Your Los Angeles Home-Buyers Road Map!

On the road to home-ownership,their are many stops and usually the home search is the fun part in many people’s minds, but their are several steps that take place before and after the home tours. 

The Ten basic Steps To Buying A Home In L.A. : 

1) Consult A Realtor (Me)  – Starting your journey with a Realtor is a wise beginning. An experienced local Realtor not only knows the neighborhoods and values, but can bring together a team of real estate professionals that can give you expert service. Your real estate agent will help you find the lender and loan product that works for your specific needs. A real estate agent will have a team of inspectors, title attorney, and service specialists to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle are there.

2) Pre-Qualification – With the recommendation of your Realtor, a credible, local lender will be your first stop on the road. Often with just a phone call, your lender can pre-qualify you for an amount that will guide you in your home search. Not knowing how much you can afford often leads buyers down an “imaginary road”, where they get their hopes set on something that they may not be able to afford, only to find disappointment. Equally important, the lender issues a Pre-Qualification Letter that is of "utmost value" when a buyer makes an offer. Without it, the sellers will not take the offer seriously.

3) House Hunting – Your local real estate expert will be invaluable in helping you navigate the local neighborhoods. An experienced buyer’s agent can listen to your wants and needs, and guide you to the neighborhood and the home that is right for you.

4) Making an Offer – A buyer’s agent will do an analysis of the current values, helping you know what the home is worth in the present market, with the level of interest and conditions. This will guide you to make an offer that will stand the best chance of acceptance, while keeping your best interests in mind.

5) There are many parts to a good, strong offer:
a. Market Value
b. Contingencies – Financing, Home Inspection, Appraisal, Time frames… these are just a few.
c. Time Frames
d. Seller’s Motivations
e. Loan Product
f. Strategies – Many people don’t realize that there is a strategy involved in reaching a “win-win” in the home buying process.

6) Negotiations & Re-negotiations

7) Formal Loan Application

8) Inspections

9) Appraisal – “The Second Sale”

10) Closing! - Your Realtor can help you coordinate the paperwork and all the moving parts of the transaction.

Most home buyers will purchase a home an average of one time every 7 to 10 years. Your local real estate agent helps buyers and sellers every day, 365 days a year, Let that experience work for you as you embark on your home buyer’s journey by giving me a call. I would love to make your dream of homeownership a reality! 

Stefen Lee Liberti

Exclusive Representation Exceptional Results

Buying/ Selling/ Leasing/ Investing
Call me today if I can be of assistance.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
I welcome your referrals. :)

Advantages a homeowner has when they use a real estate professional to help sell their home.

Their are many advantages a homeowner has when they use a real estate professional to help sell their home. It’s good to know that FannieMae agrees.

Listed below are a few of the advantages a Realtor will help with in the sale of your home.

★Selling Your Home.

Maybe you've outgrown your current space…or you want to move into a better neighborhood…or you simply want to move closer to your work. Whatever the reason for moving, there are a few to-do's before the "For Sale" sign goes up:

★Determine Affordability

Look at what you owe on your current home (your unpaid principal balance) and what your home is worth today (see below for help estimating). Then factor in other costs associated with selling your home, such as: any needed home improvement costs; closing costs; moving costs, etc. Make sure you are aware of the financial consequences of selling your home (and moving to a new one) before you take the next step.

★Review Market Conditions

Analyze your local market, including the current inventory of homes for sale, recent sales, and housing prices. Are homes moving quickly, or are they staying on the market for a long time? Are you prepared for a quick sale or do you need time to find a new home?

★Decide How to List

Select how you'll market and list the home (e.g., with a real estate agent).Unless you are experienced at selling homes, it usually makes financial sense to get professional help—homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price and spend less time on the market. An agent will also help you determine the best pricing for the house, they'll market the home, and they'll be your advocate throughout the process.

★Be Prepared

Inspect your home—inside and out—for needed repairs, cosmetic updates, and general maintenance. Don't make the mistake of not thoroughly inspecting your home to look for areas of improvement.

Finally, you might consider talking to a staging specialist, or staging the home yourself, to maximize your home's appeal to buyers.

If you're thinking of putting your home up for sale, I would love to discuss all of these with you. 

★5 FINANCIAL REASONS TO BUY A HOUSE TODAY★

1.) Housing is typically the one leveraged investment available. 

“Few households are interested in borrowing money to buy stocks and bonds and few lenders are willing to lend them the money. As a result, homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. Even a hefty 20 percent down payment results in a leverage factor of five so that every percentage point rise in the value of the home is a 5 percent return on their equity. With many buyers putting 10 percent or less down, their leverage factor is 10 or more.”

