Blake and Diana Homes | high-torque real estate sales and marketing

Metlox Center in Manhattan Beach, California | Video Tour, 2010

2010-03-13T16:32:12-08:00

Video tour of Manhattan Beach's Metlox center, the heart of the city.

Two new Contemporary Homes being built in Hermosa Beach - summer 2010

2010-03-12T18:15:21-08:00

New Construction Project. Two new homes coming to the Hills of Hermosa Beach, Summer 2010. The video is in HD, should you care.

Foreclosure activity for 90266 (Manhattan Beach) down by 16%, with Excel spreadsheet

2010-03-11T10:23:05-08:00

Wow, here's an interesting new data bite. Foreclosure activity for Manhattan Beach, 90266, is down by nearly 16%, month to month. This is another indicator that our local housing market is definitely on the mend.

Total foreclosure activity: 75 homes
Same time last month: 89 homes
Total Notice of Default filings since February, 4. There have been no new NOD activity in March
Total homes listed as being in Auction Status: 32
Total homes listed as being Bank Owned: 10

Download 90266 foreclosure activity for February 2009 through March 2009<<-- Click here

Blake and Diana Roberts Real Estate Practice | From PV to LA

2010-03-10T10:48:04-08:00

If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Los Angeles, call the team of Blake and Diana Roberts to discuss how we can help move you forward from just looking to buying or selling. The team covers Los Angeles' coastline from Palos Verdes to Pacific Palisades, with a geographic focus on the three cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach.

About the Team

Blake and Diana are both licensed real estate brokers in California. Blake is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in Brentwood. Diana is All American, but was born in Budapest, Hungary. Since launching their real estate practice in early 2003, Blake and Diana have worked with hundreds of families to buy and sell residential property. The couple has lived in Los Angeles' South Bay since 2002, and share their home with son, Benjamin and two toy fox terriers: Gracie and Paris.

Home Appraisals in Manhattan Beach: the good; the bad; and the ugly

2010-03-09T14:01:13-08:00

All active real estate appraisers are licensed by the State of California and in theory, should be able to determine a property's value with little deviation from any prior or subsequent appraisal activity—theirs or others. For 2010, new laws were put into place that state that appraisers must keep themselves at arms length from the Realtors, sellers and buyers, and loan officer/lender during their investigation to avoid any sort of conflict of interest, pressure to match a price, or anything else that could influence their results. In addition to the actual appraisal, many lenders will also conduct a "desk appraisal," which is a second appraisal that is used to confirm the first appraisal results.
These are new times for banks and the appraisal industry, with the entire machine re-calibrated to be super conservative. Gone are the days of fudging and padding an appraisal. Gone also is the local appraiser, we'll talk about this in a moment.

The Good

Within the home purchase process, one normally has an appraisal contingency as part of their offer, usually 14 or 17 days from its acceptance. We consider the appraisal to be a safety valve of sorts because it allows an unbiased third-party to establish if the price you've offered is inline with market trends and values. Of course if you pay cash, maybe you'll skip the appraisal process altogether.

If the appraisal comes back lower than the offer you've made, you can cancel your transaction, put more money into the transaction, or ask the seller to lower their price to match the appraisal. You can also switch banks and see if they get different results. Asking your current bank or lender to rework their numbers probably won't happen.

We love that the appraisal validates that the home you're buying is worth what you paid for it. This step alone kills the ever-present worry that maybe you overpaid for your new home. On the other side of the coin, no one ever complains when the appraisal come back high, right? Actually, if the appraisal come back high, the lender will want to know why there's a disparity—why would the seller dump their property?

The Bad

Appraisers are so concerned that their work and appraisal report will be called into question that many are pushing their numbers down, just to play it safe. They also may determine that the home your're trying to buy is in a declining market, which will stop some banks from participating in the loan. And because everyone in the transaction is now working at arms length, it's hard, if not impossible to talk to the appraiser to set them straight.

