Seller Testimonial-One Follow Up Phone Call Put The Deal Together! My Client Ned who's testimonial you are about to read had orignally listed his home with another agent. After 6 months of no offers, Ned decided to list with us as we have the reputation for Selling Homes That Didn't Sell The First Time Listed. After the first week of showings I went back and contacted every agent that used the lock box (another great example of why you should use a lock box). I noticed one agent had accessed the Lock Box several times so I called him and asked him why they didn't submit an offer. He said they were afraid their offer would be rejected because it was lower than what my Seller Ned was asking for. I told him to put something in writing and let's see if we can't pull it together. At the end ... 09/11/2010

Teen Proof Your Liquor Cabinet-Or any part of your home you DON'T want them invading! Over the Labor Day weekend I ran into a buddy who specializes in home and business security systems. We got to talking about his business and he told me a story about one of his recent clients. Here was His Clients story: Mom and Dad went away for a family wedding during a recent Holiday weekend leaving the four High School age girls at home Chaperoned.  While away at the wedding  the girls had a little party. Unbeknownst to the girls, Mom and Dad had installed a monitoring system into the liquor cabinet when they purchased their home security system. While at the reception, Mom And Dad received a text alert from the security system indicating that the young ladies had "breached" the liquor cabinet and... 09/08/2010

Pre Approval-Pre Qualification| Buyers Be Prepared! Here are some quick tips to prepare buyers for the Loan Approval Process. Buyers today should be aware  the financing process by nature has changed from 3 years ago. The documentation can be overwhelming but if they turn the items in early,  things will usually run pretty smoothly. Keep these tips in mind. Deposits always have to be paper trailed all the way to their source. Yes, it's cumbersome but  if the client can't prove the source then that account and the money can't be used Cash Deposits are like death. This is the biggest pain for Lenders, having to chase down multiple deposits from multiple accounts. The ideal situation is someone who has an account with no money movement....or only just depositing their paycheck and regular ... 09/01/2010

No Lock Box-No Show!I can't tell you how crazy it makes me trying to show properties in this market when there is no lock box on the home! In Los Angeles, The West Side is one of the last remain areas that has fallen waaay behind the times in their real estate practice of no-lock boxes. I can understand "high end" or "high profile" properties being an exception to having a lock box installed but please, don't you want to sell the house? Today's lock boxes are so sophisticated that they track every agent that's been in the home. So if there's an issue, you can call that agent back. Most of my business is in the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley so it's not a huge deal here. But I will tell you, if I have a buyer and we are looking at properties, the homes with no lock box are at... 08/30/2010

Pasadena Old Town-Power Walk Through Historic Old Town I maintain that one of the fastest, healthiest and least expensive ways to get to know your neighborhood is to Power Walk It! Today, the streets are wide and filled with awesome shopping opportunity and modern day parking meters that take credit cards. It’s hard to imagine that the Facades of the buildings use to be mainly Victorian and and the streets were much narrower in the 1920’s before the city petition have the street paved, widened and all the buildings were set back 14 feet on both sides of Colorado Blvd. Now most of the building facades are Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco facades. Don’t be afraid to walk or jog through the Alleys of Pasadena Old Town because that’s were you will see a lot of the original constructio... 08/26/2010

Housing Not Dead In Los Ageles-My Voice On The RadioThis Morning-This morning I was driving back from a Home Inspection with a buyer I've been working with for around a month. I was listing to "Air Talk" on KPCC hosted this morning by David Lazarus and the topic was all about the bleak news that just came out about the housing market. The general idea of the discussion is how prices are dropping and homes aren't selling. He opened up the lines to callers from buyers, sellers and Real Estate professionals. It prompted me to call in and voice my opinion on the matter as I have been encountering the opposite of this recent release of bad news in the housing market with many of my buyers. So I called in and the screener asked me what I wanted to say, I told her and she said she definitely w... 08/25/2010

Los Angeles First Time Buyer | You Must Be Armed And Ready to Play in this market- It's getting crazy out there again! Multiple offers, properties flying off the market. I really enjoyed the Lull we had at the beginning of the summer, It seemed like all of my clients were in escrow within a week or two. We even had the upper hand in many negotiations. But now, if you are a Los Angeles First Time Buyer be prepared! If you want to find a home, take advantage of today's low interest rates and be a well informed buyer, be prepared and keep these 8 basic principles in mind for our current market. Have your finances in order. You must speak with your lender (bank) and get pre-approved for the loan. Do your "looking" on line but when it comes to "touring" be prepared! An experienced Realtor wi... 08/18/2010

