Real Estate Information Archive

Looking for new ways to trim your budget, save time, and cut waste in your Los Angeles home?  Newspaper columnist Heloise has for years suggested unusual ways to repurpose everyday household items, but the newest guru in that field is Joey Green, a prolific author with an inventive mind and a keen sense of humor.  Read on to learn some of his unusual—but practical-- uses for products commonly found in your home.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of “specialty” products you can cross off your grocery list!

Aluminum foil:

• Remove rust from or polish chrome.
• Sharpen scissors.
• Hang in your garden to keep birds away.
• Use in the dryer in your Los Angeles home to eliminate static cling.
• Fix a broken connection between a battery and a loose spring.

Baking soda:

• Add to rinse cycle to clean heavily soiled clothes.
• Sprinkle in/on sports gear for odors.
• Clean floors, ovens, appliances.
• Use periodically to clean your septic system.

Olive oil:

• Polish shoes.
• Use as an emergency shaving cream.
• Add to dog food to reduce shedding.
• Clean pearls.
• Condition hair.
• Relieve an earache, bursitis, or a jellyfish sting.

Coffee filters:

• Clean windows and mirrors.
• Separate china plates.
• Apply shoe polish.
• Filter wine if you’ve broken the cork.
• Line a plant pot to reduce loss of soil when watering.

Cooking spray:

• Lubricate bike chains, roller skate wheels, or hinges.
• Dry nail polish.
• Prevent car doors from freezing.
• Remove soap scum from shower doors.

White chalk:

• Repel ants.
• Clean ring-around-the-collar.
• Add to your toolbox, silver chest, or jewelry box to prevent rusting and/or tarnishing.

Toothpaste:

• Clean chrome.
• Remove odors from your hands.
• Polish silver.
• Eliminate mosquito bite itch.

Waxed floss:

• Slice cheese or cake.
• Hang pictures.
• Remove cookies from the baking sheet.

Banana peel:

• Eliminate warts.
• Relieve swelling and irritation of mosquito bites.

For more complete information on these tips and hundreds of others, visit This Old House, Good Housekeeping, Greenopolis, Care2, and, of course, Wacky Uses

And yet another tip:  you might want to tape this list to the inside of a cabinet door as a handy reminder.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is attempting to gradually shrink the two housing-finance giants and create a new market for mortgage-backed securities to help the private sector buying Los Angeles real estate.  Recently, the Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed replacing the mortgage-backed securities that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently issue with a uniform security in a strategic plan it sent to Congress and the Obama administration.

Fannie and Freddie buy mortgage loans from primary lenders, pool them, and sell them with a guarantee that investors will be paid even if borrowers default. The two have helped people buy homes at affordable interest rates, but the government seized them in September 2008 after the mortgage market collapsed, and defaults and foreclosures of Los Angeles real estate piled up.  Because the bailouts of the two agencies have so far cost taxpayers roughly $150 billion, a figure which continues to grow, both Congress and the Obama administration have searched for ways to reduce the government’s role in the purchase of Los Angeles real estate.

Current reform proposals include the following specifics:

• Shrinking the size of the portfolio of mortgages held by government housing finance agencies by at least 10 percent a year.
• Creating an insurance fund for mortgages much like bank deposit insurance, supported by premiums paid by lenders.
• Winding down government subsidies of mortgages by raising the fees charged to cover the risk of default.
• Limiting the government’s role in housing finance to Federal Housing Administration backing of mortgages, turning most of the market over to the private sector.
• Phasing in a 10 percent down payment requirement for government guaranteed loans.

As one might expect, this economic matter is also a political issue. Many Republicans believe that the role of government should be dramatically scaled back without delay and argue that private lenders can adequately provide housing finance to any and all qualified buyers of Los Angeles real estate-- without interference from the government.  On the other hand, Democrats who support continued government involvement in mortgage lending believe that public support of housing finance is needed to guarantee access to affordable loans for the middle class. They counter that only government backing can ensure a steady flow of loans during hard times when private lenders pull back.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

The increases in FHA mortgage guarantee costs that took effect on April 1 have many home buyers asking, "What do these increases mean to me when I get an FHA loan?"  Megan Booth and Rob Freedman with Realtor.tv break down the facts in this informative video.

Lets take a look at March figures.

Beverly Hills Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

Beverly Hills Post Office Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

Bel Air Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

Hollywood Hills East Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

Hollywood Hills West Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

West Hollywood Real Estate Sales Statistics - Single Family Homes

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

According to many experts in the building business, homeowners are ready to make 2012 a banner year for remodeling, and the latest cost-for-value research suggests that getting the most bang for every buck is more important than ever.  Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value report for 2011-2012 found that the trend right now is replacement over remodeling—swapping out the old for the new rather than doing a total gut job, which can be much more costly. Exterior replacement projects—such as new garage doors or a new entry door—offer some of the best returns at resale, allowing owners of Los Angeles homes to recoup close to 70 percent or more of the costs of the project at times of resale.  Based on what home owners stand to recoup at time of resale, RISMedia recommends these mid-range projects:

