Qualifying for Mortgage Assistance Under The

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

If your total monthly mortgage payments are

greater than 31% of your monthly pre-tax income,

you might qualify for relief. You must prove to your

lender that your payments are greater than 31% of

your income and that you might not be able to keep

up your mortgage payments. In this case, the gov-

ernment is giving the lender incentives to reduce

your interest rate. This could substantially lower

your monthly payment. A loan with a 7.5% interest

rate that costs you about $1,500 per month could get

an interest rate reduction. This means your rate

would be lowered to 4.4%, making your payments

just $1,100 per month.

You probably have to show that you could afford

the reduced monthly payment.

Even if your mortgage payments are not more than

31% of your income, you might qualify for another

kind of mortgage relief. If your mortgage is owned

by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (or a government-

backed program), or if your mortgage is insured by

them, you might be able to refinance, even if you

owe more than 80% of what your house appraises

for today. These new rules will make it possible to

refinance up to 105% of your home’s value.

You probably have no idea whether your loan is

owned or insured by a government agency. Your

lender will know that but you probably will not

even have to call the lender to find out. Lenders

will be reviewing all of their loans to find out who

possibly qualifies for mortgage assistance and then

they will be sending out notices.

You will not qualify for assistance on second

homes or investment properties. But, if you have a

duplex or an apartment building with up to four

units, and if you live in one of the units, you can

qualify for assistance.

Owning a home is a keystone of wealth, both financial affluence and emotional security. Suze Orman

April is a month of exciting changes in housing!

You could say April is the month of mira-

cles, at least it is this year. In 2009, Passover

and Easter fall in the month of April, two an-

cient religious holidays with miracles at the

center of the celebration.

But apart of the traditional celebrations,

there are a lot of really wonderful things hap-

pening out there for people. For one thing, in

my business we are seeing many happy buyers,

people who are getting the bargain of their lives on

wonderful properties. And the new stimulus, and

mortgage assistance bills have given many people a

new chance to own a home.

If you are looking for your own April housing

miracle, either to buy or sell, I hope you will give

me a call. I can make it happen! …..Linda

Linda Lane-White

“Singing” Realtor ®

CA Lic #01091347

Notary Public

April 2009

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER BY LINDA LANE-WHITE—KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

SERVING MY HOMETOWN OF ALTADENA/PASADENA AND OUTLYING AREAS

DENA LAND NEWSDENA LAND NEWSDENA LAND NEWS

CEEDUB

CONSTRUCTION

RESIDENTIAL & LIGHT COMMERCIAL

With over 30 years of experience, we work with

you to achieve your dream.

Call Today For A Free Estimate

(Licensed/Bonded/Insured)

(626) 786-1229 CHRIS WHITE, OWNER

Ca Lic #883002

www.ceedubconstruction.com

Spring Fun In The Sun Across

1. Icky stuff

5. Use a Singer

8. Heroic tale

9. Mimicked

11. Affectations

12. "__ Las Vegas"

13. Embarrassed

15. Dusk, to Donne

16. Sideboard

21. Lady Macbeth, e.g.

22. "___ Misbehavin'"

24. Popular fragrance

25. Fine-tune

26. Nth degree

27. Glitch

Down

1. Govt. property org.

2. Animal shelter

3. Beast

4. A dance for

two people

5. Port and river

in Georgia

6. "Beowulf," e.g.

7. "___ Only Just

Begun"

10. "Dear old" guy

14. Charge

16. Computer monitor,

for short

17. Ramble

18. Exile isle

19. Utah national park

20. "___ Karenina"

23. Two-year-old

sheep

The headline is a clue to the answer in the diagonal.

Lenders Struggle

To Meet Demands

of Refinancing Low mortgage inter-

est rates are prompting a

surge in refinancing.

More than 85 percent of

all mortgage activity in

one recent week in-

volved refinancing, ac-

cording to the Mortgage

Bankers Association.

Because many lend-

ers have reduced their

staffs in the last couple

of years, they are now

lacking the manpower to

quickly process refinanc-

ing requests.

Mortgage Master, a

lender in the Northeast,

will hire up to 200 peo-

ple in the next year.

They say that, at this

time, 90 percent of their

mortgages are refinanc-

ings.

Emergency

Plumbing Calls The editors of This

Old House magazine say

you should know how to

turn off the water in your

home or condo. If you

do, there is no such thing

as a plumber's triple-

overtime emergency

repair.

If you don't know

how to turn off the water

main, call the plumber

and have him walk you

through it. Then you can

wait a day for a service

call.

