South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog (530-318-5665)

As I scan the Internet for information on the current Real Estate Market – I am seeing more encouraging policy changes and proposals that encourage home buyers.  This bit of news was gleaned from the California Association of Realtors.

“The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Friday, January 15, that it is instituting a one-year moratorium on the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 90-day anti-flipping rule.

With certain exceptions, such as HUD-owned and bank-owned properties, FHA currently prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. However, beginning Feb. 1, buyers may use FHA-insured financing to purchase properties resold through private developers and investors, providing access to a broader array of recently foreclosed properties.

Under the temporary waiver, all transactions must be arm’s-length, and most properties will require additional documentation of improvements and justification of the price increase. Additional documentation may include a second appraisal and a property inspection ordered by the lender.

C.A.R. recently submitted a letter to FHA Commissioner David Stevens detailing the challenges facing many home buyers using FHA loans, such as the lack of housing inventory available to FHA buyers, and the need for this rule to be revised to reflect current market conditions. The reexamination of the 90-day anti-flipping rule was passed as an action item during C.A.R.’s board of directors meetings in October.”

Thank You C.A.R.

When I talk to people who live in Tahoe who are looking forward to moving away, I am amazed.  How can anyplace be better than Tahoe?  My whole family gets so excited when it snows and it is cold and travel is difficult and the snow builds up on the sides of the road and in the yard.  That means the skiing is good or even great.  I love living in Lake Tahoe, all year long.  From the winter skiing, springtime days warming up, long warm (not hot) days in summer and what about those spectacular autumn days.  That’s when  the bugs are dead  the trails aren’t dusty and certainly not crowded.   I took this photo on my phone on a wonderful ski day with my husband when other people were complaining about the hassle and mess of “all that snow”.

                                                    It was about 18 months ago that we  began offering property management services.  We were amazed at the amount of  positive feedback that addition generated.  In these times we are frequently asked by home owners  how they can hang on the their Lake Tahoe properties. Long term rentals are a good way to generate income that will supplement  the cost of ownership.  While it will not completely cover these costs, it sure helps.   For me personally, I only look for investment properties in an area that has a quality property manager because it makes all the difference in the ownership experience.  One of our clients puts it this way, “It seems like a dream come true to have someone else deal with the property”.

Because of this demand for local knowledge coupled with the need for quality, competent service we have expanded the property management division to include commercial and industrial properties.