I know this is not going to be about real estate, but then on second thought it just might be. It was announced announced on Tuesday by United Airlines as it prepares to roll out service from the L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport terminal to the Bay Area that we will have some special round trip air fares available to us from May 22 through June 7 (they may or may not extend these prices past June.) Prices from Palmdale will include $170 for San Francisco, $248 for Portland, $254 for Denver, $268 for Seattle and $318 for Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. "The $1 million question is: Will there be enough people to sustain the service?" said Mayor Jim Ledford. "I hope so." What does this have to do with real estate you ask? I told you it may not, but think of the possibilities i... 07/16/2007

Here is a good read that was sent to me by a Title Rep. (if you've got a few minutes): Would you dare buy a house in California today? In spite of mind-boggling prices, the short answer is, "Yes -- under certain conditions." This is not the answer I expected. The median home price in San Diego, for instance, was $579,800 at the close of 2006. That's a hefty premium over the median resale price in Fargo ($136,600), Kansas City ($153,100), or Cincinnati ($138,700). For people with ordinary incomes, home ownership in the super cities is virtually impossible, but it can still be beneficial. If you take the economists' consumption-smoothing approach -- which means you focus on maximizing what you consume over your lifetime rather than your net worth -- a future of flat prices is fine. A futu... 07/16/2007

Enough of the "sub-prime" stuff. Do you have good credit? I mean above a 700 FICO. If so, this is the time for you to do some serious looking for your new digs! With the way the market is, and interest rates still at a major low rate, this may ultimately the time to take the plunge and either upgrade the hacienda or invest in some income producing property. I am not a tax advisor, I have mentioned this before, and I would always suggest that if you are even thinking of investing, think also about talking to a tax advisor. NO not an enrolled agent, HnR Blockheads or the like, but a CPA! YES, a CPA! Yes it will cost you more money but they will be worth every penny you spend, just ask me, I've had a CPA do my taxes every year now for over 15 years and I have never been sorry (or audited.)... 07/16/2007

Another aspect to "High Risk" loans is adjustable rate loans. Now, I am NOT a lender and I want to make this clear up front, I am not suggesting ANY type of loan to anyone. If you are considering a loan, be it a new home loan or a re-finance, please talk not only to a lender but to a financial advisor to determine the best type of loan for you. There, I said it! Adjustable rate loans come in as many flavors as your favorite ice cream, each being some variation of another. The basis of an adjustable rate loan is to provide the consumer with a low introductory rate that keeps the payment low so one has a better chance to qualify for the higher loan amount. The loan has a period that rate stays stable then adjusts according to some pre-defined indicator at a time in the future. The rates a... 07/16/2007

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about "high risk loans" and a growing interest in governmental controls of such loans. High risk loans are loans where the borrower puts little or no money out of pocket when purchasing a home. This could easily be you or me controlling our cash flow at a time that makes sense. Often I have counseled buyers to keep their equity money from a previous sale, in their pocket (read, bank account) instead of reducing the loan amount. This makes sense when the cost of consumer debt is greater than the cost of a home loan. The reasoning behind this is: IF you need to fund an needed expense, does it make more sense to put that expense on your credit card at, lets say 9.9% interest, or borrow that against your home at the prevailing rate when you purchased i... 07/16/2007

California Withholding Tax Alternative Upon Transfer of Property - This law applies ONLY if you are selling INCOME PRODUCING PROPERTY (see exemption #1 below.) This new law provides an alternative to the current California withholding tax requirement upon transfer of real property of paying three and one-third percent of the sales price on real estate for non-exempt transactions. Under this law, if withholding is required, the seller can opt to pay the top-tier (under corporate or individual state tax laws) on any recognized gain on the sale of the real property. Currently, the law requires the payment of three and one-third percent (3 1/3%) as withholding on the transfers of real estate on properties which do not qualify for an exemption. Some of the more common exemptions, among other... 07/16/2007

According to the California Association of Realtors, despite home sales dropping 22.2% in November, the leading index showing slow economic growth in the coming months and the fact the the median priced home in California is UP 1.4% in November compared to November '05, California remains the most populous State. To top that off a median price home in the Santa Barbara/So. Coast is $1,083,000! In the High Desert we are at $332,340! What a deal for bargain hunters. Are you insured with Farmers? If so, look for a homeowners insurance rate decrease in your future. Farmers has requested an 18% rate reduction from the Ca. DOI. See what's going on in the Antelope Valley. Visit my charts by CLICKING HERETo find the value of your home or see what homes are for sale in the Antelope Valley go to ... 07/16/2007

Have you read the paper recently? They are saying the maybe the big dump the Real Estate market took might be showing signs of recovery. Well, if you had been watching the charts on our web site you would have seen that a month ago. Keep you eyes open, good deals for buyers are here. Oh, your not a buyer? Maybe you have been thinking of selling. This doesn't mean that it is a BAD time to sell, if you don't have to sell (by that I mean that you can still make your payments on time) expect competition, lots of it. Price your house correctly (talk to the Gockel Group about this, and listen to what is said) and expect 90 to 120 days on the market. If you HAVE TO SELL (see definition above), price your home 10-15% under market (talk to the Gockel Group about the price, and listen) expect som... 07/16/2007

