Check Your Credit Report to Avoid Mortgage Fraud

Homeowners who have equity in their homes are advised to check their credit reports to avoid criminals from carrying out mortgage fraud to tap into their home’s equity.  Check out this information below describing this problem and providing suggestions to avoid this from happening to you.

Thieves Tap Into Home Equity

by Bob Tedeschi

provided by the New York Times

Homeowners who have significant equity in their homes may be well-advised to check their credit reports frequently.

That is one conclusion of a recent report from the Identity Theft Assistance Center, a nonprofit industry group, which said that identity thieves had recently begun making targets of individuals with good credit because such people often have substantial untapped home equity.

A home equity line of credit is an ideal vehicle for criminals, according to Steve Bartlett, chief executive of the Financial Services Roundtable, a consortium of banking-related companies that offers financial support to the Identity Theft Assistance Center.

Mr. Bartlett said such credit lines are typically “big pools of money,” and if consumers do not regularly check their accounts, that pool can drain quickly.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual mortgage fraud report, which was released in April, cited home equity credit fraud as an “emerging scheme” in the slumping real estate and mortgage market.

Those with poor credit have been preyed upon by identity thieves in recent years, because thieves who pretend to be such owners could easily obtain mortgages from subprime lenders with little documentation.

Now that lenders have vastly tightened their lending criteria, criminals who specialize in mortgage fraud have little choice but to move upstream and seek out victims with good credit.

Home equity lines are a favorite option because they are almost as easy to open as a credit card account, as long as a criminal has the proper financial information.

In a typical scheme, the F.B.I. said, perpetrators pose as homeowners to establish home equity credit accounts online.

Criminals will then often send a fax to the bank requesting a wire transfer of funds to a different account. To verify the request, the bank unknowingly calls the perpetrator.

The F.B.I. does not break out various types of mortgage fraud by state, but in general, mortgage fraud is a bigger problem in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut than in many other states. New York is among the 10 states with the highest rate of mortgage fraud, while New Jersey and Connecticut rank in the top 20.

Mr. Bartlett, of the Financial Services Roundtable, said the region was a logical choice for mortgage fraud because of the relatively high value of homes there and the relatively high income of the residents.

Victims of such schemes are typically reimbursed by the lender if a bank investigation confirms fraud, Mr. Bartlett said. But lawyers who represent victims of identity theft said such remedies do not often come quickly or easily.

One way for a homeowner to determine if someone has created an equity credit line is to enroll in an identity fraud detection service like one offered by the Identity Theft Action Center, called ITAC Sentinel.

That service, which costs $10 to $18 monthly, will alert subscribers to credit inquiries or changes to an account.

Mr. Bartlett said that Identity Theft Action Center, a nonprofit organization, earns nothing on the service.

Services like ITAC Sentinel can also provide alerts to debt unrelated to home equity, like credit card accounts recently open in the subscriber’s name.

The major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — offer competing credit monitoring services. And a check of a credit report would also reveal a debt to a bank unknown to the homeowner or a debt to an existing bank that has suddenly grown larger.

CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty
wwwCarolPerdew.com
(209) 239-7979

 

Banks Bid to Modify Home Loans

You could save your home Friday
Banks in Manteca in bid to see if they can modify loans on foreclosures

Dennis Wyatt
Manteca Bulletin
Managing Editor
     

There is a chance that a number of homeowners on the verge of losing their homes to foreclosure could walk away from the Manteca Senior Center on Friday cutting deals with lenders that makes it possible to stay put.

Five lenders – Countrywide, Indy Mac, Wells Fargo, Chase, and Washington Mutual – will have representatives on hand with many authorized to make loan modifications on the spot if they have all of the appropriate information from borrowers. For those who don’t have a loan through one of those five lenders, representatives of five different housing counseling firms that have HUD approval will serve as advocates.

“It means a lot to a lender when they get a call from someone that’s HUD approved,” said Ana Rocha, a Manteca Redevelopment Agency representative.

It’s all part of the grassroots non-profit No Homeowner Left Behind effort that has conducted nine similar efforts in the Northern San Joaquin Valley during the past year that have helped hundreds of families save their homes some times the same day of the workshop.

