1937 CANYON DRIVE, LOS FELIZ, CA 90068
3 bedroom, 1.75 bathroom, sq ft 1426, lot 6750
$879k - today's open house is 1:00p - 4:00p
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
1937 Canyon Dr - Sunday 12/21/08 (1-4pm) $879k Today's Open Houses
3 BEDROOM, 1.75 BATHROOMS
CRAFTSMAN ROW CHARMER, CIRCA 1919. THIS VINTAGE BEAUTY HAS JUST BEEN FRESHLY PAINTED AND OFFERS 3 BEDROOMS, 1.75 NEWER "VINTAGE LOOK" BATHS, LARGE UPDATED KITCHEN, SUN FILLED LIVING ROOM, FORMAL DINING ROOM WITH BUILT-IN CABINETS, LOVELY FRONT PORCH, HUGE BACK GARDEN AND MUCH MORE. CLASSIC EARLY CALIFORNIA LIVING AT IT'S BEST!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Ryan Brown of Flipping Out, Ryan's latest LA project.
GREAT HOLLYWOOD HILLS HOME. CONFRADULATIONS TO RYAN AND HIS TEAM.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around_town/real_estate/Real_Estate_Porn__Zen_Palace_in_the_Hollywood_Hills_All__National_.html
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/around_town/real_estate/Real_Estate_Porn__Zen_Palace_in_the_Hollywood_Hills_All__National_.html
The Charitable Foundation
The Charitable Foundation.net
Because our business connects us very closely to the communities where we live and work, our agents and employees care deeply about making those communities better places to live. I’m proud to say that through our regional foundations, our people have given a combined total of over $3.5 million to hundreds of local organizations focused on health, education, community, and the environment.
All foundation grants are funded by personal contributions from our agents and employees; many agents automatically donate a portion of every transaction to the foundation. A board of representatives meets monthly to review funding applications and award grants. They also recruit and coordinate company volunteers for efforts large and small across the Southland.
Because our business connects us very closely to the communities where we live and work, our agents and employees care deeply about making those communities better places to live. I’m proud to say that through our regional foundations, our people have given a combined total of over $3.5 million to hundreds of local organizations focused on health, education, community, and the environment.
All foundation grants are funded by personal contributions from our agents and employees; many agents automatically donate a portion of every transaction to the foundation. A board of representatives meets monthly to review funding applications and award grants. They also recruit and coordinate company volunteers for efforts large and small across the Southland.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Wells Fargo CEO: Housing May Be Bottoming Out
Wells Fargo CEO: Housing May Be Bottoming Out
Topics:Mergers & Acquisitions | CEOs and CFOs | Subprime Lending | Mortgages | Housing | Real Estate | Consumers
Sectors:Banks
Companies:Washington Mutual Inc | Wachovia Corp | JPMorgan Chase and Co | US Bancorp | Wells Fargo and CoReuters | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:30 AM ET Text Size Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf said on Wednesday the U.S. housing market may be bottoming, a development that could ease his bank's pending acquisition of Wachovia.
Stumpf's comments, at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference, reflected his optimism that Wells Fargo [WFC 25.92 -0.80 (-2.99%) ] will continue to avoid the credit problems that have caused billions of dollars of writedowns industrywide since the credit crisis began last year.
Stumpf said rising unemployment is the biggest threat to housing. But even in California "more stuff is selling," he said, and multiple bidders have begun to make offers on foreclosed properties. Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco and is the nation's second-largest U.S. mortgage lender.
"We're not at the end," Stumpf said. "My suspicion is there is some more to go. But we're starting to see some early signs that maybe we've reached the bottom in housing or close to it."
Wells Fargo agreed on Oct. 3 to buy Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia [WB 5.09 -0.20 (-3.74%) ] after the latter was felled by soaring losses on "option" adjustable-rate mortgages it took on when it bought California lender Golden West Financial Corp in 2006.
The all-stock transaction, valued Tuesday at $13.1 billion, is expected to close by year-end. Wachovia shareholders will vote on the takeover on Dec. 23. Wells Fargo would become the fourth-largest U.S. bank, with $1.4 trillion of assets and $774 billion of deposits, and more than 6,600 banking offices.
