Fremont Real Estate and Beyond

I mentioned earlier about PACE loans causing issues with home purchases being super liens. An announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will issue final guidance that will require Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) liens to be subordinate to FHA single-family first-mortgage financing: “C.A.R. provided input to HUD last week asking that PACE liens remain subordinate to FHA first mortgages, and we are pleased with HUD’s announced anticipated guidelines to do so,” said C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey. “In aligning with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) policy that prohibits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from buying mortgages or notes with PACE-type “super liens,” home buyers can more easily obtain FHA financing while supporting energy efficiency, and mortgage markets can remain secure.” PACE loans allow homeowners to build the costs for energy-efficiency upgrades, such as adding insulation and ins

County Sales & Price, July 2015

Speaking of solar panels, Google released Project Sunroof, which calculates how much energy your roof can produce if it had solar panels. Check it out! https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#

The City of Fremont, along with 3 other East Bay cities, is embarking upon implementation of SunShares, a community-wide solar bulk procurement program which we hope will make installation of residential solar both simple and more affordable than ever for homeowners. A similar program launched this spring on the Peninsula with almost 700 participants and is on track to install half a megawatt of solar in just 3 months! The East Bay SunShares program ( www.fremont.gov/sunshares ), will be available to both residents as well as anyone employed or doing business in Fremont but living elsewhere in the Bay Area. Program registration began August 3 and close mid-October, 2015 ( www.mygroupenergy.com/eastbaysunshares ). More info here-- http://www.fremont.gov/2295/East-Bay-SunShares

An interesting new twist in the home search.  It's currently a manual process by volunteers but will be automated. https://www.inman.com/2015/08/11/riley-magic-and-gobutler-bring-automated-assistants-to-real-estate/