Los Angeles First Time Buyer | How much truth is in that 20% down statement? My fiancé was just informed by one of her friends that in today’s market we are going to have to come up with 20% down at the table for whatever home we are looking to purchase. How much truth is in that 20% down statement? We would like something to start off with in the range of $250,000 - $300,000. $50,000 is A TON O CASH! Thanks Stephen! Christopher My Answer: $50K IS at TON O CASH! No disrespect to your friend Christopher but in many situations, their statment is FALSE.There are at least 2 loan programs I’m aware of that require only 3-3.5% Down. The loan programs are perfect for the Los Angeles First Time Buyer and they are  FHA and Home Path. Here are 3 Excellent Points relating to these loans. 1. They a... 08/17/2010

Homes For Sale Pasadena Ca| No Photos, No Description-NO SALE! Let me begin by saying there are many good agents out there. For the most part my experience as an agent has been pretty darn good here in the Pasadena and the LA area. Unfortunately though, there are a few agents who simply take their business for granted and for the most part, snap a photo of your home and put it on the MLS, that's it! My heart goes out to the sellers that have unknowingly placed their trust with one of their biggest assets into an agent who could care less. Which boggles me because I know the goal of a great agent is at the very least to sell the home! Duh... Not only to sell the home, but to sell it for the most the market will bear, with the pride of creativity in their marketing and integrity with thei... 08/17/2010

What a week! First, I was invited to present to Realtors® from all over California at the annual California Association of Realtor's convention. It's quite an honor since only one other "working" real estate agent has been invited, my co-presenter, Ted Mackell of Simi Valley Real Estate. Immediately following the announcement, I was notified that our real estate blog has been nominated for "People's Choice Award for Best Real Estate Blog in Pasadena". This contest is being held at www.Zillow.com. So... If you are enjoying this blog, please VOTE by clicking on the link below and selecting PASADENA VIEWS! We so appreciate your help and the recognition!!!! THANKS to all our loyal readers!!!!! 08/12/2010

  Eaton Canyon-A Power Hike to the Water Falls-One of the great things about living in Pasadena is being close to some excellent hiking. I love to incorporate my cardio exercise into nature but I usually only allow an hour or two to do so. An afternoon hike to Eaton Canyon Falls is perfect for burning calories and bonding with nature! Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park and Nature Center is just moments from Old Town Pasadena and located at 1750 North Altadena Drive in Pasadena, just at the intersection of North Altadena Drive and New York Dr. What I really like about Eaton Canyon is it’s not as crowded as Runyon Canyon in Hollywood and there’s no dog poop! On the day I took these photos there were a lot of kids enjoying the 1.5 mile hike to the falls. There were also some adults but clearly... 08/11/2010

Overpriced Homes-Sell Slower and For Less If there’s anything we can take away from the plethora of Bank Owned Foreclosures is they certainly know how to price a home to move! I maintain that you almost always shoot yourself in the foot by overpricing your home. Your home will almost always sale at or above market value by pricing at or below market value. So why is that? Well think back at when YOU were buying a home. Remember when a “great deal” came on the market and everybody and their agents were “swarming” to the open house? You placed your offer only to find out their were 10 other offers and they were going above the asking price? This “bargain price” created an auction affect and got people excited. THAT is how banks are pricing their homes and if you want your home to move qui... 08/05/2010

Double Up And Back It Up Double Up And Back It Up-I knew my PC was having problems about a month ago when it kept randomly shutting down. I kept thinking, I really need another computer to jump to when this one freezes up or so I can take it in for maintenance. Well, this past Wednesday, my computer bit the dust at the end of a very busy day. Thank GOD I have my blackberry and THANK god I have every thing backed up on Mozy. I felt my computer world crashing around me quickly so I rapidly downloaded any documents I knew I had to have for the next couple days to my Google Docs and external hard drive. And then, off to FRYS Electronics in Burbank California to buy a new “back up” notebook less than 1 hour before they closed. In less than 20 minutes I walked out the door of FRYS with a (Tos... 07/30/2010