RELATED LINKS
Current DateTime: 10:46:34 15 Dec 2008
LinksList Documentid: 28157631
US Mortgage Applications Dip after Big Surge
Whitney: Banks On Life Support Next 18 Months
Wells Fargo Economists to Offer 2009 Outlook
Auto Bailout Is In Jeopardy As GOP Opposition Mounts
Wells Fargo has said it expects to write down $71.4 billion of Wachovia loans, including $36 billion of option ARMs and $9.6 billion of commercial real estate.
Stumpf expects at least $5 billion of annual cost savings, and expects the takeover to boost earnings per share by 20 percent or more in 2011, and by higher amounts thereafter.
"I can't tell you how much I like this deal, despite the fact things are getting worse. But we expected that," he said, referring to economic conditions.
He said Wells Fargo does not make and still does not like option ARMs, and will run off Wachovia's portfolio.
Stumpf also said Wells Fargo remains a beneficiary of a "flight to quality" among deposits seeking stable banks.
The situation has become easier following the disappearance in the last six months of troubled lenders with large California operations that chased deposits with big yields.
Mortgages
30 yr fixed 5.57% 5.74%
30 yr fixed jumbo 7.07% 7.16%
15 yr fixed 5.26% 5.55%
15 yr fixed jumbo 6.38% 6.51%
5/1 ARM 5.89% 5.48%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.98% 5.49%
Find personalized rates:
Bankrate.com
Countrywide Financial was bought by Bank of America [BAC 14.19 -0.74 (-4.96%) ], while Washington Mutual, IndyMac Bancorp and Downey Financial failed.
Washington Mutual's operations were bought by JPMorgan Chase [JPM 29.09 -1.85 (-5.98%) ], and Downey's by U.S. Bancorp [USB 24.22 -1.62 (-6.27%) ].
"There is no WaMu, there is no IndyMac, there is no Countrywide, there is no Downey. Who is paying the crazy rates?" Stumpf said. "That's hopeful to us."
Shares of Wells Fargo closed Tuesday at $30.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have risen 1 percent this year, while the KBW Bank Index [.BKX 41.59 -1.60 (-3.7%) ]<.BKX> is down 46.7 percent.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Topics:Mergers & Acquisitions | CEOs and CFOs | Subprime Lending | Mortgages | Housing | Real Estate | Consumers
Sectors:Banks
Companies:Washington Mutual Inc | Wachovia Corp | JPMorgan Chase and Co | US Bancorp | Wells Fargo and CoReuters | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:30 AM ET Text Size Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf said on Wednesday the U.S. housing market may be bottoming, a development that could ease his bank's pending acquisition of Wachovia.
Stumpf's comments, at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference, reflected his optimism that Wells Fargo [WFC 25.92 -0.80 (-2.99%) ] will continue to avoid the credit problems that have caused billions of dollars of writedowns industrywide since the credit crisis began last year.
Stumpf said rising unemployment is the biggest threat to housing. But even in California "more stuff is selling," he said, and multiple bidders have begun to make offers on foreclosed properties. Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco and is the nation's second-largest U.S. mortgage lender.
"We're not at the end," Stumpf said. "My suspicion is there is some more to go. But we're starting to see some early signs that maybe we've reached the bottom in housing or close to it."
Wells Fargo agreed on Oct. 3 to buy Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia [WB 5.09 -0.20 (-3.74%) ] after the latter was felled by soaring losses on "option" adjustable-rate mortgages it took on when it bought California lender Golden West Financial Corp in 2006.
The all-stock transaction, valued Tuesday at $13.1 billion, is expected to close by year-end. Wachovia shareholders will vote on the takeover on Dec. 23. Wells Fargo would become the fourth-largest U.S. bank, with $1.4 trillion of assets and $774 billion of deposits, and more than 6,600 banking offices.
RELATED LINKS
Current DateTime: 10:46:34 15 Dec 2008
LinksList Documentid: 28157631
US Mortgage Applications Dip after Big Surge
Whitney: Banks On Life Support Next 18 Months
Wells Fargo Economists to Offer 2009 Outlook
Auto Bailout Is In Jeopardy As GOP Opposition Mounts
Wells Fargo has said it expects to write down $71.4 billion of Wachovia loans, including $36 billion of option ARMs and $9.6 billion of commercial real estate.
Stumpf expects at least $5 billion of annual cost savings, and expects the takeover to boost earnings per share by 20 percent or more in 2011, and by higher amounts thereafter.
"I can't tell you how much I like this deal, despite the fact things are getting worse. But we expected that," he said, referring to economic conditions.