I hear people say all the time that they want to invest in real estate - but they are not sure if now is a good time to start investing. I am here to tell you that now is not a good time to buy ... it is a GREAT time to buy!  I have several investors that run those "we buy homes for cash" advertisements in the local papers. They have brought me people who need to sell their homes because of financial hardships - some have equity - some do not - but many of them are willing to keep the existing loans in place and do a wrap around mortgage!  Now many people out there will try to tell you that you can not keep existing loan in place without triggering the due on sale clause - but there are ways around this.  One of the most common ways of doing this is to put the home in a trust.  Now - ju... 07/05/2007

This evening my husband and I made and important decision to be the host family for a child from another country to attend school in the United States.  ASSE - International Student Exchange Program's is looking for families in the Antelope Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Acton & Rosamond) to host students.  They have a variety of students from many different countries.We are excited and have decided to host a young lady from Germany. We think that this will be a great experience for the student as well as our family.  I had the fortune of being an exchange student when I was 16 and stayed in Japan.  My stay was only for 6 weeks and I did not attend school full time, but it was an experience that I will never forget.I strongly encourage anyone out there who would like to give ... 07/05/2007

I have been working on a short sale in Palmdale for a very nice couple who suffered some major health issues in the past few months and are no longer able to afford their home.  Up until today I have been very happy with the mortgage servicer as they have been prompt on returning calls, had an appraiser sent to the property within 3 days of my listing, and would frequently call me to see how things were going with the sale.   Earlier this week I got an offer on the property. When I spoke to the servicer to tell them I had received an offer but was still negotiating price with the buyer they told me that they were missing a few things from  the seller.  I called the servicer back today to ask if they could send the missing needed paperwork directly to me so that I could have the sellers ... 07/05/2007

I am not sure how many other agents out there are coming across sellers who say they are motivated, but in reality they are not as motivated as they claim to be. I seem to be getting calls left and right from people who are panic selling because they "do not want to loose any more of their equity"  yet these same sellers who claim they want to sell their homes do not want to price their homes for the current market conditions.This is a very frustrating scenario to me - and although I am not an economics major -it seems to me that these same panic sellers that say they do not want to loose equity are in fact making the market conditions worse!Now I am sure that there will be people who will disagree with me - but this is how I came to that conclusion. In Palmdale as of the time that I am... 06/04/2007

I was asked by an agent in my office  to help with a new listing that she just took. When she took the listing & did the seller net sheet she thought that the seller would be able to break even or walk away with a little cash.  After speaking to the seller today, he told me he thinks he has a pre-payment on the loan. He fell behind in payments but the foreclosure process has not officially begun.  The seller thinks the prepayment will be about $20,000.Without the prepayment the seller would be ok and no short sale should be needed. My guess is that it would work this as if it were a regular over leveraged property, but I am not sure. One of my biggest questions is would the seller be given a 1099? This is a recouse loan - and I totally get why they send a 1099 on refi's but in this case... 05/01/2007

Today is just one of those days that I wished I had just slept in and taken the day off work - so I am going to take a break and write for a moment so that the I do not bite off the head of the next person that walks through the door!  With that said - I am taking a moment to breathe deeply and count to ten.  :-)I am not new to the business as I have been a full time Realtor in the Antelope Valley for over 6 years - but it has just been the past few months that I have started working short pays again.  When I first got my license I did one or two in Lancaster & Palmdale, but it seems like these days they are much harder to do - I don't know - maybe it is me because I am getting older and we live in the information age where we have 24/7 access to the Internet, Instant Messenger, 24 hour... 05/01/2007

I am not sure how many Palmdale & Lancaster real estate agents out there are listing short sales in the Antelope Valley- but please do me a favor and stop offering the 4% & 5% commission to the buyers agent with the statement "subject to lender approval", unless you are willing to only take 1% commission on the selling side. Offering this high of a commission is one of the most ridiculous things that I have been seeing in my local MLS. If you are willing to give away 4% of a 5% commission, then no problem, but I have not yet come across any lender that will pay more the 5% total, and at times it is a fight to get that.  If you represent both buyer (owner occupied) & seller they will generally only allow 3% total.  There are exceptions but this is a good general rule of thumb. If you are... 04/29/2007

Just wanted to share some fun and laughter. There are many blogs about using kids in advertising - although I have not used this photo - I have used my daughter in the past in a video of a ranch listing I had while she was riding a horse.  One of the great things about having your business is that can hire your kids and pay then as an employee to save money on your taxes! If you are unsure how to do this you must get a great CPA and tell you the many benefits of having a corporation. We are going to spend money on our children - you might as well learn how to use the tax laws to your advantage and save where you can! My mom "nose" how to find you a GREAT real estate deal in the Antelope Valley!  Call her today for a list of foreclosures in Palmdale, Lancaster, Acton, Littlerock & Rosamond 04/28/2007

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?  The great thing is that is very true and available to anyone who can qualify for the specific guidelines to this program.  This is a great way for buyers to either use that extra money to landscape their new home the way they want, buy those new appliances or just enjoy the financial freedom in their new home.  Sellers can use this as a tool to create traffic on their home that they have for sale as well.   If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. 04/25/2007

I find it so unfortunate when buyers, who are also sellers, decide they would like to move up.  They decide to sell their home, hire an agent, and put it on the market. The next step in their agenda sounds simple; find their new home.  They drive around looking at homes and go to a new home builder on their own.   In this instance, the buyers found the new home they liked, entered into a contract with the home builder's agent and gave a $10,000 deposit.  All seems great; right? Wrong. They didn't realize that the contract was not contingent on the sale of their home so in essence put theirselves in the predicament of owning two homes if theirs didn't sell or completely lose their deposit.  Well, I know you can guess what happened.  Yeap.  Their home did not sell and they have lost their... 03/23/2007