My Blog for LApropertybroker.com

Got appraisal issues?

2010-02-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

These days with the HVCC that Congress requires, there are a lot of appraisal issues. Here's a doozey: I'm representing a buyer of a 4,000 sqft 5 Bed Spanish home on a 21,000 sqft view lot in LA, purchasing it for a great deal: $875,000. The buyers lender, a huge lender, ordered the appraisal. They sent a guy from Corona, and he didn't know the area, and submitted his appraisal at $774,000. The loan officer and I looked at the 6 comparables: 5 were 3 bed comps, 5 were more than 20% smaller, the appraiser miscalculated the size of the lot by over 50%, and the appraiser used a comp on a street well known for collapsing hillside homes. I could go on and on. Now we have to ask permission from the appraiser to re-evaluate, and they can ignore us if they want. What else can we do? My client can cancel, can try to negotiate with the seller (unlikely since the seller will probably accuse us of working in bad faith), or my client can start from scratch with a completely new lender, pay for another $500 appraisal, and hope they don't assign another %&$@#!

The Fed really has some influence

2010-02-04T05:42:00.000-08:00

Nationwide sales of "used homes" plunged 17% in December 2009. It was the largest monthly drop in 40 years of record keeping. Why? The Fed didn't extend the their free money bailout tax credit until the last minute, pushing people to complete their sales earlier. A lot like the cash for clunkers program, and where are we at with that now?

Out of control January

2010-01-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy, too busy to blog. Lots of great properties coming up. Been busy with all the preliminary things that need to be done: layouts, staging, professional photoshoots, termite inspections, paperwork and more paperwork.

I went after an expired listing in my neighborhood, a listing that another agent had for 6 months and couldn't sell. I listed it, did my "thing", and got multiple offers, including an all cash offer in 6 days and opened escrow last week. Here is the property: www.1194NorthHolliston.com My seller is incredibly happy with the price, as I am.

HOA's....a little interesting info.

2009-12-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

Over one third of all homes in California are in some kind of common interest development ("CID"), and the number is growing. Almost all new developments are in CIDs. Often referred to as HOA (Homeowners Associations). Some CIDs aren't residential at all, such as some office buildings and industrial parks. There are 4 types, but if you want to know what type, don't look at the building, look at the paperwork. There is what's called an "own-your-own", which is the simplest and oldest, but you don't get a deed. These are tough to finance, if at all. Second is a Stock Cooperative where the association holed title to the entire property. These are rare also. Most common is a Condominium, where you own the airspace, but also get a deed, and are normally easy to finance. Last is a PUD (Planned Urban Development), which are normally, but not always, tract housing. When looking at a new home, you should ask what kind of CID it is, it can affect your financing, your control, the value, and your sanity.

Wachovia approval

2009-12-24T03:35:00.001-08:00

I just got approved to fast-track anyone that has a home they want to sell that has a Wachovia loan (s) higher than the market value. If the home is in LA County, is your personal residence, has a balance higher than the value of the home plus closing costs, then I can fast-tract, within 45 days, a short sale. I can also negotiate up to $8,500 bonus to the seller upon close of escrow. No promises, the bonus is on a case-by-case scenario. The information needed from the seller is minimal, the contact I have at the bank is direct and one-stop, and they will negotiate a non-recourse deal where you don't have to pay back the loss, and not pay taxes on the loss. I think that a big investor bought a big pool of Wachovia loans when the bank went under and wants to cash out, this is the only reason I can think that would prod a bank to offer this to me. Interested, let me know. Not interested in selling, then you should have me help you get your loan modified. This is probably about the easiest bank to work with out there.

Report: Home Prices Likely to Hit Bottom in March

2009-12-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

Report: Home Prices Likely to Hit Bottom in March Home prices in 45 of the largest housing markets are expected to fall another 4.2 percent before they hit bottom in March, according to First American CoreLogic’s LoanPerformance Home Price Index.By October 2010, prices are expected to be heading upward again by about 1 percent compared to 2009.The report warned that this progress could be jeopardized by an increasingly large “shadow inventory” of homes owned by banks but not yet on the market. The problem is particularly acute in Michigan and Ohio cities, the report said. It projected a 12.7 percent further decline in values in Detroit, an 11.4 percent decline in most of the rest of southeast Michigan, and a 6.3 percent fall in Cleveland.The report expects the strongest recoveries next year in California cities. These include:
San Francisco, up 5.7 percent
Los Angeles, 5 percent
San Diego, 4.7 percent
Sacramento, 4.6 percent
Source: Inman
In Pasadena, on a price-per-squarefoot basis, we hit bottom in mid 2010, in all areas except the Northwest quadrant. Source: iTech MLS.