He said Wells Fargo does not make and still does not like option ARMs, and will run off Wachovia's portfolio.
Stumpf also said Wells Fargo remains a beneficiary of a "flight to quality" among deposits seeking stable banks.
The situation has become easier following the disappearance in the last six months of troubled lenders with large California operations that chased deposits with big yields.
Mortgages
30 yr fixed 5.57% 5.74%
30 yr fixed jumbo 7.07% 7.16%
15 yr fixed 5.26% 5.55%
15 yr fixed jumbo 6.38% 6.51%
5/1 ARM 5.89% 5.48%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.98% 5.49%
Find personalized rates:
Bankrate.com
Countrywide Financial was bought by Bank of America [BAC 14.19 -0.74 (-4.96%) ], while Washington Mutual, IndyMac Bancorp and Downey Financial failed.
Washington Mutual's operations were bought by JPMorgan Chase [JPM 29.09 -1.85 (-5.98%) ], and Downey's by U.S. Bancorp [USB 24.22 -1.62 (-6.27%) ].
"There is no WaMu, there is no IndyMac, there is no Countrywide, there is no Downey. Who is paying the crazy rates?" Stumpf said. "That's hopeful to us."
Shares of Wells Fargo closed Tuesday at $30.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have risen 1 percent this year, while the KBW Bank Index [.BKX 41.59 -1.60 (-3.7%) ]<.BKX> is down 46.7 percent.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Time to Think About Buying a House?
December 6, 2008
Your Money
It May Be Time to Think About Buying a House
By RON LIEBER
Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rearview mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers.
Then, everyone who sat on their down payment savings accounts for a few years too long will kick themselves for not taking advantage of what may turn out to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime for those who can qualify for a mortgage.
Unfortunately, we do not know when this golden age will begin, because we will be able to identify a bottom to the housing market only with the benefit of hindsight. But as it does with the stock market, the moment will probably arrive when everyone is feeling the most pessimistic.
That moment is certainly getting closer. Housing prices have fallen drastically from their peak levels in many areas of the country. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are already close to 5.5 percent, and this week there were suggestions that the federal government might try to drive them down to 4.5 percent, a truly incredible figure to be able to lock in for three decades.
Meanwhile, first-time home buyers have the same advantage they have always had, which is that they do not have to sell their old place before buying a new one. That is an added advantage in areas where many available houses simply are not moving, because the people trying to sell them will not be bidding against you.
If you’re hoping for a recovery in the housing market, you ought to be cheering on the first-time home buyers. When they purchase homes, their sellers are free to move on or move up, stimulating further sales.
But if you are a potential first-time buyer yourself, or lending or giving the down payment to one, you are probably as frightened as you are tempted by all the “For Sale” signs that have become “On Sale” signs. So let’s quickly review some of the still-grim pricing data in certain areas — and consider the reasoning offered up by first-time buyers who have forged ahead anyhow.
As is always the case with real estate, much depends on location. One study, “The Changing Prospects for Building Home Equity,” tries to predict where today’s first-time buyers in the 100 biggest metropolitan areas may actually have less home equity by 2012 as a result of continued price declines. The verdict was that buyers in 33 of the markets could see a decline by 2012, including potential six-figure drops on an average home in the New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle metropolitan areas.
This is obviously scary. (I’ve linked to the study, a joint effort of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, from the version of this article at nytimes.com/yourmoney.) It’s worth noting, however, that these predictions came before the government made its most recent move to reduce borrowing costs.
Also, the price projections in the study are based, in part, on the fact that the ratio of purchase prices to annual rents is still higher in many areas than the historical average, which is roughly 15 times rents. While past figures may well have some predictive value, I have never been convinced that first-time buyers compare a home that they could own and one that they would rent in purely or even primarily economic terms.
When Jaime and Michael Proman moved this fall to Minneapolis, his hometown, from New York City, they craved a different sort of life after two years together in a 450-square-foot studio apartment. “We didn’t want a sterile apartment feel,” said Mr. Proman, who is 28 (his wife is 26). “We wanted something that was permanent and very much a reflection of us.”
The fact is, in many parts of the country there are few if any attractive rentals for people looking to put down roots and enjoy the sort of amenities they may spot on cable television home improvement shows. Comparing a rental with a place that you may own seems almost pointless in these situations, especially for those who are now grown up enough to want to make their own decisions about décor without consulting the landlord.