The Ugly

Historically, there were a handful of very reliable appraisers who did most of the work in the area. Ron Becker and John Hooks and Associates for example, were local, talked to the agents and totally understood the nuances of the area's neighborhoods (above PCH, below highland, 200 block vs 100 block, The Avenues, South of Torrance, etc). Today, when your lender orders an appraisal for your property, more often than not, it goes out to bid through an independent appraiser clearing house, with the lowest number getting the business.

The appraiser with the lowest bid may be local, or they may be huffing it in from foot hills of the Sierra Madres—this can be extremely ugly. Without local knowledge, appraisers may simply look at recent comparable sales within a mile of the subject property, which just doesn't always work.

This is also extremely ugly because a buyer and seller my not agree how to move forward when the appraisal comes back low. Worse, if the appraisal is off, it's really hard to correct the situation without either the seller or buyer throwing money at the discrepancy.

The Solution

The Department of Real Estate and the National Association of Realtors both acknowledge that the current appraisal system has been so over fixed that it's broken. Changes are afoot that will allow for better, more accurate appraisals, but they're not here yet.

*** Read what The National Association of Realtors has to say here <<---***

South Bay Home Sales, February 10 to March 9, 2010, with Manhattan Beach focus

2010-03-09T12:34:46-08:00

NOTE: if you don't want to read the following prose and just want to see the numbers, you'll find my graph at the bottom of the blog entry.

South Bay real estate sales have been painfully hot over the last 30 days, with Manhattan Beach's 34* sold single family homes, representing over $56,000,000 in inventory, reigning king in the three beach cities that also includes Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach.

Looking at the numbers, it's clear that the Manhattan Beach real estate market is in a league of its own. From first hand experience, we represented three buyers during this sample period and each of our presented offers was met by multiple buyers vying for the same property. Real estate blogs, news papers and financial experts tell the country that we're in a buyer's market—not in Manhattan Beach. Homes that are priced correctly, have updates and are in a "B" location or better are selling. I don't know if this will become an ongoing market trend, or if we're experiencing an anomaly based on pent-up demand, time will tell.

For now, it's war! The buyer who is willing to fight through the multiple offer battle and put together the most compelling offer wins.

Our recommendation if you are looking to purchase a home in Manhattan Beach

First and most importantly, only your agent can give you a true picture of the steps that you'll need to take to get the home you're going after. Sites like Redfin, Zillow, Turlia and others never take into account the sophistication of miro-markets like Manhattan Beach, especially homes West of Sepulveda.

Even if you are a professional negotiator by trade, real estate sales represents a unique and emotional path from offer to acceptance. Trust your agent to decipher the seller's motivation, gauge the overall interest in your subject property, and best case selling price. Unless a home has been on the market for 100's of days, forget the "lowball" offer, it probably won't work for you. In fact, many top agents refuse to put a lowball offer out as it usually upsets a seller and can damage an agents reputation within the real estate community, definitely a slippery slop on all fronts.

What's the difference between a Pending Sale and Backup offer?

Sorry, there's no simple answer here. From a 5,000 foot perspective, the pending sale is considered to be a little bit more solid, more of a sure thing. When an agent and seller are soliciting a backup offer, they're either concerned that their buyer may not be able to preform on their purchase, or they're simply playing it safe and trying to make sure that if their current deal goes south, that there's a backup deal ready to slide into the first position. Considering that over 25% of all deals fall apart for one reason of another, soliciting backup offers is a pretty prudent path for many home sellers. If there's a home you really like that shows as being in Backup Offer status, have your agent dig into the particulars to see if it's worth puting something down in writing.

Interpretation

It's way too early to call the market bottom, but the indicators are sure there. It's also interesting to note that the dramatic rise in activity fits the South Bay's normal, annual sales cycle, which accelerates in February and then peaks towards July. We don't anticipate housing prices going up dramatically, but the multiple offers we've been seeing will definitely push the overall market towards larger numbers. On the other side of the sales increase are the homes that are overpriced and sitting. More common than not, this group of sellers purchased at the peak of the market between 2006 and 2007, and are now underwater on their home's value. If the majority of these sellers accept a financial loss in equity or through a short sale, we'd see more sales at prices that could slightly reduce the comparables. On the REO front, homes like 660 33rd and 1026 Duncan are seeing loads of activity and the selling banks are looking for top selling dollars. Word on the street is that 660 33rd sold for well over $2,000,000 and had multiple, super qualified offers.

