CLAREMONT HIGH SCHOOL - HOME OF THE THE WOLFPACK

CLAREMONT HIGH SCHOOL - HOME OF THE THE WOLFPACK

Okay, so everyone is aware that it's back to school time.  Parents filling out those endless amounts of forms, shopping for new clothes (my personal favorite) and meeting up with friends after the summer.  School for CLAREMONT HIGH begins on August 30th... interesting choice.  I always thought school should start AFTER Labor Day, but what do I know?  Some school districts are even starting toward the beginning of August.  To me, that's usually still to hot for students to even think let alone learn.

But, anyway, I was trying to find something of value to write about CLAREMONT HIGH and I came across the school calendar online.  This should come in really handy for all parents in the school district - especially when it comes to minimum days.  I always had such a hard time remembering when those days were coming up.


I had a bit of a hard time navigating through their website to find the football schedule, but here it is.  They use the same site as BONITA, so I have to assume all the local teams use the same set-up for their school sports calendar.




I hope this helps if you live in CLAREMONT or are thinking of moving to this amazing city.


CLAREMONT LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

LeROY HAYNES CENTER CELEBRATES IT'S 65 ANNIVERSARY

LeROY HAYNES CENTER CELEBRATES IT'S 65 ANNIVERSARY


Okay, so LeRoy Haynes Center in LA VERNE is celebrating it's 65th anniversary on  Friday, September 30th with a"Platinum Party!"  The entire community is invited to the festivities which will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Monrovia. And they have gone all out with the entertainment!  The famous Boys From Jersey will be playing their amazing brand of music for the evening. 



Really, what a great place for troubled kids to turn their lives around and become productive adults.  Jane Woods, a staff member at the home, said that they have helped over 30,000 kids!  What an amazing accomplishment.  Think how many people will be touched by those 30,000 lives.


So if you are interested in attending, please download the invitation here.  Remember, what an fabulous celebration to be a part of, and it's tax deductible, too!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

Steps to Selling A Home in Today's Market

Steps to Selling A Home in Today's Market

1.  In today's market, pricing is the absolute, the most important thing to consider.  You need to be competitive and sometimes that means competing with foreclosures and short sale prices.  Now, I know that is simply not what you want to hear, but it's true nevertheless.  If your home is priced too high, you may never get a buyer to step foot inside your door.  Why would they, when everyone is looking for a bargain and your price tells them it's not your home!  Let me give you an example:

    Buyers determine value by comparison shopping.  They look at the price of your home based on its features and upgrades and compare it with features and upgrades of similar homes that have sold recently or are currently on the market.

    So, if you were going to purchase a new stereo system, and one store had that system for $500 and another store had the same stereo for $500 but it had a cassette deck and a turn table for your old vinyl records, which would be more valuable?  The stereo with the upgrades, of course! 

    But now, the first store put the stereo with no upgrades on sale for $250.  Which would be a better value then?  The stereo with the lower price because you can buy your own turn table and CD player probably for less and have it be more custom to you!

So you can see that if you want to increase value you either have to lower the price or add upgrades and features.  This applies directly to the sale of your home.

2.  Unclutter your life! and your home.  It's difficult for prospective buyers to separate what they see and what is under all of that stuff.  Believe it or not, there is also such a thing as too much furniture that can make the rooms look smaller.  Please keep your knick-knacks, etc. to a minimum so the space will have a more neutral feeling to it. 

3.  I know sometimes it's hard, but you need to keep your home in good condition for showing at a moments notice.  This may include changing some habits such as smoking.  If you smoke indoors, a buyer can definitely tell and this detracts from the quality of your home.

4.  Now it's time for open houses.  It is imperative that you allow your home to be seen and an open house is a good way to accomplish that very thing.  Usually the frequency of the open houses is two times per month.  In the beginning I recommend possibly one or two more.  In the past, Sundays have been the open house day, but in today's market you have to add Saturdays and a weekday such as Thursday.  Of course this will not all be in one weekend, unless you wish, and will vary from week to week. 

It is my job to coordinate these things with you to ensure a smooth process and make it easy on your existing life.  If you have any questions or concerns at any time, don't hesitate to call or email me.

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

SAN DIMAS REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

SAN DIMAS REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

Market Watch

New Listing (14)
Price Change (16)
Back On Market (5)
Backup Offer (2)
Expired (4)
Pending (5)
Sold (7)

Okay, so I truly thought that SAN DIMAS would be as slow as some of the other neighboring cities.  I reasoned that maybe people are getting a bit nervous because of the issues with the federal budget and the downgrade in our nation's credit rating.  The financial institutions have been hit as well and I think people are unsure of what will come of all this in the near future.  It makes sense for yet another slow down, if you think about it logically.  (YA, metrying to be logical!)


Anyway, there were 14 new listings on the market.  Moving along at a great clip.  Seven have sold which means the loans are getting closed still which is extremely important.  Between the pendings (5) and the back ups (2) seven are going into escrow.

Now for the regular issue.  I was reading another persons blog who I highly respect. She was mentioning that she believes pricing is subjective - house by house.  Now this is a true statement, some are in better shape than others, some are more upgraded than others, etc.  But I have found that the only value that matters, especially if a loan is involved, is the BPO or the appraisal value.  Appraiser's add very little value for upgrades.  Their main focus is size, bedrooms, lot size and so on.  An extra bathroom will only add about $500 in value and so on.  So you can see, that the values change very little from house to house.


