I had a big win today.  A deal, 11 months in the making -- a short sale of course -- closed today.  It had it's fair share of trials and tribulations.  First the bank wouldn't approve the Seller hardship, then, after the third turn down from Loan Modification with the listing agent involved, they finally came around.  Amazingly my buyers were still in.  Then the negotiator decided to play around with the final settlement numbers.  Finally, after an escalation and a discussion with a more level headed supervisor -- ding, ding, ding -- we've got a deal.  The listing agent was fabulous.  I was a good match in temperament with my buyers.  Then yesterday, the original closing day, we hit a major snag.  By the end of the day it was worked out.   I ran into the  owner of the office I work for ... 04/06/2011

The Federal Reserve, you know that regulating board for banks that has the backing of the Federal Government, has decided that they must regulate what Loan Officers get paid on each loan.  The sum effect is expected to drive LO's from Brokerages to Bank Employees. Why should you care?  Already, we have seen Bank choices narrow to about 4 HUGE banks.  If the only option for a mortgage is with one of 4 banks, do you think that the lack of competition could drive prices up?  Perhaps with less places to turn for mortgages, there will be less options available to our buyers, and fewer buyers who can qualify for loans, and fewer properties that will qualify for loans. Having been a Loan Officer, I can tell you that there are lots of rules with stiff penalties to punish Mortgage Brokers who do... 04/06/2011

Well, winter is becoming a memory and the snow is melting pretty quickly.  In a few more weeks the lake will reopen and fishing will be a daily sport. The sunny days are that much more vibrant one mile closer to heaven.  It's quieter this time of year, but the ski resorts are still open.  Bikini Skiing anyone!!! LOL. If you're looking to escape the hustle of the city, this is a perfect time to come up to Big Bear and relax! Hope to see you here. 03/10/2011

Well, after two of the main winter months with no snow, we're up to our knees in the fresh powder.  A winter storm blew in last night and I woke up to R-3 conditions - which means even All Wheel Drive vehicles must have chains!.  Usually that's bad enough to keep everybody home!  It worked on me, although I talked to others who felt they could safely navigate without them.  We all remember road conditions this bad or worse which had R-2 conditions meaning if you had All Wheel drive and snow tires you were good to go. About a foot to a foot and a half of fresh powder on this table top, 3 days before the beginning of March. I imagine the slopes will be amazing, so if you like sliding down the face of a mountain, you might get on up here.  In checking the road conditions, you will need cha... 02/26/2011

Last Saturday, Big Bear Mountain Ski Resort opened an 18-ft. high, 580-ft. long and 65-ft. wide competition-class pipe, Southern California's only Superpipe. It's officially open to all skiers and snowboarders.  Chris Riddle, Director of Marketing for Bear Mountain described the resort as "the ultimate place to improve your skills" because Big Bear Mountain Resorts offers a mini-pipe, a regular pipe and now the Superpipe. President's Weekend Holiday tends to be one of our last big weekends for skiing, and this weekend we're expecting a new storm, so they're predicting great conditions for all of our visitors.  Because we are expecting weather this weekend, don't forget to carry chains.  Also, access to Big Bear is now via Hwy 18 from Waterman Canyon, or Hwy 38 through Redlands, or Hwy 1... 02/15/2011

Sold in Moonridge Area of Big Bear 1/11 Sold in Moonridge Area of Big Bear 1/11 Sold in Moonridge Area of Big Bear 1/11 Homes Sold In Moonridge 1/11 Price Address Bd Baths SF Apx Ttl Sold Price Sold Date 117,500 42594 LA PLACIDA 2 1 435 115,000 1/19/11 126,900 723 ELM 1 1 663 87,150 1/3/11 189,900 42708 COUGAR 2 2 1224 205,200 1/7/11 219,000 43544 RIDGECREST DRIVE 3 1.5 1144 200,000 1/27/11 349,900 1584 WOLF ROAD 3 2 1976 315,000 1/12/11 369,000 42816 MONTEREY 3 2 1514 345,000 1/7/11 499,900 1498 KLAMATH 4 3.5 2127 485,000 1/21/11 599,950 1680 WOLF 4 3.5 2932 540,000 1/20/11 Current Pending Sales in Moonridge Price Address Area Bd Baths SF Apx Ttl 119,000 42758 WILLOW MOON 1 1 436 120,000 723 ELM MOON 1 1 663 129,000 42758 COUGAR MOON 2 1 650 129,900 42588 PEREGRINE MOON 1 1 500 139,90... 02/05/2011

