Author: marlongamezrealestate
Marlon Gamez
REALTOR ® in Orange County.
Years of connecting businesses and facilitating products to clients has taught him the
value of authenticity, of service, integrity, loyalty, the value of effective
communication, and to strive for immediate solution to challenges., the end
goal is to help his clients achieve their desired results by providing unique
service and the utmost value. His dream has always been that of becoming a
great Realtor, now pursuing his dream by helping others accomplish theirs. He is able to communicate fluently in English, Spanish, and partially Mandarin Chinese.
Married, and currently resides in Orange County with his family.
Member: National Association of Realtors
Member: California Association of Realtors
Member: Pacific West Association of Realtors
Military On The Move Certified
15 Crucial Questions to Ask a Realtor When Selling Your Home Amid and After COVID-19
by First Team Real Estate | Jun 10, 2020 | Selling | 0 comments
Before you hire your next real estate agent to sell your home, asking the right questions is critical. The real estate market is constantly changing, even faster since the coronavirus outbreak. So if you are going to get top dollar for your home, you need a professional who is ready to tackle these tough questions to ask a Realtor and provide some quality answers.
An agent should be able to answer these 15 questions if they have a winning strategy to sell your home amid and after COVID-19. Because as the market continues to rebound, there is a whole new set of rules at play.
1. What is your plan for hosting virtual open houses?
Your agent needs to have a good grasp of digital marketing, especially since coronavirus has forced buyers to do the majority of their home search online. And virtual open houses are one of the biggest changes to the home sale process since COVID hit. In-person open houses currently cannot be held, so savvy agents have been hosting virtual open houses via Zoom, Facebook, and Instagram Live to allow large groups of interested buyers to view your home at once with minimal interruption to you and your life.
2. How will you publicize virtual open houses for my property?
Given the full planning, strategy, and execution of an in-person open house, a good virtual open house should have all of the same elements including a theme and giveaway to attract maximum participation, full marketing collateral, social media shares, eBlast, and more.
3. What kind of website and social media exposure will you provide?
Social media and online exposure are crucial to marketing your home in today’s market with so many buyers preferring to stay online for the bulk of their home search. Your agent should be active on social media and ready to roll out social shares for your property as soon as it goes live. And with the proper marketing, videos, and other marketing materials some homebuyers have been purchasing sight unseen amid COVID-19.
4. How many sites will my listing be syndicated to?
The answer from your listing real estate agent should include hundreds of syndication sites. When an agent places your listing on the MLS, it automatically gets syndicated to a couple of different online channels. But your property deserves an extended reach – and it’s possible to get just that if you work with an agent who has a robust network of syndication sites and a plan.
5. Do you have a comprehensive, step-by-step marketing plan for selling my property?
This should be a simple question – of course your agent should have a plan! Personally, our marketing plan at First Team begins with setting the perfect price for your home using intelligent pricing and your neighborhood’s home trend values and then moves onto exhausting all marketing exposure opportunities including matching your home up with thousands of active buyers we’re already working with at our company. With over 2,400 local agents across in Southern California, we know a lot of active house hunters!
6. Can you show me examples of the photography and marketing you provide?
Professional photography builds buyer emotion, minimizes your days on market, and maximizes your home’s price. Our preferred vendor for high-quality photography at First Team is PreviewFirst. They produce beautiful photography AND videos to get buyers emotionally interested and invested in your home. Speaking of which…
7. Will you market my home through video so that buyers can tour it virtually?
In the wake of the coronavirus, photography isn’t enough. You need to allow all buyers, no matter their comfort level, the ability to view your home. That’s why creating a video to showcase your property in the best light possible is key. Check out some videos from our PreviewFirst partners here, including 3D tours as well.
8. What specific tactical steps will you take to ensure that I am pricing my home correctly?
It’s important that you are methodical and data-driven when it comes to pricing your home. And your agent should be the one with a strategy for how to do just that. Research comparable homes in your neighborhood that have sold with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), current market trends, and analyze each element to find the right price. At First Team, we use our Market Trends℠ tool to analyze your neighborhood’s home trend values to make sure we price your home properly so that it immediately gets the buyer’s attention it needs. Your price is a huge part of your home’s first impression!
