No interest rate hike in 2015? That's good news for buyers.

Check out this article from today's L.A. Times here.  Interest rates, including mortgage interest rates, won't be going up this year. This contradicts pretty much everything the Fed has been saying about interest rate hikes since the beginning of 2015, but hey, I'll take it.

99 Homes -- powerful new movie about real estate

I have often found it odd that there are no contemporary films or fictional tv shows about real estate. (Feel free to correct me on this.) After all, isn't the r.e. crash what caused our Great Recession? Perhaps HGtv has sucked up all the interest in the topic?

99 Homes, a new movie about the r.e. crash in Florida, changes that. I saw it last night. It has the unique distinction of being realistic with both language and details about the housing downturn (I even learned about some scams I haven't heard of before).  The most riveting -- and cringe-worthy -- parts are the several scenes of people being evicted from their homes.  It's really worth seeing "lest we forget." Here's hoping this never happens again.

Sound interesting? Or not?  It's rated really highly on Rotten Tomatoes and I highly recommend it. Here's the Google synopsis and two review blurbs.

- A desperate construction worker (Andrew Garfield) reluctantly accepts a job with the ruthless real-estate broker (Michael Shannon) who evicted him and his family from their home. 
- 99 Homes is a stunningly effective melodrama of flipped houses and mortgaged souls.
-The perils of illegally gained One Percent privilege make for engrossing, high-stakes viewing

Before and after with JB and Karen

Clients JB and Karen bought a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in an older Sherman Oaks building last year.   As you see, the kitchen wasn't anything to write home about.  The remainder of the unit is pretty basic, too.

And here's the after picture.  Karen and JB both have full-time jobs, aren't flippers, haven't done this before and just got married as well.  Even though they only got to this project on weekends, they managed to turn the kitchen/dining area into a show place.  Kudos, guys! I look forward to seeing what else you do with the condo.