        Steve HirschlerMarket Specialist, Inventory Expert,Big Bear Real Estate AgentColdwell BankerThe Tim Wood Group42153 Big Bear Blvd.P.O. BOX 6820Big Bear Lake, CA 92315DRE#01703081stevehirschler@gmail.com909 866-3481 EXT. 217CELL 909 725-5889Fax 909 866-3531       01/24/2011

I was checking out twitter this morning and saw a Tweet from Tony Robbins suggesting a link to check out: It's pretty self explanitory. As a result over 5 Million people have seen it and the man in the video's life has changed. According to the most recent update, Ted is getting job offers. This story made me feel good. Hope it does the same for you. 01/05/2011

Believe it or not, the real estate market in Big Bear is very competitive at this time.  Like every market, there are good deals and there are bad deals. If you are in the majority of buyers who are looking for a great deal, you need to have all your ducks in a row before you will have any chance of success. If you take the time to make sure you have everything in order you will have an excellent chance of beating out anybody else who has not done the same. •1.       Make sure you are preapproved before you start seriously looking.  When you make an offer, having a preapproval letter gives you instant credibility and a definite advantage over a buyer who doesn't have one. Most banks won't even look at an offer on a bank owned listing if the buyer is not preapproved.  Most importantly, ... 01/03/2011

This number will probably rise a little more as sales closed over the past week may still need to be posted to the Big Bear MLS. 96 closed sales for the Big Bear area for the month of December equates to a 20% increase over  year when we only had 80 homes sold during the same period. Inventory levels are also down with only 661 active listings as of this morning. Thats good news for sellers, since less inventory helps to improve the demand. For the year, we kept pace with units sold. In 2009 there were 892 posted sales in the MLS, with 890 so far for 2010. The average price sold in 2010 was $252,831 compared to $276,942 in 2009. An 8.7% decrease in the average price of homes sold in the big Bear area. The highest priced home sold in Big Bear during 2010 was $1,650,000 (159 N Eureka) , ... 01/02/2011

Christmas weekend is now over and we got the present of snow on the hills, but not too much in our driveways. Many of my clients are so excited by the prospect of snow, but after last year's 5 feet I face the news with a little more trepidation.  Until you've devoted an entire day to clearing the snow from your driveway, or spun out and gotten into an accident when you're going 10 miles an hour, because somebody with nobbier tires stopped short, or planted yourself in a snow berm or ditch when you glanced in the wrong direction, you might look to the first snowfall with gleeful anticipation.  Having experienced all the the events described here, however, makes me a little more anxious about snows arrival. I love that it blankets the ski runs of our local resorts.  I am also particularly... 12/26/2010

Well, the snow has arrived, a bit earlier than predicted, but a thick, wet blanket is currently being laid over the Big Bear Valley just in time for Christmas.  And for more good news, Highway 38 through Redlands/Mentone is back open to accomodate those wanting to experience a White Christmas. This is the view from my house 9:30a Dec. 21st: Today, after all the rain Snow Summit is closed waiting for the new snow to replenish things, but Bear Mountain is currently open.   If you're going to come here, make sure to carry chains.  R-2 Chain restrictions are in effect as of now, which means that non-all wheel drive or non-4x4 vehicles must have chains on their drive wheels. So I think winter has now arrived and the valley is looking forward to the busiest season of the year.  May all of you... 12/21/2010

Well, the latest reports are that highway 38 dropping visitors into the East Valley and accessed through Redlands and Mentone is now closed in both directions due to large rocks and mud slides.  There is currently only one way in or out of the Big Bear Area, through Highway 18 through Apple Valley/Lucerne Valley or "the back way" as we locals refer to it. Cal Trans is advising all in Big Bear tonight to "stay put", stay off the roads as they are littered with rocks and debris.  We're also having flooding problems in some areas. If travelling though Big Bear in the short term is something you need to do, my best suggestion is to tune into KBHR, the local radio station via their website, KBHR933.com.  Since moving here in 1998, I have found the information, especially in emergencies or br... 12/20/2010

