Hollywood, CA – A cautionary tale of the long and the short of Hollywood Short Sales.  Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the pool.    Imagine this.   You go to open houses, read the news paper, study online, search properties and finally, after a tedious and well thought out process, commit to buying your first home.  Your dream of home ownership is about to come true.    You find a friend who had a positive experience with an agent and they recommend him, you meet and feel comfortable and begin to look at homes for sale together.  The agent explains that though most of the market is equity sale, in some instances a Hollywood Short Sale home may be one you’re interested in, and there will be risk involved in the purchasing process… risk to your heart... and even to your ... 08/28/2010

Hollywood, CA – With the rash of bank involved transactions that are springing up in the Hollywood Real Estate market it becomes necessary to get more clear in our conversations with prospective sellers. It seems in the Hollywood Short Sales Real Estate world there is a misinformation tidal wave that is leading to some interesting perceptions by people whose hardship might be a prolonged or renewed buyer’s remorse.  Like the foreclosure scammers that were charging unsuspecting home owners $3000 to $5000 to guarantee a Loan Modification, taking advantage of a desperate situation and further damaging a tenuous situation, there are some agents, some companies that are again promising the world when it comes to the short sale, and actually causing more damage. When one needs to do a short ... 08/26/2010

Hollywood, CA - So I'm tech savy.... sort of.  I get how to do email... I can cut and paste html into posts.  But twitter?  My question is how does a real estate agent turn twitter into cash? With all the depersonalization that the insular technology is imposing upon a less and less outgoing public, is it worth my time to learn twitter?  What do people do with it to make money? I know how people lose money with it.  Southwest airlines found that out by making a certain overweight film director purchase two seats or leave a flight... what they didn't know was that Kevin Smith has over 100,000 followers and he was pissed.  His tweet about Southwest Airlines cause quite a stir.  Another anecdote that proves the power of twitter is the American Idol contestant who tweeted about an independe... 08/25/2010

Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Lofts are certainly the hot topic. When a new and the nice refers to what can be classified as lofts that are "In". Are you in? Where the live work scene in downtown L.A. has its' share of stuff to deal with, the Hollywood Lofts scene, most certainly the West Hollywood Lofts scene has little of this sifting through process that one goes through, when one ventures into the core of Los Angeles.  Less Stuff, more good shtuff.  Peek through a window into the LUX925 Building.  These ultra sleek units were purpose built to bring that artist style living that Hollywood Lofts seekers want, with the chic West Hollywood lux (yes.. luxe) - vibe that comes with few of the older grittier lofts.  True, one can find a building in downtown L.A. that has the nice interior accou... 08/20/2010

Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Homes for sale can be in many varied markets.  From Hollywood Lofts to short sales, bank owned reo foreclosures to regular equity sales... but there's one thing that continues to be true for here... and I bet... there (as in anywhere in the United States) as well.  Running into English as a Second Language.  It's particularly challenging to build rapport and trust when one is dealing with a sales relationship.  Even more so when the other party is struggling to understand exactly what I'm saying.  I've heard it said in NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming - training that communication is "the response that I get".  Understanding that the truth lies (don't you love that ambiguity?) somewhere in the gray area of that truism. Luckily I've had clients who straight up... 08/17/2010

              Yesterday, online video platform Ustream.tv announced the opening of it's newly remodeled office space, designed by Redesign Properties: http://www.redesignproperties.com/blog/bid/41152/Ustream-Opens-LA-Office-Designed-by-Redesign-Properties   08/16/2010

Hiking Runyon Canyon in Hollywood is one of the best places in the center of the city to get a quick taste of the outdoors in Hollywood and a great workout at the same time. The main entrance to the beginning of the hiking trail of Runyon Canyon in Hollywood is Just north of Hollywood and Franklin Blvds., and one block east of La Brea Ave., on Fuller Ave.  The early bird catches the worm when it comes to street parking on the weekends, so if you are planning on hiking Runyon Canyon in Hollywood on Saturday or Sunday, I think going early is better to avoid the crowds and the heat. The weekdays after work are a great time to go too; the sunset can't be beat and there'll be fewer people to contend with. The park closes at sunset, so be sure to be down the hill by then. There are free yoga ... 08/15/2010

