Rodeo Realty Beverly Hills Office Grand Opening

Last night (June 16) Rodeo Realty hosted a grand opening celebration for its new 13,000 square foot office at 202 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills 90210. The evening began with Beverly Hills Councilmember Lili Bosse, and representatives of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, doing a ribbon cutting ceremony with company founder and owner Syd Leibovitch.

Hundreds of attendees were then treated to an evening of gourmet hors d’oeuvres and wine tasting from Syd Leibovitch’s favorite wineries including: Justin Winery; Flora Springs Winery; Silverado Vineyards; and Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Thank you to all who attended, organized and worked at the event. Here’s a fun collage from the night’s festivities. Enjoy!

Survey About Home Ownership

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently released the results of a national survey about attitudes towards home ownership. Here are some of the results:

An overwhelming 75 percent of the people who were polled said that owning a home is worth the risk of the fluctuations in the market, and 95 percent of the home owners said they are happy with their decision to own a home, said NAHB’s press release.

Almost three-quarters of those who do not currently own a home, 73 percent, said owning a home is one of their goals. And among younger voters who are most likely to be in the market for a home in the next few years, the percentages are even higher.

Other survey results include:
•Homeownership and a retirement savings program are considered by voters to be their best investments.

•80% of home owners would advise a close friend or family member just starting out to buy a home.

•Saving for a down payment and closing costs is the biggest barrier to home ownership.

•Americans believe that owning their own home is as important as being successful at their job or being able to pay for a family member’s education.

To view slides on the poll, please go to www.nahb.org/VoterPoll

This national survey of 2,000 likely 2012 voters was conducted May 3-9, 2011 by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Va., and Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C. It has a margin of error of +2.19%.

OpenHouse LA Air Dates for Pacific Palisades Architectural Home

A few weeks ago we mentioned that OpenHouse LA filmed one of Rodeo Realty’s $15 million listings in Pacific Palisades. Here are the air dates locally and nationally. Make sure to check it out, because this house is amazing!

NBC Los Angeles (Channel 4):
Saturday, 6/11/11 @ 7:00 PM
Sunday, 6/12/11 @ 4:00 PM

Other airdates where this episode is scheduled to air are in the following
cities and NBC stations. These are the usual broadcast times in those
markets however it’s always a good idea to double check local listings.

NBC New York (WNBC) – OHNYC (ONLY LOCAL VERSION)/Sundays @ 8:30 am
NBC Philadelphia (WCAU) – NATIONAL/Saturdays at 10 am
NBC Chicago (WMAQ) – NATIONAL/Sundays at 10:30 am
NBC Bay Area (KNTV) – NATIONAL/Sundays 3 pm
NBC Dallas/Fort Worth (KXAS) – NATIONAL/Sundays at 11 am
NBC Washington (WRC) – NATIONAL/Saturdays at 7 pm
NBC Miami (WTVJ) – NATIONAL/Sundays at 7 am
NBC San Diego (KNSD) – NATIONAL/Saturdays at 4:30 pm & Sundays at 6:30 am
NBC Connecticut (WVIT) – NATIONAL/Sundays at 6:00 am

The Ferrari F430 Spider

Julio Elias of Rodeo Realty’s Beverly Hills office has one of those sports cars that’s a definite head turner: a cherry red convertible Ferrari F430 Spider.
But rather than soak in all that head turning attention just for the sake of soaking in attention, Elias has decided to make the car work for him. He recently had the Rodeo Realty shield and logo added to the hood and his web site added to the windshield.
Check it out!

Elias said he did it to promote himself and the company. He’s proud of the Ferrari F430, proud of working for Rodeo Realty, and says so far the mobile ad campaign is paying off in the form of solid real estate leads and business.

Featured Home of the Week: The Chatelaine in Playa Vista

This luxury home is located in the prestigious Chatelaine property in Playa Vista. It is the largest one-story “J” unit in the building, featuring 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, den/office, and a total of 2,845 square feet of living space. It has stone floors, wood floors and carpet in the bedrooms. 
The unit has unobstructed views of Ballona Wetlands, plenty of natural light, high ceilings with large windows and shutters, formal living room, formal dining room with fireplace, separate laundry area, and large gourmet kitchen with island and breakfast area.
Bedrooms are located on opposite sides of the home for added privacy. The master suite has an oversized tub, walk-in shower and dual vanity sinks.  And a few of the building’s amenities include concierge, business center, private pool, spa and outdoor fireplace.
The Chatelaine is in walking distance to Coffee Bean, restaurants, bank and dog parks. Francesca Luteraan of Rodeo Realty is the listing agent. She can be contacted at (818) 618-9368. The home is priced at $1.1 million.

