Useful Links for Real Estate
A few useful links in this difficult time…
Apartment for Rent
Apartment guide - http://www.apartmentguide.com
Rent.com - http://www.rent.com
For Los Angeles residents - http://www.westsiderentals.com
Homes For Sale
Realtor - http://www.realtor.com
Zip Realty - http://www.ziprealty.com
Zillow - http://www.zillow.com
For Sale By Owner - https://www.forsalebyowner.com
For Southern Californians - http://www.movoto.com
Others
Bankrate - http://www.bankrate.com/
Sperling’s Best Places - http://www.bestplaces.net -It provides information about living costs, apartments, school crime rates.
City Data.com - http://www.city-data.com - It provides statistics about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment…) as well as real estate prices, sales trends, recent home sales, and home value estimator.
Cost of Living Calculator - http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html - Comparison of living cost or salary
Posted on September 28, 2008
Filed Under Real Estate Related | Leave a Comment
Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
In most cases, the first home buying transaction is the biggest spending in people’s life. Even a small misjudgment could cost you a fortune. Here are some great tips for those who consider buying their
first home.
Get the numbers right. Calculate and determine what you can afford. It’s said that your monthly housing cost should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income. Monthly housing cost includes monthly mortgage, property taxes and insurance. Also, the better the ratio of monthly housing cost to monthly gross income is, the better deal you can find in mortgage loan.
Shop around for the best loan and get prequalification if possible. It’s not surprising that it has become more difficult for home buyers to get a mortgage loan. Arrange your financing before shopping. This helps you shop for homes that you can afford. You’ll be also a more attractive buyer and negotiation to lower the price will be easier.
Know your credit standing. The earlier you check your credit, the better you can improve it. Many people find that their credit needs corrections either from their own faults or from someone else’s. When a person’s credit history needs fixes, it usually takes time. Even without any error on their credit, many people want to improve it to get a better mortgage loan. If you need to, find out issues earlier and start to change your spending habits.
Examine housing priorities. Differentiate your “needs” from your “wants”. When you consider your needs, think about how long you will live in your new home. Take that into consideration because having/raising kids or changing a career will definitely affect your life style.
Gather housing information. Read home buying advice, research market information, especially about the location where you’re interested in buying, and real estate policies that may affect your purchase.
Keep it mind that buying home is not the same as buying stocks. Don’t consider your home as a stock investment. Appreciation and depreciation of real estate properties is even harder to predict than stock market. Buying home shouldn’t be for a quick profit.
Read the market, but don’t try to time the market. When you notice the bottom of the market, most likely the market has started to head up.
Posted on July 9, 2008
Filed Under Buying a Home | Leave a Comment
Home for sale - 2217 Greenfield (West LA)
After work or during weekends, I like to take a walk or run around my neighborhood just because it’s so quiet and refreshing. As much as I like this neighborhood, it hasn’t been so easy to see Home for Sale signs. This one was just out on the market several days ago.
2217 Greenfield Ave Los Angeles CA 90064
2 beds, 2.0 baths, 1,072 sq ft, lot 6750 sq, build 1923
(I guess south of Olympic is 90064, not 90025)
For Sale: $899,000, Zillow zesimate: $942,500
Listing updated: 4/11/2008
MLS: 07-227151
While I was searching its past sale history on the web, I found out Catalist site says this one was sold at 830,000 on 4/11/2008. According to that web site, the house had been on the market only for 62 days.
Posted on April 18, 2008
Filed Under Homes for Sale | Leave a Comment