santa monica home sales

Essential Resources for Every Step of Your California Move

December 13 2020

Essential Resources for Your California Move

Thomas Ray Home Tips Boomer Generation, buyers, First Time Buyers, Home Seach, move to california, relocation experts, santa monica home sales, thomas ray agent 0

Essential Resources for Your California Move

Lucrative job opportunities, endless outdoor getaways, exciting cities with no shortage of things to do – these are just a few of the many reasons that people choose to move to California! Whether you’ve decided to head out to the Golden State for your career, education, or artistic enrichment, you can rest assured that you’ve made a great decision. However, moving to another state can be a time-consuming, emotionally taxing process. These resources will help you get ready to tackle your big move to California!

Planning Your Move

Preparing for a fresh start is a lot of work, but these informative guides will make it easier!

Working with a fantastic real estate broker in your preferred city, like LA Exclusive, is the best way to find the perfect property.
Follow these tips to get pre-approved for a mortgage and find temporary accommodation if necessary.
Research the average cost of living in California and begin planning your monthly budget accordingly.

Tips for Moving Day

From packing up properly to finding a trustworthy moving company, these resources will help you with the nuts and bolts of relocating.

Stay organized while packing – label all of your boxes and use a spreadsheet to keep track of the contents.
Search online to find long-distance movers with positive reviews, then make appointments with several representatives to decide who to hire.
Start unpacking as soon as you arrive so that you’re not digging through boxes for essential items in the coming weeks.

How to Settle In

Once you’ve unpacked, you can take steps to decorate your property and show off your own unique sense of style.

Give the interior of your home a fresh coat of paint to personalize each room.
Hang your art pieces and photographs in a creative way to design an attractive gallery wall.
Spruce up your outdoor space, too – the sunny weather in California makes it possible to start a garden in your backyard at any time of year!
If your home has carpeting, you may want to spend some money on a professional cleaning.

Local Adventures

The best thing about moving to an entirely new state? Exploring your new backyard!

There is no shortage of beautiful sites in Malibu
Check out these beloved attractions in Santa Monica.
You can’t skip the breathtaking coastlines and amazing cultural hubs of greater Southern California!

Every year, countless people pack up and move to California to experience all the incredible things this massive state has to offer. But even if you’re excited to move, you might feel overwhelmed by your extensive to-do list. With these resources available for reference, you can say goodbye to your stress and embrace this new chapter in your life!

LA Exclusive Property can help you find the right property! Contact Tom today by visiting the website or calling 310-420-1149. I am more than happy to help you with the essential resources for your California move.

Home search in Santa Monica | Pacific Palisades | Malibu | Palm Springs

Additional Essential Resources for Your California Move and more Home Tips:

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shoud i sell my house during coronavirus

April 12 2020

Should You Sell Your Home During Covid-19?

Thomas Ray Before the Sale Coronavirus, Covid 19, Home Tips, santa monica home sales 0

If you had plans to list your home in 2020, you still can. What changes can you expect though?

The main takeaway is your home may be very sought after since other sellers may have decided to hold off marketing their home.

Obviously you now want to deal with the number of people touring your home. You will want to restrict the traffic to 2 people at a time and make sure they feel healthy with out symptoms of Covid-19 including a temperature. You may also want to restrict tours to pre-approved and serious buyers only.

Realtors are also asking buyers to use hand sanitizer, wear booties and refrain from touching anything. As well, The California Association of REALTORS has these guidelines CAR Best Practices Covid-19

To assist you, C.A.R. has released two new forms: One is a Listing Agreement Coronavirus Addendum or Amendment (RLA-CAA) for sellers and listing agents to sign, and the other is a Property Viewing Advisory and Declaration (PEAD) that is to be given to and signed by the seller, buyer, agents and anyone else who will be entering a property.

The process will surely be a bit slower than pre Covid-19 also since there are so many components to close a sale.

The purchase agreement will have a closing date though some agents are writing clauses into the contract that basically foresees the possibility of a delayed closing due to Covid-19 issues.

March 26 2020

How do You Get Your House Ready to Sell While Social Distancing

Thomas Ray Before the Sale buyers, Coronavirus, home valuation, home value, Maximum Home Value Audit, santa monica home sales, Video Chat Tours 0

How do You Get Your House Ready to Sell While Social Distancing
www.LAexclusiveProperty.com
March 26, 2020

As I write this, I realize the rain has ended here in Santa Monica, the birds are chirping again and that “other” silence is deafening. As I sit in isolation due to Covid-19, it occured to me my Sellers might appeciate a new post. If you were thinking of marketing your home for sale before coronavirus (COVID-19) swept over our great state, you will pleased to know, you still can! In fact, I am seeing more and more creative ways to get buyers in the door, er, rather the virtual door for now. See my post on Virtual Tours Here. As buyers shift their viewing behavior, you, the Seller, can do these things to get ready to sell even while social distancing.

