San Fernando Valley Real Estate

Not much new as we head into Xmas

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:57:00 +0000

There's only a little r.e. news this week. The LAT and Daily News report that foreclosures are down and prices are up. One of my escrows is still wobbly, thanks to our favorite lender, Bank of America. (Apparently, BofA wants us to put a new roof on a fixer house that was sold at a fixer price.) Another escrow hasn't "set up" yet as we're still dealing with inspection issues. And I'm preparing for two new listings at the beginning of the year. Ho Ho Ho.

Don't flip this house

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:34:00 +0000

As has been reported here and elsewhere, the flippers are back. And these aren't the moms and pops who watch a lot of HGtv. These are the hardcore investors who buy properties for all cash at sheriffs' sales, run crews of workers through the house, and put them back on the market a month later for $100k profit. This past summer, I had a very good experience with a pro flipper of a house in North Hollwood.

It seems the fast, cheap and out of control pro flippers are back, too. This past week I've seen two of the sloppier, cheaper flips of the year. Yes, they have nice coats of paint and granite counter tops but, uh, hey the heater hasn't worked in years. They couldn't be bothered to replace funky old windows, scrape ceilings, strap water heaters, or make sure that kitchen cabinets don't bump into appliances when they're opened, among other things. Do they think that potential home buyers don't notice? Yes, when a buyer is initially dazzled by a house, they may over look things. But then there's this little inspection period, see? where the buyer is looking for reasons to walk. And during that period, we'll notice everything. Advice: flippers, do it all the way or don't do it at all.

An NYT explanation of why loan modifications aren't working

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:48:00 +0000

I always find Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times business columnist, to be very user friendly and readable. Here's her article from yesterday's New York Times about why loan modifications aren't working out so well. An interesting quote:

"The terms of loan modifications also make them especially failure-prone because the government calculates “affordability” (how much mortgage debt a borrower can actually manage) in a highly unusual way — raising serious questions for the housing market over all and for the program’s effectiveness for borrowers. For example, in devising what it considers an affordable mortgage payment, the program doesn’t account for all of a borrower’s debts — the first mortgage, second lien, credit card debt and automobile payments. Instead, it calculates affordability using only the borrower’s first mortgage payment, insurance and property taxes."

The article also goes on to address the issue of high-interest second mortgages held by major banks.

How to cut your monthly nut by at least one third

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Okay, owning a home isn't for everybody. And I know I'll take flak for this. But.

The house in the picture is 9953 Aldea. It just closed. I'd been working with the buyers for quite awhile, and they went through the same thing that all buyers are going through now -- short inventory, rising prices, multiple offers. They finally decided to buy the house that they have been renting and living in for the past three years.

With me so far? Okay, their monthly rent was $3000/mo. Typical for a mid-Valley, 2500+ square foot pool home in good shape. Their mortgage now is $1568/month. Yes, property taxes will add an extra $500+ a month. They paid $565,000 and yes, their down payment was large. But still, thanks to today's low interest rates, they cut their monthly housing expense by about one-third. And that's not even taking into consideration the mortgage tax deduction.

Not bad, if you ask me. Just sayin'.

Rumor: stated income loans may make a comeback

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:12:00 +0000

I heard a rumor yesterday that stated-income loans may be available again after the first of the year. These are loans eliminate the verification of income requirement, and were popular until the real estate market started to go south. No lender has made these for many, many moons. I'm told the requirements, such as FICO scores, will be much stricter and there will be no 100% stated-income loans.

Opinion: the jury here is out. This will be good for many folks in the entertainment industry and other industries here in L.A. who have decent incomes, but are 1099'd instead of w-2'd because they go from job to job. The downside is that many folks will also take advantage and wildly overstate their incomes in order to get homes they can't really afford.

2400 W. Chandler is in escrow

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:00:00 +0000

A full price offer was signed today. Cross fingers.

806 Harvard sold for all cash

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:00 +0000

This house is 806 Harvard, Burbank. It's a very pretty, nicely maintained two-bedroom that listed last week for $659k. It sold last night for full price, all cash, no contingencies. Wow, where is all this cash coming from?

Realtors, forget listing new buildings

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:26:00 +0000

If you're a Realtor, you've probably salivated at the prospect of listing an entire new condo project for sale. All those units...all those commissions...but in reality, it's all that work. And it doesn't stop after the units close.

My buyer recently closed on a condo in a brand new North Hollywood building. The building is listed by the stalwart Aaron Scott, and he and I have probably talked more since the unit closed than we did during escrow -- mostly all about newly discovered construction problems. See the previous post on this subject.

