When looking to buy a home, you don't need a Buyer's Agent, right? Wrong!!!! 7 Reasons why you should hire a Real Estate Professional BEFORE you start the home search process. As Realtors, we are your advocates. It is our job to inform you. To keep you up-to-date with the latest trends. To let you know what's going on in the real estate market. Since we see many properties on a weekly basis, we know the good deals from the bad. We know how to guide you through a transaction with the least amount of headaches. We know how to find you that special property, faster than you would on your own. And when you do find that home that interests you, we know how to protect and negotiate with your best interest. Here are the main roles of your Realtor and why you should hire one before you start t... 11/30/2008

Last week, I was privileged to attend a presentation by Leslie Appleton-Young.  Leslie is the Vice President of California Association of Realtors and their Chief Economist. I have never heard Leslie speak before and was surprised with her vibrant personality and down to earth style.  it's always hard to deliver bad news to a room full of Pasadena realtors, but she did with style and ease. It turns out that Leslie is a resident of Pasadena and has been living in our community for the last year and a half.  Pretty exciting for me since I'm hoping that I'll run into her one day at Pete's and will have an opportunity to pick her brain a bit.  I will be writing a post over the next few days to share my thoughts on real estate market expectations for 2009 in Pasadena, but in the meantime, he... 11/25/2008

Here's the latest and greatest report for Pasadena's real estate market inclusive of statistics going back to August 2008. Pasadena's real estate inventory of homes has decreased in October to 127 units overall - inclusive of single family residences, condos and townhomes.  It is not surprising as folks are getting ready for the holiday season and in the natural annual cycle of real estate, we expect to see less inventory to choose from.  The sales have closed strongly in October at 117 units.  Next month, we will see a marked decrease in this number as evidenced by the decline in the Pasadena home buyers going into escrow in October. This month, I was able to catpure the median Pasadena home sales price and will be adding that information to all future reports.  Median home sales price... 11/24/2008

This is the time for note professionals to shine. Our expertise can make a meaningful contribution to the economy. I got an email from Kay, who found me as a result of an Investor’s Business Daily interview: Seller Financing Can Seal the Deal in Rough Market. She was thrilled, and so was I, that we only lived 5 miles apart. (It’s always fun when you get to work with people in your own back yard). She and her husband had an escrow that was falling apart, and they asked me to step in and put it back together. If this deal didn’t close, then they would most likely lose at least another $50,000 on this southbound investment. Here’s the scoop: A British buyer had originally made an all cash offer on a $764,000 home. He put down a non-refundable deposit of $24,000, and was willing to walk awa... 11/20/2008

Deferring Capital Gains Taxes When Selling Property Part one of a 5 part Series on Deferring Capital GainsCapital Gains Deferral Deferral of capital gains has received much attention over the last few years as property valueshave grown rapidly. Many tax experts will often advise their clients to just pay the taxes becausethe capital gains rates are the lowest they’ve been in years and are likely to go up in 2011.Advice such as this can be misplaced and may not be in the best interest of the property owner.Take a hypothetical case in which someone purchased a property 20 years ago for $250,000.Assume that the property has appreciated to $2,000,000. This appreciation represents a capitalgain of $1,750,000. If the property is located in California, then that property is subject to federalc... 11/12/2008

Aloha Dawn, Hope everything is going well for you. I was out yesterday educating Realtors at open houses on non traditional financing, ie Land Trusts. They all seem to recognize that things are different and were open to pursuing the EHLT approach. A couple questions came up and I thought I’d ask you your thoughts on them. Q: Assuming a $1.2M MAV with an underlying $250,000 mortgage. RB comes in with lets say $100,000 and seller agrees to carry $1.1M at 6.5%. Would it be possible to take the difference between the remaining equity of $850,000 ($1.2M - $100,000 =$1.1M - $250,000 underlying) and divide it into two notes of $425,000 each at 6.5% and then sell one of the notes at some small discount (I don’t know how much it would have to be discounted) so the seller gets more cash up front... 11/11/2008

