"FSBO": FOR SALE BY OWNER

Most people want to save money where they can. Being a bargain-hunter myself, I can definitely relate to that philosophy. When it comes to real estate transactions, homeowners who wish to save money by selling their home on their own are termed "FSBO's" or "For Sale By Owners". FSBO's hope to forgo the commission that they would otherwise have to pay in hiring a real estate agent.

The idea of being able to save on the paid commission to an agent is very enticing. But often times, homeowners are unaware of the time, energy, paperwork, and responsibility that come with the transaction of selling a home. Additionally, homeowners run the risk of being sued should anything go awry in the transaction due to negligence. Of course, as a real estate agent, we take on the responsibility and the liability throughout the entire transaction making it a smooth process for all parties involved.

USA Today published an article regarding the hardships involved with selling your home as a "FSBO". This article was published in 2003 when there were actually more homes being sold in the real estate market in comparison to today's market, which means that in this current "buyer's" market, a homeowner can get even more exposure and marketing through use of an agent. This translates into time and money saved in the long run.

Here is the link to the article in USA Today: "For Sale By Owner" Can Be a Hard Sell.

Best of luck to anyone attempting to sell a home on your own. But, if you feel that the process can be too overbearing, confusing, or time-consuming, please contact us so we can take all that stress away =)

Bargain hunting for your home

The majority of us love saving money whenever we can while still being able to purchase what we love. It's a bargain hunter's dream to be able to buy what we want at a price we couldn't beat. Most of us shop around to find that perfect house - the one to raise our family in, the perfect bachelor/bachelorette pad, the home to retire in, the perfect starter home, etc. Whatever it may be, we try to get the most of what we pay for, by shopping around. As a woman who LOVES to shop and SAVE MONEY at the same time, I decided to share my secret weapon with all of you when shopping for home decor and furnishings. If you are in the Los Angeles County area, Orange County area, or the Inland Empire and have recently spent the majority of your savings in the purchase of your home, have no fear! I am here to help. You no longer have to eat dinner off those cardboard boxes that once held your clothes and personal belongings for transport. You no longer have to sit on the floor to watch your favorite tv show, and you definitely don't have to use just that single mattress that is sadly placed all by its lonesome in the corner of your bedroom floor to sleep on. Please check out the following links. You might just find exactly what you're looking for at a way affordable price: - Furniture - Flooring - Fabric & Upholstery - Home Decor - Home improvement - Linen & Bedding - Mattresses - Office Supplies - Appliances. Specifically for Inland Empire residents, please check out this link for discounted goodies in your area: Merchandise for the IE residents. For Orange County residents, please check out this link for affordable merchandise closer to home for you: Merchandise for the OC Residents. So there you have it. A few locations that I like to visit for my own personal home decorating that I felt you might like to check out as well to start your bargain hunting. Happy shopping!!

Southern California Home Sales Down BUT Home Sale PRICES still UP!!

In working with various clients looking into purchasing a home, some fear that home prices will drastically drop by year's end at a whopping rate of 20%!! They fear "overpaying" for a home if they buy now. Therefore, to put these clients at ease and to share the knowledge that we have come across, we wanted to address this fear by giving you data and statistics. According to DataQuick Information System, it is true that home sales have slowed to its most drastic sales rate in 14 years. This means that homes are not flying off the shelves and there is an abundant amount of inventory available in comparison to home sale numbers of 2006. This already translates to being beneficial for buyers because there is a wide selection of homes to choose from. Feel free to shop around!

Now, based on the survey by DataQuick Information Systems, the median price paid for a Southland home was $502,000 in June of 2007. Okay, here's the exciting part!! Although the number of homes being sold had lessoned, the PRICES of homes actually ROSE!! In comparison to June 2006, the median Southland home price was $490,000. So in 2007, home prices were actually up 2.4% in comparison to the exact same month last year. Additionally, the typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland home-buyers paid in June of 2007 was $2,430 in comparison to $2,364 in May of 2007 and $2,422 in June of 2006. Buyers are actually willing to pay MORE now than they did the month before and even the same time a year ago.

