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Happy Independence Day! Wishing you a Safe Celebration!
Our Flag is flying high and we are celebrating our Freedom and wishing you a Happy Independence Day! Happy July 4th week! Believe it or not, 2019 is now half over. In summary, the first 6 months of the year have been a bit of a roller coaster for real estate in the greater Los Angeles area. In spite of mixed messages, here are a few facts we can celebrate as America approaches her birthday: The Department Of Labor reported that the weekly initial jobless claims fell to 196,000. This is the lowest number since 1969. It’s worth noting that in 1969, there were approximately 202 million people in the U.S. As of this writing, that number is up to approximately 327 million, so the jobless claim number is even more impressive. For those that have been concerned about recession earlier this year, in my opinion it is highly unlikely that we will see a recession in 2019 since the labor market is strengthening. Then of course there is the concern over interest rates. To clarify, consumer confidence and jobs help buy homes more than low interest rates. On this 4th of July holiday, please remember this is NOT a fun holiday for your pet(s). The loud bangs of fireworks are terrifying for them. Keep your pets inside and in your sight until the festivities are over. Consider playing classical music and/or having the TV on for them. The already overcrowded shelters will be overrun with lost pets, and you don’t want yours to be one of them. With all this said, I wish you (and your pets if you have them) a safe and relaxing 4th of July. Looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals? Please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreTop five first time home buyer questions in Los Angeles, CA
Over the years, these were the top five first time home buyer questions, I have been asked in the greater Los Angeles area. Now, in no specific order, let me list them and then address each of them: How safe is the neighborhood? What will the annual taxes be on this home? How much will I have to pay per month for the mortgage? What is the interest rate going to be on my loan? How much will my home be worth in seven years? Clearly these questions sound simple, but they are not that easy to answer in a sentence or two. Most first-time home buyers need, what I consider additional patience and even some hand holding. The extra kindness and caring will make the purchasing process so much smoother. How Safe is the neighborhood? This is not a loaded question; it is a legitimate concern. The issue is it is a subjective matter. Different people have varied tolerance to what they perceive as safe vs. unsafe. I always advise my buyers to drive by the area in the evening, weekends as well as weekdays to determine their comfort level. I also suggest checking with the local police department as to what the crime statistics are. Interestingly this is not just asked by Relocation Clients. Keep in mind Los Angeles consists of about sixty square miles of area and often first-time home buyers leave the comfort zone of where they were renting to a different area to purchase, because of affordability reasons. What will the annual taxes be on this home? Well this depends on where the property is located, it makes a difference if it is in Beverly Hills, Culver City or Los Angeles to name a few areas. Clearly a safe number without looking at the actual location is around 1-1.25% of the purchase price. Thanks to Proposition 13, our tax obligation is determined by the purchase price. There after minor tax increases are permitted based on inflation. This is probably the easiest question to answer from all five. How much will I have to pay per month for the mortgage? This question I prefer the lender to answer. Clearly deferring, because it all depends on a variety of factors. One factor, which has the largest influence on this is, how much will the down payment is the mortgage amount itself. It has a huge impact on the size of the monthly payment. Other factors include what type of loan it is and the list goes on and on. Not wanting to forget the interest rate influences this amount as well. What is the interest rate going to be on my loan? This question also requires a more complex answer. The short answer is it depends on your credit rating, coupled with the income you can generate. Also, it depends how large are your outstanding loan balances, to name a few. Again I defer the buyers to the Mortgage lender to get a better answer. How much will my home be worth in seven years? I always joke yes I was born in Hungary, but I am not a Gypsy and I do not have a Chrystal Ball as to what your home is going to be worth in seven years. One thing I can share...
read moreADU’s also known as Accessory Dwelling Units: The Hottest Craze in Los Angeles!
