caroline sells the city: What is 'DU'? - 05/20/13 02:56 PM
What is 'DU'?     If you're a buyer out there actively looking for properties, you may have run across a seller looking for you to provide your 'DU' with your offer.
Huh...?
No worries -- here's a primer on what a DU is, courtesy of Scott Groves at Prospect Mortgage:
DU - short for desktop underwriting - is the computer software provided to lenders from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With many offers and pre-approval letters, lenders are being asked to provide "DU" findings. Running "DU" simply means that a lender has run their loan application through a computer system … (1 comments)

caroline sells the city: Article: Rising House Prices Make Selling More Attractive - 05/20/13 02:53 PM
Article: Rising House Prices Make Selling More Attractive     I'm sure if you're interested in the real estate market at all these days, it's pretty clear the market has changed, not only from last year, but even within the last 6 months!
Courtesy of our friends at National Mortgage News, here's an article that's speaking to what the market is doing now:
 
Rising House Prices Make Selling More Attractive
By Brian Collins MAY 7, 2013 10:08am ET Courtesy of: www.nationalmortgagenews.com
 
 
House prices jumped 1.9% in March from the prior month, which sent the year-over-year increase in … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: Vesting Descriptions in California - 05/20/13 02:50 PM
Vesting Descriptions in California     In that wonderful stack of paperwork you just received from escrow regarding your home purchase or refinance here in California, there's likely a form asking you how you would like to take title or "vesting" on the property. The typical response you may hear is to consult with a real estate attorney or CPA, but here's a little cheat sheet so you have an understanding of these terms once you speak to your preferred attorney or CPA, courtesy of our friends at Lawyers Title:

 
 
Happy Buying, Selling,and Refi-ing!
 
 
Caroline Choi … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: The Difference between a Full Condo Review and Limited Condo Review - 04/09/13 11:07 AM
  Thinking about buying or selling a condo? While HOA docs are ordered for the buyer to review, a buyer's lender will also take interest in the HOA and what the HOA might have going on.
In these financed transactions, the lender will either conduct a full condo review or limited condo review. What's the difference? A full condo review is much more comprehensive than a limited condo review, and all documents regarding budgets, HOA financials, meetings, reserve studies, by-laws, articles of incorporation, CC&Rs, as well as an HOA questionnaire are required. Sounds like a lot, right?
In a limited condo … (1 comments)

caroline sells the city: DTLA Events for April 2013 - 04/09/13 11:05 AM
Live, work, or play Downtown and wondering what there's to do this April as the weather warms up? Here's a great list of happenings going on this month in DTLA, including concerts, readings, theater performances, and shopping in the area:
http://www.downtownla.com/0_02_calendar.asp
So if you're looking for things to do, DTLA is the place! Go explore!
 
Caroline Choi Real Estate Caroline Sells The City LA www.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: What is Escrow? - 04/09/13 10:59 AM
For those of us in real estate, we throw around a lot of terms, and sometimes, those terms may not be clear to people who have not been through the escrow or home buying or selling process, such as first time buyers. Keep in mind that other states may use attorneys to close their transactions, but here in California, we use escrow holders.
Escrow is essentially a term we use to say "we're in the process of making this deal happen", and also referred to as the actual third party who handles the transaction from seller to buyer. Here's a list … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: How Your 2013 Taxes Can Affect your Home Mortgage Application - 04/09/13 10:56 AM
Yes, that's right, it's tax time again, and your taxes are due.
If you're considering purchasing a home, I say it's a good idea to touch base with your lender to make sure nothing you note on your tax return will jeopardize your chance of getting a home mortgage. The manner in which you file, any changes in deductions you claim, as well as how you open or close a business entity can all affect a home mortgage application, so it's not a bad idea to check in with your lender to make sure everything's still on the up and up.
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: Waiting Periods for Buyers who've Experienced Bankruptcy/Foreclosure - 03/27/13 03:47 PM
Waiting Periods for Prospective Buyers who've Experience Bankruptcy or Foreclosure     Think you're out of luck if you've experienced hardship in the past few years and had to either declare bankruptcy, or went through foreclosure?
Never fear! You have options! Thanks to my friends at Realtor.org, who've come up with this nifty chart to highlight what your waiting period might look like to purchase a new property, depending on what type of loan you get, as well as whether you went through bankruptcy or foreclosure:

 
So if you're in one of the above situations, it looks like potentially … (2 comments)

caroline sells the city: Market Pulse - 03/27/13 03:43 PM
Market Pulse     Wonder what's going on with pricing, inventory, buyer/seller traffic, and % of cash sales these days? Thanks to our friends at Realtor.org, here are some stats from January 2012-January 2013 trends:

 
As you can see, upwards trends across the board, with inventory ticking upward. Stay informed!
 
Happy Buying and Selling!
 
Caroline Choi Real Estate Caroline Sells The City LA www.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: How DTLA Has Changed in the Last 2 Years - 03/26/13 02:47 PM
How DTLA Has Changed in the Last 2 Years     To this day, I am inundated with potential buyers who had previously seen listings in DTLA at unheard of prices -- I'm going to refer to them as prices circa 2010-2011 -- and unfortunately for buyers/fortunately for sellers, the DTLA market has indeed changed.
These buyers are now wondering how the market is doing, and if they can find listings in their desired $300K and below price range. Where DTLA used to be flooded with these units as bank-owned or short sale units, today's inventory = 1 unit that is … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: Why Should I Short Sell? - 03/04/13 09:46 AM
Why Should I Short Sell?     Are you thinking about possibly short selling your home, but need to be a bit more educated on how this could affect your credit and your near future? Here are some reasons you may want to consider short selling:
Know your options and educate yourself!!
 