1. Organize and beautify the chaos and clutter

First, do this, walk into your yard and them make your way to the street, and then re-enter your compound or normal size yard (whatever you have :))…BUT, do this as a prospect. Do it as a Homebuyer. What can you remove or improve? Do what you can to bring out the beauty in each area or room.

Don’t force the buyer to envision the space!

As my dear friend Diana says “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” At this point, you want to maximize the number of people seeing your home online or in person, AND make sure they see the value in your home so you can get multiple bids and get the highest price in this market. Again, this is why I did my “Maximum Home Audit” do you don’t have any surprises. So, do this:

Lose oversized and excess furniture. Make each room appear as large as possible with a change in funiture. Which pieces of furniture highlight the room and which pieces don’t. Sell it, donate it or store it. You are planning on moving, so use this time to pack your belongings. Start with your closets and storage and then move to individual rooms. Get rid of all that stuff that fills you home from wall to wall.

2. Get it Cleaned Professionally

A Homebuyer wants to walk into a home that is immaculate.

Expertly cleaned and presentable, so for the love of real estate, deep clean your home. Besides the typical cleaning you may do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, also consider these often overlooked areas:
-Wash windows inside and out
-Clean all mirrors
-Clean drapes, curtains, and blinds
-Open every window to let fresh spring air in
-Clean the grout in your bathrooms and the tile in your Kitchen

3. Make those repairs and do some small upgrades

Do a pre-inspection on your home before you list it.

Make all the repairs that are called out. If you don’t want someone in you home right now, do what you can on your own.
Easy upgrades:
Repaint your rooms in neutral colors
Upgrade the hardware in your kitchen
Replace doorknobs for a more contemporary feel
Update your outlet and light switch plates
Paint your front door
Add floating shelves for more storage
Upgrade sink fixtures and indoor lighting

4. Focus on curb appeal…enthusiastically

As another one of my buddies says, “Ya gotta give it EyeBall” lol. Meaning curb appeal. First impressions only happen once.
Try these tips:
Pressure wash your driveway and your windows.
Get some new plants outdoors.Use potted plants to add character to your entrance
Upgrade the outdoor lighting
Get a new welcome mat
Upgrade your mailbox
Add new mulch/bark to your shrubs and flowers

5. Stage that home-Virtually

If you haven’t sold or bought a home recently, you may not understand how common “staging” a home is now.

What does this mean? You will want to hire a company that “dresses” your home with new furniture, painting, props, rugs etc. The point is to make it easier for the Homebuyer to envision how they would live here. Do a video chat with some stagers to find the right one. Or use Virtual Stagers like MatterPort 3D Staging or BoxBrownie
Start here:
Remove family photos
Make towels, throws, and pillows light colors to brighten rooms
Put some fresh flowers around
Create an outside seating area
Make sure all your lighting indoors and outdoors is the same or similar color temperature
Less is more with items on shelves and counters

6. Put your Pets away

Homebuyers do not want to meet your pets. They just don’t. Take them on a long walk or to Day Care. Trust me. (you don’t have to work about social distancing with our four-legged family member)

How do You Get Your House Ready to Sell While Social Distancing

Search for Homes:

View As: Thumbnails List

951 Ocean Ave Apt 404 Santa Monica, CA 90403

20542 Seaboard Rd Malibu, CA 90265

14619 Bestor Blvd Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

819 26th St Santa Monica, CA 90403

1755 Ocean Ave Apt 303 Santa Monica, CA 90401

130 Ocean Park Blvd Apt 434 Santa Monica, CA 90405

March 2 2019

Mortgage Rates Highest in More Than a Month

Thomas Ray Before Buying buyers, First Time Buyers, Home Seach, millenial buyers, Mortgage rates, santa monica home sales, thomas ray agent 0

Mortgage rates surged again today as the underlying bond market continued to capitulate to selling pressure. Let’s talk about what that means in plain English! Capitulation in financial markets refers to investors on one side of a trade gradually becoming overwhelmed by the momentum on the other side.

Since Wednesday, several developments began adding momentum to the “higher rates” side of the bond market trading environment. Individually, none of these factors necessarily spelled doom, but their combined effect has been more noticeable.

Even then, we likely wouldn’t be seeing as big of a move were it not for the fact that rates have been moving in a narrower and narrower pattern. Such consolidation patterns often give way to breakouts that carry more momentum than average. It’s not unfair to say that bonds were feeling pent-up in the recently narrow range and are subsequently releasing that pent-up energy.

All that to say that there are objective underlying reasons for the move in rates (aka “fundamental” data like economic reports and certain news headlines), but the move is also being exacerbated by the recent trends in bond trading itself (aka “technical” motivations based on patterns in the charts and other purely mathematical assessments of what rates should do based on past precedent).

