Crenshaw Line Is Really Coming! - Green Line

After a long haul and many battles the Green Line is coming to Crenshaw!

Not sure how much you have been following along but the Crenshaw District IS getting its own Light Rail/Subway. Last week the planned light rail received a boost from the  Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff recommending a $1.27 billion contract to build the line.   The Line will begin at The Aviation Station along the Green Line, travel north along La Cienaga( meet a soon to be people mover at Century Blvd that will  that take travelers directly into the soon-but-not-too-soon Grand Terminal at LAX), touch the eastern tip of Westchester with a station at Hindry to serve the Westchester community.  The Light Rail will hit a slight right along Florence, cutting through Downtown Inglewood and finally hitting Crenshaw Blvd in Hyde Park at Crenshaw and Florence.  The train will continue north along Crenshaw all the way to expo, submerging underground after Slauson Ave. with a subway stop at Leimert Park at or around Vernon  amd another subway stop at MLK Blvd with a underground entrance to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.  Bravo!

On June 27, the full Metro board is scheduled to vote on the contract and whether to approve Walsh/Shea Corridor Constructors as the contractor.

Source: SouthLA: Crenshaw on the Move

Rare Opportunity to Buy by the Beach!

What a wonderful opportunity to live your dream of living by the beach! Redondo Beach to be exact! Call me for a scheduled showing! Laura Key 310.866.8422

630 The Village Unit 110 Redondo Beach, CA

$385,000

1 Bed 1 Bath 621 SqFt - HUD

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Laura Key on CBS News

Appraised Value: The Ups & Downs Of How Much A House Is Worth

How is the fair market value of a real estate property actually determined?

Determining Fair Market Value is an eternal struggle and major balancing act. That’s because buyers want a house to appraise on the low side—to keep the purchase price down. While sellers want the same house to appraise on the high side—to make the sale price higher. And then you’ve got the owners of the house—who also want the appraisal to be on the low side, in order to keep the property taxes down.

So with all these different agendas and points of view, how is the fair market value of a real estate property actually determined?

Once a year, your county sends all area homeowners official notices that put a dollar value on their property. And property taxes are based on those dollar values. But before those notices get sent out, a long, detailed process usually takes place. First, the land is valued as if it’s vacant—an empty lot, in other words. Then any improvements are described and measured. Improvements consist of the house and any other structures, pools, sheds, garages, and so forth. Next, most counties check the Marshall Valuation Service Cost Guide. It’s a standardized nationwide guide for determining the value of the cost per square foot to build a building that fits the description of the improved property. Next, if the house isn’t brand new, the replacement cost is considered, as well as depreciation; the year the house was constructed and the condition of the property are factors here. Appraisers then must take the critical step of comparing the value of the house with recent selling prices of similar homes in the neighborhood. At this point, the appraisal might stand “as is”—or it might be adjusted upward or downward.

Market Value is a theory, in other words—not an unchanging fact.

In a perfect world, you have to have willing buyer and a willing seller. Neither is under duress. Both are in a position to maximize gain and are trying to do this. But in the real world, things are rarely that simple and equally balanced. Which is why people feel differently about the appraisal value of a house. It really depends how strong their position is as a buyer or seller.

Does the local economy come into it at all? You bet it does.

Ask a successful Realtor about that! He or she will tell you they’ve noticed that the Rio Grande Valley’s fast-growing economy is attracting people from other areas who consider real estate here a bargain. That helps fuel increases in property values.

So—now you know where that Grand Total comes from.

You’re armed with the information you need to make a better house-buying decision. For instance, you can understand how two virtually identical houses that are in two different neighborhoods could be very far apart in price and appraised value. And why your choice of the right house in the right neighborhood could be worth a not-so-small fortune to you right now—and years down the road.

