Recently, my office has received calls from concerned homeowners about property valuation in a declining market and what implications it may have on their property taxes. Home owners are asking, “Why are my taxes going up when my value is going down?” Here is a good explanation that was recently printed in Supervisor Pat Bates newsletter. “There are two values to look at when considering property taxes: the Market Value and the Proposition 13 Taxable Value. The Market Value is what the property would sell for in an open market transaction. The Prop. 13 Taxable Value is the Market Value of the property when it was purchased, plus a Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment of up to 2% per year, plus any new construction. In calculating property taxes each year, the Assessor compares these two values and the lower of the two is always used.Therefore, even if a property experiences a decrease in Market Value, if the Market Value is still higher than the Prop. 13 Taxable Value, a CPI adjustment may be added by up to 2% annually. Using this formula, taxpayers always benefit because they always pay the lower of the two amounts.” For more information about Market and Taxable Values, please click here. You may also contact the Assessor Department with any questions by calling (714) 834-2727 or visiting www.ocgov.com/assessor

         Are you “On The Fence” About Buying a Home?

• It helps transform the mortgaged-back securities.
  This keeps access to capital for borrowers high and
  interest rates low.

• Conforming/jumbo conforming rates should drop in
  the coming weeks by as much as a percentage point.

• It improves confidence in the stock market allowing
  investors to once again realize profits, which they in
  turn can re-invest in mortgages.

• Credit will flow again bringing new, qualified buyers
  into the market to take advantage of the investment
  opportunities currently available.

• Modified mortgages will allow some homeowners to
  restructure their mortgages and avoid foreclosure.

If you’re on the fence, now is an excellent opportunity to realize
dramatic savings on a home purchase before the market shifts,
and we begin the next ‘UP’ stage of the cycle.

  3 Via Onza, Rancho Santa Margarita - Listed for $735,000 

Sold with mulitple offers in less than one month

 5 suggestions to ensure a successful real estate sale in Rancho Santa Margarita

1. Do your online search and check out if the agent has a web presents and how the current listings are showcased to the public. http://www.realtor.com

2. Also ask agents to show you their marketing plan check list, a good agent will have a detailed list when what needs to happen for marketing your home. Our team utilizes a software program were we set the plan up and when we start the marketing process all the items come in our daily to list for each team member to be able to execute what needs to be done to expose your home to the public and to the Realtors. We post on many different websites and test that all the pictures are posted. For example when we reduce a price we pull in a plan that has 12 steps one of them is to notify all buyers and agents that have shown the home. On Wednesday we decide what homes to hold open for the weekend, again we pull in a plan and my assistant is directed by the plan of all the postings and notification we will have to make to have a successful open house.
The beauty of this is that at any time we can make a change in the master plan which we do often as our industry is forever changing. So make sure your agent has a detailed plan and an assistant to help. http://www.margomurray.com
(more̷

MyTemp™ is a room-by-room temperature control and energy management system for homes with forced-air heating and cooling. It solves one of the most perplexing comfort problems you face as a homeowner: maintaining comfortable temperatures in every room of your home. No more cold spots or hot spots; no more uneven temperatures upstairs or downstairs; just superior temperature control . . . and that’s just the beginning. Here are a few more reasons why you’ll love living in a home that has MyTemp room-by-room temperature control: (more̷

3 Via Onza, Rancho Santa Margarita - Listed for $735,000
Gorgeous upgraded home, beatufully landscaped! Wonderful open floor plan with cathedral ceilings. Has been totally remodeled features include hardwood flooring, crown molding and 5″ base boards throughout, custom paint, recessed lighting, elegant tile fireplace, Dream kitchden with new appliances, granite counter tops, tumble stone back splash & beautiful cherry cabinetry. All bathrooms are upgraded with new sile stone counter tops, new light & sink fixtures. All bedrooms are spacious with mirrored wardrobes, custom paint & ceiling fans. The yard is perfect for entertainig with built-in BBQ, fire pit & spa, covered patio and a breath taking mountain view.

I asked my loan broker, Dean Rathbun this week how important is it that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stay in existence. And her is what he had to say. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-supported mortgage giants at the centre of America’s housing market, pose a particularly acute problem for the government. Not only are they too big to fail, they are almost too big to rescue.
They hold or guarantee some $5.2 trillion of the nation’s $12 trillion of mortgages, backed by the thinnest wafer of capital, meaning their collapse would imperil the already paralyzed American housing market. Yet, an analyst at Graham Fisher, a research firm, points out, nationalizing them, a stark choice for the government since their shares tumbled last week, would “result in a doubling of the federal deficit, a further collapse of the dollar and unthinkable implications for the Treasury’s cost of funding in the debt markets.” (more̷

Teledyne is a local high tech company here in Orange County. Owning their stock has made quite few of their employees and other local people Millionaires. I figured that everybody could understand making money this way. You simply bought Teledyne stock in the beginning and sold it after the price went up (way up).

