Archive for February, 2008
Top 10 Things to Do in Santa Monica
February 27th, 2008 Categories: Santa Monica, Things To Do
In my humble opinion, Santa Monica offers the best of everything if you want to be by the beach. It has the restaurants, shops, parks and casual atmosphere to suit just about everyone. Here’s a quick sampling of some of my favorite things to do in the area:
1. Visit the Santa Monica Pier. Play some games in the arcade. Watch the fisherman (or rent som
e gear and join in). Let your inner child out on the gorgeous carousel. Grab some good ol’ carnival food or run into Rusty’s Surf Ranch for a quick bite.
2. At sunset, enjoy drinks at the cush Casa Del Mar. This is a popular place to go at that time- so get there early…
3. Buy some straight-from-the-farmer produce at one of the Farmer’s Markets throughout Santa Monica. On Wednesday mornings, Santa Monica hosts the largest Farmer’s Market in the country near the Promenade. On Sunday, head to Ocean Park and Main St. for a market that feels more like a small town fair complete with pony rides, local music and mouth-watering brunch foods.
4. Stroll and shop along Montana Ave. in the northern part of town, where you’ll find 10 blocks of casual but luxurious shops, cafes, bistros and bakeries. You can find a specialty shop for nearly everything here.
5. Stroll and shop along Ocean Park’s eclectic and trendy Main St. in the southern part of town near the beach. Grab a bite at one of the many cafes, take a tour of the California Heritage Museum, walk the side streets nearby and view the local architecture of beach bungalows, craftsmans and modern homes.
6. Take a surfing lesson. Yes, the water gets cold in the winter so if you’re there at that time, rent a wetsuit- and some booties if possible. Try to go out in the early morning, you’ll most likely see dolphins and a seal or two if you’re lucky. Check the surf report before you go.
7. Grab some food at a local restaurant. Try Father’s Office for burgers and microbrews (get there early or be prepared for a wait), Border Grill for healthy and creative Mexican, Capo for pricier Italian faire (but worth every cent), sophisticated French cuisine at Melisse (always voted as one of the top LA restaurants), The Lobster for, well, lobster and fantastic seafood right by the Pier. The list could go on.
8. Throw on your workout gear and head to the Santa Monica Stairs. There are 2 sets- the official “stairs” are at 4th and Adelaide and then there’s another wider wooden set about 100 yards down (if you’re at the top of the stairs, it would be to your right). It makes for a nice loop- and it will test every shred of endurance you can muster. Follow those unwritten rules:
9. Stroll along the bluffs next to Ocean Avenue and enjoy the Promenade at Third St. (between Broadway and Wilshire). Take in the sunset at the bluffs, watch the performers along the Promenade- you’ll have a great time.
10. Rent a bike and tour the beach. Or play some volleyball. Or just hang out. It’s the beach, for Pete’s sake. You’ve got options.
Have fun!
| Currently No Comments »
Beverly Hills Real Estate Update
February 26th, 2008 Categories: Beverly Hills - BHPO, Real Estate, Real Estate News
Your weekly fill of Beverly Hills real estate news… eat up!
606 N. Alt
a was held open for the first time today. It’s a gorgeous Spanish, redone to every last detail with over 6,000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms, 2-story guest house, pool and wine tasting room. A hefty price at $9,695,000 but it really is a spectacular home. Definitely a Wow! house.
1705 Angelo Dr.came on the market a couple of days ago and is one cool pad. The swankiest mid-century around, the rooms have enormous volume (feels very Trousdale-esque), walls of glass, terrazzo floors, private yard with pool. Will need some freshening up but definitely a fun project. Oh-so-nice (and rare!) that no one has messed up the home with misguided remodeling work in the past. Asking $3,450,000.
261 El Camino just came on the market today and is a fantastic buy for southwest Beverly Hills. Redone courtyard Spanish with a guest house for $2,640,000. A good one.
At this moment, there are 18 homes in escrow in Beverly Hills ranging in asking price between $1,395,000 (Spanish fixer south of Olympic) to $15,990,000 (English manor behind the Beverly Hills Hotel).
509 N. Palm just closed over asking for $5,326,000. As the for-sale sign was being nailed into the ground, the buyer drove up to the home and bought it on the spot.
Monterey Colonial on Angelo has not been posted to the MLS and it sold for around $7,000,000. The owner bought it last year for $3,950,000. It’s a 4 bedroom home with a pool and guest house on a 13,700 sq ft lot. An example of how “done” homes are selling like hotcakes.
