Michel Bron Real Estate

New Listing in Studio City Hills! 3375 Wrightview Place

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:45:23 +0000

If privacy and peacefulness is what you are looking for, then you will enjoy this lovely 3 bedroom/ 4 bath home located in the Wrightwood Estates in the Studio City hills. The home is located on a quiet cul-de-sac and features a sparkling pool and grassy backyard, perfect for entertaining. Close to Mulholland and conveniently located, you are a short drive to either side of the hill. Stainless steel appliances, cozy and wood burning fireplace.


Listing Price: 985,000
Property Type: House
Address: 3375 Wrightview Place
City: Studio City
State: CA
ZIP: 91604
Parking: 2
Status: For Sale
MLS # (if any): 12-582407
Square Feet: 2,316
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 4
Pool: yes
Views:

Don’t forget to pay your property tax!

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:25:53 +0000

Remember to pay your property tax! The second installment was due on February the 1st and if not paid, it becomes delinquent on April the 10th. For more information, consult the Los Angeles County Property Tax Portal.

Gorgeous 4bd/3ba house – Cheviot Hills adjacent

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:11:46 +0000

Gorgeous, Spacious and Bright family home conveniently located just South of the Westside Pavilion. Currently 3bd but could be easily turned back into original 4 bd. Beautiful kitchen with stainless steel applcs, remodeled bathrooms, gleaming hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces (in Lvg rm and Mstr bath). Huge living-room with lots of light. Nice open and private outdoor area perfect for an outdoor lunch or dinner. Detached 2 car garage. Great central location! Sought after Overland Elem School District. Easy access to fwy, 3 blks south of the Westside Pavilion, shops, movie theatres, golf course and more!

Listing Price: 997,000
Property Type: House
Address: 10826 Ashby
City: Los Angeles
State: CALIFORNIA
ZIP: 90048
Parking: 3

Status: In Escrow
MLS # (if any): 12-573395
Square Feet: 2,689sqft
Bedrooms: 3/4
Bathrooms: 3
Pool: no
Views:

In the spirit of the Holidays, Refer me a new client and I will donate $100 to the charity of your choice! and an additional $500 when the transaction closes!!

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:24:56 +0000

Though December 31st 2011, I will donate $100 to the charity of your choice for any of your friends, relatives or co-workers that you refer to me who is interested either buying or selling a house, or a condo or income property in Los Angeles: from Silverlake, Los Feliz, Hollywood, or Hancock Park all the way to West Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, and Century City to Westwood, Brentwood, or Santa Monica and the Palisades. And, I will also donate an additional $500 upon the successful closing of the sale or the purchase! Have any of your friends or relatives been considering buying a house in Hancock Park or maybe buying a duplex in Beverlywood or selling their condo in Santa Monica, or their house in Beverly Hills? This is a great time to refer them to me and also contribute money the charity of your choice when they need it the most! Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

In the spirit of the Holidays, I will donate $100 to the charity of your choice!

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:22:43 +0000

From now though December 31st 2011, I will donate $100 to the charity of your choice for any of your friends or relatives that you refer to me who is interested either buying or selling a house, or a condo or income property in Los Angeles: from Silverlake, Los Feliz, Hollywood, or Hancock Park all the way to West Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, and Century City to Westwood, Brentwood, or Santa Monica and the Palisades. And, I will also donate an additional $500 upon the successful closing of the sale or the purchase!

Have any of your friends or relatives been considering buying a house in Hancock Park or maybe buying a duplex in Beverlywood or selling their condo in Santa Monica, or their house in Beverly Hills?
If you do, this is a great time to refer them to me and also contribute money the charity of your choice when they need it the most!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Congress votes to reverse the loan limits! How this can help you buy a home in LA!

admin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:50:05 +0000

Congress Votes to Increase FHA Loan Limits

Working in concert to meet a tight deadline, Congress and the White House have raised the FHA loan limit in high-cost real estate markets, making it easier to obtain an FHA loan on properties up to $729,750*.

Following passing votes in the House of Representatives and Senate, President Obama signed HR 2112, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012, into law, renewing the expired higher loan limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans for an additional two years, through December 31, 2013.