9. Many agents are hard to reach. What is your availability and response time to answer a question or request?
If you like to text, make sure your agent does too. If you want a weekly check-in over the phone, let it be known. Remember, when it comes to selling your home, YOU should be the one calling the shots. Make sure your agent knows how you prefer to communicate and set expectations for response time. Even the busiest real estate agents should be able to commit to no more than a 24-hour turnaround time for texts, calls, and emails. Today’s market is changing even faster than usual, so you and your agent need to be perfectly in sync on quick decisions – especially during negotiations!
10. What should I do to get my house ready?
When hiring a Realtor to sell your home, preparations are a crucial topic to discuss. What budget-friendly updates will help attract more buyers? How can staging help your home sell for more money? Your agent may even suggest bigger remodeling projects that can help your home capture significantly more money based on other homes with similar amenities and updates in the neighborhood. Be open to ideas, make sure you choose preparations to fit your budget and translate into ROI, and consider taking advantage of programs like our First Impressions Concierge. Though our First Impressions Concierge, we pay upfront for the updates your home needs to sell for top dollar, and you don’t pay a dime until your home sale closes.
11. What happens if the appraisal comes in low?
This question has a lot of possible answers, and it’s important that your agent can speak about them all so that your home sale doesn’t hit a fatal snag. To decrease the odds of a low appraisal, an agent can play an active role by meeting appraisers at your home and sharing comparables and information about the home that the appraiser might not have. If a low appraisal still comes in, you can ask the buyer to make up the difference in cash, put together a second mortgage to cover the difference, lower your price and negotiate concessions in other aspects of the transaction like closing costs, and more. It’s important to know that you have options.
12. How will new mortgage rules affect me?
A true real estate expert has knowledge about every aspect of the transaction – including mortgage rules. There is a very good chance that the buyer of your home will need to secure a mortgage, and issues with that mortgage process can slow down your home sale. So make sure the real estate agent you choose to sell your home has strategies for overcoming these challenges in a sale, with a trusted lender to provide additional advice and insight. And if you will be selling your home and purchasing another, you will need help with your own new mortgage as well!
13. What will be your ongoing consultation role through completion of the sale – “until the check clears?”
A great real estate agent isn’t just there to help with one home sale, they are a guide and advisor for your financial future. Finding an agent who is a real estate planner, helping map out your goals and tying it to a strategy for success is what you deserve, and what you should be looking for in an agent. Remember, you’re building a lifelong relationship with an expert you can turn to whenever you need advice. And if you haven’t found that, then you haven’t found the right agent yet.
14. What happens if we get two or more offers at a time?
In today’s market with extremely limited inventory, it is very possible you will receive multiple offers on your home if you price it properly. So make sure you have an agreed-upon plan for how to review offers together. Set up a video call, review the fine points together, and make sure your agent knows what is most important to you. For some it’s the highest possible offer, for others it’s a quick sale, and for others, it’s finding a buyer who will love and cherish your home as much as you did. Whatever your top priorities, review them with your agent BEFORE the offers start rolling in.
15. What can you tell me about your past customers regarding the results and reputation of your services?
Check their references! Treat this process just as you would any job interview so that you find the right person. Always approach online reviews with a grain of salt, but don’t forget to read them – and review them thoroughly.
These questions to ask a Realtor when selling your home amid and after COVID-19 are all geared toward assessing their preparedness. Because without proper planning and strategy, you can’t succeed in any market.
ORANGE COUNTY MARKET TRENDS 5/23/2020
Limited Inventory, Demand continues gaining momentum, Interest rates at a History Low, Plus incentives such as down-payment assistance programs for buyer are offering great opportunities to those looking to buy and sell! . . .
If you are paying more than $2,500 in rent, you can afford a mortgage. Send me a message and let’s have a conversation on how to take advantage of the opportunities now available…
by Marlon Gamez REALTOR® | Lic# 02076704 (714) 650-0567 marlongamez@firstteam.com marlongamez.firstteam.com
Americans are returning to the housing market, mortgage data shows
Purchase applications hit a five-week strideMay 20, 2020
Applications for mortgages to purchase homes gained for the fifth consecutive week while refinancings dropped, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a Wednesday report.