ADU’s also known as Accessory Dwelling Units. They are indeed the hottest craze in Los Angeles. In my observation, there are a few key pitfalls that you should avoid, when it comes to building an ADU’s. ADU’s are truly awesome: As a Los Angeles Realtor, I am all for adding ADU’s to your home. Someone who lives in Westchester, CA. 90045, I see the benefit of the additional space. If you live in a modest home ADU’s can add a huge benefit. When it comes to living square feet, to be able to add additional living square feet to your home is clearly a plus. There are some key points to consider before you jump on the bandwagon. First and foremost, please build the ADU with permits. Second, have your Architect or Contractor design it, by having interior access to the main house. These two points are critical, because when the time comes to sell your home you do not want to be surprised. In my opinion, should you decide to build the ADU without permits, for all practical purposes, you might as well not have it. Appraisers and Insurance Carriers do not consider the square feet as part of the original living square feet if it was not built by permits. Keep in mind, if you do not have direct access from the main house to the ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit), then you can not include the living square feet to the total size of the house. This could be a huge surprise when you are ready to sell your home. Just as an example, most ADU’s are about four to five hundred square feet additions. Let us use an example: If your neighborhood is selling around $700-$800 a square foot that in simple mathematics could be a $280,000 -$400,000 price difference, when it comes to accessing your homes value. Alternatively, should you decide to only take half my advice think again. By building the ADU with permits and not creating a direct access to the main house, it will cost you. The ADU’s value would be comparable to a fancy “shed”,even if it was just newly built. In my market, that is Westchester, CA 90045, that would be around $10,000-$25,000. Another drawback, by to not having the ADU’s done with permits could be a problem during the sale of your home. Clearly you cannot have a stove or a toilet in the addition if it is un-permitted. Therefore, when it comes time to sell you need to hide it from the Appraisers. Let’s face it there is a stigma with doing things without permits. The perception is that it was a chewing gum addition rather than done by professional craftsmen up to current code. This in turn would make your home harder to sell. Accessory Dwelling UnitsLooking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals? Please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach...
read moreReal Estate Market Report for Los Feliz, CA. 90027
Real Estate Market Report for Los Feliz, CA. 90027 The Single-Family Market in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles has been cooling over the past few months. Prices flattened out. Despite that if you look at the current rate of sale versus the amount of inventory you will notice that despite this Los Feliz is still in a Seller’s Market. I attribute this phenomenon to the significant demand and that there is little inventory available. The 90027-zip code is famous for having modest size lots compared to other parts of Los Angeles. Land is at a premium. There are virtually no homes on lots larger than a half an acre of land. On the other hand, there are some premium priced homes that are virtually inside Griffith Park and it gives the feel as if your back yard is Griffith Park, which consists of approximately 4310 acres of land. This in turn is the largest Urban Park in North America. Check out one my posts where I have written about it ( http://actvra.in/4Qsr ) As of this writing: The Median List Price is: $1,995,000.00 The Average Days on Market (DOM) is 124 There are currently 53 homes on the Market The Asking Price Per Square Foot is $695 The most Expensive Listing is: $6.195,000.00 The Least Expensive Listing is: $730,000.00 Breaking the down the properties into four Quartiles the numbers become very interesting: The First Quartile of the Market or the top .25%: The Median Price is $3,997,000 and the median living sq. ft. is approximately 5,020 and it sits on 0.25 -0.50 acres of land consisting of 5 bedrooms and 4 baths. The average Days on Market is around 218 (DOM). The Second Quartile of the Market or the second .25%: The Median Price is $2,395,000 and the median living sq. ft. is approximately 3,650 and it sits on 6500-8,000 sq. ft. of land consisting of 4 bedrooms and 4 baths. The average Days on Market is around 103 (DOM). The Third Quartile of the Market or the third .25%: The Median Price is $1,599,000 and the median living sq. ft. is approximately 2,600 and it sits on 6500-8000 sq. ft. of land consisting of 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The average Days on Market is around 78 (DOM). The Fourth Quartile of the Market of the bottom .25%: The Median Price is $1,172,500 and the median living sq. ft. is approximately 1810 and it sits on 1000 – 4500 sq. ft. of land and generally had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The average Days on Market is around 100 (DOM). ...
read moreWhen is the best time to buy a home?