With this in mind, we can conclude that although Southern California home sales have declined drastically, home prices are still stable or increasing in certain markets. As a buyer, if you are looking to purchase a home to live in, now is a good time to buy because home prices will most likely not be dropping as drastically as some may assume. According to the data above, home prices are actually increasing. It is now a good time to purchase because interest rates are still low, home prices are still affordable and not unreasonable, and in the long run, while you are living in your dream home, you will be accumulating wealth.

On the other hand, this is Southern California and even if home prices did have a slight decline by the end of 2007, historically speaking, it eventually surpasses prices of the previous years. As you can see by the chart above published by DataQuick Information Systems, home prices have generally increased since 1988. So, as long as you are purchasing a home for yourself and your family to live in, it wouldn't matter if your home price decreased by the end of the year because you're not going to be selling it - you'll be living in it. Buy your home now, live in it and enjoy it, sell later when you are ready to upgrade, and make some money while you're at it! Oh yea! Please don't forget to contact us (www.minhandchristie.com) so we can represent you as you laugh all the way to the bank ;)

Claremont Ranked #5 as "Best Places to Live" in 2007 by Money Magazine

For the year 2007, Money Magazine focused on smaller cities when determining which are the top 10 "Best Places to Live" in the United States. This year, the focus was on neighborhoods that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do within the city, and a real sense of community when living there. With a population of 35,900 residents, a median home price of $643,549 (according to the 2006 survey), and a tight-knit community with topnotch schools, Claremont, California ranked in at #5. According to Money Magazine, Claremont is known as the City of Trees and Ph.D.s. This city has won the National Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA award for 19 straight years, and Pomona is part of a prestigious consortium known as the Claremont Colleges. The downtown area is a mixture of hip boutiques and old-school businesses. And the historic College Heights Lemon Packing House is now home to the Claremont Art Museum, restaurants, a jazz bar and artists' lofts. Relative to much of California, it is still affordable. So, if you are interested in purchasing a home in one of America's top cities to live in, or in any of the nearby communities, please contact us! To view the complete data accumulated for Claremont as well as the interactive map provided by CNNMoney.com, please visit this link.

Growth in the Inland Empire

Some people may still have the misconception that the Inland Empire is nothing more than green prairies, rolling hills, and the scent of a cow farm. Although this is a welcoming image for country lovers, the Inland Empire does offer so much more than farmland alone. With new housing developments on the rise in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, more affluent communities are being brought to this region of Southern California. Additionally, with well-educated men and women seeking more affordable housing where family values are sustained, more jobs are being brought inland as well. With newer home developments, an increase in job availability, and a higher average income per household, higher end retail shops are now in demand. Because of this influx of people moving into the Inland Empire, lifestyle centers are being developed. Lifestyle centers are generally a mix of retail/entertainment, office, and housing. This so happens to be the new trend across the nation, and it is now available in the San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. In Corona, Dos Lagos has been developed and in Chino Hills, The Shoppes at Chino Hills is being developed. Both are Lifestyle Centers and both are hoping to imitate the success seen in outdoor malls such as Victoria Gardens located in Rancho Cucamonga. The Inland Empire can no longer be known just as farm-land. According to Grubb & Ellis, by the year 2020, the Inland Empire's population will rise to 5 million, which is currently projected as 4.1 million. Additionally, Grubb & Ellis expects that with all the higher-end restaurants and shoppes being developed in the Inland Empire, by 2007 retail sales will increase 10.9% from 2006 to 51.7 billion, surpassing even Orange County for the THIRD year in a row. With more land availability, a steady population growth, higher-end retail centers being built, and constant new development, this is definitely a good place to purchase a home or invest in property, wouldn't you agree?

