Thinking About Buying In Elk Grove Ca.

Millennial Are Starting To buy Their First Homes

Millennials have had a difficult time getting in position to buy their first home.  They did all the right things finished high school, went on to college, graduated only to find a not so great job market. Many had to take any job they could find and quickly realized that it wasn't enough to even live on only to move back in with their parents and just worked to survive.
Finally the tide is turning and we are seeing the millennials able to start to consider the idea of buying their own home, maybe with parents help with a down payment, but it is at least better to pay 2K toward something you will someday own than 2K toward something you will never own. So what are the next steps?

Step 1.  Talk to a good lender (preferably one you can sit down face to face with and speak to). Millennials tend to like the internet, but when it comes to home buying it is much better to work with both lender and real estate agent that are in the area you want to buy and who you build a solid relationship with.

Step 2.  Determine with the help of a good lender how much you can afford to buy and how much you will need to put down.  (Make sure your lender goes over all the programs you are eligible for and the different types of loans).  This way you will be able to decide what will work the best for you.

Step 3.  Find a good reputable Real Estate Agent.  Sit down and talk with them and find one you like and feel comfortable with, is honest, explains the home buying process with you and really listens to your needs and wants so they can find you the right home.

Step 4.  Go out and look at a few homes with your chosen realtor.  It will take looking at a few homes for your realtor to really understand what you like and don't like.  Be honest it is the only way your realtor can truly help you and get you looking at the right homes.

All of these steps are relationship building steps, this is one of the largest purchases you will probably make do not leave this one to the internet.  Even when looking at homes have your realtor put you on a program to see the homes you qualify for as quickly as they come on the market (every good realtor has a program).  Don't depend on internet programs, often times the homes they show are no longer on the market, sold, pending etc. and you waste a lot of time looking at things you could not even buy.

These are only the first few steps but if you find the right realtor they will walk you through the entire process and work with you hand in hand through the entire process.  ( Much of it is a lot of legal requirements so an honest reputable and knowledgeable realtor is essential)  Ask for referrals of past clients.

Social Media Phishing Alerts

Phishing attempts on social media have more than doubled over the past year as scammers find new ways to trick people into providing personal and financial information.

During the first quarter of 2016, ploys to glean log-in credentials, credit card and other ID-worthy information soared 150 percent over the same period in 2015, according to Proofpoint, which provides social media security services to leading companies and nearly 225 million of their individual followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.

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The current reigning ruses:

1. Impostor customer care: Cybercrooks create fake customer service accounts, via slight keyboard tweaks (say, an extra underscore or character), to intercept messages tweeted to banks, e-commerce or video game producers and phish for log-in and financial account information. “The consumer poses a question to a support site and within minutes receives a response (from an impostor account) providing a link to a solution, which, of course, is also a fake,” notes Devin Redmond, vice president of social media security and compliance at Proofpoint. “The customer not only expects the response, he or she welcomes it and has incentive to follow the link.” If you choose to use social media customer care, be sure to look for the “verified” logo in all communications.

2. Live-stream lures: The bait is phony comments and promises of live video streams of popular events, such as a big football game or boxing match available only in certain markets or on pay-per-view. The hook? Links that lead to scammer-run websites, where there’s no sneak peek, only an attempt to get personal and credit card details, often under the guise of a fake free trial.

3. Fake freebies and discounts: Con artists set up legitimate-looking social media accounts that claim to offer free or dirt-cheap products and services. It’s easy pickings for swindlers to collect names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and other information that they can use for identity theft or to sell on the black market, along with credit cards “required” for shipping and handling charges.

4. Contest cons and survey swindles: In this oldie but goodie, fraudsters post promises of a prize for completing a survey, but the goal is to mine personal information. Crooks’ posts and links appear authentic with URL shorteners.

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5. Gossip gotchas: Search terms of celebrity names, coupled with terms such as “video” and “picture,” have long been among the internet’s most typed — and most dangerous for malware. The latest celeb-centric scheme: links that promise illicit videos of Hollywood elite, sports superstars and other household names. Along with malware, many phish for credit card info.

For information about other scams, sign up for the Fraud Watch Network. You’ll receive free email alerts with tips and resources to help you spot and avoid identity theft and fraud, and gain access to a network of experts, law enforcement and people in your community who will keep you up to date on the latest scams in your area.

Photo: JanWillemKunnen/iStock

Sellers Happy, But Home Buyers Are Frustrated

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016

The number of home buyers who say now is a good time to buy dipped to an all-time survey low in Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index. Meanwhile, home owners who say now is a good time to sell soared to an all-time survey high.

The disconnect in the market is likely partially due to the limited number of homes for sale in many markets, allowing sellers to face less competition and ask for higher home prices. On the other hand, home buyers are having fewer choices and stuck paying higher prices, sometimes in multiple-bid situations.

Indeed, “we can partially attribute the sizable gain in April in home selling optimism both to a correction for last month’s unexpected dip and to typical seasonal strength in housing activity in the spring and summer,” says Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Even after accounting for these factors, continued tight housing supply has led to renewed strength in home price appreciation, making selling a home a more attractive prospect this year in particular. This improved sentiment could provide an extra boost of much-needed supply for the spring selling season.”

