Even in an economic slow-down, there's pent-up demand within the segment of the market that comprised the buying population of yesteryear in the luxury Santa Monica condo market. A majority of my business from ‘04 through ‘08 was made up of representing buyers and sellers in the $900,000 to $1.5M price range, mainly in Santa Monica. Many prospective buyers in this price range have discontinued their searches for many reasons: 1) Lost capital toward down payment in stock market investments (most likely where money was being socked away in anticipation of a real estate purchase), 2) In the old market, with secondary financing readily available, it was easy to get in with 10% down, 3) Now, with a 25-30% down payment requirement, many buyers who can easily carry the mortgage don't have the ... 03/25/2009

I have been working very hard to line up the very best possible team of trusted advisors and experts to help sellers in today's tough economic climate. Home owners that want to sell their home but owe more money that what the house can sell for need to call me right away! My team and I can help you sell your home and: * walk away whole, keeping your existing money. * owe your mortgage lender nothing. * keep your tax situation as-is. * salvage your credit history. * be treated with the utmost respect. Our services are FREE to any home owner. If this sounds too good to be true, call me now and put us to the test! It's a fact that new legislation has been passed that is specifically designed to help American homeowners avoid foreclosure. You deserve the help, and we want to give it to you.... 03/18/2009

The Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation & the Los Angeles League of Photographers (LALOP) invite you toLALOP AT THE PIERfeaturing the photographic vision of the Los Angeles League of Photographers opening reception:FRIDAY, March 20 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the historic Carouselcontinuing through Sunday, April 18 during Carousel operating hoursMonday & Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. / Friday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. / Closed Tuesday & Wednesday participating photographers:Deborah Arlook, Cindy Benday, Devadatta Best, Sara Jane Boyers, Larry Brownstein, Martin Cox, Margery Epstein, Helen K. Garber, Barbara Gluck, Mathieu Grandjean, Ken Haber, Mark Indig, Bianca le Mouël, Douglas McCulloh, Ann Mitchell, Don Schwartz, Aline Smithson and Angela Spieles contact:Anne Railsback: anne@s... 03/12/2009

Yet another opportunity for buyers to take advantage of great Santa Monica real estate deals! There is now a tax credit available for qualified buyers who on or after March 1, 2009, and before March 1, 2010, purchase a qualified principal residence that has never been occupied. The buyer must reside in the new home for a minimum of two years immediately following the purchase. The state has already begun accepting applications for allocation of credit. As of this writing, 173 applications have been received. This is great news! Only $1,715,826 of the available $100,000,000 has been spoken for.  There's one small detail: as of today, the State of California has not fully developed procedures to handle the applications. But once they start processing applications, credits will be allocate... 03/10/2009

Exciting stuff! I have partnered up with Eric Mitchell with Metrocities Mortgage and we have combined forces in a newly formed strategic relationship with Home Buyers Marketing II. HBM II provides area homebuyers with an innovative and FREE home finding service called Home Buyers Scouting Report. The Home Buyers Scouting Report matches your personal home search criteria with properties that are currently listed for sale and in your price range...Online...available 24 hours a day! At your convenience, login to HBM II's private, password protected website to view the listings that match your home search criteria with pictures, prices, addresses, directions, maps and more! While online, you can save your favorite properties to a notebook for easy reference and to receive updated informatio... 03/05/2009

Right before the holidays last year I blogged about a Santa Monica townhome we Staged on December 8th (I remember because it was my birthday). This was the second townhome in the same condo complex, and this one was listed by Randy Troup of Coldwell Banker. I must admit I was leery about Staging a home so close to Christmas since it's a tough time to hit the market, but the homeowner was insistent. He made some great updates to the unit with paint and carpet and was gung-ho on Staging from day one. Not to mention he was a really fun guy to work with! Though he was strict on budget and insisted I "kick in the creative juices" on this project, he also called during the Staging and sang Happy Birthday to me and wrote me a glowing review on Yelp. All in all this project was a complete joy a... 03/04/2009

The real estate market here on the Westside of Los Angeles remains ‘transitional', with less than 6 months of supply. In anticipation of the possiblity of continued downturn through ‘09, I have just completed the CSP course and am now a Certified Short Sale Professional. Having represented both buyers and sellers through a short sale (also known as pre-foreclosure) transaction over the past year, I learned first-hand that they require a very specific skill set to manage successfully. When I learned about this Certification, I was keenly aware of the value of this advanced training and education, and I was not disappointed. I can, with confidence say that I am the BEST POSSIBLE agent on the Westside of Los Angeles to assist sellers who may be at risk of foreclosure to help them determine... 02/25/2009