The limit to conforming loans was reduced to $625,500 on October 1, 2011, when a previous increase in conforming loan limits expired. With the passage of this legislation, the FHA loan limit has been restored to $729,750. While the loan limit has been increased for FHA loans, the increase does not affect limits for conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Higher loan limits give borrowers another home-financing option to consider in high-cost areas of the country, such as California and New York. Borrowers could take out a jumbo loan, which typically requires a larger down payment. They now have the option of using an FHA loan with a lower 3.5% down payment requirement.
This is a great time to buy real estate! Call or email me if you have any questions.

2400 Moreno Dr – Silverlake

admin — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:30:43 +0000


Listing Price: 1,075,000
Property Type: Single Family Detached
Address: 2400 Moreno Dr
City: Los Angeles
State: CA
ZIP: 90039
Parking: 2 in Garage
Status: Sold
MLS # (if any): 11-558679
Square Feet: 2,361
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Pool: no
Views: Beautiful lake views!

PRIME MORENO HIGHLANDS LOCATION! BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OF THE RESERVOIR! Bright and cozy home with hardwood floor though out. Great floor plan, with 3bd upstairs. Bottom level has a spacious family room w/fireplace, den/office, formal dining room and the kitchen opens up to a huge deck looking out to the reservoir, perfect for outdoor dining and entertainment. The lower level features a 2 room recording studio (could easily be turned into anything else), an office space and a full bathroom! The 2 level grassy yard looks out to the reservoir. This is great house and it’s priced to sell!!

Just closed escrow today for a wonderful family!

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:01:33 +0000

I just closed escrow today representing a wonderful family who just bought a beautiful house in very cute neighborhood, near Fairfax and 8th street. It wasn’t an easy deal but I couldn’t be any happier for them! They are going to be very happy there!

And I also just got a new listing contract signed today: a great 3bd house in Silverlake with its own music studio, and beautiful views of the Reservoir!

It couldn’t happen at a better time, on the eve on Rosh Hashana, so of course it’s going to be a great year!

Congratulations and Mazeltov!

The Conforming Loan limits are about to be lowered! What does it mean for the housing market? What does it mean for the Los Angeles buyer?

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:25:03 +0000

What we are talking about here are the limits of the so-called “conforming loans”. These are loans that are backed by Federal Government entities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and which make up the majority of real estate loans in the US. Conforming loans offer lower percentage interest rates by approximately 1/4% to 3/4% and allow down payments below 20%, typically 10%.

Back in 2008, when the American housing market was at its worse, Congress agreed to temporarily raise the conforming loan limits from $417,000 to as high as $729,750 for the more expensive markets such as our Los Angeles Westside where houses and condominiums in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Santa Monica, Hancock Park, Los Feliz and Silverlake etc. are definitely some of the priciest in the country. Loans above the conforming loan limits are considered “Jumbo Loans” and consequently require higher down payments and have higher interest rates and they have tougher qualifying criterias in general.
This move was intended to and and was successful in boosting the sale of homes and properties in all price ranges. Indeed, when higher priced properties start selling, the entire momentum of the market profits from the trend of one market.

On October 1st 2011, the conforming loans limits are scheduled to be lowered again in expensive markets across the nation from $483,000 to $625,000 for our Los Angeles local market. For instance, in Los Angeles Westside, the conforming loan limits will be lowered from $729,750 down to 625,000.

What does that mean concretely?

Currently you can buy an $800,000 house in West Hollywood or Beverlywood or an $800,000 condominium in Santa Monica or Brentwood with only 10% down payment ($80,000) and take out a Conforming 30 year Loan of $720,000 at an approximate 4.25% interest rate yielding a mortgage payment of $3,520/month.
If the Conforming Loan limits do not get extended by Congress before Oct 1st. In order to buy the same $800,000 property and if you still want to take advantage of the same 4.25% Conforming Loan interest rate, you will now have to have a down payment of $175,000 (approx. 22%) in order to take out a newly lowered maximum Conforming Loan of $625,000 (or less), yielding a mortgage payment of $3,056/month.
If you do have access to $175,000 and you still want to buy that $800,000 property, you can still buy it with 10% down ($80,000) but your $720,000 loan will no longer be a Conforming Loan, it will be a “Jumbo Loan”. Consequently, you will have qualify for a higher monthly mortgage payment at a higher interest rate which could be at approximately 5% yielding a monthly payment $3,865; and also qualify for other stricter criterias.

Consequently, approximately 1.4 million properties nationwide will be pushed out of eligibility for lower rate and lower down payments and will have to be purchased with a Jumbo Loan, requiring 20% minimum down payments and higher interest rate loans.

