Buying Real Estate
Los Angeles Buyers, This Rant is for YOU!
September 29th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate
I have to rant a little, so please excuse me.
I just got off the phone with a very nice gentleman who thought he and his wife would buy a house without an agent and they entered escrow a couple of days ago. You know, he’s an attorney, they know the neighborhood, why would they need an agent?
Well, let me first off explain to you that what is going to follow is just not my opinion because I’m a real estate agent. I simply hate seeing people being taken for a ride. I also hate to see people get into trouble when it could have easily been avoided. I also hate to see people with misinformation, hurting them in the long-run.
So here it goes…
First of all, they weren’t even planning on getting a physical inspection. Do you realize what a costly mistake this could be? This is the FIRST inspection you get. The second you get acceptance on an offer, book your physical inspection. And I hope you have a good inspector. Not all are created equal. And there are other inspections you should get after that. Don’t end there. This is a time that you would talk with your agent about what inspections they’d recommend. Each property will be different.
Second, if you don’t have a good agent negotiating on your behalf during the initial negotiations and then DURING the escrow, you are really shooting yourself in the foot. You may think that you’ve just saved a bunch of $$$ but how do you know that you didn’t just give it right back to the seller because you didn’t get the price you could have landed IF you had an agent? Do you realize that you should renegotiate during the inspections if something unexpected comes up? Well, you should. And if nothing unexpected comes up, you’re probably missing something.
Third, how did you even figure out the price to settle on? Did you look at home sales on AND off the market? In Los Angeles, many many homes sell off the market. I hope you’re factoring those into your sales price. Did you look at how the market has changed each year and work that into your sales price? How about your price per square foot? Did you go through the Property Profile? It really doesn’t matter what the seller is asking for their price. You must must must make sure you’re not overpaying, especially in this market.
Fourth, if you don’t have an agent, you may be told by the listing agent that you don’t need an agent. BEWARE!!!!! They know that you will NOT know what you should be doing- and that it’s probably going to be clear sailing for them because you won’t know what you don’t know (did that make sense?). They’ll make you sign disclosures to relieve them of any responsibility and then whatever you miss, well, it’s your fault since you chose to not have an agent. And I DON’T mean that you should work with the listing agent. That’s a whole other post.
Last (even though I really could go on and on), how about all the fees and closing costs that you’re going to be paying- agent or not? If you had a good agent, they could also negotiate those for you and get you some money back in your pocket. How about all the repair costs that are going to surface during your inspections? Again, your agent would be negotiating those costs down for you.
Real estate is a different ball game from any other business. Any fool can write an offer. There are about a hundred items that you would not know to cover unless you work in the business day after day. You only know all these things from dealing with countless situations with previous clients. Basically, if you don’t have someone watching your back, you’re flying blind on probably the most important purchase you’re ever going to make. If I was buying a property in an area outside my area of expertise, I would use an agent!!! They are that important.
OK, I’ve said my peace. Thanks for listening.
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News Blast: Beverly Hills Flats
September 9th, 2008 Categories: Beverly Hills - BHPO, Buying Real Estate, Selling Real Estate
Just a quick news briefing to keep you in the know:
The pocket on Sierra with the huge lot just sold for around $10M…
718 N Rodeo just went back into escrow- listed at $5.8M…
624 N Oakhurst is in escrow- asking $5.675M…
1303 Park Way is pending with an accepted offer at $4.65M, their listed price. They were taking overbids, if any, today in court.
New listing on Linden for $8.5M, 6,800 sf with a 14,000 sf lot, beautiful villa… gorgeous tilework, wood beams, front courtyard, incredible backyard…
Things are moving in the Flats.
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Propportunity! Gorgeous Mediterranean Home in Santa Monica by Beach
August 30th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Santa Monica
There is a fantastic home for sale right near the beach in Santa Monica…. It’s in the best of the best neighborhood- north of Montana, west of 7th, palm tree-lined quiet street, walking distance to Montana, the bluffs, beach and promenade. It just got an exciting price reduction to $4,495,000- a GREAT BUY for this neighborhood! (And to think that it started on the market in April at over $5,700,000! They are moving fast on this house!)
