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West Los Angeles, CA Real Estate News

By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
  New data suggests that mortgage fraud—which got tougher to pull off after the collapse of the U.S. real estate market—is returning in a big way.   Read the story at: http://valeriefitzgerald.com/2010/08/mortgage-fraud-on-rise   Connect with Valerie... Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business. Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings or contact Valerie Fitzgerald at 310-285-7515.
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By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
That's always a challenging question. Here's some market tools they're using today http://valeriefitzgerald.com/2010/08/formula-to-determine-home-value. Connect with Valerie… Valerie Fitzgerald specializes in luxury residential real estate in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Malibu. Valerie has more than 20 years of real estate experience and is known for her solid reputation in the West Los Angeles brokerage community. She’s also the author of the book published by Simon and Schuster Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business. Search Luxury Homes in Los Angeles at Valerie Fitzgerald Real Estate Listings or contact Valerie Fitzgerald at 310-285-7515.
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By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
“Green building.” What began as a buzzword a few years ago has transformed today’s real estate industry. This month, we talk with Al Medina, director of NAR’s Green Designation, a groundbreaking educational program that provides vital training, support and information to professionals who are looking to advance their businesses and raise awareness of the environmental impact of commercial and residential real estate. Why is NAR’s Green Designation important in today’s market?Staying educated in a rapidly changing marketplace is vital to the success of any agent. NAR’s Green Designation prepares REALTORS® to seek out, understand and market homes with green features to potential buyers. By educating themselves in green building and sustainable business practices today, Realtors are prepa...
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By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
If you find yourself in a situation where your financial circumstances either challenge your  ability to make your home mortgage payments or you are no longer able to make the mortgage payments at all, you will be presented with a series of difficult options that will  have an impact on your personal and financial life for years to come. One of the more familiar options is foreclosure.  In a foreclosure, the bank/lender (owner of  your loan) decides to sell your house as a means to get back the money they loaned you. However, in this current real estate market, some banks/lenders are not exercising their foreclosure rights and instead have opted for either “loan modifications” or “short-sale” deals.  Since it appears that successful loan modifications have not been very prevalent,  this...
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What Did That Westwood Home Sell For? The property at 10338 Eastborne Ave LA CA 90024 lasted 203 days on the market before accepting an offer on 6/23/10. Listed on 11/30/09 for $1,599,000, the home had three price reductions down to $1,299,000. 10338 Eastborne Ave closed for the asking price on of $1,299,000 on 7/26/10. According to the MLS, the home is a 4 bedroom / 3 bath, 2,283 sq ft of living space on a 8,102 sq ft lot. 10338 Eastborne Ave Virtual Tour
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By Scott McIntosh
(Coldwell Banker)
This report is for Monday 7/19/10 through Sunday 7/25/10. ACTIVITY REPORT These stats include all areas of Westwood (90024, 90025, 90064, 90049) Source: CLAW MLS -Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. List of Pendings & Sold From Weekly Activity Report Address | Days On Market | List Price | Sales Price 126 GREENFIELD AVE 32 $1,695,000 874 Birchwood 3 $1,999,999 454 Dalehurst Ave 5 $2,600,000 1367 WOODRUFF AVE 76 $1,750,000 2010 FOX HILLS DR 34 $995,000 $965,000 642 WARNER AVE 14 $2,395,000 $2,370,000 10589 KINNARD AVE 7 $1,450,000 $1,490,000 151 S BENTLEY AVE 339 $2,295,000 $2,000,000
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By Valerie Fitzgerald, Luxury Real Estate in Beverly Hills & West LA
(Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)
The tax credit brought a lot of buyers out last fall and again this spring, which gave a real shot in the arm to real estate. While that heightened volume cannot be sustained, home sales and prices still remain higher than last year due to interest rates at historically low levels and the lowest home prices seen in years. A monthly survey of 54 metropolitan areas reveals that closed transactions in June 2010 were 5.6% higher and prices 3.5% higher than during June 2009. “There’s no question, the tax credit has had a significant impact on this market,” said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. “No one can predict the future, and we may still see a slight pull back, but for right now it appears that housing is holding its own, hopefully on the road to a sustainable recovery.” Transactions – Year-Ov...
