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A Bit About Mold
There are a number of little things to look out for when purchasing a new home. Normally the things to consider includes such things as location, wiring, the condition of the house itself, and several other factors. One of these factors that the home buying public is becoming more concerned with is mold. There are many different types of mold that can occur in a home and lead not only to structural damage, but some health concerns as well. Mold is difficult to find in many homes as it grows exclusively in dark and moist areas that are usually hidden somewhere in the structural areas of the home such as attics and basements. By the time mold shows up in the actual living areas, chances are that it is all through the home.
One of the most likely places for mold to form is anywhere that moisture is improperly vented. Another area of concern is if a home has ever flooded and was not completely or properly cleaned and dried after. Leaky plumbing and basement crawlspaces are other likely candidates. Mold can be a difficult thing to completely get rid of as the only thing it needs to continue growth is an organic material such as wood, and moisture. Both of these items are usually abundant in any home. The most likely was that moisture finds its way into the home is through faulty or leaky roofs and foundations. Both of these areas should be checked over by an experienced mold inspector on a fairly regular basis if there is any worry of mold beginning to grow, or if these has been mold in the past. Mold can be an expensive problem to deal with so be pro-active about looking for it, it can save you money in the long run.
Mold is one of the inspections you will have when purchasing a home. Finding a good inspector will be one of your top priorities when buying a home. Contact Laura Key today to learn more about the Steps to Buying! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Realty Goddess
'Nightmare On Elm Street' Home On Sale For Over $2 Million
Looking for a horrifying new place? The home from the legendary "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie can be all yours for just a little over $2 million -- and it’s not nearly as creepy as we imagined.
According to the listing by Redfin, the Los Angeles home has four bathrooms, three bedrooms, "designer closets,” and en suite baths. It’s completely modern with hardwood floors throughout and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen.
The current owner told AOL Real Estate that the home really was a nightmare when she purchased it in 2006. "It was the only house on the street that looked beaten up. The pool looked like it hadn't been touched in 10 years -- it was black," Angie Hill told the publication.
Hill has transformed the property into a dream... but the home still boasts the famous red door from the 1984 thriller, and we are half expecting Freddy Krueger to open it.
Maybe this home is a little too frightening for you? Call Laura Key to find your "DREAM HOME" today! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Is Your Home in a Buyer's or Seller's Market
As the overall housing recovery gains steam, local market divergences are growing wider. That is because one overriding factor —faulty and fraudulent mortgage lending — brought the market down; it will take varied local and national market drivers — jobs, income growth, consumer confidence, increased lending — to bring it back.
And that is why certain markets remain buyers' markets and certain ones have fast become sellers' markets.
Online real estate marketplace Zillow, defines a sellers' market as not necessarily one where prices are rising, but one in which homes sell faster, price cuts occur less frequently and final sale prices are close to or greater than list price.
Zillow ranked the top 30 markets and found that the formerly hard hit markets in California, Arizona and Nevada now rank as the top sellers' markets, which may seem counterintuitive, until you consider who the buyers there are now.
"Much of that strength is driven by investor interest, as many distressed and non-distressed homes are purchased and transformed into rentals," says Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist, in the report. "This investor activity is contributing to very low inventory levels, which increases demand and helps drive up prices, particularly for less expensive homes in these markets."
The best buyers' markets are equally surprising, with Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia topping the list.
These markets are still plagued by distress, despite the fact that their foreclosure numbers were lower during the worst of the housing crash. Investors are a far smaller share of buyers, as these markets don't offer the sun and leisure opportunities that the sand states do. Home prices are still suffering in these markets under still-tough local employment conditions. All that makes them less desirable for buyers. Stricter mortgage lending standards are also likely playing an outsized role, since most buyers in these markets would be owner-occupants.
The housing crash was the first fully national housing downturn in U.S. history. Usually housing downturns are local, spurred by some local phenomenon. Now that the overall economy is on the upswing, housing return to its roots and rises and falls on local factors again.
Source: CNBC —By CNBC's Diana Olick
Need to know how much your home is worth? Contact Laura Key today for a free Comparative Market Analysis! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
New Housing Fears: Home Prices Are Rising Too Fast
"For Sale" signs may seem like an eyesore to neighbors on any given local street, but the lack of them is a much bigger problem.