To tell you a little about it: The home is over 4300 sq ft, not including the guest house in the back. The lot is the best part- it’s over 11,000 sq ft and feel even bigger because it’s narrow and deep. If you know Santa Monica, you’ll know that this is a great size for a lot near the beach (an average lot north of Montana would be 7,500 sq ft). Inside the house are 5 bedrooms- the master plus 2 upstairs and then 2 additional bedrooms downstairs- and 3.5 baths. It has an huge kitchen and family room lined with french doors that open to the pool and cabana area. The guest house is totally self-contained with its own balcony and kitchen. Below the guest house is another room that could be a great maid’s (currently being used as a gym).
If you even have an inkling for this kind of home in this location, let us know and jump on it. We can send you pictures and more info. This is the kind of house and price that people kick themselves over when they don’t make a move. It’s priced to sell!
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Buying Second Homes for Bi-Coastal or Multi-State Residences
July 14th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Real Estate
Question:
What’s the best way to obtain financing for someone who travels all over the United States and already has a home outside of California?
Answer:
”Dual primary” is the way we treat the financing for a client that has “two
primary residences”. This way the home-buyer can get better pricing with a
higher loan to value than if the property is treated as a second home.
We offer this for clients that are bicoastal, for example - Business
Owners or Doctors that have offices on both coasts, Venture Capitalists
and Investment Bankers who have clients on both coasts.
For a conversation about your particular scenario and how you can get the best rates, call Dan:
Dan Millstone
First Republic Bank
1888 Century Park East, Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Direct (310) 407-1309
Mobile (310) 295-7476
Fax (310) 407-1395
Email dmillstone@firstrepublic.com
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Propportunity! Chic Family Traditional in Westwood Hills
July 2nd, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Westwood - Century City
If you or someone you know is looking for a really well-priced, gorgeous traditional home in the Westside, let us know ASAP! Here’s some quick stats:
- 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths
- 3200 sf
- Pool with flat grassy backyard
- Beautiful tree-lined street
- Master on 1st floor, 1 other bedroom down
- 2 bedrooms up with play area
- Gorgeous hardwood floors
- Classy & chic
- Under $2.8M…
- It’s worth it!!!
This is a tough home to find in Westwood… grab it! Let us know if you’re interested and would like some photos!
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Propportunity! Great Buy in Brentwood for Move-In Ready Condo
June 19th, 2008 Categories: Brentwood, Buying Real Estate
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Propportunity! First-Time Home Buyer Townhome that’s a Steal!
June 11th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate
Calling all buyers under $500,000 on the Westside that want a great deal! There is a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome in Playa Del Rey (really the last affordable beach community on the Westside) available and it’s a FANTASTIC buy!
Brief Info:
Short Sale, needs lots of cosmetic work, over 1200 sf, fireplace in the living room, Master with walk-in closet, big private patio, beautiful small complex, low HOA dues, 1/4 mile from the beach.
This is a diamond in the rough… Where else can you get this space, this price and be by the beach?
Call us ASAP to get more info! (No, don’t sit there and “think” about it- jump on this one if you’re looking for a property like this!)
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Behind the Scenes Look at Your Loan
May 28th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate
It’s a mystery to many people how loans actually take place. You know you need to speak with a lender but what exactly are they in charge of? What is going on after you get acceptance on your offer?
The lender is a crucial part of your buying team- they are overseeing your loan from beginning to end. A good lender equals much less stress for you during your escrow!
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at a 30 Day Escrow:
1. Prequalification and Preapproval- done before writing an offer!
2. Loan Application (during this time, the lender will order the appraisal, escrow or agent will usually order the preliminary title report)
3. Loan Submitted to Mortgage Company
4. Processor Review (collects escrow, appraisal, prelim, etc.)
5. Submit to Lender
6. Lender Approval (release of the loan contingency)
7. Collection of Conditions
8. Lender Review of Conditions (give a clear to close, sends to doc department)
9. Docs Drawn
10. Docs Sent to Escrow
11. Borrower Signs
12. Docs Sent Back to Lender
13. Lender Reviews
14. Lender Funds
15. Loan Closes (title records)
16. Celebrate!!
If you have any questions about these steps, please let us know.