You don't want the

plumber to come on Sun-

day night or on the

Fourth of July, and he

doesn't want to come

either.

MONEYWISE

Birthday Wishes This Month

Go Out To:

Carole Karamanos—1st

Lisa Matthews—3rd

Victor Wright—8th

Rebecca Fischer—8th

Dawn McCoo—12th

Rob Ross—12th

Chris Thornton-18th

Dena Land News—Linda Lane-White • Keller Williams Realty (626) 786-1231 • www.lindalanewhite.com

April Happenings in Dena Land Apr 4 9 to 3 E-Waste Event. Brookside Park Lot I www.CityofPasadena.net 626/744-4087

Apr 4 10am Three Dog Bakery’s Easter Egg Begg Hunt. Pasadena Central Park 275 S. Raymond.

Easter begg hunt, bone-et contest. Treats. North end of park, South of Dayton. 626/440-0443 Free

Apr 4-5 10-4. Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour. 45 homes on the tour...one is my neighbor

at 478 Alameda in Altadena. Call 818/768-1802 or email info@theodorepayne.org $20 for both days.

Apr 5 1:30am to 3:30pm. Great Easter Egg Hunt. Rose Bowl Aquatics Center 360 N. Arroyo Blvd.

www.sgvtnt.com/spring/fundraising.php $5 kids, $10 adults

Apr 8 3:30 to 4:30. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony (see page 6 herein) Chris and Linda’s project is done!

Apr 11 9:30am to 2pm (every 45 min) Egg Hunt at Descanso Gardens 1418 Descanso Dr., La Canada

www.descansogardens.org $5 (includes basket, eggs and treat.

Apr 13 11:30. Cloris Leachman at San Marino Center will share how she prepares for roles. Her ap-

proach to the “Business” of show business. Tickets required limit 2 .Free . Must call 626/300-

0777x541. Call early before sold out.

Apr 17 8:30 sharp. My brother, Clayton Lane (aka Nick Grant) at the Comedy Store Belly Room. $5

nickroxx@gmail.com

Apr 18 10am to 2pm. Earth Day 2009. Sanitation Districts of L.A.County 1955 Workman Mill Road,

Whittier.. Tour reclamation plant, enjoy magician, train ride. 562/908-4288 www.lacsd.org FREE

Apr 18/19 10-4. L.A. Zoo Earth Day Expo. 5333 Zoo Drive, L.A. $10 adults, $5 kids 2-12 323/644-4200

Apr 21 10 to 2:30. Job Fair & Career Training 16200 Temple Ave, City of Industry. 626/962-8811 x2473

Apr 22 Earth Day. Reduce your carbon footprint—Save the Earth. Don’t waste power, water or gas.

Apr 23 6 to 9pm. Free Family Movie Night Altadena Community Center “Pride” 730 E Altadena Dr.

Apr 24 Arbor Day. Plant a tree!

Apr 25 10-4.City of Pasadena Greening the Earth Day & Armory Family Arts Festival. Memorial Park

Raymond between Walnut & Holly. 70 booths on green products, etc. www.cityofpasadena.net FREE

Apr 30 6 to 9pm Walter Hoving Home Hoedown 127 S. El Molino, Pasadena 626/405-0950

Active Adults Corner Trust Linda Lane-White as your Seniors Real Estate Specialist®

Pasadena Senior Center Easter Brunch & Dance

April 12—1 to 3 . 2009 Conference on Aging & Educational Faire for the 50+

April 30—8am to 1:30pm 1st Church of Nazarene

Call (626) 685-6755

cynthiar@pasadenaseniorcenter.org

Genetics Are A Good Choice (except for NTIs)

Considering the huge cost of developing a new drug, drug companies

have to charge a high price for it as long as they have patent protection.

When their patents expire, they and other drug makers can make generic

versions that sell for far less than the original Active ingredients in the ge-

neric are identical, but fillers, preservatives, color and shape can be differ-

ent.

Generics are so cost-effective that pharmacists substitute a generic for a

brand name unless the doctor has written “do not substitute” on the pre-

scription.

Drugs with a narrow therapeutic index (NTI) are often not substituted

and include some heart drugs, anticonvulsants, COPD drugs and immuno-

suppressants. Check with a doctor about generics.

