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Insalata Caprese: Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Some people call them ‘Super Foods’
Insalata Caprese: Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Some people call them ‘Super Foods’, the new trend. If you have been to the island of Capri a short distance across from Naples, in Italy, a top tourist attraction for affluent people from all over the world and had spent time in August there (The Italians call it Alta Stagione, the high season in August), than I am sure you had Insalata Caprese. While you are there you must visit the The Grotta Azzura, The Blue Grotto. (Keep in mind that it is expensive and the lines are long if you go during peak season). When I went, I was totally amazed at the “Blue Colors” a reflection of the Sun, the Sand and the Grotto. The colors do not do justice to the real life experience. Besides leaving with a Memory I hope will never leave me, I learned how to make Insalat Caprese. My version is relatively authentic with minor variations. Try it and let me know what you think. Ingredients: · Fresh Tomatoes (can be any variety as long as they are fresh), · Fresh basil, · White Infused Truffle Oil (not required but brings it up to an elevated level) · Balsamic Vinegar (I prefer Balsamic sauce- a flavored variety and reduced: i.e.: concentrated flavors) · Sea salt · Black Pepper · Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I prefer cold pressed calamata olive oil) · Fresh mozzarella ( I prefer Buffallo mozzarella) but will take any that is fresh (for an added level of flavors slice bell peppers, persian cucumbers and add real or fake caviar on top) The rest is easy: slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange alternately on the plates or on a serving dish as I did. Sprinkle with pepper, salt, drizzle with plenty of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a bit of Infused Truffle (white or black) Oil. Have some fresh Italian Bread (French if you cannot find Italian) I am a purist and I prefer Italian Bread. Then just bring your appetite and enjoy. 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 (USA) 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 Organizations. ...
read moreThe Grand Condominiums at 10445 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
The Grand Condominiums at 10445 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA The Grand Condominiums are located on the prestigious Wilshire Corridor of Century City/Westwood CA. This luxurious high-rise Condominium Building has 21 stories of floor to ceiling windows to get maximum benefit of the fantastic Los Angeles views. If you like luxurious lifestyle The Grand is for you. It provides the ultimate privacy. There are Valets who bring up your car to the front entrance door. If you are coming home, they park it for you. A door man will let you in to the designer lobby with imported Italian Marble floors where a Concierge at the desk can provide you with information on anything you desire. This is truly a full service luxury building with a lap pool, spa, gym, banquet room, conference room and much more. Onsite Management 24hrs seven days a week. The building was built in 1980 and totally updated in 2000. This is for the discriminating buyers who appreciate luxury at a great value. The One bedroom Units are around 1500sq ft. The Two bedroom Units are around 1600 -2000 sq ft and 3 and 4 bedrooms around 3600sq ft. If you are interested in owning one of these Units or would just prefer to rent please reach out to me directly and I look forward to helping you become a member of this Luxurious Community at The Grand. 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 (USA) 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 Organizations....
read morePlaya Vista, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011
Playa Vista, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011 I just returned from being on the East Coast in Boston, MA. Hence two of my Market Reports are late. Hope you did not have to wait too long. Anyway let me jump in and give you the Playa Vista, CA Condominium Market Report now. Finally the Debt Ceiling cloud is resolved for now and buyers and sellers of luxury Condominium in Playa Vista can return to what we call the ‘normal real estate market’. When I say ‘normal’, I am referring to the new “normal” in today’s turbulent economic times. The long term ramifications are unknown at this time. Once thing is clear there will be an economic slowdown for a number of reasons. One important reason is the Economic uncertainties in Europe, particularly Greece, Spain and Italy. You might be wondering, what effect will this have on the Playa Del Rey, CA Condominium Real Estate Market? The answer is very clear Mortgage Rates have been falling dramatically and we are back to historic low interest rates. Hence the historic low prices coupled with the historic low interest rates create a fantastic opportunity to step into the Playa Vista, CA real estate market. This in turn is creating not only for first time buyers’ great opportunities, but for investors who understand that during uncertain times more people tend to lease and this high demand for leasing will increase Rental Rates in the long run. I know that there has been a lot of concerns that the Fed has been downgrade, because it holds AA+ debt, please do not fall into the trap of what I call “headline-panic”, there are countries such as Ireland, France and Japan to name a few who’s dept is much worse than the US and they still have AAA rating. This is more favorable to Real Estate, because it will drive many investors out of the Stock Market into safer long term investment such as Real Estate. Hence be prepared this will increase Demand and might even fuel the Real Estate Market from a buyer’s market into a seller’s market. Currently there are 29 Active Condominiums on the Market available for purchase. The least expensive one is a One Bedroom One and a half Bath of approximately 1,149 square feet of living space for the asking price of $315,000. At the other extreme, the most expensive Luxury Condominium is a three bedroom and three and bath with 2,169 square feet of living space for $875,000.00. There were 6 Properties in Backup-Status, where the buyers still have not removed their contingencies. There was 1 Condominium in Hold Status; this is an indication of Short Sales, where buyers and sellers are waiting for Lender Approval. Interestingly there are 6 Properties that are Pending- Status. This is where the buyers are just waiting for funding and Escrow to close. The Sold statistic consisted of 11 Condominium that closed during the month of July. For your convenience, I am enclosing a link to last month’s Report, which also has a link to the last six months in order that you could see the trends. As you know in Real Estate it is nice to know the snap shot of the moment, with the understanding of the...
