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Tournament Benefits Charities Golfers! Play a Top PGA Course Sign up now to play in the 2012 Southland Regional As- sociation of Realtors’ Charity Golf Classic presented by Point 2 Technologies. is year’s tournament will be held Monday, Aug. 13, at TPC Valencia, one of the 17 prestigious tournament players clubs owned and/or managed by the PGA Tour. It is a private, top- quality championship golf course heralded as one of the best in the country. anks to the gener- ous support of Point 2 and other sponsors, the cost per player is only $150. Sign up as a foursome and the cost is reduced to only $140 per player. A player registra- tion form is available on line at www.SRAR.com. Registration will open at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Proceeds from the event will be split between the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry and the first-time homebuyer grant program jointly funded by SRAR and the California Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Fund. e golf classic is the SRAR Charitable Foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year. Not only are registration fees or sponsor- ship dollars providing a great day of golf, but they are tax deduct- ible and help the local community. Not a golfer but want to try? en sign up for the exciting Rookie Package. Learn the basics of the golf swing, putting, and chipping in a fun, no-pressure group environment from one of TPC Valencia’s top teaching pros. Cost of the rookie package is $50, which includes snacks, beverages and dinner. e tournament usually sells out within a few weeks so don’t delay. Please note: reservations will not be held without full pay- ment. To qualify for the foursome discount, the names and pay- ment for all four golfers must be submitted. For more information, con- tact Karen Mar- ten at 818-947- 2254 or e-mail karenm@srar. com. Remember, registration and sponsorships are tax deductible. e SRAR Charitable Foun- dation is a 501c3 corporation. Sign up today! Equity Sales Return as Distressed Sales Fall Pending Sales Rise 13 Months By Wendy Silver-Hale, President, and David Walker Southland Regional Association of Realtors® For the fourth consecutive month, pending home sales — a guide to future activity and where the market is headed — posted double-digit gains throughout California. Local activity in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys con- firm numbers in a recent report from the California Association of Realtors. Pending sales during May in those two valleys rose 11.2 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively. Additionally, the share of distressed sales continued to decline from year-ago levels, signaling a return of non-investors to the housing market, along with a willingness by owners with equity to list their homes for sale. May marked the 13th consecutive month that pending sales statewide were higher than the previous year. “Despite a slowdown in economic growth in recent months, sales in California remain strong as record-low mortgage rates and favorable home prices continue to fuel demand for homes,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. “e strong results in pending sales – double-digit year-over-year gains in the last nine out of 10 months – suggest solid housing market performance for the state in the upcoming months.” Additionally, the share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – compared with total sales, improved further in May. e share of equity sales rose to 59.3 percent in May, up from 55.8 percent in April. For comparison, equity sales made up 51 percent of all sales in May 2011. Likewise, shares of REOs — Real Estate Owned property held by lenders — and short sales sold statewide decreased in May, with the share of REO sales dropping markedly from a year ago. e combined share of all distressed property sales fell to 40.7 percent in May, down from April’s 44.2 percent and from 49 percent in May 2011. e share of short sales declined in May to 19.4 percent, down from 20.6 percent in April and from 20.3 percent a year ago. Of the distressed properties, the share of REO sales declined further in May to 21 percent, down from 23.2 percent in April and 28.4 percent in May 2011. e Southland Regional Association of Realtors® is one of the largest local trade associations in the nation with more than 9,000 members serving the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT THE VOICE FOR REAL ESTATE IN THE SAN FERNANDO AND SANTA CLARITA VALLEYS www.SRAR.com | Real Estate Questions? E-mail Wendy Silver-Hale, SRAR 2012 President, c/o [email protected] Wendy