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Speechless Sundays: Chachi in the grass!
Speechless Sundays: Chachi in the grass! 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 moreWordless Wednesdays: How to stay cool in Marina Del Rey…
How to stay cool in Marina Del Rey, CA, how about a nice cold Pilsner Beer from Victory?:) 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 moreArthur Schwarz’s New York City Food: an opinionated history and more..
Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food: an opinionated history and more than 100 Legendary Recipes Those of you who know me, not only do I collect books, but I also collect cookbooks. I have been meaning to write about this acquisition for some time now. This cookbook I have acquired over the past six or so months ago. Life and business took priority hence no blog post about it. Diane and I were at the Los Angeles Festival of Books this past April; I managed to find it, in a bargain book section. This is a fantastic book. To give you a little back ground: Arthur Schwartz was born and raised in Brooklyn and this is his book. It reads like a Ken Follet Novel but it is not fiction. It is New York City Food History combined with his background history and cultural history and it includes Recipe from “The beginning” such as what the Dutch ate when they came to New York to the famous places such as “Delmonico’s” and he bring us to places and eateries many just dream about. Places like “Lundy’s” a great seafood restaurant that started as a fish market and sadly closed in 1979. Loved his analogy:” …If the Dodgers leaving for Los Angeles in 1957 was the beginning of the end of Brooklyn’s hey-day…….then Lundy’s closing in 1979 was the end of the end….” I could go on and on, it is a fun read reminiscing about classic places some still here others gone. Besides being a writer Arthur Schwartz is a well respected Food Critic who has sampled the food in all these places. If you love history coupled with food history and the cultural nuances what made New York City the Restaurant Capital of the world, you must put this book on your must find and read list. I cannot wait to finish it and make some great recipes of the By Gone Institutions! 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 moreWho pays the commissions, the buyer or the seller? This question is…
Who pays the commissions, the buyer or the seller? This question is a bit loaded. I find that in my experience this question always comes up from first time home buyers. In California the seller agrees to pay the commissions. One would think end of story, thank you got my answer. In reality there is a lot more to this question. The interesting part is both the seller’s and the buyer’s agents are vested in the outcome of a transaction. Commissions are only paid when the transaction closed. Hence both buyer’s agents and sellers agents want to make sure the there is a successful closing. There are some different roles for both agents. Their Fiduciary Responsibly is at odds. The Listing Agent is 100% looking for the financial interest of the Seller and in the mean time the Buyer’s agent is looking 100% for the benefit of the buyer’s interest. This is what we call Fiduciary Counsel and Fiduciary Responsibility. This is where the expertise, knowledge and value come into play from each Realtor. The better your Realtor is, the better the outcome will be of the transaction. Not only do Realtors gather data, but they are involved in interpreting them as well. Realtors provide the buyer as well as the seller with their expertise and it make a great difference in the getting the desired outcome of a transaction. Top notch Realtors work hard for their clients, because they have a reputation for quality and they want to protect their own good name. Most importantly they want to continue in getting future business by referrals. I often see that sellers try to compromise their own interest by asking to discount the commissions of the brokers or going to a discount broker. This can compromise and ultimately cost the seller far more than what they could save on commission. This is what I call penny wise and pound foolish mentality. As a full service Realtor, my clients can email me from all over the world and get a relatively quick response from me, because I understand their concerns and needs vs. a discount broker will not have the same motivation as I do, since they are mostly making their money by volume. I do not have a lot of transactions in a year hence I am vested in providing a fantastic service to insure success for all parties involved. When you work in volume that means there are some things that fall to the wayside, such as interpreting trends and directions. I have time to look at the data, I am not chasing after discount volume. So if you want top notch representation keep in mind what you pay for is what you get. There is a difference between attorneys who charges $250 per hour vs. one who charges $1500 per hour. There is also a difference in a Realtor vs. a Discount Broker. In closing the real question should be are you a discount broker or a full service broker. Along the same train of thought the internet Brokers cannot substitute this with their websites, such as the Zillows and Redfins of this world to use an example! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach...
read moreThe Winners of the “What events in your life/world lead you here”!!!!
