Category: Real Estate
No longer are homes painted with royal blue or red walls … or texture or lots of wallpaper. The new wave of color is White and the trend is for decorating with artwork. What do you think? According to an article by the Daily Real Estate ... Read More
How's the Real Estate market doing in Inglewood, California? Check out July 2014 Market values. Read More
I have held the same Job for 25 years, but I have some negative payment history. Can I still purchase a home in the South Bay. Employment status or employment history has nothing to do with your credit score, but some lenders may review it to determine if you are stable enough to repay a loan. Your income has nothing to do with credit scores. Your savings has nothing to do with your FICO's credit scoring equation. However, some lenders may consider these factors to determine the likelihood that you will default on a loan. I cannot get a loan due to poor credit. This is not true. There are many lenders who give loans for bad credit but charge high interest rates. Bad Credit never goes away. With sound debt-management practices, the negative marks will eventually vanish. Late payments, bankruptcies, foreclosures and collections typically remain on your credit report for seven years. (The exceptions are Chapter 7 bankruptcies and tax liens, which remain for 10 years and indefinitely, respectively.) All Credit scores are created equal. Each of the three major credit bureaus produces a FICO score based on the information it has about your credit history. Read More
Ask these questions: Why am I remodeling? How much do I want to spend? Is the remodeling for my pleasure or to upgrade for reselling? Make out a budget following these guidelines: On a $400,000 Home, You will want to cap at $60,000 for remodeling using the following percentages. Finished attic account for 10-15% ½ bath= 5%, bathrooms, Full bath: 5-10% Kitchen 10-15% of the property value. Photo courtesy of DIY Network Photo courtesy of DIY Network Once you have devised a budget, interview General contractors, asking for copies of their licenses and insurances, including workman’s comp. Make your choice, sign the contract and you are on your way to a beautiful like new Torrance home. Read More
I am a first time buyer and am confused about many aspects of the buying process in California. Just how many different agencies are involved when you purchase a home in this state? There are 5 different Companies you will be dealing with, each having a very important part in the transfer of property. Your Realtor-what is referred to as a buyer’s agent Appraiser- An appraiser is licensed under the state real estate commission who evaluates the house and property that is to be purchased for the Lender. The appraised value of the house is what the lender will go by for the mortgage loan. Home inspector- An inspector is usually a building contractor or specialist. This inspector should be hired by you, the purchaser, to “inspect” the structure, plumbing, electrical and roofing to insure that the house being purchased is in good working and safe condition. Mortgage Lender- this is either a bank or a other lending institution who will carry the loan(Trust deed) on the property. Escrow officer-A third party who holds any money transfers in a trust account until closing and gathers all pertinent documents concerning the property. Traditionally, the Escrow Company is where you will sign all the documents and close the deal. Title company- does a search of the property for any liens or other encumbrances. They insure that the property’s title is “Clear” Read More
Manhattan Beach lead the strong rebound in California's luxury housing market in 2013 as sales of homes costing $1 million or more soared 45% to their highest level in six years. ayres-manhattan-beachAccording to La Jolla based DataQuick, 39,175 homes costing $1 million or more were purchased. Manhattan Beach recorded 439 million plus sales, the most in the state in 2013. Even some undeveloped lots sold for $900,000. Malibu had the most expensive sale in 2013, $74.5 million for an 8 bedroom, 14 bath beachfront estate on almost 5 acres. This was also the most expensive sale in the U.S. at the time and a record for Malibu. In some communities, including Santa Monica, all of the sales last year were $1 million or more according to DataQuick. Read More
Good news for the South Bay Real Estate Market. Well Fargo has lowered its FICO score standards from 640 to 600. This means that more people can qualify for mortgage loans that do not have perfect credit. You can be pretty sure that other lending institutions will follow the lead of Wells Fargo. "The goal is to increase access to credit, especially for low- and moderate- income borrowers and first-time home buyers," said Tom Goyda, a bank spokesman. "These are fully underwritten, fully documented loans, consistent with FHA program guidelines and responsible lending principles." Read More
One of the best kept secrets in the South Bay is Redondo Beach’s Hopkins Wilderness WILDERNESS PARK2Park. This eleven acre camping, picnic and study park is located just where Sepulveda becomes Camino Real in Redondo Beach(see our Map below). It sits high upon the El Segundo Sand Hills. You will find meadows, water streams and ponds housing turtles, crayfish and bullfrogs, Wilderness Park welcomes visitors as well as day and overnight campers (reservation required). WILDERNESS PARK-map There is no entrance fee for day visitors with the park being open six days a week (closed Wednesday) from 10:00a.m. - 4:30 p.m. daily. This is a great place to take the children to introduce them to Nature. You can even camp over night if you wish. But if you are not that ambition they have wonderful camp site for picnics. It is worth a trip just to see what is offered at this unique city park and once you do see it , I guarantee you will be back. Read More
If you are holding off selling your property but you do want to relocate. You might want to consider putting your house on the market now. The reason being the home inventory is down because of the following reasons. While prices have been rising, sales activity has not followed. In December, only 308 single-family homes were sold, down nearly 9 percent from a year earlier, as inventory dropped. There is only six weeks supply of inventory on the market, The supply and demand rule is in motion. One of the reasons for a lack of supply is that there is a low inventory of distressed homes on the market. This along with homeowners, many who have been underwater for the last few years and who plan to sell are waiting for getting the benefit of rising prices. Read More
According to the National Association of Realtors homes sales in 2013 were the highest level in seven years. Sales totaled 5.09 million, the best performance since 2006, when sales totaled 6.48 million. The median price of an existing home rose 11.5 percent last year to $197,100, the highest in eight years. This is more proof that our real estate market is on the upswing and all is getting healthy once more. Read More