2.) You're paying for housing whether you own or rent. 

“Homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord.”

3.) Owning is usually a form of “forced savings”.

“Since many people have trouble saving and have to make a housing payment one way or the other, owning a home can overcome people’s tendency to defer savings to another day.”

4.) There are substantial tax benefits to owning. 

“Homeowners are able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from income...On top of all this, capital gains up to $250,000 are excluded from income for single filers and up to $500,000 for married couples if they sell their homes for a gain.”

5.) Owning is a hedge against inflation.

“Housing costs and rents have tended over most time periods to go up at or higher than the rate of inflation, making owning an attractive proposition.”

★Bottom Line★

Homeownership makes sense for many Americans for many social and family reasons. It also makes sense financially. If you're thinking of buying a home, give me a call. I would love to help you find the perfect home.

8 TERMS TO KNOW BEFORE BECOMING A HOMEOWNER

The financial jargon that comes with buying a home can be downright mystifying to first-time purchasers. To help make the process of buying that dream home less daunting, here is a primer on the important terms to know. 

1. Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI)
The percentage of your monthly gross income (that is, income before taxes) that goes toward paying debts, such as credit cards and loans. Not surprising, the lower your DTI, the better your chances of qualifying for a mortgage. As a general rule of thumb, you want to target a DTI of 36 percent or less.

2. Monthly Payment
Your monthly payment includes a portion of principal (amount of money borrowed or the outstanding balance on a loan) and interest. It also may include amounts for the escrow of taxes and insurance.

3. Interest Rate
Your interest rate is the cost of borrowing money expressed as a percentage. For example, if you borrow money at a 5 percent fixed interest rate for a year, the interest charged will be 5 percent of the total amount borrowed. Your interest rate, along with the term and loan amount, determines the size of your monthly principal and interest payment.

4. Fixed Rate Mortgages
With a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate never increases. Even if rates go up, your rate will remain the same. This makes budgeting easier. Lenders generally offer fixed rate mortgages for 10, 15 and 30 years. The longer the term of your loan, the lower your monthly payment will be. With a shorter term, though your payment may be higher, you're likely to build equity faster. Fixed rate mortgages are one of the most popular choices for homeowners, especially those who plan to stay in their home for many years.

5. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM)
With an ARM, you pay a lower, fixed interest rate for a set period of time. Then, the rate adjusts based on financial markets for the remainder of the loan term. As a result, your monthly payment could change as the interest rate changes. For example, a 5/1 ARM is fixed for the first five years, then adjusts every year thereafter. An adjustable rate mortgage may be a good choice if you're confident that interest rates are likely to remain stable or go down in the future.

6. Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
APR represents the total cost of borrowing money for a mortgage - including certain closing costs, interest, finance charges and points - over the full term of the loan, expressed as an annual rate. By helping you determine the true cost of your mortgage, the APR lets you compare different types of mortgages offered by different lenders. All lenders calculate the APR according to federal requirements and are required by law to provide the specific APR for your mortgage in the Truth in Lending disclosure.

7. Points
A point is a fee equal to 1 percent of your loan amount. You may be able to pay points, depending on the mortgage option selected, to lower your interest rate - these also are referred to asdiscount points. Alternately, you may be able to select a higher interest rate and receive a credit against closing costs. These are known as rebate points. The longer you plan on staying in your home, the more likely you are to benefit from paying points. To determine if paying points is right for you, you should calculate how long it will take for the initial cost to equal the savings you'll realize through the reduction in your monthly payments. This is sometimes called a "break-even point."

8. Amortization Schedule
This is a snapshot of how the interest and principal components of your loan change over time as payments are made. In the beginning, your interest component typically will exceed the principal repayment component. If you have a fixed rate mortgage, your monthly payment stays the same, but the portion of the payment that goes toward principal will increase over time. The interest portion of the payment is calculated on the scheduled amount owed each month. 

HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL!

★ATTENTION LOS ANGELES BUYERS★

House Hunting? Print out this Checklist!

If you’re house-hunting and want to do it Stefen-style, here is what you’ll need:

1) A good agent (me) who will let you control the pace

2) A digital camera or smart phone for taking photos/short videos.

3) My handy-dandy house hunting checklist. Print a stack of them so you have one for each house you plan to visit. Print out a few extras in case you tour an open house or add a last minute one to the list.

4) A stapler. Attach the completed checklist to the listing provided by the agent as well as any flyers or information you pick up for each house.

*To help ensure the success, here is the process you will want to implement:

1.) Examine the neighborhood. If good, tour the home.

2.) Take photos to help jar our memory if it ended up a front runner.