Some highlights from Fannie Mae’s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index:

• 30% of Americans say now is a good time to purchase a home, a drop of 3 percentage points from the previous month and now at an all-time survey low.
• 15% of Americans say now is a good time to sell a home, now at an all-time survey high.
• More consumers think home prices will rise over the next 12 months compared to March, and slightly fewer consumers also expect mortgage rates to go up over the next year.
• The percentage of respondents who say they are not concerned with losing their job increased 6 percentage points to 74%, nearly a 7 percentage point decrease in March.
• The percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago held at 11%.

Source: Fannie Mae

Gain control of Your Money

Meet your money

Whether you want to understand your spending habits or you’re going through financial hardship, your relationship with money has a powerful influence on your everyday life. Take a closer look in order to set and attain meaningful goals.

The steps you’ll take

• Assess your financial habits with a quiz
• Identify your top values
• Reflect on your history with money
• See whether your spending aligns with your values
• Start a savings fund for something special

By the end of the program…

You’ll have a better understanding of your relationship with money, past and present. You’ll know if your spending matches up with what matters to you, and you’ll start putting money awa

https://lifereimagined.aarp.org/challenge/42005-money-and-you?cmp=EMC-MEM-051616-2QLRHR-AARPLR2016

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined: For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined (Single Family Homes)

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined: For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined (Single Family Homes)

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined

For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined: For Sale/Sold/Pended in All Sac. County areas combined (Single Family Homes)

The Key To a Happy Life

Authored by  Candy Sagon , AARP

The five ways you can make it happen for you

When you’re in your 20s and just starting out, money and fame may seem the key to a happy life. But as you age, that viewpoint changes considerably. The real secret, according to a Harvard study that’s been going on since the 1930s, has nothing to do with your bank account or your career.

“The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period,” the study’s current director, Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said in a recent TED Talk that’s been viewed more than 7 million times.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been going on since 1938, when it began tracking 724 men. One group were sophomores at Harvard when the study began; a second group lived in Boston’s poorest neighborhoods, many in tenements. About 60 of the original 724 are still alive, most in their 90s, still participating in the study.

At the outset of the research, the men (who were then teenagers) were interviewed and given medical exams. Through the years, they went on to become “factory workers and lawyers and bricklayers and doctors,” says Waldinger. One of the Harvard students, John F. Kennedy, became president of the United States.

The study continues today. Every two years, the men are contacted by researchers to answer questions about their lives, as well as have brain scans and blood tests. Waldinger, who is the study’s fourth director, recently expanded the scope to include the wives and children, including videotaping couples in their homes and asking them about nearly every facet of their lives, “even day-to-day spats,” reported the New York Times.

Over the years, the study has revealed that the single most important thing you can do to age well physically is to avoid smoking; that aging liberals had longer and more active sex lives than conservatives; that alcohol was the primary cause of divorce among men in the study, and that alcohol abuse often preceded depression, not the other way around, the Times noted.

The research doesn’t prove that happier relationships cause better health. It could be that those who are happier and healthier are more likely to make and maintain satisfying relationships, while those struggling with health problems are more likely to become isolated and depressed.

Keep making friends after you retire. Those who were the happiest in retirement were the people who had actively worked to replace workplace friends and colleagues with new friends.-

Still, researchers are confident that strong social bonds play an important role in protecting our long-term physical and mental health. Here are some of the lessons

Waldinger said they have learned:

Keep making friends after you retire. Those who were the happiest in retirement were the people who had actively worked to replace workplace friends and colleagues with new friends.

Social connections are really good for us, and loneliness kills. “People who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected,” Waldinger said. People who are more isolated are less happy and have shorter lives.

It’s the quality of your close relationships that matters. “High-conflict marriages, for example, without much affection, turn out to be very bad for our health, perhaps worse than getting divorced,” he said. Having good, warm relationships was protective of our health.

Those most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80. For example, happily partnered people who suffered from physical pain were able to still keep their happy mood; those in an unhappy relationship reported their emotional pain magnified their physical pain.

A secure relationship helps your brain. Those in relationships where they felt they could count on the other person in time of need had memories that stayed sharper longer. Even the octogenarian couples who bickered daily remained sharp “as long as they felt that they could really count on the other onewhen the going got tough,” said Waldinger.