 Sellers! You can get a great idea of how  much  your home is worth! Call me for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) Laura Key 310.866.8422

5 Things You Should Know Before You Flip A Property

Money is made at the buy, not the sell of your flip. When flipping a house your money is made at the purchase not at the sell of the house. So, many times people buy a house with the intentions of making a huge profit only to find out that they could not make any money after all the renovations because the purchased price of the house was to high.

1. Money is made at the buy, not the sell of your flip. When flipping a house your money is made at the purchase not at the sell of the house. So, many times people buy a house with the intentions of making a huge profit only to find out that they could not make any money after all the renovations because the purchased price of the house was to high. When you purchase your property you need to be sure that you buy the house with enough money to make renovations, have carrying cost, and add about 5 $6,000. Now, cost is at $147,000, and that is if everything goes as planned. Profit is under 10,000 dollars. The mistake was made at the purchase at the home, not the sell.

2. Get an inspection on the home - Get a complete inspection done on your property. By, spending a few hundred dollars on this expense you can save thousands in problems that you cannot see. Foundation, Pest, Wood Rot, Etc... By, getting a full inspection you can rest assured that you know every thing that is wrong with the property before its to late. In the contact for the house you need to make sure that you have 7 days to have a inspection preformed, and if the inspection finds problems that are going to cost more money that you are willing to spend you can get out of the contract with no penalties.

3. Don't do the work yourself: - Get a contractor or several sub-contractors and have the work done quickly. You need to have you house flipped ASAP, so that you can get it on the market and get it sold. When I started flipping my brother and me did a house together, and we did all the construction. I had a construction background and figured it would save thousands, but it took us over 4 months to get the work done that a contractor could have had the work done in a month. But, we trying to save money on our flip did all the work on our time off and after work, and it just took to long. On our 2'nd flip we used contractors for almost everything and had the house completely flipped with a new roof, new air conditioning, new hardwood, and much more in only 3 weeks. We did not have to spend all our time working on the property and were able to spend that time looking for the next deal. This is how you get rich in real estate.

4. Place the property 1 to 2 percent below market value: If you are wanting to flip real estate and make money the object is to buy and sell the property as quickly as possible, so that you can move on to the next house. If you purchase a house and try to sell it at top dollar to make and extra couple of thousand dollars on your flip, and end up holding it for 6 months you are loosing money. Get the house on the market at a price that is going to blow the competition away, and you will sell it no matter what the market conditions. On our second house the market for selling house went down do to the housing market as a whole, and the tightening of the loans across America. We were told that you could not sell a property in this market, but we went ahead anyway and flipped our house. After 3 weeks on the market we had 3 people wanting to buy the house. Why, because we offered it at such a great deal that people wanted to jump on it. That is what you have to do especially if the market is slow.

5. Use a real estate agent - Do not try to sell you house on your own. Harness the power of a real estate agent and the power of the MLS system. When you do a FSBO you are depending on people driving by your house and seeing you sign, with a real estate agent you have someone actively marketing you house to get it sold. Once again this will free up more time for you to look for more great deals. If you want to help the process I have found that craigslist and listing you house in google adwords help to, but use these tools with the help of a agent such as Laura Key to make sure I have all my bases covered.

I hope this article has been helpful with the basics needs of flipping a house. If you will study and learn you will make money. But, do your homework before you purchase a house, and make sure that you can pull a profit on your deal. Then, make it happen! I am a Investor Friendly Agent, let's get you some deals! Laura Key 310.866.8422

 Laura Key on CBS News

Great Burbank HUD Home! 2 Bed 2 Bath

HUD Homes are a wonderful way to purchase your first home! Most are FHA approved and don't need much work at all.  Make sure you use a HUD experienced agent as myself! I have helped many families obtain their Home Dreams with HUD!  Call me today for more info! Laura Key 310.866.8422

2359 N. Reese Place

Burbank CA 91504

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DIY Bucket List

This is a wonderful story about making their house a home! With so many options out there today it's hard to choose what you want in your own home.  