read moreMaking Sense of the Headlines: Real Estate Recovery in Greater Los Angeles Fact or Fiction?
Making Sense of the Headlines: Real Estate Recovery in the Greater Los Angeles Area Fact or Fiction? I have noticed that Economists, News Media Members, Attorneys and anyone who has some sort of Platform whether it is a Blogging or Media Platform has gotten into the foolish practice of trying to predict when will home prices start to turn around? It is not about when prices will return, it is about Real Estate Activity! If there are sales and the sales volume is increasing that is a Clear Sign of Real Estate Recovery. Those are the Facts, period. There are headlines: Home Prices edge up in APRIL, Appraisals Weigh down Housing Sales. Mortgage Applications Jump in JUNE, New Home sales fall amidst Sharp Rise in Prices, Thirty year Mortgage Rates fall to 9 month low, Lowest Rates of the year in spite of S & P downgrade US Debt from AAA to AA…. So how do you make heads and tails of it? How about looking at the FACTS, I know these sounds like a Strange Request, not to read the headlines of “Painful slow Growth”, Instead Read the Facts. You say but Endre, where do we get the Facts? The answer is so simple to me: Read the Monthly Real Estate Market Reports for the areas that you are interested in. For Example if you are interested in what the Marina Del Rey, CA Real Estate Market is doing than read my monthly Marina Del Rey CA Real Estate Market Report. Do not read my analysis, just look at the monthly numbers and draw your own conclusion. Interestingly after you do that, you will discover that the Headlines are giving a False Impression to you, because the FACTS contradict the Doom & Gloom of the Headlines. So just to keep it simple, the Facts: Month of April 29 Sold, Month of May 22 Sold, Month of June 25 Sold, Month of July 15 Sold in the Marina Del Rey Condominium Market. I also track the Statistics how the Real Estate Recovery is doing in Westwood/Century City, Playa Del Rey and Playa Vista. If these are not the areas you are interested in, ask me and I will be happy to provide you with the FACTS. Fiction is the Headlines! Did you know that sometimes you read the Headlines and the actual article contradicts the Headlines? Why? Headlines are sometimes written by a different person from who actually wrote the article, hence sensationalizing gets people’s attention. So what do you want Facts or Fiction? Facts: There were 10 Sales year to date that were over $10Million in Beverly Hills Proper (I only looked at Single Family Homes) Fiction: High End Homes in Beverly Hills are not selling 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 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 Organizations....
read moreMarina Del Rey, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011
Marina Del Rey, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011Finally the Debt Ceiling cloud is resolved for now and buyers and sellers of luxury Condominium in Marina Del Rey can return to what we call the ‘normal real estate market’. When I say ‘normal’, I am referring to the new “normal” in today’s turbulent economic times. The long term ramifications are unknown at this time. Once thing is clear there will be an economic slowdown for a number of reasons. One important reason is the Economic uncertainties in Europe, particularly Greece, Spain and Italy. You might be wondering, what effect will this have on the Marina Del Rey, CA Condominium Real Estate Market? The answer is very clear Mortgage Rates have been falling dramatically and we are back to historic low interest rates. Hence the historic low prices coupled with the historic low interest rates create a fantastic opportunity to step into the Marina Del Rey, CA real estate market. This in turn is creating not only for first time buyers’ great opportunities, but for investors who understand, that during uncertain times more people tend to lease and this high demand for leasing will increase Rental Rates in the long run. I know that there has been a lot of concerns that the Fed has been downgrade, because it holds AA+ debt, please do not fall into the trap of what I call “headline-panic”, there are countries such as Ireland, France and Japan to name a few who’s dept is much worse than the US and they still have AAA rating. This is more favorable to Real Estate, because it will drive many investors out of the Stock Market into safer long term investment such as Real Estate. Hence be prepared this will increase Demand and might even fuel the Real Estate Market from a buyer’s market into a seller’s market. Currently there are 175 Active Condominiums on the Market available for purchase. The least expensive one is One Bedroom of approximately 525 square feet of living space for the asking price of $269,900. At the other extreme, the most expensive Luxury Ocean view Condominium is a three bedroom and three and a half bath with 3,848 square feet of living space for $3,950,000.00. There were 4 Properties in Backup-Status, where the buyers still have not removed their contingencies. There were 9 Condominiums in Hold Status; this is an indication of Short Sales, where buyers and sellers are waiting for Lender Approval. Interestingly there are 15 Properties that are Pending- Status. This is where the buyers are just waiting for funding and Escrow to close. The Sold statistic consisted of 15 Condominium that closed during the month of July. For your convenience, I am enclosing a link to last month’s Report, which also has a link to the last six months in order that you could see the trends. As you know in Real Estate it is nice to know the snap shot of the moment, with the understanding of the trends. http://actvra.in/dJl 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...