The Winners of the ‘What events in your life/world lead you here where you are today’ Contest on Active Rain! One of the hardest things to do as a Realtor is to do a self analysis and then share it with everyone who is willing to read your post. We are so focused on our client’s needs and wants and often we forget to reflect on our own lives. Needless to say I was very intrigued by wanting to know what my fellow Active Rain Members had to say about this subject. In case you missed it, here is the link to the post and all the submissions are in the comments. (http://actvra.in/4hmL ) There were three Judges who submitted a list of their top ten choices in order of their preferences. Needless to say, I was asking for this, because my concerns were that they would all have different choices and I would have a difficult time narrowing the list. Interestingly the top six or seven posts had all the same names just not in the same order. The top four was virtually identical in different order. I was amazed and surprised. Clearly I should have known better, we have a great community and the Posts spoke not only to the Judges, but to all of us. Here is a post I just recently wrote about the contest and the Judges (http://actvra.in/4jZ2 ) There seems to be a fire theme in the Winner’s CircleJ Rain Silverhawk’s Post spoke to us without audible words and I have re-read her post a few times and it really touched me. http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/4413307/the-phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes She is the Winner of these Contests! Tom White’s sharing of his story, via a campfire resonated well with not just the Judges and me, but the community as well. http://actvra.in/4jZ8 he is clearly a very close second in the contest. Mike Wong’s first negotiation of the family real estate transaction was a very close third in the selection process http://actvra.in/4hZr . As far as I am concerned the real winners are the Active Rain Members and all the other people who have the opportunity to read these great posts. We are so lucky that they shared with us what got them here today. Please enjoy these posts as well as the others if you have the time. They are worth the read. Thank you Dick Greenberg, Lisa Friedman & Rene’ Fabre with all your great input and help and forgive me if I did not follow your advice as you would have preferred. Thank you to all the participants for your sharing freely how you got here today! All the best to everyone! 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 moreWhat I have learned hosting my first Active Rain Contest Endre Barath
What I have learned hosting my first Active Rain Contest by Endre Barath, Jr. In my opinion: The first and foremost priority should be that you pick a subject which intrigues the community, if you do not, then there will be little participation. Needless to say I was wondering how the turnout would be. Clearly I had no reason to worry we started out slow but ended up with 81 entries to the contest. Second, please work closely in the beginning with Kerrie, since she will know what you are forgetting to put in your original post and needless to say she determines how many points will be awarded. Plan in advance at least three to four months; the schedules will already be booked for the various Challenges. Then approach some great Active Rain members and ask them to be judges. Now all I can say is I am truly lucky to have had the support from Dick Greenberg, Lisa Friedman and Rene’ Fabre. They were so conscientious and caring to select the best posts it just made my life so much easier. Needless to say do not think that you are done. Well not really, keeping track of who submitted posts and try to read along as you get the posts is also important. Take some notes and try to put them in some initial draft order you will be glad you did from the beginning because that is also important. Then as the posts start rolling in you will discover that your orders might change. Needless to say all participants want to get the credit for their submission. This is also a critical aspect of the contest because you do not want to miss someone that would be a travesty. Do not wait too long and submit the list to Kerrie so all the participants can get their submission credits. Finally reevaluate the posts and wait for the judges to give you their submissions. Stay in touch with the judges and let them do their work. Do not micro manage them, after all they are all Realtors, Trainers, Title Gurus or Business Owners and they prefer working independently to create the best product : in this case the difficult task of choosing a winner. Finally be prepared that when you do end up hosting a contest you will get extremely busy with your own work just as if you were going on vacation. So not only are you going to be busy on Active Rain but all your own work will dramatically increase as well. Also if you are asked to be a judge the same effect will happen. No matter how slow things were when you committed to doing the job it will be the polar oppositeJ I have also learned that I will do my best not to submit my post in the last minute of the contest rather I will try to submit them a few days before the deadline. I do not want to overwhelm the judges and the host of the contest. In conclusion: this post should help you host an Active Rain Challenge! The best part of hosting a contest you really get to know your fellow Active Rain members, at least those who submit a Post to...