What does it mean for the market in general? The sale of higher-end homes will most likely slow down, and the prices could go down again, possibly dragging with it the middle range market. Which could be good for the “stellar” buyer with access to larger down payments and with higher credit scores but it will also mean that a lot of the “average” buyers with access to less cash for their down payments and moderate to normal income maybe shut out of buying their dream homes even if the prices go down and even if they could technically afford them.

Congress still has a few more days to vote on extending the conforming loan limits and whether it will happen or not is anyone’s guess! So if anything changes, I will make sure to keep you informed.

Cheers!

“There are so many real estate agents in this town, why should I only commit to one?”

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:57:11 +0000

This morning I got contacted by a new potential client who is about to embark on the important project of buying a new home in Los Angeles and she asked me the following question:

“There are so many agents in this town, why should I only commit to one?”

That’s a fair question and this was my answer to her:

Dear Stella,

Thank you for your great question! Let me explain why you should work exclusively with only one real estate agent at a time:

99% of the properties that are on the market for sale Los Angeles are listed with a “listing agent” and can be found on the MLS which is THE MAIN WEBSITE for all properties for sale (Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc… all get their information from the MLS but they are do not update their information on real-time). 1% of properties may not be on the MLS, they are called “pocket listings”, which is when the seller just verbally inform an agent or several agents that he or she is thinking about selling but they do not want to sign a listing contract”. These so-called sellers are usually unmotivated seller (otherwise why don’t they commit to signing a listing contract?…), and their properties are often overpriced.

So since 99.9% of real estate agents subscribe to the MLS, we all have access to the same information and to the same property inventory. This means that when you start working with a buyer’s agent such as myself, the condos or houses in Los Angeles that I am going to show you will most likely be the same as any other agent would should you. And don’t let anybody convince you that they have access to a whole bunch of “off market properties”….that’s usually bogus…

So what it comes down to is not the different homes that you will see with one agent or another, the difference is the working relationship that you have with one buyer’s agent vs. another. Whether this agent understands what you want, shows you properties in West Hollywood or in Beverlywood as soon as they come on the market, if he or she knows a lot of the other agents in Hancock Park or agents in Santa Monica, Westwood, Beverly Hills, etc.and whether this agent has a good working rapport with them ...or if that agent is knowledgeable about condos in Santa Monica or houses in Pacific Palisades, etc…, if he or she knows how to negotiate credits, and knows all the ins and outs of a real estate transaction and so much more!

That’s basically what makes the difference between one agent versus another, not the properties they are going to show you.

That being said, all agents make a living by earning a commission from the sale, and we only get paid when the transaction is actually completed and they were officially representing either the seller or the buyer. So as a buyer’s agent, you can imagine that no one wants to work with a buyer for weeks or months, sending his/her clients some listings, setting up appointments, showing them condos or houses in Santa Monica or Westwood, etc…, calling the other agents to get all the information about the properties and then that buyer ends up using another agent to write their offer or the listing agent! (which could be a big mistake because as a dual agent it is very difficult to represent both the buyer and the seller’s interest fairly).

And this is what I do for a living, I represent real estate buyers and seller’s best interest. I have been doing it for 12 years and I am not afraid to say that I am very good at it. I teach classes in my brokerage office at Keller Williams Sunset about how to be a great agent and I also mentor new agents (with great success!).

Buying a property is probably THE most important purchase anyone can make in their lifetime! And for that reason, you want to work with a very good agent and you want to commit to that agent to make sure that they will do a great job for you. If you cannot make that commitment, the agent will know it and they will not do a very good job for you, it’s that simple. It is a trust relationship with a “win win” outcome:

If you commit to your agent,you will be in the hands of a good agents who will commit to you one hundred percent and you will end up buying a great home AND the agent will be dedicated to you one hundred percent and he/she will earn the commission that is due to them for their hard work, time and dedication.

I hope this clarifies how a buyer’s agent-buyer relationship works and why you should only work with one person. If things don’t work out, let him/her know about it and they can make some changes if they don’t you can always fire them and go work with someone else, that’s fair game. So, if you currently already have another agent in mind that you want to work with and you feel that he/she will do a good job representing you, then by all means, stay with that agent and be loyal. If not, I would be happy to work with you but that working relationship MUST be exclusive, based on what I explained above (and you will have to make sure you are pre-approved for a loan). Let me know if you are ready to commit to a great agent who will work hard for you?

Sincerely,

Michel Bron