Altadena Senior Center 560 E Mariposa, Altadena

Apr 25 11-1pm Annual Spring Festival

For more info: (626) 798-0505

INGREDIENTS:

Bottle of Pesto Sauce from Trader Joe’s

Pizza Crust from Trader Joe’s

Kalamata Olives

Crimini Mushrooms

Sliced Goat Cheese

Shredded Parmesian

Some old ceramic tiles

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients on top of the pizza crust as you normally

would. Place the pizza on top of a pizza stone. Place in a

500º oven. Place ceramic tiles on rack above pizza and on

each side of the pizza. Bake for about 10 minutes and en-

joy!

Thanks, Ann. We all appreciate this fast and easy recipe!

Ceramic Tile Pesto Pizza (from Ann Albert-Braun)

When Buying or Refinancing...

Call Peter First Peter Cosfol

& Augusta Financial

Get Pre-Approved Senior Loan Officer Augusta Financial is a service oriented mortgage company that specializes in residen-

tial financing. We have many loan programs to help our clients with all of their mortgage

needs.

Peter offers the best pricing with the lowest fees!

Peter will personally address all of your questions and concerns regarding the loan process!

Augusta Financial makes the loan process seem easy!

Augusta is both Broker and Mortgage Banker!

We offer In-house processing and funding!

It’s a GREAT time Buy or Refinance!

(661) 260-2970 Office · (661) 291-2234 Direct · (818) 281-1466 Cell

Recent Area Sales (Derived from PFAR MLS)

Many people are asking me about condo prices...so, here are a few recent sales that will give you some ideas...

Days on Market

Date Sold

List Price

Sold Price Address

City/ Area

Bed/ Bath

S.F. Condo

113 02/20/09 $ 435,000 $ 420,000 401-4 W Duarte Rd Arcadia 2/3 1659

164 03/30/09 $ 459,000 $ 450,000 618 Fairview Ave #228 Arcadia 2/2 1708

171 03/12/09 $ 279,900 $ 268,000 235 Walnut Ct Azusa 2/3 1375

138 03/30/09 $ 559,000 $ 650,000 150 N Almont Dr #303 Beverly Hills 2/2 1611

0 07/10/08 $ 579,000 $ 549,000 740 W 1st St Claremont 2/2 1605

126 12/19/08 $ 580,000 $ 580,000 602 W 1st St Claremont 2/2 1605

202 03/12/09 $ 319,000 $ 295,000 3130 Montrose Ave #15 La Crescenta/Glen-Mo 2/2 1300

84 03/27/09 $ 569,000 $ 550,000 5037 Rosewood Ave #102 Hancock Park (L.A.) 2/2 1432

10 03/27/09 $ 489,000 $ 492,000 3613 Glendon Ave #204 Palms - Mar Vista (L.A.) 2/3 1447

18 02/25/09 $ 465,000 $ 435,000 221 S Oak Knoll Ave #302 Pasadena (SE) 2/2 1250

12 03/25/09 $ 449,700 $ 465,000 330 Cordova St #386 Pasadena (SW) 2/3 1592

111 02/06/09 $ 535,000 $ 530,000 757 S Orange Grove Blvd #3 Pasadena (SW) 2/2 1582

327 03/25/09 $ 489,000 $ 435,000 1000 E California Blvd #307 Pasadena (SE) 2/2 1372

124 03/27/09 $ 838,000 $ 805,000 95 N Wilson Pasadena (SE) 2/3 1871

566 03/27/09 $ 539,000 $ 520,000 591 S Marengo Ave #8 Pasadena (SW) 2/3 1433

128 03/26/09 $ 595,000 $ 520,000 649 Paseo De La Playa #204 Hollywood Riviera (Redondo) 2/2 1374

61 02/02/09 $ 320,000 $ 316,500 935 Lotus Cir San Dimas 2/2 1195

95 02/26/09 $ 409,000 $ 407,000 647 Orange Grove Ave #309 South Pasadena 2/2 1231

60 02/27/09 $ 239,000 $ 239,900 10142 Samoa Ave #5 Sunland/Tujunga 2/3 1329

69 03/20/09 $ 719,000 $ 709,000 636 W Sierra Madre Blvd #B Sierra Madre 3/3 1626

44 02/20/09 $ 699,000 $ 685,000 801 Meridian Ave #U South Pasadena 3/4 1831

Who do you know right now who’s looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate? Give me a call or send me an E-mail. I’m never too busy for your referrals to friends or family.

Disclaimers: All real estate information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change, or withdrawal. Neither

listing broker(s) nor this company shall be responsible for typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless. If your property is currently listed with another

real estate broker, this is not a solicitation of that listing.

House Hunters

Scoop Up

The Bargains

D rawn by the real estate opportunity

of a lifetime, thousands of small

investors are stepping back into the mar-

ket, say the experts quoted Fortune.

