Many of my clients have been considering helping their kids with a down payment on their first home. If this is something you’re considering, you may want to know how the gift could impact their mortgage application:   Ready to buy your first home? Have a down payment ready to go? Before you apply for that mortgage, here’s something you should know about disclosing the source of your down payment.     Q: Part of my down payment was a gift from my parents. How will this impact my mortgage application?   A: It depends on the type of mortgage you’re applying for.   You should be prepared to explain your gift with documentation. While FHA loans typically will permit a down payment from a family source, your more conventional mortgage will expect at least 5% of the funds to have come from ... 11/13/2012

How can I make your life easier?     It’s probably not the kind of letter you were expecting from your real estate agent, but I was thinking of you the other day and wondered if there’s anything I could be doing to help you out.     Most people only think to reach out to me when they’re buying or selling a home. The truth is, there’s a lot of little ways I might be able to lend a hand.     Are you looking for a referral to a contractor? A plumber? An electrician? Are you looking for new quotes on insurance, or considering a home equity loan? I have a large network of people I trust, and would be glad to make a personal introduction on your behalf.   My own connection to the community puts me in a position to help connect people with others, but people frequently don’t think to contact a... 11/12/2012

 Please call for an appointment if you would like to see any of these West Hills homes. If this is not what you’re looking for please send me an email with the number of bedrooms needed and area that you are interested in. Be as specific as possible and I will email you all available homes that meet your needs. My service is at no charge, free for you, the renter. I am paid by the owner of the home once we place the tenant. Zoom in or out to view more or less homes for lease.    If you or someone you know is having difficulty making house payments I can help. I am specially trained to list and sell short sales. I am a short sale specialist with HAFA certification.  Please contact me for a confidential call to understand how a Short sale can help to avoid foreclosure.         This servic... 11/09/2012

I just found some useful information I wanted to pass along to you. I hope you find this as handy as I did.   When I help people prepare to sell their home, we often work together to de-clutter cabinets, closets, and dens. It makes a better impression on buyers when they tour the home and stop by open houses.   For most people, de-cluttering is a completely overwhelming process. Where to begin? What to do with all the “stuff” that’s built up over the years?   This article by Leo Babauta called “How to Tackle Your Clutter” offers some excellent tricks to make the de-cluttering process easier. Really great strategies for turning the chore of “cleaning out” into an (almost) pleasurable event.   How to Tackle Your Clutter http://zenhabits.net/tackle-clutter/   Hope this helps!              ... 11/08/2012

Thinking of listing your home, but you’re nervous about the home inspection?-West Hills Real Estate   Part of my job as a real estate agent is educating and protecting my clients. Many of my clients get nervous about home inspections. They often ask: “Should I have a home inspection before I put my home on the market?” Here’s my take on the pre-listing inspection:   Knowing what you're in for when it comes to selling a house is always better than getting a nasty surprise down the line. In the event you find repairs that need to be made, they can be done in a reasonable time frame.   The pre-listing inspection is also useful in situations down the line when you suspect the buyer's home inspection reflects wildly inflated estimates for repairs.   Also keep in mind that if you fail to disc... 11/07/2012

Dear Beloved God in Heaven,   Please give us a president that loves this country and everything it stands for.       Please give us a president who respects you as the one true God. Please give us a president who will, with your help, restore this nation to its former glory, the way you created her.    Please help us to respect what you have given to us and not take anything for granted ever again.   Please God weaken the evil and strengthen the good both without and within.  May our eyes be opened?           God Bless America     11/06/2012

 What is stopping you from buying right now?/West Hills Ca-Real Estate Roger Babson, an entrepreneur and business theorist in the first half of the 20th century once said, “Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.”     If the theme this year has been “uncertainty” for many people, be it jobs, family, health, or even the right time to buy a home, there will surely be many people whose theme in a few years will be “regret.” Uncertainty paralyzes us from making decisions and seizing opportunity. Many people will look back on this year and ask themselves, “Why didn’t I buy a home?”     I strongly urge my closest friends and family to seriously consider buying right now. Not only have prices sunk to an historic low, we’re also faced with the best interest rates we’re ... 11/05/2012

