A little bit of well deserved self-promotion.

I initially had a very difficult time with hyping myself up. Usually when I would meet people who would boast about their accomplishments I would retract from them and thought that they were either exaggerating or totally unconfident with themselves and trying to compensate. In many instances, both. Over time I've come to realize that it is sometimes appropriate and even necessary to toot your own horn, and this opinion is echoed by Trump, Doheny and many other influential tycoons. After all, if you don't tell the world about what a terrific job you are doing then who will?

So without further ado, I will commence with the gratuitous self-promotion. I took a listing on a gorgeous four unit building in Highland Park right on the York Blvd. strip behind the York and Johnny's bar, a place I have known to patronize. The clients wanted to get the equity out of their property to buy a retirement house in Norcal and were either going to refinance it and hold it or sell it, cash out and then 1031 into their new property. After evaluating the financial health and general state of the real estate market we decided that it's not going to hit massive growth again anytime soon, if at all so holding off five years for a higher price and refinancing the property now didn't make sense. We decided to sell the four unit. I looked around for comps in my own area (I live here to, you know). Everything was either a beat up REO or drastically overpriced so I approximated $/sq. ft based on the two blocks north and south. The area is important to the future valuation of the property because real estate is defined as it's future earning potential so I needed to keep my valuations constant with what's on the block and what that is renting for. I came up with a figure in the high 400's and presented it to the owners. They were thinking more in the low 500
s, but I showed them the state of the market and especially the mortgage world and they understood that the pool of qualified buyers has been reduced by about 60% for this type of small apartment building. We agreed on a listing price of $499000 and I set out to snap some pictures, meet the tenants and hang my sign. After day one my pictures were up online and the MLS. I take pride in the fact that I maximize online exposure for my listing. (Just google 5025 Lincoln or 6412 Enfield). I was instantly flooded with calls and offers. In the afternoon on day two, I had a full priced offer from someone who lived two blocks away from the building. I presented it to the amazed sellers who instantly got giddy about their plans to retire becoming a reality. We had a deal in under 48 hours. Now THAT'S hot especially in this market and that's why I am the hottest Broker in L.A..

How business is done in Illinois.

Speaking of contractors, three of them are bidding to fix a broken fence at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield. One is from the capitol city of Springfield, another from the small town of Petersburg, and the third from Chicago.
They go with an official from the Governor's staff to examine the fence.
The Springfield contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. "Well", he says, "I figure the job will run about $900: that's $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Petersburg contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do this job for $700: that's $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the Governor's young staff member and whispers, "$2,700."
The inexperienced official says, "Hey, you didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?"
The Chicago contractor whispers back, "That's $1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the dumb guy from Petersburg to fix the fence."
"Done!" replies the youngster.
And that is how business is done in Illinois.

Now hear this! Your cellphone is going to be a telemarketer trap unless you do this.

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:34:25 GMT

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public next month.

REMINDER.... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls.



.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS



To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222 .

It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.



HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.. It takes about 20 seconds.




HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.. It takes about 20 seconds.

Fascinating take on why defaulting homeowners don't really OWE the money on their mortgage.

I found this very interesting writing out in the blogosphere. It is written by an attorney who has several good points about mortgages and who truly owes who.

His contention is that you don't owe your mortgage. Basically, the entity who gave you the loan was paid back when they sold it to a servicer and that servicer was paid back when they sold it to a mortgage backed securities pool. That pool of MBS's was paid back for their losses from the federal government bailout and all of our tax dollars. That debt has been paid. These lenders who are foreclosing are essentially being paid twice for the original mortgage money they lent out. They are a crafty bunch and they've already gotten us to this point, why should we let them go further?

Auto-industry bailout aptly described by Calvin and Hobbes.

Leave it to Bill Watterson, the clairvoyant author of Calvin and Hobbes to adequately summarize our latest capitaliscum-socialist atrocity. When I see this, I laugh but I am also disheartened and saddened because it is true and the U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for the $15 lemonade (or in this case, trillion dollar bailouts funding heinous CEO bonuses).

This is the darkest time for capitalism in history. How can we rebuild this system and restore trust in the "Great American Way? I for one vote that we move to completely ban any employee bonus for all companies receiving federal monies until the full amount of the government contribution has been paid back to the U.S. Treasury.

Time and time again, we have seen that the privileged few are unable to control their greed and corruption and if left unchecked ultimately plunder everything before moving on. Think of every European revolution/uprising.

Why aren't the average citizens of this country taking to the streets in protest?

$7500 Tax rebate to buy a house !?

As if a 4.5% mortgage and freefalling home prices wasn't enough incentive to get sidelined buyers buying again, this Los Angeles Realtor has just learned of a new $7500 federal tax credit that will be extended to first time home buyers. It is not a complete gift, but a loan at negligable interest that is repaid over 15 years. Nonetheless, that's one more bonus to buying your first home right here, right now. Call me to take action and capitalize on the best home buying opportunities our generation has ever seen. 310-709-8283