read moreA visual reflection on the Fourth of July, Fireworks in Marina Del Rey
A visual reflection on the Fourth of July, 2014 Fireworks in Marina Del Rey, CA Those of you who read my blog posts regularly know how much I love the Fireworks. This year the Marina Del Rey, CA Fireworks lasted about 20+minutes. The show was jam packed with lots of great firework displays. Clearly an indication of how the Real Estate Market, the Economy and the Consumer Confidence was being reflected by the strong showing of the fireworks displays. It was also evident by the number of boats in the Channel as well as by the massive crowd watching it from both sides of the channel. It was not that long ago when we even had the Fireworks Cancelled. Clearly I felt it was the wrong message to send. Now the message is clear the economy is rebounding at a fast pace in the greater Los Angeles and the Real Estate is hot just like the Fireworks. Hope you are enjoying your well deserved relaxing Fourth of July weekend! 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 moreSpeechless Sundays: Douggy & Jill guarding the boxes!
Speechless Sundays: Douggy & Jill guarding the boxes 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 Organizations ...
read moreHappy Fourth of July, 2014 Best wishes from Beverly Hills!
Happy Fourth of July, 2014! Happy Independence Day wishes from Beverly Hills, CA! Most people consider on 4th of July, getting together with family and friends, barbequing enjoying a very rare commodity what we have very little of now days, that is Free Time. It is also a good time to step back and reflect on our Freedom which we enjoy in this country and others in different parts of the world dream about. It is also a good time to be grateful that our Forefathers had the Foresight to create a country where we can live Free. There is something else everyone loves on the Fourth of July that is Fireworks. I have been fascinated with watching and enjoying Fireworks on the 4th of July as well other times, hence I could never get enough of it. If you live in the Greater Los Angeles area or are visiting then let me give you some great places to watch the fireworks: The Hollywood Bowl has a fantastic Fireworks show now if you are on a budget and want to see this Fireworks show, but do not pay for parking then go to Mulholland Dr, and very close to the Tourist Lookout around 7038 Mulholland Dr you will get the perfect views of the fireworks. I suggest you get there early or you will have a long walk after everyone reads this postJ! Marina del Rey is another great alternative. There is nothing like a cool ocean breeze near the water watching the Fireworks and the sounds echoing from the water and the water reflecting back the show. Clearly a fun way to spend the evening, plan on parking in the Public parking spots all around the Marina. Less than $8.00 is a great way to enjoy the fireworks. The show starts around 9:00pm and it lasts for about 20 minutes. Alternatively if you know anyone who lives on or near the water call them up and see if you can watch the show from their homeJ! The Rose Bowl in Pasadena is another great place to watch the Fireworks the party starts at 2pm and needless to say the Fireworks start around 9:00pm lots of fun events very family friendly such as inflatable rides, games, arts and crafts and fun food. Adults pay $13 children and military get in free plus parking is around $20. Unless you know someone nearby where you can park for free, it is worth the money. 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 Organizations ...
read moreViews of Thurston Avenue in Bel Air, CA 90077
Views of Thurston Ave in Bel Air, CA 90077 Bel Air is not just home to the $125million dollar listings. There are other parts of Bel Air, CA 90077 which are still coveted by many buyers. One particular street that comes to my mind is Thurston Avenue, of which half the side of the street is adjacent to the 405 Freeway with panoramic views of the Getty Center as well as some old landmarks like the historic Holyday Inn building. (That is now a Boutique Hotel by a different name) Needless to say the entry price point varies by how loud or how quite the 405 Freeway’s noise is where the home sits. The street is very stereo typical Southern California.(Well check it out for yourself) One of the benefits of living here is that you get to have your children go to the coveted Warner School System and your mailing address will have the 90077 zip code. These are all very beneficial from many perspectives. So what will the entry price be on Thurston Avenue? Well anywhere from a moderate fixer for $1,200,000.00 to about $2,900,000.00 for one that is in a quieter part of the street and in better condition. 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 Organizations ...
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