Great Places to Watch Super Bowl XLVII this sunday!

It's here!! Only a few days away and if you aren't catching the big game at friend's house or your place...try these great places. 

DOWNTOWN LA:

The Parish

840 S Spring St, Los Angeles CA 90015

(213) 225-2400

Cool foodie place where you can watch the game on a 80-inch flatscreen.  

Order the Gridiron Special ($40) - 20 stout-glazed chicken wings, half gallon jug of Noble ale, housemaid pork rinds and fried olives. 

The Mixing Room at JW Marriott - LA LIVE

The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles

900 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, 90015

(213) 765-8800

$25 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

Watch the game on 50 inch TV inside and outside.

BURBANK:

Tony's Dart Away

1710 Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506

(818) 253-1710

Special: $20 All-You-Can-Drink Beer, complimentary light bar snacks. 

ECHO PARK:

Mohawk Bend 

All-You-Can-Drink-Beer (on tap) and All-You-Can-Eat-Pizza (three vegan and three non-vegan) for $30. 

SHERMAN OAKS:

Mad Bull's Tavern's

14649 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, 91403

(818) 379-9511

ENCINO:

El Mariachi Mexican Grill and Sports Cantina

15627 Ventura Blvd, Encino, 91436

(818) 380-0160

Let's Go Niners! 

Hot Color Trend for 2013

It's a new year which means a new trend of colors in interior design.  Let's take a look at them.

 GREEN

With a growing interest in sustainability and nature, green earned it's right to be on the list.  Traditional palettes of avocado and chartreuse will remain popular, but expect more toned greens like olive and gray-green. 

Pink

Pink has finally made the leap into adulthood...jk... but seriously, the newest mix version of magenta, like an elegant blush is making a mature statement.

Neutral

Dark wood colors like walnut or coffee.  You can include blonde and honey.  

Gray

Sophistication and eclectic design, this neutral palettes can be created using the gray family.  Warm or cool, the color lends itself to texture, emphasizing a tactility not always found within a color spectrum.  

Purple

Great on patterns and textures, purple lies in subtlety.  For example, a gray hue with a purple tint. 

White

We are not talking about plain vanilla here... white is getting softer.  How? white is getting mixed with a spectrum of blues, greens, and grays to create a palette more conducive to pastels. 

BLUE TONES

It's the color of trust! During a time of economic and social unrest, it makes this an attractive hue.  HOT  RIGHT NOW: monochromatic schemes of mid-tone blues. 

Red/Orange

Two colors grouped into one category. Yes! Cool shades of red are losing it's ground compared to warm, yellow undertones.  Hot Red/Orange palette appears on luxury cars.

Yellow

This color is adding excitement to neutral surroundings

Economists say this could finally be the year that housing lifts us out of the housing slump

by Yvette Betancourt

Can this be the year that housing market and economy will have a full big sign that the recovery is in full swing?  According to half of economists surveyed by CNNMoney says "Yes."  Not just in housing but also in consumer spending, increased domestic energy production and stimulus from the Feds.

Homebuilding will be stronger than before.  Home sales rebounded to the strongest level in five years in 2012.  What is the cause?  We have the record low mortgage rates, rising home prices and drop in foreclosures to thank for being buyers back to the market.  

There will be a lot of pent-up demand for housing.  This will cause a home builders to start building which means a growth in job for not just construction jobs but manufacturing jobs.  

Would you agree or disagree?

Moderation Is Key

It's a seller's market for homes that are priced right and guess what? Not all those properties are updated homes. Yup.... certain updates will help your home re-sell better in your local market.

So before you go all renovation crazy on your property, give me a call to help you determine which upgrades may help your property sell in less time.

Call me today at (818) 384-5928 or (818) 380-5227. 

New Rule for Appraisals

Let's thank the CFPB for another new rule.  Just this month, they introduce the new requirement for lender's to qualify buyer based on their ability to repay.  Just recently, they announced that lender will provide a free copy of appraisal and other home value estimates to mortgage applicants.   This sounds like a great rule to me! 

Within three days of receiving a loan application, creditors will inform consumer of their right to receive  copies of the appraisal. Better yet, creditors would be required to provide appraisal copies and other home valuations to consumer at least three days before closing.

How is this different with today's appraisals?  

simple. Today, consumers pay for appraisals but the current law does not require lenders to send appraisal copies unless the homeowners request it.  

so if you are currenlty in escrow and using lending to finance your home.... request a copy of the appraisal report! It's your right.  

As for this new rule... it will take effect in January 2014 and will apply to first-lien mortgages. 

Until then....get your free appraisal copy. 

Not on the MLS. Exclusive Listing. Brand New Construction

New rule requires proof of buyer's ability to repay.

If lending can't get anymore difficult than it already is. (sigh) I suppose all these new requirements and rules are for the welfare of the real estate market and the borrowers. 

Announce today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stated that after January 10, 2014, lender will be required to verify a buyers ability to repay.  Under the rule, lenders will have to determine if the borrower has the financial means to pay both the principal and interest on the new mortgage over the long term.  

To determine the borrower's ability to repay, there will be eight underwriting criteria.

