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The Contractor must be qualified to bid & do the work for your FHA203K loan if you choose one. Just a few points so you know.
Remember the contractor must have an active general contractors license at the time he or she submits the bid (there are exceptions to this) .
Before you have the contractor bid for the work check to make sure that the contractor has the following:
1 Copy of his Contractors license card and print from the California State Contractors Licensing showing status of license
2 Copy of his bond insurance
3 Copy of his General Liability Insurance and possibly Errors and Omissions Insurance
4 Resume with 3 references
5 If the contractor has employees or sub-contractors, proof of workman’s comp insurance will be required and if sole proprietor and not covered under workman’s comp insurance the Liability insurance with$1million coverage
If the ONLY repair is electrical or plumbing repairs to be completed, the contractor must be licensed to perform these repairs or a separate bid from an electrical or plumbing contractor must be provided along with the 5 required items above.
Once you have the bids and have decided on which contractor you will be using, the contractor will fill out a Homeowner/Contractor Agreement and a W-9.
Every lending institution may have Additional requirements so check with your loan officer, mortgage broker or personal banker whatever they may be called these days.
Buy Buy Now 
Just like the picture above—A Duck Stuck in the Muck—Here is the latest in the saga of the Short Sale Woes here in the Lake Oroville Area Real Estate Market I am going to share with you.—Ready? Ok then here goes— I wrote an offer back in August of 2010. After much Ado–it just fell apart within the last week and my Buyers Cannot Purchase the Home as it turned out because the seller cannot sell the property.— It’s a Long Drawn Out Story that I am Not going to share all the details because it is of a personal nature but I will just say that if you are considering a Short Sale Purchase just Beware and Remember–Chances are it will be a Long Haul–things Can and Will happen that can mucky up your purchase through No Ones Fault really— just because things happen for a reason.— There are still some purchases that can be had at todays values (Even if they are Short Sales) just Be Prepared and Hang On and Don’t Spend Money on Your Appraisal Until You Have Approval from the Existing Lender/s that they Agree to the Short Sale but also Signed Acknowledgement from the Seller/s or Whomever is on the Existing Loan/s weather or not they are on Title but Remember they are still on the Existing Loan/s and need to acknowledge they received a copy of the letter of Short Sale Approval that will be addressed to them in that letter.
Happy New Year and Buy Buy Now
We have a once a month meeting at the Local Hof Brau on 5th Avenue, who serve GREAT Ham n Egg Muffin sandwiches by the way. Our guest speaker today was the new City Administrator, Harold Duffy. I believe the gentleman is a great addition to our city. He puts explanations in simple, orderly and ez to understand language when asked direct questions (I think that’s who we want in this kind of a position). I am excited about his enthusiasum and vision in making sure the city council gets the correct information on the issues and items before them so the council will have a clear vision of what they are voting on. So I say–Welcome to our city Mr. Harold Duffy.
ps–The Oroville Association of Realtors has an area to collect canned food for the Salvation Army–Please stop by the office located at 1835 Robinson Suite A and help those in need and their children by leaving a can of food for them–Thanx. —
Buy Buy Now.
Hi–I am Happy to announce that our office moving day is tomorrow.
We will be relocating to a lovely Spanish Mission Style Building that will make you want to look for the Swallows as if you were in San Juan Capistrano (in the picture here)–close to where I grew up.— Our new address will be:
2770 Olive Hwy Suite G, Oroville, Ca 95966 (Next door to Arbys)
Phones will be the same 530 321-3617 is still my cell.
I look forward to seeing you there at the new office.
Buy Buy Now -
Hi, This is a pretty simple question really–Should You Get a Home Inspection??? The answer is probably always Yes. Look at it this way.—Almost Every Home has things that can use repair–things age and break like you and me—I shouldn’t remind myself of that tho—anyway before I get off on that tangent, lets get back to the home inspection discussion.— My concern as a Realtor, maybe even representing you, is to have a qualified home inspector give the house a pretty thorough look. Things like operating range/oven/stove-top or what have you. The furnace, air conditioner, fireplace, electrical plugs and breaker boxes–plumbing leaks, water heater all the things that can cost Big $$$ if and when they break, and everything does, eventually.— It’s just a matter of when.— This inspection gives you a heads up advantage of trying to determine the overall condition of the home you want to buy.—So you write a check for $400 or so to Help Protect Your Hiney, especially when you are about to spend Tens or Hundreds of Thosands of Dollars.— Better Safe than Sorry I say.— The Inspector I have been using is also a General Contractor who is familiar with Building Codes and the like and I and my clients feel more comfortable using someone who knows building rather than someone who may or may not. Remember to discuss this with your Realtor when you decide to purchase a House which You will make into Your Home.— See You Next Time—Buy Buy Now. 
