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Kathy Benson REALTOR® (DRE License Number 01816090)
PMZ Real Estate
190 S. Maag Ave., Ste A
Oakdale,  CA  95361
209.848.5017
209.845.3927 
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Real estate contingencies make comeback
During the recession of the early 1980s, when mortgage interest rates hovered near 18 percent, few home buyers could qualify for financing, particularly if they already owned a home that needed to be sold before buying a replacement home. Offers made contingent on the sale of the buyers' current home were popular. Contingent-sale offers are increasing in the current housing market. Most buyers who want or need to make a move to a home that better suits their current lifestyle can't qualify to buy before selling their existing home due to stringent mortgage-qualifying criteria.
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Avoid house-rich, cash-poor pickle
DEAR BENNY: I am 58 years old and married. I have 22 years left on my 30-year mortgage, which is at 5 percent. I have a Roth IRA. I have some extra money to invest. In this current economy, what might you suggest? Should I pay money toward the principal on my mortgage? Put it in the Roth? I lost money in the stock market (bank stocks), so please don't suggest that I go back into stocks. Thanks in advance for any knowledge you might share. --Tommy
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Add power to purchase offer
Figuring out how much to offer on a home you'd like to make your own is never easy. A complicating factor is that although it appears that the housing market may be stabilizing, there is no guarantee that prices won't slip further.
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A simple guide to home seller disclosure
How would you like to find out after you've closed and moved into your new home that the basement is rat-infested? You call a local pest company and discover that the sellers hired the company to treat the house for rat intrusion.
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Should I Refinance?

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How Much Can I Afford?
Kathy Benson
REALTOR®
PMZ Real Estate
190 S. Maag Ave., Ste A
Oakdale,  CA  95361
209.848.5017
209.845.3927 
Contact Me
Visit My Web Site
Equal Housing Opportunity   
  
Seven rules for room additions
If you're happy with your home and your neighborhood but are craving a little more space, maybe adding on is a better alternative to moving out. Room additions can be a terrific alternative for many homes, adding space for a growing family and adding resale value at the same time. ...more
 
Pricing to sell in today's market
Putting yourself in the right mindset to sell is essential. It's the most difficult aspect of selling for most sellers. Your home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay, which may not be what you think it is worth. Detaching yourself emotionally from your home is difficult. Clearing out years of clutter, depersonalizing your home by removing personal memorabilia, and staging your home for sale can help you step back and view the home as a commodity that needs to be sold rather than as your personal sanctuary. Putting your home on the market at a price that reflects what you want and not what the market will bear can cost you time and money as it sits on the market unsold. ...more
 
Good Faith Estimate contains some 'quirks'
As of Jan. 1, 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required lenders to provide mortgage borrowers with a new three-page Good Faith Estimate (GFE) to protect consumers who are applying for a mortgage. ...more
 
Loan modification “blackmail”
DEAR BENNY: My wife and I received from our lender a repayment agreement for our original mortgage. This was a result of the bank initiating a foreclosure sale, which was temporarily suspended because we agreed to enter the Home Affordable Modification Program. ...more
 
Sellers face new dilemma in timing the market
Some sellers have been biding their time for three years and now wonder if they should continue to wait or bite the bullet and sell now. ...more
 
 
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