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By Matt Sweeney, Rich Kids Real Estate
(Rich Kids Real Estate: The Brokerage)
My best friend is a long time Westside resident and I too have spent my fair share living in that neck of the woods. We have never questioned the parameters of what was deemed West LA. It was a basic understanding and an unspoken truth that we shared with our fellow neighbors. From our post work-out free for alls at the Souplantation in the Brent-hood to our sheer glee followed by our utter despair when they opened  and then ultimately closed the first/last Chili's to grace Westwood Village (fine, I totally own it - I love nothing more than Chili's queso dip and a Blue Pacifico margarita to wash it down), we knew the mean streets of the Westside inside out...or so we thought. Enter two boyfriends from polar opposite sections of Los Angeles: the Valley and Echo Park. They approached the ...
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By Annie Pinsker-Brown, Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager
(Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging)
Last week Stage to Sell was asked to transform a Westwood rental property into a prime condo, fit for its great location. First we recommended that the owner update the paint in the master bedroom and a few fixtures. Then we went to work bringing in furniture, art and accessories that would appeal to young professionals or students who might be looking to buy in this area. Due to its proximity to UCLA, it is probable that this two bedroom condo might be purchased by a UCLA student (or his/her parents) for use while the student is in school. For this reason, we made sure it felt as if there was plenty of room for a bed and a desk in both bedrooms, in case the buyer wants to rent out the second bedroom to another student. As a professional home staging company in Los Angeles, it is crucia...
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By Monique Carrabba
(The Carrabba Group/Keller Williams)
One of Los Angeles’ top employers is the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC). Many people who come to Los Angeles that are relocating are either students or employees of USC or UCLA, and they want to live close to avoid the nightmare commutes that you often hear about in Southern California. Here are some options if you are going to be a Bruin or a Trojan: Housing options for UCLA: The best areas to live in if you work or study at UCLA depends on your price range. Located right in the middle of some of the most expensive neighborhoods in Los Angeles, there are a few good options: Areas to consider within 15 minutes of campus: Culver City, Mar Vista, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Century ...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
As the NBA Playoffs have started, I was lucky to get home and be able to watch the last half of the Boston Celtics Miami Heat game.WOW what a game, coming from behind and winning. Now that is what the salesman in me loved.  The Boston Celtics players have brought with them all their skills to the game, giving their all and ultimately beating the Miami Heat. This made me reflect.That is exactly what a Realtor does; the Skills are brought to the table when representing buyers or sellers. For buyers the Realtor is negotiating the best deal in their purchase. For the sellers the Realtor is Marketing the property and then negotiating the sale to the best the Market Conditions allow.The best and most respected basketball coach John Wooden in his book "Wooden- a lifetime of observations and re...
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By Bozena Chorazewicz
(Bozena Studio Interior Design)
  Danish company Sort of Coal makes it possible for us to try a natural purification agent known for centuries in Japan and Korea: white charcoal. Unlike common charcoal, white charcoal does not leave dust or residue. It is made by heating pieces of oak and bamboo over a seven-day period in an oxygen-lacking environment. The resulting product retains the original shape and unique beauty of the real wood. White charcoal has been always used to purify air, water, and body.Its great absorption ability makes it useful for getting rid of air pollution, unwanted smells, and moisture. When added to water, it will remove chlorine and other impurities, softening the water and improving the overall taste. Soap made with white charcoal powder cleans pores, absorbs impurities, and removes dead skin...
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the economy is so bad... that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. The economy is so bad.... I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?" The economy is so bad... that CEO's are now playing miniature golf. The economy is so bad... if the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or themselves. The economy is so bad.... Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM. The economy is so bad... parents in Beverly Hills have to fire their nannies and learned their own children's names. The economy is so bad... a truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico . The economy is so bad... Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting. The economy is so bad... Mote...
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Is time running out on the long-running mortgage rates decline of 2009? While rates have been steady for a while,  the long-term outlook could look more and more like an inflationary one, which should trigger higher mortgage rates before too long. That means higher interest payments for mortgage customers. Opinions as to where our economy is headed for are conflicting and even contradictory. Some claim that deflation threatens our economy.  Some, on the other hand, believe that the real threat to the U.S. economy is inflation, even hyper-inflation. I tend to believe that once we are truly out of the current recession ("Main Street" recovery, not "Wall Street"), and unemployment is back to average historical level ( it may take a few years,) our economy will experience "contained" inflat...