3.) Make notes on the spreadsheet about pros and cons.

4.) Rate each house on a scale of 1 to 10.

5.) Revisit the front runners for follow-up walk-thrus; talk to some of the neighbors, if possible.

6.) Go to the house AT NIGHT. You learn so much about a neighborhood when people should be home and sleeping. In a neighborhood with garages, seeing a lot of cars parked in the street isn’t a good sign. How about noise levels? You may notice there is poor lighting or even see street lights that beam into your house that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

7.) Make an offer

8.) Become owner of a new home.

How important is the asking price when selling a house?

How important is the asking price when selling a house?   

When it comes to selling a home, one of the most difficult pieces of the puzzle is pricing. And as a Realtor, it can be one of the most difficult conversations to have with clients.

When you sell a house, the thing that will attract buyers more than anything else is the price. Buyers and Realtors use the price to sort out potential properties when they search MLS.

Many buyers want to be in a certain neighborhood or a certain area for a certain price. If your home is priced higher than all the other homes in the neighborhood it can be very difficult to sell.

Most buyers have expectations for what certain areas cost and if a home is significantly more than that expectation, many buyers may never consider that home or even see it. You may also run into an appraisal issue if the house is priced to high above market value.

Different types of markets will change how you sell a house. In a seller’s market (which we're in now) there is much more flexibility with asking price. I may actually price homes a little high in a seller’s market because there is very little competition. In a seller’s market, many buyers are looking for homes, but there are only a few homes for sale. Even if I price a home a little high, buyers will still look at the home and may offer less than asking, but still make an offer.

In a buyer’s market everything changes when you sell a house.I may price a home slightly below what I think market value is. I may do this because I don’t want to get caught chasing a decreasing market. When chasing a decreasing market, you may try to lower your price to get buyers, but you can’t seem to lower it enough to catch the decreasing prices.

Your home ends up on the market 3 months or more and it becomes stigmatized. Whenever a house is in the market for an extended period, buyers automatically think something is wrong with it. Even if the price is great and the home is perfect, buyers will think there must be some reason no one else has bought it.

If you have thought about listing your home, I would love to offer you a free market analysis on your property. Give me a call and we can discuss your options!
Hope this was helpful. 

★ECONOMIC UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING 5/17/14★

                               ★ECONOMIC UPDATE FOR WEEK ENDING 5/17/14★

Home mortgage rates dropped this week to the lowest levels of the year! This was due to a combination of some lower than expected profits on Wall Street, worries that the stock market may be topping out, and an influx of foreign money looking for safety. *Money moving to treasury bonds rather than stocks drives rates down. 

In a positive sign for the economy, the number of Americans filing first-time jobless benefits fell last week to a seven-year low. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 in the week ended May 10, making this the lowest reading since May 2007.

The number of continuing unemployment benefits also hit a new low, it fell by 9,000 to 2,667,000 in the week ending May 3 which marked the lowest level since December 2007.

California reported that the economy added 56,100 jobs in April. This far exceeded the 14,600 added in March! The state unemployment rate dropped to 7.8%, a 6 year low!

★RATES★
The Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that the 30-year-fixed rate hit a new low for the year, falling to 4.20% from 4.21% last week. 
The 15-year-fixed fell to 3.29% from last week’s 3.32%. A year ago the 30-year fixed was at 3.51% and the 15-year was at 2.69%. Loans over $417,000 are a little higher: 4.5% for 30 year fixed and 3.6% for 15 year fixed.

★TREASURY★
The 10 year Treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.52%. It was 2.61% last Friday and 1.87% a year ago. Last May and June is when we saw a spike in interest rates last year, so the year over year increase will be gone by June. We will even see a year over year drop if rates stay stable or even rise slightly!

★STOCKS★
After a volatile week of ups and downs, the closing numbers on Friday showed little change. The Dow closed at 16,491.31 down -0.55% from last week’s close of 16,583.34. The Nasdaq closed at 4,090.59 up .46% from last week’s close of 4,071.87. The S&P 500 ended the week at 1,877.86, down -0.03% from last week’s 1,878.48.

★HOME SALES★
DataQuick reported that the median sales price in the six-county South land region rose 1% from March to $404,000 and up 13.2% from $357,000 in April 2013. The median price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 25 consecutive months. A total of 20,008 new and resale houses and condos sold in the South land, up 13.4% from 17,638 sales in March but down -6.6% from 21,415 sales in April of last year. On average sales generally increased 1.4% between March and April since 1988 when DataQuick started counting these statistics. 