Still, for anyone feeling the urge to buy, a number of practical considerations have changed in the last year or two. The basics are back, like spending no more than 28 percent of your pretax income on mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. Even if a lender does not hold you to this when you go in for preapproval, you should hold yourself to it.
You will also want to start now on any project to improve your credit score because it may take several months to get it above the 720 level that qualifies you for many of the best mortgage rates.
John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for credit.com, a consumer credit information and application site, suggests starting to pay down and put away credit cards months before you apply for a loan. That is because the credit scoring system could penalize you if you use a lot of credit each month, even if you always pay in full. Also, check your three credit reports (it’s free) at annualcreditreport.com and dispute errors.
While no one can easily predict the likelihood of losing a job, Friday’s startling unemployment figures suggest the need for caution if you think you might be vulnerable. A. C. Panella, who teaches communications at Pasadena City College in California, waited until she had a tenure-track job before buying a home in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles with her partner, Amy Goldman, a lawyer for a nonprofit organization. “We could afford the mortgage payment on one salary, were something to come up,” Ms. Panella, 31, said. “It’s really about being able to stay within our means.”
For many first-time home buyers, that philosophy stretches to the down payment, too. Ms. Panella and her partner put down 20 percent when they bought their home in September, as did the Promans when they bought their home in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Alison Nowak, 29, put just 3 percent down on a Federal Housing Administration-backed loan last month when she and her partner, Lacey Mamak, bought a $149,900, 800-square-foot home several miles south of where the Promans live. “Anything that is an opportunity also has a bit of risk,” she said. Her house was in foreclosure before a plumber bought it and fixed it up. “One way we mitigated it was that we bought a really tiny house in a very good neighborhood.”
One other strategy might be to buy new instead of used. Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist for the research firm High Frequency Economics, says he believes that a steep drop-off in inventory of new homes is coming soon, thanks to a rapid decrease in home builder activity.
Since prices generally soften in the winter, it may make sense to start looking seriously once the mercury bottoms out. “If you look at new developments next spring, you may not have the choice you thought you would have or be in the bargaining position you thought you would be,” Mr. Shepherdson said. Also, if you wait after June 30, you will miss out on a $7,500 federal tax credit for income-eligible first-time home buyers that works like an interest-free loan.
Finally, allow yourself to consider how it would feel if you bought and then prices dropped another 10 or 15 percent. It might not bother you if you plan to stick around. Plenty of people seem to be making a longer commitment to their homes. According to a survey that the National Association of Realtors released last month, typical first-time buyers plan to stay in their home 10 years, up from 7 last year.
Perhaps people are more aware that they will not be able to build equity as rapidly as others did in the real estate boom. Or they simply have more confidence in hard, hometown assets now than in other markets.
“We wouldn’t let another decline bother us,” said Michael Proman. “You can never time a bottom. This is a long-term investment for us, and it truly is the best investment we have in our portfolio right now.”
Your Money
It May Be Time to Think About Buying a House
By RON LIEBER
Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rearview mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers.
Then, everyone who sat on their down payment savings accounts for a few years too long will kick themselves for not taking advantage of what may turn out to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime for those who can qualify for a mortgage.
Unfortunately, we do not know when this golden age will begin, because we will be able to identify a bottom to the housing market only with the benefit of hindsight. But as it does with the stock market, the moment will probably arrive when everyone is feeling the most pessimistic.
That moment is certainly getting closer. Housing prices have fallen drastically from their peak levels in many areas of the country. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are already close to 5.5 percent, and this week there were suggestions that the federal government might try to drive them down to 4.5 percent, a truly incredible figure to be able to lock in for three decades.
Meanwhile, first-time home buyers have the same advantage they have always had, which is that they do not have to sell their old place before buying a new one. That is an added advantage in areas where many available houses simply are not moving, because the people trying to sell them will not be bidding against you.
If you’re hoping for a recovery in the housing market, you ought to be cheering on the first-time home buyers. When they purchase homes, their sellers are free to move on or move up, stimulating further sales.
But if you are a potential first-time buyer yourself, or lending or giving the down payment to one, you are probably as frightened as you are tempted by all the “For Sale” signs that have become “On Sale” signs. So let’s quickly review some of the still-grim pricing data in certain areas — and consider the reasoning offered up by first-time buyers who have forged ahead anyhow.
