Pinterest and Buying or Selling Your Home

Pinterest is an amazing. Let me say that again...amazing! And no I don't own stock in the company.  There are so many things you can do with this online pin board including help in buying or selling your home. How you ask? Well that is what this blog is all about.

So let me start at the basics for those of you who are not familiar with Pinterest. Have you ever used the "Bookmark" setting on your web browser? So you know, when you find a page you'd like to go to again and have the computer remember if for you, you "Bookmark" it right? Well Pinterest is similar in that it "bookmarks" or "Pins" things that you can find on the internet or you can download your own images, then you can share them with other people such as friends, family, or people that are following you in the same manner that works with Twitter. So, for example, lets say I find a picture of a beautiful garden somewhere on the internet. I can "Pin" this website that has the photo by going to the top right of my screen on Pinterest and hitting "Add". That will take me to the next page where I have the option to "Add a Pin". Once I choose that then I copy and paste the web address from the site where I found the beautiful garden into the space provided on Pinterest and it "Pins" it to my site. I can then add it to my "board" or category that I named "Ideas for my yard". I can even add a little personal note below it that could say something such as "I enjoy this yard because of the flower arrangements but I would prefer a white wooden fence". Then everyone who is following you will see that you pinned this. Then this goes onto Pinterest and other people also on Pinterest may see this photo and have the same thought you did about how nice that garden looks and then they will "Repin" it which just means they are Pinning it to their own board on their personal sight.
How does this help in buying a house? Well sometimes as Realtors we hear our clients say things like, "I want an updated house" or "I want a house with character". These things mean something different to each and every person. So why not "Pin" some things you like about homes on Pinterest and share them with your realtor? Or lets say your significant other travels a lot for business (as a lot of people here in LA do). You could make a board for all the homes you see either from your own personal photos you upload or from internet sights that show the listed home. Then you can add your own person comment to the photos for the home like "smaller than we like but terrific neighborhood".  Then your partner can just go onto Pinterest and look at all the photos with all the comments all at once without having to get separate emails with the photos or links.
What about selling my home? First off, the more advertising done on your home the better and this can be just another form of advertising.  But also, if your home is on Pinterest and someone Pins it, everyone that is on that person's following list will see it as well. Also, if you pin pictures of your home and label it with things such as "Original Spanish tiles" or "dreamer's pool", then people who are already on Pinterest looking for home ideas could find yours based on what they are looking for. And from a Realtor's point of view, if my past clients are following me on Pinterest, they too will see your home I listed and find it interesting or pass it to others that maybe interested. It's like a big web that can catch and hold a lot. And even if you aren't in the market to buy or sell, it can be fun to Pin ideas such as your dream master bathroom or a cute idea to make the best of a small space in a laundry room. So once you are on Pinterest, come find me and see what I've been pinning!
http://pinterest.com/adolle/

Pre-Approved, Pre-Qualified....what?

Do I need to be pre-approved. pre-qualified or pre-nuptualed? Well, I can't give you advice on what you should do when you get married but I am here to tell you about the house you will be buying and how to go about doing it. There was a day, not too long ago, when we could go out looking for houses, find the perfect one, and put an offer on it. Some of us would have hopefully been pre-approved for the loan for the house and others had simply gone over our basic finances with a loan broker and we were given a ballpark of what we could afford. Well, those days are over.
The most important thing we can do for ourselves today is get a clear and precise understanding of our finances and what we can afford. It is no longer as simple as how much we make minus what we pay in bills. Today a loan broker may want to see your income history in bank statements, proof of where your down payment came from and how long you've had it and, of course, your credit history is more important today than ever. Some people may have children with a partner they are no longer with and instead of the typical child support, they are having their ex pay for rent or mortgage where they live. Other people may have received a down from a family member but still need to show the transaction transfer and proof of relations to the person who gave it to them. There are a million and one different financial situations that people have and it's not as simple as it was in the past to get a loan. Banks are being very careful to qualify potential buyers today after what happened with the financial crash we all witnessed. Some people may need to be credit-approved which is just an in depth and much more informative understanding of one's finances. This is typically done when we don't have a straight forward, easy to read, income or perhaps debt.
All that being said, the one thing you need to know about pre-approval and pre-qualification is that you need it. In order to make an offer on a home, this is something that, today, is necessary. When you start looking for properties, don't get yourself into a pickle by finding something that is great for you, but loosing it to someone else who is already pre-qualified gets their offer in and accepted. The early bird gets the worm. That is not the only reason is it necessary to get pre-qualified but also, we may think we can afford more than we truly can and we can only learn that when we are pre-qualified. So, call a friend and see if they have a loan broker they recommend, and ask your real estate agent for a recommendation as well. They call a few different brokers, see who you feel comfortable with, and start your engine cause now we can go look for some houses and you will be well on your way to finding your new home.

