real estate

Asking for Closing Costs Could Cause Home Buyers To Over Pay For Their Purchase

July 1, 2011 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Home Buyers many times ask Home Sellers for concessions or assistance when they make an offer to purchase a home. The typical request from a home buyer is for closing costs, a home warranty, repairs or for the seller to include certain personal property items for sale. This article will focus on closing cost requests from home buyers.

The following information pertains to California real estate only. Real estate settlement and closing procedures vary from state to state, so if you are looking for information for real estate transactions in a state other than California, the information below may not apply to your situation.

As the Simi Valley housing market has lost value and sales have slowed, the requirements for buyers to get financing has become difficult at the same time. The Simi Valley real estate market has seen the most activity in homes selling under $450,000. The buyers in this price range typically have low down payment offers and do not have significant reserves or savings. The FHA loan program allows those buyers with limited resources to purchase homes with as little as 3 1/2% down. For Simi Valley this translates into approximately $8000-$15,000 minimum down payment needs; the FHA program helps these buyers get into homes.

Looking at Simi Valley homes selling for under $450,000, the typical closing costs associated with those home purchases can range in the $8000-$10,000 range. It has been a pretty common practice for buyers to write an offer asking the seller to concede up to 3% of the sale price to assist the buyer with these closing costs. While not all sellers have the ability to make this concession, the buyers will add this figure on top of their offer price so the seller will realize a net sales price closer to what is acceptable to the seller.

In 2010 the federal government changed the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and tightened down regulations on this form to protect buyers from overpaying fees associated with obtaining financing. Once the buyer’s lender issues the GFE, the lender is bound by those numbers and has very few options to increase any of the figures on that statement. The 2010 GFE does allow for some minor adjustments, but overall the buyer can feel pretty good about the actual closing costs associated with their purchase and loan after receiving this document. These new regulations with the GFE have created an issue in how buyers should ask for a closing cost credits from the sellers. If these credits are asked for without consideration of the new GFE requirements, the buyer can end up paying more for the property than they intended.

For example,

The buyer asks for $10,000 credit toward closing costs in their offer to the seller.
The seller is clear that they would like to receive no less than $400,000 for their property.
The buyer’s offer is for $410,000 with the seller crediting back $10,000 toward the buyer’s closing costs.
The seller accepts the offer and escrow is opened.
The buyer now makes loan application with their lender.
A GFE statement is issued within three days of the loan application outlining all the buyers costs.
Those buyer costs total $8,000.
The seller’s obligation is only $8,000 and the $2,000 difference is now realized by the seller in a net sale price of $402,000.
The buyer just overpaid $2,000 more for the property than they originally intended to.

The example above outlines one of the problems Simi Valley home buyers may encounter when asking for closing costs to be credited by the sellers.

Some might say, ” when the buyer makes loan application, shouldn’t the lender set all the fees on the GFE statement to equal the $10,000?” The 2010 GFE was designed to outline and identify the costs to obtain financing, so buyers could go out and compare the costs between different lenders. How would it be to the lender’s advantage to inflate the costs and fees; just to try and burn up a concession/credit from the seller? Also, why would anyone want to pay more for property or pay more for costs than they need to?

If you are a buyer who is considering asking for a seller concession in closing cost assistance, understand the ramifications of such requests. If reserves/savings are one of the driving issues into asking for this type of seller concession that is one thing, but if you are asking for the seller concession while you have the money to pay for these closing costs, consider the following:

Your property will be assessed for property taxes in the amount of the sales price. Is increasing the sales price worth paying additional property taxes over the course of time you own the property?
By offering more than the original listing price to cover your closing costs, remember you will be paying interest on the higher purchase loan amount for next 30 years (if your loan is amortized on a 30 year schedule). I’ve always felt that home buyers should deeply reconsider (if possible) financing closing costs for 30 years. It’s does not make much since to pay interests on fees, since the first 20 years of the 30 year amortization schedule is weighted toward paying down the interest on the note.

Last, if you’re reading this article and you end up educating and instructing your real estate agent on these issues, ask yourself how well you’re being represented by an agent who’s not aware of these issues. If tour real estate agent is not aware of issues as important as the impact of closing costs on your pocketbook during negotiations of your home purchase; then what else are they unaware of that may leave your money on the table or put you at a disadvantage in negotiations?