Just got out of a legal seminar

2009-12-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Seminar called "Beating the foreclosure sale hammer". In a perfect world a lender can foreclose on you in 111 days: 90 days in the Notice of Default phase, and 21 days int he Notice of Sale phase. Under certain conditions, the lender may have to give you an additional 90 days to work something out, and certainly there are other ways to delay or stop a sale (short sale, loan mod, or something an attorney would tell you to do). One law goes into effect on Jan 1, 2010 requires a foreclosing lender says that a Notice of Sale must be recorded 20 days before a sale (not 14 as before). This just gives the homeowner a little more time. A big reason why there are so many foreclosures, and not many short sales or loan mods is because people just don't know that to do, they freeze up, and before you know it, 4 months have passed and the house is lost. Keep in mind, for a Notice of Sale to be valid, it needs to be processed 5 different ways, because you have due process rights afforded by the Constitution: 1. Notice must be physically posed on your house (they normally take a picture of the posting), 2. Regular mailings, 3. Certified mailings, 4. published 3 times in a row in a paper, and 5. the notice must be recorded.

Amazing FHA loan

2009-12-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

This is amazing. You can get a purchase money FHA 5/1 ARM at 3.75% with 1 point up to $729,750. Fixed is at 5%.

Bungalow Heaven Bungalow

2009-12-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

My new listing: http://www.bungalowheaven.info/. Check it out. I think it will sell fast. Very cute.

Loan Mod Law

2009-12-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

If you have a loan on your primary residence, and you are still there, and the loan is in default, and you got the loan between January 1, 2003 and January 31, 2007 then a lender must notify you and steer you to a possible loan modification and this must be done 30 days before they file a Notice of Default. If you are in trouble, don't freeze up, there may be ways to save your home, delay the inevitable, or at least help to save your credit.

EPA's ban on R-22 (Freon) refrigerant starts Jan 1, 2010

2009-12-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

As of January 2010, R-22 refrigerant, a HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon), will no longer be manufactured. Homeowners may have various types of appliances that contain HCFC-22 (also called R-22) or its blends, including window units, dehumidifiers, central air conditioners, air-to-air heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, and ductless air conditioners. This refrigerant has been the refrigerant of choice for residential heat pump and air conditioning systems for over four decades.

Consumers won't be required to stop using HCFC-22
Consumers won't be required to replace existing equipment.
Existing (pre-2010) equipment using R-22 can continue to be serviced with R-22.
After 2010, supplies of R-22 will be more limited (more expensive?, I think so).
After 2010, only stockpiled or reclaimed R-22 will be available unitil 2020.

The average life expectancy of an air conditioning unit or heat pump is around 15 years. What this means to homeowners, for example, is if you had installed a new R-22 air conditioning system in the year 2002, you will be able to get refrigerant for your system at least until the year 2020 when it will no longer be manufactured. Chances are, within that much time you will need a new system, so you shouldn't base a purchase on Freon alone.

Pasadena Schools are horrible?

2009-11-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Things have changed. The neighborhood public elementary school for my area is Longfellow. In only 8 years Longfellow's API scores have increased from 600 (in 2000) to 807 (in 2009). Also, as of this year the Pasadena Unified School District has a Blue Ribbon School (no longer are these awards reserved for La Canada and South Pasadena anymore). Only 25 were awarded in the entire state of California this year.

Put it all together

2009-11-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

Why won't the media put this together? We've all heard about the shadow inventory of foreclosed homes the banks are holding, maybe as many as a million homes. We've all heard about the massive profits the banks are earning this year. Unemployment is rising, housing prices are going up. Doesn't make sense. It does if you realize the banks are not selling these houses, therefore they are not realizing their losses. Eventually the piper needs to be paid, and I guess they want to do it slowly. More bailout money please.

new listing

2009-11-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'm getting better and better with these websites. They generate, on average, 3,000 hits the first month. Here's the new one: www.1159NorthChester.com . I think I should have this under contract pretty quickly, I just sent out a 700 piece mailer to almost everyone in Bungalow Heaven, and am doing tons of marketing. I can't help but think of last year when a man in London found my craftsman for sale, flew out here, and bought it. All because of the website. That's powerful.

Smallest house in Bungalow Heaven coming in a few weeks

2009-11-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

At least I think it's the smallest. Over at 895 N. Mar Vista. Going to be a great investment. $325,000. Call me for details. Don't disturb occupant!

New listing coming up

2009-11-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

So I get a call last week from a guy in Pennsylvania. He says he likes how I do my marketing, and doesn't like the results of his current agent. Thought a home should sell within 6 months! (if properly priced and aggressively marketed it should have 10 offers in the first 30 days). Well, after about 20 minute conversation he said he'd call back. He did. Said he called a bunch of agents to list it, said I was the only one that "seemed" organized, aggressive, and successful (how awesome is that?), and I explained that most agents are very traditional, they do the 3 P's: pop a sign in, put it in the mls, and pray it sells. He said that I clearly provided so much more, and gave me the listing. So right now I'm building the website, doing historical research on this Mediterranean Revival, yesterday was the professional photoshoot, a few days ago was the layout, and Monday I have 120 phone calls to push it. Goes on the market next Tuesday. This is a Mediterranean Revival in Historic Bungalow Heaven with 3+2 and almost 1900 sqft for $649,000. I think I'll have at least a few offers in the first 2 weeks. At least I'm going to push really hard. Really hard.

