For those of you who missed the recent Daily Breeze publication of the South Bay's 2006 scores and rankings of local schools, Torrance area schools received high marks once again. This is good news for local area realtors, who can tout great schools along with good weather, less crime, and close proximity to the beach among the pros of living in Torrance. With schools being one of the top concerns of parents looking to relocate, prospective homebuyers will be happy to learn that the vast majority of Torrance schools scored well above the 800 points needed to pass the Academic Performance Index. This is a major feat if you take into consideration that less than half of California schools passed this important benchmark. Only six out of twenty-nine Torrance schools missed the mark, but sc... 09/22/2007

Real Estate Myth Buster #1-Buying From the Listing Agent So somewhere along time ago a rumor was started in a really tough Seller's market that if you deal directly with the selling agent that you will save money. Yes, you may save a part of the real estate agent's commission but you usually spend more money on the sale price of the house. By allowing the listing agent to negotiate the lowest price for your home can and does most of the times cost you more money.  In only one case you may get the property and save a few thousand which is in the old days of short inventory when houses were scarce and if you made an offer through the listing agent some people believed that the listing agent would push it through because he or she would get both commissions. Which may have been true but no... 09/18/2007

  Are  you looking for more that your 12 step group can give you?  I am a strong believer in AA,ALanon-(my home group),Overeaters Anonymous, etc... I heard of Celebrate recovery and I was totally against any new group that was not AA/ALanon....Well, Was I wrong,,, Celebrate Recovery, a group developed by Asst. Pastor John Baker of Saddleback Church.  Pastor Rick Warren (author of the New York Times Best Seller- A Purpose Driven Life and Pastor of Saddle Back Church) encouraged Pastor Baker to start this in 1990.  Since then Saddleback grew from 600 to currently 6000, all through the Celebrate Recovery members joining Saddleback after working the steps at CR.(Celebrate Recovery) This Celebrate Recovery has flourished all over the World,  People come from Asia,Japan, Europe once a year to... 09/07/2007

  Torrance California Market Trends price per square foot are still going up. As you can see by the chart below, South Torrance prices are still rising per square foot over all from 2007 to 2008.  The real estate market is still going strong in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County as per the latest market graph from Trend Graphixs. As you can see the market is picking up in the sales, 16 homes for sale this month, 9 sold and 6 homes are pending in escrow. The rumors from the experts are that the market has reached it's bottom. Now we need to get the lenders moving before the interest rates go up.. Market Charts are also available with a more individualized market analysis of your individual home and neighborhood This service is provided by Remax Palos Verdes, Mary Thomas to keep Tor... 08/01/2007

Helpful Links for Torrance and South Bay Real Estate: Check out these helpful search engines. You can also contact me to set up automatic emails to be sent to you with newly listed properties that fit your criteria. Just call or email me to get started. Whether you are just looking for fun or are ready to buy or sell, check out all these helpful links and call me when you're ready. Know a friend or family member who needs a realtor? Please pass my contact information along...I love referrals!You can find great local California real estate information on Localism.com Mary Walker is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.< Examples: "Palo Alto, CA", "San Diego", "94114"... 05/23/2007

Are you interested in buying a co-op? Do you even know what a co-op is? Read on for some interesting facts about co-ops in Torrance, CA: Torrance, CA co-ops are more affordable than identical condominiums. You can pay $50,000 to $100,000 more for a Torrance condo, generally because people are more comfortable with the term condo, and simply don't know what a co-op is. Co-ops are structurally the same as other types of real estate such as condos, single family residences, townhomes, or mobile homes, in fact some condos used to be co-ops. Co-ops require financing from a bank that specializes in co-ops. Co-ops usually require a higher down-payment, usually from 10 to 20% depending on the association.  Buyer will hold a share in the corporation that owns the building. This stock certificat... 05/10/2007

Buy A Home in the South Bay Los Angeles' South Bay area is a perfect combination of good weather, great neighborhoods, beautiful beaches, and more. If you're wondering where to move in the Los Angeles area, the South Bay is where you want to be. South Bay cities include: Torrance Redondo Beach Hermosa Beach Manhattan Beach El Segundo Palos Verdes San Pedro And more.... Some of the highlights of living in the South Bay are great schools, good jobs, nice area hospitals, and phenomenal shopping and surfing. Places of Interest: Riviera Village is a quaint seaside area of Torrance (with a Pasadena-like feel) that hosts many restaurants and small shops in a "walk-around" atmosphere. Del Amo Mall (also in Torrance) is one of the biggest malls in the country, with a new outdoor addition (2006) ... 04/18/2007

Looking for Things to Do in Torrance? Here are links to discover: places of interest restaurants things to do school information and other important information relevant to Torrance, CA. If you are thinking of moving to Torrance or any of the other nearby Beach Cities, please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the area. Email me at mbwalk@socal.rr.com.  http://www.visittorrance.com/home.htm   04/13/2007

  It is sad to see bilingual clients and how they are taken advantage of during their refinance transaction. I just funded a spanish speaking client in Alabama. She only owed 30k on her home which was appraised for 220k. She wanted to pay 20k in debt and wanted 25k in cash out max cltv would be around 40 %. Her mid FICO was 665. She was set on what another lender had offered her. But the thing that concerned me is that the lender asked her for her credit card number for an intial deposit of $1,500.00. I asked her to fax me their GFE , they were offering her a 2 year arm @ 9.98 % with 3.875 points in origination and they must have getting them at least 2.5 points rebate. Bascially her cash out was nearly nothing their fees were jsut mind blowing. I had my client call the lender and ask t... 11/14/2006

Refinances should only be done if there is a benefit to the borrower or if the client needs money or for an emergency. Making insane amounts of money on one loan while putting the client in a bad sitaution is just bad news. It makes more sense as an LO to produce more volume. The more people you deal with the more chance you have of establishing a larger networking base. If you treat one customer right based on experience, they will send you their friends and family.  07/24/2006