Studio City CA Real Estate & Homes

Anyone else out there experiencing the “revenge of the appraisers”; sucking the lifeblood out of home values, all at a time when we can least afford to donate. Have you heard about HVCC? it ain’t no heating or air conditioning system. Rather, what we have here is a now over-regulated system that ties the hands of our dear friends, the appraiser and yields withered values that frequently scuttle our hard fought escrows/contracts.  It appears that the New York State Deputy Attorney-General’s office helped craft this travesty that usurps our core belief that the buyer and seller have agreed on the price for a home. Here comes the Spanish Inquisition that now has the power to give a thumbs up or down to any deal based on such restricted guidelines that it sacrifices price accuracy for political expediency. How can we expect a broad base recovery if only one side of the market is working. I’m referring to foreclosures, reo and short sales. I know many agents are making out like bandits (excuse the expression) while the vast majority of us who work on more traditional sales are being staked though the heart like a dagger. The pendulum has now swung to its extreme again from too easy to too hard. I’m just looking for the middle of the road. Is that stage left or right? I’m just looking for a new direction!

Greetings Fellow Surfers!

I had the opportunity to rise with the sun this morning; and  looked out to sea to see what I could see. There, just out on the horizon, I saw the formation of what appears to be a wave, but just not any wave.

Based on the groundswell, shape and direction, I believe that this baby will become  a tsunami. For the last few months, all the elements of a perfect storm have been gathering.

Have you seen the lowest home prices in a decade? How about the 50 year lows in interest rates? Did you think this eruption would not make waves?

While you’ve been standing on the beach with your pail and shovel building sand castles with an Open House sign in front of them, or scanning with your metal detector for buried treasure, the slow steady churn has begun.

I feel it my civic duty as both a Realtor and a concerned fellow citizen to sound the alarm. Look up! look out there, it’s coming baby! Prepare for the ride of your life or the mother of all wipe-outs!

I’ve got my board waxed, my sunblock on and my listing contract in a watertight container.
Ready or not here it comes!

You can’t pick up a newspaper or surf on-line without being barraged by an avalanche of bad news about the economy, real estate or Brad & Jen.  Come on people, did you really expect that as soon as Barack Obama took office that everything would just spring back to the way it was?  Happily, I am not one of those people.

You see Desperaux (the mouse) had it right! While all the other mice scurried off and cowered when the light came on, Desperaux remained steadfast, eyes wide open.

So, are you a man or a mouse?  I vote with the mouse.

When the world is illuminated, we can see all the abundance that it has to offer. When you cower and head for the hills, you fail to see the beauty and opportunity that is out there.

In my 14 years of real estate experience, I have never witnessed such a promising market. Really!  Buyers and Sellers alike.  Don’t live in fear.  Desperaux was right!  Go get the cheese!

Why are we buying into all this doom and gloom?  How does that make you feel? Keep telling people that the sky is falling long enough and eventually they will start believing it.  Invest yourself  in your inspired reality.  OK  we are faced with many unresolved problems right now, but that is nothing new. Life has always been about dealing with problems.  The difference is that we  have become a civilization of mindless minions. Life is a struggle. That has not changed. What has is our resolve and our courage to meet our challenges and obligations.  We have morphed into the “I’m not responsible generation”, it’s not my fault.  An unrealistic sense of entitlement; that somehow we are owed health, happiness and prosperity. We are not. We are not even guaranteed tomorrow. For the last 50 years we have shifted our paradigm and along with it we lost our grounding  in this earth, our respect for the earth , our true reality. We have become a nation living in a self induced drug haze.

Snap out of it people!  We still have the power to change our reality; a new story has yet to be written. Are we men or holograms?    Shadow or substance?

Fear I fear is the new reality. We fear losing our, (fill in the blank).  I say we must become the new pioneers of tomorrow. Strike out with a renewed sense of determination and hope. Let us lift the veil of darkness and despair and see our world as it is, as it can be.  In the face of our creator we can see the eternal joy and exileration of life. How precious is our next breath!  How fragile it’s beauty.  Find your joy and repel those whose thoughts and actions seek only to tear us asunder. Believe we must!

I am delighted to represent the “Blue House” in Studio City California. This amazing new home features over 3800 sq. ft. of sheer elegance and breathtaking views from every window…really! From the Hi-Tech kitchen with its blue Caesar Stone counters to the porcelain tile floors this home stands apart and a cut above the rest. Three bedroom suites each with their own cedar lined walk-in closets, jetted bathtubs and lustrous walnut hardwood flooring open to 2 balconies with tomorrow views. The rooftop deck is over 1960 sq. ft. and is designed for the ultimate in entertainment. Panoramic views from Universal City to Woodland Hills make this living space the place to be. You can visit this property at my website www.runningrealty.com or see the video at www.youtube.com/user/runningrealty.  It’s life at the top!