South land sales have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months but last month’s was the smallest decline since last October and although April 2014 sales were lower than April 2013 sales they were higher than the amount of homes sold in both April 2012 and April 2011. In Los Angeles County alone, sales were down -7.0% year over year from 7,140 to 6,642 while the median price rose 11.6% from $395,000 to $441,000.

★CONSUMER OPINION★
Respondents to Fannie Mae’s April 2014 National Housing Survey continued to express positive feelings about the real estate market. The amount of respondents who believe it is a good time to sell a house rose to an all-time high of 42%. The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy a home held steady at 69%.

Consumers are less optimistic about their ability to get a mortgage, 45% of respondents said it would be easy to get a mortgage today, down -7% from last month. Those who believe prices will rise was up to 50% from 48% and the expected price increase rose from 2.7% to 2.9%, Also, 52% expect mortgage rates will continue their rise, while only 7% believe mortgage rates will go down. Consumers who feel that the economy is on the right track was also up by 3% to 35%.

★NAR STATISTICS★
Data released by the National Association of Realtors® showed that the median price for an existing single-family home was up 8.6% year over year in the first quarter to a median price of $191,600.This was down from a 10.1% year-over-year increase in the fourth quarter.

The median rose annually in 74% of the metropolitan areas tracked by the NAR and 22% saw double-digit price jumps. In the first quarter of 2013, 89% of all the tracked metros saw year-over-year price gains. For the first quarter of 2014 monthly inventory was at 1.99 million homes, a five-month supply and 3.1% higher than the first quarter of 2013. Existing-home sales fell -6.6% year over year for the quarter to a seasonally adjusted 4.6 million. 

The West saw a drop of -12.4% year over year in existing home sales and had the highest regional price increase, up 14% for the quarter to $282,100. The Los Angeles-Long-Beach-Santa-Ana region saw a median price increase year over year of 17.6% to $406,200.

★CASE-SHILLER INDEXES★
The CoreLogic Case-Shiller indexes show that home prices rose 11.3% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the same time period a year ago. Overall home prices were up 20% over the low point reached in the fourth quarter of 2011 but were still -21% below the peak reached in the first quarter of 2006. It is predicted that price appreciation will slow to 5.3% annually for 2014 which is above the long-term annual average of 4.5% recorded since 1975. (I am not buying this! Even though its a national number.) 

For Los Angeles the fourth quarter change was 20.3% higher than the previous year and a 5.2% (we have already far exceeded this, so I'm not buying it either!)

Overall price increase is predicted for the year. CoreLogic a source used to track foreclosure properties, which are no longer prevalent in the marketplace. They didn't predict that too well either, as we never say the flood of shadow inventory they predicted. Nor did we see the years and years of foreclosures they predicted. Nor did the "new normal" where prices don't rise to fruition. I don't know how long I am going to include them in my report!

★BUILDERS★
U.S. home builders are less confident in the short term this month. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index was down to 45 from the revised reading of 46 in April. This is the lowest level in 12 months and indicates more builders view conditions as poor rather than favorable. Builders are optimistic about prospects for the next six months, that index rose 1 point to 57.

★PREDICTION★
The National Association of Realtors® delivered its predictions for 2014 during the Realtor Party Convention & Trade Expo. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said existing home sales will probably be around -3% less than last year to just over 4.9 million but should rise to over 5.2 million in 2014.

The California Association of Realtors® reported that the statewide median price reached its highest level since December 2007. It was $449,360, up 3.2% from the March figure and up 11.6%over last April’s $402,830. The statewide median price has increased year over year for the past 26 months.Closed sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 394,070 units in April, up 7.4% from 367,020 in March but down -7% from a revised 423,690 in April 2013.

This was the ninth straight decline on a year-over-year basis.
Inventory was down to 3.5 months from March’s 4 months but still up from 2.8 months in April 2013. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home fell to 33.8 days in April, down from 35 days in March but up from 27.9 days in April 2013. 

*We really need to reach a 6 month supply to be in a normal market where prices stabilize.

★L.A. COUNTY★
For Los Angeles County the median sold price in April 2014 was $406,750, up 2.8% from March’s $395,660 and up 12.5% from April 2013’s $361,630. Sales were up 23.3% from March but down-6.3% compared to April 2013. The average amount of inventory was 3.5 months, down from 3.9 months in March but up from 2.6 months in April 2013. The median days on market was 39.5 days, up from March’s 39 days and from April 2013’s 29.2 days.

★COMMERCE DEPT.★
The Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing starts rose strongly in April and building permits hit their highest point in nearly six years. Starts rose 13.2% month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.07 million units which is the highest level since November 2013 and up 26.4% over last April. 
Starts for single-family homes rose 0.8% but the real movement was in multi-family homes which rose 39.6% to a 423,000 unit rate.

