2008 N. Rose in Burbank is on the market for $505,000

Just when you thought that there was nothing to buy, along comes this lgem.  The seller has maintained it and updated it extremely well, and now it's time for other folks to put their personal stamp on it.  It will be open next Sunday, April 6; please call me if you'd like to see it sooner.

Interactive FloorPlan Presentation

Here's the mls description: Move right in to this 3 bedroom, 1 bath, pride-of-ownership North Burbank home. Remodeled kitchen with gorgeous new cabinets, new counter tops and new appliances, remodeled bath with double sinks, glossy hardwood floors and ceramic tile, a/c plus ceiling fans, newer double-pane windows, newer outer doors, 2 car garage with laundry plus workshop.  The huge grassy yard is big enough for a pool or home expansion.  Airport sound retrofitting completed.  Terrific neighborhood with great Burbank schools and city services. 1016 sf, originally built in 1944.

Listing next week: Lovely 3 bedroom, 1 bath in North Burbank

I will be listing this lovely home early next week and the open house for it will be Sunday, April 6.  It has been wonderfully maintained and upgraded and features a brand new kitchen (see above).  It will be on the market for $505,000.  I will have more info soon but feel free to contact me with any questions.

Ask me anything: do cash offers ALWAYS prevail over financed offers for a house?

No, a home buyer's all cash offer DOES NOT always win out over an offer with a loan.  These days, it seems like many buyers are wonderfully qualified by truly talented direct lenders. (I will be blogging about this when my 848 N. Avon property in Burbank closes next week.)  If you are a property buyer out there in Burbank, Studio City or anywhere else in the east San Fernando Valley or Northern Los Angeles area, and you need a loan in order to purchase a home, here's what you can do:
- Get pre-approved by a direct lender, such as Prospect, Wintrust, or Madison Lending. You can also go to property lenders at Chase or Wells Fargo. And by all means, check with your credit union.  That means, yes, filling out all of the paperwork and turning in all your needed financial documents.
- Please stay away from "middle-men" lenders who just take your paperwork and then push it out to a random lender.
- Do this in advance.  Please don't wait until you've already found the house.  You'll have to get the paperwork together eventually anyway.
- Clean up any credit issues.  Your lender can help you with identifying what these may be.
- Save as much money as possible.  I know this is hard, but perhaps you can defer big purchases for one more year.
- Gifts from family members are good, but please make sure they are indeed gifts and there is no expectation of a payback.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns re home buying!

Are you on Nextdoor.com yet?

Nextdoor


Have you signed up for Nextdoor.com? It's the new, private social micro-network for your neighborhood. You join to learn -- and post -- about neighborhood events such as gatherings, crime, lost and found things, school events, pets, etc. The site is FREE and advertising-free, plus it anonymizes your info so that all people see of you is your name -- they don't have your address or direct email unless you want to give it out.  You can choose to be connected to other close-by neighborhoods, or not, and there is no obligation of any kind.  You can apply on the site (they confirm your address), or one of your neighbors must invite you.

If you're in the Studio City - Woodbridge Park area, you're in my Nextdoor.com area.  Gary Steinberg, my Realtor-Partner for the area, has done a beautiful job in being lead for our area, and you may see us out meeting the neighbors in our 'hood too.

Earthquake! More stuff for homeowners to think about

We just had an earthquake.  It felt stronger than it was, mostly because it was pretty close by and not, say, out in the ocean.  OF COURSE you've all checked your earthquake safety kits by now, but here are a couple of other things to think about:

-  If your chimney isn't braced, now is the time to think about having that done.  Better yet, have an entire fireplace and chimney inspection.

- Many homes are bolted to the foundation.  Is yours?

- If you have an old-school water heater, please check its pipes for any small leaks or tears.

- Regarding your pets, experts say that dogs run and cats hide.  Make sure tags are up to date and every furry family member is microchipped.

- Make sure you have plenty of coffee on hand.  You will need help waking up after that.  Kidding.

Do you have any earthquake tips to share?

Sunday reading about real estate from the Los Angeles Times

Two interesting articles about real estate appeared in today's L.A. Times.  The first is "Helping your appraiser do the best job" and the link is here. The article begins, "Your home is on the market. You found buyers, a nice young couple just starting out, and they're sold on the home. But wait — there's one more person you have to sell: the appraiser." I'll say.  Elsewhere, the article discusses the need to give the appraiser good comparables.  The listing agent should supply these -- I always do for my listings.

The second article is "4 million homeowners climb out of negative equity" and the link is here.  Just as I been tellin' ya, eh? One of the more interesting points: "[With] 12.6% of mortgaged homes underwater, California has a lower overall negative rate than the national average (13.3%)." I would bet that L.A. County's rate is even lower.  No more short sales! Yay! 

North Hollywood, Studio City and Toluca Lake are really safe

Sgt. Carmona of the LAPD spoke to our Studio City residents meeting last night.  He told us that crime in the Noho, Studio City and Toluca Lake areas is down to 1956 levels.  The most frequent criminal acts are car break-ins.  And there hasn't been a single homicide in the area this year.  Mercifully.

Multiple offers for my Magnolia Park/Burbank listing

Burbank's Magnolia Park is way hot. Yes, we received multiple offers (eleven) for this nice home at 848 N.Avon in Burbank and we are now in escrow.  I was very pleasantly surprised at how qualified almost all of the would-be buyers are/were.  Last Sunday's open house was attended by 213 people -- a record turnout -- and most appeared to be serious buyers, not just looky-loos.  If you attended the open house, thanks so much for coming.

Ask me anything: How do I know that I am not pricing my house too low?

You're not.  Final sales prices today reflect the full market value.  How does that work?  Today's market is full of very sophisticated buyers ("the market") chasing very few properties.  The buyers have many tools at their disposal for evaluating the price of a specific property. And, they compete against each other for your house (unless your home is somehow stigmatized).  And we know what competition does -- it drives prices up, and you will get what "the market" determines your home is worth. Coming soon: what factors determine value?

Record-breaking turnout at my open house today in Burbank's Magnolia Park

I held 848 N. Avon in Burbank open today, and it was the busiest open house I've ever had.  We had 213 people through.  My previous record was 198, last year on Cordova.  I think this is due to the low level of house-for-sale inventory -- many, many qualified buyers, not so many sellers.