We just wanted to make sure you see some of the great homes that have recently come on the market. If you would like to get more information on any of these properties please call (707) 441-1765 or email Kristi@thekesslerteam.com.

ID# 230226– EUREKA, 2BD/1BA - $265,000

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230226

ID# 230230 - MCKINLEYVILLE, 3BD/2BA - $269,900

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230230

ID# 230206 - EUREKA, 3BD/2BA - $299,000

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230206

ID# 230209 – ARCATA, 3BD/2BA - $249,900

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230209

ID# 230196 – ARCATA, 3BD/1BA - $289,950

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230196

ID#230198 – MYRTLETOWN, 3BD/2BA - $280,000

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230198

ID# 230192 – FORTUNA, 3BD/2BA - $194,900

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230192

ID# 230183– EUREKA, 3BD/2BA - $279,900

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230183

ID# 230144 – EUREKA, 2BD/1BA - $199,000

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=230144

ID# 229822 – ARCATA, 3BD/1.5BA - $275,000

http://www.youreurekahomesource.idxco.com/idx/4363/details.php?idxID=283&listingID=229822

Lovely open floor plan with skylights and a large rooms, gourmet kitchen.

Wonderful horse property with barn and arena. Plenty of horse trails in surrounding area. Light and bright home offers unique architectural details include barrel vault ceiling. Luxurious master suite upstairs with office/nursery. Large decks front and rear extend the living area.

Please join us for our free February Home Owner Seminar. We are devoting the entire seminar to answering questions about loan modifications and short sales (Selling for less than is owed on the home).

• How to decide whether to loan modify or do a short sale
• What paperwork is involved
• What are the credit implications and when will creditors calls stop
• What are the benefits of doing a short sale vs. foreclosure
• Which are the best and worst banks to work with

WHEN: Tuesday, February 23rd -  7 to 8:30 PM & Saturday, February 27th - 1 to 2:30 PM 

WHERE:  The Adorni Center - Conference Room. 1011 Waterfront Drive, Eureka      

HOW:  Call 441-1765 or email Katie@thekesslerteam.com to reserve your spot. Space is limited

Sincerely,
The Kessler Team

2009 was a very tough year for many of us for a lot of different reasons. Many people are unemployed or underemployed and are feeling financial hardships or even losing their homes. I want to give you some tips and financial insights for 2010. 

Step 1: Start accounting for your money. Fill out a profit and loss statement every month for your family. I have bee doing this since 1996. Every month, track all your bills and spending along with your income.

Step 2: Pay off all revolving debt. Credit cards are making banks rich. Send in extra money every month to the smallest balance card first and pay them off one account at a time.

Step 3: Either refinance or modify your mortgage. Because of the drop in values, you may only be able to modify. Contact your servicer (the one you make your payment to) and go to their home retention department and file for hardship modification. You may need to call 100 times to get it done. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Step 4: Save 20% of your gross taxable income. You must do this or you will always struggle financially. I know it’s HARD to save 20% of gross taxable income (W-2 Income) but it will make the difference the next time the economy struggles.

 These are the great steps that I live by.

Thanks for all your support in 2009 and please, if you or someone you know wants to buy or sell a home, we would greatly appreciate the business in 2010. The economy is slowly starting to improve.

Up on a hill overlooking the neighborhood with a glimpse of the bay and Kneeland hills. Large deck accessed thru sliding doors from living and dining areas extend the living area for bbq’s and social gatherings. Very comfortable floor plan offers nicely sized bedrooms, large living room with a corner faced fireplace. Convertible 3^rd bedroom offers bi-fold doors to living room for those who prefer an office or tv/music room. Garage is oversized with room for a shop. Easy access from paved alley.  

Presently set up as a duplex with a 3/2 main floor and a 2/1 2nd unit under in the walkout basement with separate access. Remove a door on the split stairwell to make this a 4/3 home. Awesome views of the ocean and bay entrance. Large fenced yard gently slopes. RV parking with water, power and sewer hookups.

It’s saddening to report Eureka’s area foreclosure rate continues to increase, both in the number of home owners entering into pre-foreclosure and those going to bank auction. These numbers could have been significantly higher except for a 2-week foreclosure moratorium most banks extended over the last two weeks of December. I fear January’s and February’s foreclosure numbers will be dramatically higher. Please, if you know anyone who is unable to keep up with their mortgage payments, have them call me - right now. There are simply too many options available to let a catastrophic event like a foreclosure auction destroy a person’s financial future for the next 5-7 years.

