L.A. real estate news and insights.
Over the last 12 months, housing inventory has gone down 21.8% in the Los Angeles area.
That means there are a lot fewer homes for sale now then there was a year ago.
I expect this trend to continue because low-interest rates will cause there to be an even stronger than usual buyer demand this #Spring.
It's not the end of the world if you have to get P.M.I., but it should be avoided if possible.
If you can put at least 20% down when buying a home.
By doing so the lender won't require you to get P.M.I.
P.M.I. stands for Private Mortgage Insurance.
Typically when buying a home, you have to pay P.M.I. if you put less than 20% for your down payment.
PMI protects the lender, not you if you stop making payments on your loan.
Think about that... the insurance is to protect them, but you have to pay for it!
Depending on your loan amount, it can cost you $200, $300, $400, on top of your mortgage payment.
You should avoid this if possible
Put at least 20% down and you will avoid paying P.M.I.
If I have brought you any value through my real estate content, it would mean the world to me if you referred me to your friends who are looking to sell their home this Spring.
They can text me at 818-445-7953.
Thank you!
The better you know the market, the faster you can identify a good deal.
Track properties that interest you, see what they sell for, and go to open houses.
This will give you an overall feel for the market.
Then connect with a seasoned agent that will guide you the rest of the way.
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.
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.
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
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.
Virtual staging is when you take a picture of a vacant room and then have a graphic designer digitally add furniture to that room.
That way your online pictures for your home look great, but in reality the room is vacant.
Virtual staging can be good and bad. It's good because your marketing pictures look awesome and you will get a lot of people through your door and touring your home.
The bad part is that buyers get disappointed when they show up and the house looks completely different than how it looked in the marketing photos.
Real furniture staging is always best because it helps a buyer emotionally connect with a home and you don't end up with a bunch of disappointed potential buyers touring your home.
But if you must, virtual staging is a better option than showing a picture of a empty room in your marketing pictures.
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
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
Asking price: $1,555,000.
Imagine what you could add on to this 17,000 square foot lot...
On this episode, I answer the following 4 real estate questions:
1) What is a Seller Property Questionnaire?
2) How come Justin Timberlake can't sell his condo?
3) Do smoke detectors need to be hard wired in or is battery operated good enough?
4) What's a counter offer?
We have over 13,500 followers on Instagram... come join us! @DanielLosAngeles
Want to build a rental unit on your lot?
You can... if your lot is zoned correctly.
Check the zoning for any lot! Email me a address, and I will email you back the tax records for that property. Daniel@ContempoRealtors.com
