Los Angeles Real Estate and Homes for Sale
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If you are looking for Los Angeles homes for sale you know that inventory is extremely tight. Some of the reasons for the low inventory are: Los Angeles home sellers are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. The government programs like HAFA and HAMP are making it easier for those under water to refinance. Those who can still afford to wait are hopeful that home prices will continue to rise. And banks are also waiting out the market before offloading the remaining shadow … [Read more...]
I recently wrote a post, You Have Had your Home Inspection, What's Next?. As a result I got a call yesterday from a very nice gentleman who wanted my advice on his situation. He is in escrow on a home and had paid $5,000 over the asking price. The inspection showed some problems that were going to cost around $2,000 to fix. He had submitted a request for repair, and the seller countered back that they would pay half. He was asking me what I thought. I asked him what his agent was … [Read more...]
Gene Mundt was asked to participate in a recent Bridal Show and Expo in Joliet, IL. Below is the advise he put together to share: My suggestion to newlywed couples is ... let the excitement of your wedding day die down a bit. Take some time to relax and just bond. Then have a few serious talks together. Ones where you each take the opportunity to communicate your future financial goals and dreams to the other. During your talks, tackle the following tips and suggestions one … [Read more...]
When looking for a Los Angeles home to buy or rent you may find something on the market that is listed in both categories. What does this mean? In the days when it was a buyers' market then probably the owner needed out for one reason or another and was not sure he or she would be able to sell the home. So they put it on the market for sale. Now, with low inventory that would probably not be the reason. It could be that the owner wants a certain price and if they don't get it they … [Read more...]
Why do I say inspect with purpose? When buying a Los Angeles home you should know that each transaction is different, that is why when you are in escrow on that home your inspections should be carried out in a well thought-out manner. If you don't stay on top of the progression of escrow you can end up wasting money. During the course of escrow you will be doing your due diligence: conducting inspections, reviewing disclosures, checking permits, etc. Then comes the appraisal, which … [Read more...]
You are buying a Los Angeles home and your offer has been accepted. The very first thing you are going to do is put your good faith deposit (generally 3% of the purchase price) into escrow. This is held, as its name suggests, to show good faith that you are serious about purchasing the property and it will be applied to the amount of the purchase price upon closing. It is fully refundable if you decide not to continue with the sale for a valid reason as specified in the contract. The … [Read more...]
You may be considering buying Los Angeles real estate and may have luckily have identified a home and gone into escrow. Now you need to decide how you are going to take title, especially if you a taking it jointly. There are various way to take title, including: Sole Ownership. Co-Ownership: Below are seven of the most common ways. However you should consult with an attorney and/or a CPA to find the best option for you. Community Property: only for husband and wife. Interest … [Read more...]
If you are a Los Angeles home buyer right now you must be feeling extremely frustrated. You can't get to a property quick enough to make an offer before there are three, four or more buyers ahead of you also making offers. And some of those offers are cash. Don't give up. Your house is out there. Just make it a point to be available the minute a property comes on the market so that you can go see it and be in at the beginning. There are certain properties where you can only see … [Read more...]
If you are thinking of buying a Los Angeles home, and certainly if you are thinking of selling a Los Angeles home you are going to be interested in recent home sales. At this time, I am not able to limit the feed to show less than 12 months of sales, but those with the shortest time on the market will come up … [Read more...]
Now is the time to be on the top of your game when buying a Los Angeles home. As I have reiterated in many posts, Los Angeles is a sellers' market. Avoid these mistakes and you may end up the lucky owner of a new home: Do not start searching for a home without knowing how much you can afford. You are going to waste a lot of time and energy, and you will save a lot of heartache if you focus on a realistic goal. Do not establish any new credit or in any way do anything that will … [Read more...]
If you have been looking for a home in Los Angeles for a while you are probably becoming extremely frustrated. There is very little inventory, and that which does come on the market in a good area at market price is met with multiple offers and generally sells over asking price. Stay on top of new Los Angeles real estate listings. Check out homes coming on the market today, broken down by … [Read more...]
Gene offers excellent advice on how to manage your credit before it becomes a problem. It's not hard to find advice on a full-range of credit issues today. Experts (or so called experts) are everywhere. So I find that most of my clients come to me already understanding that credit scores are very important ... and growing more so each day. But experience with Borrowers pertaining to credit managementhave made it abundantly clear to me, that way too many do not spend enough … [Read more...]
It is a very tough market right now for Los Angeles home buyers and you need to be on top of your game if you hope to get ahead of all the other buyers out there. Even then you may not get the home of your dreams, but you do stand a better chance. So, how can you stand out from the crowd in this home buying market? In general, if a cash buyer is in the mix it is going to be a little more difficult to compete, but that is not always the case. Be pro-active. Your Los Angeles … [Read more...]
Finally your process of buying a Los Angeles home is over. You are just about to close escrow and are ready to move in. Here are some things you need to think about: Change all the utilities into your name, and make sure the seller has remembered to cancel their service. Here are some of the numbers you will need Make sure to change the locks on the day of close of escrow. If you bought the home with cash, be sure that your insurance is in place. Order your change of address … [Read more...]
This is the seventh part of the series on Buying a Home in Los Angeles, in which we will go over what is involved in the escrow process. The first part of the Los Angeles home buying process is over, your offer was accepted and you will be entering the escrow phase, since California is an escrow state. What is escrow? Simply put, escrow is the handling of the contract by a neutral party which will ensure that the terms of the contract are met by both sides and all monies will be … [Read more...]
In Part 5 we discussed the process of making an offer. Here we will talk about the negotiation of the offer. If you are serious about buying a Los Angeles home then don't listen to the friends who are telling you that there are deals to be made, and you should just make low ball offers until a seller rolls over and says "take my home." It doesn't happen that way. Above all, be prepared to negotiate. The whole process of home buying and, of course, home selling, is about give and … [Read more...]
This is the fifth part of the series How to Buying a Los Angeles home. In this post I will address making an offer once you have found THE home. The actual negotiation of the offer is addressed in Part 6. You have looked at several homes and are focussed on one on which you would like to make an offer. Backing up a little from here, don't be afraid to make an offer on the first one you see. You don't have to visit every home on the market. If you like it make the offer, because it … [Read more...]
Part 4 in the series about buying a Los Angeles home is aimed at helping you gain an edge in the search process, especially in this sellers' market. At this stage, you will have your financing in order in terms of knowing what you can afford and are willing to pay, you will have chosen your Los Angeles real estate agent, and have sat down with them to determine your criteria. Now you are ready to go. How does the search process work? Your agent will send you listings from the … [Read more...]
You are ready to buy a Los Angels home. You have talked to a lender and chosen your Los Angeles real estate agent. What comes next? Now you need to sit down with your agent and define your criteria. An area like Los Angeles gives you a large variety of options and you are going to have to decide what is most important to you and narrow them down. Here are some ideas: Location: Do you need to be near work.? How much of a commute are you willing to consider? L.A. freeway driving can be … [Read more...]
If you are selling a Los Angeles home, you will be using just one real estate agent because you will sign an exclusive listing agreement with that agent which means, yes, that you work exclusively with that agent. The work involved in selling a Los Angeles home warrants that kind of loyalty, and you as a seller will be paying commission to that agent and the co-broker who brings the buyer. Makes sense, right! Now, if you are buying a Los Angeles home, why would you not use an agent and … [Read more...]