Just 1.82 million homes were listed for sale in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is a 22 percent drop from a year ago and the lowest supply since May of 2005, when words like "boom" and "bubble" followed the word "housing." At the current sales pace it would take just 4.4 months to sell those homes.
"The greatest concern in the market is the inventory situation," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. "Even if we see an increase in the Spring and Summer, if home sales hold at the [current] level or even a 5 to 6-month supply, price increases are guaranteed. We don't want to see rapid appreciation in prices faster than income."
The reasons for the low supply are varied, and the low numbers are in fact feeding on themselves. If potential buyers can't find something to their liking, they will probably not list their homes for sale.
There are also still 10.7 million borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. An additional 2.3 million have less than five percent equity in their homes, referred to as near-negative equity. Most of these homeowners are stuck in place, unable to sell unless they can afford to pay in to their mortgages. As for new supply, even though builders are increasing starts, they are still not even at half the pace they were at the height of the housing boom.
As a result, home prices are now rising more and faster than most analysts predicted due to this short supply, up 7.4 percent year-over-year in November, according to CoreLogic. They are especially surging in some of the hardest hit markets from the housing crash, where large-scale investors are swarming with cash in hand. In Phoenix, home values jumped nearly 32 percent from a year ago in November and are now at the highest level since October of 2008 according to DataQuick. While still 39 percent off their boom-high in June of 2006, they are now up 41.5 percent from the bottom, and there is not much on the market.
Healthy housing market gains are historically driven by increasing employment and income, not by lack of supply; the latter leads to price bubbles. First-time home buyers, who generally account for 40 percent of the home-buying market or higher are still under-represented at just 30 percent, according to the Realtors. This is due to tighter credit conditions in the mortgage market and now decreasing affordability.
December's disappointing drop in home sales, month-to-month is a clear warning for the housing recovery going forward. Rising home prices are not the sole measure of a healthy market. Supply and demand need to fall closer in line, and a robust economic recovery should be driving both home sales and prices.
Source CNBC —By CNBC's Diana Olick;
Prices are rising rapidly. Wondering if you can buy before they get too high? Call Laura Key today for a free consultation! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
The First Ever ‘Zombie-Proof’ Home
This garrison styled home, dubbed the “Safe House”, is located on the outskirts of Warsaw Poland which was designed and built by KWK Promes from 2005 to 2009 and is essentially a 6,100 square foot concrete cube when the house enters ‘sleep mode’, folding into itself and sealing the occupants safely inside behind its thick concrete walls.
The only common entrance into this down-home stronghold is on the second floor, across a lowering drawbridge, and then through a safety zone where visitors need to be screened then “approved” before being allowed to enter into the main interior of the concrete habitat. There are walls which slide out from the side of the house towards the exterior walls creating a courtyard/garden area, and these walls can surround the property like a domestic Bastille. The colossal roll-down-garage-like-door made from white anodized aluminum doubles as a movie projection screen when it is fully closed plus it seals the patio completely inside, and the windows feature thick concrete slabs for shutters which, like a bank vault, protects the glass inside the windows. This home even comes complete with an indoor swimming pool; zombies roaming about feasting on the living and roving gangs abound looting and pillaging everything in sight, so why not let your guard down and relax with a swim melting away your troubles.
Since there would be a lack of man made electricity during a zombie outbreak, the safe house runs mostly off renewable energy sources like solar collection and a heat pump, which are also both supported by gas heat. During the winter, the glazing behind the walls collects energy from the sun, and during the summer is keeps the heat from entering the home.
The house was sold recently but the selling price is being kept a tight secret.
Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse? Better to be safe than sorry! Let me help you find your next home! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Source: www.thegreatestrealestateblog.com
Love Those Baby Wipes! - Great Home Ideas!
The manufacturers of baby wipes never envisioned that their product could have so many uses other than cleaning up baby. Check out these ideas and you'll never be without them again:
- Makeup Remover: A few swipes with a baby wipe and makeup is gone.
