January 26, 2009
I’ve been called on to perform my civic duty – jury duty that is. Ugh….I got on a two week civil trial. In the old days, eveyone got out of jury duty – financial hardship was the big excuse – especially when you were self employed like me. There is a whole webpage devoted to how to get out of jury duty here.
I guess I didn’t act crazy enough or think hard enough about getting out of it. I just figured one day – no biggie and most likely it wouldn’t even be one day. Postponing it is just like postponing the inevitable so I figured I’d just do my one day and get it over with. Boy was I ever wrong. In a huge room filled with a pool of prospective jurors (maybe more than 250 of us here in the City of Torrance Courthouse) I sit down. Even the facilitator guy made it sound highly unlikely we get on a trial. Well, you know who gets called – and pretty early on I might add – along w/ about 50 others. We all have to go up to a courtroom where they need to pick out 14 individuals to serve as jurors on their civil case. So guess who gets called again out of the 100 prospects in the room – me again. 21 of us went up and had to get grilled by the lawyers looking to pick “a jury of peers” for their clients. Of those, they get rid of the “crazies” (like I said I just couldn’t bring myself to act crazy in front of everyone and in a courtroom.) After that they get rid of more and the next thing you know….kabam….I am sitting there taking the oath to serve. Ugh….it’s been 3 full days now and I can hardly believe I’ve got more time to do – a two week trial is what they expect the timing to be like. I don’t doubt it either with how slow everything moves and all the breaks they take. Lunch alone is an hour and a half break! I’m used to choking down a sandwich at my desk in about 15 mins so this is leisurely land!
Well, when I started writing this I had only served 3 days. I just finished day 9 (that’s business days technically and we had a holiday in there, so you know we had that day off.) OMG, these people take more breaks than I thought possible. It’s so frustrating….let’s get this thing over with – but wait, it’s time for our hour and a half lunch break – today we had a 2 hour and 15 minute lunch break. No wonder things in the “city” take so long to accomplish. Ugh! If you get that little notice in the mail, pay close attention to the first paragraph where it talks about “how to get out of jury duty.” Unless of course, you have nothing better to do and need $15 a day! Oh yeah, they pay your mileage too, but only one way! Guess, they figure you can get home yourself!
January 20, 2009
What a great place to live – the Hollywood Riviera! Just south of Redondo Beach and just north of Palos Verdes Estates – we are sandwiched in between two gorgeous areas. The beaches here are magnificent (and much quieter than those in Hermosa Beach or Manhattan Beach) and must easier to get to than the cliffs of Palos Verdes Estates.
Currently there are 30 properties for sale here in the Hollywood Riviera. 4 Condos ranging in price from $529,000 to $599,000. All very close to the beach. 3 Townhouses ranging in price from $630,000 ( a great buy. It’s a short sale in the Palos Verdes Village Townhome Complex. The unit itself has 2 bedrooms – each like a master w/ its own bathroom and one w/ a great view of the ocean and harbor.) Plus the unit has a “bonus room” w/ laundry, an attached two car garage and updated baths and kitchen. the view is very pretty as well – this is a great deal and won’t last long in my opinion. There are two more townhouses that are right by the beach down on lower Calle Miramar – they are new construction and currenlty listed for $1,399,000. Detached units w/ 3 bedrooms and their own garage.
23 single family residences round out the inventory. These range in price from $625,000 to $3,750,000 (a large price range no doubt.) The least expensive home is located on Pacific Coast Highway’s service street and the home is located in the Torrance 90505 side of the Riviera vs. the Redondo Beach 90277 side of the neighborhood – typically perceived as the “tonier” side of town. 
The $3,750,000 house is brand new, contemporary-upscale and right across the street from one of the most gorgeous beaches in town! What a view! 
For those more middle of the road customers – one might like a house here in the Riviera for $1,499,000 – a remodeled home w/ a beautiful view and 4 bedrooms! For those of you desiring a “I’m going to make this one my own” you might be interested in a home for $895,000 w/ a pool and not in the City of Torrance Overlay (which means a much easier road to a large remodel.)
Feel free to call me if you have any questions about any of this. I’d sure love to help you make a move into this wonderful neighborhood!
It is of utmost importance to hire a Realtor and of even more utmost importance to make it a local realtor! Why you say? Why can’t I just hire my brother-in-law up in Northern California to represent me? There are so many reasons:
If you are a buyer, your buyer’s agent needs to be a true expert in the communities you are interested in purchasing. Your agent should be completely versed in the schools, school districts, boundary lines, commuting, type of local building restrictions, etc. Living in the area is really the only way someone could be a true expert in an area. Knowing the neighbors, having dealt with the city building department themself…this is priceless knowledge that can be delivered only by someone who really knows the area. This can save you thousands of dollars in mistakes – the mistake of buying on a “bad street.” The mistake of not knowing that house is in a special “building restrictions” zone.
Also, as a buyer, you will benefit from a local realtor who has insider knowledge that the “lady down the street had her house on the market last year and is still thinking of selling” and maybe that is the perfect house for you. It’s not on the market today, so you wouldn’t have known about it unless a “local realtor” had that special insider knowledge.