As for black and white nuts and bolts, the easiest way to quantify the move would be to say that the average lender is now quoting a rate that’s nearly an eighth of a percentage point higher compared to the quote for the same scenario on Wednesday morning. This pencils out to about $22/month on a $300k loan (or just over $7 for every 100k borrowed).
Loan Originator Perspective

As anticipated, bonds finally broke their recent exceptionally tight range, and added to yesterday’s losses despite unsurprising inflation data. While rates are only marginally higher, this may be the start of a rising rate trend. I’m locking loans closing within 45 days.

Today’s Most Prevalent Rates

30YR FIXED – 4.375 – 4.5%
FHA/VA – 4.125 – 4.25%
15 YEAR FIXED – 4.0 – 4.125%
5 YEAR ARMS – 4.25 – 4.625% depending on the lender

Ongoing Lock/Float Considerations

Headwinds that had plagued rates for most of the past 2 years began to die down in late 2018. A rapid decline in the stock market certainly helped drive investors into bonds (which helps rates) Highest rates in more than 7 years in Oct/Nov. 8-month lows by the end of the year
This is a bit of a crossroads. The rising-rate environment could flare up again. We may look back at Oct/Nov and see a long-term ceiling, or we may look back at early December and see a temporary correction before more pain.
Either way, late 2018 was a sign that rates are willing to take opportunities presented to them. From here, it will be up to economic data, fiscal policies, and the stock market to decide on the next set of opportunities. The rougher the overall outlook, the better interest rates tend to do.
Rates discussed refer to the most frequently-quoted, conforming, conventional 30yr fixed rate for top tier borrowers among average to well-priced lenders. The rates generally assume little-to-no origination or discount except as noted when applicable. Rates appearing on this page are “effective rates” that take day-to-day changes in upfront costs into consideration.

Additional

What causes you to lose your Earnest Money?

January 10 2018

The Santa Monica, DTLA and Los Angeles Condo Market Shows a Huge Gain

Thomas Ray Before Buying buyers, First Time Buyers, Home Seach, home value, millenial buyers, santa monica home sales, thomas ray agent 0

The Los Angeles condominium market continues to heat up with figures for August, September, and October of 2017, showing a 7.9 percent increase in the median sales price over the previous year. In some neighborhoods, the increase topped 10 percent.

The Santa Monica, DTLA and Los Angeles Condo Market Shows a Huge Gain

Among the neighborhoods included in the statistics, LA’s downtown area led the pack with a sales price increase of 16.2 percent. In spite of this, the average price for a Los Angeles condo is $630,000 versus $900,000 in the western part of town. Inventory in the downtown area grew by 1,682 units compared to 1,133 in the west. Between them, the two areas accounted for 85 percent of the total number of units constructed during the period under discussion per
In LA’s booming downtown area, Chinese firm Greenland Holding Group plans to build 520 units as part of a $1 billion development scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. The development will include three buildings. A Fortune Global 500 company, Greenland Holding Group also has properties in New York and Toronto.
According to many real estate analysts, they believe LA’s condo inventory will be exhausted within 45 days, which is the average length of time condos sit on the market in the city. Experts say this indicates an unbalanced market in which the supply of units can’t keep up with demand. This is good news for sellers who are getting top dollar for their units.

According to the National Association of Realtors, every home sale in California generates $40,000 in income for related industries. Brokerages, lenders, home appraisers, and more all benefit each time a home is sold. Home buyers also spend thousands of dollars on furniture, appliances, and remodeling.

This consumer spending supports and creates jobs not only in California but also in other states where economic conditions may not be as good.
Thomas Ray, MS, REALTOR
www.HouseValueLA.info for your Home Value
or
www.BuyersRebate.info to learning how you can get a rebate of my commission.
(Both my Sites)

santa monica home sales

Essential Resources for Your California Move

Additional Essential Resources for Your California Move and more Home Tips:

Should You Sell Your Home During Covid-19?

If you had plans to list your home in 2020, you still can. What changes can you expect though?

The main takeaway is your home may be very sought after since other sellers may have decided to hold off marketing their home.

Obviously you now want to deal with the number of people touring your home. You will want to restrict the traffic to 2 people at a time and make sure they feel healthy with out symptoms of Covid-19 including a temperature. You may also want to restrict tours to pre-approved and serious buyers only.

How do You Get Your House Ready to Sell While Social Distancing

1. Organize and beautify the chaos and clutter

Don’t force the buyer to envision the space!

2. Get it Cleaned Professionally

A Homebuyer wants to walk into a home that is immaculate.

3. Make those repairs and do some small upgrades

Do a pre-inspection on your home before you list it.

4. Focus on curb appeal…enthusiastically

5. Stage that home-Virtually

If you haven’t sold or bought a home recently, you may not understand how common “staging” a home is now.

6. Put your Pets away

Search for Homes:

Mortgage Rates Highest in More Than a Month

Additional

The Santa Monica, DTLA and Los Angeles Condo Market Shows a Huge Gain

The Santa Monica, DTLA and Los Angeles Condo Market Shows a Huge Gain

What’s your home worth in today’s market?