- Removes crayon marks from painted walls or finished furniture.
- Remove stains from clothes.
- Excellent for shining shoes.
- Clean up shards of glass off floors after an accident.
- Touch up bathrooms between cleanings.
- Clean dashboard and car interior.
- Remove "white marks" from deodorant on clothes.
- Wipe down shower or tub after each use to prevent soap scum.
- Remove hairs from a shedding pet.
- Remove scuff marks off of floors.
- Cool a sunburn by patting it with a baby wipe.
- Touch-up floors. Put a wipe under each foot. Scoot feet along the floors.
- Water-less pet baths.
- Electronic Screen Cleaner: Use them on TV, cell phone, iPod and computer monitors.
- Remove bird splatters from car windshields.
- Wiping down restaurant tables, high chairs, shopping carts, changing tables and toilet seats in public places.
- Place a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a wipe and place it in a dresser drawer as a sachet.
- A must have on camping trips - good for cleaning yourself when a shower isn't available.
- Cleans window blinds.
Source: Good Neighbor Newsletter Feb 2013
Laura Key, your LA Real Estate Agent! For all your Real Estate needs call her for a free consultation! 310.866.8422 or Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
Happy Chinese New Year 2013, Year of the Water Snake
This is a great time to get your home in order with Feng shui!!!! The Lunar New Year dates from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the mid-February. On the Western calendar, the start of Chinese New Year this year falls on Sunday, February 10, 2013 — The Year of the Water Snake.
San Francisco has the oldest and largest Chinatown in the United States and is home to the largest population of Chinese outside of China. The New Year’s celebration is a continuation of a tradition in Chinatown that had been part of the neighborhood since the 1860s, the Gold Rush days.
If you were born in 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, you were born under the sign of the Snake.
Like the houses of the zodiac in Western astrology, the animals of Chinese astrology are thought by many to dictate personality traits or even to impact world events in any year they rule.Snake and those born under compatible signs benefit from good fortune during a Snake year.
013 Prediction for Snake
Snake can expect good fortune in relationships and look forward to a time when they personally or professionally shine. It will be a year when Snake can easily overcome recent setbacks or obstacles experienced in 2012. Even though Snake may not have the income desired in the first half year, financial fortune comes in the second half year.
Snake Characteristics
Self-reliant Snake's characteristics are complex. Snakes don't like to ask others for advice and some see them as cold and calculating – not so, they are just being careful.They need to plan every detail before embarking on an objective. Snake has excellent communications skills, but they are creatures of few words. Quiet and unassuming, they prefer to work alone and are more often in the spotlight for real and lasting accomplishments than for attempts at garnering attention. Actually, they can be a lot of fun when they want to be and they exude a charismatic confidence that is quite sexy.They have the ability to shed adversity like a second skin, and their recuperative powers are legendary.
The list of famous Snakes includes: Oprah Winfrey, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Pablo Picasso, Bob Dylan, James Joyce, Martha Stewart, Kanye West, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Love, Howard Stern, and Edgar Allan Poe.
Source:
Beginning Your Home Search
Once you've determined that you're ready to buy, it's time to begin thinking about where you want to look. You'll find there are many questions you must answer about the type of house you want to purchase. For example, are you interested in an older home or a new one? How big of a home do you need? Would you like to move closer to certain major roads or freeways? Your REALTOR® can answer many questions about the homes and communities you're considering, and in the meantime, there are myriad resources available for you to begin your research. Location Is Everything
Do you want to live in a particular city or neighborhood? If you're a parent, you're probably considering school districts and other child-friendly options like the proximity to parks. If you're relocating to an unfamiliar area, you can contact the city or county government for information about the community. It's a good idea to investiage crime statistics per neighborhood when you're narrowing down the areas of your home search.
Or perhaps location is the reason why you're buying in the first place -- to move closer to your work, your spouse's work or your extended family, or to live within a particular school district's zone. As you're probably aware, the location of your home can have a dramatic effect on its price.
Size Matters
You may have experienced growing pains in your current home, which prompted you to pursue buying a new abode. Or you're entering a self-employed profession and need a home office. Consider all your space requirements before you start searching for a new home. There's no reason to waste time looking at two-bedroom condos when you really need a four-bedroom house.