Happy Monday to You— Just a Tad More for you to remember to discuss with your Realtor during the purchase contract writing— The standard response time built in the CAR contract is 3 days after you have signed it (it depends on the details of the seller). Some of which are—Is it a Distress Sale? Is it a Short Sale or REO?—Or is it just—For Sale? Your Realtor should know what is best and will be happy to discuss that item with you. If their is a question about how much time the seller will need to respond (which is not uncommon) to your offer to purchase, probably your Realtor will want to call the listing agent to ask the question—How much time do we need to expect for the seller to respond?— Remember if You need questions answered ask your Realtor. I hope this information has been helpful to you in understanding a few of the basics you need to make sure you discuss with your Realtor.—Happy Real Estate Hunting. — Bye Bye Now.
Hello again—So when you are with your Realtor while he/she is drafting your Purchase Contract. Here’s a few more basics for you to remember. —It may seem like a trivial thing to talk about, but not all agents fill out the purchase contract correctly.— It is important that it is filled out properly and correctly not only for your protection as the buyer, but for the Lender as well who will ultimately give it to the Underwriter.— The attorneys at C.A.R. and the forms people put protection things in the contract for you the buyer. —Make sure that your loan amount is in the contract.— I generally talk to the buyers loan officer (whoever that may be) prior to or during the contract writing process, to ask the important necessary protection questions for the buyer. (The Max interest rate that should be put in the contract, or if you are doing an FHA Loan how much must the seller pay, the buyer cannot and other questions too)— So ask your Realtor to show you where in the contract is the loan amount if you don’t see this in the contract, or if it is not brought up in discussion (haha—that is if you are getting a loan to do the purchase it needs to be in the contract—oh duh)—Next, there is a place to put in a MAXIMUM interest rate you are willing to pay (Typically that amount is given to the Realtor by the loan officer who knows the history of credit of the buyer and other details which will dictate the interest rate). It is a protection clause for you, the buyer because— If the interest rates rise and it goes above that percentage number in the contract, it is your right to back out and retain your deposit (ask your Realtor about this). — However if it is Not in the contract and you cancel the purchase (depending on certain terms) You may have just given the seller your deposit when you didn’t necessarily have to.— That’s what I mean by a buyers protection clause.— Next, the interest rate will be written in the contract(hopefully) under the FIXED loan part. — Probably a 30 year Fixed Rate. You probably DO NOT WANT TO DO AN ARM (ADJUSTABLE RATE LOAN) EVER.—the loan term (30 years) should be marked as well as the 30 year Amortized (equal monthly payments over 30 years) is what that means (unless you are doing a Fixed 15 or 20 year loan and then it is set up thata way IN the contract.—That’s it for today—when in doubt ask your Realtor—That’s what this Realtor does—I Help People.—Buy Buy for Now.
As a California Realtor I use C.A.R. (that’s California Association of Realtor) Contracts, by the way. In the Residential Purchase Contract and the Land Contract are cute little boxes that I usually put an X in, to ask the seller (which is normal in our area) to pay for a well inspection & water quality test, A septic inspection & pumpout (because you can’t inspect or see the integrity of the tank if it’s all full of good meals gone by) and a box to check, to ask for a pest control inspection (termites, fungus, dryrot & beetles–not usually rodents).
So when you are with your Realtor and or agent make sure you dicuss these items if the home or land has them.— If a septic system needs replacing–it could be $6500 or more. —If a well has problems or needs repair it could cost thousands as well–haha—well—get it? —Anyway, if the house/manufacturted/mobilehome or whatever has termites etc it could cost thousands too.—Now why would you not ask the seller to pay for that inspection when you are purchasing that property? The reason I am putting this here for you to read is because they do not teach that in real estate 101 classes to get your license. Granted it is more work for the Realtor/agent but a little protection goes a long way.—The attorneys at CAR put those cute little boxes in the contract, so your Realtor or agent can X (Mark) them (add them if you will) to help protect you, the buyer by asking for these tests. —Just a little protection tip for you if you are city kids like I was and don’t know about well, septic or termite inspections. — Have fun property shopping.
Dear Steffan,
You did it. You’ve succeeded in achieving a huge victory for real estate. Congress heard you on the need to both extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit to continue stimulating the housing sector of the economy. The Senate voted 98-0 on Wednesday and yesterday the House voted 403-12 on legislation that includes the extension and expansion of the credit. The President is expected to sign the legislation, perhaps as early as today.
Thank you for making this victory happen. Your letters in response to our Call for Action made a very big difference, as did the thousands of REALTOR® phone calls, visits by Federal Political Coordinators—all members of NAR—in getting this legislation passed. This is a great victory for the economy, for homebuyers, and for all of you in real estate. You made your case to Congress. We deeply appreciate your commitment and involvement on this issue and trust your continued support will follow in the weeks ahead on all our future Calls for Action.
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