Funny and partially true Foreclosure video

2009-11-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

Pretty funny video on how to buy a foreclosure

When to take a walk

2009-10-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Your agent calls to say he's bringing prospective buyers to see your home at 2:00 p.m. You quickly straighten up the house and run the dishwasher. What should you do then? If you have to let them into the house--then take a drive or walk the dog. Many owners think they should linger close by while their home is being shown. They are afraid that the real estate agent might miss the storage shelves in the basement or forget to point out the beautiful new floor in the kitchen. It is better for the agent to miss something than for you to be ushering the buyers around, so resist the temptation to stay while your house is being shown. Buyers usually base their decision to buy on an attraction that often has more to do with emotions than pure logic, and a lot goes on between buyer and agent during a showing. The buyer needs to evaluate the home's pluses and minuses, and the agent needs the opportunity to work with the buyer's objections. This process cannot take place comfortably if the seller is on the scene. That's my tip for the day.

80/20 rule in sales

2009-10-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

80-20 rule is also known at the law of the vital few, states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Also, it's a common role of thumb in business: e.g., "80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients", and also 80% of the wealth in America is held by 20% of the population. Funny thing is that historically 20% of real estate agents closed 80% of all sales. The gap has really widened int he past 10 years. According to reports I'm reading, it's closer to 90/10. I certainly see this in my new office, as well as my old office. For the most part the difference between a successful agent and not-so-successful agent is a proper skill set. I'm sure you're nodding your head as you read this.

My new company continues to amaze.

2009-10-08T22:27:00.001-07:00

The longer the downturn lasts, the stronger Keller Williams emerges. Year to date, NAR’s membership has dropped by about 10 percent, while Keller Williams agent count has incresed by 2 percent. We're the only company gaining market share and agents, while the other big franchises, ALL the other big franchises, are losing. Hey, one of those huge franchises lost me last month.

Local iTech market stats for this past quarter

2009-10-06T15:43:00.001-07:00

Our local MLS is called iTech, and an agent (thank you Nancy Morris) in our office extrapolated data to find trends. Average listing price and average selling price are not as significant in predicting trends as is the average price per square foot. This is because the average listing and selling prices can vary depending on the mix of houses that are sold in any one period. Trends noticed:

1. Prices for most of our areas are very close to flat or slightly increasing with just a few exceptions. For example it appears that La Canada prices are continuing to slide and NW Pasadena may have turned the corner.

2. The number of houses sold increased over last quarter except for one area in Glendale where volume was the same as last quarter.

3. All areas except SW Pasadena have flipped over to a seller's market with less than six months of inventory. Several areas have 3 or less months of inventory. The amount of inventory dropped sharply in a couple of areas.

2009-09-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

HGTV's FrontDoor.com recently identified what it believes to be the top 10 home-selling mistakes and presented them like Letterman would.
10. Waiting until spring to sell. People buy homes all year.
9. Not understanding the real estate contract. Go over the fine print of the agreement with your broker before signing to make sure you understand your responsibilities as well as any demands the buyer has made.
8. Going it alone without researching first. Selling a home for-sale-by-owner takes time, and requires you to do paperwork, marketing and showings. Make sure you're up for the work.
7. Ignoring lowball offers. If buyers submit a low offer, don't reject it completely. Counteroffer to see if they'll negotiate. Don't get emotional.
6. Wasting time on an unqualified buyer. Make sure a potential buyer is at least prequalified for a loan.
5. Skimping on marketing. You need to work all agles on the internet.
4. Sabotaging the showing. Leave the home when it is being shown to prospective buyers so they can more easily focus, and make sure the home is accessible with convenient showing hours and a lockbox for agents.
3. Not prepping for the sale. Visit open houses in the neighborhood to get a sense of what the competition offers, then make fixes and updates, declutter and clean to outshine them.
2. Overimproving. Don't make so many upgrades that you price your home out of the appropriate range for the area and fail to recoup your investment.
1. Overpricing. Your home should be priced in line with homes in the area that are of similar age, style and size. Otherwise you will miss out on the majority of buyers who will probably pass over your property in the first 10 days of a listing. Normally they don't look back.

#1 Remax agent joining my office

2009-09-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

People are taking notice. The #1 ReMax agent is coming over. I can't say the name til I'm given the green light, but wow, that's pretty powerful.

#1, yes the #1 lender in the nation is 20 feet from me

2009-09-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

The #1 lender, Rob Levy, who's with Wells Fargo has a physical office 20 feet from mine here at Keller Williams. Sounds ridiculously amazing, but true. Those in the industry already know this, but I don't think they know he's 20 feet away. What a great resource for my clients and I. A little hint about lenders..........you become #1 because you know how to structure financing, know who has the right programs, and know the right people. Why would you want to use anyone else?

E-Waste and shredding event

2009-09-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday September 12 we'll be having a shredding and e waste "party" at my new office at 445 S. Fair Oaks in Pasadena. We'll have a shredding truck and e-waste truck there, and will be having a b-b-q.