Top 6 Reasons Homes Don't Sell-Reason#3-Lack of Attractive Terms: Location and price are definitely important but there's a lot of weight given to the "terms" buyers are looking for when purchasing you home. Let's face it; most buyers must get a loan to finance their purchase. There are very few "All Cash Buyers" Realitive to those who finance. Often the 10% or 20% down one needs for Conventional Financing is a Huge sum of money and prohibitive to many "would be buyers". But there is Financing out there that is realitvly easier for buyers qualify for and only requires 3.5% Down. It's FHA Financing and there's a good chance that your home already qualifies for FHA Financing. The good news is a that there are no extra steps you need to take other than meeting some pretty basic "structura... 09/30/2010

Top 6 Reasons Homes Don't Sell-Reason#2-Property Condition -When you begin to consider offering your home for sale, first ask yourself: Is your house in move-in condition?  Is there deferred maintenance?  Are the walls freshly painted?  The carpets recently cleaned or replaced?  Are all your appliances and fixtures working?  These are all things that must be addressed prior to putting your house on the market.  A property with and abundance of "deferred maintainance" may not sell unless you make concessions such as price. In any given market there are about 3 price brackets for a given home based on Property Condition: Top of Market Value (Highest Net Price)-If this is your goal, then the Property Condition for your home must be outstanding and highly upgraded realitive to its compatib... 09/30/2010

Client Testimonial-Friend Tagging Along For The Ride Turned Buyer -When between Acting Gigs my friend Kai decided to "tag along" while I "previewed" properties for anothe buyer. Needless to say, the rest is history! Here's what Kai had to say... Magnificent Munson. ‎‎  By Kaidy - Sep 30, 2010 Thanks to Stephen Munson, I bought my first home. Stephen is very knowledgeable, patient and understanding. When I met Stephen, we were just friends. I had thought of buying a place, but for one reason or another never took the first step. In this economy and the market as we know it, I was nervous so never pursued "buying" a place. I asked Stephen (as a friend) if I could tag along with him when he looks for houses. I was not even thinking of buying. I was just bored and thought it would be fun t... 09/29/2010

The MLS-What Is It?- As Realtors it's real easy for us to forget that many  First Time Home Buyers have no clue what MLS stands for regarding Real Estate. So here it is: The MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service.Essentially, the MLS is a virtual warehouse that Realtors use to "List" or "post" Homes, Condos, Townhomes and other types of Real Estate for sale.In essence, If it ain't here, it's probably not for sale. The same can not be said for Many well known real estate search sites out there. The information is often lagging and many homes that are no longer for sale, remain "active" and thus frustrate many would be buyers. Basically, the only properties that are not listed on the MLS are those homes "Sold By Owner". There are very few such listings and the mostly end up listed with ... 09/28/2010

How To Prepare A House For Sale-"De-Personalize" For Maximum Profit- One the most challenging ideas for sellers to accept is that it is time to "divorce" themselves from their home emotionally and look at the sell of their home as a "business". And in business, it is important for your product to "appeal" to as many potential buyers in your market. Most homeowners have spent years putting their heart and soul into creating a home that fits their families needs and personalities. So many memories have been created and "personalizing" your home is what made it a home.That's why you bought a home, isn't it? It's the same for everyone including us Realtors! But if you are serious about selling your home then I'll bet you want to maximize the profit you receive from that sale. And I'll bet ... 09/24/2010

I'M So Grateful I Chose This Business- How lucky am I ... That I chose a business that I can "Taylor" to fit my needs, schedule and lifestyle. That I can Choose Who I want to work with and serve That I can Work as much or as little as I like That I can manipulate the abundance that flows into my life That I am exposed to so many new people and cultures That I can make a real difference in the lives of the people I serve. That even in America's troubled times, I still prosper. That I can choose to work and operate on my terms. How Luck am I....   I'm So grateful I chose this Business.       09/23/2010

Los Angeles First Time Buyer | FHA-The Next Best Thing To "100% Financing"- I love FHA loans because they allow folks who otherwise couldn't come up with the 10%-20% Down payment conventional loans require.And they are responsible loans (as long as YOU the buyer are responsible regarding what you can afford) because FHA wants to make sure you get into a home that is not going to be a money pit. For Example: No major Structural issues (roof) No Foundation Problems Non working or missing appliances No Electrical problems No flooring (carpet, tiles etc..) No Mold issues And that's great for YOU as a buyer because you will be purchasing a home that is structurally sound. It's also good for the seller. Why? FHA buyers purchases are more "term" focused than "price" focused. In general, FHA b... 09/22/2010

