Author: cgilles
One of my favorite places to visit and to go to some great restaurants is the little community of San Pedro sitting on the eastern slopes of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. This is a great community with beautiful single family homes, some large estate type properties, condos, town homes and some smaller and older type cottages. Many of these homes are overlooking the harbor and beyond. The neighborhoods are clean and family oriented with parks and good schools. The downtown area offers a diverse selection of shopping options, dining and entertainment. This is an old and historic town with beautiful cliffs along the ocean, sparse beaches and and wonderful vistas. Real estate in San Pedro is among some of the best buys taking into consideration the gentle hills and views that overlook the ocean and the harbor. Prices here will range anywhere from around $200,000 and go up to around $2M, depending on type of home, size, age and location. San Pedro has homes, condos and town homes that are priced cheaper than any other city in area that is located on the Pacific Ocean. The atmosphere in San Pedro is wonderful. Read More
Come see the new HI-TECH office Thursday, July 26 from 4-7pm. Snacks, drawings SPECIAL GUEST — Miss California 2102 – NATALIE PACK! 23805 HAWTHORNE BL TORRANCE CA 90505 click here …. Read More
For years, many critics argued that when a big box store like Walmart comes to town, it would automatically bring lower home values to those homes near-by. This was referred to as the "Walmart Effect" and over the years it made near-by residents nervous and often prompted those residents to oppose the proposed store. Following is a video of the Torrance area where the new Walmart is being constructed. A new study, according to Realtor Magazine, reports that just the opposite happens. The researchers found that homes within a half mile of a new Walmart store saw their home prices increase on an average about $7,000 in the two-and-a-half years after the store opened. Homes located a half mile to one mile away saw a $4,000 increase. These results came after analyzing more than 1 million real estate transactions, near 159 newly opened Walmart stores between 2000 and 2006. So, residents near to the new incoming Walmart store at Hawthorne Blvd. and Sepulveda, your property values maybe going up. That is good news for sure. Read More
Garages are becoming more important to home buyers today than ever before. But many homes don’t have a garage or the garage has been converted to something else like another bedroom. How crucial is a garage for today’s demanding buyers? We're not talking single car garages, people want additional storage space and a place for the kids toys, etc. Many real estate experts think that having a garage definitely increases the value of a property, if it’s in a mid-level or higher price range and especially in a cold climate. Moreover, if a home doesn’t have one, it may prove a deal breaker, The average two-car garage will return an investment two to two-and-a-half times. It doesn’t mean you have to have one with polished or painted floors and other fancy amenities, but it does have to be clean and roomy. Adding some extra square footage doesn’t cost that much more with this type of construction. Note: If you are a seller and your garage is in a mess, cluttered and disorganized, clean it up before showing your home to potential buyers. If a buyer has narrowed the choices to a few and your home is the only one with a nice garage that you can't see or get into, it could end up being the deal breaker. Read More
Sorry to hear that you or someone you know is in financial and/or mortgage distress. And you really want to keep your home. So you check the local newspapers and online ads. And they say … “I can keep you OUT OF Foreclosure and you get to KEEP your home!... Read More
Manhattan Beach is home to middle class families, drawn to exemplary schools, as well as upscale families and individual professionals from various fields and occupations. Grand and middle class single family homes sit on streets that slope down toward the ocean on the west side of the city. Here, the beach is two miles long and swimmers, surfers, volleyball players and sunbathers take advantage of the good weather year round.Great shopping is nearby. The east side of Manhattan Beach boasts a country club and golf course with a gated private community. There are many middle class, modern homes sitting on wonderful tree lined streets and avenues here. This beach city has much to offer in the way of modern amenities. It's schools rank in the 90th percentile, it's parks are modern and top notch for sure. It has a golf course, racquetball and tennis courts, library and community center. The residents take much pride in their city and in their own real estate properties. All of this and you are only 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles, Staples Center, Nokia and Dodger Stadium. See your local Manhattan Beach Realtor and ask to see the MLS listings for current real estate properties for sale. Then make the move..get into the beach and surfing lifestyle that you have always wanted. Read More
With interest rates THIS LOW, you have higher BUYING POWER. This means you can buy a higher priced home and still qualify for your loan. Talk with your lender (or I can offer a lender referral) to get pre-qualified and then let’s get together. There are still some very good... Read More
According to Mike Altieri, who is the King's vice president of communications, told the Los Angeles Times that all but one player on the Kings' 24-man roster call either Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, or Redondo Beach home. Why aren't we more aware of this? Because they all blend right in with the community. Read More
Today, the City of San Pedro is a quiet bedroom community that sits overlooking the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach at the south east side of the Palos Verdes hills. Because it is located beside the blue Pacific Ocean, with it's own ambiance and unique personality, people are drawn to the community due to its somewhat convenient location to downtown Long Beach, and to strategic areas of Los Angeles. The San Pedro real estate properties are diverse for sure and consist mostly of older single family homes down closer to San Pedro's downtown area, and newer condo complexes, large estate type homes in the quiet neighborhoods located on the hillsides overlooking the town and the harbors. Some land parcels are still available for development, as well as many upscale town homes. Much of the area of the community is overlooking the harbors and is made up of these diverse residential neighborhoods. Residential properties are priced according to age, size, type, location, amenities, etc., and range in price starting from about $200,000 and go up well over the $2m mark or higher for some of the bigger estate sized homes in the hills. In years gone by, San Pedro was a wild sort of town, with plenty of U.S. Navy Sailors, whorehouses, hookers, bars and booze. The community has changed over the years to what is today; a more refined and upstanding proud community of middle class Americans, living in a quiet peaceful setting and enjoying life to the fullest. There is plenty of action and things to keep you busy when visiting the town, including Ports O' Call, a village designed in New England style. Numerous restaurants, cafes, chic shops, many 'one of a kind' type shops, national brand retail outlets, entertainment, night clubs, bars and other conveniences that you can find in a modern city. You can take boat excursions around the bay, day trips to Catalina Island, or helicopter tours that go all over Southern California, depending on the time of year. There are also several museums and numerous historic landmarks to visit. Because of its great location at the end of the Harbor (110) Freeway, you are just minutes and a few miles from downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Malibu, Staples Center, Dodger Stadium and all famous Los Angeles and Southern California attractions. Read More
There is one thing about living or visiting the South Bay area of Los Angeles and that is the fact that there is never a dull moment or wasted time looking for something interesting to do. Whether you are an adult or child, or in between, you will find something that is of great interest to you in the South Bay. Three of the most popular places to visit is the Manhattan Beach Pier, Redondo Beach Pier and the Hermosa Beach Pier. Lots of great places to eat, drink, shop and go fishing if you wish to. Visit the "Strand", our own private beach freeway that you can walk on, jog on, bike on, skate on and it goes all the way from Will Rogers State Beach, down to Torrance County Beach near Palos Verdes Cliffs. Plenty of bike rentals, skate rentals along the entire Strand. The Strand will terminate just north of Playa Del Rey at Ballona Creek but continues on north on the north side of Ballona Creek. Take a bike or auto cruise around the Palos Verdes Peninsula on Palos Verdes Drive West. Here you can take your time and wind around the beautiful hills overlooking the ocean and ultimately end up in San Pedro on the east side of Palos Verdes. Look across the Santa Monica Bay to Catalina Island, then when you get to San Pedro, you can cross the bridge and go to the Santa Catalina Island Boat terminal in Long Beach and get tickets to visit the island for more good times. Read More