Buying and selling a home in Los Angeles can be a daunting experience, but there are things you can do to make the process easier and more pleasant. Buyers: Do you know what comes with the home by default? Did you know that you can ask for anything in your purchase offer? You should certainly …
Compared with prices on the Los Angeles’ Westside, living in west San Fernando Valley looks affordable. For the purposes of this post I will talk about single family homes which you can barely find under $1 million in the featured communities listed on my site. Out of the 26 selected communities which do not include …
Living in West San Fernando Valley is Still Affordable Read More »
If you are an out-of-town Los Angeles home buyer the process may be different if you have bought a home in another State. In fact it probably is. California is an escrow state. What is Escrow? Escrow is a neutral party acting between the buyer and seller in the home sales process. They are provided with …
We have all heard the news of the Federal interest rate hike of .25% and if you are in the market to buy a home you may be wondering how rising mortgage rates will affect the Los Angeles real estate market. Reproduced with the permission of Mortgage-X.com Firstly, this all needs to be put into …
How Will Rising Mortgage Rates Affect Los Angeles Real Estate Market? Read More »
It has been very quiet of late in the Wilshire Corridor condo market. Very little is coming on the market, either for sale or lease. We will compare the third quarter of last year with the third quarter of this year, which is no quite over but close enough. 50 units were sold. Compared to last …
How is the Wilshire Corridor Condo Market? What’s For Sale? Read More »
Buying a home in Los Angeles is not just a matter of putting down money for the down payment, getting a mortgage and then paying interest on that mortgage. There are other hidden costs which need to be considered: If you are getting a loan your lender will provide you with an estimate of these …
Should I buy or should I rent a home in Los Angeles? The simple answer is if you can you should most definitely buy, but things are more complicated than that. I am the perfect example of someone who has rented all their life. I do have the excuse of not having stayed in one …
Should I Buy or Should I Rent a Home in Los Angeles? Read More »
Buying a home in Los Angeles is not just a matter of looking for one, you need to be ready to make the purchase. Without a formal confirmation from a lender that you qualify for a loan you will not be able to make an offer on a property. And in a sellers’ market you need to make yourself competitive.
When looking for a home to buy in Los Angeles you may be surfing the internet. Don’t assume the site on which you land is that of the listing agent. There is more about why you should not use the listing agent to represent you, but this post is to educate the consumer on what an Internet Data Exchange is (IDX).
When you have found the home you love, your real estate agent will help you decide how to structure your offer in a way that it will be accepted. Here are some points to consider:
The amount of earnest money. This is usually 3% of the purchase price.
The down payment and financing details. Putting anything less than 20% down will most probably result in you having to pay Private Mortgage Insurance, and also will make you less competitive in a sellers’ market.