Seller Be Gone and Let Me Sell Your Home(You Too Listing Agent)-I just finished showing a Townhome  to my very serious-all cash buyer. It took 2 weeks to finally get an appointment to see this Town Home because: There was no-lock box The listing agent insisted on being there The seller insisted on being there. Upon arrival, my client and I were accosted by two ladies (listing agent and elderly client) who "Sold" us every room in the townhome. The Agent would tell us all the "benefits" of the home(most very obvious and clearly a show for her seller) and then the seller would repeat the same dialog about the benefits. The listing agent would then raise her voice at her Seller and tell her that she indeed had "jus told us that".It was like watching a really bad version of "Golden Girls Be... 09/21/2010

Homes For Sale Pasadena CA- Must Have Pasadena Certificate Of Occupancy to Transfer- A little inconvenient for the seller maybe but the Pasadena Certificate of Occupancy offers protection on both sides of the home sale transaction. In order for the seller to obtain a Pasadena Certificate Of Occupancy there must be a  Occupancy Inspection done at the sale or transfer of a Single Family Home, Duplex, Condo or Townhome by the Code Compliance Section of the Planning and Development Department. Here's what they are looking for in the Occupancy Inspection: Electrical Plumbing  and heating systems Structural hazards They are also looking for Zoning Issues such as Illegal building additions Conversion of garages,attics, and basements to dwelling spaces are also checked.(very common in many Hom... 09/21/2010

Seller & Attorney Testimonial-Probate-Family Home Sold-There's really no good time nor is it easy to let the family home go, especially after 30 years and after a parent has passed away. Helping Majorie and her family get through this experience was rewarding in many ways. Helping folks let go and move on is a huge part of the process when selling a family home. If there were a lesson here it would be to be sure your assets (especially your home) are in a legal vehicle (such as a trust) to avoid probate. But that being said, this transaction went pretty smooth, even in todays market. Thank You Majorie for allowing us to be part of this turning point in your life What Our Seller Majorie Had To Say: "I would like to thank you for all your help in selling our family home of thirty years, ... 09/18/2010

                                                                                                                                                      How To Prepare A House For Sale-Clear The Clutter- It's pretty evident that Staged Homes Sell Faster! But let's face it, not every home owner who decides to sell has enough equity or cash on hand to pay a Professional Home Stager (who by the way, are worth every penny if you can go that route). But, there are different degrees of staging that all homeowners MUST consider when putting there home on the market. Again, based upon your budget and time frame. In this blog I want to talk about the very least you should do to sell your home. The good news here it that  this is  Low To No Cost Home Staging. The very least you should do is to Clear... 09/17/2010

No Photos-NO Go! Much of the time we spend working with buyers on their Home Search is spent "eliminating" homes for them. And Buyers do the same thing. They quickly scan through listings and only save or set aside properties that catch their attention. There is no faster way to eliminate a property than by coming across listings that have a blurry, small or (even more aggravating) NO PHOTO! What is up with this? You can be sure that if there's No Photo, it's a no go for me! And I venture to say the same for most buyers and their agents. The very least a Listing Agent can do is stand in front of the home with a cell phone and snap a picture! I say "the very least" because cell phone shots are probably the least desirable but I guess better than nothing and it shows a "drop" of effort. D... 09/16/2010

Low Balling Offers-Why Do Buyers Do it?- It's really important for Buyers to understand how and why they make their offers. Often I find buyers make offers based upon what they've always been told buy their parents or others. For example: "Always go in with your offer at least 10%(or what ever formula they were given) under what the seller is asking". The problem with this is that there is no real basis for this "formula" other than "low balling for the sake of Low Balling Offers". I can see if the property is overpriced to begin with, but that's just bringing the seller down to earth on their overpriced home. I completely understand everybody wants the best deal they can get. Of course, who wants to over pay for a home?So really, the questions buyers need to ask themselves is why am I ... 09/13/2010

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