Groundbreaking for buildings with more than five units hit the highest level since January 2006. Permits to build homes rose 8% month over month and 3.8% year over year to a 1.08 million unit pace which is the highest since June 2008. Permits for single-family homes were up 0.3% while permits for multi-family homes rose 19.5%. Permits for buildings were up 21.8%.

We are still seeing rapid gains in prices in our marketplace. It's hard to predict when these gains will begin to taper off. Many areas have exceeded their 2007 highs. 

*Keep in mind that adjusted for inflation the same price in 2007 is about 19% lower today! 

★BOTTOM LINE★
We still have room to run! Eventually prices will need to stabilize. I would think we will begin seeing the gains start to taper in a way that appreciation is more in line with inflation in 2015 or 2016! Until then we are still going to have an inventory problem in which demand exceeds supply and drives prices up. Although we are off our lows in inventory, anyone on the street knows that there is a lot of homes that are severely overpriced. These people that would not waste their time in previous markets have a "who knows, I'll sell if I get stupid money" attitude. 

Well priced homes are going quickly. Many with multiple offers! We will know that price gains are tapering when the multiple offers are less common, and well priced homes begin to take a little time to sell.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★         

Thinking of Buying / Selling 

As a Certified Negotiations Expert (CNE®) I provide my clients with reliable and respected results.    
Give me a call, I would love to assist you.







Have a great weekend! 

Common Real Estate Myths for Home Buyers! 
#Realestate #Homes #Buyers #Househunting 
I'd like to take a moment to correct some common home buying myths that have been fooling Home-Buyers for years. Here's a look at four real estate myths that frequently come up with first time buyers or buyers who haven't been in the market for a while.
I hope this helps you in making the right choices when preparing for one of the biggest purchases of your lives.

1) True or False. Working with multiple agents will improve my chances of finding the perfect home?

OK, who said true? No one said true? Hmmm, ok...moving it along.

If you did think true and didn't say it, have no fear, for you are not alone. A large majority of consumers think and feel as you do and I feel it's our job as Realtor's to open a dialogue, inform and explain not only to our clients, but the general public as well that the correct answer is FALSE!!

All agents have access to the same MLS listings in your area, so you are not going to gain access to more houses by working with more people. It is in your best interest to find an agent with a communication style and commitment level that matches yours, and let them do the hard work for you.

Not only is there no sense in working with multiple agents, there is no such thing as the perfect home. Homes come in all shapes and sizes and conditions and prices, but it is extremely likely that none will have the exact combination of features you're looking for on the street you want at the price you like.

The thing to do is to prioritize your home wish list, so your dedicated real estate agent (your's truly) can find the homes that are the best fit for your needs... and that will most likely transform into your dream home after you move in.

2. If I see a house I like, I should call the number on the bottom of the yard sign? Correct answer is.....FALSE!

The agent listed on the yard sign is the one who represents the seller, so they are being paid to act in the seller's best interest. That is great and exactly as it should be, but it doesn't mean that they will act in your best interest.

It is best to call the agent you are already working with and ask them to set up a time to view the house. This is yet another reason why it is good to establish a relationship with a dedicated buyer's agent.

3. My first offer should be a lowball offer? TRUE AND FALSE!

Of course it makes sense to offer a lower price than you ultimately planned to pay and negotiate your way up, but there are times when this strategy can backfire. In a hot market, (like the one we're seeing now) a home may have multiple offers and the seller might move yours to the bottom of the pile without ever responding. Even if a property has been on the market for a while, an offer that is too low could offend an already-frustrated seller and prevent them from doing business with you. Or if they do decide to work with you, ill feelings caused by your initial offer could make negotiations even trickier.

The best thing to do is ask your real estate agent for advice and then make an offer that you are comfortable with. If you really want the house, this might not be the time to press your luck. If, on the other hand, this is just one of several you're considering and you're not entirely set on it, it might be worth the risk.

4. If a house appraises well, I don't need a home inspection.
FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE!

Home inspections and home appraisals are two entirely different things. A home appraisal is an estimate of the property's value that is performed to safeguard the lender. A home inspection is an assessment of the condition of the home done to educate the buyer.

An appraiser notes the value, whereas an inspector notes the condition. Even if the home you make an offer on appraises for the sale price, there could still be broken or unsafe elements. In some instances, you can negotiate with the sellers to have these items fixed. This is just one way a home inspection comes in handy.

Of course, there are many more home buying myths out there than I could possibly cover here in one post. My point here was to open a dialogue, inform and explain some of the most common ones so hopefully they will one day *poof* just disappear!