Happy New Year Eve!!

It's been an amazing year of growth.  We are so blessed to be given great real estate amazing opportunities from our clients.  we hope to grow more in 2013. thank you following and we can't wait to share with you in 2013. 

The betancourt real estate group at Keller Williams Realty 

Open Floor Plans - why we love them

4755CedrosAve.com

Open floor plans are perfect for homeowner who love to entrainment and be part of the party.  Older homes have wonderful kitchen/den but when you have under 2,000 sqft, an open floor plan gives the illusion of a grand space. 

Feeling Lucky? Then feast on these Lucky Foods

New Years is around the corner and I thought it would be fun to list all the lucky foods from different cultures.   ....let's see which food to eat for a great 2013.

GRAPES

I've done these in the past! It's really cute for New Years Eve parties.  You place twelve grapes in a bag or cup for each guest.  Each grape represents a different month.  So if you eat grape number six and it's bitter, that month (June), will be rocky month.   

Culture: Spanish, Portuguese, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and Cuba.

COOKED GREENS

I'm talking about cabbage, collards, kale, and chard! Why? The green leaves look like folded money and symbolizes economic fortune.  The more greens you eat, the larger your fortune.

Culture: Danish, Germany, and Southern United States

LEGUMES

Beans, peas, black-eyed peas, cowpeas, and lentils.  The appearance of the food resembles coin money when cooked.  During my childhood, my mother would also feed us a bowl of lentils soup for lunch on New Years Day. 

Culture: Italy, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and United States 

PORK

yes..pork! Pig symbolize process because when the animal pushes forward, it roots itself into the ground before moving.  

Culture: Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, United States, and Sweden.

CAKES + BAKED GOODS

Cakes and baked goods with a round or ring-shaped items are considered to bring luck.  In certain cultures, it's customary to hide a special trinket or coin inside the cake and the recipient will be lucky in the new year.  Another great party game for New Years! In sweden and norway, they hide a whole almond in rice pudding.  

Culture: Poland, Hungary, Netherlands, Holland, Mexico, Greece, Sweden, Norway, and Scotland.

WHAT NOT TO EAT

and there are foods not to eat.  

1. Lobster is considered a bad idea because they move backwards and could lead to setbacks.  

2. Chicken because the bird scratches backwards which could cause regret or dwelling on the past.  

and there you have it! Lucky foods and unlucky foods for the New Year.  

Why is An Appraisal ordered?

by Yvette Betancourt

An appraisal can be ordered for many reasons. See the top four reasons why an appraisal is ordered on a property. 

Interest Rates Will Continue to be Low Until Unemployment Drops

Fed Chariman Ben Bernanke

by Yvette Betancourt

As the end of the year comes near (according the Mayans, it's the end today), the Feds made the decision to continue to curb interest rates low as long as the unemployment rate remains above the 6.5 percent.

Sounds good right? but for how long?

Unemployment rate is estimated to drop below 6.5 until 2015 according the Feds.  sounds like 2013 and 2014 will be a the best time to get into the market for buyers, sellers and real estate investors.

So as we anticipate the decision of the "Fiscal cliff," government is doing their best to make sure the 2012 real estate market gain will continue to grow into 2013 and beyond.

Source: AGBeat

Home Sellers: Learn how buyers search for homes in today's market

Top Three Reasons on How Homeownership is a Social Benefit

Downtown LA's South Park Rental Market

Since I've moved to los angeles in 2001,  downtown is one of my favorite areas.  Since the opening of the Staples Center in 1999, downtown started to revamp it's image and brought LA Live in 2007.  Since then, downtown is bouncing back into a urban spectacular with new high rise residential development and amenities to match.  

I rarely have a chance to talk about rental in my blog, but i thought I would show some love.  

If you are looking for rentals near the LA Live, try the South Park area.  It's walking distance to LA LIVE, Staples Center, Ralphs fresh fare and more.  There is a mix of new construction and rehabbed old industrial and office building.  Amenities include pools, sundecks, fitness centers, 24-hour concierge. Another get area to live that is similar to South Park is the Arts District.  

So what are the rents like?

Rental prices varies.  For a small studio, you could see prices at $1,680.  A larger live/work space starts around $2,795/mth.  For a rental at the Ritz at LA Live is $5,500.  A two bedroom condo at the LUMA  has been known to start around $4,500.

hmm...interesting.

Did your home appraisal come in below Selling Price?

Yikes! this is one situation that most sellers don't want to be part of.  Don't despair. Here are a few tips if your home appraisal does come lower than your selling price. Even if your property is in a blessed multiple offer situation. 