A Solution for First Time Home Buyers

According to the California Association of Realtors, the average mortgage for a first-time home buyer purchasing an entry-level home priced at $477,400.00 would be $3,230.00. That would be the monthly payment including taxes and insurance. For many first-time home buyers, this amount of money is just too overwhelming. Therefore, many people are forced to relocate out of California and into more affordable housing elsewhere if they want to purchase a home. Additional problems have also arisen because of the subprime lending industry as well as the rising cost of rent. To remedy this problem that many first-time home buyers face, Prosperity Homes, a developer known for its affordable housing developments, has started selling two new projects in Southern California. Circle City Villas is in Corona and Arbor Glen is in Riverside. Circle City Villas total 36 homes that are 2 bed/2 bath. Arbor Glen comprises of 70 homes that are either 2bed/2bath or 3bed/2bath. Both developments are priced in the mid to high $200,000's. Circle City Villas are condominiums while Arbor Glen are patio homes. Patio homes are basically 1-story homes that share at least one common wall and have a patio in the back and not necessarily a yard. Condominiums are essentially apartments that are individually owned. Thanks to Prosperity Homes, many recent graduates and newlyweds are now able to pride themselves as homeowners, and a renter's dream of becoming a homeowner is now within reach.

Pasadena dining is always a YUMMY experience

Earlier today, I had brunch with a girlfriend of mine and my 2-year-old son. We decided to eat at a little neighborhood restaurant in Pasadena called Green Street Restaurant. I had heard about this restaurant years ago and about their TO DIE FOR salad dishes. Since I haven't really been fulfilling my daily requirement of greens, I decided to give this well-known salad joint a try. My girlfriend and I had planned on grabbing a quick bite to eat and then heading out to do some credit card damage at Citadel, so we started our day a little earlier than expected. We need all the time we can get when it comes to outlet shopping of course! So when we arrived at Green Street Restaurant, they were still serving brunch and the lunch menus were not available yet. I was a little disappointed because I came here for a salad after all, but hey, sacrifices are needed to be made when it comes to a shopping-filled day. So, I decided on having "Charlie's Breakfast", which consisted of scrambled eggs and bacon, grilled onions and cheddar cheese served with sour cream and michoacan salsa. I even got zucchini bread on the side to accompany my breakfast platter. THE ZUCCHINI BREAD WAS TO DIE FOR!!! It was so stinkin' delicious! My friend ordered the "Spinach Omelette", so I was able to steal her greens, in addition to stealing her mushrooms and onions and extra chicken that she added onto the order (: She also got a side of Zucchini Bread with her meal. I would have taken pictures of our dishes just to show how delicious all the food was, especially the bread! But it was a little hard when I had one hand on my fork and the other hand on my toddler making sure he wasn't knocking over his milk or throwing food at the folks next to us. Anyway, it was no surprise that Green Street Restaurant was as good as I expected. After all, it is located in the city of Pasadena, home to the California School of Culinary Arts.

Get Your Home Sold!

In today's housing market, the interest rates are rising, there are more homes going into foreclosure and being put out into the market by banks, and home sales are decreasing. These factors can make the sale of your home more difficult. Here are some tips that can help with getting your listed home SOLD! 1. PRICE ACCORDINGLY!! Get a real estate professional to do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on your home. A knowledgeable agent should be able to give you an overview of what similar homes in your area have recently been sold for. With this knowledge, you can price your home accordingly. You do not want to overprice your home with the assumption that you can always adjust the price by decreasing it later. When you initially list your home, agents who have buyers looking for a home similar to yours may bypass your listing and show other properties that fit their buyer's price range. Agents know the inventory of all homes in your area and you want them to show yours to their buyers! 2. MAKEOVER YOUR HOME!! Unless a buyer is looking for a fixer-upper or is bargain hunting for a home to completely remodel, they will want to purchase a home that they feel comfortable living in immediately. This usually means that the home they buy will be clean and in move-in condition. If your home needs a coat of fresh paint, spend a weekend or two repainting. If your home needs some light, purchase a few accent lights and open up your drapes. You can do some minor work on your home to get some major buyers interested in it. For more detailed tips, please check out our blog about "staging your home". 3. MARKETING & ADVERTISING!! Once you priced your home right and have prepped the physical aspects of your home to sell, either with some minor repairs or by staging your house, you are now ready to let the world know about it! As agents with Century 21 Beachside, your listing will be advertised in the Los Angeles Times, on Realtor.com, on Century 21.com, and our our personal website: www.minhandchristie.com. Additionally, your listing will be advertised on our caravan meeting as soon as you are ready to show it. Caravan is a weekly meet of over 100 Realtors who get together and learn about new listings. So, when you are ready to sell your home, please contact us.