    Daylight Savings time ends at 2 a.m. on November 4th.  Make sure you turn your clocks back one hour. Fire departments recommend replacing your smoke detector batteries as well. Daylight savings time ends, but you can Start Saving money on your Energy bill when you;   Wash your clothes in cold water. Much of the energy your washer uses is due to heating the water. Washing in cold can save you as much as 30%.   Put your computer on “standby” mode. This will use about 80% less energy.   Use your microwave. Heating food in the microwave uses 80% less energy that heating it in the oven..   Set your water heater to 120 degrees.   Adjust your thermostat at night or while you are away. For every degree you lower it, you’ll save about 3%                     My Website For Sellers For Buyers ... 11/03/2012

Which matters more to your wallet? Home price or interest rate?/West Hills Ca-First Time Home Buyers-Real Estate   If you know someone who’s waiting for home prices to drop even further before they buy, you might want to clue them in to the impact financing changes may have on those low prices:     Which do you think matters more when waiting for the right time to buy a home? Is it securing a low purchase price, or locking in a great financing rate?         Most buyers become focused on purchase price when they’re considering whether or not to buy. The question you often hear is the same: “Has the market bottomed out yet?” The idea of getting “the best deal” on a home is paramount to these price shoppers, and indeed for cash buyers, this may be the primary concern.               While n... 11/02/2012

Get protected! Get your “stuff” in the cloud-West Hills Ca- Real Estate How are you protecting your home’s possessions?    What’s your strategy for keeping a home inventory in case of a disaster?   I just came across this great idea for using “the cloud” to protect your belongings:    We don’t like to think about the unthinkable happening, but being a responsible homeowner means preparing for the worst.     One fire or burglary can send us back to square one, and getting life back on track as fast as possible becomes our top priority.     Homeowner’s insurance is there to make sure that when the worst happens we’re able to recover. One place many people are notoriously lax, however, is in keeping a thorough inventory of their home’s many possessions. Often those who do keep an inventor... 11/01/2012

                                                                             Happy Halloween!             Advisory: 25 things to keep you safe on Halloween:       I am sharing this email advice that I received from the LAPD to keep us safe on halloween   Hi Esperanza Butler, 25 things to keep you safe on Halloween: 1. Children should trick-or-treat during daylight hours. 2. Children should never be allowed to go out alone on Halloween. 3. Children should never eat any treats until they have been examined. 4. All fruit should be cut and closely examined before eating. 5. Advise children that they should never enter strangers’ homes. 6. Never invite children into your home. 7. Children should never accept rides from strangers. 8. Children should never take shortcuts through backyards or a... 10/31/2012

                                                                                       ((( ‘The Right to Vote’)))                                     As an American Citizen I would like to ask you a few questions. Regardless of your political taste, affiliation or preferences.   Are you registered to vote? Have you moved to a different address? Do you like your personal economical situation? Do you like the country's economic situation? Are you happy with what you have? Are you afraid of losing what you have?    Do you think that the country is moving in the (right) or (wrong) direction? Or would you like to vote for a real change?    This is the time to participate and exercise your rights... The Constitutional right to vote and make your voice heard.    Hope and dreams have their plac... 10/15/2012

Property tax scams-West Hills Ca Homes-Woodland Hills Real Estate Just thought you might want to be aware of the property tax reduction scams that are going around these days. You can get your property taxes reduced through an appeal process with the tax assessor, but don’t fall for the rest:      Granted, the offer can be tempting. The basic pitch is this: “For a nominal fee, we’ll save you hundreds or thousands on your tax bill by having your home appraised at a lower value.” You do “nothing” but pay an administrative fee.    Don’t fall for it! If you want to try and have your property taxes reduced, you can usually file an appeal with your tax assessor. The process is often only the minor inconvenience of filling out a form to request an adjustment. (Clearly, there’s no guarantee thi... 10/02/2012