When is the best time to buy a home? The age old question has been debated since the time people started buying and selling homes. There has been many varied opinions and rationalizations about this subject. Hence I decided to share my advice and shed light on this age old question. My advice is based on 20+ years of selling Real Estate. The best time to buy a home is when there is less competition. This statement might seem simplistic never the less it is very true. Let’s face it, there are many factors, number of choices of homes as well as price ranges which are always fluctuating no matter when you start your search to buy a home. There is one constant, when there are more people buying the buyer is at a disadvantage. On the other hand when there are fewer buyers, than the buyer has the advantage. Just to be clear, it does not matter whether it is a sellers or a buyers’ market. So with that said the best time to buy is during the Holiday Season. Most people especially buyers and sellers focus on the Holidays, instead of the buying or selling of a home. Therefore, from Thanksgiving to the New Year we are more focused on other aspects of our lives and the home buying process is on the back burner for most people. Traditionally my Real Estate Activity from November to January consists of helping the more serious and focused buyers and sellers, strictly because they are the only ones who are contacting me at this time period of the year. It is actually nice, because I do not have to sort through and determine who are the professional lookers or those who are just beginning to contemplate the idea of buying vs. the ones that are ready to buy. Sellers are just as focused, they are ready to sell, not just test the market. They want or need to sell therefore they appreciate serious buyers as well. No need to prepare the home for “lookers” they are preparing for the showings knowing that there are serious buyers out there. Keep in mind there are other great times to buy and sell, in my experience I found that the Holidays are always the best time. Just to give you an example the same strategy works on Long Weekends like Labor Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July too. The holiday distractions favor the serious buyers. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 10.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreThanksgiving: I challenge you to rediscover the “Joy” of this Holliday! Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving: I challenge you to rediscover the ‘Joy ‘of this Holliday! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 2015! I look back over the years and reflect on the wonderful memories that I had and recall fondly being with family and friends at this particular Holiday. It has always been a favorite holiday of mine. This is such an “American” holiday. It conjures up images of the Pilgrims sitting down to a feast with the local Indians. I recall funny moments being shared at the Dinner Table, Kitchen Preparations and some of the disasters we all laughed about. It brings me back memories of a less hustle and bustle time. An era of no smart phones, no internet, instead of shared stories of moments and family histories around the dinner table and in the living room as well as in the kitchen. It brings back to me a time of carefully planned, prepared expansive assortment of foods and the mouthwatering side dishes and snacks, but the best part was hanging out with family and friends. Sadly many are not hear anymore except in our hearts and in our photo albums, you know the printed as well as the digital versions. This holiday allows me to feel extra Patriotic as well as being a proud home owner. The moments that we experienced and created in our homes were so meaningful. Weather that home was a two story house, or a one story house, weather it was a triplex or a duplex it did not matter, what was important to me, that we were with the ones that meant the most to us. As I look back I also see how the times changed and I started preparing and cooking the Thanksgiving Dinners as well as checking my emails, never the less this holiday remains very special to me. I have always felt that the business world and the shopping malls and stores have disrespected this holiday, by not giving enough attention to it and rather glancing over it to focus on the holidays that follow after it. So with that said I continue my crusade of focusing on the Thanksgiving Holiday. Needless to say I have written many posts about this… so I will enclose some here below as well. At the same time I would like to challenge you all to focus on this holiday, but more importantly focus on your family and friends. Now with that said start preparing and enjoy one of the most Patriotic American Holidays: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! https://endrebarath.com/thanksgiving-books-fo-2014-memories-linger https://endrebarath.com/thanksgiving-dining-in-marina-del-rey-ca/ https://endrebarath.com/thanksgiving-is-right-around-the-corner-20-days-and-counting/ http://activerain.com/blogsview/4252163/thanksgiving-day-is-only-eleven-days-away-have-you-started-planning- http://activerain.com/blogsview/4546491/wordless-wednesdays-wiley-in-his-house-happy-thanksgiving If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue...