Call us with any questions about these homes or others. We’d be happy to show you the latest and greatest in the area if you’re looking and make sure you don’t miss the best deals!
| Currently 1 Comment »
Taking the Pulse on the Westside Market
February 26th, 2008 Categories: Bel Air - Holmby Hills, Beverly Hills - BHPO, Brentwood, Cheviot Hills - Rancho Park, Culver City, Hollywood Hills, Malibu, Marina Del Rey - Venice, Pacific Palisades, Real Estate, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Westwood - Century City
Here’s a little inside scoop on what’s happening in our market. I won’t bore you with tons of detail but it’ll keep you posted on the latest happenings. It’s your chance to be a fly on the wall in the most powerful real estate office near and far…
The market is moving. In the last 2 weeks, our office has had more escrows opening than in the previous 30 days combined. REOs are making up about 10% of that volume- which means a solid 90% of the deals are NOT REOs, just regular sales. Last week our office has 16 closings, ranging in price from $300,000 to over $14,000,000. People are buying and writing offers for well-priced homes. We are seeing multiple offer situations every week.
The reason why it matters what our office is doing is because we have a very strong group of agents that work in every area of the Westside. It’s a good place to look to gauge overall market activity.
General concensus is that we don’t have enough good, “done” homes for sale. We aren’t seeing a build-up of inventory of homes in most areas. Homes are selling off the market, before the first open house. Homes are even selling when the for-sale sign is being nailed into the front yard (as happened with one home in the Beverly Hills Flats recently).
During Caravan today, I saw people crawling all over a home under $700,000 in West LA. It was an adorable place but wedged between 2 apartment buildings- and had apartment buildings across the street. It didn’t matter to all the buyers there ready to jump on a nice well-priced home. The house will have multiple offers and the owner is going to review all offers next Monday.
Another popular home today was a lovely Spanish in the Beverly Hills Flats over $9,600,000 on a 12,000 sq ft lot. Not an ounce of wasted space- it had a gorgeous outdoor entertainment area in the front, koi pond, pool area and 2-story guest house with an office, bedroom with bath, exercise room with bath. A hefty price for a lot of that size but the home is incredible.
Summary: People are buying but the home has to have value and must be priced aggressively.
| Currently 1 Comment »
Getting a Game Plan: Buying a Home Simplified
February 26th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate
You’ve been thinking about buying a home for a long time and have just not known where to start. It can feel overwhelming with so much information out there but here’s a simple plan for getting you into your new house!
1. Write down what kind of home you’re looking for- and be specific. How much space do you need? How many bedrooms? Baths? Do you need any special space like a guest house or media room? Will you do work? Do you need room for kids to play in the yard?
2. Set a budget. Decide how much you can afford to invest each month in your house payment. Realize that there are extra home expenses that come up so give yourself a cushion.
3. Have a lender look at your finances and credit history. Find out what kind of loan you will qualify for. Get pre-qualified or pre-approved before you start looking. Many people find the idea of talking to a lender uncomfortable but it’s very painless and a great place to start. It will give you a roadmap and if there are problem areas of your credit, they will give you suggestions for how to improve it.
4. Talk with a Realtor. You could do this before you talk a lender because they can offer you a recommendation for someone they trust. Working with an agent is going to save you a huge amount of time, effort and money. Find someone you feel comfortable with and who understands what you’re looking for. You want someone who is going to be patient and have your best interest at heart.
5. When house-hunting, write down your likes and dislikes. Don’t be shy- express how you feel to your agent. Honest communication is essential and the agent will be glad to hear what you have to say. All homes start to blend together after a bit so make sure to write down ideas as you go.
6. When you find a home you like, make an offer. Your agent will help you get a good idea of the value by showing you what homes are selling for in the area and how long they are taking to sell.
7. Have fun! All this work will be worth it!
| Currently No Comments »
New Listing: Great Buy at Azzurra
February 23rd, 2008 Categories: Marina Del Rey - Venice, Real Estate
| Currently No Comments »
(Potential) Great News for Brentwood Glen!
February 22nd, 2008 Categories: Brentwood, Real Estate, Real Estate News
Ahhh… the residents of Brentwood Glen can cautiously breathe a long-awaited sigh of relief.
For months, they’ve been kept on pins and needles as CalTrans looked poised and ready to take out homes, apartment buildings and staples of the community. Now CalTrans is recommending Alternative 2 for final determination and adding in modifications that will be released in the weeks ahead.
Alternative 2 would mean that a northbound HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane would be added from probably National (I-10) to Greenleaf (just south of the 101). There wouldn’t be any construction on the west side of the freeway in Brentwood Glen or the Getty areas.
| Currently No Comments »
Holding the Land Around LA Landmark for Ransom
February 22nd, 2008 Categories: Hollywood Hills, Real Estate, Real Estate News
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Fame… people from all over the world come to Los Angeles looking for the glamour of the movies. One of those landmarks may be changing- 138 Acres are up for sale right by the Hollywood Sign.
