Join us for Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer’s League this Saturday the 22nd. Delve into deep, dark dungeons. Slay mighty dragons. Win treasure hordes! Be the hero you were born to be!Note: We also host Adventurer’s League on 3rd Saturdays of...
In an effort to provide our members with more outdoor education opportunity, we will be posting some of the classes offered through the "School of Self Reliance" with Christopher Nyerges. Rob and Keith often attend and sometimes assist...
Reviews
5sam yi
There are a lot of people out there who say they are honest and hard working, but when you deal with them they don't seem to be much of either. Richard is both. He is also good at what he does. He doesn't have all the answers, but anyone who says they do... (more)
There are a lot of people out there who say they are honest and hard working, but when you deal with them they don't seem to be much of either. Richard is both. He is also good at what he does. He doesn't have all the answers, but anyone who says they do is lying. He does have plenty of experience, but yet is humble enough to learn to better himself and to admit when he doesn't know something. I sold and then bought a new house with him and through a combined effort(because the client can help or hurt the process) he was able to help me make both a great sale and a great purchase. I highly recommend Richard if you are looking for an honest and hard working agent. (less)
5kateryna bilyk ui
We were in the market to buy a house in the Pasadena/Altadena area and found Richard through Yelp. Not only did Richard meet our expectations but he far exceeded them! Our deal was definitely not an easy one - what with contingencies all over the place, and... (more)
We were in the market to buy a house in the Pasadena/Altadena area and found Richard through Yelp. Not only did Richard meet our expectations but he far exceeded them! Our deal was definitely not an easy one - what with contingencies all over the place, and us falling in love with a house with THE most difficult and evasive listing agent.
Despite every obstacle in our path and being sure we were going to lose our dream house at every turn, Richard fearlessly navigated every situation, making sure we were on the same page every step of the way. Aside from simply being extremely competent at his job, he was also super quick to respond to every call and message which is SO hard to find these days! He was quick to recommend trusted professionals when it came to securing our loan and also choosing an Escrow company. No matter the situation, Richard had it covered.
Real estate aside, Richard was a pleasure to work with, he was easygoing and didn't pressure us one way or another at any point which was refreshing and made us feel totally at ease working with him. We're definitely going to be recommending him to friends and family in the future and if you're looking for a highly competent, pressure-free, trustworthy and responsive agent - he has our recommendation! (less)
5user4984986
Richard is very helpful, honest and patient. We were first time buyers so the process was very confusing but he took the time to explain everything to us. When we first started looking at properties we didn't really know what we wanted and Richard was very... (more)
Richard is very helpful, honest and patient. We were first time buyers so the process was very confusing but he took the time to explain everything to us. When we first started looking at properties we didn't really know what we wanted and Richard was very helpful in showing us both condos and single family homes, to help us make our decision. Richard isn't your typical realtor that is just looking to make a sale, if he sees something wrong with a property that he is showing you i.e. water damage, uneven flooring, that you didnt see yourself, he will point it out to you. We would fully recommend Richard and would use him again with our next real estate purchase. (less)
Strong wage growth and level home prices buoy California housing affordability
Twenty-two regions see improvement, with eight of nine Bay Area counties posting higher
• Thirty-four percent of California households could afford to purchase the $465,280 median-priced home in the first quarter, up from 30 percent in fourth-quarter 2015 and unchanged from 34 percent in first-quarter 2015.
• A minimum annual income of $92,571 was needed to make monthly payments of $2,314, including principal, interest, and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.01 percent interest rate.
• Forty-one percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $389,910 median-priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $77,575 was required to make a monthly payment of $1,939.
LOS ANGELES (May 9) – Higher wages and lower seasonal home prices combined to push California housing affordability higher in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the previous quarter, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. Affordability was flat when compared to the previous year as rising home price offset income gains.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in first-quarter 2016 rose to 34 percent from the 30 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015 and was unchanged from first-quarter 2015, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). This is the 12th consecutive quarter that the index has been below 40 percent and is near the mid-2008 low level of 29 percent. California’s housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the first quarter of 2012.
C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California. C.A.R. also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state.
