The Real Folsom Blog

Two Reminders As We Head Into Tax Season

Tax season is coming fast and today our guest blogger, Barbara Van Duyn, a certified mortgage planner with First Priority Financial, has some helpful reminders as you start getting your tax paperwork together. If you have any mortgage questions, you can reach Barbara through her Web site, www.BarbaraVanDuyn.com.

It’s that time of year when we look for W-2’s and 1099’s to arrive in the mail as thoughts of filing our taxes come to mind. If you purchased a home last year, you will need another important document and it won’t be delivered to you. Remember all those papers you signed when you purchased your home?  Tucked inside the loan document folder the title company gave you is a form called a Final Settlement Statement. It lists all the costs associated with your loan and some of them are tax deductible. Your accountant or CPA will need this form to ensure you get all the tax deductions you are entitled to. If you can’t find the statement, ask the mortgage professional who helped you with your loan or contact the title company who handled your escrow and get a copy. Now … if you were a first-time home buyer last year and your purchase recorded between April 9 and December 31, 2008, you may be eligible for the $7,500 First-Time Home Buyer tax credit. This is huge because the tax credit is available even if you have no tax liability. NICE! The benefit begins to phase out with higher incomes so be sure to talk to your accountant or CPA and get expert advice. Until next time, take care. Barbara

A Look Back at the Folsom Housing Market in December

Finally, finally, I was able to get the Folsom market stats for December '08. Let's start with the median price of homes sold in Folsom in December: $365,900. That's slightly up from November ($364,000)--the two-year-low mark. Overall, the December median price is down 20.7 percent from December '06 when the median price of homes sold was $461,345. The median price of the homes for sale at some point during that month (366) was $398,444. Now a look at the months supply of inventory (MSI) for Folsom: In December, the MSI dipped to 4.8 months, down from 5.8 in November but holding more or less steady during the past year. The high-water mark for inventory was September '07 when we had 11.4 months of inventory. And for the number of homes actually sold. At 55 properties (average days on the market, 52) that number is actually up a bit from November (46), although down 25.7 percent from the number two years ago when 74 homes sold. I'm curious to see how the numbers stack up for this month. I'll keep you posted as I get the stats.

Folsom Headed for Stage 3 Water Alert

Last evening, I attended the Folsom City Council to hear how bad the budget cuts were going to be as the Council and City Staff considered how to reduce expenditures in light of reduced influx of sales tax dollars (among other things) due to the bad economy. There was plenty of bad news to make plenty of people unhappy about the proposed cuts to programs and services Folsom residents hold dear. Mixed into the bad news was the announcement by the city manager that the Stage 2 Water alert we've been living under since early fall will be going to a Stage 3 alert within a few weeks. We simply have not been receiving the rain we need and the Sierra snow pack won't be enough to make up during the spring melt for that lack of rain. Expect fewer watering days. Might be time to look into artificial turf as our city manager suggested last night.

Green Tip: Eco-Friendly Hardwood Cabinetry

Hardwood cabinetry can be both beautiful and eco-friendly--that is if it's made from formaldehyde-free plywood. Cabinets made by Columbia Forest Products (www.cfpwood.com) are made from wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The council guarantees that responsible timber industry practices are used in the production process. The company also uses a soy-flour resin system to comply with leading green standard programs. The cost runs about $150-450 a linear foot. Check it out if you are planning a remodel that involves some cabinets.

How Long Will That Dryer Last?

More than a few of the homes I show these days are in some state of what I'll nicely call "deferred maintenance." Not surprising considering so many of the homes for sale these days are distressed sales--either bank-owned or short sales. When things start going south financially, owners may not have the upkeep of household appliances or features at the top of their must-do list. But as a buyer, it's important for you to have some idea of how long things usually last in a home so that when you see a home, with say an old dryer, you'll have an idea of when you might have to replace it. My latest issue of Realtor magazine has a nice little article that gives a rundown of the expected longevity of some household items. Here are some of those items:

100 years or more

* Brick siding

* All wooden floors

50-100 years

* Kitchen cabinets: up to 50 years

* Vinyl floors: 50 years

* Copper gutters: 50 plus years

30-50 years

* Wood shake roofs: 30 years

* Thermostats: 35 years

* French interior doors: 30-50 years

10-20 years

* Aluminum windows: 20 years

* Kitchen sink faucets: 15 years

* Gas range: 15 years

* Cultured mable countertop: 20 years

* AC unit: 10-15 years

* Electric or gas water heater: 10 years

* Furnace: 15-20 years

* Dryer and refrigerators: 13 years

5-10 years

* Security system: 5-10 years

* Heat and smoke detectors: 5-10 years

* Dishwasher: 9 years

* Carpet: 8-10 years

All these estimates are based on a new study by the National Association of Home Builders--people who should know!

