Archives for October 2016

Buying Los Angeles real estate? Reason #1 to be Conservative

October 29, 2016 by Darryl Leave a Comment

If you just came from your lender and learned that you can spend more for your new Los Angeles real estate than you thought, it could mean one of two things:

1. Interest rates are lower, so you can “buy more house” for the same money. If this is the reason – it’s time to celebrate.

2. Your lender didn’t consider the other priorities in your life. If this is the reason – stop and think before you take his or her advice.

Some of us simply need more money left over after the monthly bills are paid. Stop and think about how you’re spending that “extra” money right now, and whether you’re willing to change your habits.

Be Patient While Purchasing Los Angeles real estate

If you cherish a weekly night out, love to attend concerts, or need that week on the beach or a ski mountain every few months, you’ll grow to resent the mortgage payment that takes those things away from you. Maybe you want to send your children to private schools, or would like to go back to school yourself.

In addition, remember that the larger Los Angeles real estate, the larger the tax and insurance bills, and the more time and money it takes for maintenance.

Before you take a lender’s word for how much you can spend on your mortgage, look at your budget and your lifestyle. Buy the house that suits your needs – even if your lender says you can afford more.

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Is there a good time to take Real Estate advice from friends and family?

October 20, 2016 by Darryl Leave a Comment

When you’re getting ready to purchase or sell a home here in Real Estate, you’ll get plenty of advice, whether you ask for it or not.

Everyone from cousin Gus who sold Real Estate back in 1982, Aunt Sally who sells real estate in another State, your next door neighbor, and your garage mechanic will want to “help” you make the right decisions.

We agents, of course, urge people not to take advice from anyone who isn’t working in the business – here in Real Estate – every day. They simply don’t have the same information and experience to share.

Real Estate

Does Real Estate advice from your friends and family work?

But think about the Real Estate side…

Those who live in your community can give you at least one good bit of advice – they can recommend an Real Estate agent who served them well (or warn you about one who did not.)

Secondly, anyone who has been involved in a Real Estate transaction recently can give you something more – warnings to help you avoid the mistakes they made.
Both buyers and sellers can tell you what happened when they failed to take their agent’s advice – and did things to harm their own chances of success.
Home sellers can tell you about mistakes such as over pricing their home, insisting on being present for showings, refusing to fix-up or repaint, and getting insulted and refusing to negotiate low offers.
Home buyers can tell you about the time wasted making low-ball offers or the disappointment of losing out on the home of their dreams when they decided to “sleep on it.”
So listen to your friends and relatives – just don’t listen when they give you pricing advice, and don’t listen if they tell you to ignore advice from your own experienced Real Estate professional.

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Home Warranties – A Smart Move when buying Beverly Hills houses

October 17, 2016 by Darryl Leave a Comment

Before purchasing a home today, most buyers of Beverly Hills houses have a home inspection. The inspector alerts them to issues he or she can see or determine through testing. The buyer and seller re-negotiate if the inspector notes that the roof, or the heating or cooling system is of an age or condition where it might be expected to fail within a short time, or if there are structural or safety issues.

This inspection is a useful tool to prevent buyers from purchasing Beverly Hills houses that are a “money pit” that might drain their resources in the coming years. But it can only go so far.

Better safe than sorry dealing with Beverly Hills houses

The fact is, the inspector cannot see and predict everything. The reason appliances are sold with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty is because sometimes even brand new equipment is faulty. There are things going on with the interior mechanism that neither a homeowner nor an inspector can see or anticipate.

In addition, many new homeowners exhaust their savings with the down payment. They aren’t financially prepared to meet the cost of replacing a major appliance. It makes sense to spend all you can on a down payment in order to get a better interest rate and a lower monthly payment, but that doesn’t leave an adequate cushion should a $6,000 repair suddenly be necessary.

Enter the home warranty. For a small annual fee, the homeowner’s liability for the cost of repairs is limited to a fee of about $75 to $125 per incident. Compare that to a $6,000 furnace replacement or an $800 water heater replacement and the value is clear.

Sellers of Beverly Hills houses usually include a prepaid home warranty in the sale is a good marketing move. It’s a small thing that just might be the deciding factor in a choice between two homes. It’s also good insurance against the off chance that a buyer might come back and sue for damages, saying “You didn’t disclose…”

Buyers of Beverly Hills houses, purchasing a home warranty is an investment in peace of mind – knowing that if something unforeseen happens, they won’t be going over their heads in credit card debt to handle it.

Note to agent: If you are among those who give a home warranty as a closing gift, add the following sentence:

Since I believe home warranties are important for peace of mind, I give one as a closing gift to all of my home buyers. It’s my investment in their future happiness.

Archives for October 2016

Buying Los Angeles real estate? Reason #1 to be Conservative

Be Patient While Purchasing Los Angeles real estate

Is there a good time to take Real Estate advice from friends and family?

Does Real Estate advice from your friends and family work?

Home Warranties – A Smart Move when buying Beverly Hills houses

Better safe than sorry dealing with Beverly Hills houses

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