General Topics affecting / related to the 1-4 unit Residential Real Estate Market

Luxury Property - Newly Constructed - $9,995 Turnkey Manhattan Beach Rental w/ all Bells & Whistles

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Beautiful Mediterranean Villa for lease in the Tree Section of Manhattan Beach. Spacious home with dramatic 2-story entrance and curved stairway. Impressive kitchen that opens to living and dining area with viking range, built-in refrigerator, granite counters and large island. Property has 2nd living room upstairs, tankless H2O heaters, central vacuum and west-facing master suite. Lots of off street parking-2 garage spaces, 1 covered spot and room for 2-3 cars in circular driveway. Gated yard-great secure area for children or pets, unusually large for area (7046 sq ft lot). Private lot location at end of street, neighbors on only 1 side…

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Appraisals are useless in the 2013 Los Angeles Real Estate Market

Theoretically an appraisal is supposed to represent the current market value for a piece of residential real estate.  If you look at a standard appraisal done on the Fannie Mae form 1004 an appraiser will use 3 different methods to determine value: Cost Approach, Income Approach and the Sales Comparison Approach.  In the Residential market the value typically used is the Sales Comparison Approach, meaning the appraiser uses prices of comparable properties (similar age, square footage, lot size, condition, amenities, neighborhood, sold within last 6 mos within a 1 mile radius).

Becasue HVCC appraisers are using past sales (typically distressed) to determine value of a property with…

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REO Properties being sold subject to 24 CFR 206.125 - What This Means


There is a new type of REO (Lender Owned ) property disclosure that is occassionally seen on properties listed for sale on the Los Angeles Real Estate Market MLS system. You may have seen this statement in the remarks section when looking for homes on the Internet. "This property is being sold subject to 24 CFR 206.125".  This identifies the property as an REO that is being marketed after it had a Reverse Mortgage on it.  Reverse mortgages are sometimes know as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) .  In many cases these were probably reverse mortgages taken out during the boom by someone over 62 and in many cases, not all, they are in better condition than some other REOs because…

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Too many Games

Too much Fraud (by property owners, agents & investors)

Easy Solutions

  In order to maximize the amount of money banks are receiving for their assets, their fiduciary duty to their shareholders and moral duty to the American taxpayers who have to bail them out when they get into financial trouble and are "too big to fail", banks need to introduce a higher element of transparency in the short sale transaction process.     Like many REO lenders have already started to do, all short sale offers should be submitted via a lender-direct website that goes directly to the loss mitigation department of the existing lien holders.    
  • No more putting your house up for short sale to extend the amount of time you can live for free. 
  • No…

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Here is the checklist that the Section 8 inspector will use to determine if your property is in adequate condition for the Section 8 program.  The checklist is pretty much self explanatory.  If you have any questions about getting your property enrolled in the Section 8 program feel free to call me 323 412-9060.

 

 

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They should really be doing this in the geographic areas with the most foreclosures.  Los Angeles County has very few HUD foreclosures (mainly because no one used FHA prior to reform in 2007).  Borrowers are just going to use different loan products now so HUD won't end up getting anymore revenue...seems like a stupid move strategically by HUD.  I highly doubt this will drastically increase their revenues unless the goal of this is to get people to stop using FHA loans (which it might be for political reasons).  If this is the governments plan, homeowners prepare to get seriously screwed by private mortgage lending industry in coming…

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Rent Advantages

  • May be cheaper than a mortgage payment
  • Fewer (if any) maintenance costs
  • No down payment required (less deposit)
  • No real estate taxes (renters insurance optional)
  • Less stress (who cares, it’s not yours!)
  • Freedom to move or downsize when necessary
  • No risk of home price depreciation
  • Some utility bills may be included
  • “Free” amenities such as pool, gym, security
  • Money can be used for other, more profitable investments
  • Can’t be foreclosed on


Rent Disadvantages

  • Rental payment may exceed monthly cost of mortgage
  • No ownership or wealth creation
  • Payments never stop when renting
  • Rent will rise over time
  • Must deal with a landlord or management company
  • No tax benefits
  • Rules, regulations, and limitations
  • More…

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6 Reasons for Home Inventory Decline Applicable to Los Angeles Real Estate Market

  A recent blog post from the Wall Street Journal discusses six trends that explain the ever-decreasing number of homes for sale. Homebuyers experiencing frustration with the current Los Angeles real estate market should be aware that the following conditions are affecting housing inventory nationwide:

  • Fear of a negative impact to their credit discourages most underwater homeowners from short selling.
  • Some homeowners who would consider an upgrade to a more expensive home lack sufficient equity in their current residences to be able to afford it.
  • Homeowners who do have equity believe market values will continue to rise and are opting to wait so that they receive the…

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Are you trying to buy a property in the city of Los Angeles under $350,000?  

Having problems getting your offer accepted?  
Are you blaming your lazy Real Estate Agent for not working hard enough?  

While this may be true in some cases there are some important macro trends influencing inventory levels of Residential Housing in California that are having major impacts on the Los Angeles Residential Real Estate market and people trying to buy homes in Los Angeles.  Before getting pissed at your agent or frusturated with the process take a look at this well written article on doctorhousingbubble.com explaining some of the reasons the Los Angeles Real Estate market is experiencing such low inventory levels.

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As of January , 2013, property managers and landlords in California are required to disclose in writing to any prospective tenants if a notice of default has been recorded against the property (Landlord in Default Form LID).  The law applies to rentals of single-family homes and apartment buildings of no more than four units.

The disclosure also includes a notice that if a new owner takes ownership of a property following foreclosure, the owner will not be able to evict the tenants for a least 90 days written eviction notices in many cases.

Supporters of the new bill say that such a disclosure is critical for tenants in making an informed decision about where to live.  Opponents, however argued that such disclosures could worsen the financial conditions…

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