Locating Listings
Once you've narrowed down the specifics of your ideal home, where do you find listings? Your REALTOR® has access to thousands of listings in your area through the Multiple Listings Service (MLS). He or she will help you find available homes that meet your criteria. Or, you can start your home search by calling Laura Key at 310.866.8422
Source: CAR (California Association of Realtors)
www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com ● Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
The American Dream of Homeownership!
In addition, owning your own home provides a sense of security and well-being that's hard to beat. Home is where we raise our families, have friends over for summer barbeques, paint the baby's room pink or blue, and find refuge from the outside world.
Owning a home offers other advantages as well. For instance, as a homeowner, you have control over your environment. Not only can you change your home to meet your needs, but you also aren't subject to the terms of a lease or a landlord. As a homeowner, you can experience the emotional and financial security that comes from knowing what your housing expenses will be from year to year. Unlike rents, which can increase annually, most mortgages have fixed or capped monthly payments. So, as a homeowner, you can have a much better idea of what proportion of your paycheck goes toward your home. Think of it as the ultimate savings plan.
And it only gets better. Homeownership is the primary component in the creation of wealth for many Americans. Data from Harvard University's Joint Center of Housing Studies illustrate not only that the median net wealth of homeowners is 34 times greater than that of renters, but also that over half of that wealth is generated from home equity. As you pay down your loan amount each month, you accumulate equity, a growing ownership interest in your property. If you need funds, you can borrow against this equity in the form of a home equity loan. Further, interest on a portion of home equity is tax-deductible.
Most homes appreciate in value over time and can be a source of income for you, especially if you've lived in your house for many years. When you retire, you can sell your home if you need the funds or make use of a home equity conversion mortgage.
Finally, don't forget about the significant tax advantages of owning your home. Interest on a home mortgage and property taxes are deductible. For most of us, mortgage interest provides the largest tax deduction. Also, a home is the single most important factor that determines whether you will be able to file a return which takes advantage of the wide range of allowable itemized deductions.
Homebuying Means Getting Back To The Basics
Recently, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® surveyed homebuyers to find out what they considered to be important in the purchase of their homes. The largest percentage, 27 percent, considered the mere ownership of a home as the most important reason to buy. Moving to a better neighborhood (17 percent), wanting a larger home (10 percent), and realizing the tax advantages of homeownership (8 percent) were other reasons cited for buying homes. Seven percent focused on investment value as their primary motivation for homeownership.
Over the years, your home likely will be the best investment you'll ever make. But more importantly, it will be the place that offers you and your family shelter, security and stability. That's some return on investment.
FHA Loan Limits in Los Angeles County
Thinking of buying a home and going with an FHA loan? Here are the FHA loan limits for Los Angeles County of California. For information on other states, please feel fee to contact me at Laura.A.Key@gmail.com LOS ANGELES COUNTY FHA LOAN LIMITS (Median Sales Price $535,000)
- Single Family $729,750
- Two Family $934,200
- Three Family $1,129,250
- Four Family $1,1403,400
FHA loans have been helping people become homeowners since 1934. How do we do it? The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - which is part of HUD - insures the loan, so your lender can offer you a better deal.
- Low down payments
- Low closing costs
- Easy credit qualifying
What does FHA have for you?
Buying your first home? FHA might be just what you need. Your down payment can be as low as 3.5% of the purchase price, and most of your closing costs and fees can be included in the loan. Available on 1-4 unit properties.
Want a fixer-upper? FHA has a loan that allows you to buy a home, fix it up, and include all the costs in one loan. Or, if you own a home that you want to re-model or repair, you can refinance what you owe and add the cost of repairs - all in one loan.
Financial help for seniors Are you 62 or older? Do you live in your home? Do you own it outright or have a low loan balance? If you can answer "yes" to all of these questions, then the FHA Reverse Mortgage might be right for you. It lets you convert a portion of your equity into cash.
Want to make your home more energy efficient? You can include the costs of energy improvements into an FHA Energy-Efficient Mortgage.
