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Los Angeles, CA Real Estate News

By Alberto Pacheco, Experience and Trust
(Home Smart Evergreen Realty)
Avoid these 8 costly home buying mistakes that trap first-time buyers. Learn expert strategies to save money, protect your investment, and secure your dream home without financial regret.The $50,000 Mistake You Never Saw ComingPurchasing your first home should be one of life's most exciting milestones, but for thousands of buyers each year, it becomes their most expensive mistake. The median first-time buyer loses approximately $15,000 to $50,000 due to preventable errors during the home buying process. These financial setbacks can derail your homeownership dreams and create years of unnecessary debt.The real estate market rewards prepared buyers and punishes those who rush in without proper knowledge. Understanding these eight critical mistakes before you start house hunting could be t...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power disclosed, that as of Wednesday evening, there were still about 8,410 customers remaining without power in the Pacific Palisades area.Sadly, because they are located in areas where workers cannot safely access homes or in areas where it is unsafe to re-energize power lines. Customers with questions about the status of their service can call 800-342-5397. Southern California Gas Co. had shut off service to about 13,600 customers in the Palisades Fire area for safety reasons. As of Wednesday, they have restored service for 3,526 of those customers.The Southern California Gas Co. has established an information booth for residents that will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pavilions store at 29211 Heathercliff Road in Malibu, and from 9 a.m...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Today is 1/22/2025 and I am still writing updates about the Pacific Palisades Fires.Date the fire started was 01/07/25 and the time was around 10:30 am. Now with that said I am grateful for the brave fire fighters not just the local ones but the ones that came from all over the country to help out even though they knew that we had no water in the reservoir and no water in the fire hydrants. Truly grateful for their bravery to try to put these fires out.The good news is  the fires are now : 70% Contained 23,448 Acres AS I write this the winds are still picking up and these brave fire fighters are out there trying to stop this tragedy.It has been a while since I updated on the damage assessments: 890 Structures Damaged Residential, Commercial and Other 6,662 Structures Destroyed Residenti...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Today is January 21st, 2025 and here I am posting another update on the Palisades fires. Truly sad, I have been checking since early this morning and virtually no change.We are at 63% containment, and we have been at it all day. Why? The winds have picked up and it makes life harder for the fire fighters.Now may I share my frustration with the Politicians of this great state? There were volunteers from Oregon trying to help us. After a bunch of political bs, the issue was 75 Fire Engines and 300 helping fire fighters got passed through supposedly even though their emission control standards did not meet California standards.SERIOUSLY? How stupid, we are in a situation where 6380 structures have been destroyed. 857 structures have been damaged. 23,713 acres have burned, and we are having...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Sunday evening January 19th, 2025, and sadly I am still writing about the Pacific Palisades fires. As of 7pm this evening, the SIZE of the fire is: 23, 713 acres with 56% containment!!!This is great news indeed, sadly starting tomorrow the winds are picking up again so with that said all bets are off, if containment will improve or decrease.Aerial imagery overlays show approximately 5,000 structures may have been damaged or destroyed. this is truly hard to fathom. I am receiving many inquiries from what I call bottom feeders on five of my land listings that are close to or inside the fire area. I find it hard to be pleasant and professional in my replies to these inquiries.Needless to say, I am also getting calls from my sellers wondering how things are going. These are of course person...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Latest Update on the Pacific Palisades, CA, Fires!The good news is, the containment is now at 49%, sadly it took 11 days to come to this point. Needless to say, we are not there yet. 23,713 acres have been affected by the fires.Hard to believe, but a crew of 5,677 firefighters has been working on the site and they managed to contain 49% of the fire by Saturday evening. The fire fighters are from all over the country, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to name a few.I am hopeful, that tomorrow will bring better percentages, because my understanding is that next week there are more winds expected. Needless to say, the winds are not helpful for the fire fighters.Just to give you an idea the firefighting effort, as of this writing involve 551 engines, 48 water tenders, 43 helicopters, ...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