Caroline Choi Real EstateCaroline Sells The City LAwww.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (2 comments)

caroline sells the city: Short Sale vs. Foreclosure: What You Need to Know - 03/04/13 09:44 AM
Short Sale vs. Foreclosure: What You Need to Know     With the current market's lack of inventory and foreclosure properties waning, short sales are also decreasing as this market continues. That being said, for those of the homeowners who are still facing challenges with their home mortgages and payments, here is some important information about the difference between a short sale and foreclosure, and what it could mean to you.
It's important you understand your options and how those decisions can affect your credit and future, so get thyself educated!
 
Caroline Choi Real EstateCaroline Sells The City LAwww.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (1 comments)

caroline sells the city: How Title Companies Deal with Removing Recorded Judgments - 03/04/13 09:39 AM
How Title Companies Deal with Removing Recorded Judgments     Have you had an involuntary lien placed on your home, and not sure how its removal gets handled? From our friends at Lawyer's Title, here's a little blurb on how those recorded judgments get dealt with and its general process:

Having a lien or judgment placed against your property is a big deal, so its good to understand how it should be removed, and under what circumstances its removal would take place.
 
Caroline Choi Real EstateCaroline Sells The City LAwww.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: Changes to FHA loans - MIP Going Up - 02/11/13 10:25 AM
Changes to FHA loans - MIP Going Up     There were recently some changes made to FHA loans: in particular, mortgage insurance premiums are going up. This can affect the payment you are comfortable with when purchasing a home, so make sure you know what the new changes are, and discuss your options with your mortgage broker:
 
 
Happy Buying and Selling!
 
Caroline Choi Real EstateCaroline Sells The City LAwww.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: Top 10 Credit Dos & Don'ts During the Loan Process - 02/11/13 10:23 AM
Top 10 Credit Dos & Don'ts During the Loan Process     Ever wonder what you can do to facilitate your loan process when working on getting your home mortgage? Here are some helpful do's and don'ts from our friends at Skyline Financial:  

 
Not being able to get a home mortgage these days is still a reason why some potential homeowners cannot currently or are delayed in purchasing a home, so do your part and follow these helpful hints!
 
Happy Buying and Selling!
 
Caroline Choi Real EstateCaroline Sells The City LAwww.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (3 comments)

caroline sells the city: DTLA: Potential New Projects Coming Down the Pipeline - 01/29/13 12:31 PM
DTLA: Potential New Projects Coming Down the Pipeline     Thanks to LA Downtown News for this wonderful article that speaks about the adaptive reuse ordinance which has allowed buildings in DTLA to be converted into housing units, along with insight as to why developers had previously found it easy to convert these buildings. However, with the cost of these older buildings going up, in addition to renovation costs, some developers are building from scratch.
In either case, all this development sounds great for DTLA, who is currently one of the many neighborhoods in Los Angeles that are affected by low … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: What is Title? - 01/29/13 12:28 PM
What is Title?  
   
  Amongst the myriad of paperwork one receives in an escrow package, some of the documents deal with title insurance, how to take title, the preliminary title report, and the extent of the coverage of the title policy. So what exactly IS title, praytell?
Check out this lovely summary from our friends at Lawyer's Title:

 
So there you have it -- title is an important issue within a real estate transaction and definitely not something to be ignored!
 
Caroline Choi Real Estate Caroline Sells The City LA www.CarolineSellsTheCity.com
… (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: My Love Letter to the Buyers who are Getting Beat Up in the RE Market - 01/22/13 09:05 PM
My Love Letter to the Buyers who are Getting Beat Up in the RE Market     I know, I totally get it, it's hard. It's exhausting, not fun anymore, and why is it so difficult to buy even one mediocre place?!
My dears, I am here to tell you: YOU ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. I know it's discouraging. But you have such amazing courage to even decide to make such a life change as buying a home -- and in the midst of this crazy market with low interest rates, super low low inventory, and coming up against all … (1 comments)

caroline sells the city: NAR's 2013 Economic Outlook - "Steady Market Gains Ahead" - 01/22/13 08:44 PM
NAR's 2013 Economic Outlook - "Steady Market Gains Ahead"     Sounds promising, doesn't it? I'm glad our smart, statistics-based friends at the National Association of Realtors just put this report out in the January/February 2013 issue of the Realtor Magazine. You know why? Because it completely corroborates what has been the pulse and feel for where the trends have been going on the street-level!
Check out what they are saying:


 
My concerns: inventory still feels like it's going to be low through 2014 - which will still mean multiple offers, and difficulty for a lot of the … (0 comments)

caroline sells the city: What is a 1031 Exchange? - 01/22/13 08:39 PM
What is a 1031 Exchange?     1031 exchanges are becoming increasingly more popular with investors who are looking to increase their opportunities by rolling up into a larger property, reinvesting into a different property to maximize their depreciation, along with avoiding the tax liabilities that would come from capital gains.
 
Here's a great summary of what a 1031 is and how it can benefit you tax-wise, courtesy of my friends at Lawyers Title:


 
So if you're considering minimizing your tax liability but wanting to further your real estate investments, a 1031 exchange is a great way … (1 comments)

 
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Caroline Choi -- Caroline Sells The City -- Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

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John Aaroe Group - Broker Associate/EcoBroker Certified

Address: 548 S Spring St #109, Los Angeles, CA, 90013

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