1. Replacing the entry door to steel
Estimated cost: $1,238
Cost recouped at resale: 73 percent

2. Attic bedroom
Estimated cost: $50,148
Cost recouped at resale: 72.5 percent

3. Minor kitchen remodel (including new cabinets and drawers, countertops, hardware, and appliances)
Estimated cost: $19,588
Cost recouped at resale: 72.1 percent

4. Garage door replacement
Estimated cost: $1,512
Cost recouped at resale: 71.9 percent

5. Deck addition (wood)
Estimated cost: $10,350
Cost recouped at resale: 70.1 percent

6. Siding replacement (vinyl)
Estimated cost: $11,729
Cost recouped at resale: 69.5 percent

What projects should you avoid?  According to Bankrate and US News these six projects are not cost-effective:

1. Home office remodel: Property owners who remodel a home office recoup on average less than half of the project's cost when they sell.

2. Sunroom addition: Brings in only about 51 percent of the project's cost

3. Bathroom addition: Only about 60 percent of the project's cost is recouped when Los Angeles home owners sell their residence.

4. Backup power generator: Will bring on average a return of only 59 percent of the project's cost.

5. Garage addition: Los Angeles home owners who build a garage addition get back approximately 62 percent of the project's cost when they sell their home.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced new regulations to ensure that HUD’s core housing programs, including those connected with Los Angeles real estate, are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“The Obama Administration has viewed the fight for equality on behalf of the LGBT community as a priority and I’m proud that HUD has been a leader in that fight,” said Donovan at the 24th National Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equality. “With this historic rule, the administration is saying you cannot use taxpayer dollars to prevent Americans from choosing where they want live on the basis sexual orientation or gender identity – ensuring that HUD’s housing programs are open, not to some, not to most, but to all.”

HUD first proposed this regulation a year ago as part of its continued efforts to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in its core housing programs—programs that impact 4.4 million units of housing in the country.  The current bill went into effect on March 1^st.

In essence, the new rule:

• Requires owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing, or housing whose financing is insured by HUD, to make housing available without regard to the sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant for, or occupant of, the dwelling, whether renter- or owner-occupied.
• Prohibits lenders dealing with Los Angeles real estate from using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA-insured mortgage financing. FHA’s current regulations provide that a mortgage lender’s determination of the adequacy of a borrower’s income “shall be made in a uniform manner without regard to” specified prohibited grounds. The rule will add actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited grounds to ensure FHA-approved lenders do not deny or otherwise alter the terms of mortgages on the basis of irrelevant criteria.
• Clarifies that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, will have the opportunity to participate in HUD programs affecting Los Angeles real estate.

For the complete contents of the regulation, click here.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com. 

Did you know that in 2011 the U.S. experienced fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters? And, unfortunately, recent mudslides and flooding in the Northwest and severe tornados in Alabama do not bode well for 2012.  Be they in the form of earthquakes, wildfires, floods, blizzards, or twisters, weather-related catastrophes continue to plague Americans, destroying homes and possessions and disrupting the lives of thousands.

As the news cameras pan the remains of shattered Los Angeles homes and treasured items, do you ever think about your own possessions and the overwhelming task of filing an insurance claim for all of them? Living through a disaster is difficult enough without trying to remember, list, and evaluate each of your lost belongings during such a challenging time, so insurance companies urge you to take a detailed inventory now.  To help you accomplish this important task, there are numerous sites which offer both advice and tools.

There are three basic steps involved in this task. First, list all of the major belongings and furnishings both inside your Los Angeles home room by room—and don’t forget the garage, basement, and outside furniture. Record a brief description, any serial numbers, purchase prices and date, and current value. Attach any receipts and appraisals.  This sounds easier than it is, so use the detailed check sheets offered by State Farm and the Insurance Information Institute, which also offers a free online software program and helpful videos.

The second step is to back up your inventory list with photographs or video (adding oral comments is a good idea). Take photos or videotape every room, with closet or cabinet doors open. Note the date, contents shown, and location.

Third, store the inventory and photographs/videotape in a safe place away from your home, such as in a safe-deposit box in a bank. Keeping a copy of the list or tape at home is fine, but it is wise to keep the original inventory and receipts in a secure location in case a fire or natural disaster destroys your home.

If you are one of the diligent owners of a Los Angeles home and have already created a detailed inventory of your possessions, congratulations!  Do remember, however, the need to update that list at least yearly, especially if you have updated your kitchen or purchased a big-box item in recent months.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

Unfortunately, selling your Los Angeles home in the current real estate market can be both difficult and frustrating.  As much value as you may feel your home has, the current conditions might say differently. In this buyer’s market, accurate pricing of your home is imperative in getting your property sold quickly and for the best price possible. While this might sound simple enough, correctly pricing your property is far from easy and is a decision which requires time and effort on your part.  The following tips should help make the pricing process a smooth and beneficial one for you.