How about manufactured housing and mobile homes? Yes, FHA has financing for mobile homes and factory-built housing. We have two loan products - one for those who own the land that the home is on and another for mobile homes that are - or will be - located in mobile home parks.
Ask an FHA lender to tell you more about FHA loan products.
Are Your Neighbors Friend or Foe?
Neighbors wage war every day over blocked views, loud noise, big and small annoyances. Do you have a good neighbor policy? How’s it working out? File this under No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A Buffalo home owner sued her neighbors for cleaning up her littered patio without her permission. She said they trespassed and discriminated against her. A federal judge disagreed, and forced her to pay $107,000 in attorney fees.
Think I’ll skip that neighborhood’s next block party.
I’ve been a home owner for 27 years and can think of no greater hell than waging war with neighbors. The idea of scurrying to collect my mail so I’ll avoid an angry couple next door makes me want to down a Xanax.
So what do I do? I usually bend over backwards to keep the peace.
Once, I hacked off the tops of my sunflowers because my neighbor complained they blocked the sun from shining on her tomatoes.
For the past two summers, I’ve allowed a twangy lute to drown out summer crickets because another neighbor adds a mid-eastern soundtrack to his nightly pool parties.
And I let it go when the couple across the street snuck into my yard and pruned my willow because they thought it blocked traffic sight lines around the corner.
But I may be in the minority. These days, it seems like neighbor feuds are the rule, not the exception.
- Former Seattle Mariners first basemen John Olerud finally won a long, unhappy battle with the minister next door to remove a Chinese pine that obstructed Olerud’s lake and mountain views. The neighbors had been great friends, and it seems a crying shame they let a pine tree rip them apart.
- Sick of escalating fights over loud reggae music, a Tampa judge sentenced two feuding neighbors to monthly potluck dinners together. Maybe breaking bread will stop the fights: If it were me, I’d bring a taste tester before I bit into the tuna casserole.
- Neighbors complained when a “starving artist” in East Hampton, N.Y., invited any and all tothrow a pint of paint on his house. The artist wanted a free paint job: What he got was angry neighbors worried about property values.
Can’t we all just get along, or at least get some perspective?
I’m not saying hack off sunflowers to avoid a fight — that just worked for me, and my flower-loving neighbor felt guilty for years. But some honest communication, or perhaps a little mediation, could keep your front yard from becoming a battleground.
Have you ever confronted a neighbor? How’d it turn out?
By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon Published: January 8, 2013
www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
Fountain of Youth Slows to a Trickle
The fallout from the housing crisis is still being felt today. One major casualty is the rate of homeownership in the country, which has fallen substantially. The picture is especially bleak for younger households, who comprise the bulk of first-time home buyers. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the biggest declines in homeownership were among households headed by those under 35 years of age. Rates for this demographic plummeted from a peak 43.6 percent in the summer of 2004 to 36.3 percent at the end of September 2012.
Meanwhile, households aged 35 to 44 experienced a decline in homeownership from 70.1 percent at the start of 2005 to 61.8 percent as of last year's third quarter.
There are two major reasons for the decline in homeownership among younger people. First, tight lending requirements and weak labor markets made homeownership unattainable for many in the younger age brackets. Second, foreclosures caused some of these homeowners to become renters or cease to be households entirely and move in with friends or family.
Also of concern is the fact that declining homeownership rates for younger households have broad ripple effects ranging from delays in marriage and having children to reduced wealth accumulation.
Source: "In the Wake of the Housing Bust, Fewer Young Homeowners," U.S. News & World Report (01/22/13) © Copyright 2013 Information, Inc.
Buying a home is not like buying a car! Have someone who can help guide you through the curves, ups, downs and joys! Contact me today! Laura Key, Real Estate Agent Laura.A.Key@gmail.com www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Super Bowl: ‘Home Is Where the Game Is,’ Survey Says
Americans consider “home” the best place to watch the Super Bowl, Century 21’s “Big Game Survey” of more than 2,800 adults reveals. Century 21 is an advertiser in this year’s Super Bowl for the second year in a row. The franchisor will have ads running during halftime and also will be sponsoring an hour-long pre-game show. “For millions of Americans who tune in, it’s not just about the game and the commercials, it’s about getting together with friends and family in the home,” says Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “This game represents the last great American campfire, and we thought it’d be fun to take a look at the role the home plays in what has become an iconic cultural event.”
