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los angeles ca: James Hook & Co. est. 1925 Boston, MA. - 08/25/11 02:12 AM
James Hook & Co. est. 1925 Boston, MA

As some of you know I have relocated from Boston, MA to Los Angeles CA in the late 1990’s. I have been a Fan of James Hook since the late 1980’s. They have fresh Maine Lobster delivered daily. I could buy fresh lobster for around $4.99 a pound, not much has changed, now days you can buy it for anywhere from $5,99 to $7.99 a pound depending on size and time of year.
Since we moved out to Los Angeles, CA it has become tradition that if Diane goes back to visit … (10 comments)

los angeles ca: When you see the three letters LAX, what image comes to your mind? - 09/05/10 07:41 PM
When you see the three letters LAX, what image comes to your mind? Yes, everyone thinks of Los Angeles International Airport, but what image comes to your mind? At the center of Los Angeles International Airport is the landmark building and the home to the Encounter Restaurant and Bar.

The building was completed in 1961. The building was designed as an integral part of "The Los Angeles Jet Age Terminal", by Paul Williams, Pereira & Luckman and Robert H Carter. It was intended to be very futuristic.  The building has large 135-foot high parabolic arches. Paul Williams is well known … (11 comments)

los angeles ca: What does it take to be a Realtor? I am considering it - 07/17/10 03:48 PM
What does it take to be a Realtor? I am considering it. 
What does it take to be a Realtor? This morning I was going thru my e-mails and there was an e-mail from someone who reached out to me and wanted to know what my views were. He stated that .... I am considering relocating from Minnesota to Los Angeles, CA.
Once I established that he has not been in the Real Estate business outside of his own purchase, this is what I wrote to him. Let me know what I forgot to mention.
I find that as long as … (19 comments)

los angeles ca: Well it finally has come to this! I am considering a Short Sale! - 07/16/10 03:04 AM
Well it finally has come to this! I am considering a Short Sale!
"...Well it finally has come to this! I am considering a Short Sale. .."Two days ago I receive this e-mail from a client, whom I sold a house at the top of the market. The plan was that he would enlarge the square feet and then sell it for a profit if need be. Long story short he never did the addition. Periodically called me, emailed me to see if he could refinance. Sadly the numbers did not make sense.
I suggested the same course of action enlarge … (3 comments)

los angeles ca: 1345 Beverly Estates Dr. Beverly Hills CA, 90210 (PO) SOLD! - 05/18/10 08:37 PM
1345 Beverly Estates Dr. Beverly Hills CA, 90210 (PO) SOLD!
 As Realtors we like to be proud of all of our accomplishments. In my case I am especially proud of this sale. This is a vacant land in Beverly Hills Post Office, (90210 zip code). I had the listing on and off for about five years. The sellers have turned down many offers. This time they accepted it. Hurrah for everyone.
This Land is Extra Special to me. There used to be a house on it many years ago. The land decided to move and the house slipped off. The ramification, … (8 comments)

los angeles ca: Playa Vista Market Report for April 2010 - 05/18/10 08:05 PM
 Playa Vista Market Report for April, 2010
 Although I am very late with this valuable information, as the old saying goes" better late than never" with that here we go.
The Active listing inventory has dropped from the previous month by about 7.5%. This is quite strange, since the spring market is in full force and you would think Sellers would want their properties on the Market.
This of course has a ripple effect, when there are fewer properties on the market to choose from, and then there will be fewer properties in Escrow. For the period in April there were … (2 comments)

los angeles ca: SOLD! 4920 Amigo Ave, Tarzana,CA. SOLD! - 05/18/10 07:12 PM
After many weeks of not being able to get on AR, I am finally back. Three Market Reports are late, and I am many blog posts behind. The good news is I have many closings under my belt as well. One I am particularly proud of.... "The fixer" in Tarzana, CA, Seller and Buyer both happy, the ultimate reward to a Realtor, well at least to this Realtor.
To be able to sell the house which needed a lot of work in less than seventy days in this market, shows that if you do everything, Marketing, Making yourself available for showings … (2 comments)

los angeles ca: Earthquake Tips Post #3 , Southern California living in Earthquake Country - 04/11/10 02:39 AM
Earthquake Tips Post  #3
As you know, previously I have written a couple of post about' earthquake myths'. We just had one in the not too distant past, a week ago to be exact, a 7.2 Earthquake. This one was larger than the Northridge quake of 1994. It went relatively unnoticed in the major media outlets for a number of reasons.
One as you know the Media likes sensationalism, l for one am grateful that there was less than five people who died, hence it was not newsworthy. Diane (my other half) was on the East Coast and she told me, … (10 comments)

los angeles ca: 8413 Grandview Drive, Los Angeles, CA Escrow Closed!Hurrah! - 03/30/10 06:05 PM
8413 Grandview Drive, Los Angeles, CA Escrow Closed! Hurrah!
 As Realtors we encounter many challenges during the normal sales process. Then there are others that become more challenging as Escrow Progresses. This one falls into one of the latter category.
I had an Italian Architect who came to Los Angeles to look for land. We found one and the story got more interesting. He was not buying it by himself, there were three total partners. We opened Escrow and then we had to do the due diligence, which on vacant land is challenging if you are local add the International Dimension, … (0 comments)

los angeles ca: Breaking News the Hollywood sign has disappeared! - 02/13/10 05:11 PM
Breaking News the Hollywood sign has disappeared!
 Breaking News, the Hollywood sign has disappeared! The Iconic Historic Landmark has been taken over. Reuters, LA Times, and NYDailyNews.com every one has been covering it. In the shadow of the Winter Olympics quietly the Hollywood Sign has been hijacked. Look at the pictures before and after!
 So what is going on?  A picture is worth a thousand words has been said many time. In this case you need a thousand words to clarify it. There is a lot of what I consider marketing gimmicks going on.
 