The Manteca gathering is this Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Manteca Senior Center, 295 Cherry Lane. If you can’t make it Friday, there is also one Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Stanislaus Agricultural Center at 3800 Capricornia.

Edward Parcaut – a certified mortgage planner with SourceOne Financial in Modesto who is among the moving forces behind the effort to give homeowners in distress free help that arms them with knowledge and connections necessary to have a solid chance at saving their homes – noted that the chances of getting a resolution has improved significantly in recent months.

“A lot more banks are willing to take steps and modify loans upfront,” Parcaut said. “It saves them a lot more money.”

It’s based on the new reality of home loan math. For example, if a loan is outstanding for $477,000 a bank now realizes if it foreclosures on a home it can only get $277,000. It costs as much as $57,000 in additional costs to foreclosure. The bank looks at that, considers loan modification and is able to reduce their losses upfront.

There is no guarantee that a home can be saved on the spot, but the organizers say it happens every time – or within weeks of the workshop.

As for those that can’t save their homes as a bank may decide against loan modification based on financials and income, organizer Dori Beck noted, “we can work to make sure they leave their homes with the same dignity they had when they moved in.”

Those attending need to bring their loan information and documents, pay stubs for the past month, and current mortgage payment.

“There’s a huge chance it (a loan modification) can happen,” Parcaut said of those who attend the workshop.

The Federal Reserve is helping publicize the Manteca workshop by sending notices all the way back to June 1 who got foreclosure notices in San Joaquin County.

Rocha said the City of Manteca is participating in the effort under the direction of the City Council that wants to do everything it can to help people keep their homes in Manteca.

It is also open to those who have bought homes as an investment.

Parcaut said banks have worked with those people as well adding that many of those homes have renters in them who will lose a place to stay if the bank forecloses.

At such gatherings in the past, some homeowners have been successful with negotiating with bank representatives on the spot to secure 30-year fixed rate loans that have kept them in their homes,

Organizers have cautioned that not all banks are working to that degree. They also warned that some people might simply not be in a position to be helped based on the determination of the bank to get a streamlined loan at a reduced rate. The climate today has vastly improved compared to six months ago when banks were struggling to figure out what to do.

There are over 1,200 homes in Manteca property in various stages of foreclosure. Either the bank have repossessed them, they are in escrow to be transferred to another buyer, are in the final stages of having their home reposed or have just missed their first payment.

There is a serious concern about whether the market can continue to absorb foreclosures.

That is why some banks – but not all – are now working with those caught up in the foreclosure process.

For more information contact the Manteca Redevelopment Agency at 239-8427.  

 
CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty
(209) 239-7979
www.CentralValleyHomes.com

 

Volunteers Gut Habitat for Humanity Home

Habitat House Update Volunteers gut South Street house and start over.  Written by Aaron Rognstad

Tracy Press

Mike Murray puts in new wood for the windows as crews work on the next Habitat for Humanity house on South Street Saturday morning. When all else fails, start over. Habitat for Humanity volunteers are doing just that to a 107-year-old South Street house. Instead of tearing down the entire structure to the foundation, a diligent group of citizens has gutted the house to rebuild everything but the frame. After finding toxic mold in the house in late June, the volunteers had a month-long delay before city planners determined to gut everything but the frame and start over. Since late last year, Habitat for Humanity has worked to get a home for a Tracy family of five who are living in a rat- and cockroach-infested home, complete with no air conditioning or heat and a septic tank that overflows. Pablo Juarez gets some help from Alex Olson as they work on plates for the foundation on the new garage and back room for the new Habitat for Humanity house.   Volunteers now hope to have the house on South Street ready for the Avalos family by the first of December. Volunteer Betsy Hite said she’s going to volunteer as much as possible on the weekends to see the project through.   “We’ve been at this for over a year,” she said. “If we just had a little more manpower, we’d get a bit more accomplished.” Betsy stressed the need for volunteers skilled in the construction trades to help. Crews removed the wood interior and siding, which had mold, on the next Habitat for Humanity home.   Covered in dirt and sweat, her husband, Larry Hite, said he felt confident the group could have the house done by the Dec. 1 deadline, with the siding on the house up within the next month.  “I really enjoy giving back to the community, and I’ve always liked construction work,” Larry said. “Everybody comes out and has a good time and people get to learn stuff about construction, especially kids like Alex over there.” Twelve-year-old Alex Olsen, an eighth-grader at Williams Middle School, could’ve been playing baseball or video games like other middle-schoolers on the weekends, but instead he was helping out at a construction site Saturay. He said that as long as he keeps his grades up, he’ll keep helping. Crews work on finishing the next Habitat for Humanity home. “It’s really fun; I like helping other people,” he said smiling. “I’ve been in their (the Avalos’) situation.” Alex said he wants to make flyers and put them up at his school to try to recruit people to the construction site. Habitat for Humanity especially needs skilled electricians, plumbers, heating and air-conditioning technicians and painters. For information: 740-7211.

CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty

(209) 239-7979
wwwCentralValleyHomes.com

UPCOMING FORECLOSURES MAY BE ON THE RISE

Housing Lenders Fear Bigger Wave of

Loan Defaults

by Vikas Bajaj
provided by The New York Times

The first wave of Americans to default on their home mortgages appears to be cresting, but a second, far larger one is quickly building.

Homeowners with good credit are falling behind on their payments in growing numbers, even as the problems with mortgages made to people with weak, or subprime, credit are showing their first, tentative signs of leveling off after two years of spiraling defaults.

The percentage of mortgages in arrears in the category of loans one rung above subprime, so-called alternative-A mortgages, quadrupled to 12 percent in April from a year earlier. Delinquencies among prime loans, which account for most
of the $12 trillion market, doubled to 2.7 percent in that time.

The mortgage troubles have been exacerbated by an economy that is still struggling. Reports last week showed another drop in home prices, slower-than-expected economic growth and a huge loss at General Motors. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in July climbed to a four-year high.

While it is difficult to draw precise parallels among various segments of the mortgage market, the arc of the crisis in subprime loans suggests that the problems in the broader market may not peak for another year or two, analysts said.

Defaults are likely to accelerate because many homeowners’ monthly payments are rising rapidly. The higher bills come as home prices continue to decline and banks tighten their lending standards, making it harder for people to refinance loans or sell their homes. Of particular concern are “alt-A” loans, many of which were made to people with good credit scores without proof of their income or assets.

“Subprime was the tip of the iceberg,” said Thomas H. Atteberry, president of First Pacific Advisors, a investment firm in Los Angeles that trades mortgage securities. “Prime will be far bigger in its impact.”

In a conference call with analysts last month, James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, said he expected losses on prime loans at his bank to triple in the coming months and described the outlook for them as “terrible.”

Delinquencies on mortgages tend to peak three to five years after loans are made, said Mark Fleming, the chief economist at First American CoreLogic, a research firm. Not surprisingly, subprime loans from 2005 appear closer to the end of defaults than those made in 2007, for which default rates continue to rise steeply.

“We will hit those points in a few years, and that will help in many ways,” Mr. Fleming said, referring to the loans made later in the housing boom. “We just have to survive through this part of the cycle.”

Data on securities backed by subprime mortgages show that 8.41 percent of loans from 2005 were delinquent by 90 days or more or in foreclosure in June, up from 8.35 percent in May, according to CreditSights, a research firm with offices in New York and London. By contrast, 16.6 percent of 2007 loans were troubled in June, up from 15.8 percent.

Some of that reflects basic math. Over the years, some loans will be paid off as homeowners sell or refinance, and some homes will be foreclosed upon and sold. That reduces the number of loans from those earlier years that could default. Also, since the credit market seized up last year, lenders have become much more conservative and have stopped making most subprime loans and cut back on many other popular mortgages.

The resetting of rates on adjustable mortgages, which was a big fear of many analysts in 2006 and 2007, has become less problematic because the short-term interest rates to which many of those loans are tied have fallen significantly as the Federal Reserve has lowered rates. The recent federal tax rebates and efforts to modify more loans have also helped somewhat, analysts say.

What will sting borrowers more than rising interest rates, analysts say, is having to pay interest and principal every month after spending several years paying only interest or sometimes even less than that. Such loan terms were popular during the boom with alt-A and prime borrowers and appeared appealing while home prices were rising and interest rates were low.