I have set up a special website (www.EurekaForeclosureHelp.com) just for distressed homeowners. It has the very latest information on foreclosure avoidance including President Obama’s HASP, HARP and just released HAFA loan modification programs. If you or someone you know has questions about how to get out of a pre-foreclosure, my website has answers. Yet the best option is to just drop me an e-mail or give me a call.

Desirable, friendly neighborhood in easy walking distance to downtown Arcata, schools and HSU. Convenient floor plan with a bright and sunny kitchen on an oversized corner lot. Newer energy efficient, dual pane windows. FREE Recorded Message 1-800-392-3830, Ext. 6471.

Cute home that is move in ready! Remodeled, lite and brite inside, with lots of windows.  Combination kitchen and dining area is bright and open. Living room is large with big windows and beautiful wood floors. Plenty of room for gardening in the large year yard. Fully fenced yards make it ideal to give the dogs or kids their own space. Covered off-street parking.  FREE Recorded Message 1-800-392-3830, Ext. 6171.

              Looking at last month’s sales in Eureka, the homes for sale inventory is down, the number of homes going under contract and the number of homes sold is up. WAY UP! Great news for home sellers and for home buyers.

30-year, fixed rate interest rates are at their lowest levels in decades, averaging 4.71 percent. Freddie Mac, a gigantic lender in the home loan market goes onto state that the 30-year home loan interest rate has never been this low since they began their weekly survey in 1971.

If you have questions about how this tax credit could work for you or someone you know, get the up to minute real estate and loan information on my blog site. Or just drop us an email or give us a call.

Large sunny entry way w/ skylite. Sunken living room with vaulted ceilings covered in knotty pine. Awesome master suite setup with oversized master bathroom, large walk in closet & slider opening out to deck for those late night visits to the outdoor hot tub/spa built-in to the deck. Needs a thorough cleaning, paint and new floor coverings, yet the potential is there. FREE Recorded Message, 1-800-392-3830, Ext. 6131.

Quiet neighborhood in convenient location. Nicely maintained home with bright & sunny rooms, perfect for retiree or young couple. 216 sf basement currently used as bedroom. Newer dual pane windows & new window coverings. Blown in insulation in attic. Lovely back yard with a view towards the mountains of Kneeland. Detached shop presently used as studio & storage, could be converted back to garage. FREE Recorded Message 1-800-392-3830, Ext. 6441.

Quiet neighborhood, awesome location, redwood forest across the street, easy walk to the Park & zoo. Fir floors in living spaces. Large wood stove in dining room. French doors in dining room lead outside. Kitchen remodeled in recent past & opened up to dining room. Bathroom has pedestal sink & claw foot tub. Large fenced rear yard. Large shed was used as garage in past. FREE Recorded Message 1-800-392-3830, Ext. 6121.

1. Look for BANK OWNED homes in the Winter! Looking to buy a Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna or McKinleyville REO (Bank Owned) home? REO homes are often “winterized” with the power & water off. This makes them COLD and DAMP during the winter. Hearty souls can beat the competition by shopping mid-winter and get a bargain.

2. DECORATE LATER. Purchase at significant savings then bring in your contractor after closing. REO homes are sold AS IS (torn carpeting, water damage, missing appliances, etc.). Occasionally you can negotiate for repairs on major issues (leaky roofs for example).

3. Easy close. Close in a month. REO homes can close quickly. Purchase is much easier than you might think! FHA financing is available and title is clear. Liens that might have been a problem at auction are cleared out. The home is ready for you to buy.

4. NOT ALL REO HOMES ARE CREATED EQUAL Because a home is Bank Owned, doesn’t make it a bargain. Be sure to evaluate WHY the home didn’t sell before the bank took possession, or took it thru foreclosure. Does the home back to a busy road? Is it sitting in a hole? Under large power lines? Careful not to buy a home that will be hard to sell later!

Want to get on my "Hot list" of Bank Owned Homes? Starting next week I will be emailing a weekly update. Just let me know if you would like to be added to the list.

Many of these investors execute a typical “fix and flip” plan. They buy a distressed home, invest capital to make it marketable, and then place it back up for sale as quickly as possible. This is a tried and trued plan with numerous TV shows, infomercials and “how-to” books littering the landscape for investors to peruse.

