Century City / Westwood (Los Angeles, CA)
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Here we are Thanksgiving is now in the rearview mirror and we are moving at lightning speed towards the end of the year. 2019 is virtually in the books and 2020 is fast approaching us! This is my last Market Observations not only for 2019 but for the decade! Now with that said, let’s recap where we are, Black Friday sale were at an all-time high, to the tune of $7.9 Billion,  which is a clear sign that consumers are confident. Most people do not realize the that is about 70% of the economy. Small Business Saturday brought in $3.6 Billion that is truly incredible and clearly consumer confidence is strong. This of course is in addition to the $4.2 Billion that was spent on Thanksgiving Day.Despite record low unemployment and incredibly low interest rates, home sales remained lackluster.Wh...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
The latest Tax Changes have created a great deal of confusion for all US Citizens. Needless to say it has opened up a dialog and various questions that many do not have the answer to it. This is meant as a short Reader's Digest version of the changes.    PRIOR LAW NEW LAW Mortgage Interest Deduction Capped at $1,000,000 Capped at $750,000 State and Local Tax Deduction Unlimited The total income, sales and property tax deductions are capped at $10,000 Capital Gains Exemption on Sale of Primary Residence Exclusion of up to $250,000 ($500,000 if married) of gain realized on sale or exchange of principal residence if lived in for 2 of last 5 years No change 1031 Like-Kind Exchanges Applied to all classes of property (e.g. personal and real) Limits non-recognition of gain to real property Pe...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
International Investors /Buyers who are considering buying Real Estate in the greater Los Angeles area often ask me “…can we buy a property even though we are not US Citizens….” I used to be amazed when this question was asked, now I am used to it. This question is a legitimate question, because there are countries who will not allow you to invest in Real Estate unless you are a citizen or at the minimum a resident of their country. Just to site a few examples in Europe, you might be amazed that Iceland, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Poland, Hungary, Malta and Andorra will require you to show proof of residence or citizenship.There are some territorial restrictions in some of the countries due to security concerns. For example, in Greece a non-citizen or a non-European Union citizen is not pe...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
If I am a foreign national:  can I buy property in California?Have you heard the old saying about “death and taxes?” that is my short response. The foreign buyers usually politely laugh and then they say ‘no’. Hence, I go into a detailed explanation that the beauty of the United States and specifically California is, that you can buy property provide you pay your taxes, hence just like “death” it is a guaranteed occurrence and so is “taxes”. Then they start laughing and understand my point.This in turn leads us into a detailed discussion how the purchase process works in Los Angeles, CA. In other words the details of paying the buyer’s share of the Escrow Costs and all the other, fees. Then we get into a detailed discussion of the taxes.Just to give you an idea as to how much money they...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Customer Service is Alive and Well at the Microsoft Store in the Westfield Mall in Century City, Los Angeles, CA that is.More and more we tend to grouse and complain that Customer Service is a lost or should I say fading skill.The other evening, I had issues with Microsoft Word, I was unable to save any of my documents. I was getting a prompt, that I need to get permission to save the documents should check with the Administrator. So, a couple hours of following all sorts of attempts, I was wise enough to figure out that this was way above this Beverly Hills Realtors IT skills.Lucky for me we had a bath scheduled for Schmo on the West Side of Los Angeles ,so I had a couple hour to run to the Westfield Mall where there is a Microsoft Store located. Just on a side note I have not been the...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Market Activity Report for 2220 & 2222 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, CA. In case you mist my last couple posts I have written about Century City and how it was formed in 1960 as a separate but integral part of Los Angeles, CA.The Location has been very desirable and if you come to visit Los Angeles it is a must visit Destination Place. These two buildings were what started Century City. It was designed by I.M.PEI a world renown Architect.The community has went through a couple transformations from it's inception. The latest took place in the last 20+ years in front of my eyes. The complex has a resort style feel to it and virtually every unit has a commanding panoramic view of either the Hollywood Hills, Downtown Los Angeles or the Pacific Ocean. Depending what your preference is t...
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By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Century City and Westwood are considered amongst the most desirable communities.When we look at neighborhoods in Los Angeles, we tend to lump them together for convenience and real estate purposes. Especially when we look at Real Estate we focus on sections of Los Angeles and we try to compartmentalize them. Century City/ Westwood is a great example.In my opinion this approach should be adjusted, there should be a separate discussion about Century City. So, with that said, when we think of Century City we think of Avenue of the Stars and all the high-rise Condominiums that we see today.If we look back in history, there was 20th Century Fox Studios, which became Fox Studios.  Over time, portion of their land was sold and subdivided.  The reason this happened was, because 20th Century Fox...
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