Walking Trails at RiverbedThe Santa Maria Sun reports that local officials have secured an additional $6.7 million to repair the Santa Maria levee. Without repair, Santa Maria homeowners are faced with having to buy flood insurance. In its current state, the levee would not hold fast against a “once in a hundred years” severe flood and homes are at risk. This is great news as it brings santa Maria a step closer to repairing the levee and removing the threat of mandatory flood insurance on homeonwers. Flood insurance would greatly increase the cost of homeownership — edging monthly costs up as much as $160 at a time when budgets are already tight. Prior to securing these funds, I watched an interview with Mayor Lavagnino in which he speculated that the imposition of flood insurance might push even more homeowners in Santa Maria into foreclosure. Santa Maria has already been hard hit in by the housing boom and bust. If the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act is approved, the Army Core of Engineers will conduct the repair.
If you would like information or a list of available home foreclosures, condos, or short sales in the Santa Maria – Orcutt CA area, send an email to me at tni@mintprop.com. You can also search for properties on my websites: www.iLoveSantaMaria.com, www.SantaMariaRealEstateSearch.com, & www.BuySantaMariaForeclosures.com (map based search). If you have questions about a specific property, or would like to set up an appointment to consult about a possible short sale of your property, I can be reached at (805) 878-9879.
*Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. Neither the Association, the Multiple Listing Service, or Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
In July 2006, Mint Properties opened an office in the Mission Creek Plaza on Santa Maria Way. Tni’s stated aim is to offer the highest quality representation and professional service to her clients. Independence affords her the ability to avoid a volume driven approach; the result is prompt, reliable, individualized service coupled with straightforward advice. Indeed, she brings the same level of professionalism to real estate as she did to the law.
Wondering what the cheap foreclosure homes sell for in Santa Maria? Last month, the average foreclosure property in Santa Maria sold for $210,630, and for over its list price by nearly 2%. But, how much for the cheap ones you ask? There wer 30 homes that sold, and the cheapest was a 2 bedroom one bath fixer on West Mill which sold for $90,350. After that the cheapest foreclosure sold in Santa Maria was 3 bedroom one bath home on East Las Flores (near Hancock College) which sold for $109,900.*
Cash Offers. Banks love cash offers. Why? Because they can close quickly and without any requests for repairs from a buyer. What is the down side to a cash offer from a bank’s point of view? Cash offers tend to be lower than financed offers.