Tag: South Bay Real Estate
Holly Glen is a somewhat hidden jewel within the city of Hawthorne. Holly Glen is located east of Aviation Blvd. and north of Rosecrans. It has it's own school district (Wiseburn School District) and is almost a little town all to itself. There are some beautiful single family homes here, many have been remodeled and renovated in recent years. Property here is highly sought after and few of the original single family homes are ever for sale. The beautiful new Fusion Town Homes near 149th street, east of Aviation, has several plans available and are formidably priced. The location is just minutes away from the famous South Bay beaches, great shopping, entertainment, employment centers and close to all freeways. Read More
Here are some surprising ways to save energy around your South Bay home: 1 If you place lamps in the corners of your rooms, the walls help to reflect light out into the room. 2 Use a laptop computer instead of a desktop. A laptop uses 1/3 less energy. 3 Dont switch to a plasma flat screen it uses much more energy than an LCD. 4 Put a blanket on your water heater and turn down the temperature a little. A water heater blanket can save anywhere from 4% to almost 10% on the average water heating bill. 5 Using an electric stove? Turn off the burner before your finished cooking as the burner stays hot for awhile after you shut it off. 6 Spin laundry more. Let your washer spin the water out of the laundry, even if you have to spin it twice, it will save energy use in the dryer. Some new washers can cut energy in half by eliminating the time required for the dryer to run. 7 Shut off your refrigerators ice maker and use an ice tray or two. A refrigerator ice maker increases your energy consumption up to 20%. When you use ice trays, there is no increase in energy use or costs. 8 Use your dishwasher, it uses 1/3 of the hot water that you would use if you washed your dishes by hand. Read More
According to Forbes; Homeowners beware. There are new scams galore out there and most new ones are aimed at the homeowner. Home improvement scams are still heavily represented in the top 10 homeowner scams. Auto and Debt related scams and new real estate scams are new to the list this... Read More
The Beach Part of the South Bay Beautiful San Pedro Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance Beach area, El Segundo, San Pedro:You can find some of the nations greatest homes located in these beach cities, ranging from the affordable to very upscale expensive Manhattan Village. Inland South Bay: Torrance inland part of the city: Hollywood Riviera, West Torrance, Old Torrance, South Torrance, East Torrance, Lawndale, Hawthorne, Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Inglewood: Great South Bay homes, great shopping, lots of movie theatres and other entertainment, great places to eat. The great thing about living in any part of the South Bay is that you are close to everything you Read More
According to The Daily Real Estate News, mortgage loan applications have continued the recent surge in activity for July for both new loan applications and for refinance mortgage applications. This is certainly good news for the Real Estate industry and all related business activities. The Daily Real Estate News says the low interest rates and the inventory of low price homes are the contributing factors in the application surge. Applications were up almost 17% for the week ending July 13th. 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
We all know that the South Bay area includes many beach cities and several inland towns and communities. Each community and city in the South Bay is unique in its own way and has something different to offer in the way of life style and atmosphere. The South Bay has some of the most beautiful and user friendly beaches along our magnificent Pacific Coast. Bicycling, Walking, Jogging, Hiking, Surfing, Sailing and people watching make the South Bay a tourists delight for sure. The South Bay is close to LAX, Downtown Los Angeles and the Entertainment Capital of the world, and having this great location that we have, puts us in a unique situation not only to live in but for the 1000s of annual visitors. The South Bay cities have award winning schools, great restaurants, cafes and coffee houses. Just about all areas of the South Bay are family oriented, with plenty of wholesome activities and entertainment, including our world famous beaches in Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo Beach, Torrance Beach, San Pedro too. The South Bay is also diverse in many ways, including the South Bay homes, employment centers, activities and its people Read More