On behalf of my client, Aaron and I have discussed construction issues, parking issues, alarm removals, contractors, cabinets, refrigerator doors, stoves that smoked, non-working toilets, intercom info, etc. etc. The Realtors on these new buildings handle everything -- they set up appointments with contractors, track down info, and communicate with the buyers and the buyers' agents about it all. In theory, a Realtor's responsibility ends when a property closes. But obviously, there's no such "statute of limitations" on these new places.

Tax credit for move-up -- or even move-down -- buyers

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Yes, here's another article from the L.A. Times. This one is about the brand new tax credit -- up to $6,500 -- for home buyers that want to move up. Or even move down. The key word is "move." The article highlights some of the program details. For clarification, please check with your accounting professional (although this is so new that they may not know details, either).

LALand is defunct

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:43:00 +0000

My favorite real estate blog, The L.A. Times' real estate blog, LaLand, is no more. It is moving in with Money & Co., the Times' economic blog. I'm sorry to see it go, but I guess we all should have suspected this would happen -- everybody knows LAT is cutting itself down to the bone.

Peter Viles was the original editor of the blog, then Peter Hong, then Lauren Beale. They all had really good grasps on our local market and its various permutations. Yes, LALand's posters were infuriating more often than not, and I was occasionally a poster target for my perceived pro-real-estate market, anti-bubble posts. But it was stimulating, to say the least.

At least we still have L.A. Curbed.

Got rental income? Got extended family?

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:51:00 +0000

I've just listed this two-on-a-lot at 2400 W. Chandler in Burbank's Magnolia Park for $499k. The main house is a fixer with 800+ sf, living room with fireplace, spacious galley kitchen and separate laundry room. The side house is 500+sf with new kitchen cabinets, counter tops and appliances, a darling patio, plus other upgrades. The lot is 6865 sf and has lots of yard, greenery (the squirrels are hilarious) and a two-car garage. The neighborhood is superb and the property is opposite the Chandler bike and walking path. The schools and city services here are top-notch, too. More details and pictures can be found at www.judygraff.com.

Maybe this is why Glendalians are such bad drivers

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Remember about a month ago when an informal poll showed that Glendale drivers are the worst in the county? Well, now we know why, thanks to the L.A. Times. Read about Glendale's drug problems here.

"According to the city's Quality of Life report, which was released Oct. 30 and uses 2005 data from the L.A. County Department of Public Health, Glendale had L.A. County's highest percentage of adults who reported using marijuana and cocaine." Considering, it's probably a good idea to avoid Glenoaks Boulevard whenever possible.

Another great thing about North Hollyw...uh, I mean Toluca Terrace

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:34:00 +0000

...is the public dog park at Victory and Whitnall. I checked it out last night and was very amused by all the doggies getting their runs in and seeing their doggie friends. There's a spot for little dogs and one for big dogs, although yesterday seemed to be German Shepherd day there.

TJ Maxx is coming to Burbank

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Burbank and the east SFV are finally getting a TJ Maxx. It's going into Empire Center, in one of the (several) spaces that have been vacant there since last year. Now, we won't have to drive to La Canada (unless we want the real designer stuff) or Granada Hills to get our Maxx on.

Burbank still has lots and lots of empty large retail spaces. Is there anything else that can fill those besides Korean churches and fly-by-night schools? I think we pretty much have all the other retail chains.

What's taking so long, not that we even care anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:34:00 +0000

My clients made an offer a week ago Monday on the house above. It was a decent offer, a little less than full price. At the time we were told that there were 3 other offers. I was also told that the seller, who is flipping this, would look at the offers mid-week.

It's eight days later and we still haven't gotten a counter. I can only imagine how many offers there are in on this property now. I was told that the listing agent isn't in the office much because he spends his days at trustee sales and doesn't come in until after 4:30. And then I was told that the seller only reviews offers on weekends. And then I was told that we'd have a counter offer at full price yesterday after 5:30. It didn't arrive. What a way for a listing agent to service a listing!

But all is well. My clients have not only lost interest, but are already in escrow on another home.

Problems with new construction

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:29:00 +0000

My clients Briana and Michael closed yesterday on a unit here at 5227 Denny in North Hollywood. It's a brand new building and the escrow went very smoothly (the developer was smart and secured FHA financing before marketing any of the units). However, in spite of our inspections, walk throughs with the contractors, lists of repairs, etc., many items still remain to be fixed or done in the unit. At our walk-through the contractor indicated it all would be done before closing. Now, the story is that all the remaining work has to be arranged, scheduled, and coordinated with the other recently sold units in the building. Am I naive to think this should have been done before closing?

Since I know you don't believe me, here's...

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:47:00 +0000

This is from non-client friend Joselle about her brand new purchase and what she had to go through to get it.