MBA’s seasonally adjusted index measuring purchase applications rose 6% last week, according to the report. Applications for refinancings fell 6% from the prior week, though the level was 160% higher than a year ago, MBA said.
The consecutive weekly increases in purchase applications may be a sign the housing market is beginning to recover from the impact of COVID-19, said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
“As states gradually reopen and both homebuyer and seller activity increases, we will be closely watching to see if these positive trends continue, or if they reflect shorter-term, pent-up demand,” Kan said.
Refinance activity fell to its lowest level in over a month despite mortgage rates remaining close to record lows. The average loan amount for refinances hit its lowest level since January, according to the report.
The low interest rates should result in an increase in refi applications for borrowers who still have jobs, Kan said.
“We still expect a strong pace of refinancing for the remainder of the year because of low mortgage rates,” Kan said. “With many homeowners still facing economic and employment uncertainty, these refinance opportunities will allow them to save money on their monthly payments, which can then be used to help other areas of their budgets.”
The Market Composite Index, a measure of overall application volume, decreased 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior week. Government purchase applications, which include Federal Housing Association loans, Veterans Administration loans, and United States Department of Agriculture loans, were 5% higher than a year ago.
Here is a more detailed breakdown of this week’s mortgage application data:
- The FHA’s share of mortgage apps remained unchanged from the week prior at 11.5%.
- The VA share of applications fell from 13.7% to 13.4%.
- The USDA share of total applications increased from 0.6% to 0.7%.
- Mortgage interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) fell to 3.41% from 3.43% the week before.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $510,400) fell to 3.66% from 3.69%.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased from 3.37% to 3.46%.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 2.92% to 2.88%.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.19% at 3.26%.
U.S. Foreclosure Activity Hits Historic Lows Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
- ATTOM Staff
- May 12th, 2020
- ForeclosuresMost Recent Articles
There were 14,148 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in April 2020, down 70 percent from March 2020 and down 75 percent from a year ago. Nationally, one in every 9,639 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing during the month of April.
Not surprisingly, due to recent federal legislation ordering a two-month moratorium on foreclosures by lenders holding federally backed mortgages, this is the lowest number of foreclosure filings ATTOM has ever recorded nationwide since it began tracking the data in April 2005.
“Foreclosure cases dropped dramatically last month following the foreclosure moratorium imposed on lenders holding federally backed mortgages,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “It’s hard to know how much this reflects the virus pandemic because the data doesn’t say whether these were cases caused by very recent job losses or were already filed before that. What can be said is that the drop-off will almost certainly be temporary. And when it’s lifted, we should be able to more clearly measure how deeply the pandemic fallout is affecting homeowners. ATTOM is monitoring this closely with monthly, quarterly and annual updates.”
Foreclosure starts drop below ten thousand nationwide
Lenders started the foreclosure process for the first time on 8,552 property owners in April 2020, down 69 percent from the previous month and down 72 percent from a year ago.
States that saw the sharp declines year-over-year in foreclosure starts, included Georgia (down 85 percent); North Carolina (down 84 percent); Florida (down 83 percent); Michigan (down 82 percent); and Colorado (down 81 percent).
In a more granular look that runs counter to the national trend, there were some counties that experienced an increase in foreclosure starts in April 2020. Those counties with an annual increase, included Marin County, California (up 76 percent); Monterey County, California (up 42 percent); Mesa County, Colorado (up 40 percent); Solano County, California (up 36 percent); and Hillsborough County, Florida (up 18 percent).
Delaware, Maryland, and Illinois post worst foreclosure rates
States with the worst foreclosure rates in April 2020 were Delaware (one in every 2,745 housing units); Maryland (one in every 3,809 housing units); Illinois (one in every 5,353 housing units); Connecticut (one in every 5,519 housing units); and Florida (one in every 6,171 housing units).
Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 200,000 people, those with the worst foreclosure rates in April were not your usual metro areas. In fact, California metro areas made up 3 of the top 5 metro areas. With Vallejo-Fairfield, California (one in every 1,105 housing units); Peoria, Illinois (one in every 1,173 housing units); Reading, Pennsylvania (one in every 1,813 housing units); Santa Rosa, California (one in every 2,016 housing units); and Salinas, California (one in every 2,434 housing units);
Among 53 metro areas with at least 1 million people, those with the highest foreclosure rates in April were Tampa, Florida (one in every 2,818 housing units); Baltimore, Maryland (one in every 3,025 housing units); New Orleans, Louisiana (one in every 3,457 housing units); San Antonio, Texas (one in every 3,519 housing units); and Louisville, Kentucky (one in every 3,746 housing units).