So, again I maintain that the homes MUST BE PRICED RIGHT from the get-go.  A good agent will know how to get that job done and the house will appraise for the sale price.  This week, there were 16 price changes.  One of the neighboring cities had the usual number cut in half, so I thought we were getting somewhere with this.  Apparently I was wrong.  (Yep, it happens, I can be wrong!  Just don't tell my husband!)


And, as always, if you have real estate questions or need some help with selling or buying your home, turn to a local expert.  Give me a call and I will be more than honored to assist you.


SAN DIMAS LIVING! 

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

Market Watch

New Listing (12)
Price Change (15)
Back On Market (5)
Backup Offer (7)
Expired (3)
Pending (4)
Sold (7)

Okay, so I truly thought that LA VERNE would be as slow as some of the other neighboring cities.  I reasoned that maybe people are getting a bit nervous because of the issues with the federal budget and the downgrade in our nation's credit rating.  The financial institutions have been hit as well and I think people are unsure of what will come of all this in the near future.  It makes sense for yet another slow down, if you think about it logically.  (YA, me trying to be logical!)


Anyway, there were 12 new listings on the market.  Moving along at a great clip.  Seven have sold which means the loans are getting closed still which is extremely important.  Between the pendings (4) and the back ups (7) eleven are going into escrow.  The LA VERNE real estate market seems to be picking up!



Now for the regular issue.  I was reading another persons blog who I highly respect. She was mentioning that she believes pricing is subjective - house by house.  Now this is a true statement, some are in better shape than others, some are more upgraded than others, etc.  But I have found that the only value that matters, especially if a loan is involved, is the BPO or the appraisal value.  Appraiser's add very little value for upgrades.  Their main focus is size, bedrooms, lot size and so on.  An extra bathroom will only add about $500 in value and so on.  So you can see, that the values change very little from house to house.


So, again I maintain that the homes MUST BE PRICED RIGHT from the get-go.  A good agent will know how to get that job done and the house will appraise for the sale price.  This week, there were 15 price changes.  One of the neighboring cities had the usual number cut in half, so I thought we were getting somewhere with this.  Apparently I was wrong.  (Yep, it happens, I can be wrong!  Just don't tell my husband!)


And, as always, if you have real estate questions or need some help with selling or buying your home, turn to a local expert.  Give me a call and I will be more than honored to assist you.


LA VERNE LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - AUGUST 6-12, 2011

Market Watch

New Listing (3)
Price Change (7)
Back On Market (4)
Backup Offer (3)
Expired (4)
Pending (7)
Sold (6)

Okay, so this week's real estate market watch for CLAREMONT seems to be slowing down a bit.  Maybe people are getting a bit nervous because of the issues with the federal budget and the downgrade in our nation's credit rating.  The financial institutions have been hit as well and I think people are unsure of what will come of all this in the near future.  It makes sense for yet another slow down, if you think about it logically.  (YA, me trying to be logical!)

Anyway, there were three new listings on the market.  Still moving along, but really slowly.  Six have sold which means the loans are getting closed still which is extremely important.  Between the pendings (7) and the back ups (3) ten are going into escrow.

Now for the regular issue.  I was reading another persons blog who I highly respect. She was mentioning that she believes pricing is subjective - house by house.  Now this is a true statement, some are in better shape than others, some are more upgraded than others, etc.  But I have found that the only value that matters, especially if a loan is involved, is the BPO or the appraisal value.  Appraiser's add very little value for upgrades.  Their main focus is size, bedrooms, lot size and so on.  An extra bathroom will only add about $500 in value and so on.  So you can see, that the values change very little from house to house.

So, again I maintain that the homes MUST BE PRICED RIGHT from the get-go.  A good agent will know how to get that job done and the house will appraise for the sale price.  This week, there were only seven price changes.  That is cut in half from previous weeks.  Good news for those buyers and sellers alike!

And, as always, if you have real estate questions or need some help with selling or buying your home, turn to a local expert.  Give me a call and I will be more than honored to assist you.

CLAREMONT LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

TEN REAL ESTATE MARKETS THAT WILL COLLAPSE

TEN REAL ESTATE MARKETS THAT WILL COLLAPSE


Okay, so I was reading this article in Yahoo Real Estate that spoke about ten areas in which they think the real estate market will collapse in the next year.  I found it interesting that 1) they think they can predict what will happen in the next year considering their really BAD track record so far, and 2) that four out of ten areas are in theCalifornia Real Estate Market.


If I were to be completely honest, I can see why they think California is so ready to keep collapsing.  Unemployment is extremely high here, workman's comp and heath care costs are extremely prohibitive to employers, especially small businesses here, and businesses are still closing.  That coupled with the governor's ideas about raising taxes (ya, him and the feds) we will get a double dip in tax increases that spells doom and gloom.  But then again, some of those areas they spoke about are already raising in price.  



Take their number two pick - Riverside-San Bernardino.  First of all, you can't really lump two counties in the same opinion as basically it's city by city right now.  So their opinion is a very broad view of the situation there.  Not to mention the fact that I recently sold a house for the second time.  My seller had purchased the home from me about two years ago for $350,000 and we just sold it for $385,000.  Seems that particular area is going up in price pretty smoothly. But when you go to the neighboring city, Rialto, the prices are still on the downward spiral.


So, while it was an interesting read, I pose the question to you:  Can anyone REALLY predict what will happen in such a broad fashion?

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website