Tips For Homebuyers

After writing the blog about how to "stage" your home to assist in the selling process, I decided to write a blog for homebuyers. I was going to give financing tips, the loan amount, the down payment, your mortgage, etc.. But then I realized that all this information can be found on my website, or rather OUR website! =) So please visit www.minhandchristie.com for financial tools, mortgage calculators, loan amounts, real estate news, property searches using our Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and other information that will help you in your research to finding your perfect home. Have fun!

Staging Your Home To Sell

What is staging? "Staging" is a term in the real estate industry which basically means that you "prep" your house to sell. Similarly to studying in order to prep yourself before taking a test to get the best results, you may find that "staging" will also give you the results you are looking for when you sell your home. In the real estate market today, buyers are fortunate enough to have a large selection of homes to choose from. When you have a buyer interested in your home, you want them to also be able to envision themselves and their family living there. As a seller, you want to be able to see your home through a buyer's eyes, as if you are seeing your home for the very first time. Below are some staging tips from Barb Schwarz, an accredited staging professional. INSIDE: 1. Clear all unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house. Keep decorative objects on the furniture restricted to groups of 1, 3, or 5 items. 2. Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn't been used for three months... put it away! Clear refrigerator fronts of messages, pictures, etc. (A sparse kitchen helps the buyer mentally move their own things into your kitchen.) 3. In the bathroom, remove any unnecessary items from countertops, tubs, shower stalls and commode tops. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes etc., in one small group on the counter. Coordinate towels to one or two colors only. 4. Rearrange or remove some of the furniture if necessary. As owners, many times we have too much furniture in a room. This is wonderful for our own personal enjoyment, but when it comes to selling we need to thin out as much as possible to make rooms appear larger. 5. Take down or rearrange certain pictures or objects on walls. Patch and paint if necessary. 6. Review the inside of the house room by room, and:

Paint any room needing paint.

Clean carpets or drapes that need it.

Clean windows. 7. If you need room to store extra possessions use the garage or rent a storage unit. 8. Leave on certain lights during the day. During "showings" turn on all lights and lamps. 9. Have stereo FM on during the day for all viewings. OUTSIDE: 1. Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., into the garage. 2. Check gutters for roof moss and dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned. 3. Look at all plants... prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. "YOU CAN'T SELL A HOUSE IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT." Plants are like children -- they grow so fast!! 4. Weed and then mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized. Remove and dead plants or shrubs. 5. Clear patios or decks of all small items. such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys. etc. (Put them in the garage or a storage unit.) 6. Check paint condition of the house -- especially the front door and trim. "CURB APPEAL REALLY WORKS!"

Our Service Pledge To Sellers

We are real estate professionals who are dedicated to making the process of selling your home as easy as possible. Below you will find the pledge points we offer in support of helping you. 1. Dedicate ourselves to making the process of selling your home as easy and as successful as possible. 2. Respect you and your needs; being honest and forthright. 3. Hold your best interests in the highest regard throughout the process. 4. Value and respect your time, being as efficient and effective as possible. 5. Understand your needs and respond quickly. 6. Use our base of experience, knowledge, tools and the most up-to-date training to best serve you. 7. Provide regular progress reports throughout the process and discuss with you comments received about your property. 8. Explain each step of the process and act as a guide to help you make the most informed decisions. 9. Make recommendations to enhance the marketability of your property. 10. Use a written Competitive Market Analysis and local market information to help you set the right listing price to sell your home and get the value you deserve. 11. Review various financing alternatives and assist you in determining those, which best enhance the sale ability of your home. 12. Develop, present and agree upon a Customized Marketing Plan that will detail specific promotional efforts to help best market your property. 13. Place the internationally recognized CENTURY 21 yard sign on your property with your permission and subject to local ordinances. 14. Provide worldwide exposure for your property on the Internet, including posting your property on Century21.com, a site which receives millions of visitors each month (2002 Web Trends Site Metrics Report) as well as on our personal website. 15. Explain local real estate procedures and regulations. 16. Show your property to pre-qualified buyers. 17. Utilize the CENTURY 21 System of thousands of offices to expose your property to potential buyers referred to our office. 18. Utilize the vast and powerful resources of the CENTURY 21 System to get you the results you deserve, including leveraging a Network of 8,000 offices and 147,000 agents worldwide. 19. Submit to you all written offers, assist with negotiations, and provide an estimate of your net sales proceeds, so you understand all implications prior to any acceptance. 20. Upon acceptance of an offer to you, pre-settlement (escrow) activities throughout the closing process will be monitored as permitted by law or local practice. 21. Assist you in finding your next home, or offer to refer you to another office where you will be relocating.

