Tag: South Bay Beaches Realtor
People make a decision to purchase a home or piece of South Bay real estate without any consideration of their ability to be able to make mortgage loan payments in case of an emergency or a major life change like an illness, loss of employment, divorce, or other unforeseen circumstances. The top three reasons people file for bankruptcy are change of job status, divorce, and unforeseen health expenses. If you face any of these challenges and don't have a financial cushion like some money put away, this may negatively impact your ability to pay a mortgage. Big life events dictate your readiness to buy now or to wait for a little more stability. Some signs that you should not buy right now: Will you be moving within the next five years? Are you planning on having children soon? Will you be making a job change? (or maybe you don't know) Have you recently filed for bankruptcy or is your credit score below 630? If you answered yes to any of these questions, or you are experiencing other life-changing events like illness, marriage, divorce, or breakup, you may want to wait until your life and finances stabilize better. Aside from life events contributing to your decision to buy a home, getting your financial house in order before you begin your home search is the key. Even with all the programs available for buyers with a low-or-no down payment, if your debts are growing steadily and you don't foresee an increase in your income, you are putting yourself in greater financial risk by taking on a mortgage. With few exceptions, most loans for people who are still repairing their credit or recovering from bankruptcy will always carry higher rates than those available once your credit is in better shape. So the question comes down to this: Do you buy now, before prices appreciate higher than you can afford, but do so with an expensive loan? Or do you wait and repair your credit, then get a favorable loan, and pay more for your home? These are questions that a good financial counselor or mortgage broker can help with. Don't be in a rush, after talking to a good Realtor, and a mortgage broker or lender, go to some open houses to start getting a feel of whats available and the prices, etc. Talk to a mortgage broker about getting preapproved for the amount of your loan. Remember that your Realtor and mortgage broker can explain details of all the mortgage loans that are available. Go over your credit report and your credit score with a broker and make sure that there are no problems that will come up later in the process. Talk to other homeowners and also talk to people in the neighborhood you are interested in, and get their inputs, the good and bad. Keep an open mind and soon you may be in that new home you have been dreaming about. Read More
In recent years, in the South Bay real estate Market, condominiums have become more and more popular with all age groups and income brackets, and for good cause. More and more people are choosing condos as their homes and many say its because of less maintenance and upkeep over a single family home. In a condominium complex there is no yard work, painting that has to be done,(except for inside)etc. When purchasing a condo or a home in a planned development, or cooperative or common interest development, like a condominium, there are covenants written specifically for that complex or development to maintain the property values, safety, asthetics, etc., thus helping to increase the value of the investment the homeowners have made. Covenants are often lumped together under the collective term of "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" or CC&Rs, which is a term commonly found in real estate documents. Since most covenants involve some kind of condition or restriction placed upon the buyer, the collective term "CC&Rs" has been more widely used in recent years to indicate the existence or future existence of limitations associated with the use of the purchased land also. CC&Rs basically affect what you can do, or not do, on "common area" of the property. For example: you most likely can't park your boat or RV in the driveway, put up a basketball hoop, put up a fence, even plant trees without pre approval from the homeowners association and in accordance with the developments CC&Rs. In some condo buildings, or developments, you may not be able to rent out your condominium unit. When looking at real estate to purchase, your South Bay Realtor is the best person to explain the CC&Rs and the responsibility of the homeowners association for a condo building or complex. CC&Rs are written by attorneys and are submitted to the building department and approved by the city during the initial construction permitting phase. Read More
Not knowing how long to keep different things contributes to household clutter. Being very unorganized can cost you time and money also. Find out when things should be tossed out before spending time packing them for a move for example. Learn what documents you should keep and which ones should be shredded or tossed. Same with old medicines and prescriptions. Most of us keep closets and drawers full of old clothes that should have been tossed years ago. Makeup? Toss it out if its a year old or more. Same with spices in the kitchen. Toiletries usually are used up by the expiration date, but if not, use the 1 year toss out rule. A good way to save on everything you use is to get everything organized. All clutter will cost you time and money. If you don't know where something is, and you need it, you will go out and purchase a duplicate, costing extra money. When you have to look and look for something each time you need it, this is costing you valuable time. If you can get your items organized, your life will become much simpler and finding the things you want easier. Read More