The 20 Percent Down Issue

Carol Wolfe of Rodeo Realty’s Encino office recently wrote a column for Encino.Patch.com about Congress considering a proposal that will in effect require buyers to put 20 percent down on conventional residential mortgages in order to get the prime rate.

To see the original column visit: http://encino.patch.com/articles/why-homebuyers-shouldnt-be-required-to-put-down-20-percent

The piece was based on, and in support of,  the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) recently sending out a Call for Action on the issue. Here is the short version:

The proposal is tied to The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. A section of the Dodd-Frank Act requires financial institutions that securitize mortgage loans to retain at least 5 percent of the credit risk.

The intent is to force lenders to have more “skin in the game” and encourage responsible lending. Remember that securitization of high-risk mortgages is one practice that contributed heavily to the recession and housing market crash.

But something called a “Qualified Residential Mortgage” (QRM), and federally-backed loans such as FHA and VA are exempt from the 5 percent rule.

If this new proposal passes, only conventional loans with 20 percent down or more will be considered QRM. Those loans will get the best mortgage rates, because banks have a market incentive to securitize them. They don’t have to have additional skin in the game.

Lenders can underwrite mortgages for folks with less down. But they’re likely going to pass-on that increased risk to consumers in the form of higher interest rates, etc… This will put home ownership out of reach for many creditworthy middle-income Americans.

Wolfe said the proposal is not a step in the right direction for turning around our struggling housing market and economy. She agrees with the NAR that responsible lending standards and ensuring a borrower’s ability to repay have the greatest impact on reducing lender risk.

For more information and to see a sample letter to Congress visit NAR at http://www.realtor.org/

Rodeo Realty Woodland Hills Office

Here’s a nice shot of all of the great people working out of Rodeo Realty’s Woodland Hills office.

As many of you may know, the Woodland Hills office went through a significant expansion and renovation at the end of 2010. Here’s a shot of the exterior.
Manager: Jason Katzman
21031 Ventura Blvd, 100
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone: (818) 999-2030
Fax: (818) 999-0826

Featured Home of the Week: Bell Canyon Contemporary

This 7,300 square foot custom architectural is located on more than an acre of land in the exclusive guard gated equestrian community of Bell Canyon. Built in 2009, the contemporary home provides a tranquil and serene setting, panoramic views, and picture windows in almost every room.

 
 
The five bedroom, seven bath house features: elevator; “Smart House” technology with lighting / music and alarm control; home office with views; gym; state of the art media room; wine cellar; custom designed stainless steel entry door; sparkling maple floors; custom lighting; 3-car garage; and a modern kitchen with built in Sub Zero / Miele / Wolf appliances.

Perfect for entertaining, the home also has a suspended infinity pool, spa, indoor/outdoor fireplace, outdoor kitchen and roof top patio that encompasses more than 2000 square feet (approx). The rooftop patio also has a fireplace.

Sunny Yi of Rodeo Realty is the listing agent. The home is priced at $2,980,000. For more information visit the property web site at http://www.175dapplegrayrd.com/

Reception in Honor of Congressman Adam B. Schiff

Last night, Syd and Linda Leibovitch hosted a reception in honor of Congressman Adam B. Schiff of California’s 29th Congressional District.

The Congressman represents the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, Glendale, Griffith Park, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, and Temple City.

The wine and cheese event took place at Rodeo Realty’s new Beverly Hills office located at 202 N. Canon Drive. Syd Leibovitch is the founder and president of Rodeo Realty, a residential real estate firm with 11 offices and more than 1,000 agents in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

During his tenure in Congress, Schiff has focused on bolstering national security, strengthening our communities, and introducing a “Kids First” agenda of initiatives to improve education, safety, and health care for our kids, according to his Web site.

He has been a leader on national security efforts and has pushed for a broader strategy that emphasizes diplomacy, intelligence reform, and efforts to improve our nation’s ability to stabilize countries to prevent future failed states from becoming havens for terrorists.

Schiff has pressed for the adoption of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations, cosponsoring a measure that implements the recommendations, which passed the House in 2007. He is also known to be a leader who fights against intellectual property theft, and one who advocates for a patient bill of rights.

For more information about the Congressman visit: http://www.schiff.house.gov/