365 Things to do in Simi Valley, CA & Ventura County - San Fernando Valley Real Estate Guide
Simi Valley's Insider's Guide to Real Estate Research & Home Owner Information
The Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District has created a hunt for a medallion … [Read More...]
Creating better exposure for homes in rural areas. This home in the Santa Susana Mountains gets the first crack at a new idea. Custom Yard signs maybe the ticket for better exposure. The primary source to search for new homes by buyers is the internet; the second source is driving neighborhoods. Custom signs that feature your property and not your agent will stop cars and turn heads.
Zillow emailed the following report for Simi Valley real estate home values. Whether you love or hate Zillow, I have been monitoring the Sold listings and it is clear that the average Sales Price has dropped this year. See my following blog post for the lastest numbers:
http://homebuysblog.com/2008/05/10/simi-valley-real-estate-homes-sales-update/
Until the fallout of the lending industry has reached it’s cooling point, the buyers will definately have the advantage under the current market conditions.
A great quote from the February 25th, 2008 edition of Time Magazine (Ignore the Headlines! page 54) “When prices are falling, few people have the discipline to buy stocks, a house, gold, art or any other asset. But those who do pull the trigger excel in the long run.”
In the same article Peter Lynch is quoted as saying “A top reason to not buy stocks, is if you don’t already own a home, in which case that should be your first investment.”
According to N.A.R. the average networth of a home owner compared to a renter is 36 times. This is a great time to make a real estate move in Simi Valley. Even if you are a frustrated Simi Valley home seller remember that the home you purchase will be bought at a bargain and you will have more choices.
The volume of sales has been declining, but declining from what?
>
| Decade | Low | Average | High |
| 1970s | 1.6 mil | 3 mil | 3.9 mil |
| 1980s | 2.2 mil |
3.3 mil | 4 mil |
| 1990s | 3.1 mil | 3.9 mil | 4.9 mil |
NAR is forecasting 4.5- 5 million units to be sold in 2008. Does this mean that the market will continue to decline? Different areas will have opposite reactions, for Simi Valley Moorpark, we will most likely see more of the same until the REO/short sale market begins to lose steam.
Planing on selling your Simi Valley or Moorpark home? This table was create so you could get an idea of who the buyers for your Simi Valley or Moorpark property are and what they can afford. The taxes and insurance are based on homes in the Ventura County – Simi Valley Area. Insurance rates may vary due to different conditions i.e. flooding.
Table 1
|
Purchase Price |
20% Down Payment |
Interest Rate |
Monthly Payment |
Monthly Taxes & Ins. |
Yearly income needed to qualify |
|
$300,000 |
$60,000 |
6.25% |
$1,477.72 |
$400.00 |
$91,200 |
|
$400,000 |
$80,000 |
6.25% |
$1,970.30 |
$500.00 |
$106,000 |
|
$500,000 |
$100,000 |
6.25% |
$2,462.87 |
$600.00 |
$122,000 |
|
$600,000 |
$120,000 |
6.25% |
$2,955.44 |
$700.00 |
$138,000 |
|
$700,000 |
$140,000 |
6.25% |
$3,448.02 |
$825.00 |
$154,000 |
|
$800,000 |
$160,000 |
6.25% |
$3,940.59 |
$930.00 |
$171,000 |
|
$900,000 |
$180,000 |
6.25% |
$4,433.16 |
$1,040.00 |
$189,000 |
|
$1,000,000 |
$200,000 |
6.25% |
$4,925.74 |
$1,155.00 |
$204,000 |
Table 2
|
Purchase Price |
20% Down Payment |
Interest Rate |
Monthly Payment |
Monthly Taxes & Ins. |
Yearly income needed to qualify |
|
$300,000 |
$60,000 |
5.50% |
$1,362.69 |
$400.00 |
$88,000 |
|
$400,000 |
$80,000 |
5.50% |
$1,816.92 |
$500.00 |
$103,200 |
|
$500,000 |
$100,000 |
5.50% |
$2,271.16 |
$600.00 |
$117,600 |
|
$600,000 |
$120,000 |
5.50% |
$2,725.39 |
$700.00 |
$133,200 |
|
$700,000 |
$140,000 |
5.50% |
$3,179.62 |
$825.00 |
$150,000 |
|
$800,000 |
$160,000 |
5.50% |
$3,633.85 |
$930.00 |
$162,000 |
|
$900,000 |
$180,000 |
5.50% |
$4,088.08 |
$1,040.00 |
$177,000 |
|
$1,000,000 |
$200,000 |
5.50% |
$4,542.31 |
$1,155.00 |
$193,000 |
I promise not to completely trash the home inspection industry, but I think it is very important that everyone understand that there is NO REGULATION in this industry. If I want to be a home inspector:
CREA – The California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) is a voluntary, nonprofit public-benefit organization of real estate inspectors.