read moreBank of Books, The Independent Bookstore in Malibu, CA is still here and thriving…
Bank of Books, The Independent Bookstore in Malibu, CA is still here and thriving…. It has been virtually two years since I last wrote about Bank of Books in Malibu, CA see enclosed link (http://actvra.in/XQQ ) that is a life time for a book seller especially an independent bookseller. That was the time the book store just opened. So here we are two years later they are in their third year. Needless to say most of you who know me, not only do I love to read books, but I am also a collector. Diane and I love going to independent bookstores and supporting them, as well as our own addiction. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw these books behind the glass cage! In case you cannot enlarge the pictures, one is an originally published Diary of Ann Frank in the Dutch Language (for about $4800+) Next to it is Harry Potter’s British Ed. And signed by the author (for about $600+) and if this is not something you would be interested in, well what about the King James Bible (for about $48,000+). I was excited about the Diary of Ann Frank as well as the Harry Potter book. So this is giving me incentive to work harder so I could acquire at least the Harry Potter bookJ The Good News from this is, that the Independent Book Seller in Malibu, CA is doing well when many other books stores have folded. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreCaution when buying a Fixer House! Remodeling has its challanges….
Caution when buying a Fixer! Remodeling has its challenges: Patience, Money and good Planning make it easier! Often time you hear someone saying I will just buy a moderate fixer and do it myself. Well I find that is easier said than done. Keep in mind if you are not your “handyman type” home owner I would advise against it. Also if you are tight on funds again my advice is against it. Alternatively if you are not handy then you better know how to find the best people for the job. Key cautionary words here are: you need good people who you trust and know how to do things right fast and efficiently at a reasonable cost. If you are not handy you better have the resources and the team to keep you going. Which brings me to illustrate the point. We had a project that was initiated with a “drip”. Needless to say this project started out with “one drip” hence should have been a simple and easy fix. Well let me summarize it here: Diane, started to notice that the master bathroom sink started to drip every so often. Our handyman suggested to let it go, since repair parts were nonexistent for this faucet. (I Concurred) Needless to say the Handyman and I, were overruled. We went from an ordinary nothing special bathroom faucet to a new Restoration Hardware faucet, which had a life time guarantee that it would not drip. (For more details I will have to write a blog post about the Faucet replacement drama) This in turn led to having to replace the sink/vanity because the new faucet did not fit on the old one… This in turn led to replacing the vanity which in turn damaged the tiles. This in turn led to replacing the tiles… this in turn brought in the tile guy, who does not do electronics. Hence the electrician had to be called in to do the new lights and in turn moving the switches where they should have been in the first place. While this was being arranged the “new faucet” was also dripping, this in turn brought in our trusted plumber who replace the new Restoration Hardware faucet with an identical one. So I hope you get the idea that Patience is key here. Followed by having the funds. Plumber, Electrician, Handyman, Tile Man and the list goes on and on…. Keep in mind this was just a minor bathroom faucet dripping which lead to a mini bathroom remodel. If you are buying a fixer you need to realize that it could be more than just cosmetic repairs. The most important part is to plan in advance, have the resources when it comes to time, materials and money! Lastly have the patience, because things will not go according to plan or schedule. Well to illustrate my point I will have to write another couple blogs just about the Tile Acquisition process tooJ. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com...
read moreHave you heard of Gumball 3000? It is a Road Rally! This year’s theme is Stockholm to Las Vegas!