My sellers will gladly accept the additional funds if your closing costs are overstated in your original offer. Wouldn’t you feel better if you had an agent representing you trying as hard as they can to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table? Call or text (805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: closing costs, Home Buyers, Home Sellers, homes, Market, real estate, Simi Valley

Simi Valley May 2011 Real Estate Market Report

June 9, 2011 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

The Simi Valley May 2011 real estate market report for home sales is continuing on some similar trends. Total single-family detached homes sold in the month of May were slightly lower than the previous year with a 6 1/2% decrease, but higher than in April 2011. The average sales price for Simi Valley single-family detached homes declined for a second month in row from $443,038 to 433,502. The decline is influenced by the higher number of homes that close in the under $400,000 price range. If you look at each chart from the monthly reports posted in the Market Updates section of this blog; it is clear the highest buyer activity is in the below $400,000 price range. Continuing from earlier this year we have seen more homes selling below $300,000 and in May there were 16 single-family detached homes closing below this level which is the highest number since the height of the real estate market back in 2006-2007.

In recent reports Robert Shiller, one of the economists behind the S&P Case/Shiller index of home prices, has stated he would not be surprised if home values decline another 10% to 25%. While this seems alarming, Mr. Schiller is clear that some of this decline will not be seen in actual prices but rather masked by inflation.

May of 2009 saw homes close at lower pricing than today and each time the Simi Valley real estate market approaches price points similar to 2009, buyers and investors purchase activities pick up and appear to help support a flatter market condition.

With home sales under 300,000 increasing, first-time home buyer’s affordability increases as well. Some housing tracts in Simi Valley stabilized and some pulled back a little. Overall, the three-year trend of approximately 80 single-family detached homes selling each month continues and signals for gains and recovery in home pricing is still on hold. The chart below is broken into pricing categories, if you look at the price range your home falls into, you can see what the average market timing is, what the average sales price is compared to the original list price and how many homes in your range or closing each month.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: declines, Home Sales, real estate, recovery, Robert Shiller, Simi Valley

Conejo Simi Valley Moorpark Multiple Listing Service – Flawed Data? You decide

March 20, 2011 By Ted Mackel 6 Comments

Conejo Simi Valley, Moorpark Multiple Listing Service – Flawed Data

Days on market is a number used to try and gage how the market is moving. I am going to point out why this number is becoming very unreliable. Two abbreviations you may hear are Days On Market DOM and Cumulative Days On Market CDOM. Until just a few years ago CDOM was not tracked in the Ventura County Multiple Listing Service. Homes that do not sell start racking up days on market. The longer a home sits on the market , the more potential buyers want to know why that home is not selling. Some listing agents aware of the handicap of a listing with a large days on market count, have been known to cancel a listing or let it expire so the home can be re-listed. As a new listing, the DOM clock is reset to zero, however, the CDOM clock keeps ticking.

When a property is re-listed in an attempt to reset the DOM clock, a data error now enters the picture. The MLS tracks the percentage of the Sale price to the Listed price, but when a property is re-listed this percentage calculation is not based off the original listing price or the prior listing contract (if expired). It is calculated off the current list price which would include any reductions from the original list price. In fact the MLS always calculates the percentage off the current List Price which can seriously skew that percentage ratio.

Let’s look at two properties that this has happened with and how the MLS now presents inaccurate information on these sales.

1768 Mesa Ridge Ave Westlake Village CA was listed for $1,875,000.00 on 6/4/08. The listing expired one year later and was re-listed on 6/3/09 for $1,700,000.00. The price was lowered four times down to $1,300,000.00. The home finally sold for $1,435,000.00 and closed on 9/15/09. The MLS now reports a DOM=103, CDOM=454 and the Sales Price to List price percentage of 110.38%. How can that be? $110.38% ? It should be calculated off the $1,875,000.00 and the Sales Price to List price percentage correct number is really is 69.34%. Even if one could make a plausible argument that the old listing period should not be counted, the second listing period started with a list price of $1,700,000.00 and that is still far below a 110.38% result. Even though the CDOM is listed, the CDOM is left out of the average DOM calculation which is misleading to the true story of the market timing for homes in this price range and area.

Click to Enlarge – Westlake Village Sales Table

1777 Yarnton Street Westlake Village, CA was listed for $1,095,000.00 on 4/29/09. Approximately 60 days later the price was reduced to $1,074,900.00 and the property quickly picked up an offer and sold for $1,075,000.00 after a 60 day escrow. The MLS shows the Sale price to List Price percentage as 100.1% using the reduced list price vs the sale price incorrectly. When using the original list price that Sale to List percentage should be 98.17%. The CDOM and DOM is correct, but the DOM is averaged in with the incorrect DOM numbers presented on homes like1768 Mesa Ridge.

