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There are benefits of a Listing Agent being present at a showing!
There are benefits of a Listing Agent being present at a showing! I have written about this subject a few years ago which has generated a spirited debate. Today after I read a Blog Post denigrating the benefits or the author’s lack of understanding the benefits, instead of just getting into a back and forth with the author, I chose to write a post highlighting the benefits. First and foremost the listing agent represents the seller. Part of representing the seller, the listing agent’s responsibility is to negotiate for the seller the most money and the best terms. As some of you know that often times buyers end up buying no matter at what price point based on “emotions”. They walk into the home and start sending out “buying” signals, thru their verbiage and subconscious activities, by making comments how much they love something about the house. Hence a good listing agent stays in the background and observes these “signals” the buyer is sending out. Therefore when the buyer’s agent submits an “offer to purchase” the good listing agent understands how strongly the buyer wants to buy the property and uses it to the seller’s benefit. Second, a good listing agent can observe the buyer’s agent as well and listen to the communication the agent provides to the potential buyer. Based on this observation, the listing agent can measure how strong or weak the buyer’s agent is. This will help managing the expectation level of the negotiation and ultimately the keeping of the property “in Escrow”. The third benefit of a listing agent being present at the showing is, if the buyers and buyers’ agent have questions, the listing agent can provide answers that might expedite the timeline to get an offer instead of delays due to communication. The fourth benefit is a rapport can be built by the buyer’s and the sellers agents to assure a “smooth negotiation & escrow period”. The fifth benefit is a simple housekeeping benefit, the listing agent can make sure the lights are turned off the home is secured and the seller’s valuables and home are protected and their pets are not left out or allow them to accidental escapes. There are other benefits to many to mention here as well, since I wanted to write a post not a book. Just for the record, I have sold Real Estate on the East Coast, particularly in Boston, MA prior to relocating to Los Angeles about 15 plus years ago. We showed homes by appointment only in Boston as well, just as here on the Greater Los Angeles and particularly on the West Los Angeles Area. I do not have statistics to share here or make up, anyone can research that West Los Angeles, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu have one of the highest priced homes as well as a great volume of sales take place compared to other parts of the country. All these areas require the listing agent to be present. There are mega agents who have more than twenty listings and they still manage to accommodate showing to the buyers and their agents. They happen to be very good at managing their time, keep in mind we probably have one of the most challenging traffic to overcome as well....
read moreWhat is a “Timeless Question in Real Estate”? “Is this a good time to buy?”
What is a “Timeless Question in Real Estate”? “Is this a good time to buy?” If you have been a Realtor one year or a hundred years like me. The reoccurring question comes up from “First Time Buyers”: Is this a good time to buy? Normally the “Used car salesmen mentality” kicks in to too many Real Estate Sales Associates, “It is always a good time to buy” answer. Now to the Professionals i.e.: Realtors real research goes in to the answer. Questions get bombarded to the potential client: Why do you want to buy? What do you want to accomplish? What is your short term objective? What is your long term objective? What are you paying for rent now? How much are you comfortable paying per month? What is your dream home? The questions go fast and furious. How is your credit? How much do you have saved up? What is your comfort level? Do your tastes conform to your budget? Are you willing to compromise and where? Once the Realtor has the answers, then an intelligent answer can be given: Yes it is a good time to buy, since interest rates are at a 60 year low, prices in the Greater Los Angeles area are at 2003 prices. Since I am a Beverly Hills Realtor I see that homes that are selling for $1.3million in Beverly Hills are usually “teardowns”. My question comes in: Do you want to have a move in ready home? Or are you willing to spend $200,000 or more to make it comfortable to your life style? OK I have to put this out; I do not care if your budget is at the low end or at the high end. Generally you will not find the “perfect home no matter what your budget is. Truly” a good example is Candy Spelling’s home, as most of you know was listed for $150million in Beverly Hills,CA. She sold it for a bit less to Petra Ecclestone, for a mere $85 million. The important point here is what did she do(Petra that is)? She had to spend money on making it to her taste, Period! So I do not care if you are buying a home for $150,000 or $150 million the answer is the same. Is it a good value to you? Yes, you will have to make compromises. There is no perfect home; hence you need to be realistic where you are willing to compromise. Is it location or is it condition or is it size? Again I could go on and on, the bottom line is “compromise” you must. So you ask what the benefit is. The answer is easy: That is the fun of owning your own home. The landlord is you; hence no one can tell you where you can put that Flat Screen TV or that painting, and you are the owner. Freedom to choose your colors, where to put nails on the wall …. I can go on and on. With that said is it a good time to buy? The answer is clear to me. Sellers are willing to negotiate, prices are down to 2003 in the greater Los Angeles area, and interest rates are at an all time low 60 years ago prices. So if you...
read moreNovember 30th’s windstorm an update! Pasedena and vicinity still without power to about 2000 people!