Bank repossessions drop 76 percent from last year
Lenders repossessed 2,641 U.S. properties in April 2020 (REO), down 71 percent from the previous month and down 76 percent from a year ago, to the lowest levels ever.
States that saw the greatest actual number of completed foreclosures but are still down from last year, included Florida (387 REOs, but down 72 percent from last year); Illinois (255 REOs, but down 65 percent from last year); California (199 REOs, but down 72 percent from last year); Georgia (194 REOs, but down 48 percent from last year); and Texas (190 REOs, but down 75 percent from last year).
Those metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million that saw an annual decrease included Los Angeles, California (down 80 percent); Chicago, Illinois (down 67 percent); New York, New York (down 77 percent); Tampa, Florida (down 71 percent); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (down 94 percent).
What Home Buyers and Sellers Can Expect in 2020, as Pandemic Revises Forecast
There are so many ways in which 2020 is not turning out the way most Americans expected. In terms of real estate, we were hurtling toward a busy spring season. All the economic indicators looked strong, boosting buyers to battle it out for a limited supply of homes. But then the coronavirus pandemic swept across the nation, upending those expectations and forcing us to reassess the year ahead.
Home sales have fallen and real estate listings dissipated as the COVID-19 pandemic made many buyers and sellers think twice about buying, selling, and potentially even moving with a deadly and highly contagious virus on the loose. But home sales will rebound in the late summer and fall, driven by millennials eager to own a home of their own, according to a revised forecast for 2020 by realtor.com®’s economists.
Markets in smaller, more affordable cities and surrounding suburbs could be particularly brisk as folks reevaluate the appeal of big-city life during a pandemic. But realtor.com also predicts the housing market will experience a second round of pain in the form of another downturn toward the end of the year.
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“COVID-19 has really dramatically changed the way the housing market is going to perform this year,” says realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “We started off with the potential for the best year in more than a decade for sales. But we’re going to see ups and downs as the market grapples with an unsteady economy. This will affect buyers and sellers across the board.”
Sales of existing homes are expected to drop about 15% in 2020 compared with the previous year. Realtor.com is anticipating 4.5 million sales this year, compared with 5.34 million last year. The company’s economic team had originally forecast, late last year, that 5.25 million sales would take place in 2020.
While many cash-strapped buyers have eagerly anticipated prices falling, triggering a real estate bonanza similar to the Great Recession, that’s not likely to happen this time around. That’s because the number of homes on the market has fallen, by about 45% in April, and so has demand from buyers. There’s no glut of for-sale homes driving prices down.
“Sellers don’t like to reduce their prices. So they decide not to sell,” says Hale. Instead, they just pull their homes off the market.
The median price for an existing home is expected to hold steady, rising by just 1.1% in 2020 over the previous year.
“Were it not for COVID-19, we probably would’ve seen prices rise in the 2% to 4% range,” says Hale. That’s because even before the pandemic, available housing fell well short of demand, pushing prices up.
Buyers shouldn’t despair. Record-low mortgage interest rates will offset some of the slightly higher prices. Rates are expected to be around 3.2% this year, down from nearly 4% last year. And they could even fall into the 2% range later in 2020, amid further financial uncertainty.
The problem is, buyers may have a harder time snagging those low mortgage rates. Lenders are requiring higher credit scores and down payments, in some cases, as the nation grapples with unemployment rates that are likely in the 20%-plus range.
Another downside for buyers is that home construction is expected to slow, exacerbating the housing shortage. Housing starts, or the number of homes on which construction has begun, are expected to drop by 11% this year. Before the pandemic stalled construction sites in certain states, realtor.com had expected starts to jump by 10% in 2020.
Where buyers go shopping could also shift in the wake of the coronavirus. Those cooped up in small apartments in pricey cities may seek out smaller cities and suburbs where they can get more square footage and a backyard for less money. And with unemployment as bad as it’s been since the Great Depression, buyers may also seek out these areas for their lower prices.