After Photo:

Today the sign … (8 comments)

los angeles ca: How to get an offer accepted? Use a Realtor! - 01/23/10 01:35 AM
How to get an offer accepted? Use a Realtor!
Many buyers are asking on various internet portals how to get an offer accepted.  My answer is easy, use a Realtor. The multiple offer phenomenons have returned in certain markets. Where is that? The areas are in the Short sale and Bank-owned property. This market is smoking.
 I have buyers who have submitted at least 15 offers. Forget low balls, think full price and above asking price. Then why is my offer still not accepted? Buyers ask these questions. How is it that the lower priced offer got accepted? The answer is … (67 comments)

los angeles ca: Wells Fargo doesn't want to play nice with ....... Wells Fargo - 12/18/09 12:20 AM
This post is via Ken Crotts a Certified Short Sale Specialist. IF you were not in the Real Estate bussiness or market you would think this is an episode from Laurel & Hardy "who is on first?"
I am in a shortsale transaction with an Attorney, who has been pre-paid by the seller. So let's see how many months has it been since May? It is not fair to anyone, buyers,sellers, agents nor tax payers.

Via Ken Crotts (Windermere Real Estate):
We are currently in the process of completing a short sale with one of the lending industries giants, Wells Fargo. … (4 comments)

los angeles ca: Wells Fargo is following CITI Bank and is in the process of leaving TARP. - 12/16/09 01:28 AM
Wells Fargo is following CITI Bank and is in the process of leaving TARP. 
Wells Fargo in the process of selling $10.4 Billion worth of Shares to repay the $25 Billion of TARP money. This is interesting information and I did not see anything in the Media Outlets about it.
 This should be front page news or the headline during the evening news. If I would not have been a member of one of the Linked In Real Estate Groups I would not have even known about this.
 Stephen D. Frick, President of Titan Asset Group, Inc. wrote a post about … (8 comments)

los angeles ca: Is Opting to Default on Your Mortgage Wrong?Outrageously Bad Economic Advice - 11/29/09 06:31 PM
Is opting to default on your mortgage wrong? The opinion  and belief of this writers is YES, unlike Professor Brent T.White's advice from the University of Arizona.
 I just read a very disturbing article in the Los Angeles Times, syndicated from the Washington Post about a Law School Professor who teaches at the University of Arizona and his disgraceful advice.
 This professor's advice  to the average person, who is under water in their mortgage is to' default on their mortgage'; under the guise of writing a "new academic paper" he suggests, that you should not feel guilty about defaulting on your … (18 comments)

los angeles ca: I have a House in Tarzana, Should I sell Now or in January?? - 10/20/09 02:25 AM
One of my client's contacted me today  and left a voice mail and asked me: '...I have an investment home in Tarzana, Should I sell now or wait until January when there are more intrested buyers?..." You can imagine how interesting this voice mail was to me. I have blogged about the need to sell now vs. later.
Reference: Tarzana real estate market. I have analyzed the data and wanted to share with you. There are some serious price decreases. I have enclosed some of the statistics for your review. In comparison to September 2008 and September 2009 the median Sold Price … (15 comments)

los angeles ca: A large parcel of vacant land at 8429 W Walnut Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90046 - 10/16/09 08:21 PM
 
  This large parcel of vacant land is nestled in the Hollywood Hills west of Laurel Cyn in the Wonderland School District. A half an acre of land secluded from the hussle of this large Metropolitan city, nevertheless only five minutes to the Sunset Strip. Build a large private View Estate. Gentle topography. 
 
 
  Call or email me for more details.
If you are a consumer  who is considering buying  or selling  a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel … (2 comments)

los angeles ca: Vancant Land Collingwood Dr. Los Angeles,CA 90069 - 10/16/09 08:00 PM
Here is another great Lot for Sale north of the world famous Sunset Blvd. Surrounded by the who is who from the entertainment industry. Fantastic views, there is not one house under $2million in this area.

IF you would like more details please e-mail me with your questions or call my mobile.
If you are a consumer  who is considering buying  or selling  a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 (USA) or … (0 comments)

los angeles ca: 8351 Kirkwood Dr., Los Angeles,CA 90046 Single Family Home with 11 additional Lots - 10/13/09 12:45 PM
Here is an opportunity to build a huge gated Celebrity Private Estate five minutes to the Sunset Strip. Alternatively a developer could put up four to six homes.
 
There is another half an acre available for an additional $349,000. The possibilities are limitless depending how large a project one wants to take on.
If you are a consumer  who is considering buying  or selling  a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 … (4 comments)

los angeles ca: A Sunday Stroll in Marina Del Rey,CA - 10/12/09 10:34 PM
I love writing about Marina Del Rey, CA. I live here and I am passionate about this seaside town that is only 47 years old. Los Angeles is famous for many things, one is the Entertainment industry and the other is Los Angeles loves everything that is new. Hence in the big picture Marina Del Rey is New. A suburb of Los Angeles,CA.
 Thanks to President Eisenhower's signing of the River and Harbor Act in 1954 the building of Marina Del Rey came about. The workers broke ground around 1957 and the rest is history.
 With that introduction let me show … (8 comments)

los angeles ca: If you had $15,000, where would you invest it, General Motors or Bel Air Land? - 09/26/09 04:38 PM
As we all know there is limited amount of Vacant Land left. Particularly in the Greater Los Angeles area there is less and less of it available. I have been selling these investment lots for over 13+ years it takes a long time to sell, it is not as liquid as Stock, nevertheless I never had anyone loose money on it. Every one has increased their net worth over the years. Including in today's economic times, I found it to be a solid investment.
 The value has been solid and not volatile.  Can you build a home on it? It does … (8 comments)