The Windstorm of November 30th, 2011 was worse then ever imagined. Originally there were 430,000 Edison customers without power. Ten days later I had to go and see how Pasadena and the San Gabriel and Temple City area fared. I was shocked to find out that 10 days later there are still debris and trees down on one of the most beautiful cities in Southern California. Officials said their crews will continue to work around the clock to restore services to all customers. We might say wow only 2000 people left, it should not be such a big deal…consider if you are one of the 2000 without power. No TV, no Refrigeration, no Cooking, no Lights….these are just some of the small inconveniences. What about people that have medical conditions? What if they are not mobile? What about all the food that is lost in their refrigerators. I could go on and on. It is a very sad and tragic time. Check out these pictures, these were taken in Pasadena 10 days later. My heart goes out to the people who still do not have services. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations....
read moreDo you know which College Football Rivalry dates back to the year 1890?
Do you know which College Football Rivalry dates back to the year 1890? One of the most well known College Football Rivalry in the country. It is watched not only in the United States but around the entire Globe. Televisions are tuned in and watched in real time all over. One of the Oldest Rivalry that began on November 1890 Game Time is Saturday December 10th 2011 at 2:30pm Eastern Standard Time on CBS or at Fed/EX Field home of the Washington Redskins. There is room for 85,000 fans to attend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdoFirb3fSQ&feature=player_embedded#! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITcCvoWYa60&feature=relmfu Did I give enough hints for you to guess which Football Rivalry I am referring to? Yes the Black Knights against the Goats! Also known as the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy vs. the Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy! If your interest has been peaked check out this link it tells a lot more http://armynavygame.com GO ARMY BEAT NAVY!!!!!!! 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 310.486.1002end_of_the_skype_highlighting 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 Organizations. ...
read moreCentury City Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011
Century City Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011 Here we are, the last month of the year is just buzzing by. So let’s look how the November real estate activity fared comparatively. The month has been quite mixed with good news and bad news. Every time I looked on the internet I either saw that there was bad economic news in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal or there was good news that Germany will help out the European Financial Crisis. This roller coaster good news, bad news in my opinion is manipulating the World Economy… Sadly not in a good way… this is creating insecurities all over the Globe. The Stock Market responds to the headlines instead to the “researched facts”. This volatility is affecting the housing market as well. I have noticed that only the savvy buyers are actually purchasing. The novice buyers are asking people for advice, but they are mostly family, friends and acquaintances, not Realtors, Mortgage Lenders or people who have a pulse on the Market, hence some have good information others do not. This in effect is keeping many buyers on the proverbial fence. Last month I have seen the lowest interest rates in 60 years. The price of homes in the greater Los Angeles area are hovering around 2002/2003 prices. This should create a massive activity, but I do not see it. This I also attribute to the fact, that the inventory is shrinking out there, hence buyers have fewer properties to choose from, then previous months and some are waiting for a large selection. The Active listings dropped from last month to 300 this month, this is 3.2% contraction. The condominiums which are in Escrow and are waiting for Back up offers have decreased from the previous month’s 20 to 15, this month. The ones on Hold status are unchanged 2 the previous month and 2 this month. Now let’s look at the Pending, this number has increased from last month’s 19 to a current of 45. This is a huge increase. Now the Sold Status has decreased from 29 to 2. This could be from a combination of the fact that Thanksgiving Week has slowed the Lenders and the Escrow Companies with timely closings and an indication of the large Pending Status as well as the analysis I provided in the beginning. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations. ...
read moreMarina Del Rey Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011
Marina Del Rey Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011 Here we are, the last month of the year is just buzzing by. So let’s look how the November real estate activity fared comparatively. The month has been quite mixed with good news and bad news. Every time I looked on the internet I either saw that there was bad economic news in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal or there was good news that Germany will help out the European Financial Crisis. This roller coaster good news, bad news in my opinion is manipulating the World Economy… Sadly not in a good way… this is creating insecurities all over the Globe. The Stock Market responds to the headlines instead to the “researched facts”. This volatility is affecting the housing market as well. I have noticed that only the savvy buyers are actually purchasing. The novice buyers are asking people for advice, but they are mostly family, friends and acquaintances, not Realtors, Mortgage Lenders or people who have a pulse on the Market, hence some have good information others do not. This in effect is keeping many buyers on the proverbial fence. Last month I have seen the lowest interest rates in 60 years. The price of homes in the greater Los Angeles area are hovering around 2002/2003 prices. This should create a massive activity, but I do not see it. This I also attribute to the fact, that the inventory is shrinking out there, hence buyers have fewer properties to choose from, then previous months and some are waiting for a large selection. The Active listings dropped from last month to 132 this month, this is 8.9% contraction. The condominiums which are in Escrow and are waiting for Back up offers have increased from the previous month’s 10 to 13, this month. The ones on Hold status are unchanged 2 the previous month and 2 this month. Now let’s look at the Pending, this number has increased from last month’s 8 to a current of 23. Now the Sold Status has decreased from 21 to 0. This could be from a combination of the fact that Thanksgiving Week has slowed the Lenders and the Escrow Companies with timely closings and an indication of the large Pending Status as well as the analysis I provided in the beginning. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations. ...
