As a rule of thumb, we are advising homeowners not to sell if they don't have to. Here's the easy exception. If you plan on moving up and buying a new home in this same market - go for it. Once you sell your house, you'll be participating in the same wonderful buyer's market with low interest rates and plenty of choices. After you sell, you'll achieve the same "savings" on your next home as you "lost" on your current home, plus you'll be locking in a lower property tax base then if you wait for the market to rebound and prices to start rising again. The winning formula if you are selling: Hire an agent will meet your personal expectations, repaint in neutral colors, replace the carpet, make minor repairs, remove the clutter, stage it perfect and price it slightly below market. Have a gr... 10/07/2007

We just received the updated numbers for Anaheim Hills this morning. There are currently 318 properties on the market. Only 27 went into escrow in the last 30 days. That means we have almost a one year supply of inventory. Wow.Based on this numbers, we can estimate that approximately 75% of the Anaheim Hills sellers will NOT sell their home by the end of the year! The statistics are a bit worse for the entire Orange County area - approximately 81% of sellers will not sell their homes by the end of the year. What does this mean to sellers: If you don't absolutely HAVE to sell, don't place your home on the market. If you can figure out a way to keep your home until the market direction changes, do so.If you must sell, hire the best Realtor you can find. Hire someone who understand the cur... 10/06/2007

Almost every day, Todd and I are asked what we think is going to happen in the market. We answer, "Real estate is going to appreciate - we're sure of it." But what about those articles saying the market is headed down? What about the RE/MAX Real Estate Services Market Update you send out every two weeks? We answer, "Oh ... you meant the short term market. We have no idea."Actually, that's not true. Todd and I research the market every day. We analyze the short and long term markets. We look at key indicators, trends and expert forecasts. We have an opinion and it continues to change, just as the variables that control the market continue to change. So on any given day, if you ask us, we will answer and provide our "expert" opinion.   But here's the problem with experts, like us. In the ... 09/17/2007

San Antonio's Catholic Church in Anaheim Hills is celebrating 30 Years.  Each year around the 2nd - 3rd week of September the church holds its Fiesta Days.  It is always a fun filled weekend that all member's of the community are invited to experience.  A carnival setting includes rides for kids of all ages.  Parking is easy, either on the street or the parking lot of Hephatha Lutheran Church for a small fee ($5 previous years). Activities Include:    A Silent Auction with an opportunity to win a raffle for a $2,000.00 Diamond; Raffle tickets are $10 each courtesy of Anaheim Hills Jewelry & Coin Mart  (Map), mini coasters, food and beverage, entertainment and much more!           LOCATION: SanAntonio de Padua Catholic Church.             5800 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road. Anaheim Hills, CA ... 09/14/2007

In our marketing meetings, we are constantly talking about "new" and improved ways to prospect for new business.  The obvious choices are working FSBOs, calling expireds, door knocking, networking, generating internet leads, developing a fancy website and of course, pouring a ton of money into advertising.  The reason?  Every Realtor is looking for today's buyers and today's sellers.   One day, my partner and I decided to create our new business marketing plan for next year, instead of this year.  We decided to let this year take care of itself from our daily activities, and invest our marketing efforts on next year.  We asked ourselves, "How can we find next year's buyer's today?"  The answer was leases.  Because agents typically dislike working with leases for the obvious reasons - lo... 08/06/2007

Here's the scenario:  Steve and Susie each own a condo in Anaheim Hills, California. Steve moved in with Susie 3 ½ years ago and rented out his condo.  They are engaged to be married next year and want to sell their condos and buy their dream home this year.  Each condo has appreciated about $400,000 since they bought them.Instead of just calling a Realtor, they also called their CPA (me in this case since I am a Realtor and CPA).  I advised them to wait until next year to sell Susie's place, move into Steve's place for 2 years and then buy their dream home.The strategy will save them about $192,000 in unnecessary taxes.  How many Realtors do you know that would save "no" to 2 of 3 transactions this year to save their client's money?  Hopefully, all of us.  Just remember, buying and sel... 08/05/2007

