February 28, 2010
Do you have hazardous and/or E-Waste to dispose of? Did you know the Southbay has a few FREE spots open regularly for your convenience? Here are their locations and times of operation.
Hyperion Treatment Plants S.A.F.E. Collection Center
7660 West Imperial Highway, Gate B, Playa Del Rey, CA
1-800-988-6942
Hours of Operation – Saturdays & Sundays from 9:00 – 3:00 pm
S.A.F.E Collection Center
1400 N. Gaffey St, San Pedro, CA
1-800-988-6942
Hours of Operation – Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 9:00 – 3:00 pm
Goodwill – Electronic Waste Only
2318 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA
“Must be in working condition. TV’s and computer monitors are not required to be in working condition.”
1-310-376-8122
Salvation Army – Electronic Waste Only
2406 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA
“All donations must be in working condition.”
1-310-376-1385
January 13, 2010
Realtor Magazine January 2010 issue has a great article I wanted to share entitled, “10 Big Impact, Low Cost Remodeling Projects.” I found it interesting as Laura and I specialize in getting our sellers’ homes ready for sale and more often than not a lot of these projects + a list of our own is included here. Nice to get some affirmation that our list matches up in most cases with this list. Here it is:
1) Tidy up the Kitchen Cabinets – Potential buyers do open the kitchen cabinets. Homeowners can add roll out organizer trays so that when buyers peek in, they feel like there’s lots of room for their stuff. (This holds true for your closets too – adding closet organizing systems are well worth the investment.)
2) Add or replace tile – By retiling very inexpensively, you make a room look way cleaner than it was. Wake up a tired kitchen backsplash or bathroom vanity with new tile.
3) Add a breakfast bar – When a wall separates a kitchen from dining or family room, cut out an opening between the two rooms, add some granite or tile countertop, pull up a couple of barstools and voila – breakfast bar. Taking the entire wall down may also bring back some of the expense as well, as open floor plans are one of the buzz words these days.
4) Install granite tile instead of a slab – Everybody likes a “granite kitchen.” Installing granite tiles can be a much more budget friendly way to perk up that kitchen than the higher end slab material. Although in our higher-end market, it may be worth the money to install the slab. There are many “pre-fab” granite installers these days, that can do granite counters for much less than the custom guys.
5) Freshen up a bathroom without retiling – With a dated bathroom, putting in a new medicine cabinet ($100-$150), light fixtures ($75- $100), a faucet ($75 – $100), and a vanity ($200 – $300) can bring back your investment right away. Add a new glass shower door for extra panache. Bathrooms are on the “highly important” list of most buyers. This is somewhere you really want to spend money and make it right.
6) Freshen up the basement – a finished basement is very well received vs. a cement block storage room (like most basements.) Most of us here in Southern California don’t have basements however – so this isn’t on the top of many lists here.
7) Add a room – Look for large spaces that can be enclosed to create a new bedroom for just the price of creating a wall. Especially when it’s a 2 bedroom home, a 3 bedroom is much more desirable in today’s market. With more and more people working from home a 4th bedroom is even more desirable.
Spruce up cabinet fronts – painting, re-facing, re-conditioning, adding new hardware are all great ideas for cleaning up the kitchen and adding that “updated” look. In this same vein, how are the appliances in the kitchen? Adding a new appliance suite (matching finish) can be quite affordable as long as you stay in the mid-range of choices. This highly appeals to buyers.
9) Replace light fixtures – In foyers, bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms – all those old overhead light fixtures – change them out for newer, more modern fixtures. And if the kitchen has one of those fluorescent light boxes – get rid of that and put in new drywall and can lights. This is big bang for the buck.
10) Tech up the garage – Replacing the garage door opener with a remote touch pad entry system ($425) makes it look like a high end system. Also consider a new roll up garage door and opener in place of an old manual door. Those really date a house.
I am going to add #11 to the list as well as a few other important light remodeling projects that will reward you with big returns upon the sale of your home. #11 to me is one of the most important projects any homeowner can embark upon to bring big returns!