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ANSWER: THIS IS OLD LAW.  IT NO LONGER APPLIES No rollover, no more over-55 rule. The rollover or once-in-a-lifetime options were replaced with the current per-sale exclusion amounts under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Before May 7, 1997, the only way you could avoid paying taxes on your home-sale profit was to use the money to buy another, more-expensive house within two years. Sellers age 55 or older had one other option. They could take a once-in-a-lifetime tax exemption of up to $125,000 in profits. And in all instances, there was tax paperwork (to fill out to show that you followed the rules. Now when you sell your primary residence, you can make up to $250,000 in profit if you're a single owner, $500,000 if you're married, and not owe any capital gain taxes every time you sell ...
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In today's market banks and mortgage lenders are being extremely cautious about which loans they approve. Real estate values are dropping and foreclosure rates are rising, and many banks are dropping out of the mortgage business all together. Gone are the days when banks could sell their loans on Wall Street, reload, and do it again. Banks are now faced with the reality of having to actually hold on to their loans like they did in good old days. This means that they want to make sure that the loans they make at this time are good loans that will pay them back on time.Nowadays, it seems like all we ever hear about, in reference to mortgage brokers, are the bad brokers; the ones that make headline news and are carted away on TV in handcuffs. What these stories fail to report, is that the ...
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Many of us, mortgage originators and Realtors are experiencing the negative impact of new appraisal rules.  The Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC, forced on the industry by State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, are slowing down sales and mortgage process. The change came as a result of the mortgage and housing crisis.  Many decision makers blamed the crisis in part on inflated valuations.  The new rules are preventing mortgage lenders and brokers from ordering an appraisal directly to avoid influencing or pressuring the appraiser to come up at the desired valuation. Today most lenders are using independent, third-party appraisal management companies.  These companies are middlemen, taking requests from lenders and farming them out at random to individual appraisers. So now, unde...
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By Jane Peters, Los Angeles real estate concierge services
(Home Jane Realty)
This is a small swath of West Los Angeles.  In the height of the market these homes were going in a few days and way over asking. This is a representative sample for Los Angeles in terms of correct pricing, days on the market, etc. over the last year and a half.  The prices are down about 25-30% The homes in the high $1M low $2M are flips. Address Beds Baths Sq. Ft. Lot Size List Date Original List Price Present List Price Status Sold Price Days on Market 2042 Veteran 3 1.75 1,218 6,750 8/20/09 $799,000   In Escrow   14 2360 Veteran 3 1.75 1,609 6,480 8/13/2009 $739,000   In Escrow   8 2022 Camden 5 3.5 3,656 6,750 8/6/09 $2,199,000   Active     2202 Camden 3 3 1,873 6,750 7/27/09 $1,079,000 $1,029,000 Active     2031 Kelton 3 1.5 1,558 5,400 7/26/09 $1,125,000   Active     2226 Kelton ...
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By COMPASS PALM SPRINGS | Stewart Penn, COMPASS Palm Springs - Broker Associate
(COMPASS)
Health Insurance Reform - The Facts I've yet to see a politician (whether Republican or Democrat) summarize their comprehensive proposals and recommendations for Health Care Reform. However, The Obama Administration's summary on whitehouse.gov does set out a fairly concise and sensible approach on the security we'd all get from Health Insurance Reform: - No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history. - No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses. - No Cost-Sharing for Preventative Care Insurance companies must filly cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests t...
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By COMPASS PALM SPRINGS | Stewart Penn, COMPASS Palm Springs - Broker Associate
(COMPASS)
Have you been "Bumped" yet?  Bump is a great new app for your iPhone. This app allows iPhone users to literally bump their phones together in order to transfer contact details including name, telephone numbers, email addresses and pics. Basically, you transfer your virtual business card by bumping another iPhone. Bump Technologies provides easy to understand answers to frequently asked questions about how this works. Check it out .... "Bump" .... another awesome app for the iPhone.
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West Los Angeles, CA Real Estate Professionals