read moreCentury City/ Westwood, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011
Century City/ Westwood, CA Condominium Market Report for the month of July, 2011. Finally the Debt Ceiling cloud is resolved for now and buyers and sellers of luxury Condominium in Century City/ Westwood, CA can return to what we call the ‘normal real estate market’. When I say ‘normal’, I am referring to the new “normal” in today’s turbulent economic times. The long term ramifications are unknown at this time. Once thing is clear there will be an economic slowdown for a number of reasons. One important reason is the Economic uncertainties in Europe, particularly Greece, Spain and Italy. You might be wondering, what effect will this have on the Century City/ Westwood, CA Condominium Real Estate Market? The answer is very clear Mortgage Rates have been falling dramatically and we are back to historic low interest rates. Hence the historic low prices coupled with the historic low interest rates create a fantastic opportunity to step into the Century City/Westwood, CA real estate market. This in turn is creatingnot only for first time buyers’ great opportunities, but for investors who understand, that during uncertain times more people tend to lease and this high demand for leasing will increase Rental Rates in the long run. Currently there are 306 Active Condominiums on the Market available for purchase. The least expensive one is a Studio of approximately 325 square feet of living space for the asking price of $169,000. At the other extreme, the most expensive Luxury Condominium is a three bedroom and three and a half bath with 5,519 square feet of living space for $13,795,000.00. There were 19 Properties in Backup-Status, where the buyers still have not removed their contingencies. There were 9 Condominiums in Hold Status; this is an indication of Short Sales, where buyers and sellers are waiting for Lender Approval. Interestingly there are 19 Properties that are Pending- Status. This is where the buyers are just waiting for funding and Escrow to close. The Sold statistic consisted of 39 Condominium that closed during the month of July. For your convenience, I am enclosing a link to last month’s Report, which also has a link to the last six months in order that you could see the trends. As you know in Real Estate it is nice to know the snap shot of the moment, with the understanding of the trends. http://actvra.in/dJq 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 (USA) 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 Organizations. ...
read moreArmageddon! Carmageddon! Part One Finished!
Armageddon! Carmageddon! Part One Finished! The After action Report is here. The big hype was very good, Angelinos behaved well and it was like being on another country. The roads and freeways were empty. Some Angelinos took advantage of $4.05 flights to get out of town; others went to Restaurants and paid $4.05 for hamburger meals. There was a lot of creative marketing being done to commemorate the closing of the 405 Freeway. Any residents of Los Angeles and vicinity took my advice and stayed by their pools. Some stayed in their pool homes; others stayed in their Condominium Complex by the pool or went away for the weekend. So this was all good news. I enjoyed watching the empty streets on the news. Thanks to watching the news I discovered that this was just Part One. Next year we will have Part Two of Cramageddon! They only took half the bridge down. Please do not ask me why? I am sure they had good reasons. How else could they torture Angelinos for another year? Needless to say here are some pictures of everything being back to “normal” traffic is unbearable again and it takes 45 minutes to go 6-7 miles and we can look forward to next year, when they will take the rest of the bridge down. Now that I am armed with this knowledge I will look forward to my two days off from conducting Real Estate in Los Angeles, CA. next year. 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 (USA) 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 Organizations. ...
read moreDuke’s Malibu, CA a Pacific Landmark Beachside Destination Restaurant!