Century 21's survey of adults uncovered these nuggets among others:
- Nearly nine in 10 Americans say home is the best place to watch the Super Bowl. The majority of those surveyed plan to watch the Super Bowl at either their home or a friend or family’s home rather than at a bar or restaurant.
- 66 percent say they plan to watch the game at a “home” because it’s a more comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. Nearly 60 percent say it’s important for them to be able to find a comfortable seat at home.
- 76 percent of Americans who plan to watch the game say they prefer to watch it in their pajamas or comfortable clothes (a more common response among women).
- 46 percent say that cleaner bathrooms are another benefit of watching the game at home.
- 52 percent say the quality of the television with its size and resolution is important in throwing a successful Super Bowl party at home.
- 42 percent of the adults surveyed say they plan to supplement their viewing of the game by using their mobile devices, such as checking sport news apps on their phone or tablet for additional commentary.
Source: Century 21 Real Estate LLC
Ready to have your own Super Bowl Party in your OWN HOME? Contact Laura Key today, dedicated, experienced and LOVES HER JOB! Laura.A.Key@gmail.com www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
8 Kitchen Trends to Watch in 2013
Kitchens are a popular spot that home shoppers judge in a home. So what are the trends in the kitchen for 2013?HomeThangs.com, a home improvement superstore, offers up some of the following kitchen design predictions for the New Year: 1. Modern style: Kitchens are getting more modern in style, boasting simplified lines and offering up big, open spaces perfect for entertaining.
2. Tucked-away appliances: Appliances designed to blend in with the rest of the kitchen, like with the same wood of the cabinets, are becoming more popular. Also, some appliances, like undercounter or mini refrigerators or trash compactors, are being tucked away into a kitchen island.
3. Lots of lights: Great lighting in the kitchen is becoming more important, with lighting being layered with a mixture of task lighting and ambient lighting. Under-cabinet LED lights are becoming more commonplace.
4. Supersized kitchen islands: “2013 kitchen design trends are moving away from dining rooms and toward eating, drinking, and interacting in the kitchen itself, and a large kitchen island complete with bar stools is the perfect way to make this happen,” according to HomeThangs.com. this helps to create “a nice open-air feeling – especially if one can be used to bridge kitchen and living areas, another major 2013 kitchen design trend.”
5. Neutral color schemes: The use of neutral colors in the kitchen is on the rise, particularly in shades of grays and greens and a variety of wood tones. Bright colors are being reserved for only small accents in the kitchen.
6. Fancy appliances: Professional gas ranges and induction cooktops are popular kitchen appliances for making a more gourmet kitchen.
7. Decorative range hoods: Trends are moving away from a conventional stainless steel trapezoid-shaped hood to more decorative range hoods. These hoods may have built-in LED lights and are even serving almost like a decorative chandelier for a kitchen island.
8. Glass backsplashes: High gloss is “in” for cabinets, appliances, and backsplashes. A single-sheet, back-painted glass blacksplash is growing in popularity, which are also known for being easy to clean. These glass backsplashes are also reflective, adding a polished decorative touch to kitchens. Glass mosaic tile sheets are also increasing in popularity.
Source: Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine
Photo Credit: HomeThangs.com
Interesting in buying or selling? You need someone experienced to help make your journey easier! Laura Key, Real Estate Agent (DRE: 01908085) Laura.A.Key@gmail.com www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Great Los Angeles HUD Home!
3 Bed 3 Bath 2 Car Garage - $616k - Click Photo Below for Virtual Tour SINGLE FAMILY HUD HOME IN MOUNT WASHINGTON AREA OF LOS ANGELES*** GREAT VIEW HOME IN A SECLUDED AREA OF LA. THIS INCREDIBLE TRI-LEVEL FEATURES 3 SPACIOUS BEDROOMS INCLUDING A LARGE MASTER SUITE, A LARGE LIVING ROOM, DINING AREA AND A KITCHEN WITH DARK WOOD CABINETRY AND GRANITE COUNTERS. FOREVER VIEWS FROM TWO BALCONIES, A NICE PATIO AND A FRUIT ORCHARD. EASY ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN AND THE VALLEY VIA THE 5, 110 AND 134 FREEWAYS. THIS HOME HAS TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL FOR THE CREATIVE HOMEOWNER. DON'T MISS THE BEST BUY IN LOS ANGELES TODAY!
