Julie Chang Real Estate

04/23/2024

Lol while I have twitter posts that have gone more viral - this is the one that has me mentioned in People Magazine

https://people.com/chris-pratt-and-katherine-schwarzenegger-face-backlash-for-demolishing-historic-home-8636926

02/07/2024

BEFORE you file your TAXES- READ THIS!
If you want to read more including what happens if you are paid in bonus or stock comp- read the details in this post!

https://juliechang.substack.com/p/yes-you-can-get-mortgages-when-self

If you are self employed- please read this post IF you want to buy a house this year, get a mortgage

I'm tired of reading the posts of if you make 500k but are self employed, its harder to get a mortgage than someone making 50k

First off, please think about how ridiculous your post sounds.

You SHOULD have a lot more in savings than someone making 50k and should be able to qualify to buy a lot more house.

Everyone qualifies on Debt to Income ratio. 50% DTI assuming you have no other debt

50k = $4,166 /month. 50% = $2083 you can contribute to housing

500k= $41,667 / month. 50%= $20,833 you can contribute to housing

OH BUT 500k person wrote off almost ALL your income so now you look poor to the IRS

Ok, so which is it? Are you poor, a bad business person who makes no money, OR do you have lotsa money and therefore GSEs aka Fannie/Freddie should loan you $1M?

Still here? Ok, so ya still want to buy a house- keep reading

So here's the short answers

YES you can get a mortgage. Guess how many of us in Real Estate are self employed and own property?

A LOT of US!

Yes you have to show income!
Yes you have to share your financials
No the mortgage rate does NOT have to be higher
No the mortgage doesn't take forever to close

Red flags:
Every loan officer/ lender should be able to do these loans. There are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines which govern and specifically allows for Self Employed Borrowers and Retiree Borrowers.

So if they say they don’t know how, don’t do them, or do not do them commonly, RUN!

If you get a No before the loan officer as fully reviewed all of your financials, tax returns, etc. Move and call other Lenders

If the loan officer is NOT responsive or is taking too long. In most scenarios, Young says he can review a Borrowers documentation within the calendar day. In more complex or challenging scenarios where he needs to run it by an underwriter it can be 1-3 business days depending on how complex the scenario

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

FAQs & demystifying mortgages

03/21/2023

Finding a good contractor for improvements or repairs on your home often times feels like trying to find a diamond in a pile of rocks. Here are some tips on how to hire a contractor that will get the job done, hopefully on budget

https://open.substack.com/pub/juliechang/p/hiring-contractors-to-remodelbuild?r=uiuah&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

Here are some tips I’ve learned working with contractors: Ask for referrals & when they last used them. Then go read their online reviews. I’ve gotten so many referrals with horrible reviews which makes me think they used them a long time ago and they don’t have the same crew

03/07/2023

I'm now writing about San Diego Real Estate- everything from 101 topics, market updates to content for investors buying & selling units in San Diego.

A hot topic is rates and Seller Financing has been a buzz word. I spoke with a Real Estate attorney about this.

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

We had a short reprieve in early Feb after the Fed hiked the Fed Funds rate another .25 where we saw the 10 year Treasury fall and subsequently mortgage rates dipped below 6% for the first time since September. Outside of a couple of days to capture those rates, mortgage rates have been steadily cli...

02/02/2023

The Fed yesterday hiked another .25 on the Fed Funds rate. Just a reminder the Fed does not set long term treasury rates nor mortgage rates. The 30 year most closely tracks with the 10 year treasury due to its similar duration.

Today the yield curve inverted further as 30 year mortgage rates dropped below 6% for the first time since last fall. When you read about rates, note that many rates quoted online are NOT at par (they contain points), they may have asset requirements at the retail bank, may have overlays that are in addition to Fannie guidelines like lower LTV, lower max DTI, credit over 740, x months of reserves. Also rates vary for conventional, high balance, jumbo, VA & FHA for 30 year fixed loans.