I can promise you that it's anything but a short transaction! Simply put, a short sale (also referred to as a ‘pre-foreclosure'), involves the sale of real estate whereby the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property. In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship that exists on the part of the owner/borrower. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank's Loss Mitigation department. The home owner/borrower sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the net proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the righ... 02/24/2009

I just renewed my membership for the 3rd year with the Allen F. Hainge CyberStars® and I'm VERY excited about a deeper involvement in one of the real estate industry's best membership-based organization. Our group, the CyberStars®, has one primary purpose: To create a true family of like-minded real estate professionals who freely share ideas, tip and techniques as they apply to using technology to increase market share.What's most compelling about participation in such as special group is that our family has grown into the most caring, sharing group of agents in the real estate industry today...a true family.At the beginning of each year. Allen Hainge holds a members-only CyberStar® Summit, which I am leaving for on Sunday! I can't wait to network with 150+ like-minded colleagues to sh... 02/20/2009

SingleFamily Active Pending Sold SoldJanuary 2008 90402  42  7  0  6 90403  12  1  2  1 90404  8  2  0  1 90405  36  5  2  3 Total  98  15  4  11   Condo/ Townhome Active Pending Sold SoldJanuary 2008 90402  24  3  0  0 90403  55  16  0  0 90404  48  14  0  0 90405  40  11  0  0 Total  167  44  0  0   SingleFamily Median $ Average $ AverageDays on Market 90402  1,650,000  2,198,333  71 90403  2,183,500  2,183,500  42 90404  749,000  749,000  120 90405  1,052,621  1,052,621  67 Total  5,635,121  6,183,454  300   Condo/ Townhome Median $ Average $ AverageDays on Market 90402  1,695,000  1,577,375  70 90403  629,475  647,994  63 90404  649,950  674,106  53 90405  737,000  744,571  70 Total  3,711,425  3,644,046  256   Foreclosures Single Family Active Pending Sold 90402  0  0  0 90403  0 ... 02/18/2009

My dear friend Jeff Hoffman just introduced me to a very exciting venture called iLearning Global....a way cool business idea whose time has come. iLG is a Worldwide membership-based, internet portal for continuous education and learning. iLG is a collaboration of the greatest minds in the personal and professional growth industries. It is quite simply, the most comprehensive, easy to access, and convenient vehicle to get ahead and stay ahead in a challenging and competitive world. I am SO learning-based. This service is brilliant. What Makes iLG Unique? The technology, the leadership, the vision: Technology. iLG is utilizing a patented bleeding-edge video technology that delivers high definition (HD), full screen video over the Internet. You've never seen anything like this before...ju... 02/17/2009

Renting a home or apartment is commonplace. It's clear that some people simply just can't afford to buy their own home because of the down payment required. With FHA financing back in the mainstream, as little as 3.5% down payment can get you into your home! My key mortgage partners have invested a lot of time learning the ropes of FHA financing and have taught me to understand that it represents an unprecedented opportunity for first time homebuyers RIGHT NOW. Most renters don't realize how easy the cost justification is for owning versus renting. Once I'm able to clear up the down payment challenge by introducing FHA financing, then the next hurdle is to show the $ justification for buying. I recently saw this presented by a 30 year veteran in the business, and it absolutely blew my m... 02/13/2009

Hello Everyone, I'll be hosting a new first time home buyers seminar called The First Time Home Buyers Experience. Please watch the video for more information about this exciting experience. 1st Time Homebuyer Experience from Dana Ehrlich on Vimeo.   To Register Click Here   Attend this Special Event to Learn the 7 Critical Concepts You Need to Know Before Buying Your First Home...Especially in Today's New Economy.   Expect to Learn: • How to Prepare to Purchase a Foreclosure, REO, or Short Sale • The True Power of The Mortgage and Property Tax Deductions • Exciting Options for First Time Home Buyer Financing • Credit Improvement Strategies...Whether Your Score is 620 or 720 • The Key Indicators to Identify a ‘Great Deal' • How to Time the Market and Know Exactly When YOU  Should Buy • ... 02/10/2009