"It's a little 1950 house with some nice period details. Big lot (for L.A.) It's... in a lovely neighborhood in Sherman Oaks. We will be just the third owners! It was the 4th house we bid on. Each had many offers. We lost one even though we went $110,000.00 over asking price! Crazy market here!"

Her purchase price is in the high $400's.

More truth from the real estate 'bots

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:22:00 +0000

More snarky fun from our friends, the real estate 'bots.

L.A. Times AND Daily News say home prices are up...

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Our local papers are reporting that housing prices posted gains for the third month in a row. On a year-to-year basis from August 2008, our total decline is now a statistical 12% for L.A. I don't think this has to do with the $8k credit. Rather, I think it's because of historically low interest rates and very short inventory.

Nice surprise in North Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:36:00 +0000

Yesterday, my client Steven and I took a look at several townhouses. I was very pleasantly surprised by this pud/townhouse development in North Hollywood, of all places. The borders are Saticoy on the north, Laurel Canyon on the east, Whitsett on the West and Runnymeade (I think) on the south. Although I thought I knew all the complexes in the area, this was a new one for me (there's a joke here someplace about old dogs and new tricks).

There must be over 300 townhomes and single family homes in this subdivision and the development is remarkably well kept up. Further, it looked like everything had just had new windows installed, new paint, and a fairly new roof. Best of all, the asking prices are low -- around $300k and less for a big townhouse with an attached garage! However, there isn't much available there now, naturally. But still, this is certainly a subdivision that's going on my radar from here on out.

Back from the South

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:00:00 +0000

I'm back from my trip to Savannah, Charleston and the low country in between those cities. Loved the residential architecture in the historic city centers. The historic preservation people in those cities must run them with an iron hand. Of course, the ability to get tax credits for restoring historic houses does not hurt, either. Lots of homes are for sale and naturally, they are very very expensive. There went my hopes of picking up a pre-Civil War 10,000 square footer for $60,000 -- prices seem to start around $2 million and go up from there. I did notice many new planned developments between the cities although most were hidden by forests -- I think developers are aiming for the retirement market. All in all, a very interesting trip!

Underpricing reaches a ridiculous new low

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:01:00 +0000

This is 9801 Rincon, in Pacoima. It listed today. It's a foreclosure. These pictures hardly do it justice -- it's a historic hacienda-style Spanish, built around a central courtyard, 2500 square feet on a 9469 square foot lot. Probably built in the teens or '20's. Beautiful architectural details, but needs updating. And it's at Osborne and Laurel Canyon, which is not the most desireable neighborhood in the SFV. But still, a very, very special house. How much do you think the sellers are asking? $600k? $500k? Nope: $287,100. Since I have an interested client, I called the listing agent and was told they already had two offers in, were expecting several more, and expected it to go way over this price. They are turning the offers into the bank at the end of the day Friday and I was told, "We're only required to market this for three days." Hence, the low price in order to get lots and lots of activity in a very short time. But jeez, why get so many people excited when you know you could list it much higher and still get lots of offers?

House prices stabilizing

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Hi, L.A. Times clipping service here. The title above links to today's story "Housing upturn occurring in some parts of So. Cal., data show." This is not news to those of us with our boots on the ground. Of course, there are all sorts of caveats in the article, and median prices are still lower than they were in 2006, but still.

But still indeed. There's also another L.A. Times story here, stating that mortgage professionals expect foreclosures to rise next year.

Governor signs several new mortgage laws

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:11:00 +0000

The title above links to an L.A. Times story about mortgage- and real estate related bills that our Governator signed into law yesterday. Among them:

"The new law also bans so-called negative-amortization loans, which offer the option of monthly payments so low that the loan amounts can actually grow over time." - This is huge.

"Late Sunday night, the governor signed AB 260 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu (D-Torrance). The measure, which takes effect Jan. 1, tightens restrictions on mortgage brokers so they cannot steer borrowers to riskier, higher-interest loans when they qualify for less-expensive ones. " - Also huge.

"AB 957, by Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), allows buyers of foreclosed homes to choose local escrow officers, rather than being forced to use the escrow company chosen by the seller." - Not so huge, in fact this is completely useless. Now, if there was a bill that prevented seller banks from making buyers prequalify with them, that would be huge.

NYT: A bounce? Indeed. A boom? Not yet.

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Graff) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Economist Robert J. Shiller has recently completed a very interesting study of current home buying habits. The title above is the link to his article about it in today's NYT. Among the more interesting quotes: "This year’s survey coincides nicely with the upturn in home prices, the sharpest change in direction we have ever seen," "The sudden turn could signal a new housing boom, but is more likely just a sign of a period of higher short-run price volatility," and most especially, "The suddenness of this shift surprised me. In my column in June, I wrote that home prices might well continue to decline for years." Nice to know that noted economists can admit they were wrong.