West Hills Real Estate- Relocating? Five tips to plan your exploratory visit the right way   Are you considering a move to a new city? Maybe you’re trying to make the choice between two or three potential options. If so, how you visit your future home can have a dramatic impact on which one makes the final cut. By making a few subtle shifts in how you prepare for your visit (and how you spend your time while you’re in town), you can gain more useful insight into the community.    Tip 1: Stay a week if possible While a long weekend might be your only shot, you can get a much better perspective on a place if you have enough time to unwind. A mix of weekdays and a weekend is a great way to get a view of the rhythm of the town. If you have a long time to plan, visit the place in Summer ver... 10/01/2012

First Time Home Buyers? Buying a home is probably the biggest financial investment you'll make in your life. Before you get started, do some homework. This handy Buyer's Guide will show you some things to keep in mind as you're hunting for that home of your dreams.     As your buyer’s agent I’ll not only negotiate on your behalf, I’ll keep your private information confidential. And that is important. When the seller’s agent knows how much money you can spend, why you’re moving, details about your life that would indicate an urgency to buy, or the fact that you’ve fallen head over heels in love with the house, your negotiating position is destroyed.   And in case you’re wondering, there’s no additional cost to having a buyer’s agent on your side. Both the listing agent and the buyer’s ag... 09/28/2012

Are You Thinking of Buying Real Estate in West Hills California/Find Homes for Sale, Short Sales,Foreclosures  Are you planning to move in the near future to West Hills California?  Are you looking for homes for sale in West Hills Ca?                                       West Hills California communities Welcomes You!  Esperanza Butler Your West Hills Realtor. A Great place to live and learn! Please allow me to introduce you to West Hills neighborhood, and my 365 Things To Do In West Hills,Woodland Hills,Ca.-San Fernando Valley Real Estate Guide, West Hills California Community. West Hills is a nice quiet area in the West San Fernando Valley.West Hills real estate includes many entry level homes with tree lined streets and well kept yards.Parks, shopping and restaurants are all close b... 09/22/2012

Excellent resources for online education-West Hills Ca -Real Estate Recently I put together a list of free, trustworthy resources for quality online education. I thought you might find it helpful, as it covers a wide range of topics and is a great way to not only learn new technology, but also refresh yourself (and even kids) on concepts   Below is a list of some of my favorites, and hopefully you’ll share this list with others. I know that many of my real estate clients have enjoyed using some of these resources to brush up on helping their kids with their homework as well as taking the time out to learn a few things about new software and tech tools.     https://www.coursera.org/ Free courses across a wide range of disciplines from leading universities like Duke, Stanford, Princeton, ... 09/18/2012

  If you or someone you know has recently moved, they might find this article I wrote on the “move in” garage sale helpful:   It’s common sense to have a garage sale before your big move. There’s no reason to pay movers to load boxes of items you can do without. Plus, who needs the clutter in their new home?   But have you ever considered a garage sale after you’ve moved into your new house?   It’s actually a great idea for a number of reasons:   Why did I save this stuff? When you unpack items in you new home, you’re likely to come across a lot of stuff you find you can live without. What seemed essential in the old place just loses its luster in your new space.   But I thought this love seat would fit in here! Despite our best plans, old furniture can turn out to be a poor fit in new ... 09/13/2012

 This spectacular home is in a great neighborhood of West hills and features over 1800 square feet on a very large lot with hillside views from the back yard. Vaulted ceilings give this home a bright and open feel and the central air and heat will keep you cozy year round. Large dining area with adjacent kitchen which is bright and also has views. Award winning schools nearby including Pomelo Elementary, Hale Middle School, and El Camino High School. This house needs some TLC and updating but has great potential.   09/12/2012

                                                    West Hills Community West Hills is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. West Hills is a nice quiet area in the West San Fernando Valley. West Hills real estate includes many entry level homes with tree lined streets and well kept yards. Parks, shopping, Churches and restaurants are all close by or just a walk away. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe that lived close to the Los Angeles River, which originates in West Hills from El Escorpion and Bell Creeks.         West Hills is a growing community in the San Fernando Valley. Approximately 50,000 West Hill residents are within a 30-minute drive of the city of Los Angeles. West Hills provides excellent... 08/26/2012