Over the last couple of days, I've been taking long walks around Pasadena and San Marino and looking at all the amazing decorations that are gracing our beautiful homes. It's no small feat to put some of these up. I, for one, am not much for decorating - maybe it's the lack of time or just not enough creativity - I don't know. My decoration was three huge pumpkins (2 of which unfortunately walked away off of my porch a few days ago) and a door hanger. This morning, as I'm watching my kids put together their costumes, get the cookies and cups ready for school parties and talk about this evening's activities, I'm reflecting on how commercialized Halloween is getting. This is not going to be a rant, but out of curiousity, I wanted to look at some Halloween facts as presented by National R... 10/31/2008

'...The Third Annual Race For The Rescues was A HUGE SUCCESS and I hope you were all able to enjoy the pay off of all your hard work and dedication.  We are still tallying but it looks like we raised over $50,000 that we will share with the other rescues groups who attended. CHOO CHOO! ...'  Quote from Lisa the Founder of the Rescue Train. Lisa you are wonderfull. Thank you for your spirit and all those who ran, donated, adopted and volunteered. Thank you for all the Celebs that endorsed this Great Event. A special Thank you to THE Volunteers. Make Adoption not just your First Choice, but your only choice! 10/28/2008

Answer: "Well, because I can." Question: "Why do you write totally random quirky posts sometimes? Don't you want us to think that you're a respectable professional?" It is intuitively understood by most people that anyone who goes by 'Note Queen' is likely to be eccentric at times. I don't actually think anyone is surprised at this point. Besides, as one of my teenagers likes to say, "Mom . . . nobody cares." So, I got a call over the weekend from husband & wife sellers who had an escrow that was falling apart. They asked if I would please step in to put it back together. It's hard to think of being asked to do anything that sounds like more fun. The sellers arranged a meeting with their listing agent, the selling agent, the buyers (and a token boyfriend, I think) and myself, and we all... 10/22/2008

Hi all, I've been a bit busy with listings and whatnot and have neglected my Midmod blogging.  For that I apologize.  This week, I am going to talk about two wonderful homes. One completely original home in the Glendale foothills, the other on top of the Linda Vista area of Pasadena.  The Cedarhill residence is a classic wall of glass affair with wonderul curves.  The dining area faces the street through floor to ceiling glass panes.  Most of the living spaces include original furniture built for this home.  In the baths, you will see more great curves, incorporated into the counter tops, and round bath tub installed in the floor.  The walls facing the pool area are floor to ceiling glass and round out an amazing example of midcentury modern architecture.   Next up we have an amazing re... 10/15/2008

The , composed of Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, and San Marino   Market Index A market index of above 1.20 is a seller’s market, between 0.80 to 1.20 is a balanced market, and below 0.80 is a buyer’s market. September marks the eighth month in a row that the Market Index has increased to 0.32.  A year ago it was 0.26.   New Listings In September 244 new listings, compared to 156 in August, last year there were 230.   Pending Ratio New homes entering escrow are indicators of future sales.  This month we had 0.46, compared  with last year’s 0.18.   Listing Inventory      This month 761, in August 837, and last year 730.   Sold Listings In September132 homes sold, compared to August 155, and in 2007 sales of 87.   Average Sales Price The average this year was $830,283, down 33.5% fro... 10/12/2008

It's my privilege to speak to the agents at Keller Williams in Pasadena this Friday. The management is very supportive of every possible strategy to help their agents earn more commissions. KW is one of the most supportive and progressive real estate companies I've seen so far. Let's face it . . . the Real Estate "Warrior" of today needs more tools to get transactions closed. Having an open mind, some flexibility, and learning a little about seller financing and real estate notes can get your escrows closed, and give your seller what they need most. Do you have a seller stuck on price? What if you could show them how to get their price by offering terms? Is your listing getting ready to expire? What if you knew how to approach your seller about carrying paper? Do you know people who won... 09/17/2008

South Lake Avenue in Pasadena stretches from Colorado Boulevard at its northernmost end and winds all the way through Shoppers Lane before culminating at California Boulevard.  There's no longer a real lake near this 10 block shopping district packed with hundreds of shops, restaurants and offices.  The lake dried up long ago. South Lake Avenue's rich shopping heritage was born in the late 1940s with a department store built to look and feel like a country club.   Bullocks, now Macy's (currently under construction though December 2008) became the foundation of South Lake Avenue's reputation as a cosmopolitan shopping destination.  More department stores followed, making the area one of Pasadena's finest shopping districts. Today, antique English phone booths complete the district's Euro... 09/17/2008