More Sellers Jump Into Favorable Market

More sellers are ready to put their homes on the market for the awaiting buyers.  They are getting top dollar! If you have been thinking of selling, give me a call for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis and let's begin the process! Laura Key 310.866.8422

Inventories of for-sale homes are increasing as more owners see rising home prices and faster sales as a reason to try to sell now, according to industry reports.

In April, the number of listings was higher than the level of homes that were under contract in that month, according to a study by the real estate brokerage ZipRealty, which measured listings in 24 major metro markets.

“It’s less of an indication of buyer momentum flagging and more of seller momentum picking up, finally,” says Lanny Baker, the company’s chief executive.

The reports find that homes are selling faster—on average, within 32 days of being listed. In April 2012, that average stood at 48 days for homes to sell. 

“A market in which the sale prices are happening very close to the list prices, a market in which the list prices seem to be moving sequentially higher, and a market in which any of those houses are selling speedily is one that is bringing sellers back,” Baker says. “That makes it feel to a seller that this isn’t going to be a long passive despair that I tried three years ago.”

Source: “Why More Sellers Could Test the Market,” The Wall Street Journal (June 10, 2013)

Want an estimate of what your California home is worth? Fill out the form below!  All info is confidential and will not be sold!

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Do Pets Make A Home Complete?

Some say a house is not a complete home without a pet? What are your thoughts? Meet Chewbacca and Fizgig, my furry babies!

I grew up in the country in a little country town in Kentucky.  When I was coming up we only had outdoor pets.  So naturally 11 years ago when my husband and I purchased our first home I started to get the gentle heartstring plugs of wanting a dog.  After much discussion and concern due to allergies, we proceeded to head out and get Chewbacca who is a full blood Shih Tzu.  Chewbacca is gentle, warm, kind loving, and just a special being and I enjoy having him around.  Well, after two years we thought maybe Chewbacca needed a companion.  So off we went and ended up with Fizgig who is also from the same parents of Chewbacca but has a totally different view on life.  He's stubborn, he barks, he is a little Tasmanian devil.  But he is still my furry baby and both of my pets do something every single day that warms my heart and lets me know they love me as much as I love them.  It's nothing like coming home to two little warm fuzzy faces who are happy to see you.  Chewbacca and Fizgig bring both my husband and I untold joy!  

In case you are wondering where the names came from, my husband is a movie buff.  Of course most know Chewbaccca is from Star Wars but most do not know where the name Fizgig came from.  Fizgig has his name from the little dog like creature in "The Dark Crystal" and if you know that movie, then you know exactly how my little monkey acts!

So what are you thoughts?  Is a house not a complete home without a pet?

Ready to create memories in your own home?  Start your journey by attending a FREE homebuyers workshop.  You will find info from credible lender's, the homebuying process taught by me, and lots more such as...what is escrow...Do I have to have an inspection? Contact me today for a class schedule!

Home is Where the Heart Is? Are You Ready?

Home is where you create wonderful memories!  One of my favorite things is when my family comes for the holidays and we all gather in the kitchen and work on dinner.  We have so much fun laughing and preparing dishes that have been handed down through the generations.  Then after dinner we gather around piano and sing, sing, sing!  Home.....are you ready?

Find your home now for free! Click below!

Return to 'Buyer's Market' Still Years Away

Even though it's tough for buyers right now, I never say it's IMPOSSIBLE! Buyer who are patient and stay the course can find a home! Call me today! Free Homebuyers classes coming soon! Register Now! Laura Key 310.866.8422

It may be two to three more years before prospective home buyers get a break from escalating property prices and tight supply, according to experts speaking at a National Association of Real Estate Editors conference Wednesday. 

That is the time frame for institutional speculators, who currently are dominating the market, to pull out of their investments and still make a profit, explained Bill Rayburn of the mortgage technology firm FNC.  The market also will need to see the return of individual home buyers in order to normalize, he said, which will be propelled by employment gains.

Source: "Better Times for Home-Buyers Will Take a Few Years, Experts Say," Los Angeles Times (June 5, 2013)

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