read morePlaya Del Rey Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011
Playa Del Rey Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011 Here we are, the last month of the year is just buzzing by. So let’s look how the November real estate activity fared comparatively. The month has been quite mixed with good news and bad news. Every time I looked on the internet I either saw that there was bad economic news in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal or there was good news that Germany will help out the European Financial Crisis. This roller coaster good news, bad news in my opinion is manipulating the World Economy… Sadly not in a good way… this is creating insecurities all over the Globe. The Stock Market responds to the headlines instead to the “researched facts”. This volatility is affecting the housing market as well. I have noticed that only the savvy buyers are actually purchasing. The novice buyers are asking people for advice, but they are mostly family, friends and acquaintances, not Realtors, Mortgage Lenders or people who have a pulse on the Market, hence some have good information others do not. This in effect is keeping many buyers on the proverbial fence. Last month I have seen the lowest interest rates in 60 years. The price of homes in the greater Los Angeles area are hovering around 2002/2003 prices. This should create a massive activity, but I do not see it. This I also attribute to the fact, that the inventory is shrinking out there, hence buyers have fewer properties to choose from, then previous months and some are waiting for a large selection. The Active listings dropped from last month to 54 this month, this is 5.2% contraction. The condominiums which are in Escrow and are waiting for Back up offers have dropped as well from the previous month’s 9 to 5, this month. The ones on Hold status are unchanged 2 the previous month and 2 this month. Now let’s look at the Pending, this number has increased from last month’s 3 to a current of 10. Now the Sold Status has decreased from 9 to 0. This could be from a combination of the fact that Thanksgiving Week has slowed the Lenders and the Escrow Companies with timely closings an indication of the large Pending Status as well as the analysis I provided in the beginning. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations. ...
read morePlaya Vista Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011
Playa Vista Condominium Market Report for the month of November 2011 Here we are, the last month of the year is just buzzing by. So let’s look how the November real estate activity fared comparatively. The month has been quite mixed with good news and bad news. Every time I looked on the internet I either saw that there was bad economic news in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal or there was good news that Germany will help out the European Financial Crisis. This roller coaster good news, bad news in my opinion is manipulating the World Economy… Sadly not in a good way… this is creating insecurities all over the Globe. The Stock Market responds to the headlines instead to the “researched facts”. This volatility is affecting the housing market as well. I have noticed that only the savvy buyers are actually purchasing. The novice buyers are asking people for advice, but they are mostly family, friends and acquaintances, not Realtors, Mortgage Lenders or people who have a pulse on the Market, hence some have good information others do not. This in effect is keeping many buyers on the proverbial fence. Last month I have seen the lowest interest rates in 60 years. The price of homes in the greater Los Angeles area are hovering around 2002/2003 prices. This should create a massive activity, but I do not see it. This I also attribute to the fact, that the inventory is shrinking out there, hence buyers have fewer properties to choose from, then previous months and some are waiting for a large selection. The Active listings dropped from last month to 28 this month, this is 7.7% contraction. The condominiums which are in Escrow and are waiting for Back up offers have dropped as well from the previous month’s 8 to 5, this month. The ones on Hold status are unchanged 1 the previous month and 1 this month. Now let’s look at the Pending, this number has increased from last month’s 2 to a current of 9. Now the Sold Status has decreased from 10 to 1. This could be from a combination of the fact that Thanksgiving Week has slowed the Lenders and the Escrow Companies with timely closings an indication of the large Pending Status as well as the analysis I provided in the beginning. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations. ...
read moreBuying a home shouldn’t be a Big Risk if you have the Right Realtor! (Speechless Sundays in Marina Del Rey CA)
Buying a home shouldn’t be a Big Risk if you have the Right Realtor! (Speechless Sundays in Marina Del Rey CA) Contact me if you need a knowledgeable, seasoned Realtor who is looking out for your interest first. 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 more2nd Annual Winter Wonderland Celebration in El Segundo,CA
The El Segundo Concert Band and the El Segundo High School Band on Saturday will put on an outdoor Winter Wonderland celebration – complete with snow and other wintry activities. Yes, I said snow, I know you are thinking this is Southern California, how could that be? Well you just have to come down and see it for yourself. Dress warm, remember it gets cold after the sun sets near the Pacific Ocean. The event will be held on December 4th from 3 to 8 p.m. in the high school’s quad. There will be a holiday bazaar with food booths, holiday merchandise and festive music. After last year’s rave reviews, winter will once again blanket the High School’s grounds. Not only will there be a good time for all ages, you can even start your holiday shopping, since there will be 40 booths with merchandize. The day’s events will culminate in a holiday finale of a performance by maestro Steven Allen Fox and the El Segundo Community Concert Band. If you like more details click on this link http://www.esconcertband.org/ ; also here is the link to El Segundo High School if you want to get an idea of the layout of the campus before you come http://www.elsegundohigh.org/ Just so that you know the El Segundo Concert Band believes, that instrumental music plays a vital role for the 21st century family and music not only enriches and nourishes the bond which brings families and communities together. How can you not go to this? Did I tell you it is a Free Event? El Segundo High School is located at 640 Main Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 615-2662 Trivia Information: in case you did not know El Segundo is also home of LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) 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, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 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 Organizations....
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