Only in 2013 - House Stalking

CNN Business News - House Stalking

This current trend says a lot about what buyers will do when faced with a lack of inventory.

For those looking to successfully "stalk" a home that isn't on the market, remember to compliment the home to win the owner's good graces.  Some potential buyers end up renting to own until the owner feels comfortable selling.

Happy stalking!

Ten Most Popular Remodeling Projects

Money Management Apps

From one of KW Pacific Estate's preferred lenders, CLS Financial.   Get Organized with These 5 Money Management Apps

Gone are the days of balancing your checkbook by hand or trying to make sense of multiple investment statements. Smartphone apps linked with their web counterparts make the most of your banking and investment information, helping you budget and save along the way. Here are some of the best: Mint from Intuit is free, easy to use and lets you view financial data from multiple sources on multiple devices. Mint provides handy tools for planning and budgeting, and alerts you when bills are due however the app cannot access funds nor scheduling outgoing payments. The software is supported by ads based on a user's activity profile. Pageonce connects your bill accounts and pays securely from a single location. The app alerts you to bill due dates, overages, late fees, and suspicious activity. Pageonce supports utility companies, credit cards, insurance, phone and thousands of other providers and is free with no ads. Venmo lets friends send and receive money from each other, eliminating the hassle of exchanging cash or awkward IOUs. There is no fee for receiving money but there is a 3 percent fee to send money, unless you use funds from your existing Venmo balance, a bank transfer, or a valid debit card. Wikinvest Portfolio Manager, recommended by both Barron's and Forbes, is free with ads and allows you to track your investment portfolio and follow the markets. It does not allow open access to your accounts, however automatically updates your brokerage holdings nightly. It currently imports data from over 60 brokerages. Your Bank may already have an app that manages your accounts, deposits your checks by photo, pays bills, makes wire transfers, and moves funds between accounts. Bank apps are usually free without ads. Other Popular Apps you may want to check out include HelloWallet, Balance, Accounts 2, and if your employer uses Concur for tracking expenses, try the Concur Mobile App. Tony and Wendee Close Mortgage Broker and Loan Specialists CLS Financial Services Phone: 562-594-6884 Fax: 562-594-6885 clsteam@clsfinancial.com www.clsfinancial.com

Everyone Loves a Comeback!

New home construction to break ground ("Housing Starts") is up 47% from one year ago, to 1,036,000 units nation-wide including apartment units, town homes and single family homes.

Five Home Staging Mistakes for Selling

Five Home Staging Mistakes - Trulia

1.  Old/Ugly Furniture

2.  Distracting Themes (taxidermy, unconventional decor)

3.  Dirt and Clutter

4.  "Gaps", ie, a glaring oddity that has not been dealt with such as a bad smell or dead landscaping

5.  Staging without a professional

I think an important point to take from this article is that your furniture may be perfect for you, but when staging it's more effective to neutralize as much as possible.

American Dream Lives On

14 Ideas to Make Future LA Amazing

Amazing LA in 2050 - Curbed LA

Some fun/weird/wonderful ideas:

- create mobile data apps to bring neighborhoods together

- build parks in the currently unused river basin

- establish bike friendly neighborhoods

- improve skid row to create an area of affordable housing

Cool App - Walk Score

Walk Score - Geek Estate

I just downloaded the Walk Score app for seeing how ped-friendly my neighborhood is.  This is a great tool if you are moving and want to see what your potential future home has to offer, or if you want to discover businesses and public transport close to your current abode.

I plugged in specific addresses of places where I've lived:

Downtown Long Beach scores an 86.

Pasadena North of 210 (cross streets Orange Grove / Los Robles) gets a 77.

Belmont Heights gets a 71.

Rossmoor gets a 69.

FYI - you can also find rentals here too.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This week in LA civic life

Week of April 15th - LA Streets Blog

The Week in Livable Streets Events

by Damien Newton

Big week. Let’s get right to it. CicLAvia!