1) current employment status - today, underwriter look at your past two years of employment

2) current income and assets - today, it's the past two years of income taxes document straight from the IRS.

3) current debt obligations - credit check

4) credit history

5) monthly payments on the mortgage

6) monthly payments on any other mortgages on the same property

7) monthly payments for other mortgage-related obligations, such as property taxes

8) monthly debt-to-income ratio or residual income the borrower would be taking on the mortgage

A qualified mortgage prohibits:

1) excessive points and fees tacked on to upfront origination costs.  

2) risky loan features such as a term that exceeds 30 years

3) interest-only payments that don't pay down a mortgage's principal

4) negative amortization payments where the principal amount increase

5) no balloon payment at the end of the loan term except, under certain circumstances, made by smaller creditor in rural or underserved area

6) the borrower's debt-to-income ratio (total monthly debt divided by total monthly gross income) cannot exceed 43 percent

What about government-backed loans?

For now, there is an temporary exemption for government-backed loans where the debt-to-income ratios is above 43 percent will be considered qualified mortgages if they meet underwriter requirement of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, VA, USDA, or rural housing service.

More information regarding this new rule will come throughout this year.  It does make a good argument of now is the time to refinance, sell, and buy a home this year.  With housing prices and rental prices already on the rise and a multiple offer being more common....now is a good time to buy.  As a renter, this news allows me to prepare my finances for the new rule. 

For more information about this new rule and all rules applied in 2013, click here.

For information on your local market in the San Fernando Valley or Westside, contact me. 

Temporary Wallpaper for A Quick Updated look for your home

As realtors, we give our clients our professional opinions because we hear buyers everyday and have a good understanding about the wants and needs they search.  Sellers hesitate to do updates because of time and funds.  What if I told you there was a quick fix. Nothing perment but something that could make an outdated room more updated within an hour instead of weeks. 

There is a great product called Tempaper.  Tempaper is self-adhesive, "peel-and-stick", temporary wallpaper that eliminates the need for paste or water.  It is fun and high-impact decorating for those who do not want to make a long-term commitment to a permanent design or renters who can't!  The wallpaper design came in various design pattern and custom pattern.  As a renter, I am going to invest in Tempaper to give my vanilla walls a bit more of my personal style than just wall art. 

Don't believe me how simple this wallpaper can be? Watch the video below:

Ralph's Fresh Fare Framing is Up

by Yvette Betancourt

Signs of progress is very visible on Ventura blvd for Sherman Oaks' brand new Ralph's Fresh Fare.  If construction continues to go at this pace, hopefully we could see a grand opening by the end of this year.   

2013 Housing Prediction from Freddie Mac

by Yvette Betancourt

Here it is! Straight from Freddie Mac's Frank Nothaft, chief economic's for Freddie Mac!  So what does he predict for 2013 housing ?

Housing Activities

The turnaround was in 2013 and 2013 will continue to pick up. Nationwide, home sales were up 9% in 2012 from 2011.   Frank Nothaft predicts housing prices could rise an additional 20 percent and home sales rise another 8% to 10%.  Great News for Southern California as he see a pickup in home prices and sales. 

Mortgage Rates

Rates will stay very low due to the Fed's decision to continue buying up large quantities of mortgage-backed securities.  The 20 year fixed conforming loan rate is expected to remain below 4%.

Distressed Levels

 Foreclosure reamin at high levels but the "shadow inventory" has come down during the past two years.  There is still 3 million homes that are in serious delinquent. Bank Owned home supply will be limited in 2013.

Progress of Recovery

The Fed recognized that the housing market has been lagging and they introduce Operation Twist and dedicated to push mortgage rates to record-low levels.  

Sounds like a 2012 housing year with increase in sale prices and sales.  Sounds like a great time to buy and take advance of the low interest rates.  Perhaps time to sell and get top dollar for your property. 

Four or Five Burner?

4755CedrosAve.com

I feel like this question is like asking if you like apple or oranges? The advantage to a five burner than a four burner is that usage of the fifth burner.  Typically the fifth burner is for small jobs like melting butter or making a sauce. The biggest advantage is the use of griddle!!! Yes, it is a luxury but its a beautiful luxury.

My mother used to have an O'Keefe stove with the built-in griddle and she would do pancakes and homemade tortillas. When my sisters and I would try to connivence her to use an electric grill....she would just say "NO."  Now my mother sadly traded her O'keefe to a four burner cook top and she looks like she lost a friend.

Five burner or four burner is a personal preference.  It depends on your chef's cooking ability.    Just like an apple or orange.

Selling Tip: DeClutter Rooms

by Yvette Betancourt

Oh buyers... we love them and don't understand them.  At least until we, ourselves, become buyers.  In the end, a buyer won't buy a house if they can't see the square footage, so clear it out and clean it up. Clutter will give the illusion that the space is too small or odd.

When buyer are motivated, buyer imagine our their furniture would fix and use the existing furniture as ball-park measurement.

Congress passed the extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007

As a part of the Fiscal meeting yesterday, Congress passed the extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 till end of 2013!