With the $8000.00 home buyer tax credit, low interest rates, short sale listings and foreclosure listings NOW is a good time to purchase a home for residence or investment. Below are just a few things to keep in mind should you want to take the first step.

1) Get pre-approved for a loan. Sellers or banks do not want to consider
your offer unless you can prove your worth. Make sure to lock in that low interest rate.

2) If you are looking for a short sale the closing time could be long
such as 6+ months
and the price you offered and the price the seller accepted may not be
OK with the bank

3) Bank owned properties asking price is the discounted price. Banks
will offer the home at a reduced rate in order to attract investors and
first time home home buyers. The sale price maybe higher than the
original asking price

4) Pick a knowledgeable real estate agent you like and stick with them.
Loyalty to your agent will give you better service and loyalty back. If
you are shopping with every agent in town you will be duplicating
efforts. After all, all agents have access to the same data base

The amount of foreclosure listing inventory in the California Bay Area has dropped. This  is primarily due to the many people who have decided to become real estate investors as apposed to investing in the stock market or low bank rates.

Visit http://www.sandiohms.com for a current  free list of foreclosure listings in Fremont and the surrounding California Bay Area. You can also call or email from the site to find out how to become a real estate investor.

Investors have buying foreclosure listings with cash or very large down payments.  Competition in the California Bay Area market  is huge and brokers are seeing multiple offers on most affordable properties.

California Bay Area has a rise in foreclosures. With the rise in Bay Area foreclosures comes a lot of scams from people trying to take advantage of home sellers. Beware and don’t let the bottom feeders take advantage of you! View California Bay Area foreclosures here

legitimate sources to help foreclosure sellers with foreclosures.

California Association of Realtors list a few thing to watch our for if you are or might become in foreclosure

• Asks for money upfront before providing any service
• Instructs you not to contact your lender, lawyer, housing
counselor, family, friends, or others
• Asks for mortgage payments to be made directly to his or her
company or a bank account set up by that person, rather than
your lender.
• Requires payment only in the form of cash, cashier’s check,
or wire transfer
• Promises to stop the foreclosure process, no matter the
circumstances
• Advises you to transfer your property deed or title to his or
her company
• Offers to fill out paperwork for you
• Asks for something to be done immediately and without delay.
This includes pressuring you into signing paperwork that you
have not had the chance to read thoroughly or do not fully
understand
• Encourages you to lease your house and buy it back
over time
• Offers to buy your house for a fixed price that is not set by the
housing market at the time of sale
• Asks for you to give a power of attorney
• Asks for signatures on a grant deed or deed of trust
• Asks for signatures on a document that has lines left blank
• Fails to provide copies of signed documents
• Refuses or fails to put an oral promise in writing

California Bay Area Contact if you want additional information and refferals on foreclosures help

It has been suggested from some that Obama’s budget proposal would include a reduction in interest rate deduction for people earning $250,000 per year.

As a Bay Area Real Estate Broker, I think this is a horrible idea especially In Fremont California and surrounding cities. First off, Real Estate in the California Bay Area is one of the most expensive area on the planet! In order to afford these properties, income level has to support the prices. In other words, 250,000 income in California, Fremont and especially the Bay Area is not an excessive income. Other states have less expensive homes and therefore do not need the income to support the housing.

If California Bay Area has a lot of foreclosures now, just wait to see the disaster if the mortgage reduction program passes. Those who need that deduction and counted on it when they purchased the home will no longer be able to afford it. I think this is a bad idea especially for the Bay Area Ca. to view home prices in Fremont and surrounding cities in the Bay Area visit Http://www.BayArea-Homes.com