We are so lucky as homeowners of Palos Verdes real estate that Palos Verdes’ 8th Graders get to choose between two fabulous high schools.  At this time, there is open enrollment within the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District as to whether your child goes to Palos Verdes High School or Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.  And both were named in U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 Schools in the United States as well as one of the Top Twelve High Schools in the Los Angeles area in 2008.  Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, formerly Rolling Hills High School, was our only high school after the 3 area high schools were rolled into one after declining enrollment in the ’80s.  Palos Verdes High was reopened in 2002 when Peninsula High grew to 3,000 students.  Currently there 2400 students at Peninsula and 1900 students at PV High.

My son is now in the decision making process and it feels like college recruitment.  He shadowed at PV High and decided that was the school for him.  He went to the Open House at Peninsula and decided that was the school for him.  Now he will be shadowing at Peninsula and going to the PV High Open House.  Both schools are so good that he is actually having a difficult time deciding.  PV High has an API Score of 853 and Peninsula High has a score of 879.  Palos Verdes High has the block system which is 3 2-hour classes per day (more in line with college) and Peninsula High has the traditional classes.

A decision must be made by February 20th - that’s less three weeks away. 

The Internet has made curb appeal even more important than in the past. Today when you list your home, literally the whole world can see the front of your house.

Curb appeal has always been important. If buyers drive by and don’t like the front of the house, it is unlikely that they will want to see the interior. A messy front yard is a good indication of what the rest of the house is like. You know what they say, “first impressions are lasting impressions” and “you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression”.

The Internet has added a new dimension to this because now most buyer’s “first impression” comes from an online listing of the house. Today buyers do a lot of homework online before they actually go out to look at homes. And when they are ready to go out looking, they often ask their agent to show them homes they have found on their Internet search.

When searching online, buyers particularly look at the photos of the listings. It’s “a  picutre is worth a 1000 words” type thing. But consider this. The first photo of each listing is usually of the front exterior of the house. There are often several more photos of the interior and backyard, but if the front is not appealing, a buyer may not click to view the rest of the pictures.

If you are preparing your home for sale, seriously study the front of your home and determine what needs to be done to improve its curb appeal. When you are ready to put it on the market, ask your agent to take several photos of the front and together pick the one that is the most appealing and likely to encourage a potential buyer to click for more. Make sure you have curb appeal and Internet appeal!

Please note: If the Internet listing of your home does not have photos you may as well not have your house on the market because buyers usually just skip over those listings!!!

The Property Information Book is key for my Sellers.  When I get a new listing for Palos Verdes real estate, I have my Sellers fill out all the disclosures and order all reports on the property prior to the property actually hitting the Multiple Listing Service.  The Property Information Book stays at the property for potential buyers to view and packets of these reports/disclosures are available for buyers to read before making an offer.  It is a huge advantage to both Buyers and Sellers.

The Seller now knows what the strengths and weaknesses of his property are.  We order a Termite Report, Property Inspection, Preliminary Title Report, Property ID Natural Hazards Disclosure Report, CLUE Report (prior insurance claims), mandated City Reports & permits and Home Owner Association documents (if appropriate).  The Seller also fills out Seller Property Questionnaire, Transfer Disclosure Statement, Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory, Mold Disclosure, Water Heater/Smoke Detector Statement of Compliance, Lead Paint Disclosure and Residential Earthquake Hazards Report.  The Seller will have to provide all those reports/disclosures (except the Property Inspection) during escrow anyway, so why not up front?  This is a lot work and very time consuming as it can take a couple of weeks to get all the information but the payoff is huge —  the Seller does not have to renegotiate the sales price in escrow because of any adverse revelations from Buyer reports.  And if the Seller is lucky enough to get multiple offers, he can be more confident in choosing an informed Buyer who will complete the transaction.

The Buyer now knows what to expect from the property before he even makes an offer to purchase.  He, too, knows the property’s strengths and weaknesses.  The Buyer should also get his own property inspection and share (with his own inspector) the inspection report that the Seller has already provided.  The Buyer is then in a better position to make an informed decision to remove contingencies and close escrow on his new home!  It makes the escrow process smoother enables both the Buyer and Seller to close the deal in an atmosphere of good relations.

I’ve been called on to perform my civic duty - jury duty that is.  Ugh….I got on a two week civil trial.  In the old days, eveyone got out of jury duty - financial hardship was the big excuse - especially when you were self employed like me.  There is a whole webpage devoted to how to get out of jury duty here.   

