Flyer for my neighborhood 3-22-2013

March 22, 2013

Dear Neighbor,

I have some buyers that love this neighborhood and would like the opportunity to work out a deal with someone who may be interested in selling their home. Now may be a GREAT time to upgrade your own home as home prices have risen significantly over the last 5 months (USA Today, March 19, 2013, http://usat.ly/16FAJyy). Another consideration is that interest rates are still near their lowest levels!

I have a team of:
  1. Loan Modification Specialists,
  2. Short Sale Specialists,
  3. My team deals directly with bank owned properties if you are interested in upgrading.

I also have great contacts for legal and tax advice if you should need them.

If you are not in the market to buy or sell at this time, please keep my business card as I would like to assist you in the future. Also, if you happen to know anyone that may be thinking of selling their home, I would like to be of assistance to them as well.

If you are interested in the current value of your home, I can usually assist with a "Comparative Market Analysis" (CMA) within 24 hours, to give you an ideal of your property value under current market conditions. Please e-mail me at brettbystrom@gmail.com with the subject line - "CMA Request" and your property address.

Sincerely,
Brett Bystrom
Troop Real Estate, Inc.
DRE CA Lic. #01759918
Direct/Text: 805-338-6560
Fax: 801-843-4745
e-mail: brettbystrom@gmail.com
website: http://bbystrom.troop-moorpark.com

Real Estate Climate 3-19-2013 (NewsClip)

Have you been thinking about selling you home? Please read the following information. Many underwater homeowners are coming up for air The Fed reports that Americans have seen the equity in their homes jump nearly $500 billion in the last quarter of 2012 and $1.7 trillion since spring 2011. WASHINGTON — Home equity is back, and it's growing fast. According to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, Americans' net equity in their houses jumped nearly $500 billion during the last three months of 2012 and $1.7 trillion since spring 2011. What does this mean to you personally? Depending on where your home is, it could mean that finally — after years of struggling with an underwater mortgage, one that exceeds the value of the home — you are seeing the market value of your property rise into positive equity territory, or at least closer to the break-even mark. Zillow Real Estate Research estimates that nearly 2 million U.S. homeowners exited negative equity status during 2012 alone. It could also mean that should you wish to sell your house, you're now in a better position to do so. And if your home is in one of dozens of markets that are experiencing severe shortages of listings for sale combined with strong demand from buyers, this spring could bring you a higher price than at any time in the last seven years. Here's what the Fed found in its "flow of funds" study released March 7: • Thanks to recovering housing values, total home equity is now at its highest level — about $8.2 trillion — since the bust and is gaining rapidly. In 2012, it rose a stunning $1.2 trillion. • Outstanding mortgage debt continued to fall as owners paid down their balances and refinanced into smaller loans, taking advantage of unprecedented low mortgage rates. Foreclosures and principal forgiveness by lenders also have helped whittle away mortgage debt. Americans now owe about $1 trillion less on their homes than they did in 2008. Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia, an online real estate research and information company, said growing home equity has three key effects. First, owners feel wealthier and are more likely to spend some of that perceived wealth — even if it's illiquid in the form of real estate equity — on goods and services. Second, higher equity reduces the likelihood of mortgage defaults. People have a deeper financial stake in their properties and are less willing to risk loss through foreclosure. Fewer delinquencies, in turn, "mean less stress on the financial system," thereby reducing the probability of another banking crisis a la 2008-09, Kolko said in an interview. Finally, by encouraging owners to consider selling — either now or later in the cycle when prices could be even higher — growing equity holdings allow the real estate market to work better, with more transactions, more mobility for families, more new construction, more jobs and so on. Doug Duncan, chief economist for mortgage investor Fannie Mae, said the recent jump in equity "puts us back on track toward where we were prior to the crisis" and represents a "transition to normal" conditions in the housing market. Though there are markets where last year's double-digit price gains look bubbly and unsustainable to Duncan — notably in some of the inland cities of California — the increases in values elsewhere tend to be more modest and solid, simply making up for the declines experienced in the latter half of the last decade. One major market does concern him, however: Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Though the District of Columbia has seen significant year-to-year gains in prices recently, Duncan said prices could "flatten out" if the federal budget sequestration and cutbacks in government jobs and defense spending continue for an extended period. Despite the impressive increases in equity reported by the Fed, there's a sobering flip side: There are still millions of owners — nearly 14 million, according to Zillow — who have negative equity. They are often the folks who purchased at the wrong time — near the peak of their local markets from late 2005 through 2006 — or used mortgages that required little or no down payment to buy bigger houses than they could afford. In Miami and Phoenix, about 40% of owners have mortgage debt in excess of property value. In Tampa, Fla., it's 41.5%; Chicago, 37%; Seattle, 33.5%; Columbus, Ohio, 29%; San Diego and Washington, about 28%; and Los Angeles, 24%. The good news from the Fed for most of these owners: The odds are good that you are not as deep in negative territory today as you were 12 months ago.

My Background

A little bit about me.

I am a real estate professional with a strong background in mortgage banking.  I have been in the Real Estate and Mortgage industry since 1999.  I am currently working with Troop Real Estate and my office is in Moorpark, CA.  My service area for Homes for Sale is in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard and surrounding areas.

I was born in Inglewood, CA. I grew up in North Hollywood, moved to Simi Valley in 1983. I graduated from Simi Valley High School in 1988. I served a 2 year mission for my church and moved to Austin, TX for about 8 years. I fell in love with Texas BBQ. I LOVE Texas brisket and sausage... ribs aren't bad either. When I moved back to Southern California, I really began to miss Texas BBQ. I was married in 2002, and my wife and I have 4 beautiful children. (2 boys and 2 girls.) Anyway, my poor family ate a LOT of bad bbq while I struggled to learn how to smoke a brisket properly. I will be honest, it is a lot of work smoking a brisket for 18 hours, so my wife suggested that I try smoking a Tri-Tip. For those of you that don't know what Tri-tip is, don't worry, it's generally a West Coast "cut" of beef. So, knowing how great brisket was, and not wanting to cut corners, I was very reluctant to try smoking a tri-tip. But interestingly enough, after only a few tries, I found a recipe that I absolutely LOVE for smoking tri-tip. Super smokey, a nice medium rare, super juicy and very tender, and the best part... it only takes about 3 and 1/2 hours to smoke! Try doing that with a brisket! Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE brisket, but many people around here prefer my tri-tip, so you know what they say, "When in Rome..." Maybe one day I will post my tri-tip recipe.

I should also note that ALL information on this website is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  No legal or tax advice should be construed from any information on this website.  Many laws, rules, etc. are ever changing, and the date noted on the post should be taken under consideration when reading any information on this website (or any for that matter.)  Thank you, Brett Bystrom

Here is my contact information:

Brett Bystrom
Troop Real Estate, Inc.
DRE CA Lic. # 01759918
Direct/Text:  (805) 338-6560
Fax:  (801) 843-4745
e-mail:  brettbystrom@gmail.com
Website: http://bbystrom.troop-moorpark.com