Because the economy is not stable, and won't be for years to come, real estate sales will continue to be astronomically influenced by the daily news of the world. Commercial real estate, a double-dip recession, and other financial events that could easily become more than blips on the economic radar need to be watched closely.

*there are several additional home sales, including 660 33rd, that sold during this period. However, as they are still represented at Active on the MLS, I have not included them within my analysis.

Home Selling Prices in the Hills of Hermosa Beach | 90254

2010-03-04T14:41:08-08:00

Average and median home selling data for the Hills of Hermosa Beach

For Q1 of 2010, the Hills of Hermosa Beach, which are homes located above Pacific Coast Highway, sales have been consistent and solid. Using square footage as a comparison, my listing at 1120 8th Street is $72 a square foot below the average for the area. It's also interesting to note that at 3,697 square feet, 1120 8th is the second largest home on the market.

Real Estate IQ 3, can you spot the difference between these two photos?

2010-03-04T09:55:10-08:00

1120 8th Street, Hermosa Beach, California. Listed for $1,599,000

Can you spot the five minor differences between these two pictures of 1120 8th Street's contemporary exterior? BTW, the top picture is the real Mccoy.

NEW PRICE | 1120 8th Street, Hermosa Beach | For sale at $1,599,000

2010-02-28T09:51:35-08:00

1120 8th Street in Hermosa Beach

The Contemporary on 8th has a new listing price of $1,599,000 ($432 a square foot). This is one of the only new construction projects still available in the Beach Cities, and maybe the only contemporary style home under $2,000,000 for sale in the South Bay. If you are looking for a new and different type of South Bay home, this is it.

1120 8th Features:

Huge, 1,110 square foot Great Room with wrap-around balcony
4 bedrooms on the first level, one guest suite on the second
4 bath rooms, 3 full and 1 3/4 with large shower and glass tile
Great room features a fireplace that is clad in black granite, floor to ceiling
Large roof deck
Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors
Ceramic tile floors in the entry, hallway, kitchen and baths
Mahogany framed doors with opaque class inserts throughout
Caesarstone in the kitchen (www.caesarstone.com)
Silestone in the bathrooms (www.silestone.com
Built-in house vacuum (central vac)
Top quality throughout
Large bedrooms and owner's suite with spa like bath. Owner's suite features limestone counters in the bath and a limestone clad fireplace in the bedroom
Ocean views
Lot square footage: 4,470
House square footage 3,697
Status: Available
Asking price: $1,599,000

To arrange a private and confidential showing, please call us directly at 310 598 1227

The One Real Estate Video You Must See Today | The Indymac Slap in our faces

2010-02-22T08:51:19-08:00

From my friend Mark Agosti, the link below will take you to an exceptional video that must be seen by anyone trying to purchase a short sale, or is considering going the short sale route.

Please spend 5 minutes of your day and watch this video! Would love some feedback, too.

You must see this video, it's truly shocking and amazing! <<-- click here

Mortgage is not a Commodity | By Jonathan O'Donnell

2010-02-17T09:33:39-08:00

Mortgage News by Jonathan O'Donnell

Per Wikipedia, “Commoditization occurs as a goods or service market loses differentiation across its supply base, often by the diffusion of the intellectual capital necessary to acquire or produce it efficiently.” In other words, a mortgage would be a commodity if a borrower could get the same service and loan program from any bank or broker. In 2007, with the availability of subprime, no down payment and stated income loans, it may have seemed like mortgages were a commodity.

