We Love: Mint.com
April 21st, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Real Estate News, Tips & Tools
Believe it or not, there’s a fun and easy way to manage your money! We love how the folks at mint.com have innovated budget planning, and wanted to share it with you. Let us know what you think and if you have any money managing tools you’d like to share with us. Happy bookkeeping!
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Stabilizing at Last?
April 15th, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Real Estate News
Our topsy-turvy Los Angeles market is finally leveling off, it seems! With median home prices holding steady for three entire months in a row, both the L.A. Times and Bloomberg are reporting that the freefall has finally reachced its end. We think.
Any questions about the local market? Still wondering whether it’s a good time for you to buy or sell? The answer is probably “yes” — but feel free to drop me an email or call the office if you’d like to chat about it!
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Five Rules for Buying…Abroad
April 14th, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Tips & Tools
The local real estate market may be picking up, but what about Prague or Pamplona? The Times (of London, that is) gives you five great rules of thumb for buying property abroad. Whether you’re considering a second home, a vacation rental or an investment property, there’s a lot to be taken into consideration. That amazing little villa two hours outside of Dijon might not be a great rental if no one can get to it…and is that condo in Frankfurt such a steal because it’s adjacent to the worst neighborhood in town? Do plenty of research, and definitely work with a seasoned local real estate professional…you might just end up with the vacation home of your dreams!
PS: If you’re interested in international real estate, check out some of our own international listings at thevaleriefitzgeraldgroup.com!
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Real Estate Price Declines - How Does L.A. Compare?
April 9th, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Real Estate News
We’re finally seeing local home prices level off, and we’re also seeing an increase in listing and sales activity — both great news for the Los Angeles real estate market. But the last year or so has been a pretty wild ride…and not just for us. This great interactive chart from the New York Times compares how prices in major U.S. cities have risen and fallen (and risen, and fallen, and risen, and…) over the last few years. We’re looking forward to seeing those bars go back up again!
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Cooking Demonstrations At Two Rodeo Drive
April 7th, 2009 Categories: Events in Los Angeles, Real Estate News
Every Saturday in April from 11am to 4pm, Two Rodeo Drive will host cooking demonstrations on Via Rodeo. Come watch as culinary masterpieces are prepared by the executive chefs of some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants! Wine pairings will be offered for each prepared dish by a sommelier and will offer a 10% discount on all purchases. Live entertainment too! Fun and all for a good cause: Provide a donation to the LA Foodbank in the form of canned goods, non-perishables or a donation of $5 or more and get $7 off your all-day parking at Two Rodeo on the day of the show.
Click here if you need more info — we hope to see you there!
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What does a trillion dollars look like?
April 3rd, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, Tips & Tools
With all the news about financial crises, stock market volumes and bailout plans lately, we’ve been hearing some pretty big numbers thrown around. It’s one thing seeing them written out (that’s a LOT of zeroes), but seeing a physical representation of that much cash is a lot different. Pagetutor.com decided to show us exactly what a trillion dollars looks like in bundles of hundred dollar bills…and it’s absolutely mind-blowing!
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Mortgage Rates are at Historical Lows!
April 1st, 2009 Categories: Buying a Home, Real Estate News
Mortgage rates are at historical lows. This article from U.S. News & World Report clearly explains all the moving parts and how it impacts borrowers. There are some great deals out there, so please email me with any questions.
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For new home builders…or window shoppers!
March 27th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, Tips & Tools
Many of us love looking at houses…even if we aren’t going to buy any time soon. And some of us like to take that one step further, ooh-ing and ah-ing over homes that only exist on paper. That makes Houseplans.com both a great resource for those who want to build their own home, AND a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
With plans for nearly 30,000 different homes online, surely your own dream home is up there somewhere. Plus, many of the plans come in a variety of sizes and configurations, and they’ve even got a module to let you “draw” your own changes and edits onscreen. Styles run the whole gamut from quaint cottages to Greek revival to Spanish to architectural (like this one we love — sleek design, and a clever way to work with steeply sloping ground). Now all you need is a lot!
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Not ready to sell? Why not give your own home a fresh look?
March 24th, 2009 Categories: Tips & Tools
Maybe a move isn’t in the cards for you right now, but it’s never a bad time to do a little redecorating. But some people are really daunted when it comes to choosing new paint colors — with so many choices, how do you figure out what you want? And how do you know what it’ll look like once it’s up? The sites below can give you a hand with that. Some of the services are free and some require a subscription, but all three are great tools for picking out a new look for your home. Explore color schemes, wall and trim colors, special paint effects and more…before you commit!
Bob Vila’s site features an Exterior Designer that’s your best bet for envisioning new paint, trim and accent colors for your exterior.
Benjamin Moore’s Personal Color Viewer lets you try on paint and trim colors in a variety of sample rooms in different styles.
The Behr Paints site has a number of ways to explore and try out new colors. You can see your selected shades on sample photos for free — but for only $4.95 per year, you can not only try on paint colors *and* color wash, sponge and rag effects, but you can also upload your own photos and try them out in your very own rooms. Go to the Behr site and click on “Start ColorSmart.”
But maybe you need a little direction to get you started? Take the Style Quiz at Sproost and see what your room preferences say about your own personal style.
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Before You Decide To Lease Your Home…
March 11th, 2009 Categories: Real Estate News, Tips & Tools
The Washington Post takes a look at the pros (and cons) of leasing out your property in today’s market, rather than selling. The article makes a number of good points about how to find and screen tenants, whether to use a leasing management company, and tax advantages you can gain from an investment property. One thing we’ll take exception to, though, is the idea that you should shelve your plans to sell your existing home and buy something larger (or that otherwise better fits your needs) until prices rise again. For one thing, you can’t know exactly how long it’s going to take for the value of your home to rise above what it was when you purchased it — and why put your life and needs on hold indefinitely? Second, and equally important, is the fact that though you may be selling your existing property for less than what you perceive as its “value” — you’ll also be buying your new home at a far lower value as well — so that when home prices do rise again, your net gains would be higher on the higher-priced home. The bottom line — do what’s right for you!
If you have interest in leasing out your property, don’t hesitate to contact me.
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