As is always the case with real estate, much depends on location. One study, “The Changing Prospects for Building Home Equity,” tries to predict where today’s first-time buyers in the 100 biggest metropolitan areas may actually have less home equity by 2012 as a result of continued price declines. The verdict was that buyers in 33 of the markets could see a decline by 2012, including potential six-figure drops on an average home in the New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle metropolitan areas.
This is obviously scary. (I’ve linked to the study, a joint effort of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, from the version of this article at nytimes.com/yourmoney.) It’s worth noting, however, that these predictions came before the government made its most recent move to reduce borrowing costs.
Also, the price projections in the study are based, in part, on the fact that the ratio of purchase prices to annual rents is still higher in many areas than the historical average, which is roughly 15 times rents. While past figures may well have some predictive value, I have never been convinced that first-time buyers compare a home that they could own and one that they would rent in purely or even primarily economic terms.
When Jaime and Michael Proman moved this fall to Minneapolis, his hometown, from New York City, they craved a different sort of life after two years together in a 450-square-foot studio apartment. “We didn’t want a sterile apartment feel,” said Mr. Proman, who is 28 (his wife is 26). “We wanted something that was permanent and very much a reflection of us.”
The fact is, in many parts of the country there are few if any attractive rentals for people looking to put down roots and enjoy the sort of amenities they may spot on cable television home improvement shows. Comparing a rental with a place that you may own seems almost pointless in these situations, especially for those who are now grown up enough to want to make their own decisions about décor without consulting the landlord.
Still, for anyone feeling the urge to buy, a number of practical considerations have changed in the last year or two. The basics are back, like spending no more than 28 percent of your pretax income on mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. Even if a lender does not hold you to this when you go in for preapproval, you should hold yourself to it.
You will also want to start now on any project to improve your credit score because it may take several months to get it above the 720 level that qualifies you for many of the best mortgage rates.
John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for credit.com, a consumer credit information and application site, suggests starting to pay down and put away credit cards months before you apply for a loan. That is because the credit scoring system could penalize you if you use a lot of credit each month, even if you always pay in full. Also, check your three credit reports (it’s free) at annualcreditreport.com and dispute errors.
While no one can easily predict the likelihood of losing a job, Friday’s startling unemployment figures suggest the need for caution if you think you might be vulnerable. A. C. Panella, who teaches communications at Pasadena City College in California, waited until she had a tenure-track job before buying a home in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles with her partner, Amy Goldman, a lawyer for a nonprofit organization. “We could afford the mortgage payment on one salary, were something to come up,” Ms. Panella, 31, said. “It’s really about being able to stay within our means.”
For many first-time home buyers, that philosophy stretches to the down payment, too. Ms. Panella and her partner put down 20 percent when they bought their home in September, as did the Promans when they bought their home in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Alison Nowak, 29, put just 3 percent down on a Federal Housing Administration-backed loan last month when she and her partner, Lacey Mamak, bought a $149,900, 800-square-foot home several miles south of where the Promans live. “Anything that is an opportunity also has a bit of risk,” she said. Her house was in foreclosure before a plumber bought it and fixed it up. “One way we mitigated it was that we bought a really tiny house in a very good neighborhood.”
One other strategy might be to buy new instead of used. Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist for the research firm High Frequency Economics, says he believes that a steep drop-off in inventory of new homes is coming soon, thanks to a rapid decrease in home builder activity.
Since prices generally soften in the winter, it may make sense to start looking seriously once the mercury bottoms out. “If you look at new developments next spring, you may not have the choice you thought you would have or be in the bargaining position you thought you would be,” Mr. Shepherdson said. Also, if you wait after June 30, you will miss out on a $7,500 federal tax credit for income-eligible first-time home buyers that works like an interest-free loan.
Finally, allow yourself to consider how it would feel if you bought and then prices dropped another 10 or 15 percent. It might not bother you if you plan to stick around. Plenty of people seem to be making a longer commitment to their homes. According to a survey that the National Association of Realtors released last month, typical first-time buyers plan to stay in their home 10 years, up from 7 last year.
Perhaps people are more aware that they will not be able to build equity as rapidly as others did in the real estate boom. Or they simply have more confidence in hard, hometown assets now than in other markets.
“We wouldn’t let another decline bother us,” said Michael Proman. “You can never time a bottom. This is a long-term investment for us, and it truly is the best investment we have in our portfolio right now.”
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