Down-Payment Solutions for CalPERS Members

The following informative post comes from our guest blogger, Barbara Van Duyn, a certified mortgage planner with First Priority Financial. If you have any mortgage questions, you can reach Barbara through her Web site, www.BarbaraVanDuyn.com.
CalPERS members have a wonderful benefit when it comes to buying a home--especially at a time when down-payment assistance programs have disappeared. Members may borrow up to 50 percent from their member account not to exceed $18,421 and use the money as a down payment on the purchase of a primary residence. These funds are considered a personal loan with repayment terms up to 15 years depending on the amount borrowed. Combine the personal loan with a CalPERS FHA or Conventional mortgage and members can get 100 percent financing up to $350,000. Learn more program details by logging into your CalPERS account or from a CalPERS approved mortgage professional. Until next time, take care. Barbara

Green Tip: Join the Wholesome Folsom Campaign

It has a nice ring to it: Wholesome Folsom! While in my cruising-the-Internet mode, I came across this City of Folsom Web page, Wholesome Folsom Less-Toxic Pesticide Campaign. Under a grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board, Folsom is running a three-year campaign to promote the use of less toxic pesticides. According to the Web site, in addition to providing sample less-toxic products, the city will provide landscaping expertise to help you improve the health of your landscape and therefore reduce the need for chemicals. The Sample Kit products are available through many Folsom retailers. For more information on how you can participate in the Wholesome Folsom Program: e-mail rmiller@folsom.ca.us.

Recent Folsom Home Sales Jan 1-7 2009

Well, 2009 kicked off with a slow week of home sales, at least in Folsom, with just 5 sales recorded by MetroList, our local multiple listing service, between Jan 1 and 7. The properties were listed and sold by various multiple listing service brokers. If you'd like to know about a recent sale in your neighborhood, just drop me a line at annerhea@kw.com and I'll look it up for you.
* 107 Grenoble Way, 3 bed/2 bath, 1023 sq ft, sold 1/5/09 for $230,000 (96.23 percent of list price) after 202 days on the market for $224.83 per sq ft.
* 462 S. Lexington Drive, 4 bed/3 bath, 2256 sq ft, sold 1/5/09 for $430,000 (97.95 percent of list) after 46 DOM for $190.60 per sq ft.
* 420 Listowe Drive, 4 bed/3 bath, 2780 sq ft, sold 1/2/09 for $510,000 (95.86 percent of list) after 26 DOM for $183.45 per sq ft.
* 171 Tomlinson Drive, 4-5 bed/3 bath, 3210 sq ft, sold 1/7/09 for $576,000 (96.02 percent of list) after 181 DOM for $179.44 per sq ft.
* 488 Muerer Court, 5-6 bed/4 bath, 3544 sq ft, sold 1/6/09 for $680,000 (97.16 percent of list) after 68 DOM for $191.87 per sq ft.

Did You Purchase a Home With FHA Financing?

The following informative post comes from our guest blogger, Barbara Van Duyn, a certified mortgage planner with First Priority Financial. If you have any mortgage questions, you can reach Barbara through her Web site, www.BarbaraVanDuyn.com.
It doesn’t matter whether it was six months ago or as far back as three years. If you used FHA financing to purchase a home and the rate on your loan is 6 percent or higher, you will benefit from the historic lower interest rates available now. It gets even better! The FHA Streamline Refinance is designed to lower a homeowner’s payment, loan term, or interest rate on an existing FHA loan. Best of all, it can be done with very little paperwork including NO qualifying or income documentation and there is an option where NO appraisal is required. This all translates to greatly reduced closing costs which may be added to the new loan amount or offset with an interest rate premium resulting in no cash needed from the borrower. So even if the value of your home has declined since you purchased it, that doesn’t disqualify you from getting a lower interest rate and reduced mortgage payment. NICE! Who do you know that could benefit from this information? Spread the word. Until next time, take care. Barbara

Over 37 Percent of Homes Sold in Folsom in '08 a Distressed Sale

A short housing news brief in today's SacBee paints a bleak picture of our housing future at least for the next few years as more than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings in 2008--an 81 percent increase over 2007. Of those, more than 860,000 homes were repossessed by lenders in '08--twice the number in 2007. The news brief cites a research firm's prediction that the upswing in number of homes repossessed will continue to climb then taper off through 2011. The article prompted me to check the MLS this morning to see how we fared in Folsom last year. Of 763 homes sold in Folsom last year (this according to MLS stats), 198 were bank-owned houses and 87 were short sale situations. The bank-owned homes sold for a median price of $350,000 in an average of 35 days. The short sales sold for a median price of $375,000 in an average of 105 days on the market. And, what about the regular sales, those sold for a median price of $420,000 in an average of 53 days. The numbers give a glimpse into the story of how each of the sales go for each of the three types of homes coming on the market. The good news is for the buyers who are increasingly able to get more house for their dollars.