“The experience of being at home for a long period of time has everyone rethinking their priorities,” says Hale. “People are recognizing space is more important, so they’re looking for more affordable areas where they can have more space at the same price.”
Non-Institutional Lender Definition & Website to check status Inbox
Definition: A Non-Institutional Lender, sometimes referred to as a “hard money” lender (“NIL”) is defined as: ANY party acting as a lender, except (a) any bank, savings and loan association, savings institution, credit union, trust company or national banking association, acting for its own account or in a fiduciary capacity, (b) any insurance company, pension and/or annuity company, (c) any government, public employees’ pension or retirement system or any other government agency supervising the investment of public funds, or (d) a seller acting as lender (sometimes referred to as a “carryback lender”). The criteria for an institutional lender is as follows; If a lender holds a CFL or CRMLA license, it is “institutional”. If anything other than the 2, they are considered NIL. It is best to check the lender’s name on the California Department of Business Oversight’s website https://dbo.ca.gov as a first step to check licensing status.
Lecciones de baile por internet para niños durante la cuarentena
El programa es una serie web interactiva de 10 lecciones de baile sin la necesidad de un compañero
El baile es una de las actividades más sociales que existen, pero en esta época de distanciamiento por el Covid-19, una organización de Los Ángeles ha preparado unas lecciones de baile en línea para niños y jóvenes que se pueden realizar sin necesidad de tener una pareja.
Conga Kids, una organización sin fines de lucro que fomenta el bienestar social y emocional a través del baile en pareja en las escuelas del Condado de Los Ángeles, ha modificado su programa para apoyar a los estudiantes que tienen que quedarse en casa.
Durante el resto del año escolar, Conga Kids impartirá el programa Social Dance for Social Distancing (“Baile Social para el Distanciamiento Social”), lecciones en línea que no sólo serán para los 10,000 estudiantes de quinto y sexto grado en más de 100 escuelas en 12 distritos escolares en todo el Condado de L.A., sino también para los jóvenes de todo el país.
“Respondimos rápidamente a la crisis del Covid-19 creando contenido ‘dentro de casa’, literalmente en las salas y los patios traseros de nuestros artistas docentes, para difundirlo en los distritos escolares y así llegar a una población más amplia de niños, padres y educadores”, expresó Brad Gluckstein, Fundador y Presidente de Conga Kids.
Como su enfoque principal, Conga Kids enseña cinco bailes de pareja: Salsa, Merengue, Swing, Tango y Foxtrot como parte del currículo escolar. Este nuevo programa es una serie web interactiva de 10 lecciones de baile sin la necesidad de un compañero de baile. El plan de estudios en línea será modificado para incluir ritmos africanos, Hip Hop, Cha Cha Cha y otros bailes divertidos y activos. Las lecciones incluirán datos históricos, así como músicos y actuaciones en vivo.
Disponible a partir del martes 21 de abril para los estudiantes actuales de Conga Kids, las lecciones en línea de 40 minutos incluirán diversos tutoriales de baile de gran energía, actividades basadas culturalmente y emocionalmente en las artes, lecciones breves sobre historia, geografía, música y más. Para proporcionar igualdad de acceso en el sur de California y en todo el país a quienes no han participado antes en el programa, Conga Kids presentará contenido gratis en su página de YouTube durante todo el mes de mayo.
Viendo hacia el próximo año escolar 2020-2021, Conga Kids también desarrollará e implementará un plan de estudios alternativo de baile «sin contacto» y ya cuenta con el compromiso de muchos distritos escolares. A través de técnicas progresivas, Conga Kids transformará la magia de su programa de baile en pareja en un formato nuevo y emocionante, mientras proporcionará acceso equitativo al arte del baile. EC
Para más información, visite www.congakids.org
Your Guide to a 100% Home Virtual Sale!
Yes, it’s possible to sell your home safely right now, 100% virtually. 1 in 4 home purchases was done sight unseen in April because buyers are still looking and are comfortable buying if you’ve got the right technology and smart marketing available. If you are ready to sell today, I can help. Message me if you have any questions on how to get started!
What is open and closed this weekend: Beaches, parks and trails in Southern California
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ORANGE COUNTY TRENDS 