Home buyers needed to earn a minimum annual income of $92,571 to qualify for the purchase of a $465,280 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the first quarter of 2016. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, would be $2,314, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 4.01 percent. The effective composite interest rate in fourth-quarter 2015 was 4.07 percent and 3.97 percent in the first quarter of 2015.
The median home price was $483,810 in fourth-quarter 2015, and an annual income of $96,790 was needed to purchase a home at that price.
Condominiums and townhomes were also more affordable compared to the previous quarter. Forty-one percent of California households earned the minimum income to qualify for the purchase of a condominium or townhome in the first quarter of 2016, up from 39 percent from the last quarter of 2015. An annual income of $77,575 was required to make monthly payments of $1,939.
Key points from the first-quarter 2016 Housing Affordability report include:
• Compared to affordability in fourth-quarter 2015, 22 of 29 counties tracked saw an improvement in housing affordability, three experienced declines, and four were unchanged.
• Affordability improved greatly in the Bay Area, with eight of nine counties seeing an improvement. Southern California, Central Coast, and the Central Valley also saw higher affordability, compared to the previous quarter.
• Housing affordability in Southern California improved from the previous quarter in every county, with Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego counties leading the way.
• During the first quarter of 2016, the five most affordable counties in California were Kings (58 percent), San Bernardino (57 percent), Merced (55 percent), and Kern (55 percent).
• San Francisco (13 percent), San Mateo (16 percent), and Santa Cruz (18 percent) counties were the least affordable areas of the state.
Housing Affordability slides (click link to open)
Affordability peak versus current* Annual income peak versus current* PITI peak versus current*
Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with 185,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
# # #
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Traditional Housing Affordability Index
C.A.R. Region
Housing
Affordability Index
Median Home
Price
Monthly Payment Including Taxes & Insurance
Minimum
Qualifying Income
CA SFH
34
$ 465,280
$ 2,314
$ 92,571
CA Condo/Townhomes
41
$ 389,910
$ 1,939
$ 77,575
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
35
$ 436,850
$ 2,173
$ 86,915
Inland Empire
48
$ 297,850
$ 1,481
$ 59,259
S.F. Bay Area
27
$ 723,060
$ 3,596
$ 143,858
US
60
$ 217,600
$ 1,082
$ 43,293
S.F. Bay Area
Alameda
23
$ 731,640
$ 3,639
$ 145,565
Contra-Costa
38
$ 543,570
$ 2,704
$ 108,147
Marin
20
$ 1,093,750
$ 5,440
$ 217,610
Napa
24
$ 646,960
$ 3,218
$ 128,718
San Francisco
13
$ 1,332,500
$ 6,628
$ 265,111
San Mateo
16
$ 1,170,000
$ 5,820
$ 232,780
Santa Clara
22
$ 970,000
$ 4,825
$ 192,989
Solano
47
$ 368,610
$ 1,833
$ 73,338
Sonoma
26
$ 583,210
$ 2,901
$ 116,034
Southern California
Los Angeles
31
$ 458,900
$ 2,283
$ 91,302
Orange County
23
$ 713,680
$ 3,550
$ 141,992
Riverside County
42
$ 342,930
$ 1,706
$ 68,228
San Bernardino
57
$ 233,490
$ 1,161
$ 46,455
San Diego
28
$ 554,320
$ 2,757
$ 110,286
Ventura
30
$ 622,520
$ 3,096
$ 123,855
Central Coast
Monterey
27
$ 500,000
$ 2,487
$ 99,479
San Luis Obispo
26
$ 540,830
$ 2,690
$ 107,602
Santa Barbara
21
$ 680,920
$ 3,387
$ 135,474
Santa Cruz
18
$ 746,500
$ 3,713
$ 148,522
Central Valley
Fresno
52
$ 219,590
$ 1,092
$ 43,689
Kern (Bakersfield)
55
$ 220,270
$ 1,096
$ 43,824
Kings County
58
$ 201,340
$ 1,001
$ 40,058
Madera
50
$ 217,050
$ 1,080
$ 43,184
Merced
55
$ 192,060
$ 955
$ 38,212
Placer County
48
$ 411,640
$ 2,047
$ 81,899
Sacramento
48
$ 297,620
$ 1,480
$ 59,214
San Joaquin
47
$ 295,000
$ 1,467
$ 58,692
Stanislaus
50
$ 254,440
$ 1,266
$ 50,623
Tulare
52
$ 193,900
$ 964
$ 38,578
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index
Glendale’s plans to cap part of the 134 Freeway with a park are finally really starting to take shape. (There’s a plan to cap the 101 in Downtown and in Hollywood, plus a plan for a 60 Freeway cap in East LA and two 10 Freeway caps in Santa Monica, but none of those projects has moved very far in a long time.) New renderings for the cap park—Space 134—show what the 24-acre green space could look like, and give a better idea of how the park will be laid out, says Urbanize LA, citing a website from Glendale’s Community Development Department.
