Episode 32 of The #AskDanielLosAngeles Show

On this episode, I answer the following four real estate questions:

1) When applying for a mortgage, I've heard that applying for other types of credit before the mortgage is finalized can hurt your credit. Is this true?

2) We are already in escrow to sell my home, but I'm now having second thoughts on selling. How can I back out of the deal?

3) I recently went to get pre-approved for a home loan. The lender said he can't get me a loan because my credit score is too low. How can I raise my score?

4) My agent is having a hard time selling my home. I just don't think he is the right person for the job. What is the process to fire him?

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This weeks cheapest home to sell in Sherman Oaks

This 2 bedroom, 2 bath corner lot home was the cheapest home to sell this week in Sherman Oaks.

The home is 1,554 sq ft has hardwood floors, brick fireplace, and galley kitchen.

Do you think this was a good deal?

Burbank's cheapest price per square foot home

The price per square foot on this home is $460.40.

This is currently the cheapest price per square foot home for sale in Burbank.

The Beverly Hillbillies mansion sells for $150 MM

The Bel Air mansion that played the Clampett’s Beverly Hills home in the 1960s television show, The Beverly Hillbillies, just sold for a reported $150 million—a record-setting price not only for Los Angeles but California.

The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, American Media Mogul, Rupert Murdoch’s son.

The main house measures roughly 25,000 square feet.

The lot size is approximately 10 acres.

There is a 75-foot pool and a 12,000 bottle wine cellar!

What an awesome property!

For sale home inventory has gone down 11.2%

The shortage of homes that are for sale in Los Angeles is accelerating.

Inventories in November dropped 11.2% annually.

This comes at a time when low-interest rates are increasing buyer demand.

The housing shortage is felt most at the entry-level of the market.

Traditionally, housing inventory goes down in the 4th quarter of the year... but 11.2% is a big drop.

Inventory should pick up slightly in the first quarter of 2020.

Do I need to hire a professional cleaning company before moving out?

Was your home professionally cleaned just hours before you officially accepted a buyers offer on your home?

If so, make sure to get your home professionally cleaned right before you deliver your sold home to that new buyer.

Was your home in need of a deep clean at the time the buyer’s offer was accepted? Good!

No need to get a professional cleaning company to come out and clean the home.

The point here is to deliver the home to the buyer in substantially the same condition that it was in when you accepted the buyer’s offer to purchase your home.

Keep your home in the same condition throughout escrow

When selling your home, the purchase contract says that throughout the escrow process, the home has to be "maintained in substantially the same condition as on the date of acceptance.”

That means whatever condition the home was in at the time the buyer’s offer was accepted, good or bad, is how the home should stay throughout escrow and is how the property should be delivered to the buyer.

There is no need to go above and beyond when it comes to cleaning the home before moving out.

Although getting the home professionally cleaned before vacating is a nice gesture to the buyer, simply keeping it in the same condition that it was in when the home went into escrow is good enough

Which month is better to put a home up for sale: Jan. or Feb.

This home buyer pattern happens every single year.

Buyers stop their home search in December and pick it back up again in January.

To get top dollar for your home, take advantage of this rough data and choose to list your home for sale in January instead of February.

More buyers on the market lead to more competition.

If your home is priced right, that will lead to multiple offers for your property.

It's smarter to sell your home in January vs. February

Every year in December, a lot of my buyers that have been looking for a home take a break from the property search.

They are busy with the holidays and parties and family.

But come January 1st, their new year's resolutions of owning a home kicks in and their search gets ramped up again.

As a home seller, you should understand this pattern and take advantage of it.

You can do that by putting your home on the market in January and getting that initial wave of buyers to come check out your home.

If you wait until February to put your home on the market, you miss the buyer rush and your home could stay on the market longer.

If you are going to list your home, be smart about it, and list your home for sale in January.

That means you need to start to prepare for that today!

A laundry room was voted the most popular specialty room

A laundry room is the most popular specialty room (anything other than a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen) among all buyers according to the new report "What Home Buyers Really Want (2019 Edition).”

Millennial homebuyers in particular love a separate laundry room with 86% of them reporting that it is desirable (36%) or essential/must have (50%) room.

Who is responsible for paying the "supplemental tax" bill?

You already put down a huge down payment when buying a house... you are tapped out.

But then, SURPRISE… here comes a supplemental tax bill in the mail!

It's terrible, but it's part of the home buying process and you have to pay it.

I know the pain... I had to pay that bill myself when I bought my home.

Keep in mind everyone pays a different tax amount, so make sure to ask your real estate agent (or me, wink wink) what the tax amount will be for the home you are interested in buying.

That way there are no surprises, and you can budget for that bill and your down payment.

Favorite home to sell this week in Los Angeles

As featured on "House Hunters Renovation"...

3 years ago my clients along with HGTV came in and completely remodeled the home.

There were a few repairs that needed to be done, but overall the buyers of this property now have a wonderful place to call home.

See the episode on my website - HouseHuntersRenovation.com

I have pocket listings

Text me what you are looking for and I'll let you know what off-market properties I have that match your search criteria.

818-445-7953

Daniel, what's the best deal in La Canada?

Asking price: $1,555,000.

Imagine what you could add on to this 17,000 square foot lot...