Tip 1: Preventing a low appraisal

Get an appraisal before hitting the MLS. Have your agent bring the most relevant comparable and give them to the appraiser.  Remember, the appraiser doesn't have to take them however, it brings

Because of the new third-party rules, the appraiser who is assigning a value to your home may not be from the immediate area.

Options if an appraisal is low

Despite all the best efforts of the agents involved, sometimes an appraisal will come in low. At that point, the buyer has four options:

●Negotiate a lower sales price.

●Dispute the appraisal with the original lender.

●Get a fresh appraisal with a new lender.

●Make up the difference in the mortgage amount from savings.

Lenders’ hands are tied when it comes to the size of a mortgage, which is typically pegged at 80 percent of the property’s value. Because the bank always represents the buyer, the lender’s first choice would be to negotiate a lower purchase price.

If this happens, generally, sellers will grant an extension of that contingency deadline so there’s time to negotiate or challenge the appraisal. If not, the buyer has the right to walk away from the contract under the appraisal contingency. 

If you are in a multiple offer, you could lower the price to second highest bid and see if the buyer could make up the difference.  

If negotiations fail, lenders may be willing to reevaluate the appraisal.

Evers & Co. Real Estate in the District recently sold a renovated Chevy Chase, Md., farmhouse for $1.54 million, after a bidding war raised the price from the $1.495 million listing. The initial appraiser — who drove in from Baltimore — valued the home at $1.45 million, but the sellers refused to renegotiate. When the buyers challenged the appraisal, their bank ordered a fresh appraisal, and a competing lender ordered an appraisal of its own. Both new appraisals came back at the sales price.

However, government-backed mortgages have special restrictions. Appraisals for loans backed by the Veterans Administration or the Federal Housing Administration stick with a property for six months, meaning you can’t just get a fresh appraisal or switch lenders to start with a clean slate.

If negotiations fail and the low appraisal stands, the buyer may be left with no option but to pay the difference — or to walk away under an appraisal contingency in the sales contract.

Best of luck!

Homes are Selling Faster than Last Year

Don't Leave Fresh & Easy

It's all over the news about Tesco, the company who owns Fresh & Easy, may sell the franchise due to its poor earnings.

I live close to the Encino location and its has become my favorite place to go. During the week, I can grab their great six dollar lunch and their amazing fresh pizza wheat pizza dough to make a quick dinner. During weekend, I enjoy picking last minute items like milk and eggs.

I hope the company can sell their franchise and keep the concept of delicious fresh goods mixed with the neighbor market. You have a loyal customer in me and I don't want to see my local fresh and easy go away.

Brand New Construction - Open Sunday 1-4pm

Home Sellers, learn how to price ahead of the market curve

Real estate markets change all the time. You want to make sure that you're pricing the house ahead of the curve -- no matter what the market.  Contact us for a free Home Value report. 

Lights, Camera, Action: Hollywood Sign Facelift is Complete

by Yvette Betancourt

Completion of the revamped Hollywood sign is complete after nine weeks of work.  Workers removed all the existing paint from the sign.  Then the sign got a fresh coat of primer and two coats of white lacquer. Just in time for Hollywood sign's 90th birthday! Talk about refreshing up for the milestone celebration. This facelift cost $175,000 with $145,000 worth of paint by Sherman-Williams.  

Four Most Common Pricing Mistakes

by Yvette Betancourt

Are you getting ready to place your property on the market? As a Potential home sellers, you've looked at your neighborhoods Open House and searched thru the internet to get an idea of the value of your home.  

However, beware of these four common pricing mistakes that most homeowners make while having their property on the market. 

1. PRICING TOO HIGH FROM THE START
Pride in homeownership is a wonderful accomplishment.  Unfortunately, what may be a high selling point does not often reflect in resell value.   

Solution: Statistics show that homes priced correctly when they first hit the market sell closer to the asking price than homes that start too high, then have to adjust downward.  

2.USING AN ODD LIST PRICE, LIKE $864,257

Solution: Always price in round numbers! REALTORS® search for homes using price categories - make sure your pricing makes sense when agents search a window of $250,000 to $350,000, for example. 

3. NOT BASING YOUR PRICE ON SOLD HOMES
I believe this the most common mistake because we all focus on the active listings that is on the market right now.  In reality, actives listings are a prediction of the market, pending/backup offers are a indication while recently sold (within the last three months) are the best indication of the current market. 

Solution:  Searching actual "SOLDS" is the only true pricing guide.  A home can be listed for any amount - that doesn't mean the home will ever sell for that amount. 

4. REFUSING TO NEGOTIATE

Solution: Your asking price should have some built-in flexibility.  Otherwise, you're bound to turn away and turn off some serious buyers. 

For a FREE current Comparable Report on your property, email us.  Our reports include photos, description, and map of comparable based on your property location.  know the value of the home.