If you are looking to buy a home in San Marino or Pasadena California, you have come to the right place. The market in this area of Southern California has been changing with the economy. Although some home prices have dropped drastically, others have done a good job at keeping their value for homeowners.

San Marino Homes have consistently kept their value over the years. You might ask why San Marino is such a desirable area. Well, some people refer to this city as the original Beverly Hills. Whether that is true or not, the city has held a consistent housing market over the decades. One of the main reasons for this is due to the prestigious schools systems they have in the city. Parents from surrounding cities often strive to buy homes in San Marino for the simple fact that they are known for their schools. There are other cities in the San Gabriel Valley that have good schools, but San Marino is among the top. Paying the extra money for San Marino Homes can pay off when you’re not spending money on pricy private schools.

So how much does one of these San Marino Homes cost? Right now, even in a down market like the one we are facing, it is hard to find a home on the market under $1 Million. Although it is possible, the last time I checked there were less than 10 homes for sale in San Marino at this price. The house prices usually start and this point and they only go up.

Compared to San Marino Homes, Pasadena Condos don’t seem like much at all. This is one part of the market that has been hit pretty hard. For example, three days ago I was showing a Pasadena Condos to my clients. We walked around the beautiful facility. There was a pool, spa, sauna, weight room, laundry facility on each floor and outdoor barbeque area. The place was kept very clean, was gated and had underground parking. After talking to the residents we found out that their estimate was that a single bedroom condo in that complex usually sells for around $350-400k. In this case, the single bedroom condo was being sold for $275k and it hadn’t sold yet!

The lower end of the housing market is getting hit pretty hard. These Pasadena Condos are dropping in price and with fewer buyers out searching the prices are continuing to fall. As a Pasadena Realtor I have enjoyed working with the buyers who are going after the bottom end homes. When I hand a client their keys to the home they never thought was possible, it makes me feel good.

Home ownership preparation involves a number of details that require a potential buyer's attention. Sometimes a poor credit history, for example, or a less-than-ideal income means you can't qualify for a standard mortgage, being perceived as risks to foreclosure.

This more cautious scrutiny is often invoked for first-time home buyers who are stretched thin in a market still saturated with overblown house prices.

If you're still in the process of establishing or repairing your credit and growing your career, keep reading for some mortgage options that are available to you.

Seller Financing

Seller financing or "land contract" selling is probably the oldest method of buying a home with a small down payment. Basically, in addition to getting a mortgage from your lending institution, you also get a smaller second mortgage from the seller.

For example, let's say you get a 70 percent loan from the bank, and the seller lends you an additional 25 percent. You can now get the property for as little as 5 percent down, plus the closing costs. You also don't have to qualify for the second mortgage because it's coming from the seller.

In today's market with extremely motivated sellers, this is an option you're going to see a lot. However, many sellers are still wary because of the potential risk involved or because they need the cash and equity to purchase another home.

Most sellers who are willing to "carry back some paper" are looking for a relatively responsible buyer capable of putting 10 percent of the loan amount down.

Low Documentation Loans or Express Loans

The low-doc loans are popular with people who want to minimize the amount of paperwork and details they hand over to a lender. Basically, in exchange for limiting the amount of personal information and credit history you give to a lender, you provide a large down payment.

Typically, these down payments start at 25 percent or more. The lender then waives most of their paperwork involving income verification, reserve checking and credit standing.

Family Financing

Over 50 percent of first-time home buyers get more than a quarter of their down payment from family gifts or loans. Essentially, a family member may agree to lend you a portion of the purchase price.

To keep healthy family relationships, it's prudent to keep everything as business-like as possible, hiring a lawyer to draft up the loan papers. You can offer the property as security.

Family members may offer low-interest or no-interest loans, but you may want to consult your tax accountant before you go down the no-interest path. Basically, if the IRS sees a mortgage that's below the standard interest rate, they may impute the interest and tax the lender anyway.

Did you know that you can have free access to your local MLS? In Pasadena we have what is called the Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors. By being a licensed Pasadena Realtor we have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This service provides Pasadena Realtor's with all the Pasadena California Home Listings and Homes in Pasadena for Sale.

Using a website, Pasadena Realtor's can share access to the Multiple Listing Service and provide homebuyers with a free search tool at no charge. Sometimes buyers and obligated to sign up for the service, but most are provided with little to no obligations.

In order to use the search you choose how you want to narrow your search. You can search by county/city, address/zip, area, or even by school district. Those doing a general Pasadena MLS search are recommended to use the county/city option. Next, you can narrow your search and find exactly what will work for your housing needs. Select from price, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage, construction and amenities. The more specific you get, the narrower your results will be.