A few years ago when a seller wanted to price their home over recent comparable sales, it was an easy decision to support.  The market was on an upswing and pretty soon, the market would catch up with the seller's desired price and it would quickly sell.  In June 2006, that strategy started to backfire.  Inventory started to stack up and prices began to level off.  Homes that were overpriced just sat there.  Finally, overpriced homes were reduced to actual market value and the best ones sold.  Throughout 2006, everyone saw "price reductions" but the reality was that seller's were just readjusting their price to market value instead of waiting for the market to come up to their desired price, which clearly was not going to happen.Now, one year later, we are faced with a market which is c... 08/05/2007

Here's a variation of a scenario I'm hearing a few times a week.  A married couple with kids wants to buy a larger home.  The gain on their current home is $600,000 (at current market value less expenses).  They currently qualify for the $500,000 exclusion as they have owned and lived in this house for well over 2 years and meet all of the other IRS requirements.Question 1: In this market, should they sell or rent their current home?Question 2:  When they do sell will they have a $100,000 taxable gain? ($600,000 actual gain less $500,000 exclusion)Answer 1: Both are options.  So long as they sell their home within three years of moving to their new home, and continue to meet the other requirements, they will still be able to exclude $500,000 of gain.  The problem is that three years is ... 07/27/2007

Many homeowners are curious what is for sale and what has sold in their specific neighborhoods.  Together with other Realtors in our area, my husband and I used to mail a monthly newsletter with this data to neighborhoods in our service area.Recently, we decided to make the data more readily available, more up-to-date and a lot more cost effective.  We launched our first site last month at http://www.monacoupdate.com/.  It's nothing fancy, just a simple "Website Tonight" Go Daddy site that we created ourselves one night.  If you'd like to see one developed for your neighborhood, just let us know.  Have a great day!Nancy Moeller, CPA, REALTOR 07/26/2007

Showing Condition and Understanding RolesWhen my husband or I are going to show or preview property, we usually call the day before to set up our appointments giving ample time for the seller to leave their home in "showing condition".When I say "showing condition", I mean lights on, drapes open, clutter removed and house clean.  We also encourage our clients to double check that mirrors are spotless, smoothing music is playing, fireplaces are burning and candles are lit (if they will be returning after our showing).  We are continually shocked how many dark, dirty and cluttered homes we walk into.  Whether it's the Realtor not educating their sellers or the sellers not taking their advice, the result is long market time and lower sales prices.  And it makes no sense.  Compared to our h... 07/26/2007

An Heir's Steps to Getting, Sharing Home TitleQuestion: My parents died within four days of each other in 2005. In their will, they left their home to me. I am their only child. There is still a mortgage, which I have been paying. Can I have the title to this property changed to my name and my husband's name? We live in the house and will want to sell it someday.Answer: Unless the estates of your parents qualify for an exception, their wills must be probated by the local probate court, which will transfer the title to you as the sole heir.After you hold title, you should notify the lender to change the name on the mortgage to you. But the lender cannot call the mortgage due, nor can you be charged a mortgage assumption fee, because you are the offspring of the decedents and are living i... 07/21/2007

I plan on selling my house in six months, but I'm worried about the market. Should I consider selling now or should I wait? DeniseDenise - We get this question nearly every day, so thanks for writing. Here's the blunt truth. Even the experts cannot time the market - especially the short term market. And those who try, oftentimes get burned. You must look at your motivation for selling. Why are you waiting for six months? Are you trying to time the market? If you are, we'd suggest selling now - go to Vegas to gamble, don't gamble with a highly leveraged asset - your home.  Instead, determine when you need to move and look at the current market time on our Home Page. Most importantly, just realize that the moment you decide to sell, the market is what the market is. Don't live in yesterda... 07/12/2007

Anaheim Hills Homes for Sale are hot properties on the Orange County Real Estate Market. 07/03/2007

06/03/2007

Anaheim Hills has made national news with this intriguing and  grizzly double homicide. Monday night after my regular Texas hold-em tournament I left the  Casino heading home. As I drove into my tract, police cars lined up both sides of the street with fireman rushing to put out a already destroyed house.I stopped for a minute seeing smoke smoldering not realizing  one of my neighbors had been beaten severely by two men with a metal pipe.  The next morning every TV crew swarmed the quiet tract as this mystery unfolded. Within hours we learned the father and his twenty year old daughter were burned together in the city of Irvine. As evening came and we had dinner with our sixteen year old daughter she insisted on going to take a look at the damage. As we walked up to the yellow tape the ... 05/24/2007