Last Friday it closed at $65.17 per share. Back in March of ‘03 you could have bought some Teledyne stock for around $15.00. Now my question to you is, “Would it really have mattered to you if you had paid $14.50 or even $15.50? Sure, you want to make as much as you can, but if you had tried to “time the market” to buy it at $14.50 you might have missed it completely and had to pay upwards of $20.00 per share if you wanted in.

My advice to you is to buy when you can. Don’t worry about picking up every nickel off the table. Just get what you can. You would have gotten over 400% growth in the share price. Why be greedy? (more̷

Margo Murray - Real Estate Broker
Part Owner of Regency Real Estate Brokers
(One of the largest Real Estate Offices in South Orange County)
Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) - Top 1% Nationwide
Serving South Orange County since 1988 by helping families selling and buying real estate.

By striving for excellence, we achieve success. We strive to offer a level of extraordinary service to each of our clients, to do things the right way. Margo’s business plan is for the long term…not the quick deal. We have never needed any single transaction enough to compromise our integrity and we never will.

We have been very fortunate for the tremendous loyalty and support of our current and past clients—both with their repeat business and with referrals. Margo’s desire for excellence has become her greatest strength and that is why clients trust us and refer us their friends and family.

To be successful in this business:

One must be competitive in nature, have marketing expertise, staying power, creativity and a great deal of experience and knowledge of the market.

One must also have the ability to adapt to new and exciting technologies.

One must be a people person with a passion for the business.

One must have a team in order to provide extraordinary service.

One must be willing to earn a client’s business by hard work and going the extra mile.

After many years of residential sales, I can honestly say that I enjoy the real estate business as much as I did as a “rookie” back in 1988. It gives me great pleasure to find the right house for an enthusiastic buyer, or to help sell a home for a client. Whether you are buying, or selling, we offer to you the best. The best in personal service and attention, an trough our marketing an edge in the marketplace, solid advice with a vision to the long term, and a professional approach that does not stop at closing.

With 20 years of experience Margo has won many awards, but the plagues and certificates have never mattered to her - what matters are satisfied clients. Since 70% of her business comes from past and referred clients Margo and her team spend the majority of their time serving clients, rather than looking for new clients.

It would be my pleasure to earn your trust and your business!
I look forward to working with you! Please contact me at:
(949) 858-1770 - Cell: (949) 306-8520 - margo@margomurray.com

1 Interest rates on long-term, fixed, and adjustable mortgages are at historically low levels. The rate on a 30-year, fixed mortgage is hovering just below 6 percent, while, by comparison, interest rates were hitting 8 percent and higher during the last market downturn in the late 1990s, and were between 10 and 12 percent at the height of the last housing boom in the 1980s. Lower interest rates make it easier to qualify for a loan, and your monthly payments are more affordable. 

2 No one can put a price on the intrinsic value of homeownership. Home prices also reflect financial worth and, the good news is, across California the median sales price for a single-family home has been consistently rising for several decades. In short, housing remains a solid, long-term financial investment. While the pace of home appreciation has slowed over the last year, historical data suggest home prices will continue to appreciate over time. The projected median home price for a single-family home in California in 2008, for example, is $553,000.
By comparison, the median price in 2000 was $241,350; $193,770 in 1990, and $99,550 in 1980. (source: C.A.R.)

3 The length of time a home remains on the market before it is sold has increased from roughly two weeks in 2004 to between eight and nine weeks in 2007. According to the unsold inventory index provided by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, it would take 16.3 months to sell all the homes on the market at the current sales pace, compared with 6.4 months in 2006. With more homes on the market for longer periods of time, you have more choices when it comes to selecting a home today. 

4 The multiple-offer frenzy that dominated the latest housing boom has subsided, and there is less pressure on today’s home buyers to outbid one another. REALTORS® in California reported that in 2007 only 28 percent
of homes sold had multiple offers, compared with 57 percent in 2004. (source: C.A.R.) 

5 The credit industry crisis that has made securing a home loan difficult for many has led to heightened scrutiny of mortgage lenders. As a result, state and federal agencies have created protections for home buyers that were not in place a year ago. The U.S. Federal Reserve, for example, has proposed a plan to require lenders to confirm a borrower’s ability to afford a mortgage before making a loan and establishing guidelines for explaining sub-prime loan terms in order to better educate buyers. Many new public education and awareness campaigns, such as Freddie Mac’s “Don’t Borrow Trouble®” campaign, have been developed to help you achieve the dream of homeownership without the financial risks that led so many borrowers into trouble in recent years. Buying a home in today’s market may be challenging, particularly for those with credit problems or little saved to put toward a down payment. But there are many factors impacting the current housing market that make buying a home today a viable option.