If you were affected by the fires of the greater Los Angeles area here are some helpful links I found and thought, they might be of help to you.My heart is with everyone affected by the recent wildfires. If you or someone you know needs assistance—whether it’s finding temporary housing, resources, or simply support—I am here for you. do not hesitate to reach out to me.I am so grateful that I live near LAX and have electricity, internet and the list goes on and on. On the other hand, if you need help, please email me homes@endrebarath.com  or call me 310.486.1002 (m) and I will do my best trying to help you.If you prefer reaching out directly let me share a few links that might be of help to you.:1. https://www.redcross.org/local/2.https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/disaster-dist...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Another update on the Pacific Palisades fires...sort of... The good news is that we are at 27% per cent containment with all the help from Fire Fighters, from Texas and Mexico to name a few.  It has burned 23,713 acres after being an active fire for nine days now. A crew of 4,471 firefighters has been working on site Clearly, we still have a long way to go, I will feel much better when the numbers are around 80 -90% contained.Today, the US Postal Service dropped off a flyer and I thought I would share to help those in need. Please look at the photos in this post and hope it helps.It breaks my heart to hear not only that all those who were affected by these fires but, that some of my fellow agents in my office were sharing stories about losing their homes. They were others who were, sad,...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
 Sadly, here I am still writing about the fires in the greater Los Angeles area. We are experiencing record-setting wildfires.  As most of you know I have been focusing on the Pacific Palisades Fires, since they are near to us. The fires are only 19% contained.  Acres: 23,713 are covered with fires. Structures Lost: 10,000 (est.) All these fires have forced thousands of people to leave the area and find a place to stay. In addition, there are thousands of homes that have been lost. With this in mind, the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) reminds licensees and consumers that price gouging is a criminal offense in counties where a state of emergency has been declared. Now do we really need to be reminded of this? Seriously, this annoys me so much, that people need to be told abou...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Property Relief for homes impacted by the fires in the greater Los Angeles area. There is a lot of things homeowners need to know and do if their homes were damaged or destroyed by the fires. If you are a homeowner who was affected by the fires, let me just say I am heart broken by the devastation caused by the wildfires and my thoughts are with everyone whose lives have been impacted. Just to be clear if your loss exceeds $10,000 of the current market value you as a potential homeowner may qualify for reassessment.There are so many questions homeowners have and sadly to many of these questions I have the answers. Now with that said feel free to reach out to me directly and I will try to answer them for you.Let me give a few examples here:1. How do I change my mailing address on file wi...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
As we wake up every morning hearing, reading and watching the Pacific Palisades fires, my advice is that we should be focusing on not what we lost or what others lost. Instead, we should be thinking and saying“…what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love …” Marcus AureliusSo, with that said let me share a few more quotes from one of my favorite philosophers.   "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."  Marcus Aurelius  "The best answer to anger is silence." Marcus Aurelius  "Stay calm and serene regardless of what life throws at you." Marcus Aurelius  "This is the mark of perfection of character—to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending." Marcus Aurelius “It is not deat...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Speechless Sunday:  As the fires continue to impact many areas and specifically the Palisades and Malibu areas. I want to extend my deepest sympathy to those who have lost so much. At the same time, I wanted to add a personal lighthearted message in this post."...If we are leaving don't forget our food..." As most of you are aware we have been on standby since last Tuesday, facing the potential that we might have to leave our home. Gratefully the Pacific Palisades fires have not crept closer to us yet.Sadly, it affected other areas like Malibu. Needless to say, it allowed us to casually pack and get organized, in case we needed to go on short notice. No words can capture what we feel as we see the ongoing devastation caused by the wildfires.Our pets have been wondering why we had one of...