Silver-Hale 2012 SRAR President Presenting Sponsor Point2 Technologies Ace Sponsor Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Eagle Sponsors Carlson Law Group CRES/HISCO Home Warranty Group One Legal, PC Spile, Leff & Goor, LLP SUPRA Birdie Sponsors City of Santa Clarita CRMLS KHTS - AM 1220 RealCare Insurance Marketing Snack & Beverage Dee Sign Company Escrow Technology La Rocca Inspections Logix, Inc. Nordhagen & Daughters Exterminating Co. The Box Pro Lunch Sponsor Loans by Lela — Lela Leong Registration includes: • Green fees with cart • BBQ lunch • Full dinner • On-course snacks and beverages • Tee gifts • All on-course contests • Awards and prizes FHA Revokes Controversial Credit Dispute Rule The Federal Housing Administration recently rescinded a rule that would have made it tougher for borrowers with credit disputes on their records to qualify for an FHA-backed mortgage. The recission was effective as of June 15. e rule had been widely criticized by the lending and real estate industry as shutting out too many potential borrowers from qualifying for a mortgage. e guideline would have required borrowers seeking a FHA-insured mortgage to pay credit disputes greater than $1,000 or set up a payment plan on any unpaid collection accounts. Twenty-five percent of builders questioned in a survey said the rule could have delayed or lost up to 60 percent of home sales, with the greatest impact on first-time borrowers with FICO scores under 700. Edward Mills, senior vice president at FBR Capital Markets, said: “is action shows how it can be incredibly difficult to make choices that move towards protecting the insurance fund over keeping mortgage credit available.” For questions, call the FHA Resource Center at 1-800-225-5342. Marlee Lauffer, second from right, senior vice president, marketing and communications, for Newhall Land, was the the keynote speaker at the recent breakfast meeting presented by the Governmental Af- fairs Committee of the Santa Clarita Valley Division of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. Lauffer detailed the history of Valencia and Newhall Land’s plans for the 12,000-acre Newhall Ranch. The master plan dates to 1965 and includes the communities of Landmark Village, Mission Village, Homestead, Potrero, Entrada, and Legacy Village. Pictured with Lauffer are, left to right: Wendy Silver- Hale, 2012 president of SRAR; Sarah Darabi, chair of the Governmental Affairs Commitee; Lauffer; and Erika Kauzlarich-Bird, president of SRAR’ Santa Clarita Valley Division. Photo by Nancy Starczyk. Consumer Red Alert — Never Pay in Advance! Mortgage Modification Fraud Up 60% Mortgage fraud reports have increased nationwide from 6,900 in 2003 to more than 93,500 in 2012, according to the Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion. And, the nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation report- ed the number of mortgage foreclosure scams has shot up 60 percent so far in 2012. In response to the growing fraud, Realtors are warning consumers they are at risk of being scammed by third parties who promise loan modifications for an up-front fee, which is illegal. Scammers are often articulate, handsome, slick people, with some scammers even posing as clergy. Never pay in advance! Scam foreclosure rescue companies or foreclosure assistance firms review foreclosure notices in newspapers, the Internet, and public files to identify potential victims. en they ask for money up-front and promise they can help homeowners keep their homes. Some are bold enough to offer a worthless money-back guarantee, yet they simply take the money, often leaving the homeowner in even more dire circumstances. Consumers should never pay up-front for services promised. Instead, get a referral to a free HUD-approved housing counselor for advice on loan modifications, short sales, and other alternatives for avoiding foreclosure by calling 888-995-4673 or on-line go to www.995hope.org/. In response to the growing fraud, the California Association of Realtors warns consumers they are at risk of being scammed. For fraud protection tips — in Eng- lish, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese — go online to www.car.org/aboutus/for- consumers/loanfraud/. Homeowners who have a home loan with one of the participat- ing lenders or servicers should visit their home loan assistance site or call using one of the following numbers: Ally/GMAC—800-766-4622; Bank of America—877-488-7814; Citi—866-272-4749; JPMorgan Chase — 866-372-6901; Wells Fargo—800-288-3212. Double-digit, year-over-year gains in pending sales suggest a solid housing market performance in the upcoming months
