Larry "Fly" Young Brentwood Real Estate

Close Fannie Mae deals on time or risk losing the transaction, your deposit, appraisal and inspection fees. Recently, I had a transaction involving the purchase of a Fannie Mae owned foreclsoure (REO) property in Oakley with first time buyers.The contracts were signed on April 14,2009 with a scheduled close of May 29, 2009 (45 days).  The ...

Without fail, while showing clients properties or hosting open houses in Brentwood or nearby cities, I get asked “What did this property sell for at the peak?”  The response I want to give is “Why does it  matter?  The market determines value, and with current prices and financing, more people can purchase a home ...

All properties in California have a base tax rate of 1% of the purchase price. In addition, taxpayers in individual cities and counties such as Brentwood and Contra County approve bonds to pay for community facilities, services and schools. Brentwood has no Mello Roos, but there are assessments that are specific to neighborhoods.  The best ...

Brentwood and Eastern Contra Costa County housing prices are down 60% and greater from peak prices of 2006-2006. Prices of many Brentwood area homes are nearing $100 per square foot, lower than the cost to build. In addition, the monthly payment for the purchase of many Brentwood properties is less than rent, a great opportunity for first time ...

The recently passed housing law contains a $7500 tax credit for first time buyers but it must be paid back over 15 years. In an  earlier post, prior to passage, I stated (wrongly) that the new law would allow buyer of properties a tax credit of $7500 ($500/year). First time home buyers can get a $7500 tax credit but must pay it back ...

Beginning July 14, 2008 the premium paid for mortgage insurance (MIP) on FHA backed loans. The monthly MIP will increase from .50 percent to .55 percent on all loans without a case number assigned before July 14, 2008. In addition, the Up-Front Mortgage Premiums will be based on risk (FICO scores) and Loan-to-Value ratios ranging from 1.5% to ...

A recently published article in the Brentwood Press is amongst the first signs that our media is beginning report that Brentwood and East County may be through the worse part of this market and some of the results of the planning by Brentwood's elected officials. You can read the article at ...

During the past few weeks the sales activity and offers on short sale listings has significantly increased. Every day this week I've received calls inquiring on the availability of our office's short sale listings and have seen multiple offers on almost every listing. It appears that buyers and their agents feel that ...

  The table below shows some interesting year-to-date sales versus current pending and active listings data for Eastern Contra Costa county.  Agents, prospective buyers and the media are all reporting increases in home sales activity.City/ LocationSold Since 1/1/08PendingActive ...

On March 13, Ocwen, one of the major loan servicing companies, announced that it will no longer negotiate short sales. This decision includes all pre-existing short sale contracts in which Ocwen has not finalized settlement agreements between its borrowers and potential short sale buyers of the distressed ...