11) Painting – inside and out. Wow, now this really can update a home instantly as well as clean it up and make it ready for a new buyer. This will bring you the biggest bang for the buck!
12) Landscaping – get rid of those old 1950’s shrubs and put in some more up-to-date environmentally friendly plantings.
13) Front door – the curb appeal of your house is so important and as the buyers stand at the front door awaiting their agent getting the keys they notice the front door and patio. Make this area shine.
14) New interior door hardware – Do your door handles match? Are they working? This really updates a house – believe it or not.
15) De-Cluttering – this requires little monetary investment – merely time packing or giving away. The less the buyer has to focus on that is not your house, the better! Put it away and save time packing after your house is sold!
If you need us to come and help you get your house ready for sale, we will go through room by room with you as to the many changes you can make to help get your more bang for the buck!
November 9, 2009
If you want a good pay-off, STAGE the property! It’s so worth the extra time and money spent upfront. Basically, sellers that sell without staging – which includes everything from finishing little jobs that have gone undone (think handyman), painting (can mean adding color or subtracting color), bringing in furniture and accessories that are appropriate for the style of the house, and de-cluttering of personal items. Staging can cost some money and note that it’s money well spent. Money that often brings in double what was spent if not more. Either the seller can do the work up front and reap the financial rewards or the buyer can buy the house in “as is” condition and do the work – thus reaping the rewards themselves.
Why would a seller leave money on the table?
A good realtor who is doing his/her job should be able to advise a seller of what is the best use of money spent on staging. It’s a lot of work that also costs time, but remember the old adage, “Time is Money.”
We have two good examples of recent listings that were Staged prior to listing. Both homes sold in less than a week with multiple offers – a seller’s dream! Why not position yourself in the driver’s seat vs. the “buyer’s market – seat.”
House #1 – Brand new construction, contemporary styling, yet was “unfinished.” And many people find contemporary homes a bit cold. We advised the seller to finish all the small jobs – jobs that are hard to finish when you’ve just spent a year in charge of all the other new construction jobs. Paint played a big role in the staging of this contemporary. Adding paint to certain “feature walls” brought drama, warmth and style to what could have been a very cold atmosphere. Bringing in just the right stylish furniture and accessories creates a “lifestyle” that is to be envied and a need for emulating. When it’s done right, we’re talking “Architectural Digest” and who doesn’t want that? This house was listed for $1,795,000 and received multiple offers selling over it’s list price in 4 days! “Staged Right” was the staging company that we worked with on this job.
Via Corona – Staged Living Room
House #2 – 1950’s original – Stager gets a hold of it – mind you this is not just any “stager” it’s Laura Kistemaker of “Staged Right” who is the best in the South Bay – she takes control of the minor remodel which included refinishing the hardwood floors (adding some in a few places), re-tiling the kitchen floor, painting throughout (exterior, interior walls, cabinetry, etc.), remodeling the 1 1/2 bathrooms completely, and some landscaping. On top of that, she completely staged the house – bringing in furniture for all rooms and all accessories to create the lifestyle that one wants. Again, time spent upfront, but the outcome was huge! 8 offers in less than a week and sold over its asking price of $724,900.
Greenmeadows Living Room Staging
November 2, 2009
The U.S. Congress passed a congressional resolution extending through 2010 the current conforming loan limits of $729,750 for high-cost areas, many of which are in California. This is huge for the South Bay - a very high-cost area of the United States. $417,000 is the average conforming loan limit in most of the country. $625,000 is the normal high-cost area loan limit, which is still not enough for most home buyers to purchase the type of mortgage they will need for high -cost areas such as the Hollywood Riviera, Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach or Manhattan Beach for example. With the average home costing in the million dollar range – even if the buyer has 25% down – they are left with a mortgage of $750,000 (still above the higher conforming loan limit.) In this scenario, a buyer would need closer to 30% down to make the transaction work with the conforming loan amount of $729,750. This is important because the rates on conforming loans are much lower than those of “jumbo” loans – loans above the $729,750 limit.