Why You Need An Agent When Buying Your Home

Have you ever been out looking for your new home and thought to yourself "I don't need an agent. I'm going to do this on my own and save some money." Well...I am here with some enlightening news for you. You don't save any more money when buying a home if you use a realtor to help you, than if you did it on your own. In fact, you are more likely to save more money with a Realtor when buying a home. I'll give you an example of why this is. You know how you can buy plane tickets and hotel rooms online straight from the their website? Well, there are also websites out there that give you discounted plane tickets and hotel rooms. These discounted websites are there to bargain a deal for you and also to do wide spread advertising of the hotels and airlines. So because these discounted sites advertise and get more business for the companies than they were getting on their own, the hotels and airlines then pay these discount sites for their services. Now you can always just call straight to the hotel and airlines and get the price they quoted you, which leaves little to no room for negotiations. Well, that is kind of what your buying agent does for you. We will show you more properties than you can see on your own. We can get you into homes on days there is no open house and give you useful information about the home and the area. We will also give you comparables to that property and help you to weigh the pros and cons of one property v.s. another. And when you find the home you are looking for, our big job is to negotiate a lower price for you. The agent who sells the home has the job of getting the highest price for their client and that client is the one who pays the commission to have their Realtor advertise, market, and promote the sale of their home to other Realtors. So, do you want to walk into a situation of trying to buy a home with no help, no professional guidance, and nobody to stand in your corner and negotiate for you, all at the low low price of...nothing-more-out-of-your-pocket? I think it's time you started looking someone to work for you...you deserve it!

How would you like to live in Sherman Oaks, California?

It is a known fact that California has some of the highest priced real estate there is. San Fransisco is up there and of course Santa Barbara is a highly sought after town as well. You can't argue that California, as a whole, has some of the most beautiful ocean views, mountain tops, national forests, desert ranges and, you guessed it, homes. We are known for having a very wide variety of styles of homes and you can only imagine that with all the creative people in Hollywood, that Los Angeles has a vast number of them right here. Sherman Oaks is one of the most sought after places to live in Los Angeles with the magnificent hill side homes to the flat lots with California bungalows. We have grand large homes where the rich and famous live as well as a great selection of condos right in the heart of Sherman Oaks. Up until the fall of the market, the average buyer could easily spend $700,000 for a home here but things today are a bit different. This is the time for buyers out there to purchase real estate in places like Sherman Oaks. I have a feeling these home prices wouldn't last too long and I know that the mortgage rates are bound to rise as well. There are some pictures attached here of condos I am holding open houses for this weekend. One of them is a short sale listed at $289,000 with 2bd,2bth and multiply community amenities and the other is listed at $335,000 with 2bd,2bth as well and is a standard sale. There are not too many places in America where you average 72 degree weather all year, you are 25 minutes to the beach, an hour from snow top mountains where you can ski, 30 minutes from the beautiful countryside, one and a half hours from wine country, and living where actors, directors, architects, singers, painters, and creative people from around the world call home. These are the times to not miss out on great buying opportunities, so if you have the resources and the desire to own a home...this is your time. Don't let it slip through your fingers.