But now, some borrowers could see their payments jump 50 percent or more, and they may not be able to sell their properties for as much as they owe.

Prime and alt-A borrowers typically had a five- or seven-year grace period before payments toward principal were required. By contrast, subprime loans had a two-to-three-year introductory period. That difference partly explains the lag in delinquencies between the two types of loans, said David Watts, an analyst with CreditSights.

“More delinquencies look like they are on the horizon because so few of them have reset,” Mr. Watts said about alt-A mortgages.

The wave of foreclosures is still rising in states like California, where many homeowners turned to creative mortgages during the boom. From April to June, mortgage companies filed 121,000 notices of default in California, up nearly 7 percent from the first quarter and more than twice as many as in the second quarter of 2007, according to DataQuick, a real estate data firm based in La Jolla, Calif. The firm said the median age of the loans increased to 26 months from 16 months a year earlier.

The mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which own or guarantee nearly half of all mortgages, are trying to stem that tide. Last week, they said they would pay more to the mortgage servicing companies that they hire to modify delinquent loans and avoid foreclosures.

Delinquencies in prime and alt-A loans are particularly challenging for banks because they hold more such loans on their books than they do subprime mortgages. Downey Financial, which owns a savings bank that operates in California and Arizona, recently reported that 11.2 percent of its loans were delinquent at the end of June, a big increase from the 6.1 percent that were past due at the end of last year.

The bank’s troubles stem from its $6.2 billion portfolio of so-called option adjustable-rate mortgages, which allow borrowers to pay less than the interest owed on their mortgage in the early years. The unpaid interest is added to the principal due on the loan, so over time borrowers can owe more than the initial loan amount. Eventually, when loans grow by 10 percent or 15 percent, the borrowers are required to start paying both the interest and principal due.

Many borrowers who got these loans during the boom had good credit scores, but many of them owe more than their homes are worth. Analysts believe that many will not be able to or want to make higher payments.

“The wave on the prime side has lagged the wave on the subprime side,” said Rod Dubitsky, head of asset-backed research at Credit Suisse. “The reset of option ARM loans is a big event that will drive the timing of delinquencies.”

 SEARCH FOR BANK OWNED HOMES AT: WWWCENTRALVALLLEY HOMES.COM

CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty
(209) 239-7979
www.CentralValleyHomes.com

News of Mortgage Giant Take Over Results in Lower Mortgage Rates

Big News broke the business world this week with the announcement of the U.S. taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage giants.  Since this news broke, mortgage rates have dropped into the upper 5% range for home loans.  Low interest rates and reduced home prices make it great to buy a home.  Go to CentralValleyHomes.com  for current interest rates.

Fannie, Freddie blind to the bubble
By Alan Zibel, AP Business Writer

Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac failed to anticipate scale of housing bust

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — despite their robust cadre of economists and mortgage experts — failed to heed warnings that the most dramatic housing bubble in U.S. history would burst.

The companies — particularly Freddie Mac — didn’t raise enough cash to reassure Wall Street that they would be able to withstand a severe downturn in U.S. home prices.

Federal regulators after scouring the companies’ books with aid from investment bank Morgan Stanley — believe the companies pushed accounting conventions when calculating their financial cushion against losses, a person briefed on the matter said Saturday. The person declined to be named because details of the government’s actions were not yet public.

As their losses started rising at alarming rates over the past year, investors gradually lost confidence, forcing the government’s historic takeover of the two companies, which could be announced as soon as Sunday and was expected to include the ouster of top executives.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in an interview Saturday that the companies’ financial picture was better than investors assumed, but “it just plainly became clear that elements of the market wouldn’t accept that.”

Investors have had reasons to feel jittery.

On Friday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said that more than 4 million American homeowners with a mortgage, a record 9 percent, were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June.

Also on Friday, Nevada regulators shut down Silver State Bank, the 11th failure this year of a federally insured bank. In July, regulators seized IndyMac, which had $19 billion in deposits. And earlier this year, the government orchestrated the takeover of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been in contact in recent weeks with foreign governments that hold billions of dollars of Fannie and Freddie debt to reassure them that the United States recognizes the importance of the two companies.