The story of Measa Ridge is that the Sellers tried for a year to get a price for their home that the buyers did not agree with; once the Sellers of Mesa Ridge finally lowered the price to a range that brought out buyers, it sold taking 454 days. The 103 days on market and the 110.38% sale to list percentage that is being used does not tell the real story.

The Story of Yarnton is very similar…..THE SELLERS HAD TO LOWER THE PRICE to get it sold. It did not Sell at 100% of List Pirce.

This is very important to understand as days on market is not revealing a true picture of the actual market condition.

Next time you ask for the numbers, keep in mind that the quick answer just based off a quick look at a standard MLS report is going to reveal number based off the last reduced price vs the final sales price. This market is very different than any other. Lower price ranges are selling faster and closer to asking price that higher end homes. Trying to ascertain market conditions has to be done regionally maybe even hyper-locally and definitely price range specific.

For additional information on this topic you can read:

Thanks for reading Simi Valley’s Premiere Real Estate Blog!
Author – Ted Mackel Simi Valley Real Estate Agent – Keller Williams Realty
Ted Mackel is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty Simi Valley,
specializing in Simi Valley Real Estate
(805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Days on market, homes for sale, mls, real estate, Realtor, Westlake Village

Simi Valley Home Sales Report for November 2010

December 15, 2010 By Ted Mackel 3 Comments

Simi Valley home sales trends for November 2010 continued to match patterns we’ve seen over the last year. Volumes, pricing and most other factors remain unchanged month over month. While this stability is a good sign for the Simi Valley real estate market, most are still uneasy about future outlook of home sales.

Interest rates below 5% coupled with rates hitting their lowest point in November have not created any new stimulus for the Simi Valley real estate market. Looking at the Sales Volume chart below, you can see that over the past five years November has had a very common pattern except for 2007.

The bulk of the activity in Simi Valley home sales still remains in the under 500,000 price range while homes above this price point fluctuate, the luxury markets are still selling at a very slow pace. Distressed properties including short sales and foreclosures are still negatively impacting the market and will continue throughout 2011.

Current market conditions are still favorable for qualified Simi Valley home buyers as low interest rates and average home pricing afford good opportunity. Looking at the Average Sale Price Graph below shows that average pricing seems to be holding steady without any major swings. Much if this is related to the low interest rates and the rental payment comparison. Renters looking to buy over the last few years are looking to keep monthly mortgage payments near what they would pay for rent and have been unwilling to enter the market without out a bid up mentality just because rates are the lowest we have seen in a long time.

Purchases made in this market are a long term position. Until the employment picture both on the State, Local and national levels recover overall home pricing and the Simi Valley real estate market will react on a similar pace as we have seen over the last couple years.

Filed Under: Buyers, Market Updates, Sellers Tagged With: Home Buyers, Home Sellers, market. homes, real estate, Simi Valley, sold

12 Tips To Make Your REO Offer More Attractive (Bank Owned Homes)

October 22, 2010 By Ted Mackel 27 Comments

12 Tips To Make Your REO Offer More Attractive (Bank Owned Homes)

Simi Valley Bank Owned Homes. REOs and Foreclosures

Currently I represent a local Southern California Bank with their REO (Bank Owned) properties in Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, the Conejo Valley and West San Fernando Valley. I have also represented buyers on other bank owned homes. Below are 12 tips to help move your offer to the top of the stack for consideration.