I really love this quote. I've always thought that  it takes as much energy (if not more) to be poor as it does to be wealthy (in mind and pocket book). I agree and subscribe to this quote by the Donald!   "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Donald Trump     Clearly this was his inspiration when choosing a hairstyle! Don't let the hair throw you off, the message is intended to be taken seriously! He hee,he hee heeee. :)       07/27/2010

What Is The Difference Between A Short Sale And Foreclosure|How It affects your credit The intention of this article is to give you a brief understanding of how a Short Sale Vs. Foreclosure affects your credit and ability to buy a home in the future. The description of each process is very brief and a "nut shell" version of the more detailed definitions of each. You can click on any of the links below to gain a broader understanding of the Short Sale and Foreclosure Process. This article assumes you already have a basic idea of each. Nutshell Description of a Short Sale and Foreclosure. Short Sale: When a seller must sell their home for less than they owe on the property, and the lender that they owe the money to agrees to take less than they originally loaned, that is a short sale. Th... 07/27/2010

What Is A Home Short Sale| Short Sale FAQ's- What is a Short Sale? A Short Sale is the sale of a home when the net proceeds do not fully pay off the existing mortgage loan(s) and the Lender is willing to accept a discounted payoff. The closing costs that are typically paid by the Seller are paid out of the proceeds from the sale, including but not limited to, commissions, escrow and title fees and any negotiated Buyer’s cost. Your home is sold and you avoid foreclosure. Why would my lender accept less than what is owed on my mortgage? Lenders are in business to lend money, not to own real estate. They do not want the expense of the foreclosure process and/or the holding and maintaining of the property if it does not sell at foreclosure. The foreclosure process is very expensive and time... 07/23/2010

Short Sale Alternatives| What are your options? Before you consider a short sale, you must look at all of your options.I'ts important that you weigh each Short Sale Alternative against each other and an actual Short sale.  Here are some options: Refinance | If you're current with your mortgage payments then this is a pretty good option. But typically speaking, distressed homeowner don’t have any equity in their home and their credit is shot so this not going to be an option for many. Do nothing or walk away | The Implication is clear here and the lenders only option will be to foreclose on your property. Lender Workout | Your lender may be willing to: 1.Add the missed payments to the existing loan balance. 2.Change the interest rate, including making an adjustable rate into a fixed rate... 07/22/2010

What Is A Non Judicial Foreclosure| Non-judicial foreclosures are processed without court intervention, with the requirements for the foreclosure established by state statutes. Most Foreclosures in California are Non-Judicial foreclosures. In a Non-Judicial Foreclosure there must be a power of sale clause in the mortgage/loan document or deed of trust. This is a clause saying that the home owner agrees to allow the lender to sell the home in the event the buyer defaults on the loan. Of course there are a number of steps involved that allow the home owner to “make good” on the loan by catching up payments and even renegotiate the loan so they can stay in their home. If that’s just not an option the homeowner can exercise, eventually the Lender will publish a Notice of Default, a Notice o... 07/21/2010

Hardship For Short sale | What qualifies as a hardship? Here is a Simple “Hardship Test” that will give you an idea if you qualify for a Short Sale. Ask yourself: Have you lost your job since you’ve purchased your property? Have you become disabled or had a bad accident since purchasing the home? Have you been recently divorced Have you experienced a death of a spouce Have you had a business failure Have you experienced a natural disaster Have you experienced sudden illness Are you encountering Large Medical Bills for you or your family since the purchase Have you been relocated to another city or state? Has the interest rate on your loan gotten out of control and beyond your ability to afford the payment?You must be able to prove hardship to the lender. The lender will look at each ind... 07/21/2010

Things To Do In Pasadena California- As they say, some of the best things in life are free! And it cost you absolutely nothing to do a walking photo tour of Pasadena. I start every day (no kidding, every day) with a one hour power walk. Many of those mornings I will do my walk or jog through some of Pasadena's most beautiful neighborhoods. I belong to the 24Hour Fitness on Colorado Blvd and rather than bore myself to death on the treadmills, I do my cardio outside. Every once and awhile I will bring my camera along with me and the photos you see here today are the result of a very recent walk South on S. Los Robles & S.Oakland Ave. Besides the health benefits of my walk, I need to keep track of local inventory and somehow I feel like I keep a better thumb on the market by personally to... 07/06/2010