Nevertheless, the Bank of China said in late August that it cut back its portfolio of the Fannie and Freddie’s debt by about one quarter since the end of June.

Washington-based Fannie and McLean, Va.-based Freddie are the engines behind a complex process of buying, bundling and selling mortgages that remains a mystery to millions of Americans whose home loans pass through this system. Together Fannie and Freddie hold or guarantee about $5 trillion in mortgage debt — about half of the nation’s total.

They traditionally backed the safest loans, 30-year fixed rate mortgages that required a down payment of at least 20 percent. But in recent years, they lowered their standards dramatically, matching a decline fueled by Wall Street banks that backed the now-defunct subprime lending industry.

Armando Falcon, who clashed frequently with the companies during his six years as Fannie and Freddie’s chief government regulator, said in an interview last month that the companies’ woes are similar to the downfall of other major corporate titans like Enron and WorldCom earlier this decade. “It boils down to a whole lot of greed and arrogance,” he said.

The companies, he said, took advantage of the perception on Wall Street that the government would stand behind them in a time of crisis, as is now the case.

With that implied government backing, the companies generated large profits for years, but ultimately took on too much risk, causing investors to lose faith in their ability to navigate the historic housing bust.

Economists who long warned the housing boom could not last are baffled that the companies were not better prepared for what they saw as an inevitable downturn.

“How could you look at an enormous rise in prices and not think there was a potential for them to fall?” said Christopher Thornberg, a principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.

Another longtime proponent of the housing bubble concept is Dean Baker, co-director of the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. He recalls several occasions when he debated top Fannie and Freddie economists, who dismissed the idea that U.S. home prices could decline.

“Even if they didn’t want to listen to me, they should have at least thought this could be a possibility,” he said.

Plummeting home prices are the key to Fannie and Freddie’s troubles. As prices fall — as much as 25 percent over the past 12 months in Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles — the value of mortgages the companies hold on their books drops. That means Fannie and Freddie are recovering far less money through foreclosure sales.

While a government intervention had been expected for weeks, its timing came as a surprise.

The companies had been able to raise money through regular debt sales, but analysts say the Treasury Department likely grew concerned that foreign investors were pulling back.

“The main goal is to inject confidence into the foreign debt markets to ensure that the flow of capital to the mortgage market continues,” said Howard Glaser, a Washington-based mortgage industry consultant who has worked for both Fannie and Freddie.

Freddie Mac in particular has had investors and analysts fearful for months. The company, led by CEO Richard Syron, promised to raise $5.5 billion earlier this year to shore up its finances, but failed to do so, and its sinking share price has since made it all but impossible for the company to raise that money from private investors.

Fannie Mae executives are likely to have resisted the proposed takeover because the company’s financial condition isn’t as dire as its sibling company, said Bert Ely, an Alexandria, Va.-based banking industry consultant.

But the government would still have to take over both companies, he said, to allow them to borrow money at the same rates.

“In order to level the playing field between the two companies, you’ve got to take over both of them,” said Ely, a longtime critic of the two companies.

Fannie Mae was created by the government in 1938, and was turned into a shareholder-owned company 30 years later. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 to provide competition for Fannie.

While Fannie and Freddie generally had higher standards for lenders than the subprime mortgage companies that started going belly-up at the end of 2006, the duo lowered their standards during the housing boom and bought securities linked to riskier loans.

Even as the subprime mortgage market collapsed, Fannie and Freddie kept backing risky so-called Alt-A loans, which were made to borrowers with solid credit but little proof of their incomes, or small or no down payments.

For Fannie and Freddie, these Alt-A loans made up roughly 10 percent of their portfolios but accounted for more than half of their credit losses in the second quarter. The souring loans were concentrated in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where speculation was rampant, prices soared and homeowners stretched to the financial limit to afford a home.