Contact me to schedule a showing!
Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Owner Occupied Bidding Ends Feb. 1, 2013 - Investors can bid after that date!
Competition to Buy Remains High in California
Are you ready to buy your new home? Contact Laura Key for top-notch service! Home Education, Home Buying, Selling a Home, Short Sales, Luxury Homes! She has you covered! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
Leimert Park
One thing about relocation is you get to explore all the wonderful new areas around you. When you get settled into a place you become a bit blind to the things around you that tourists make it a point to see, so I am taking advantage of all the wonderful new history and soaking it into my spirit.
In my research of interesting areas in Los Angeles, I stumbled upon a section of town that I now look upon with wonder and excitement. Leimer Park! Where on earth have I been since moving here? This is an area I should have found first!
The area is rich in "African-American" history. It's rooted in the arts and community. Now that is what I am talking about! Known as a hub of jazz, this is one place I will be spending the majority to my time. Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald were once residences here!
There have also been many well-known films that were shot in Leimert Park such as John Singleton's "Baby Boy" and the filmed directed by Martin Lawrence "A Thin Line Between Love and Hate". Not to mention several success shows!
The Real Estate has a history of its own. Touting mansions among the average Joe. The average price range in the area is around $350,000 but they contain so much more living space than the more "ooo la la" neighborhoods of Los Angeles. A treasure within a treasure....Leimert Park, here I come.
To learn more about the historical area check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leimert_Park,_Los_Angeles
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Google+ and Foursquare! Maybe we can share some laughs and smiles along the way.
Levitated Mass Moves to LACMA
Love it or Hate it the "ROCK" is here! After a long and slow 105 mile journey the new attraction has arrived at its destination! The 340 ton boulder from a riverside quarry will be the star attraction for the "Levitated Mass." attraction!
As I write, I am looking outside our 29th story window at the massive attraction and have a few mixed feelings. I love art, it's pretty cool to see it hanging from the truck it was pulled in on however what true purpose does it serve the community. I guess I have "limbo thoughts" just as it hangs in limbo from the massive chains awaiting its final placement.
I do love being in the middle of it all! If you love being in the thick of the action, there are many homes available in this area for you to pick from. Please call me with any questions you may have. As always, I am "Making Miracles Happen from the Miracle Mile"
Underwater Sellers, what are your Options? Cash to Short Sell? Cash for Keys? Foreclosure?
We get these questions and would like to share our thoughts about this dilemma. Some home owners who are underwater may not know their alternatives. The “Cash for Keys” is a program that banks do for some home owners. The “new twist” you’ll be hearing more about is “Cash to Short Sale”. Lenders are figuring out that if there is anything they can do to make a deal happen, they need to do it. This apparently is what is starting to take place with people that are trying to “short sale” their homes. Instead of “Cash for Keys” to homeowners that lose their homes to foreclosure. This was not offered to home owners who were trying to short sale their home. Often the banks would basically give them a certain time to complete the short sale until they foreclosed.
Now because of tight lending practices, new buyers would take so long to qualify, it is often “too little, too late” to close escrow before foreclosure. When that happens it seems everybody loses. The lenders lost a willing & able buyer and the seller because, now, not only did they lose their home to a foreclosure, but also because a foreclosure was now on their credit report instead of a short sale. (It may be better to have a short sale than a foreclosure on a credit report?) Plus, the buyer may or may not wait until the home came back on the market at a later date.
Source: http://realtyworld-sierraproperties.com by Douglas Zeller
The U.S. Foreclosure Crisis, Beverly Hills-Style
The dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods
The careworn house not far from Santa Monica Boulevard resembles millions of other homes that have been foreclosed on since the calamitous U.S. housing crash four years ago.