• Tuesday – The Century City Chamber of Commerce is holding their annual transportation summit, with the usual mix of heavy hitters and Century City power brokers. You can get all the details for this 7:30 am meeting, here.
• Tuesday – It’s the next stop on the Buscaino/Englander #RoadBond Road Show. Get the details on Tuesday’s meeting, by clicking here.
• Tuesday – The West L.A. Neighborhood Council will hear a proposal to widen Bundy Boulevard to add bicycle lanes on the Westside. Curbed has the details, here.
• Wednesday – The Los Angeles City Council will hear a proposal by Hertz On Demand and LADOT to switch “official” car share providers from ZipCar to Hertz on Demand. The switch could see hundreds of new car share cars on the street by the end of the year. Read the full City Council agenda here. The carshare item is #28.
• Friday – Another pre-work hours meeting from some powerful business groups. The Los Angeles Business Council Sustainability Summit runs most of the day Friday for those that are interested. Did they get a better lineup than the Century City Chamber of Commerce? Let us know for fun in the comments section.
• Saturday – It seems like the best art rides happen Northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. Be it the monthly Spoken Art Ride by Flying Pigeon or this week’s Pasadena Art Ride on Saturday morning. Ride starts at 11. Get the details, here.
• Saturday – From 10-4 on Saturday is the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase. The event features some of the best in sustainable design and gardening in the city. It’s also a great excuse to go for a bike ride. You know, knock some rust of the cruiser before CicLAvia. Look at the map, here.
• Sunday – There’s apparently some sort of event called CicLAvia. I’ve never heard of it. But, you can get more information about the map, times, events, and other CicLAvia goodies, here, here,here, here, and here.
• Saturday, April 27 – Join us on April 27th at 6:30 p.m. at the Silver Lake home of Deborah Murphy for our 5th birthday party and a celebration of our 2012 Streetsie Award winners. The suggested donation is $25 for students, $50 for subscribers and $100 general admission. As always, nobody will be turned away, but this is a fundraiser so please donate what you can. RSVP on Facebook or by emailing damien@streetsblog.org.

Did we miss something? Is there something we need to know going forward? Email, damien@streetsblog.org

Reminder - KW Shred Day This Saturday!

Contact me at 562-453-6662 to donate your unwanted files!

In addition to paper, you can bring in old electronics such as blow dryers, toasters, phones, keyboards, monitors, phone chargers, and broken work tools.

Multiple Offers, Full Asking Prices, and more

State of LA Housing Market - Curbed LA

The state of the Los Angeles housing market is now considered by some to be in a "mini-bubble" due to home prices increasing faster than the average resident's income.

Some facts to consider if you are buying a home:

- Ratio of sales price to list price is just above 100%, meaning that low offers are not likely to cut it

- 91% of sellers received multiple offers to buy their property

- 52% of homes have pending sales within two weeks of being on the market

It's advisable to make your best offer without delay when you see a home that works for you.

First Time Home Buyer Info

Freecycle.org

FREECYCLE

This is a great resource if you have extra stuff to throw away but don't have the time for a garage sale.  Why not give it to someone who will take it for free?  You'll get community updates each week on items from firewood to clothing.

Improving Markets in CA

Your Qs re: chickens, goats, and bees in LB answered

LB Press Telegram - Urban Agriculture

If you are a Long Beach resident, please note the following proposed changes currently under review at the City Council:

20 chicken limit - coop must be  50 feet from a single family home and 100 feet from a tri-plex or greater

Proposed goat increase from one to two per property (just one goat gets lonely :))

Bee keepers need to be licensed, but do not need to be(e) registered with the city.  Bees to be restricted 10 feet from property lines.

RENT V. BUY

The debate discussed in the following links:

Rent or Buy

5 Incentives to Buy

Some Reasons to Rent

How increasing interest rates affects your payment

Cute Money Saving Inspiration

A Nashville elementary school saved $12,000 over three years for a new playground by saving pennies, nickels, and dimes.  They finally got to use it this past week.

original source here

If they can save successfully, so can we!

LB Grand Prix month is here!

Grand Prix to feature night drifting - Press Telegram

LBGP website

Long Beach Grand Prix- 2013
April 19, 20, and 21

This is the busiest weekend of the year in Long Beach.  Lots of events, lots of visitors, lots of excitement.  Lots of Tecate beer as well!

Three day general admission pass is $70.  If you are lucky enough to know someone in one of Long Beach's high rise condos on Ocean, you can see the races for free!