Jeff Fink of L.A. Mortgage has been playing around with some creative marketing ideas lately. Check out his animated short titled “Buying a home after a short sale? It’s possible!” Gotta love the “under water” reference.
Featured Home of the Week – Northridge Hacienda
This is the first time this 4,505 square foot hacienda-style home in Northridge has been on the market in more than 50 years. Situated on one of the largest lots in the area, the 6 bedroom 5.25 bath home was originally built in 1938.
The design is said to be similar to those of the late Southern California architect Cliff May. The floor plan allows entry to the courtyard from most rooms, and the courtyard has an historically unique fountain that’s in good working order.
The home features a modern kitchen with Kitchen-Aid stainless steel appliances including a six burner stove; formal dining room with built in china cabinet; cozy kitchen eating area; three fireplaces including one in the master bedroom; built-in book cases throughout; and many of the original doors and handles.
Exterior grounds include walnut trees, an over-sized swimming pool, and plenty of room for large numbers of guests. Paul Marks of Rodeo Realty in Northridge is the listing agent. The home is priced at $1,125,000.
For more information call Paul Marks at (818) 268-5412 or visit: http://www.17333nordhoff.com/default.html
Rodeo Realty Calabasas Office Grand Opening
On Wednesday (June 22, 2011) Rodeo Realty opened a new 12,000 square foot office at 23901 Calabasas Road #1050 in Calabasas, California.
Similar to the Beverly Hills office grand opening on June 16th, attendees were treated to an evening of gourmet hors d’oeuvres and wine tasting from company owner Syd Leibovitch’s favorite wineries including: Justin Winery; Flora Springs Winery; Silverado Vineyards; and Chateau Ste. Michelle.
It has been a busy couple of weeks of grand openings. Again, thank you to all who attended, organized and worked at these events. Here’s another fun collage from the Calabasas festivities. There are more photos from the event, but these will give you a taste of the celebration. Enjoy!
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/