Working with the firm Melendrez, Glendale officials have created a concept plan that has the park set up as a kind of link between Glendale’s downtown area and its residential neighbors to the east. The segment of the park between Central Avenue and Louise would be oriented toward downtown, and would include a restaurant, a mobility hub with bike parking and rental facilities, and transit connections.
From Louise east to Balboa, in the more residential areas, there would be a playground, community centers, and sports courts. There would be three event spaces throughout Space 134, but the one in the downtown section could handle large-scale events like festivals. Much-desired walking trails will run the length of the cap park.
Space 134 will eventually extend for a .7-mile length of the freeway between Central and Balboa avenues, but will be built in phases, with the first phase to be built between Central Avenue and Brand Boulevard. Glendale’s planning on private and public funding sources to help pay for the cap park, which it hopes to start construction on after 2020.
Ever had an agent deny to show you a home because you weren’t pre-approved for a mortgage? It’s not because they’re mean, or they don’t value your business… it’s actually because they’re looking out for your best interests.
Let’s face it, shopping for a home before getting pre-approved for a mortgage is like walking into a grocery store without a wallet. You may have the desire to buy, but you lack the ability. Let’s cover some basics…
What is a mortgage pre-approval?
In a nutshell, a mortgage pre-approval is written assurance from a lender or broker that you’re able to borrow money to purchase a home up to a certain amount. It’s based on the income, employment and asset documentation you supply at the time of application, in conjunction with your credit history.
5 reasons to get pre-approved
1. It carries more weight than a “pre-qualification”.
A pre-approval differs from a pre-qualification. With the former, the lender has actually checked your credit and verified your documentation to approve a specific loan amount (usually for a particular time period such as 30, 60 or 90 days). A pre-qualification can be useful as an estimate of how much you can afford to spend on your home, but it’s a less accurate indicator of your ability to purchase. A pre-approval always carries more weight.
2. You’ll know how much house you can afford.
Getting pre-approved before you begin house hunting allows you to know how much house you can realistically afford. Knowing this narrows down the options and makes the selection process more efficient. Not to mention, it protects you from the unpleasant surprise of realizing the home you fell in love with doesn’t fit your budget.
3. It adds clout to your offer.
In many markets, homes attract more than one offer. If the sellers are weighing one offer against another, they may lean towards the one accompanied by a pre-approval letter. That’s because pre-approvals instill confidence that the buyer is financially capable of purchasing their home.
4. It could increase your negotiating power.
In addition to strengthening your offer when compared to buyers who haven’t taken this step, getting pre-approved may give you the upper-hand when negotiating the price. If the homeowner is eager to sell, they may be more willing to accept a lower offer from someone they’ve been assured is financially capable of purchasing their home.
5. It saves time.
Obtaining a mortgage is a lengthy process. Getting pre-approved ahead of time shortens the time between contract to close — this way you’re ready to proceed with finalizing the mortgage once you’ve found the home you want to purchase.
6. Without it, most agents won’t work with you.
Makes sense, too. Right? Think about it: when you hire an agent, he/she will invest countless hours showing you homes over the course of your house hunt. If you were in their shoes, wouldn’t you want assurance that your hard work would lead to a favorable outcome for both you and your client?
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