Today, with tight lending standards even the most qualified borrowers have trouble getting approved and are often denied if their file is packaged incorrectly or due to lender nuances. Believe it or not, I have had several borrowers call and tell me they were denied by their existing bank for financing, and I have re-submitted their loan with additional documentation and letters of explanation and obtained an approval. Furthermore, I have had several borrowers in the past few months that have been very well qualified – surgeons, department heads, film producers – that have attempted to use “their” bank (including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and First Republic) and been denied for financing due to some small nuance. It’s these nuances – such as the calculation of bonus income, debt ratio limits, monetary gifts or property type – that a good mortgage broker understands about each lender and directs loans accordingly. The best compliment I can receive is that the loan process seemed easy, because it rarely is in this environment.

Whether you are refinancing or purchasing, it is going to take a considerable amount of time and paperwork to process the loan. Therefore, it often makes the most sense to use a mortgage broker because of their ability to use a single set of paperwork for multiple lenders. For example, if I feel that a client is on the borderline for a particular lender, I will submit their loan to 2 or 3 lenders, simultaneously. This flexibility provides the borrower with greater security and less headache than they would have working with multiple banks on their own. It is not worth getting three weeks into the process and spending money on an appraisal only to find out that the lender you selected cannot complete the financing – especially on a purchase! Not to say that you cannot obtain a loan from your favorite bank or one recommend by your financial advisor, but why take the chance? Large banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo will continue to exist even if they end up denying your loan. As a broker, however, my livelihood depends upon each and every transaction I close. Wouldn’t you rather have someone like me – whose reputation is on the line each time – working on your loan? A mortgage is not a commodity and it is not worth the sacrifice of your financing to find out.

Feel free to call me with any questions or scenarios.

Jonathan O'Donnell
Coast Capital Group, Inc
1601 Pacific Coast Highway Suite 245
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
direct: (310) 798-5507
toll free direct: (800) 810-4390
mobile: (310) 480-6863

email: jonathan @ coastcapitalgroup.com

www.coastcapitalgroup.com

The Real Estate Investor | The New Scourge of 2010

2010-02-15T14:16:55-08:00

It was about a year ago that we started to get phone calls from people who called themselves real estate investors and they all sang me a variation of the same song:

(Hum along to the tune of Fiddler on the Roof's If I were a rich man)

I'm a very well-to-do real estate investor and I'm looking for opportunities in the area. In exchange for giving me names of people you know, I'll make it very worth your while. Then we'll push these homes through foreclosure or a short sale and both of us will be very wealthy.

WTH?

The first few calls didn't go very well because I wasn't fully grasping what these people wanted from me. Now, these calls don't go very well because I fully understand what these vultures want from me. They want to take advantage of a homeowner's financial distress and turn it into a financial windfall for themselves.

These investors are all cut from the same cloth and they are the same people who jump from money-making gimmick to money-making gimmick. Whatever is being infomercialized and marketed as the path to financial freedom is the direction they are following. And, their expertise is based on a seminar, which is normally taught by an ex-con who's figured-out that the seminar gig can payoff big.

The Tenets of the Scam

The investor tells the distressed homeowner that they can solve all of their financial problems and stop the foreclosure process. Sounds philanthropic and generous, right? Actually, the goal is to get ownership of the home and then sell it for a profit. Even if they don't get ownership, they'll put their name on title and claim ownership, and then they'll proceed to negotiate with lenders to whip-out the debt at pennies on the dollar. At the end of the day, the only way the foreclosure is stopped is through the investor's involvement in the sale of the home.

How to spot the scam

There are several tale tells that have quickly become the investors costume of choice including:

They have a website that includes the words stop and foreclosure in the URL
Their car has stop foreclosure information on the back window and bumper
They actually call themselves a real estate investor
They belong to an investment group
They've perviously sold some sort of product online (weight loss, Himalayan berry juice, a patented rack or doohickey
Promises that never materialize and deadlines that are missed, and missed and missed
They advertise on Craigslist and for sale by owner websites. They don't want to involve Realtors or anyone else who will question ownership of the property
And the number one thing red flag, they have little or no experience in real estate

There are exceptions to everything

Of course, there are exceptions to everything I've said and I'm sure there are many compassionate, honest real estate investors who will take exception to this journal entry. If you are an honest investor who would like the opportunity to provide your side of the story, I'd love to talk with you.