The benefits of this help the homebuyer to be more involved in the search for a new home. Since they know best what they’re looking for, if they desire to help the Realtor narrow down properties they can use these online tools to aid in the search.

So what value does a Pasadena Real Estate Agent bring?
A Pasadena Realtor can assist you in the selection process by providing objective information about each property. They should know the area and be able to provide local community information on utilities, zoning, schools, etc. There are two things a purchaser will want to know: First, will the property provide the environment desired for a home or investment? Second, will the property have resale value when it is time to sell?

A Pasadena Realtor can help you with negotiations and inspections. There are many negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession and often the inclusion or exclusion of repairs and furnishings or appliances. The purchase agreement should allow time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property such as the termite inspection. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required.

Finally, a Pasadena Realtor provides due diligence during the property evaluation. Depending on the area and property, this could include inspections for termites, dry rot, asbestos, faulty structure, roof condition, septic tank and well tests, and others They can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these investigations and provide you with written reports.

So, what is the difference between a real estate agent and a “Realtor.” Basically, a Realtor is a real estate agent that has become a member of the National Association of Realtors and thus subscribed to the Code of Ethics required of the state.

Most buyers are looking for a Real Estate Agent that is honest. That’s why testimonials are so important. When a buyer is dealing with what could probably be the biggest investment they will ever make, it is important to work with a real estate agent that can be trusted.

Here are a few things a Realtor can do for you:

Your Realtor can help you determine your purchasing power - that is, your financial reserves plus your borrowing capacity. If you give a Realtor some basic information about your available savings, income and current debt, he or she can refer you to lenders best qualified to help you. Most lenders like banks and mortgage companies only offer a few options.

Townhouses

Your Realtor can give you valuable information about the property. What determines the value of a property? It’s not the listing price. Sometimes the listing price is low and other times its way too high! Your Realty Agent can compare the recent sales in the area to find out how much similar homes have sold for, as well as find out how much the home had previously sold for. This can help determine the value your home.

Your Realtor can work through the contingency period with you. Did you know that as a buyer there are contingencies that are built into the contract that protect you? The two main contingencies are loan and inspection. Having a Realty Agent explain these contingencies is beneficial and crucial to writing an offer on a home that you will more than likely be borrowing money to afford.

When purchasing Townhouses a Realtor can grant value to the transaction. They are trained and prepared to treat you as they would like to be treated themselves. It’s a valuable quality when you’re making such an important purchase. In a tough Real Estate market like the one we are facing in Pasadena, it is important to work with a Realty Agent that is familiar with the business and knows what he/she is talking about.

The Boise market is changing everyday.
Here are some of the recent numbers in the market from last month. The first number is the number of transactions, dollar volume, average price, median price, and days on the market.

Boise Homes
Residential Conventional 772 $203,631,349 $263,771 $232,000 79
FHA 12 $2,180,963 $181,747 $175,450 66
VA 11 $2,261,521 $205,593 $212,900 86
Cash 61 $17,121,769 $280,685 $204,900 77
IHA 6 $1,371,300 $228,550 $206,450 81
Lease/Purchase 1 $115,000 $115,000 $115,000
Other 12 $4,821,348 $401,779 $262,450 122

Analysis by Area
North Boise - 0100 44 $13,438,550 $305,422 $312,450 88
NE Boise - 0200 15 $5,795,700 $386,380 $298,500 62
SE Boise - 0300 47 $12,154,569 $258,608 $228,900 52
Boise Bench - 0400 49 $8,436,650 $172,177 $160,900 54
South Boise - 0500 32 $7,731,965 $241,624 $237,500 59
SW Boi/Meri - 0550 92 $20,315,128 $220,817 $204,950 90
West Boise - 0600 33 $6,473,713 $196,173 $183,000 59
W Boise/Gard - 0650 78 $17,934,863 $229,934 $209,000 59
Garden City - 0700 1 $125,500 $125,500 $125,500 106
NW Boise - 0800 36 $10,465,166 $290,699 $209,900 86
Eagle - 0900 44 $21,009,973 $477,499 $393,900 88
SE Meridian - 1000 37 $11,330,164 $306,221 $291,518 117
SW Meridian - 1010 13 $5,114,032 $393,387 $415,000 134
NE Meridian - 1020 97 $25,575,787 $263,668 $242,990 94
NW Meridian - 1030 167 $42,820,036 $256,407 $241,101 74
Kuna - 1100 59 $13,702,010 $232,237 $189,900 92
Star - 0950 31 $9,079,444 $292,885 $256,500 89