Here is a copy of the press release on October 30, 2009 by C.A.R. (California Association of Realtors)
For release:
Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
Extension of conforming loan limits through 2010 earns praise from C.A.R.
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 30) €“The U.S. Congress late yesterday passed a congressional resolution extending through 2010 the current conforming loan limits of $417,000 for most areas in the U.S. and $729,750 for high-cost areas, including many in California. President Obama is expected to sign the resolution today or tomorrow as part of a broader piece of budgetary legislation that will prevent a government shutdown.
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) have long advocated making permanent higher conforming loan limits. As a result of C.A.R.€™s and NAR€™s efforts, a provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 included temporarily raising the conforming loan limits from $625,500 in high-cost areas to $729,750 and extending the limits through 2009. Yesterday€™s actions effectively extend the higher conforming loan limits for Fannie, Freddie, and FHA loans through 2010.
€œThere is no doubt that higher loan limits and the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers have helped stabilize California€™s housing market over the last year,€ said C.A.R. President James Liptak. €œC.A.R. applauds our congressional representatives for their actions to extend the higher loan limits through 2010. They now should focus on making higher loan limits permanent.€
The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or €œguarantee.€ Non-conforming or €œjumbo loans€ typically carry higher mortgage interest rates than conforming loans, increasing monthly payments and hampering the ability of families in California to purchase homes by making them less affordable.
Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 163,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
October 28, 2009
There are currently 29 single family homes for sale here in the Hollywood Riviera. They range from $530K (small fixer on PCH) to $3.5 Million (house on the bluff above the beach!) That’s not a lot of inventory especially when you consider that only 6 months ago – May 09 – there were 49 homes for sale. Our inventory has been selling. Another plus is that the all the inventory is moving - including the high end inventory.
Currently there are 15 homes here in the Riviera “pending” sale. That means they are in escrow with a buyer in the process of purchasing the home. That is typically a 30-60 day process depending what worked best for all parties. These 15 homes range in list price between $589K – $2,248 Million. The average price of the homes pending sale is $1,012,580.
Sold homes – if we go back and compare solds the 1st half of the year vs. the (not finished) 2nd half of the year you will see how the 2nd half of the year has gone much better for everyone. Jan 1, 09 – June 30, 09 – there were 24 homes sold. Their average price was $1,002,500. 
Jan 1, 09 – Jun 30, 09 Solds
Since then, July 1st, 09 – today (October 28th, 09) we’ve had 36 homes sell (that’s a 30% increase already and the 2nd half isn’t even over – remember those 15 pendings – most likely at this rate they will all sell prior to the end of the year which would make 51 homes sold vs that 24 (more than double the number of sales 1st half 09 vs. 2nd half 09.) That’s good news for those who thought to sell the 2nd half of the year. It also shows that the stimulus package the government is backing is working. Not many of the people who get a $8K tax credit for purchasing a first home was seen here in this specific neighborhood, but people probably bought homes in lesser expensive areas and now those people who sold those homes can afford to move up to this neighborhood. 
July 1, 09 – Oct 28, 09 Solds
July 8, 2009
Hollywood Riviera Market Analysis – 2nd Quarter 2009 Sales
Great news for sellers this quarter, we had a 29% increase in sales volume! We have seen homes really sell at a fast pace in the past month here in the Riviera which gave us the increase in sales. Along with the increase in volume however, we continued to see the average sales price decline, but only by 13% if you look at the first half of 2009 vs. the first half for 2008. Not the horrific numbers that can be seen in various cities across the country. We chalk this up to the #1 rule of real estate: location, location, location. The properties in the most desirable parts of the state will increase in value quicker in appreciating markets and retain more of their value in declining markets. We are only off about 17% in the number of homes sold so far this year to the same time period last year. Not too shabby! The best way to get your home sold for top dollar is to hire a full-time, Riviera Real Estate expert who can stage and market your home for maximum appeal to buyers€¦ give us a call today!