Unlicensed and unregulated

Many real estate investors do whatever they can to reach the prize, the money that's hidden in a foreclosed home. There are no regulations, no rules (that they follow) no oversite, and no required training or licensing—it's the wild west out there.

What should you do if your home is headed into foreclosure

If you're already to the point where you're reaching out to an investor, odds are pretty good that you're going to lose your home. As mentioned, investors are investing their time (and sometimes money) that they can get you out of your home and take a portion of the home's final proceeds.

If your goal is to keep your home, you need to be talking with your lender. If you DO NEED to sell, most banks/lenders will work with you through a short sale transaction, and even hold off from pursuing the foreclosure while your property is actively listed with a Realtor.

What is a Real Real Estate investor?

My definition, which may very from many others, sees a true real estate investor as being a person or group who buy residential or income properties for their long term investment opportunity/strategy. The difference here is that they are not trying to steal the home through games and manipulation, they are business people who are working with agents to purchase real property that adds to their real estate portfolio.

Hermosa Beach Foreclosure Activity | February 2010

2010-02-15T12:35:14-08:00

Check the link below to see the full current foreclosure activity report for Hermosa Beach, 90254. The data comes directly from public tax records via Realist, but please note that this information has been inaccurate in the past. It's interesting to note that 21 homes are included as bank owned, which means that these properties have run through the full foreclosure process and have been taken back by the lender/bank. Out of these 21 homes, only 1235 2nd and 1515 Monterey are listed on the MLS as being bank owned, which is also known as a REO sale. Regarding the other 19 REO homes listed on the tax roles, I did a random spot check and it's interesting to note that there's a trend showing that none of these homes are currently on the MLS.

On the Pre Foreclosure front, which typically represents a lender issuing a Notice of Default related to missed payments, roughly half (16) have been recorded since December

Download Hermosa Beach (90254) Foreclosure Activity <<--click here

Interesting data points

Total homes currently listed for sale in Hermosa Beach: 120
Least expensive home listed for sale: $360,000 for a 1 bed, 1 bath condo, and it's a pending sale
Most expensive home listed for sale: $15,900,000—we're talking prime stand, need I say more!
Total homes listed as being in some stage of Foreclosure: 89
Compared to my August 2009 foreclosure report, Hermosa Beach foreclosure activity is up by ~30%
Many REO sales are listed with out-of-area listing agents

Top South Bay Personal Injury Lawyer | 2010

2010-02-12T10:52:43-08:00

Slip and fall, an auto accident and many other types of personal injury events need the guidance and advice of an attorney. For 2010, we recommend the law offices of Micky Fine in Manhattan Beach.

Fine and Chaise
1334 Park View Avenue, Suite 100
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 546-8146

Contact Mikey <<--click here

Open House Schedule for Sunday, February 14th, 2010

2010-02-12T09:02:59-08:00

This weekend's open house schedule, Sunday the 14th, we will be holding open the following properties:

1120 8th Street in Hermosa Beach, The Contemporary on 8th, will be open between 1 and 4
624 Catalina in South Redondo Beach, will be open between 2 and 4

Our current listing on the South Bay MLS<<-- click here

About Blake and Diana Roberts

This blog and website is focused on local real estate trends, news and information coving the Beach Cities of Los Angeles' South Bay. Although we often write about topics that are of national interest, our primary markets include residential real estate in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach Redondo Beach, El Segundo and Torrance. We also have expertise coving Los Angeles' Westside, including Santa Monica. Our specialization is residential real estate for buyers and investors who are looking for condominiums, town homes, single family homes and investment opportunities. For sellers, we are professional marketers who have the skills and knowledge needed to get your home sold quickly and for top dollar.

Blake and Diana Homes, a real estate sales and marketing company