CAROL PERDEW
(209) 239-7979
www.CentralValleyHomes.com

 

Essential Questions for your Home Inspector

	Ten Important Questions to Ask Your Home Inspector
	Presented by U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development

 

 

1. What does your inspection cover? The inspector should ensure that their inspection and inspection report will meet all applicable requirements in your state if applicable and will comply with a well-recognized standard of practice and code of ethics. You should be able to request and see a copy of these items ahead of time and ask any questions you may have. If there are any areas you want to make sure are inspected, be sure to identify them upfront. 2. How long have you been practicing in the home inspection profession and how many inspections have you completed? The inspector should be able to provide his or her history in the profession and perhaps even a few names as referrals. Newer inspectors can be very qualified, and many work with a partner or have access to more experienced inspectors to assist them in the inspection. 3. Are you specifically experienced in residential inspection? Related experience in construction or engineering is helpful, but is no substitute for training and experience in the unique discipline of home inspection. If the inspection is for a commercial property, then this should be asked about as well. 4. Do you offer to do repairs or improvements based on the inspection? Some inspector associations and state regulations allow the inspector to perform repair work on problems uncovered in the inspection. Other associations and regulations strictly forbid this as a conflict of interest. 5. How long will the inspection take? The average on-site inspection time for a single inspector is two to three hours for a typical single-family house; anything significantly less may not be enough time to perform a thorough inspection. Additional inspectors may be brought in for very large properties and buildings. 6. How much will it cost? Costs vary dramatically, depending on the region, size and age of the house, scope of services and other factors. A typical range might be $300-$500, but consider the value of the home inspection in terms of the investment being made. Cost does not necessarily reflect quality. HUD Does not regulate home inspection fees. 7. What type of inspection report do you provide and how long will it take to receive the report? Ask to see samples and determine whether or not you can understand the inspector’s reporting style and if the time parameters fulfill your needs. Most inspectors provide their full report within 24 hours of the inspection. 8. Will I be able to attend the inspection? This is a valuable educational opportunity, and an inspector’s refusal to allow this should raise a red flag. Never pass up this opportunity to see your prospective home through the eyes of an expert. 9. Do you maintain membership in a professional home inspector association? There are many state and national associations for home inspectors. Request to see their membership ID, and perform whatever due diligence you deem appropriate. 10. Do you participate in continuing education programs to keep your expertise up to date? One can never know it all, and the inspector’s commitment to continuing education is a good measure of his or her professionalism and service to the consumer. This is especially important in cases where the home is much older or includes unique elements requiring additional or updated training.

 

CAROL PERDEW
Prudential California Realty
(209) 239-7979
wwwCentralValleyHomes.com

GOOD HOUSE HUNTING TIPS

House Hunting
Presented by Freddie Mac

 Once you know how much money you can borrow and have an estimate of your closing costs, you’ll know the price range you can afford. You might already have your “dream home” in mind. Perhaps you want to settle down in a particular neighborhood, or maybe you just need more space for your growing family.

Even if you know exactly what you’re looking for, the house hunting process can be overwhelming. It takes time.

The First Step – A Reality Check

It’s fun to look at houses. And this part of the process is very exciting, but don’t let your excitement rule the house-hunting process.

• Stick within your budget – don’t look at homes above what you can afford – even if it’s “just a little” more.
• Don’t let your heart rule over your head. You may fall in love with a property, but if it is beyond your means, it is not the right house for you.
• Be flexible. Don’t be disappointed if the houses in your price range differ from your dream. Buy the home you can afford rather than the home that “has it all.”
• Compare what you’d like to have with what you really need.

Some good house-hunting tips

• Take pictures inside and outside the home.
• Bring a spouse, family member, or friend.
• Make sure the house fits into your budget.
• Ask about utility and maintenance costs.
• Think of commuting time and costs.
• Consider your monthly budget – can you afford the renovations and maintenance that you’ll need to do?
• Don’t make a “spur-of-the-moment” decision.

Additional tips to make the house-hunting process easier

• Concentrate on a few neighborhoods. Decide what’s most important to you about the neighborhood you want. This can greatly narrow down your search.
• Find a real estate agent. They’ll have many more listings than you can find on your own.
• Compare homes. Make sure you know what you would get and what you would miss in each house before you make a decision.
  

  Thanks,
  CAROL PERDEW
  Prudential California Realty
  wwwCarolPerdew.com
  (209) 239-7979