1. How do I determine my price range for buying a home?Every home buyer has their own unique set of financial circumstances. The amount of money you make each month is used to calculate the size of mortgage, or money loaned to you to purchase a home. This calculation also takes into consideration how much money you owe each month in expenses and overhead. It's imperative that you make contact with a mortgage broker or banker to help determine how much you can spend on your home. Nowadays, you will need to come up with a down payment. This is a percentage of the purchase price of the home. For instance, if a home costs $500,000, and you qualify for a loan that requires you to put down 3% at least. You can expect to put down $15,000. This number does not include the loan fee and other tra... 02/06/2009

I really want to help buyers understand the flow of what happens from the time they get pre-approved and the time the escrow actually closes. The following does a pretty good job of explaining. There is once caveat to all of this: timelines depend on you, the borrower, just as much as they depend on the lender. 1. You get pre approved by providing income/asset documentation to your lender. They review this along with a current tri-merged credit report for approval (average score of the three is what the lender uses) Pre-Approval can be completed in as quickly as 24 hours. 2. Once there is an accepted offer, you must immediately provide any additional items that are needed for the loan. The lender will request a fully executed purchase contract, escrow instructions, preliminary title rep... 02/05/2009

 The California Escrow Process - Explained I work with so many first-time homebuyers and clients buying real estate in Los Angeles for the first time, I thought this article might really help inform and educate people on what the process looks like. The first step in the home buying process is to get approved for your mortgage financing. In light of today's credit crunch, this is now somewhat of a lengthy process, and can take some time. No more are the days when you could call up your mortgage broker and get prequalified over the phone. Nowadays, you need to be what's called ‘conditionally pre-approved' before you're even ready to submit an offer. This pre-approval process involves providing the lender with a variety of documents - everything from income statements, bank records, tax r... 02/04/2009

Serious uncertainty has plagued our country of late. Every real estate agent I know is feeling the effects of the  economic calamities that fill the airways of today's news. These days, I am CONSTANTLY being asked, "Wow, how's the real estate market? You must be really struggling.".  Considering I am coming off the best year of my career, despite the overall market conditions, I respond appropriately - "You know what? No matter what's happening with the market as a whole, SOMEONE always needs to buy or sell. And I consider it my job and my responsibility to put myself in front of opportunity where people need my help". If you are looking to buy, IT'S AN UNBELIEVABLE TIME TO BUY!!! Here are 5 important reasons why: 1. GREAT SELECTION OF PROPERTIES- No matter what price range your are in,... 02/02/2009

Okay Santa Monica Pier lovers, this is your moment. Think in terms of one-hundreds. One-hundred cents in a dollar. One-hundred yards on a football field (Super Bowl fans). One-hundred years since Abraham Lincoln would have turned one-hundred years old. Same for Charles Darwin! Hundreds hundreds everywhere. But for us, it's all about the Pier's one-hundredth birthday. Let the Centennial Celebration begin!For those who have been keeping tabs on the Pier, you well know that there has been a book documenting the Pier's history in the works for some time now. The book, Santa Monica Pier: A Century on the Last Great Pleasure Pier , will be seen its official launch on February 18th, and Pier friends, family and fans are all invited to come celebrate its release at a gala in the historic Carou... 01/31/2009

We are living in a Recessionary Period, the Major Lending Institution, Automaker, overall the entire country and the rest of the world is struggling to stay financially solvent. We have a new president who is focused on trying to make a major turn around in the Housing Market, Healthcare, and Education...you name the subject.  Last week the White House appointed Michael S. Smith to decorate the living quarters of the First Family. This has generated analysis by the Washington Post, CNN and then a delayed analysis by the Los Angeles Times.   What will be done? Will there be a toned down Green or should I say Earth friendly form of decorating going on? Will it be classic or will it be modern? Will it be extravagant? Different Designers have given their input to the Media, but only one man... 01/28/2009

I'm such a foodie, I can't help but share great LA dining experiences. Just west of the 405 freeway on Santa Monica Blvd, upstairs in an obscure strip mall, is hands down, one of the best sushi bars I have ever eaten at. It's called Echigo. I love turning people onto this place, but only those that are willing to give up control. You see, if you want to sit at the sushi bar and get the whole experience, then you'll have to go with the Omikase style, or Chef's Choice menu. But trust me, you won't regret it for a second. The meal is not cheap, but it's not ridiculously expensive, either (figure $40-45 per person). You'll start with a sashimi plate, and end with a blue crab roll (ooohhh...there's NOTHING else like this!). That's a given. But each time you dine at Echigo, you'll get to expe... 01/28/2009