2009 the Housing Affordability Fund launched a new program designed to provide peace of mind to first-time buyers who are hesitant to enter the housing market due to concerns about potential job loss, and subsequently being unable to meet their monthly mortgage obligations. Qualifying buyers can receive up to $1,500 a month for up to six months in the event of job loss, a qualified co-buyer can also receive a $750 benefit for up to six months to help pay the mortgage. Funding for this program was made possible by the generous contributions of REALTORS® and supporters of the Housing Affordability Fund. Contributions to the Housing Affordability Fund are tax-deductible. To show your support of this and other p