I guess I didn’t act crazy enough or think hard enough about getting out of it.  I just figured one day - no biggie and most likely it wouldn’t even be one day.   Postponing it is just like postponing the inevitable so I figured I’d just do my one day and get it over with.  Boy was I ever wrong.  In a huge room filled with a pool of prospective jurors (maybe more than 250 of us here in the City of Torrance Courthouse) I sit down.  Even the facilitator guy made it sound highly unlikely we get on a trial.  Well, you know who gets called - and pretty early on I might add - along w/ about 50 others.  We all have to go up to a courtroom where they need to pick out 14 individuals to serve as jurors on their civil case.  So guess who gets called again out of the 100 prospects in the room - me again.   21 of us went up and had to get grilled by the lawyers looking to pick “a jury of peers” for their clients.  Of those, they get rid of the “crazies”  (like I said I just couldn’t bring myself to act crazy in front of everyone and in a courtroom.)    After that they get rid of more and the next thing you know….kabam….I am sitting there taking the oath to serve.  Ugh….it’s been 3 full days now and I can hardly believe I’ve got more time to do - a two week trial is what they expect the timing to be like.  I don’t doubt it either with how slow everything moves and all the breaks they take.  Lunch alone is an hour and a half break!  I’m used to choking down a sandwich at my desk in about 15 mins so this is leisurely land!

Well, when I started writing this I had only served 3 days.  I just finished day 9 (that’s business days technically and we had a holiday in there, so you know we had that day off.)  OMG, these people take more breaks than I thought possible.  It’s so frustrating….let’s get this thing over with - but wait, it’s time for our hour and a half lunch break - today we had a 2 hour and 15 minute lunch break.  No wonder things in the “city” take so long to accomplish.  Ugh!  If you get that little notice in the mail, pay close attention to the first paragraph where it talks about “how to get out of jury duty.”  Unless of course, you have nothing better to do and need $15 a day!  Oh yeah, they pay your mileage too, but only one way!   Guess, they figure you can get home yourself!

This has been a very hopeful week for the country with the Inauguration and the new administration in the White House.  We did have some negative news regarding Bank of America’s fourth quarter results but mortgage rates have been holding steady.  4.75% interest for a 30-year fixed conforming loan is a great rate. 

6.250% for a 30-year fixed jumbo loan is almost a full point lower than my last report on December 18th.   This should have a beneficial effect on Palos Verdes real estateas most properties fall into this category.  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Refinance Index is at its highest level since June 2003 as homeowner’s are taking advantage of these lower rates.

• Lenders are scrambling to have something special- unique in this one brand market…the Federal Gov…what have you got there? #
• @smww are we still on tomorrow at 9? #
• #domus loved todays class #

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#domus loved todays class

@smww are we still on tomorrow at 9?

Lenders are scrambling to have something special- unique in this one brand market…the Federal Gov…what have you got there?

They are good. They were amazing week before last. It was like riding in a small boat. The up and down makes me a little seasick. Its also like a car you inch a bit and move ahead of the traffic or get stuck in the red lights over and over. Thats the borrower saga.

Buy now…but what if you lose your job or your spouse does.

Over 1/2 of all the sales were Bank Owned last year in California. Of course you know that if you breathe or know what a white Bronco means.

I think the interest rate is going to bob up and down and your lender needs to snag it right when it drops. Its possible. Also there are all kinds of little things like the floating rate, the one time switch.

I went to Circuit City today. The sign said, they no longer guarantee the lowest price.

That makes sense. I didn’t buy anything. Like a true shopper, the 10% off things did not lure me to buy. It had a twilight zone feeling creeping in. I went to Mervyns the last day and it really was the twilight zone. We bought a garment rack for 15 dollars. (They sell anywhere else for 200.) We didn’t need new and pretty purely industrial.

I have people still try and offer 1/2 of the listing price on a bank owned. It’s not in the cards people!  They will find a buyer who is savvy on buying and they will get the house.

Actually I fell for that and wrote an offer like that only to get educated squarely by the mega listing agent. I learned. I went to Bank owned classes. I paid the price of street smarts too. I am getting my REO Bank Owned Certified status next week.  We do know something everyone doesn’t.  How to handle the Bank owned properties, the open houses, the offer, the escrow and the close. Long Beach, Irvine, Redondo Beach and up to the valley- we have bank trained ready agents hitting the streets with the black and yellow signs…bank owned.

But back to what we don’t know…the hairline trigger of the mystery of the interest rate. I am still impressed by the statement of a Chase agent who said 3 weeks ago..The rate now gives your clients 40K more buying power than the interest of last week. Now thats a deal!