Your offer must be in writing, include a financing pre approval, FICO scores and proof of funds to close (i.e. a bank statement that shows you have the money)
The Seller is a financial institution or sometimes a government agency. They work 9-5, Monday through Friday. Offers are sent to the asset managers during these times. Response times are at the discretion of the Seller and could take several days to a week. If your offer is reasonable then a time response is likely.
Currently Simi Valley Bank Owned (REO) properties are selling at 105% of list price. You will have competition from other buyers.
The Bank is looking for the HIGHEST AND BEST OFFER. Sometimes the Best Offer is not always the highest. Offers that are very straight forward with the fewest conditions, reasonably close to list price are attractive. Use of “Shill Buyers”, are easy for banks to spot, better to be straight forward than to use a shill. Your offer will look weak if it is assignable. The bank wants to sell the property, they do not want to be tied up with a property flipper who is going to drop out of escrow. The bank runs a spread sheet similar to the investor buyer, the bank has a formula for how much they will give on price and terms.
Don’t expect a counter, response or even a rejection. You may be granted an opportunity to submit your highest and best offer.
If your offer is accepted, it may take several days to a week for the Seller to put together their Addendum to the purchase agreement. Expect that many of the terms you have in your original purchase agreement will be eliminated in this addendum. Once the buyer receives this addendum, the buyer will have 24-48 hours to accept the addendum or back out of the purchase.
The bank is exempt from most property disclosures since the bank has never occupied the property. Many times the bank and it’s employees are located very far from the property; their knowledge of the property condition is very limited. Buyers are advised to conduct their own inspections. Do not expect the Seller to agree to any repairs.
Be prepared to operate with email and PDF documents. Fax machines are notorious in degrading the quality of documents. More and more REO agents are now requiring email only; if you agent is not familiar with PDF, Scanning and good with email, your offer could be jeopardized. Try to get all your information in a PDF digital format with a scanner. When you submit your offer to the listing agent, make sure it is complete with all supporting documents together in one PDF file. You offer will need to be transmitted through Real Estate agents and the management at the bank. Email is the preferred way to transmit all communication.
If you need to reach the listing agent. Email is the best vehicle. Email will provide you with a contact log. Many REO agents have staff that will probably be your main point of contact. Those REO agents that provide cell phone numbers can be contacted through text and you will probably receive a quicker response.
If you plan to use FHA financing, the FHA appraisal may reveal required repairs. The bank may not be agreeable to repairs and may not even consider any offers that have FHA financing. Seller paid closing costs is not unusual, but don’t plan on more than 3%.
All properties are sold AS IS, with no guarantees. Home warranties sometimes may be included.
I can’t stress enough….the bank has sent out appraisers and hired out local real estate agents to give “Broker Price Opinions” (BPO). The listing agent has already given an opinion of value to the bank. The bank is educated on the area market conditions and is not going to give away property. Unreasonable offers get little attention.

Stealing as a strategy cannot be duplicated. There is a great opportunity to pick up good solid value in REO purchases. Do your homework, be reasonable, write your Highest and Best offer. The listing agent wants to sell the property too, so make sure your offer is complete, easy to read, easy to transmit and easy to understand.

For more information see:

Search for Homes in Simi Valley California

Thanks for reading Simi Valley’s Premiere Real Estate Blog!

Author – Ted Mackel Simi Valley Real Estate Agent – Keller Williams Realty

Ted Mackel is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty Simi Valley,

specializing in Simi Valley Real Estate

(805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Buyers, Foreclosures Tagged With: 12 tips, Bank Owned, fha, offer, real estate, REO, Simi Valley

3 Signs your home is not Ready to Show- (Simi Valley Homes for sale)

July 29, 2010 By Ted Mackel 2 Comments

I was out this week showing Simi Valley homes to clients and the bank owned Simi Valley homes (REOs) have enough issues that can be understandable; however, the owner occupied properties could really use some help as well. I shot a few pictures while out and decided to bring up this topic again as Simi Valley home sellers really need to think about how they might approach the sale of their home. I think every home seller needs to ask the following question.

Am I (Home Seller) a willing participant ready to do what it’s going to take in this market to sell my home or am I an obstructionist whether aware or unaware of how I drive buyers away from my home?

Are you shooting yourself in the foot? You want to sell your home but when Realtors call to show your home do you suffer from the following maladies:

You need time to clean
Your animals have free run of your house and need to be put away
Realtors can only come at very specific times with an appointment

There are plenty of Simi Valley homes for prospective buyers to see; if your home is the most difficult and it is not ready, then you might as well take your home off the real estate market.

Simi Valley is not unique to people’s busy schedules, so access for buyers and Realtors is very important. Creating obstacles and barriers to letting your home be seen by perspective buyers will only cost you money and time in the long run, as buyers in this real estate market will have other opportunities.

First, if you have a hard time keeping your home clean it may be a good idea to hire a house cleaner while your home is on the market. The money you add to your home budget will pay off with a quicker sale and maybe even a better price for your home, if your home is in tip-top shape when prospective buyers come through.

Next, if you have not created obstacles and barriers for buyers and Realtors accessing your home; do you have family pets? While we all love our pets, prospective buyers may have fears. Large dogs with free run of homes is a very common occurance. It seems like the larger the dog the more liberty the owners give their pet(s) inside their homes.

I am helping three clients find a home in Simi Valley right now that have a fear of dogs and at least 30% of the homes we go to, have dog issues that distract my client’s full attention when looking at those homes. Other than your dog scaring my clients way from your home, the odor that an indoor pet creates is now noticeable to the pet owner, but can be another distraction to prospective buyers. Yes I know that your dog won’t hurt anyone and that your dog is the nicest dog on the planet, but prospective buyers with a fear of dogs really do not care about those claims. Those buyers will be so concerned about where you are keeping your dog, they never get to enjoy your home.