Yet I recently heard about an emerging hybrid of this plan where the investor purchases with the intent of renting the property for three to five years and then selling it.

A brief overview of this plan starts with a property purchase well below retail value. In addition, the investor includes for a 2-step repair expense. The 1^st step happens at the time of purchase and pays for repairs sufficient to make the house rentable. The 2^nd step occurs after 5 years of being a rental when improvements are made to the property in preparation for being marketed. The idea is to delay the sale to a time in the future when the market is stronger and a higher return can be achieved.

One example I’ve studied is an investor purchasing single family homes in the Bay area for 50% of retail value, paying $80,000 to $90,000 per unit. He budgets $9,000 towards repairs necessary to attract a tenant. He achieves $1,200 a month in rent. He has included in his five year budget a $10,000 expense to make improvements desired to achieve competitive market value prior to selling the house. In five years he believes the houses should sell for $200,000 or more.

This type of investment plan is very focused on a niche market. To apply such a plan to our market would require a careful study of present and future market conditions and our evolving demographics of Eureka, Fortuna, Arcata and McKinleyville areas. And this would not be a passive investment with up to five years of property management. Yet the yield would appear to be very attractive and its risk tempered by time.

And it’s the laser focus into a niche strategy that makes this plan so unique. And every successful investor will tell you that the most important part of your investment strategy – is to have a plan, and then go execute your plan.

V,C,10,b

Nationally, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage average interest rate is 4.91 percent. This is .07 percent lower than the previous week. Last year at this same time the interest rate hovered at 6.13 percent.

Locally in the Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Fortuna markets we’re seeing interest rates average right around 5 percent.

For our Humboldt County home buyers this is an awesome time to be purchasing. The Federal Government’s extension of the $8,000 tax credit for 1^st time home buyers and the $6,500 credit now being offered to the repeat home buyers, this is a great time to be making a move. And home prices are at their most competitive levels in a decade.

Buyers need to watch out as it appears we are seeing the bottom in sales prices for homes priced below $250,000. For homes priced higher than $250,000, there is still softness in market value. And in the $450,000 price range and higher, this market is still spiraling downward as it aggressively searches for its bottom. Our Humboldt Bay area home buyers are finding some tremendous values across the price range spectrum.

1. The $8,000 tax credit is available to “First Time” Home Buyers who have not owned a primary residence in the past three years.

2. A new $6,500 tax credit is available to “Current” Home Owners who have lived in their primary residence for 5 consecutive years of the last 8 years.

3. Although the $6,500 has been labeled a “Move-Up” credit, there is nothing in the law forcing anybody to buy a bigger or more expensive home. You can downsize or upsize and still get the credit.

4. Your adjusted Gross Income cannot exceed $125,000 if you file taxes as a single, or $225,000 if you are married filing jointly.

5. You must be under contract to purchase by April 30^th, 2010 and will need to close by July 1, 2010.

6. The cost of the purchased home must be less than $800,000.

7. This is a tax credit. If the home buyer owes the IRS zero dollars, they will get a check for $8,000 (or $6,500) from the IRS. Pretty nice!

Contact us if you would like to learn how these tax credits can be used to help you.

As predicted in my last report, sales soared to new heights in October unseen in many years. The number of homes going under contract are at new highs, fueled by the 1st time homebuyers lined up to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit set to expire 11/30/09. And for the third month in a row we’ve seen the “domino” effect of where 1st time homebuyers are buying the homes move-up buyers are selling, allowing move-up buyers to purchase larger homes.

I remain very optimistic our Congress will extend the 1st time homebuyer $8,000 tax credit. And, the popular rumor circulating for the past few months is that Congress will add a tax credit for the “move-up buyers”. It may be a great opportunity for current homeowners at a time of historically low interest rates to shed the home they’ve outgrown and receive a tax credit, also. You should give some thought to becoming a “move-up buyer” if;

1) You have more children than you have bedrooms, or

2) Your family room used to be the garage, or

3) You’re renting multiple storage units for all your stuff

The top 3 groups of homebuyers:

• 52% were 1st time homebuyers
• 17% were move-up buyers
• 17% were investors

 Distressed Home Sales

• 4 were REO, or bank owned properties
• 2 were distressed sellers, or Short Sales
• 20 homes went into pre-foreclosure
• 4 homes were auctioned

 If you have questions about how this tax credit could work for you or someone you know, drop us an email or give us a call.