Congratulations to the good old USA for making it half-way through this year. No doubt with the media barrage and endless stream of bad economic news, war, famine, gas prices and general malaise, it’s no wonder we Americans are not feeling so happy this 4th of July.

I for one, refuse to be stifled and oppressed. At every moment we can effect change in our lives and in the world. This 4th for me is that moment of reflection, the moment I feel in my heart the sense of appreciation I have to be living here and now. We are on the edge of the precipice, the brink, not of destruction but construction, we can and must begin anew, revitalized with a positive spirit. I know I can make a difference and I believe that I will be part of the solution.

So this 4th of July, I declare my independence from fear, self-pity and hopelessness. Isn’t that what this celebration really means? Never lose your Revolutionary Spirit! Make this 4th of July your Turning Point!

Prospective buyers should take advantage of lower home prices to buy into better locations, especially closer to work. With gas costs soaring into the stratosphere, new home buyers can save a great deal of time and money by focusing on location, location, location!

We now have a prefect storm scenario forming. Lower home prices, low interest rates, strong inventory and higher fuel costs are contributing to more robust sales.  Today’s existing home sales report shows a strong and unexpected increase in sales, though not to me. I have been projecting that the market slide would slow and/or end before year’s end. Today’s numbers suggest that I am right about this one. It will however, take a lot more time for prices to begin to return to pre-recession levels. We still have a glut of foreclosures to clear out. The prognosis for the market regaining its energy is good. It’s still a buyer’s market right now, but it will not stay that way indefinitely. I suggest that you may not want to delay your next purchase for too long. Otherwise you may find yourself on the upside of the market and that could prove costly. Avoid this situation bu purchasing now! You will find further information on my website at. www.runningrealty.com( check out my “Run With It” feature)  and be sure to view  my Features Listings at www.realtor.com for some exceptional homes in Studio City and 91604.

In a way, the “Bubble” in Real Estate sales was more the creation of the media than the actual, on the ground events. Not that everything was coming up roses, although for many it was. It seems that “perception is the new realty” and notwithstanding the “greed” factor that fostered the malignant spread of bad loans all across the country, the diagnosis was finally determined and yes, we have a cancer among us. Break out the chemo and radiation!

So here we are. Politicians scramble to address (not fix) the ailments now affecting our economy and the Real Estate market. I guess the next thing we’ll see is the President declaring “THE WAR ON REAL ESTATE”. That’s what we do..declare war and throw a lot of money in the general direction of the problem, hoping it will straighten itself out. It hasn’t worked for any other wars so far so don’t expect that it will do so any time soon.

I predict that if we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, over the next 12 months, some semblance of normalcy will return to Real Estate across the country.  It will happen sooner than later in some markets. In fact, there are pockets around Los Angeles that are actually seeing marked improvement. I swear to you that I have seen “multiple offers” this week on well priced homes.

The key now is smart pricing. If the home is not overpriced, it will sell. There are loads of pent-up buyers just waiting to get in the game again. My “featured listings” on Realtor.com are experiencing thousands of hungry eyes. Studio City, my area of expertise, has been insulated from most of the havoc out there. I am confident that this down cycle will again turn up, maybe sooner than later. It’s just a question of whether or not you get in before the next move up. I know it’s out there..waiting..don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Talk about obfuscation! That great stimulus package touted by GWB, may not be all that! At first glance, the loan limit has been raised from $417,000 to $729,750. Sounds great! BUT, and wait for it, although the FHA essentially underwrites or guarantees the loan, it appears that guarantee is an empty promise. We now have a new category loan, from $417,001 to $729,750 called either a Conforming Jumbo or a Jumbo Lite, depending on who you speak with. This new tier is being stepped on to the tune of higher rates and points. Not as low as conforming and not quite as high as Jumbo. See, the whole idea behind raising the limit was to allow first-time home buyers an easier path to finance. What’s going on is more GREED!! The whole idea of a conforming loan was that it had a great low rate BECAUSE it was guaranteed. This new range although guaranteed ( to protect the lenders) is somehow and quite mysteriously not guaranteed enough? To my mind it either is or isn’t! There shouldn’t be any middle ground! Or should I say muddled ground. I welcome your comments.