Last, appointments and limited access. The Lock box system we use in the Simi Valley Moorpark Association of Realtors is computerized and a secure system. The agent’s keys are electronically updated every 15 mins when on and will update when turned on so it is very easy to lock out problem agents. Their is a CBS code (Call Before Showing) that can

be given to the agents before they come over to see your home. The importance of using the computerized boxes we use in the Simi Valley Moorpark Association of Realtors is that a report of who has been in your home is available daily. Also the key automatically calls the system after it is used to open a lockbox and the Listing agent receives an email notification of the showing. Most agents now carry Android, iPhone or Blackberry and can access email at any time.

While I understand the different reasons why sellers would like appointments and a restriction, please remember there are many other homes out there that are easier to see.

Putting all together….Keep your house clean, manage your family pets and make it easy for buyers to access your home. If you remove these obstacles, that will be the first step towards getting more people to show your home and be interested after they have visited.

See Related Articles:

Filed Under: Sellers Tagged With: Buyers, home, homes, lcok box, prospective buyers, real estate, Simi Valley

Distressed Real Estate & Skateboarding

July 14, 2010 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Distressed Real Estate & Skateboarding, these are two things I have seen go hand in hand my whole life. In high school and college as a skateboarder and as a Real Estate Agent the lure of a vacant pool to today’s young riders. Here is a short film on Vimeo from the Skateboarder’s Point of View. There is a small amount of offensive language, so you are hereby warned.

Cannonball from California is a place. on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Foreclosures Tagged With: distressed, real estate, skateboarding

June 2010 Home Sales Report for Simi Valley Detached Homes

July 12, 2010 By Ted Mackel 1 Comment

Looking at the numbers for June 2010, Simi Valley home sales look promising. Once you look past the surface of the reported numbers, some concerns become apparent. The federal tax credit set up to entice first-time home buyers with $8000 and move up buyers with $6500, was conditioned that those buyers needed to have a home under contract by April 30th and close the escrow and no later than June 30, 2010.

These tax deadlines usually are trigger points to stimulate the market. However, if you look at the Simi Valley Home Sales charts that are posted below you can see that the sales volume over the course of the last four years has really not changed much. In fact an increase of only six additional Simi Valley homes sold between June 2009 and June 2010,which shows that the tax incentive really was no incentive at all for Simi Valley Home Buyers. My industry and the newspapers rushed to claim victory that the market is now recovering, but the sobering truth is that 2010 will most likely be named the year of the Short Sale.

So what does this mean if you are a potential home seller in Simi Valley or potential home buyer in Simi Valley?

For home sellers, you fit in one of several categories.

A change in employment, whether this means a move/relocation, layoff or decrease in salary, this could force you in the position to have to sell your home.
A move-up. Things are going okay in your life and you would like to buy a larger home. If this is the case, even though the sale of your home may not fetch the price you believe you deserve, the bigger homes you are looking at purchasing have probably suffered similar or larger decreases in value and will help you to move up.
A move sideways. You’ve really like to have a pool but don’t want to go to the expense of having one installed in the home you already own. If this is the case, the cost to build your own pool could be much more than finding a similar home that already has a pool in it.
Sellers that plan to be in Simi Valley for a long time and don’t have circumstances that really need to prompt a move at this time. Sit tight and enjoy your life, what happens over the course of next couple years will be more important those who have to sell at this time.

For home buyers here are a few concerns to consider.

Making offers on short sale properties. The key to successful short sale purchase involves a few factors. First, as a buyer understanding that the value of the property is critically tied to what the sellers Lender’s a appraisal values come in at. Ultimately in a short sale, the seller’s Lender will approve or disapprove the sale of the home, based on how much money they will receive if they agree to take less than what is owed. The seller’s Lender will rely heavily on the current market value of the house supported by several appraisals and (BPOs) broker price opinions. Finding deep discounts on these properties are very, very difficult. Anyone who gives you the Cal Worthington and his dog Spot routine should be avoided. Second, the listing agent handling the short sale may not have the skill set to handle this complex transaction. Properties are listed far below market value, and/or have a listing agent does not equipped to deal with the complexities of the requests by the seller’s Lender, will only tie you up in a long-drawn-out escrow with little chance of success.
Making offers on bank owned properties. Most of the banks who’ve taken the time to foreclose and then list their properties on the open market through the multiple listing service are looking to get current market value on these properties. Much like short sale lenders they have had several appraisals and several broker price opinions done on these properties they have a very good understanding as to the surrounding values compared to their property.