They're not the only ones drawn by

bargain prices on everything from single

-family homes, to duplexes and apart-

ment houses. In December, there was a 6

percent increase in the sale of existing

homes. (In January, new home construc-

tion figures were rising as well.)

Here's how to get the best deals:

* Work with your real estate agent.

The agent will be familiar with available

properties and circumstances of the sell-

ers. It's important to know how long

properties been on the market, which

properties are entering foreclosure pro-

ceedings, and which homes are in good

condition.

* Your real estate agent will be up-to

-date on current government offers for

home buyers and mortgage interest

rates.

What you can do to help:

* Be prequalified by your lender in

order to close a loan quickly.

* For properties in foreclosure, be

prepared with a cash down payment.

* Consider a "short sale." Your real

estate agent can negotiate on your behalf

with a bank and a homeowner about to

go into foreclosure. It allows you more

time to arrange financing. Since the

lender has fewer costs, you could get a

better price.

W ith the value of most traditional

IRAs lowered because of stock

market problems, this could be a great

time to convert to a Roth IRA.

Each dollar you convert is taxed as

ordinary income, so fewer dollars mean

less tax. If you are under age 50, you

can contribute $5,000 a year to a Roth.

If you are 50 or over, it's $6,000.

Contributions to a Roth can be with-

drawn without penalty at any time.

Distributions, interest and dividends

are tax-free if you are at least 59 1/2

and the account has been established

for longer than five years.

You can contribute after age 70 1/2 as

long as you have earned income. There

are no required minimum distributions

during your lifetime.

Another benefit of the Roth: Tax-free

distributions can be passed to your bene-

ficiaries.

It's easy to open a Roth IRA. It can be

done online at Wachovia bank or Fidelity

Investments and many others.

You can choose from a full range of

investments, including stocks, bonds and

mutual funds.

As always, speak to your tax advisor

for further details and benefits.

Today’s Investment Puzzle:

Is a Roth IRA Right For You?

Housing Affordability is Highest Since 1988

A new index by the National Asso-

ciation of Realtors shows that

many more people can afford to buy a

home today, more people, in fact, than

in more than the previous 20 years. It

recently set the affordability index at

158.8.

That means a household earning the

median family income of $61,058

would have 158.8 percent of the quali-

fying income to purchase the median-

priced existing single-family home

($174,700) with a 20 percent down

payment.

When buying that particular home,

after a 20 percent down payment, the

monthly payment on a 30-year mort-

gage at 5 percent interest would be

about $750 per month.

When buying a home for $100,000

with a 20 percent down payment, the

monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage

at 5 percent interest would be about

$430 a month.

Many homes in various parts of the

country could be purchased for $75,000.

With a 20 percent down payment, the

monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage

would be only $322.

Homes can often be purchased with a

down payment of less than 20 percent,

but the buyer would have to take mort-

gage insurance, which raises the amount

of the monthly payment.

Still, there hasn't been a better time to

buy a home in many years.

Dena Land News—Linda Lane-White • Keller Williams Realty (626) 786-1231 • www.lindalanewhite.com

Pasadena Market Center

445 S. Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

Cell: (626) 786-1231

Home Office: (626) 798-2382

Fax: (626) 296-1979

lindalanewhite@sbcglobal.net

Home Office: 519 Alameda, Altadena

I n T une Wit h Your Needs

If You Would Like To Receive This

Newsletter on a Regular Basis for

Guaranteed Delivery (Snail or E-Mail)

Call me or send me an E-Mail...LLW

Linda Lane-White “Singing” Realtor® CA Lic #01091347 (since 1990)

Notary Public (since 1987)

Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

www.lindalanewhite.com

Search the MLS on my web site!

1st Floor Commercial

(560 sf)

2nd Floor 1 BR/1BA

(560 sf)

2 car garage (400 sf)

Laundry Room (64 sf)

2,997 sf lot

Separate HVAC units

Dual pane laminate glass

Alarm System

Security Gates

Highlights

Mixed Use

Live/Work

Owner/User

Investment

Enterprise

Zone

Tax Credits

Hiring Credits

Zoned FGSP-CL-1B

Use Code: Retail/

Residential

1564-66 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA City of Pasadena’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 3:30 to 4:30

(call (626) 786-1231 to RSVP for food)

For Sale (call for pricing) Completely renovated, vacant, free-standing building, great

street frontage, separate electric meters

Call (626) 786-1231 for more information

www.1564NFairOaks.com (Construction by Ceedub Construction)