Our Service Pledge To Buyers

As homeowners, we understand the anxiety, stress, worry, restless nights, doubt, second-guessing, and fear that may overcome a person during a home purchase transaction. Therefore, as real estate professionals, it is our job to put your mind at ease and help you make this process an easy transition. As our pledge to you, our buyers, we promise to service you, at the least, by providing the following key points: 1. Dedicate ourselves to making the process of buying your next home as easy and as successful as possible. 2. Respect you and your needs; being honest and forthright. 3. Hold your best interests in the highest regard throughout the process. 4. Value and respect your time, being as efficient and effective as possible. 5. Understand your needs and respond quickly. 6. Consult with you to determine your particular real estate wants and needs. 7. Use our base of experience, knowledge, tools and the most up-to-date training to best serve you. 8. Explain each step of the process and act as a guide to help you make most informed decisions. 9. Disclose material facts known about the property and respond to questions concerning the property. 10. Help determine your purchasing power, while explaining alternative methods of purchasing and/or financing. 11. Provide an action plan for locating the right property, at the right price and terms, in an acceptable time frame. 12. To the best of our ability, continuously show you new properties that fit your needs. 13. Provide a Customized Home Search Plan for locating the right property for you, only showing you properties that will best meet your needs and in accordance with Fair Housing regulations and ethical real estate practices. 14. Use the most comprehensive database of listings in the area, to help you find the home that best meets your needs, whether that be the Multiple Listing Service and/or other methods. 15. Provide the resources of Century21.com that offers thousands of listings, allow you to easily review homes that are right for you, access in-depth information on neighborhoods, and additional information. 16. Use our knowledge and expertise to promote the most valuable purchase on your behalf. We will assist you in evaluating the market value of properties that are of interest to you and help you obtain the most advantageous price and terms. 17. Provide access to financing that meets your needs, at the lowest possible rates available to you. 18. Advise and assist you in completing your purchase agreement, and present your offer with integrity in a light most favorable to your needs. 19. Upon acceptance of an offer by you, pre-settlement (escrow) activities throughout the closing process will be monitored as permitted by law or local practice. 20. Offer to provide you with information regarding other professionals (e.g. attorneys, accountants, inspectors, contractors) that may assist you during and after your move. 21. Utilize the CENTURY 21 System of thousands of offices to provide you with the name of an office in the area of your new home, to assist you further.

Launching : www.minhandchristie.com

Hey all!!! After many, Many, MANY weeks of hard work and anticipation, we are finally coming to the conclusion of building our website. Yay!! We are incredibly excited to be able to launch our website and offer our clients valuable information regarding real estate online. For people who have any real estate related questions, but aren't ready to speak to an agent yet, please feel free to browse our website at www.minhandchristie.com. It will be like stepping into our virtual office. And when you are ready to meet with us, just give us a call or an email. We really hope you enjoy visiting the site because we are so excited to see it up and running online! We worked really hard to get every aspect of that site just right. Enjoy!! Oh, by the way, if you would like to know more about us, please visit our myspace page at: www.myspace.com/minhandchristie.