Kendyl's Open House

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Northwest Glendale Real Estate Hot Sheet

Click here for chart explanation and disclaimer

First I want to say congratulations to 1652 Bel Aire for going into escrow!  This is one of those, “i don’t know why it isn’t sold” homes.  The agent tells me that after 90 days on the market with no real offers, she had multiple offers.  The agent for the house on Ransom told me the same thing happened on her listing.  This tells me that there are real buyers out there… they are just waiting for the very “best” deal.  Does this mean that sellers should sit on their prices and just wait?  Well, that depends.  Can you afford to gamble with your largest financial asset?

862 Omar isn’t really a new listing.  It is an old listing that is now being sold short.  This is the cute Spanish with the rounded “turret” right on the corner of Highland and Omar.  The price is pretty darn exciting, but I think we should take a moment to talk about short sales and strategies for selling/buying them.

The Real Estate industry, here,  is in the beginning stages of figuring out the best practices for selling these “pre-foreclosure” properties.  These homes owe more to the bank than they can get in a sale.  I’ve noticed a growing trend of agents pricing these short sale homes shockingly low, getting multiple offers and then taking the best offer to the bank to get short sale approval.  Other agents price the homes just below market value and take the best offer they can get for approval.  This is the strategy used by the agent for 853 Omar.

Both strategies have merits and problems.  If I had a buyer for one of these homes, the first one would drive me crazy.  Work like crazy to get a buyer to write an offer, compete with other offers, not get the home and then possibly lose the buyer over the frustration of it all?  Yuck.  The second situation is far easier for the buyer and their agent.  But who is being served?

From a one sided view, that of the seller, the first strategy is unquestionably better.  They get it over quickly, they are likely to get the best price and the bank is more likely to agree that the resultant offer is one they should approve.

For the buyer, it is all just a huge pile of frustration, either way - in my opinion.  Buyers, you need to know that a short sale is a long and complicated process where neither you or your agent will have any control.   You should get the home at a huge discount on the sales price for putting up with the process and you should make super sure that your agent can give you a competent explanation of what you can expect.  Otherwise you should either find another agent or another property.  Or both.  Right now, in our area, about 23% of short sales are being approved and closing escrow.  These are not good odds, my friends.

The good news (and there is some!) is that in areas where short sales are more prevalent - the desert and in Riverside County- short sales are approved easier and faster than here.  This means that as our market matures both the agents and the banks will come to a consensus of what it will take to get that short sale approval - and the consumer will be the big winner.

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Not much happened today, so here is a little treat from my “How To” archives

Saving Important Records

We all know that some papers must be saved, but we don’t want to end up in a dark, cluttered house, surrounded by way too many cats and never ending stacks of paper! The question is, how long must we hang on to bank statements, tax returns and receipts? Take a look at this handy dandy chart and then use it to decide what will stay and what you can toss.

**Who can tell me what song contains the title of this post? Hint, it’s a song from the 80’s….**

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I hear it all the time.  How can a young person buy in today’s market?  How indeed?

Here is a list of available programs for buyers and not all are just for first timers.

Here is an edited (for our area) list of programs available to help first time buyers.

1. California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA): Provides financing for first time buyers who fall under specific income ranges. (877) 922-5432, www.calhfa.ca.gov
2. Los Angeles Housing Department: Offers assistance with down payments, closing costs and property rehab, (213) 808-8800, www.lacity.org/lahd
3. Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program: Provides a reduced interest rate on some CalHFA mortgages to qualify teachers. (877)922-5432, www.calhfa.org/home buyer/programs/ectp.htm
4. LA County community Development Commission: Provides first mortgages, silent seconds and more. (323)890-7281, www.lacdc.org
5. Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services: Provides financial assistance and counseling. (626) 794-7191, www.pasadenanhs.org
6. Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN): In partnership with Bank of America, provides 100% financing for mortgage loans up to $500,000 for qualified borrowers. (213) 748-1345, www.acornhousing.org
7. Fannie Mae’s MyCommunity Mortgage: Offers a range of options, including extra flexibility with non traditional credit histories and income sources. (800) 732-6643, www.fanniemae.com/homebyers/findamortgage/mortgages/mycommunity.jhtml
8. Countrywide Bank’s Express Grant: Provides closing cost assistance of up to $2,000 to eligible low to moderate income Countrywide borrowers or those purchasing in low to moderate priced communities. (888) 564-7268
9. Korean Churches for Community Development: The Los Angeles non-profit offers home buying classes and counseling for government down payment and other assistance programs. (213) 985-1500, www.kccd3300.org

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Today 1316 Irving Ave went into escrow.  This short sale property was listed (this time around) 3/9 and went pending 3/19.

I did not make a nice chart today because that is the ONLY thing that happened today.

*******

I had an interesting conversation today with a potential seller.  Her statement was, “I won’t price the home at x, I have to cover closing costs and commissions.”

The question I think this brings up is, “what is included in a home’s value?”

Firstly, value includes all sorts of solid features like lot and house size, location, condition and amenities.  But it also includes fuzzy things like how much emotional attraction/attachment there is and the buyer or seller’s timing and motivation.  Lastly there is the very intangible concept of what the buyer’s alternative is to buying and the seller’s alternative to selling.

All of these items play into the home’s eventual selling price.  Closing costs do not.

Closing costs are never part of the home’s value.  In fact, the cost of selling and buying a home is a completely separate issue from the home value.  Closing cost may determine your motivation for selling or buying and they may change your business decisions on whether or not to sell or buy, but they have no impact on the market value.

Failure to separate these issues will result in a bad business decision every time - and  you can afford to make mistakes in this market!

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Northwest Glendale Real Estate Hotsheet

click here for disclaimer and chart explanation

Wow!  Look at all the activity!  I guess the entire neighborhood read my last blog post and said, “She’s right!  Let’s get off the dime and list our house today!”.  My mother was right.  The pen (or in this case, the electron) is a mighty tool - LOL!

First off we have 721 Glenwood.  I think this is the house right next to the auditorium, or, at least, it is very close.  Tough location, that.  But, it has a pool and 3 bedrooms and a guest house, so I guess it is possible.  The agent says the bedrooms are a very good size.  Good sized compared to what?

1144 Allen is a duplex, 2 beds each unit.

1652 Bel Aire is that house on the corner that has been “for sale by owner” for the past several weeks.

1553 Ridgeway is an English style home with an unpermitted bedroom, 1/2 bath and office.

1362 Ruberta is another house I told you all would sell quickly.  The buyer is very lucky!

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Kenneth Rd. is running into some problems.  The buyer is asking for things the sellers do think they should have to give.  While this is a classic situation at anytime, it is exponentially so during a transition market.

In either a buyer’s or a seller’s market the discussion is often resolved by sheer market forces.  The stronger party gets their way,  a sale if the sellers are in power or the house if the buyers are.

In a transition market, or in certain individual cases, there is no clear cut power holder.   The key to working though this basic disagreement is to stay out of the judgment of “right” versus “wrong”. This is an argument that can have no happy ending, for in most cases both parties have a degree of legitimacy to their position.  Rather, one should focus on a dollar figure and ask, “how much money can I give/get in order to move forward with the deal?”.  When you take away the emotionally charged element of what the other party “deserves”, you stand a much higher chance of reaching a fair and happy compromise.

I am carefully working my way through just this situation on Kenneth Rd.   I know, that in the end, all parties will be satisfied.  Or they will part ways.  Did you say you wanted another chance to buy Kenneth Rd.?  Call me

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