1. Do your research: It’s important to know what other homes in your area are selling for right now in order to get an idea of a price point for your own property, but you shouldn’t rely on that alone. An Automated Valuation Model, better known as an AVM, is a web-based technology that immediately generates home values based on data analysis of recent area comparable sales, tax assessments and price trends. Click here for free sites.
2. Find the right Realtor: Hiring the listing agent who quotes you the highest price isn’t always wise.  Interview at least 3 Realtors familiar with the area around your Los Angeles home and choose the agent who supports a suggested price with comparative market data. It is the job of your Realtor to know the current market and market trends inside and out, to be closely connected to the real estate market at large, and to be aware of other properties currently for sale in your particular neighborhood..
3. Cast emotions aside:   It’s important to remain as realistic and objective as possible when pricing your property. Although your home will most likely be invaluable to you, focus on the statistics from your research and on the advice given to you by your real estate agent for a satisfactory sale.
4. Avoid overpricing at the outset.  Because your property has the best chance of selling within its first seven weeks on the market, the longer it stays on the market, the less it will ultimately sell for.  In addition, you will lose out on savvy potential buyers who won’t even come by to look, and fewer knowledgeable Realtors will preview your Los Angeles home.  Lowering your price later will only result in delays and suspicions that something is wrong with the property.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

Deconstruction, the careful removal of building materials for reuse, has for the past ten years been gaining popularity as an alternative to demolition.  Spurred by environmental, aesthetic, and economic concerns, it is an idea whose time has come within the home building and remodeling business.

The preservationist's answer to bulldozing a building and dumping the splintered remains into a landfill, deconstruction involves going room by room, handpicking features to be salvaged: millwork, crown moldings, leaded windows, still-sound kitchen cabinets, crystal chandeliers, and hardwood floors.  Items typically salvaged also include bricks, cabinets, windows, lighting fixtures, and countertops.

The eco-friendly construction and renovation business is growing in popularity not only among do-it-yourself consumers but also in the building and construction sector with contractors and architects. When it first emerged, green building was popular almost exclusively among environmentalists. But now those who want to save substantial dollars on building materials have joined those wanting to reverse the “throw away” trend.

The obvious advantages to such a program are the recycling of valuable resources and the decreasing impact on already over-burdened landfills.  Other positive impacts are the economic savings to the remodelers of Los Angeles real estate, the ease in procuring municipal permits, governmental training for deconstruction workers, and the cooperative efforts of contractors, suppliers, and homeowners.

Deconstruction stores are rapidly gaining popularity, with over 750 nationwide to date.  The inventory of these retail outlets consists of a large variety of items donated by those who are in the process of remodeling their Los Angeles real estate and surplus materials from distributors and/or manufacturers.

 Purchasers of used items generally save one third of the cost, and buyers of new merchandise can save up to one half of the retail price.  Other economic incentives for those who donate materials include not having to pay disposal costs (pick up of the items if free) and frequently a tax deduction if the store is charity-based.

Popular stores involved in the deconstruction movement are Habitat for Humanity's Re-store, Build It Green, Green Demolitions, ReNew Salvage, and EcoBuilding Bargains.  Check with your contractors to find others near to your Los Angeles real estate.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.

When one of those much used appliances in your Los Angeles home ceases to work correctly—or even at all, there comes the need to choose either repairing the malfunctioning item or replacing the item.  Although the cost of each option is most likely the first thing you think of, there are other factors, such as age, energy, and technology that you should consider as you make your decision.

COST: 

• The 50% rule:  Generally speaking, if a repair is estimated to cost 50% or less than the replacement value, it is usually better to have it repaired. 

AGE: 

• Check the average life expectancy of the appliance to determine if it still has enough service years in it to justify the repair.
• Be aware that old parts may be unavailable.  Check this site to locate those that are out-of-date or difficult to find—and instructions for installation.
• Consumer Reports suggests that if your appliance is eight or more years old, it usually it makes sense to buy a new one for your Los Angeles home.

ENERGY:

• An important consideration is energy-efficiency.  Energy Star-rated produced after 2001, e.g., use 40 percent less energy than those manufactured before that date, and that might have a bearing on your decision.
• If big-ticket items such as heating and cooling equipment in your Los Angeles home need frequent repairs and your energy bills are going up, it may be time to replace them with energy-efficient systems.
• Check out the ENERGY STAR website for product information.

TECHNOLOGY:

• It so often happens that soon after you purchase an appliance, a newer, more advanced model with desirable features comes on the market.  If the item you’re considering repairing or replacing falls into this category, it may be worth your while to invest in the improved appliance rather than repair the old one.
• Experts seem to agree that it is probably wiser to replace electronics than to repair them.  But don’t throw the old ones away; recycle them!  Don’t know just how to do that?  Greener Gadgets can help you.

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Eileen Walsh has a reputation for tough, yet fair, negotiation, and for facilitating real estate transactions to a successful close. She has earned the loyalty of repeat clients who rely on her for all of their real estate needs. Eileen's goals are to ensure Los Angeles real estate sellers that they receive top net dollar for their properties in the shortest amount of time and to help Los Angeles homebuyers find the property which best meets their objectives at the fairest price. 

Empowered with the appropriate people skills, market knowledge, deal-making track record and dedication to her clients, Eileen has shown that she is THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE to represent you in your next Los Angeles real estate transaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Los Angeles home, please call Eileen direct at 310-738-3807 or via email at eileenwalsh.realestate@gmail.com.