Just because the weather is still a little chilly at times here in the South Bay, it doesn't mean you can't start thinking about getting your outdoors areas ready for summer and warm weather. Plans can be made about what plants you are going to put and where. Need to order seeds? Check out those outdoor lights, fix any wiring problems and put in new bulbs if needed. What about the BBQ pit? Do you need to replace the burners or grill area? Also, does the patio floor need a refinish?My suggestion is to talk to a pro and get some advice and new ideas especially if you plan to put your home on the market. Many of us are caught up in the rut of just getting the yard ready every year that we aren't aware of the new products and plants and decorating ideas out there. Think about this: Once you have the planters finished, think about a fountain or water feature someplace in the patio, or yard. Everyone loves them and they look nice, and sound great in the hot summer evenings. So whatever improvements you make to your Torrance home, your family will reap the benefits all summer long and after. Read More
All of us tend to get behind on the little things that need to be done around the house but when you are going to sell the house, and have open houses, you no longer can procrastinate and must get to work to get your South Bay Home where it looks appealing. OUTSIDE: Keep the grass cut and flower beds trimmed, remove all yard clutter. Weed flower beds, and replace dead plants with new ones. Apply fresh paint to wooden fences, and make any fence repairs needed. Tighten and clean all door handles, including screen doors. Clean windows inside and out, and the screens also. Powerwash home's exterior, touch up paint or re do paint if necessary. Ensure all gutters and downspouts are firmly attached and functioning. Clean or paint the front door, and railing too if needed. Buy a new welcome mat. Put a large fern or plant at the front entrance. INSIDE: Review the furniture arrangement in each room, get rid of any old clutter. Clean and organize cabinets, closets and bookshelves. Clean all light fixtures and ceiling fans, and shampoo the carpets, wax floors. Remove excessive wall hangings and knick-knacks and personal pictures. Repair all plumbing leaks, including faucets and drain traps, and make any minor repairs that needs to be done. This includes replacing worn door and cabinet knobs. Clean or paint walls and ceilings. Replace broken tiles and fix or replace old or discolored grout. Replace worn counter tops. FOR AN OPEN HOUSE OR SHOWING: Turn on all the lights, and open all window coverings and shutters during the daytime. Put new towels in bathrooms and new bedding in the bedrooms. Set the dining room table so it looks elegant and inviting. Keep pets secured outdoors, away from any potential buyers. Replace old lamps or lampshades. Light the fireplace and be sure the ashes have been cleaned out. Play quiet background music, not rock and roll or hip hop. Place some fresh fruit on the counter in kitchen, or some apple scents or vanilla scents. Be sure that the property is vacated by everyone in the family during an open house. Read More
Selling your home or any real estate can be complex and sticky at times. That is why you have a real estate professional working with you side by side to help and give advise. Should you find yourself in a sticky situation, alert your real estate agent or broker, so he or she can address and remedy the problem right away. When your South Bay REALTOR or broker puts your home on the market, generally all of the promotional materials will state clearly to not contact the homeowner, but potential buyers agents are to contact your agent, broker or REALTOR. However, sometimes a buyer's agent will contact the seller directly to try to either win over their business, or cut the seller's agent out of the deal. This is not reputable or acceptable behavior and you should report it to your agent, broker or Realtor immediately if it happens to you. When you sell your home, it necessitates all kinds of new purchasing decisions and less-than-ethical vendors are keenly aware of this. Though MLS organizations enforce rules on how posted information is used, some companies have found ways to cull information from various sources to produce mass mailing lists. If you find yourself regularly emptying your mailbox of junk, let your agent know. People see yard signs, internet listings and other advertisements on your home and some potential buyers, especially first time buyers, will be so excited to see your home, they will just drop by and interrupt your schedule. If this happens to you, no matter how nice these unexpected visitors are, it's best not to encourage their enthusiasm by discussing your home or anything about it, or giving an type of tour. Instead, you must let them know that your real estate agent, or broker is in charge of scheduling tours and then you provide them with the agent's contact information. If you attempt to handle these surprise visits on your own, you might disclose some information that could hurt you during negotiations down the road. Read More