Michael Leznik - Los Angeles REALTOR and Neighborhood Expert

Just in case there are some potential home buyers reading my blog today, I wanted to let you know about a great event sponsored by the California Association of Realtors and the LA Times.

From the C.A.R Newsletter

HOME BUYER'S FAIR THIS WEEKEND, COUPONS STILL AVAILABLE
The Southern California Home Buyer's Fair takes place this Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

C.A.R., in participation with the Los Angeles Times, will present the Southern California Home Buyer's Fair in an effort to support REALTORS® and educate consumers about current opportunities in today's challenging real estate market.

Admittance to the Southern California Home Buyer's Fair is free, however, event coupons are available. Members may obtain coupons from their local association, or download and print for distribution to their clients directly by going to www.homebuyersfair.com/pdfs/SCHBFCoupon.pdf

The Southern California Home Buyer's Fair will feature more than two dozen educational seminars presented in English and Spanish for consumers, designed to address many of the concerns of first-time home buyers and arm them with all of the practical information they need to know as they begin the road to homeownership.

In addition, the exhibit hall will feature nearly 75 exhibit booths where consumers can obtain information from industry experts about a vast range of programs pertaining to homeownership and the home-buying process.

I will be attending with some current clients that are actively looking for their first home in Southern Cal, The asked that I join them in order to help them weed thru all the info that will be available. Look forward to seeing some of you there as well

Michael Leznik
Keller Williams Realty Sherman Oaks / Encino
www.RealEstate-818.com

Sherman Oaks Homes for sale.

Recent Foreclosure statistics for San Fernando Valley

There is a plethora of inventory available for bargain hunting homebuyers and Investors oin the Sanfernando valley and sourounding areas which makes even more improtant to educate yourself on the process and get expert advice from a knowledgable Agent in order to insure a smooth transaction. The Right information can be critical when buying a home or inverstment today.

Helpfull Information

# First-time buyers need to be pre-approved .
# bank that owns the home might require that you finance your purchase with them.
# Many buyers bid on multiple properties. Sometimes creating fierce competition
# Banks won’t accept offers that are contingent on selling your home.
# The best deals are those homes with the longest time on the market.
# Bank-owned homes typically sell for 10 to 20 percent less than their listing price.
# Get an inspection and consider the cost of repairs, missing appliances and general damage.
# The bank will most likely make a counter-offer. Be sure to consider this when submitting your first offer.
# Some banks will not accept an offer unless it is submitted by a REALTOR®.
# Banks generally are looking to close quickly, within two weeks to 45 days

Possible Additional Competition on the horizon.

A recent Nationl Association of REALTORS report stated that "Applications for mortgages soared nearly 50 percent last week and applications to refinance home loans jumped 82 percent as borrowers scrambled to lock-in lower rates".

Hope this is useful information.... Don't forget to use a qualified Local REALTOR to insure a smooth transaction and the best possible results.

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa And Counsel Member Eric Garcetti announced on Wed a plan to streamline the process for getting building permits approved, the current process is incredibly time consuming anti growth. The new process will reduce the number of agencies involved from 12 to 2 and put the majority of the responsibility on The Department of Building safety and Public Works. The move is an effort to stimulate economic growth and the creation of Jobs. Several Local news sources have reported on this action and additional information is available from the mayor's office.

This will be a time consuming process to get this initiative approved although the mayor wants to fast track this plan. There will be opposition but I believe that this is a plus for local homeowners and contractors who have been waiting patiently for approval on their projects

I was recently sent a link by a co-worker to the county assesors office that allows homeowners who's property values have decreased in the past year or so to apply to have their taxes adjusted/lowered, the application is a single page in length and easy to fill out, many firms here in Los Angeles have been charging upwards of 45% of the lowered taxes to do this for Homeowners but most can easily do it on their own, Just follow the link below

http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/list/forms.aspx?catid=70

This is great information for REALTORS to share with their farm or sphere of influence, I'm sure most states have the same process it just takes a few clicks or a phoen call to get to the right resource, the link above is for LA County.