Have you heard of Gumball 3000? It is a road rally! This year’s theme is Stockholm to Las Vegas! The first Gumball 3000 was started in 1999 by Maximillion Cooper a British Millionaire or Billionaire depending who you talk tooJ Hence, it certainly makes sense why this is a British 3000 mile (4800 km) road rally. The idea was to combine cars, music, fashion and entertainment. Needless to say that represents Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and the Hollywood of everyone’s imagination. Luxury at its bestJ! He has decided that every year the Road Rally will take place on a different route. So for an entrepreneur who has race cars, clothing line and a Rap Musician for a wife what a great Marketing Coup? Truly ingenious strategy the Road Rally gets his name and products out all over the world. Here is a link to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumball_3000 ) if you want to learn the history of all the other Road Rally’s that took place since 1999. So just imagine what a pleasant surprise I had. I was heading back from showing one of my View Vacant Lots in the Hollywood Hills. As I was traveling west towards Santa Monica I noticed this Golden Rolls Royce, needless to say after finishing a good showing, I need to take a closer look. So I back tracked to get a closer look and see what this car was all about. Needless to say as soon as I pulled up to it, I understood. This Golden Rolls Royce reminded me of the movie the ‘Yellow Rolls Royce’ (but that would be dating myself). If I perked your interest and you would like more information about this road Rally there is a 90 minute movie out, narrated by none other than Burt Reynolds of the movie fame of Smokey and the Bandit! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumball_3000#Gumball_3000:_The_Movie ) And here is a link to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumball_3000 ) if you want to learn the history of all the other Road Rally’s that took place. If you do not want to read all the link well let me tell you: The Participants typically use exotic super cars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis to complete the race. Luxury at its best! Now here is a link to the official Website for those who want the Official version or might consider participating in next year’s Gumball 3000 Rally (http://www.gumball3000.com/#/home ) On a side note I have the ultimate Vacant Lot to have Eve & Maximillion build their dream homeJ or any of the participants of the Road Rally who fall in love with Beverly Hills! Check out 2883 Kirkland Dr Land listingJ (http://m.beverlybellevue.website/ ) or check out the video (https://vimeo.com/120311181 ) If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organization ...
read moreHow will China’s Economic troubles affect the Global Economy?
How will China’s Economic troubles affect the Global Economy? These observations are strictly my views and I do not have an agenda from a political standpoint. Strictly I am trying to present a concern that I have as well as a solution. Our News Media is so focused on Greece now days that no one has notice that China is imploding quietly without anyone even blinking an eye. China’s high flying Stock market has quietly dropped around 30 % from where it was a couple months ago. Let’s be real this is big news and should be in the front pages rather than a quiet footnote. The Chinese Government, more specifically the Chinese Communist Government is trying to salvage their own economy, their real estate market and their stock market from totally collapsing. They are keeping insolvent developers afloat by forcing the lender to continue infusing cash and not call in the loans. There is a huge glut of unsold inventory so that will continue to be a dark cloud over them. The Government Bank of China is planning on injecting funds into the brokerage firms. They are injecting funds i.e.: new money, which is like printing new money. This reminds me of what was happening in Europe specifically German after World War One….. On a side note everyone is focused on Greece defaulting that might be a couple billion dollars that would be lost to us….on the other hand if China goes down then we are talking not a couple but probably 20 or more billions of dollars that we would lose. So there should be more interest in this information from a financial standpoint. Not too long ago the Wall Street Journal wrote that there are manufacturing companies in China that have closed their operations down and are using their cash to gamble in the stock market. When more than 90% of their profit come for “stock market income” one must wonder what are they thinking? Manufacturers realize that they can make more money in the stock market rather than producing goods. So how does that effect the US Real Estate Market? Well for starters the Chinese All Cash Buyers have dried up because it is difficult for the Chinese Nationals to move funds from China. This in turn slows down the foreign nationals buying in the US. At the same time it allows opportunities for US Investors to buy with less competition. Institutional investors can now make researched buying decisions without being outbid by the foreign money from China. According to World Bank figures China accounts for 13%+ of the global gross domestic product. They basically are the biggest exporters around the world. Have you looked at things near you and turned them over and tell me where they are made. Coffee mugs, hammers, nails, and I could go on and on…everything is made in China for all practical purposes. So what will happen if the world supply dries up? This is a question one might consider and at the same time look at it as an opportunity to start some manufacturing operations. (Anyway I am just thinking out loud) So my advice is to both the US as well as the Chinese people with large sums of money. Park your funds into Real Estate that...
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