I spoke with Andrea Riquier for Realtor.com recently about what is happening in the Buyer market. I was quoted talking about FOMO. In the past 3 years there were Buyers caught up in the FOMO and often competed heavily, went way over ask & comps, really extended themselves by maxing out on DTI, liquidating stocks & cash to buy. Now we’re seeing the opposite sentiment in the FOMO- fear of missing out on prices falling extensively

A lot of buyers want to know whether now is a good time to buy. There is no single answer for this. As your fiduciary my role is to provide data & work with you through the pros & cons as well as consideration points. I will also refer you to great lenders who can help you analyze the math of buying vs waiting factoring in rent costs. Time horizon is a major consideration as is job stability. Then there’s the intangible factors of lifestyle & wanting to get on with enjoying life - not everyone is optimizing their life for the best financials. Ultimately if this is your primary home, this purchase is not an investment.

With the really low number of Active listings, now is a great time to sell. To further help Buyers with the current rate environment, we can talk about a 2-1 buydown that you can contribute to or pay for that will be more cost effective than a price reduction.

Please call me to discuss market conditions in your specific area.

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/the-massive-mistake-homebuyers-may-be-tempted-to-make-right-now-is-this-you-too/

12/07/2022

Thinking of selling your home this upcoming spring selling season? 1st, the spring season starts early, activity picks up starting late Jan/early Feb. The market actually slows when school is out, summer vacations happen, so now is the time to start prepping your home for sale.

Before you undertake any expensive updates/remodels, please call me. Market conditions are ever changing with prices and rates so big ticket investments should be carefully evaluated for cost, timing and issues that may arise.

Please call to discuss selling your home if you're wanting to get your home on the market for spring 2023!

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

10/06/2022

A thread on Low HOA fees

https://twitter.com/juliechangre/status/1577049286998491136?s=46&t=8pc6td_m72HA_fDEAWscwQ

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

09/27/2022

If you’re selling your house right now, yes the total number of listings may be low, but look at the math for why more & more buyers are priced out.

Buyers have to qualify on DTI + 📉 stock market = losing cash they can use to buy.

Offer to buy points or 2/1 buy down which is far more initial payment effective for the Buyer and cost effective for you as the Seller vs lowering the sales price. This doesn’t help the Buyer with DTI but for the Buyers who do qualify, this is would be appealing.

If you’re in San Diego County and want to learn more about strategies I can help you with selling your home, please call me to discuss.

Follow me on Twitter where I write frequently on real estate topics. https://twitter.com/juliechangre

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

08/19/2022

I spoke with Forbes this week about what I'm seeing in the San Diego housing marketing. For the first time since covid the housing market has cooled in recent months and buyers have a bit of breathing room in their search. Some houses are still selling well, so still a great time to sell. As the Fed continues their QT, we'll have to see what happens with the yield curve and mortgage rates.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/home-prices-could-drop-with-rates/

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

Rates for home loans slipped lower this week as once-rising inflation came to a standstill, giving home shoppers a little financial relief from the sticker shock of record-high home prices this summer. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.13% for the week ending August 18, down from 5.

08/04/2022

July housing market data for San Diego County. Seeing slight price ⬇️ in July sold data. Pristine/updated or unique properties are still selling well. Inventory has tripled from low in Dec/Jan - some of that may be seasonal but still very low inventory. Median Days on MLS was 14 in July vs the low in Apr with 8 DOMLS

Remember that when you hear about home inventory, it is months of inventory, so this reflects both supply side (number of Active homes for sale) and demand (how many Close as Sold). Only 3100 Active Detached & 1393 Attached/ Townhome/ Rowhome as of this post



Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

04/29/2022

If you're buying a tenant occupied property or allowing a seller to stay in possession (rent back), please note an eviction moratorium passed in the City of San Diego

Julie Chang, Realtor® DRE #01978767
Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty
619.292.8881 | [email protected]

03/04/2022

Mortgage rates courtesy of Matt Young Loans - San Diego; Certified Mortgage Loan Advisor from last Friday and today. Good news is rates have moved lower, but this means the buyers market will continue to be very competitive as buyers regain some purchasing power.

Just a reminder the Fed does NOT set long term rates. They set only 1 rate, the Fed Funds rate. Mortgage rates are impacted by how long term Treasuries trade (10 year Treasury).

Rates recently had been moving sharply higher due to inflation numbers. They have moved lower this past week due to the war. Mortgage rates are impacted by a variety of events including Fed/Treasury actions on QE/QT/MBS purchases, inflation, economy outlook/sentiment, stock market, war/political, employment figures.

JULIE CHANG, REALTOR ®, DRE #01978767
PACIFIC SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
619.292.8881 | [email protected] | www.sir.