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By Deepak Chauhan Asso-Broker, MLO, Your Solution-Oriented Realtor
(Versailles Property)
Today, I took a truckload of donations to LA from my local community for the LA fire relief efforts. After spending the day navigating the donation process, I’ve discovered that most major LA donation sites are no longer accepting clothing. I visited five locations and was turned away at each one.The overwhelming public response has particularly impacted the LA Rose Bowl donation center (Parking Lot I). Their operations have been relocated multiple times, from 100 Walnut Street to the Race Course, and they are now accepting food and drinks only. Even so, the drop-off wait times were extraordinarily long.Schools, community colleges, and other donation sites are also overwhelmed and actively turning people away with clothing donations.The Salvation Army was the only organization I found t...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
 Sadly, here I am posting again about the Pacific Palisades fires, which grew to 22,660 acres by Saturday morning, and evacuations stretched all the way to Encino, Tarzana and Brentwood, then to boot on Friday night flames lit up ridge lines and threatened homes in Mandeville Canyon as well.   Additional evacuation warnings were issued for the following two areas: Sunset Boulevard to the south, Mullholland Drive to the north, Roscomare Road to the east and the 405 Freeway to the west; and Mulholland/Sepulveda Boulevard to the south, the 405 Freeway to the east, Ventura Boulevard to the north and Louise Avenue to the west. Needless to say, we moved from an 8 percent containment to 11 % containment, it is progress, but nothing to brag about.  Winds are forecast to be around 15 to 30 mph, ...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Sadly, with a heavy heart I am giving another update about the Pacific Palisades fires. The recent devastating fires in Pacific Palisades and in Malibu have left many families without homes, belongings, or a sense of stability.  The fires continue and as of this afternoon were only 8 per cent contained. I am only focusing on these two areas right now for the purpose of this update. This tragedy has not only destroyed properties but also shaken the hearts and spirits of those impacted.The fire has already consumed around 20,438 acres. Sadly, many businesses and restaurants along Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Blvd to name a few, have been burned to the ground. The business owners as well as their employees who lost their living and income are in my thoughts. During these difficult time...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
False Alarm: This afternoon we were rattled with an evacuation order as most of you know, we live about 9-15 miles depending which fire you are looking at in the greater Los Angeles area. It created panic for Diane....She has been stressed since these fires  all started two days ago. I kept reassuring her and those who reached out to us that we are fine. The wind has shifted in our favor. Sadly, not in Malibu's favor. Hence, I felt confident we are in a better place than before.Next thing you know my cell phone and Diane's cell phone goes off Instructing us to move out of the area because we are in the line of the fire. I told her immediately that this was false and wrong information. I suspected Verizon made a mistake. Turns out Diane was not so sure since this is what the message said...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
 Emergency Preparedness Plan. Do you have one? If not here is a short one for you to consider.Thanks to the Pacific Palisades Fires, I thought I would share here an emergency preparedness plan for all to consider.As the Wildfires are just out of control here in the greater Los Angeles area, Diane asked if we should put together our emergency plan. I must admit she was right, especially since we have not updated out emergency kits in about ten years.Keep in mind we should have, because we also live in Earthquake Country. I did not feel like doing the big action plan tonight, so I talked her out of it. Needless to say, next couple days we will get right on it.So, with that said, this not only applies to Los Angeles, CA residents but everyone should have an emergency plan and kit to take w...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Thank you for all of you, who checked in, called, texted and emailed me as to how we are doing with the fires. I thought I would give a quick update here.We are safe, since we live next to Los Angeles International Airport, better known as LAX. We have had very few power outages over the years, and they only lasted a very short time, because we are in the same grid as LAX. As well as gratefully no devastating fires in our area over the years. Let me share with you, these devastating fires are about 15 miles from us. The closest one was about 9 miles from us in the Hollywood Hills, but it was contained late this morning. The greater Los Angeles area sadly is covered with flammable vegetation and brush, including dense chaparral. If they are dry and in areas that haven’t been cleared, it ...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Monday Motivation:  I just love all of Julia Child's quotes..."...no matter what happens in the kitchen, never apologize.""...Always remember: if you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?  --- (substitute anything for the word lamb)"...A chicken should taste like chicken and be so good in itself that it is an absolute delight to eat as a perfectly plain, butter roast, sauté or grill..."  Wishing you a safe and healthy life and I look forward to your comments. If you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the ...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Speechless Sunday: All our Christmas decorations, lights are down. Are yours packed away too?Well in all fairness two items are still in the back yard.  See for yourself, but don't tell Diane:))She was busy packing things away and was making sure I kept the decorations down for her to be able to pack it away till the next time. Wishing you a safe and healthy life and I look forward to your comments. If you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or sellin...
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