Anytime your work is recognized is recognized by your peers is an affirmation of a job well done, Anytime your experience is cited with a reference in a National news organization is confirmation that your knowledge and experience provides you with a level of authority, indicating that you have a special status in your area of expertise. Deena Willis is a contributing editor of a Pasadena Real Estate Blog, and has also recently just obtained her Eco Broker certification. She was recently interviewed about her knowledge of Energy Ratings and Green Homes, by a reporter for MSN and an article which featured "5 Tip-Offs That Your Home is an Energy Hog" Contributing to her understanding of home energy audits was the fact that she had a home energy rating completed on her own house. With the ... 09/15/2008

The month of August has typically began the end of the summer selling season. However this August has been anything but typical. As a matter of fact, the real estate market for the last couple of years has been anything but typical. As we report the Pasadena home sales for the month of August we begin to see a couple of developments taking shape, one positive and one negative. On the positive side, unit sales for the July-August period are the highest they have been all year. Could the fact that median home prices continue to fall have something to do with that? Median prices took one of the biggest monthly declines that we have seen in the last several months. As banks continue to deal with repossessed inventory, the market for homes in the high $300's and low $400's has reestablished,... 09/14/2008

A luxurious way of living is coming to Pasadena This evening, I attended the grand opening of the Granite Park luxury private residence sales office in Pasadena.  Many Pasadena real estate agents visited the sales office to get an inside look at the urban living, luxury condos being built on the corner of Lake and California. Pasadena's Granite Park will offer 71 exclusive private residences with two to three bedrooms.  Each one of these luxury Pasadena condos will have a large private terrace, some as large as 1,400 sq. ft.  Each luxury residence is unique and no two are alike. These exclusive private residences will feature: Concierge Services with 24 hour security Viking Professional Series Appliances - and boy were they beautiful! Premium Kohler fixtures Secure Underground side-by-s... 09/12/2008

Million Dollar Pasadena Luxury Homes List My friend and one of the top realtors in Miami Beach luxury real estate market place, Ines Hegedus Garcia does a fabulous monthly post focusing on Million dollar luxury homes.  Following in Ines's footsteps, Pasadena Real Estate blog will be doing a monthly post featuring Pasadena luxury properties.  So without further ado, here's the August Million Dollar Sales for Pasadena. Currently there are 94 Pasadena single family properties currently listed for $1,000,000 or above. The highest listing is for $19,000,000 in the beautiful Oak Knoll neighborhood of Pasadena.  Located at 2 Oak Knoll Terrace next to Langham Pasadena Hotel (formerly Pasadena Ritz Carlton.) The lowest listing over $1,000,000 is listed for $1,058,000 - a 3 bedroom/3 bath home in... 09/08/2008

09/04/2008

Tuesday, September 23, 2008The PFAR Charitable Foundation proudly presents its 17th annual "A Taste of Old Pasadena." Sample your way through Old Pasadena's finest restaurants on a walking taste tour! Each participating restaurant will provide maps to guide you on your tour - or you may simply follow the signs conveniently placed in front of the establishments. Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Time: 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm Cost: $25 per ticket All proceeds go to local charities and Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors scholarships. Tickets will be made available at the PFAR office at 1070 E. Green Street, Suite# 100Pasadena, CA  91106. For more information, please call 626-795-2455. This is one  of the most fun ways to experience Old Town.  Every year, more and more restaurants partic... 09/02/2008

What makes a craftsman bungalow so special? I was just reading Petrea Burchard's post about a Pasadena bungalow that she photographed and was reflecting on the fascination that many of us have over these beautiful bungalows that make Pasadena so special. What draws us to these homes?  Is it because they were so affordable and yet so beautiful?  Most of the homes in the Bungalow Heaven historic landmark district literally came out of the box.  In the early 1900s, you could buy a bungalow kit from Sears Roebuck if you lived on the East coast or on the West coast from The Ready Cut Bungalow Company.  These bungalow kit homes were priced from as little as $650.  Of course, the owners needed to throw in an extra $150 towards plumbing fixtures and a lot of sweat labor. Or, is it because a lot... 09/01/2008