ASHI – The American Society of Home Inspectors
Looking at the construction industry (where many of these inspectors come from) the average length a contractor’s licenses stays active in California is 18 months. With over 300,000 licenses in the state and 650 applications coming in per week the turn over in the business is high.
Here are a few of the problems I have encountered with inspectors. (Please note these were inspectors brought by the buyer when I was representing the Seller).
Case #1
Case #2
In these two instances the buyers were dis-serviced by the inspector they paid and the the sellers were harmed because the buyers started to make demands based of the faulty inspection.
Another problem these inspectors make is calling out new code on older homes. As long as it is not a governmental mandatory retrofit standard then an older home does not have to be brought to current code. The inspector should explain this to his clients.
Last I do have to put some heat on the agents. Here in my trade area the two governmental mandatory retrofit standards are bracing the water heater and smoke detectors. KNOW THE LAW.
I have several inspectors I work with and trust. Here is the criteria that is important when helping buyers find a good home inspector.
DON’TS when hiring and inspector
Please add to my List. I’d love to see what everyone has experienced!
I love this market. I love Real Estate!. My great grandfather moved to Los Angeles in 1882 from Ireland. His first job was to drag a log down the streets behind a horse to keep the streets flat. He later was part of the fire department and the police department and his job was cut short by his wife after he caught a woman jumping from the second floor of a burning building and broke both his arms. At that point he got into Real Estate, into the rental business. The rest is history. Each generation of Mackels have made their mark on the real estate market in southern California since. My rich family history has proven this fact - Real Estate goes up and it goes down but it goes up more than it goes down over the course of time.
……………………… John D. Rockafeller
Are You a Contrarian? If you are, then you should be out buying right now.
As defined by http://www.investopedia.com/ Contrarian – An investment style that goes against prevailing market trends by buys assets that are performing poorly and selling when they perform well.
We are in a time where the contrarians will be out picking up deals on homes and they are the ones that everyone claims were the smart ones for buying homes when the market rises.
Now let’s get our heads screwed on straight. We are seeing multiple offers on certain Simi Valley homes, but this does not mean that if you don’t get out there tomorrow you are going to lose out on a Simi Valley home. Jumping in line when every one else jumps in line is not contrarian. When there are programs on TV called “Flip this House“, then be careful to not get hyped out of a true contrarian purpose.
Take for example my local market (Simi Valley); you will find here that many of my collegues thinking a turn in the Simi Valley home sales market has happened and if you don’t get in quick, you’ll miss out. Wrong…..let’s look at the facts.
Single family detached homes in Simi Valley, closed sales YTD = 109 homes (as of March 19th), monthly average = 42 homes. Last year our monthly average was 67 closed home sales per month.
We are off pace and this is good news to contrarians like myself. There are great buys, there are going to be many great home buys and there is absolutely no reason to let homes with multiple offers hype you into thinking the market is going to go racing up tomorrow. Let’s make smart home buying decisions in this contrarian haven so we can all reap the rewards of Southern California Real estate especially in Simi Valley.
Ted Answers Trulia Voices
The Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District has created a hunt for a medallion in their Parks throughout Simi Valley. They have placed the Medallion in one of the parks and when found take it to their offices on Sycamore Drive. Clues as to where to look will be posted on the RSRPD Facebookpage. [...]
Looking for Things to do in Simi Valley for the Halloween Season? Mourning Rose Manor in East Simi Valley at 5250 Aurelia Street has been delighting Simi Valley Halloween fans for 6 years. Lydia and her husband have created a unique Halloween experience complete with Ghosts, Skeletons, Grave yard with Crypt, Spiders, Spooky Sounds and [...]