The bottom line is that interest rates are very favorable for those looking to purchase. and affordability is at it’s highest levels in 40 years. Appraisal value is tied very strongly to the final sales value of most homes and finally we still have a long way to go until the large volume of distressed properties are cycled through the market and lessen the impact on those home sellers who have equity in their homes.

The next time you see a lot of hype and cheer-leading over the Southern California real estate market, make sure to check in here at HomeBuysBlog.com, scroll down the right-hand column and look for the categories and under market updates you’ll be able to look at the charts and tables to see what the average sales volume and average sales prices for Simi Valley.

Thanks for reading Simi Valley’s Premiere Real Estate Blog!

Author – Ted Mackel Simi Valley Real Estate Agent – Keller Williams Realty

Ted Mackel is a top producer at Keller Williams Realty Simi Valley,

specializing in Simi Valley Real Estate

(805) 432-7705

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: appraisals, BPO, Broker Price Opinion, Buyers, Home Sales, real estate, REO, Sellers, Short Sale, Simi Valley, southern california

Simi Valley Homes For Sale Market Report for April 2010

May 17, 2010 By Ted Mackel Leave a Comment

Simi Valley homes for sale for the month of April 2010 had a slight uptick. The gain in average sales price and the slight gain in the total number of Simi Valley homes sold, is largely related to the federal tax credit that expired April 30. Effects from the federal tax credit will be seen in the Home sales reported for May and June as part of the tax credit regulation required that Simi Valley home buyers have a property in escrow by April 30 but close their escrows by June 30.

Still looking at the charts below you can see that the action is in the lower end of the markets as this trend has continued over the last year. Even-though the tax credits have given us a little positive momentum there is still quite a bit of softness in home pricing throughout Simi Valley. A property I sold in May, in the Simi Valley Oakridge Estates, dropped below 2003 prices. Another property I am working on in the Madera Hills Tract would’ve had higher offers last fall than what we’ve been seeing this last week.

What has become significant in the Simi Valley market is the number of short sales occurring. Most of the listing calls I’m getting at this point are coming from people who need to short sell their property. While I work with plenty of equity sellers, short sales create their own drag on the overall market.

This is a Quick Graph of the Volume of Simi Valley Home Sales by Month since 2003 for single family detached homes. If you follow the chart you can see that the May, June and July figures all stay pretty close over the last couple years beginning after 2007. The news such as papers and TV reports on a much larger regional scale which lump the sales data for very large areas into one report. If you’re planning to buy or sell a home in Simi Valley, you need to know what’s going on in Simi Valley in order to come up with a strong strategy. Please bookmark or subscribe to this blog so you can see what is going on locally in Simi Valley.

Filed Under: Market Updates Tagged With: Home Buyers, Home Sellers, homes for sale, Market, Market Report, real estate, Short Sale, Simi Valley

Mackel Family Legacy for Southern California Real Estate

May 12, 2010 By Ted Mackel 5 Comments

My uncle Larry has been the unofficial Mackel family historian. When my grandfather died in 1992, Larry was very good at bringing out many artifacts from my grandfather’s youth. One of the more interesting items was his savings account passbook from Security Pacific National Bank and it was fun in looking at the kind of deposits and withdrawals my grandfather would make as a young man around the time of the first world war and in the 1920s. Along with the treasure trove items was this newspaper clipping taken from the LA Times in 1932.

My great-grandfather James Mackel immigrated from Ireland to Los Angeles in 1882. The family story claims that his move from public service into real estate was prompted by an accident while working a fire. As the story goes, he caught a survivor jumping off the second floor and broke both his arms. When my great-grandmother answered the door upon his arrival, she fainted and he could not catch her. James Mackel’s youngest son, John (my grandfather), bucked the tradition and attended the University of Michigan where he obtained a degree in structural engineering. While running a successful engineering and architectural firm in Los Angeles, he did purchase real estate investments with my grandmother Maguerite, however, it was not until my father graduated from USC with a degree in business emphasizing in Real Estate, did we have a broker back in the family.

Being a 3rd generation native son of Los Angeles and southern Californian is something I am very proud of and the wonderful history my family has had in southern California makes me even prouder to call southern California my home.

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: 1932, LA Times, Los Angeles, mackel, real estate, southern california