Lenders out there, please feel free to give your two cents about these steps as well!
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Termite Inspections, Reports and Work - Who is Responsible?
May 21st, 2008 Categories: Bel Air - Holmby Hills, Beverly Hills - BHPO, Brentwood, Buying Real Estate, Cheviot Hills - Rancho Park, Culver City, Hollywood Hills, Home Improvement, Home Resources, Inspection Resources, Malibu, Marina Del Rey - Venice, Pacific Palisades, Real Estate, Real Estate News, Santa Monica, Selling Real Estate, Sherman Oaks - Studio City, West Hollywood, Westwood - Century City
So you’re about to buy or sell a house and the subject of termite inspections come up in discussion - usually when the offer is being written and/or presented.
Here is what YOU need to know:
CUSTOMARILY, the Seller is responsible for the inspection, providing the buyer with a termite report, and ultimately a termite clearance at the close escrow. The Seller usually pays for Section I work, and the Buyer can pay for any Section II work needed.
What is “Section I” and “Section II” work?
Section I is any EXISTING termite infestation, damage or wood destroying organisms such as dryrot fungus and the like. This may include local treatment, whole house tenting, and replacement of damaged timber.
Section II is anything found to possibly invite termite infestation or cause wood damage in the future, such as debris in the attic, earth to wood contact, etc.
There are circumstances when the Seller is NOT responsible for all the “termite work”, some examples are:
- When it’s an ALL CASH purchase. The termite clearance is necessary to close escrow because it’s often a condition for funding by the lenders.
- When the property is a TEAR-DOWN. If the intent by the buyer is to bulldoze the property to the ground, no one really cares if there are termites or rotted wood all over the place.
- When the SELLER specifies in the contract they will not do any work, or caps the dollar amount they are willing to pay for work needed. The Buyer then can agree to pick up the difference.
95% of the homes that are sold here in SoCal require some termite clearance action. Homeowners are well advised to maintain a termite treatment regime once a year to keep those buggers away.
Call us anytime for a referral to a reputable company to add to your home vendors list!
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So, What is the MLS Anyway?
May 15th, 2008 Categories: Buying Real Estate, Real Estate, Selling Real Estate
Once you start looking for a home or getting involved in real estate in any shape or form, you’re going to hear the MLS mentioned over and over. What in the world is this? How does it work?
Basically, the MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service and is a database service that all brokers use for their listed properties. Area brokers belong to their local MLS system and pay an annual fee to be a member. This way they can keep track of homes that are actively on the market, those that are looking for back up offers, in escrow (pending) or have closed. They can also go into the listing history of properties and compare comparable sales in the area for clients making offers or getting ready to list their property.
How are the search features different from regular search engines like yahoo.com or Google? Or brokers’ sites like coldwellbanker.com? Or real estate specific search engines like Realtor.com?
All the real estate search engines will basically get you the same info- it’s just the lag time behind the market that makes the difference here. I’m not sure about the other brokerages but I know that when you look at Coldwell Banker’s site, you’re not just going to see Coldwell Banker represented homes. You’re going to see every home that fits your search criteria. Realtor.com is the same way. It’s a great place to see all of the homes. The issue is that it’s a few days behind the market.
So, to get real market-time information, brokers go to the MLS. You may not think that a few days would matter but it most certainly does for HOT homes. Those can easily be snatched up by the time it hits Realtor.com.
Since the MLS is a closed service, you need to be an agent to place your property on the system. As an agent, I can, however, set up clients on a private MLS website so they can have access to everything that is on the market that fits what they’re looking for. This way they will see everything available in real market-time and be updated as soon as a property comes on the market, comes back on the market or gets a price reduction. I can also set up clients who are selling their property on their own site so they can also keep track of the competition.
So, my suggestion is that if you’re looking to buy, get started on an MLS website ASAP- even if you’re thinking about buying down the road. And if you’re looking to sell, have your agent set you up on a website as well so you can become familiar with current competition.
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