Hollywood CA - This is a continuation of a theme about how the lender's view short sales. Are you trying to avoid a deficiency judgment? If so, then you need to be careful about how you present yourself to your lender.   Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. A lender will usually be ok with letting a broke borrower walk away without a deficiency judgment. But, if they think you have lots of money sitting around, they are going to want some of it. They feel that since they are losing thousands of dollars, then you should pay them back. (Fortunately you don't have to worry about a deficiency if you are one of two people. Category A: You are genuinely broke, or just barely scraping by. Category B: Your lender is FHA, VA, ... 08/14/2010

Hollywood, CA – In this world of amazing luxury lifestyles, one need not look farther than the Residences at W Hollywood Lofts like these have been taken to extremes of what this style of living can be.  All the amenities one can think of at your very fingertips. Location, location, location of these beautiful homes is on the pulse of the Hollywood heartbeat.  Stroll out your front door down Hollywood boulevard, the Pantages Theater across the street.  Relax in the sumptous lobby with five star dining and imaginative cocktails. Decided you'd like a private party upstairs in a couple of hours?  How about catering delivered to your door, your sink (or bathtub) filled with champagne bottles?  This Hollywood Lofts experience, is just a cut above and beyond the traditional Los Angeles lofts ... 08/13/2010

Hollywood, CA – Whether you’re an artist, or just want to live like one, this dream is all about You.  A Hollywood Lofts experience, a live work or live/work atmosphere is something you’ve always wanted.  A drafting table or an easel, your home is as comfortable with a baby grand or a canvas on top of the Brazilian cherry floor. Some of my favorite parties have been in Hollywood Lofts.  There is an ambiance, (say it with a French accent and it’s so much more impressive) a style that goes with these multi-purpose spaces. So here’s one of the best choices that one has in the Hollywood Lofts scene and the market of the moment. A striking example of the best of what’s happening in the gentrification of old Hollywood Lofts, in what used to be and now is reborn as a tinsel town happening plac... 08/12/2010

Bar hopping in Hollywood could definitely be an all night affair, but in the interest of brevity, I'm going to recommend a few favorites that are worth experiencing. First, it's always a good idea to start your night of Hollywood bar hopping with sufficient fuel; sustenence to carry you through the long haul. Musso & Frank's Grill in Hollywood is a cultural icon and the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, having stood it's ground for ninety years on Hollywood Blvd. it's a great place to grab an 'old school' Hollywood meal, served by waiters that have given their entire lives to serving the local establishment here in Hollywood. The food is not what you go for; it's the ambiance, the astounding history of the place, and the sound of the walls breathing Old Hollywood je nais sais quoi like no... 08/12/2010

The Government is running out of cash.  Everybody knows it.  You can feel it in the air.  And yet there are some things that we hold to be untouchable, above the fray so to speak.  It used to be that we knew everything that could happen in a real estate transaction...to a reasonable extent.  If a client was selling one of their Hollywood Lofts, it was fair to give a reasonable expectation about all the costs and be within a few dollars.   And then I was talking with a broker friend in the Bay Area.  It seems that his client sent him a message about the local Assessor's office, after the completion of the sale of their property, regarding an "escape of assessment".  Like all reasonable brokers, this friend stated that it was probably just routine, it might be nothing, but please fax the ... 08/11/2010

  The Lofts at Hollywood and Vine has been one of my favorite condo projects in Hollywood for quite some time. The Lofts at Hollywood & Vine reside in the historical Equitable Building, a Gothic Deco commercial tower built in 1929 on the northeast corner of Hollywood Blvd. & Vine St. and designed by Aleck Curlett. Palisades Development converted the building into condos right around the time the market crashed. Since then, pricing on the 60-unit building has been drastically reduced, by up to 60% on some units. Nevertheless, the Lofts at Hollywood and Vine are finally nearly sold out, with only four units remaining listed on the MLS as of August 11, 2010. What I love about the Lofts at Hollywood & Vine are the open, breezy floor plans, the industrial, modern feel of the loft spaces and ... 08/11/2010

Hollywood, CA - If you already know this ... please... stop.  Do not read the rest of this.  This information has been out there a while, but it just got in here... and it is of note to real estate agents. Question.  Who reads a 2000 page bill before it's signed into law?  Answer.  Not enough people. Question.  When we want less of a behavior, like smoking for instance, what do we do?  Answer.  Raise taxes on it. Question.  How many new taxes on real estate are in the Obamacare law that was signed in May of 2010?  Answer.  One that we know of. So what?  It's only 3.8% imposed after the close of a sale... and it's only imposed on the rich.  The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which President Obama signed into law March 30th, in Section 1402, "Unearned Income Medicar... 08/10/2010