Today we all understand the importance of protecting our home and families with a quality home security alarm system. Before buying a system, however, a Manhattan Beach homeowner, along with all homeowners, should talk to several good alarm companies as ask about the different types available. There are wired... Read More
Basically most condo and townhome developments will have a home owners association, or HOA, as well as some other planned single family home developments. HOAs are established to ensure that the CC&Rs are enforced and given to all of the homeowners so to maintain the quality and value of the property involved. The membership of the HOA is made up of all the homeowners who all are charged a mandatory fee. HOAs have the authority to enact and enforce certain types of rules regarding maintenance and design standards, including those established by city or county ordinances when the development was originally planned and constructed. The CC&Rs are the Covenant, Conditions and Restrictions that apply to the development and to each of the property owners who have purchased property in the particular development. When considering buying a property in any community or project that a potential buyer look into the CC&Rs and HOA operations along with their South Bay Realtor to get an idea of what costs are involved over and above the initial cost of buying the real estate property you are interested in. Read More
Making sure that your South Bay home has the right curb appeal is important when selling. One of the first things that potential buyers look at when coming to inspect your home is the garage door and the condition of the driveway. Many people paint the trim and the garage door thinking it will coverup any needed repairs or blemishes, but sharp home buyers will always look at the condition of the garage door, and the driveway. A greasy, oily driveway is a turnoff for buyers, as is broken concrete or asphalt in the driveway. Spending the time and money to update or upgrade a garage door and any problem driveway will help to sell the home faster. Read More
If you are planning to sell your South Bay home, there are some inexpensive ways to help with the curb appeal and overall presence and help that all important "first impression". When potential buyers come to see your home, the first thing they will look at is the front yard, garage, lawn and plants, trees, front porch, paint condition, driveway and walkway, windows and screens, doors condition, etc. Important and often overlooked is the condition of the garage door. Next is the driveway condition and porch condition. The lawn should be trimmed and planters neat and free of weeds or dead plants. Trees should be trimmed and leaves or needles raked up underneath each tree. The front door and screen should look perfect, porch light updated and working, steps and floor of porch need to be perfect, as well as the walkway leading to the house. Clear trash from yard and along fences and curb way. Make sure fences look good and are not needing repair or paint. Don't have screens with holes or one screen missing from a window. Have hoses rolled up or removed as well as garden tools. Following this guideline will help convince potential buyers that the inside looks as good as the outside, and makes them feel more welcome. Questions? Talk to your Realtor for more advice on making your home more appealing during the selling process. Read More
Many of us in the South Bay have forgotten Aviation High School by now, and, of course the people who went to school there will never forget their old high school. Located at the corner of Manhattan Beach Blvd and Aviation Blvd, Aviation High in Redondo Beach opened in 1957. Due to budgetary constraints, the decision was made to close the school in 1982, and its students were sent to Mira Costa and Redondo Union high schools. The site is now Aviation Park, which consists of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Aviation Gymnasium and Aviation Track and Field (an outdoor running facility). Read More
With all the great Football Teams in the South Bay, many of us are starting to think about the upcoming season and tailgate parties and menus. Hot dogs and hamburgers are just not enough any more. Think outside the bun and start putting together some ideas that will shock your friends when you get together for that first tail-gater in the next few weeks. Try something different, something easy to fix, easy on the pocketbook and doesn't require a lot of cooking in the truck or at home, and something everyone will love. This has always been my philosophy and I astonish people every football season when I show up with outstanding surprises that everyone just can't get enough of. Hip Hip Hooray for South Bay and Happy Tailgating !! Read More
Once upon a time, back not too far, the city of El Segundo basically was a company town; owned and operated - lock, stock and barrel by Standard Oil. Everyone who lived in the city worked at the refinery, or one of the other Standard Oil facilities in town or close by. People came here from all over the world and went to work at the only employer in town. There were many mom and pop type support businesses like printers, hardware, tool shops, and plenty of businesses for automobiles and auto accessories, car dealers, but all were dependent on business that flowed down from Standard Oil. Beautiful El Segundo homes were built in great traditional neighborhoods, with tree lined streets, with hills and valleys. It was like living in a tiny community where everyone knew each other, but you were really living in a modern, up to date city within the everyday hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Wonderful schools, churches, recreation facilities, parks, police and fire departments, and a great old downtown section that everyone loved and still loves today. Read More