Avoid the Summer Learning Slide

With summer vacation coming up fast, it's time to start planning how to counteract the "summer slide" and foster a love for learning that lasts a lifetime. Here are a few activity ideas you can use with your kids to keep them engaged when school is not in session: Multipurpose toys like blocks, art supplies, dress-up clothes, stuffed animals and action figures help capitalize on natural imagination and the joy of discovery. It sounds counterintuitive, but when it comes to kids and toys, less is more. Consistent access to reading material, from books and magazines to newspapers, can increase kids' motivation to read—which positively affects everything from fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to self-esteem. Take advantage of your local library's summer reading programs, and check out the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, which has resources for parents as well as entertaining ways for kids to digest those books. Plant a summer garden and enjoy growing flowers, herbs and veggies together. Not only will your kids learn about botany, they'll develop other skills like the patience, scheduling and discipline required each day for proper plant watering and care. You don't need access to acres of farmland; container gardening is inexpensive and suitable for smaller kids (or spaces). Check out KidsGardening.org for lots of tips, lesson plans and other great gardening ideas. Get cookin'. If you plant a small vegetable or herb garden, reap what you sow. Invite your kids to select recipes using home-grown ingredients and contribute to mealtime. You'll sharpen math and science skills at the same time. Road trip games can be fun for parents and kids alike on long drives. And there's no reason learning can't be included. For example, take turns using the letters of license plates to form a complete sentence, like a license plate with the letters BDA could be "Bill drives around," or "Big dogs ate." Check out other great travel game ideas from Edmundsand BuzzFeed. And here are 74 more ways to chill that summertime brain drain, and keep your kids learning ... and loving it! Sources: Parents.com, PBS Parents

Resume Trips and Traps

These days, hiring managers often anticipate hundreds of resumes for a single job opening. According to one eye-tracking study, they only spend about six seconds before making their initial "fit/no fit" decision. If you or someone you know is about to enter the job market, here are some resume tips to keep in mind: Boring objectives are worse than no objective. If you decide to include an objective, be compelling. Instead of writing, "To obtain a marketing position," try something like, "10-year electronic marketing veteran with proven online consumer conversion rate seeks to share her success with a thriving mission-driven company." Photos are better suited for online profiles not resumes. Photos can distract hiring managers, shaving valuable time from viewing an applicant's qualifications. Vague or generic responsibilities in your job experience listings don't establish credibility. Be specific. List actual sales volumes or increases, number of clients served, awards, software programs used or regulations with which you complied. If you trained others, what did you train them on? If you led a team, how many team members were there and were you responsible for scheduling, work assignments, performance reviews or other things? Be cognizant of spacing and layout, as type size, density of text and formatting all matter. If the page looks like it's difficult to read at a glance, it might be set aside. Unprofessional email addresses like "HarleyMan@" or "bling4me@" are all in good fun, but they may turn off perspective employers. Instead, create a new, more professional email address for your job search. Sending the same resume to every potential employer, without customizing a few specifics, could cost you. Employers are more apt to hire those who put some thought into how well they fit the company and the job. Adjust your resume for each job posting to highlight specific skills and experiences asked for. Typos are bad no matter what job you're after. They demonstrate lack of professional care or attention to detail. Whenever you make a change or revision to your resume, make sure someone else does a careful proofread for you. Sources: Inc., Business Insider, U.S. News & World Report

Your Window of Opportunity Is Open

If you've been thinking about refinancing or buying a home, now may be the time to move on it. Rising home prices are being offset by home loan rates that remain near historic lows.

Home Prices on the Up and Up
Home prices, including distressed sales, rose by 6.8 percent from February 2015 to February 2016, according to housing data analytics firm CoreLogic. Month-over-month prices also were up 1.1 percent from January to February. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, said this trend will continue, noting the "economic forces" of lower home loan rates and strong job creation will support the 5.2 percent home price increase CoreLogic projected for 2016.

Loan Rates Hovered Near Historic Lows in April
While home prices continue to rise throughout much of the country, homebuyers are benefitting from attractive home loan rates. In fact, monthly payments have been tempered by home loan rates hovering near historic lows.

Home loan rates can improve when there is mixed or weak economic data, as well as uncertainty overseas like the recent global economic slowdown. That's because these factors typically cause investors to move their money into "safer" investments like Bonds, and home loan rates are tied to Mortgage Bonds. When Mortgage Bonds improve, so do home loan rates.

However, strong job growth in the first part of this year signals continued improvement in our economy. If other economic indicators gain traction and also show improvement, investors could move their money from Bonds and into Stocks, to take advantage of gains. Though many factors impact the markets, strong economic news could cause home loan rates to increase.

Finding the Home of Your Dreams
As the spring buying season continues to heat up, more families may be rushing to cash in on historically low home loan rates. That means finding the right property—and landing it—may be a mad dash for limited inventory. March Existing Home Sales were up 1.5 percent from a year ago, and March Existing Home Sales jumped 5.1 percent from February's sharp decline to an annual rate of 5.33 million units. While sales are good, the National Association of REALTORS^® reported that March's existing housing inventory showed 4.5 months' worth of supply; a six-month supply is viewed as normal.

Housing Starts, which measures the number of residential units on which construction has begun, also were up in March over a year ago by 14.2 percent. Building Permits, which are a sign of future construction, declined 7.7 percent from February to March 2016, hitting a 12-month low of 1.09 million units.

If you are in the market for a home, or if you're considering a refinance, home loan rates remain in historically low territory. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about rates, home loan products or refinancing.


From:  You Magazine