Duke’s Malibu, CA a Pacific Landmark Beachside Destination Restaurant! Duke’s is an unpretentious Restaurant that serves well-prepared good food and it is a good value. Looking at the Surfing Memorabilia gives you the urge of wanting to surf even if you never surfed in your life. If you happened to drop in on Friday between 5-7pm you will discover at the Barefoot Bar Hawaiian Dancers, in the usual outfit, coconut bikini tops with a great smile and pleasant demeanor. IF you are more interested in the crashing waves with 320 degree Sweeping Ocean view the Barefoot Bar is your place. Open Monday thru Thursday from 2:00pm-9:30pm. Friday 3:00pm-10:00pm and Saturday from 11:30-10:30pm and Sunday from 11:30am-9:30pm you can be sipping exotic cocktails and eat sandwiches, burgers, fish tacos, whatever you are in the mood for. Duke’s of Malibu is connected to the Duke’s of Waikiki Hawaii, or Jake’s Del Mar, CA and Duke’s of Huntington Beach, CA. If you have never been you must put this casual restaurant on your must visit destination. If you want a Mahi-Mahi Burger or Shrimp and Crab Louie this is the place to go. IF you happen to go on Sunday their Brunch is a total winner. They are located at 21150 Pacific Coast Hwy Malibu, CA 90265 310.317.0777 www.dukesmalibu.com 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 (USA) 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 Organizations. ...
read moreDid you know there is a Gender difference of about $1200 on buying a Car? How does Home purchasing differ?
Did you know there is a Gender difference of about $1200 on buying a Car? How does Home purchasing differ? I was in the process of contemplating on buying a car for Diane. She started having car issues. Hence I started on my beginning stages of research. In the mean time she came to me without research that she wanted a particular type and model of a vehicle. I was surprised and it made me wonder. I always start my research beforehand about the car I want I am focusing on making sure that it is a good value. At the same time I have an alternative car in mind and am doing the research on both vehicles. She on the other hand came to me this is the model and type of car I want. So this made me think that men and women approach shopping for a car differently. So now, I was side tracked and started to research Gender bias in car shopping. Interestingly enough I ran across an article by USAA that addressed this very subject. USAA commissioned a survey in 2010 and found that women who said they did not like negotiating gave two reason why not. One was they felt intimidated and second they did not feel confident about the process. It also stated that women pay an average of $1200 more than men for an identical make and model of a vehicle, because of this. I had a difficult time accepting this result in the year 2011. I did not think there was a difference of this magnitude. This made me wonder why? The answer was relatively surprising, men do their research and know what a good value should be based on their research, hence the only emotional part is choosing the first and second choice for vehicles then the rest becomes research, knowledge and then based on that negotiation. Now this made me wonder how house searching, selecting, negotiating and purchasing differs from car purchasing. Is this process also Gender based? Who knows home values better, men or women? Same home in a more desirable area or in a more modest neighborhood? Which one would a man vs. a woman choose? Who is the stronger negotiator when it comes to buying a home? What features are more important to a woman vs. a man? Does the proverbial theory that men look at garages vs. women look kitchen mentality still existing in Real Estate purchase between men and women? I do not believe it, but I am open to your observations. 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 (USA) 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 Organizations...
read moreCheap wines under $10, my third post of the series
Cheap wines under $10, my third post of the series First of all, my point is, if you are a wine connoisseur than you will appreciate this post about cheap, but good red wines. If you are just a wine snob and base wine on price only than I suggest you might want to reconsider. Price is not the only determiner of good wines. Now with that said. A favorite winery of mine is Murphy Goode. (www.Murhpygoode.com) they make an outstanding Sauvignon Blank, so armed with this knowledge I ventured into trying their Pinot Noir. Let me tell you, what a pleasant but unexpected surprise when I tasted it. As you can see there is not one drop left in the bottle. Their 2009 vintage is really worth buying. Of course as the title of my blog post states it was under $10 a bottle. Take my word try it, you will not regret it! Now if you prefer a more robust full bodied red wine over the Pinot Noir. I have the ultimate Red Zinfandel under $7.00 a bottle. Hard to believe, but if you can get your hand on it buy at least five or six bottles you will not regret it, instead you will thank me. Renwood Winery Produces ( www.renwood.com) this outstanding wine. I have had quite a few Zin in the price point north of $20 a bottle and I would match this in a blind taste testing any day! So after you had a tough day of negotiating Real Estate I recommend any one of these great wines. So with that said Enjoy! In case you missed my previous two posts: One I wrote on May 15th 2011, here it is for your convenience http://actvra.in/9PR (my second in the series of Cheap but good wines) And of course the first that started this series being frugal is fashionable 12/30/2009 http://actvra.in/f4Q 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 (USA) 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 Organizations. ...
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