    The Redbury hotel in Hollywood is about ready to make its debut on the scene of Hollywood's up and coming urban landscape. The Redbury Hotel in Hollywood was originally owned by Palisades Development, who had intended to turn the newly constructed building with red brick facade into an efficiency hotel, complete with kitchenettes and an on-premise 'gourmet cafeteria.' Palisades Development got as far as constructing the building to near completion when the downward economy got the better of them. CIM group, known for their dominant stake in commercial property around Hollywood, picked up the property for a cool $15.8 million earlier this year. Now, Sam Nazarian (CIM group) has enlisted the help of eccentric photographer and video director, Matthew Ralston, to re-launch the formerly ... 08/10/2010

Hollywood, CA - There's nothing that funny about Hollywood Short Sales looking at the market from just beyond the horizon.  Many good people wanting to stop foreclosure are investigating the Loan Modification process and wishing to forestall the wreckage of a lost home, a damaged credit score. So it is with a light touch that I forward these two headlines: From CNNMoney.com "20% of mortgages are underwater" From MSNBC.com "Mortgage brokers to be fingerprinted, registered" Rarely does a juxtaposition point so clearly to the cause and effect that exists in the current housing market in two headlines. There are many Hollywood Short Sales that wouldn't have had to happen if they'd fingerprinted the mortgage brokers five years ago... but that's just living in the past.  There's a chance in t... 08/09/2010

    Hollywood, CA condos weren’t exactly flying off the shelves in July, 2010, but the good news is that condo sales for Hollywood have nearly doubled since this time last year. Fourteen (14) Hollywood, CA condos were sold in July of 2010, doubling last year's figure of only seven (7) condos sold in July, 2009.     Supply continues to outpace demand as buyers sit on the sidelines, waiting for the California real estate market to show strong signs of a turn in a positive direction. There were seventy-four (74) Hollywood, CA condos listed on the market for July of 2010. The median sales price of Hollywood, CA condos continues to trend in a downward direction with the median ‘sold’ price for July, 2010 coming in at four-hundred seventy-two thousand five-hundred dollars ($472,500).  Hollywo... 08/09/2010

Hollywood, CA - In this town, a Hollywod Short Sale has the unfortunate distinction of having become a common buzz word in the Real Estate industry. For consumers that have heard the words "short sale" and don't quite grasp the full implications of what it means, a short sale is a time tested and proven legal solution designed to assist a home owners who are financially in trouble.  The short sale gets one out from under their mortgage debt. In essence, the lender or mortgage holder will agree to take less than what the borrower owes to settle the account.  As an example of a recent Hollywood short sale, a borrower owed $500,000 on a home that was only worth $375,000.  The lender agreed to take a loss of that $125,000 at close. In some cases, the lender may forgive the debt completely a... 08/06/2010

It's not exactly like anyone who was paying attention wouldn't know that the Hollywood short sales are no longer on the endangered species list.  It couldn't be like the fact that we're going to be seeing the Hollywood short sales in more quantities was sneaking up on people, could it?  There's a fallout from the bailout that is falling upon sober economists eyes and ears.  It stems from the remembering that all that borrowed money to boost spending is money that we didn't have.  It's money that is accumulating interest for the lender - not us.  There are many charts that have been posted today around the country about the drop in real estate sales just as the tax credit for first time home buyers expired... coincidence?  It just seems kind of obvious that the artificial stimulating, on... 08/04/2010

  Hollywood, CA - It seems highly unlikely... really, that one could buy a Condo in Hollywood for the same price of a Toyota.  And the way prices are going in parts of our beautiful country it may come down to getting deals like "buy a car get a free condo".  CNN ran a story this morning about 8 markets across the United states where you can buy a condo for the price of a Corolla.    So... the pertinent question in Los Angeles is when can we buy a Hollywood Condo like this?   Truth be told, today you could buy a Hollywood Condo for the price of a car.  The price of a Maserati.  To get the Corolla Condo you might want to venture to the Hollywood Condo market in ... Florida.   Today in the central Los Angeles real estate there are 13  Hollywood  Condos priced between $200,000 and $300,000... 08/02/2010