It can be your’s for a cool $22M.
The land on Cahuenga Peak, just above and west of the Hollywood Sign, was once owned by Howard Hughes as he planned to build a love nest there for his then flame Ginger Rogers. Things didn’t work out for them or the property- it stayed in his trust for decades.
The owners now are a group of Chicago investors, Fox River Financial Resources, who bought it in 2002 for $1,675,000. That’s quite an appreciation there, guys. The city says it was appraised for $6M and they would raise that much to buy it from the developers to preserve the site. The developers aren’t budging from their $22M pricetag. Maybe they can get it- but is it right?
On the listing realtor’s website, they say that the land has 5 contiguous parcels with the potential for building a single family residence and a guest house on each. Yes, our job, for those of us in real estate, is to sell properties but talk about selling your soul. They have convinced themselves that asking $22,000,000 is fair market value.
I’m sure the investors are banking on the emotion that surrounds the Hollywood Sign and hoping the city and conservationists miraculously raise enough money to buy the land from them. If that happens, how do you feel about our tax dollars going into these developers’ pockets?
Update: This story made the NBC Nightly News, on Monday 2/25/08.
| Currently No Comments »
Top 5 Reasons Why Our Blog Makes Us a Better Agent for You
February 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate
For the love of blogging. We at LAHomesInsider love sharing things we know and learn every single day from inside the real estate business with our clients and empowering them with the knowledge they need to make important decisions about their finances and real estate investments. Seems that a recent LA Times article agrees that agents with great real estate blogs are invaluable.
Top 5 Reasons Why Our Blog Makes Us a Better Agent for You:
5. Agent blogs are the consumer’s #1 resource for local real estate information. We are plugged in, dialed in and give you INSIDE information to the local Westside Los Angeles real estate market.
4. The commitment required to keep a blog going requires time, energy and a level of passion and enthusiasm for the business. Agents who blog like what they’re doing.
3. You can get to know your Agent’s business and personal profile before meeting them in person. It’s always good to be prepared.
2. With the skill and savvy of any other Gen X/Y professional, agents who blog keep up with you and your information gathering skills, if not exceed it.
#1 Reason Why our Blog makes us a better Agent for you:
“Technology will never replace agents, but agents with technology will.”
| Currently 1 Comment »
Congress Sends President Stimulus Package-What This Means to Home Buyers
February 12th, 2008 Categories: Money & Mortgages, Real Estate, Real Estate News
Thanks in part to lobbying by C.A.R. and N.A.R. members, the Senate passed their version of an economic stimulus package Thursday, February 07, 2008. The Senate version expands rebate checks for seniors and disabled veterans and includes the same increases to the conforming loan limits for both GSE and FHA found in the House stimulus package. The House just passed the Senate version of the bill and it will now be sent to the White House. The President is expected to sign the legislation by the end of next week, ahead of the Congressional self-appointed deadline of February 15th. The increase in the conforming loan limits will last through 2008, but C.A.R. and N.A.R. continue to lobby for FHA and GSE reform, making these increases permanent.Keep reading for what this all means to you: Read the rest of this entry »
| Currently No Comments »
Bringing Music to Beverly Hills: Ninth Season of “Music in the Mansion” Begins at Greystone
February 4th, 2008 Categories: Beverly Hills - BHPO, Events, Things To Do
Perfect for your Sunday afternoons:
2008 “Music in the Mansion” concert series, brought to you by the Beverly Hills Community Services Department, has begun at Greystone Mansion.
It opened Jan. 20th with a performance by the internationally acclaimed Jung Trio, playing Beethoven, Dvorak and Cohn.
If you missed the first one, more performances are coming:
Feb. 17 - Catharina Chen, Norway’s premier violinist
Mar. 16 - Jan Bratoz, internationally known Czech pianist
Mar. 30 - California String Quartet, chamber music
Apr. 20 - Alma Nova Duo, with Jessica Pierce on flute and Almer Imamovic on guitar
May 11 - Midnight Winds Quintet, just arriving back to the States after a tour in Poland.
The concerts begin at 2:00pm with a reception following the music, including light snacks with teas from Beverly Hills’ Urth Cafe. You even get a first-floor tour of the mansion.
Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, students and children 10 years old+. Seating is limited so get your tickets early!
Greystone Mansion is located at 907 Loma Vista Drive. Click here for more info or call 310-285-6850.
| Currently 1 Comment »