Well, 5 days of rain has taken it's toll and if you have plans to come visit our town you might need to rethink access.  Late this afternoon, a mudslide closed highway 18 up "the front way" through Running Springs.   All this really means is that the two roads that will bring you here are Highway 38 through Redlands & Mentone, or Highway 18 through Apple Valley/Lucerne. The storm that has been pelting us for the past few days has been warmer, delivering rain, not snow.  However the predictions are for tempertures to drop tomorrow and start dropping the "white stuff".  In fact, we're being told to expect 1 to 2 feet on Wednesday, just in time for Christmas. I'm advising all my friends and clients to take the AWD or 4x4 and everybody make sure you have chains with you.  It is a requiremen... 12/20/2010

These are the statistics for the 90 homes that have sold in the Moonridge area of Big Bear since June 1, 2010. 90 Homes Sold in Moonridge Area of Big Bear One of the more important numbers on this summary is the price differential. At 98.38%, this tells me a couple things that buyers and sellers in Moonridge should note. First, most homes sold in Moonridge during this time period sold within 2% of the list price. Sellers that list their homes with a price cushion that exceeds 10% will not see the showing activity required to produce an offer. Buyers that offer 10 – 15% below list price will often be outbid. Knowing what the market value really is will be the difficult factor for both buyers and sellers. With 142 active listings in the Moonridge area, we are now at a 9.4 month supply. T... 12/18/2010

It's official, I am now part of the Keller Williams family, and big, extended family it is! This past year has been a time of EXTREME growth for me and it necessitated the need for me to make a change to be able to offer my buyers and sellers the caliber of service that I strive for. As a result, I am now working from an office that is responsible for the more of the real estate transactions in Big Bear than any other, has a vibrant vacation rental business and an amazing network to work with. Sellers have their listings sent throughout the Keller Williams system, a system with plans to grow to 300,000 agents.  The agents I work with have lots of active buyers so I will be networking with them right out of the gate to sell my listings quickly.  Buyers will also have access to the lions ... 12/11/2010

I just closed a bank owned sale in a little over two weeks and my clients fought the process every step of the way, which lead to a big breakdown in everything.   So, should you be thinking about buying a bank owned property, I thought I'd break down the major steps, in hopes that you can avoid problems. My clients usually like to look at a lot of properties before they're really ready to make an offer.  I bet the average is at least 18 properties.  Look at enough properties to be comfortable knowing you're getting a good deal and the right property for you. If you find a really good deal, usually other people have too.  The listing agents I've worked with have all been fair about telling me if they've got action on a property.  It is very common to be in a multiple offer situation comp... 12/06/2010

Units Sold (12 Months) by Home Category *All 18 Homes that Sold over 1 million were traditional sellers Steve HirschlerMarket Specialist, Inventory Expert,Big Bear Real Estate AgentColdwell BankerThe Tim Wood Group42153 Big Bear Blvd.P.O. BOX 6820Big Bear Lake, CA 92315DRE#01703081stevehirschler@gmail.com909 866-3481 EXT. 217CELL 909 725-5889Fax 909 866-3531       10/11/2010

  Steve Hirschler DRE#01703081Associate, The Tim Wood GroupColdwell Banker 42153 Big Bear Blvd.P.O. BOX 6820Big Bear Lake, CA 92315stevehirschler@gmail.com909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889Fax 909 866-3531www.bigbearrealestateagent.org/ (blog)www.stevesellsbigbear.com (website)www.activerain.com/blogs/slhoo7\ (blog)www.thetimwoodgroup.com/author/stevehirschler (group website)http://twitter.com/stevehirschler (follow me)http://www.bigbearrealestateagent.org/client-endorsements/ (client endorsements)www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652023432&ref=profile&v=info 09/25/2010

For Big Bear Lake, CA home owners who rent their homes to visitors when they're not using them, there has been some controversery over the past few years.  Some factions of the community contended that private home rentals created problems for the community and tried to stop them.  Their efforts using law suits and legislation were thwarted.   The attorney representing those interests, however, found another approach.  He had prospective visitors claiming to have disabilities email a couple of Big Bear's smaller vacation rental companies looking for ADA compliant rentals.  As it was explained in the Big Bear Board of Realtor's meeting, these rental agencies who broker private homes to the public on behalf of the home owners, responded stating that they had rentals that would accomodate ... 09/14/2010