Gold Country would be nothing without its small businesses, and we would personally like to shine the spotlight on a small business that is a big part of our community. This month, that spotlight goes to Motivate Personal Fitness Academy (“Motivate”), a Premier Affiliate TRX™ facility located in Sutter Creek. Owner Dominic Vicari’s roots run deep in the Gold Country, raised by a multi-generational Amador County family. Since he opened Motivate in 2014, his small business has stood out as one of the Gold Country’s best.
Vicari discovered his passion for the industry during his own personal fitness journey. After learning the benefits of a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle, he became inspired to help others do the same. At the age of 19 he became a personal trainer, and now maintains a “Level 3 Certification” in personal training with TRX Company, an achievement held by only 1% of fitness trainers in the nation.
After working for a private training studio locally, Vicari had garnered enough experience to set out on his own. In 2014, he opened Motivate Personal Fitness Academy. Vicari and his team just refer to the studio as “Motivate” – because that’s what it’s all about.
“I’ve made it a point to get well-connected throughout the country and further my education from the best in the industry,” Vicari said. “With that came an understanding of where our industry is moving. At the time, we [personal fitness trainers] just worked out the apparently healthy and helped them feel better. Where our industry is going, we are actually more a part of the healthcare team.”...
According to the latest report from Black Knight, Inc., a well-respected provider of data and analytics for mortgage companies, 6.48 million households have entered a forbearance plan as a result of financial concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's where these homeowners stand right now:
- 2,543,000 (39%) are current on their payments and have left the program
- 625,000 (9%) have paid off their mortgages
- 434,000 (7%) have negotiated a repayment plan and have left the program
- 2,254,000 (35%) have extended their original forbearance plan
- 512,000 (8%) are still in their original forbearance plan
- 116,000 (2%) have left the program and are still behind on payments
This shows that of the almost 3.72 million homeowners who have left the program, only 116,000 (2%) exited while they were still behind on their payments. There are still 2.77 million borrowers in a forbearance program. No one knows for sure how many of those will become foreclosures. There are, however, three major reasons why most experts believe there will not be a tsunami of foreclosures as we saw during the housing crash over a decade ago:
- Almost 30% of borrowers in forbearance are still current on their mortgage payments.
- Banks likely don't want to repeat the ...
Proposition 19 was approved by voters in November of last year, but it will soon take effect. Many Gold Country homeowners have expressed interest in this new proposition since they could be eligible for fairly significantly property tax savings when they move, especially if they have lived in their home for some time and the value of their home has increased substantially since it was originally purchased.
A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF PROPOSITION 19
Before Proposition 19, if Barry Buyer bought a home in 1975 for $200,000 and the property was now worth $1 million, Barry may have resisted selling even if the house was too large and climbing the stairs in his multi-story home had become too much for his knees. To sell and downsize to a smaller home worth $500,000, Barry would wind up paying more than twice the property taxes he was paying, and he’d be taxed on the $500,000 tax base rather the $200,000 base in his current home. For this costly reason, Barry stayed in his home despite really wanting to sell. Under the newly passed Prop. 19, Barry is now free to sell his home and buy another home anywhere in California that is valued at $1 million or less and have his same tax base ($200,000). This represents a tremendous savings and removes one of the major barriers that prevented Barry (and many long-time homeowners in California) from selling his home and moving.
While the final details of this proposition are still coming together, we wanted to share the latest information with you which we recently received from the California Association of...
Historically low mortgage rates are a big motivator for homebuyers right now. In 2020 alone, rates hit new record-lows 16 times, and the trend continued into the early part of this year. Many hopeful homebuyers are now wondering if they should put their plans on hold and wait for the lowest rates imaginable. However, the reality is, acting sooner rather than later may be the actual win if you're ready to buy a home.
According to Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst for Bankrate:
As vaccines become more widely available and a return to normal starts to come into view, we'll see mortgage rates bounce off the record lows.
While only a slight increase in mortgage rates is projected for 2021, some experts believe they will start to rise. Over the past week, for example, the average mortgage rate ticked up slightly, reaching 2.79%. This is still incredibly low compared to the trends we've seen over time. According to Freddie Mac:
Borrowers are ...
The housing market made an incredible recovery in 2020 and is now positioned for an even stronger year in 2021. Record-low mortgage interest rates are a driving factor in this continued momentum, with average rates hovering at historic all-time lows.
According to the latest Realtors Confidence Index Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyer demand across the country is incredibly strong. That's not the case, however, on the supply side. Seller traffic is simply not keeping up. Here's a breakdown by state:
As the maps show, buyer traffic is high, but seller traffic is low. With so few homes for sale right now, record-low inventory is creating a mismatch between supply and demand.
NAR also just reported that the actual number of homes currently for sale...
According to many experts, the real estate market is expected to continue growing in 2021, and it's largely driven by the lasting impact the pandemic is having on our lifestyles. As many of us spend extra time at home, we're reevaluating what home means and what we may need in one going forward.
Here are 4 reasons people are reconsidering where they live and why they're expecting to buy a home this year.
1. Record-Low Mortgage Interest Rates
In 2020, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit a record low 16 times, continuing to fall further below 3%. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed interest rate today is 2.65%. Many wonder how low these rates will go and how long they'll last. Len Keifer, Deputy Chief Economist for Freddie Mac, advises:
If you've found a home that...
The housing market recovery coming into the new year has been nothing short of remarkable. Many experts agree the turnaround from the nation's economic pause is playing out extremely well for real estate, and the current market conditions are truly making this winter an ideal time to make a move. Here's a dive into some of the biggest wins for homebuyers this season.
1. Mortgage Rates Are Historically Low
In 2020, mortgage rates hit all-time lows 16 times. Continued low rates have set buyers up for significant long-term gains. In fact, realtor.com notes:
Given this means homes could cost potentially tens of thousands less over the lifetime of the loan.
Essentially, it's less expensive to borrow money for a home loan today than it has been in years past. Although mortgage rates are expected to remain relatively low in 2021, even the slightest increase can make a big difference in your payments over the lifetime of a home loan. So, this is a huge opportunity to capitalize on right now before mortgage rates start to rise.
2....