Garbage spews from trash bags behind the property. A smashed television leans against broken furniture. A filthy toy dog lies on its side, an ear draped across its face. The garden is overgrown. The house needs a paint job.
Yet the property on North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, is no ordinary foreclosure.
A sprawling, Spanish-style estate, fringed by majestic pine trees and located near the boutiques of Santa Monica Boulevard, its former owners were served with a default notice in 2010; they were $205,000 behind in their payments on mortgages totaling $6.9 million.
Welcome to foreclosure Beverly Hills-style.
Some 180 houses in Beverly Hills, the storied Los Angeles enclave rich with Hollywood stars and music moguls, have been foreclosed on by lenders, scheduled for auction, or served with a default notice, the highest level since the 2008 financial crash, according to a Reuters analysis of figures compiled by RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide.
As in the default-ravaged suburban subdivisions of Phoenix, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida, plunging realestate
prices are the root of the problem in Beverly Hills.
But the dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods such as this. The majority of delinquent homeowners here owe more than $1 million. Many are walking away not because they can't pay, but because they judge it would be foolish to keep doing so.
"It's a business decision, not an emotional one which it is for normal people," said Deborah Bremner, owner of the Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker, which specializes in high-end properties in the Los Angeles area. "I go to cocktail parties and all people are talking about is whether it is time to walk away, although they will never be quoted in the real world."
She said she had seen in Beverly Hills a big increase in "strategic defaults," in which owners who can still afford to make their monthly mortgage payment choose not to because the property is now worth so much less than the giant loan used to buy it during the housing bubble.
Bremner said she helped a client buy a Beverly Hills mansion last year that the prior owner had bought for over $4 million. He decided to stop paying his $3 million mortgage - even though he could easily afford it - when the value of the property had dropped to $2.5 million.
"They were able to comfortably cover the loan," Bremner said. "They were just no longer willing to see the value of the property drop."
A huge "shadow inventory" is building of elite homes that are in default but have not been put on the market. Of the 180 distressed properties in Beverly Hills, only 12 are up for sale.
The backlog reflects the pent-up flood of foreclosed properties of all price ranges that are expected to hit the U.S. market this year, especially after five major banks reached a $25 billion settlement last week with the U.S. over fraudulent foreclosure practices.
'Jumbo' loans
Across the United States, the largest increase in foreclosures and delinquencies, compared with 2008 levels, is with "jumbo" mortgages - loans too large to be insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government controlled mortgage finance providers. Foreclosures on jumbo loans are up 579 percent since 2008, greater than any other form of loan, according to a report last month by Lender Processing Services, Inc.
Strategic defaults are now more likely among jumbo loan-holders than any other type of borrower, according to a report issued late last year by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Nearly 40 percent of delinquencies among non-governmental mortgages, which are mostly jumbo loans, are strategic defaults, the report said.
"Now that these homeowners with jumbo loans are finding out you can do this, more and more are doing strategic foreclosures," said Jon Maddux the CEO of YouWalkAway.com, which advises homeowners who are "underwater," the term for those whose loans exceed the value of their home.
Nathaniel J. Friedman, a Beverly Hills lawyer, insists he is not a strategic defaulter - that he never missed a mortgage payment in his life. But he stopped making payments on his five-bedroom, six-bathroom Beverly Hills house on Schuyler Road three years ago.
Friedman, who had mortgages totaling $3 million with the now-defunct Countrywide Home Loans, returned home one evening in January 2009 to find a letter from Countrywide freezing his $150,000 line of credit, which was linked to his second $900,000 loan. His primary loan was $2.1 million. The property is worth about $2 million today.
Friedman says he decided to stop paying out of a sense of vengeance from the moment he received that letter. He has been in negotiations for months with Bank of America, which took over Countrywide after its collapse, to modify the loan.
"I thought to hell with it," he told Reuters. "Why should I keep feeding a dead horse if the bank has no confidence in me?"
"I was able to maneuver things my way because of the inertia of the banking sector," Friedman said. He believes the bank will blink first, and eventually modify his loan.
Source: Thomson Reuters, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46411361/ns/business-real_estate/#.Tz1aT8VSSKY