Totals 875 $231,503,250 $264,575 $229,900 79
Non Co-op Sales 215 $58,437,772 $271,804 $243,900 80
Co-op Sales 660 $173,065,478 $262,220 $227,830 79
All Sold Listings 875 $231,503,250 $264,575 $229,900 79

As you might have heard all over the news, financing giant Merrill Lynch was bought out by Bank of America. Banks all across the country and also the world will have to come to grips with an even tougher outlook as Lehman Brothers closes shop leaving over 25,000 employees out of work. After trying to find a buyer, Lehman Brothers was left holding the bag because they lost billions in the mortgage markets and they will go ahead with Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

What does this mean to you? Only time will tell what will happen with the markets as they try to stabilize. Interest rates are actually great right now and some expect another small rate cut to help lessen this Merrill Lynch blow. So, if you are looking to buy some real estate and take a loan out, the combination of low interest rates and low home prices is a combination that may be hard to pass up if you can get over the negative market news.

It may take some time for this to trickle down to the consumer, but expect some more news on the effects of this buyout in the coming weeks. This is also going to be a hot topic in the presidential race between Obama and McCain. There is even more bad news to come as AIG tries to stay above water needing $40 billion loan from the federal reserve.

Experts say that this too shall pass. Something had to give and there has been a lot of giving lately, but hopefully it will help to build a stronger foundation in the real estate and money markets in years to come.

Ben Janke is a Idaho real estate broker that has written free real estate guides that you can access by clicking the following link Boise real estate.

Boise Idaho Real Estate
The asking price vs. the selling price in the Boise real estate market ranges from -13% all the way to +3% with an average of about -3.5% that buyers are getting off of the asking price. Of course, this really depends on how aggressive the sellers and listing agents have the home priced.
When you are looking into a home purchase in the Boise real estate market, there is nothing more important than knowing your numbers. When it really comes down to it, the “asking” price from the sellers really doesn’t matter that much. What Boise buyers really need to look at is the “sold” numbers in the market so they really know what price a property is selling for. You must also keep in mind that the Boise market is made up of several smaller markets that all are connected, but have very different strengths and weaknesses.

Boise Houses

Happy House Hunting!

If you are looking for a home in today's market, you have a lot of choices of where to and how to search. You can search the Idaho Statesman, the Real Estate Book, Homes and Land, or do an online search.

boise idaho real estate
Whichever method that you choose, you must keep in mind that anyone of these methods will not provide you with every home that is available. The most accurate and most detailed search that you can do is to search the MLS directly through an MLS IDX feed. This is a way for local real estate agents to show you the Boise area listings through their website whether they are the listing company or not. That means that an agent from X could display listings from Y and vice versa. There are some local companies like Assist 2 Sell and Help U Sell that do not use the MLS everytime to market their listings, so you would have to go directly to them or their website to find those homes not listed elsewhere. They comprise of about 5-6% of the real estate market along with FSBO's (For Sale By Owners).

Searching on a company site is a great way to go with your search. You will have access to a lot of the data that agents have access to, but be careful. There are some Boise real estate sites that do not link to the MLS and may just show their listings on the site. If they do show the MLS data, be aware that their company listings may receive preferred placement and attention on the site. So, if you are on a company website, be prepared to be viewing their listings more heavily than other companies listings.

eagle id real estate
A great resource for search will be Realtor.com. It does have a direct link to the MLS and is updated daily. It will give you every home that is on the MLS, but you will not have access to all of the pictures that the MLS provides. You will only see all of the photos on the premium or paid listings.

Searching online is the most complete resource that you will be able to use in your home search. An experienced buyer agent should also have access to other means to find properties that may not be on the MLS.

Happy House Hunting!

Ben Janke is a Idaho real estate broker that has written free real estate guides that you can access by clicking the following link home search

In the summer, the sound of the Greenville orchestra fills the night air as the concert season begins in the outdoor concert hall. Robert Shiffler Art Gallery and Anna Bier Gallery provide excellent artistic displays throughout the year. In addition, the Henry St. Claire Memorial Hall provides area residents and visitors with shows by many performing art groups. Greenville real estate is near area parks. Greenville's parks allow you to kick back and enjoy the feel of the cool grass on a warm summer's day as you enjoy a romantic picnic or family gathering under the summer sun. If you prefer, visit one of the city's many diners, take-outs or family restaurants for a relaxing meal.