Another important reason to hire a local realtor is that they are familiar with the nuances of the specific neighborhood, ordinances etc. This is important if you are a seller as well. In doing a little research on ZipRealty.com’s website I thought I’d check out their comps you could pull up as a “seller.” This is to save some money of course as Zip Realty typically discounts their commission. Here is their comp for an address of a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom updated home with nice ocean views from the kitchen and the family room as well as a deck in front of the property. The house was built in 1954 but was updated extensively in 1995. The price range that ZipRealty’s website offers is between $495K – $1.9 million dollars. Now there is a “range” for you.
What are you supposed to do with this comp? This must be a joke you ask yourself. Now a local Hollywood Riviera realtor would of course not even considered comparing this single family home to a condo that sold for $495K. And certainly would have thrown out the $1.9 million dollar sale on the Esplanade. Only a local realtor dedicated to the neighborhood that they service would know each and every property inside and out (these agents have been inside most of the houses in the neighborhood at one time or another.) This is valuable knowledge that you can gleen and it’s priceless.
The last benefit I am going to address in hiring a local realtor in purchasing a home is that they may be aware of the best homes before they even hit the market. As I mentioned above, local realtors know the people that live in the neighborhood that they specialize in. They know whose home is most likely to go for sale before anyone else would know. When there is limited inventory this is valuable information – priceless!
These days you can’t just work off of Average Prices or Average Dollar Per Square Foot to come up w/ Pricing. When comparing property, it takes someone who can back out certan aspects of a home that another home may not have. (Or add in – in the case of a view for instance.) Each home is unique – especially here in the Hollywood Riviera – some have views, some have great floor plans, some don’t, some have been remodeled (some more than others) and it is this specific information that adds or subtracts from the value of a home. You can’t just go by averages these days to price a home. And this goes for both buyers and sellers. It is just as important for a seller to price a home for sale correctly as it is for a buyer’s agent to know the comps when coming up with a realistic offer price for a home. Local Realtors can save a buyers and sellers thousands of dollars.
January 8, 2009
Winter is such a beautiful time of year. Here in the Hollywood Riviera we have some very special sunsets! I thought I’d share this one I took the other day – January 4th. I was in Malaga Cove just above the Palos Verdes Beach Club – there is a cool little gazebo at the top of the beach – right off the parking lot. The best views are from there as you look north towards Torrance & Redondo Beaches – Hollywood Riviera’s beaches. This is a gorgeous picture:
What is pretty cool too is a neat website I heard about today from Active Rain. It’s called Picnik.com Picnik is a free website where you can digitally enhance and/or even change dramatically your digital photos. It is so easy to use…I just tried once and am writing about it because it was so much fun. Here is that same photo transformed via Picnik!! Pretty cool and you don’t have to register on their site to use it.
Doesn’t it look cool – kind of like a painting! I love it and can’t wait to do some more experimenting with that!
January 6, 2009
First Time Buyers – It’s the time to buy!!! Mortgage rates are at historical lows – approximately 4.75% (on a national basis according to Chase Home Mortgage.) You have so many advantages over other buyers..for one you are much more flexible with the terms of escrow – you have nothing you need to sell first. The government offers first time home buyers a $7500 incentive plan as of 2008 – thanks to the Economic Stimulus Plan of 2008.
FHA loans are now up to $625,500 which is a lot more than the $417,000 conventional loan amount and that really helps out here in the Southern California real estate market. It’s practically a necessity here. There are several possibilities here for 1st time homeowners – in North Redondo Beach there are very nice two-on-a-lots available in the $650K range. They are pretty close to owning your own home and typically average in the 2000 sq ft range with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms & your own 2-car garage. You can get into an FHA loan nowadays with as little as 3 1/2% down. That is about $20K for a home in this price range. Sellers can credit you back up to 6% of the sales price which can help out with those closing costs including things like points you will pay to buy a loan.
Not to be forgotten is the “mortgage deduction” you will gain as a homeowner. This is huge! In most cases, you can deduct all of your home mortgage interest which is what you pay most of in the early years of an amortized loan pay-off. You can also deduct your property taxes. This makes home ownership one of the best deals in town. Often home ownership is less expensive after taxes than renting! Talk to your accountant for more details.
Some examples of properties available here in the South Bay that a first time buyer could purchase using an FHA loan amount of up to $625,500 with only 3.5% down would be – http://www.mrmlsmatrix.com/DE.asp?ID=3849654691
Happy House Hunting First Time Buyers!
January 2, 2009
1. Keep up your Christmas Lights up -might as well make it all year!
2. Don’t make the beds, wipe the counters or clean the bathroom – just leave your personal items all over – while you are at it, leave the toothpaste spit in the sink.
3. Have your “cute little dog” there so he can bark at everyone as they come to show the house.
4. Work with your out-of-area cousin who just happens to have a real estate license.
5. Keep all the lights off and close all the blinds so the house feels like a cave.
6. Don’t let anyone over when the real estate agent calls for an appointment. Never show the house to anyone!
7. Keep your robe on and stay in the house while the buyers are there looking – leave your feet up on the coffee table too.
8. Make fish in a wok that day and don’t clean up before the buyers get there.
9. Over price the property – see what your neighbor’s house sold for an go at least 10% higher.
10. Don’t by any means advertise the house with digital photographs on the internet. Let them wait til they get there to see what the place looks and smells like!
