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October 1st, 2015 changes are almost here for the Buyers, the Borrowers i.e.: the Consumer via the Truth-In-Lending-Act!(TILA-RESPA)
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule implementation(Truth-In-Lending-Act) August 1st, 2015, October 1st, 2015 changes are almost here for the Buyers, the Borrowers the Consumer There are changes that will go in effect thanks to The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Some of the changes will be major others just terminology and definition changes. Here are some examples of terminology changes: The Lender will now be called The Creditor The Borrower and the Buyer will be called The Consumer Initial Truth-in- Lending Statement and Good Faith Estimate will be called Loan Estimate HUD 1 Settlement Statement and Final Truth-in-Lending Statement will be called Closing Disclosure The Closing will now be called Consummation! The purpose of all this is intended to make the Borrowers i.e.: the Consumer’s life easier. If you have bought ‘property’ before, and it was the first time, I am sure you will recall that the documents were confusing and quite overwhelming. There are agents who had a challenge with reading and explaining the HUD-1 forms, because not all agents are present at the closings and many times the Borrowers aka. The Consumer would only sign the documents in the presence of the Escrow Officer. Hence most people involved in the Transaction will welcome these changes. After reading the “The Closing Disclosure” I find it will be easier for all parties to understand the Terms, even though it is five pages long, the information is geared to simplify previously convoluted documents and data. Another aspect will be the implementation of “…some Best Practices for all Title and Escrow Companies…” One of those are how to handle Non Public Information (NPI) (I will cover that in detail in an upcoming Post.) If you are a Lender= Creditor, an Escrow Officer, Title Officer the biggest change will be to have better coordination and communication amongst each other. If you are a Realtor you need to become familiar with the Closing Disclosure Form since the Consumer will have it three days in advance rather than at the Closing Table. If you are a California Consumer these documents will be sent to you in advance as well prior to signing the Loan Documents allowing you to digest and raise questions and get clarifications to your concerns. I understand that this will take a bit of time to get used to but the purpose is to protect the Consumer, so we as representatives of the Real Estate Industry needs to embrace these changes and help the Consumer with their largest transaction of their life time and to make it as easy as possible. If you are a Consumer you should be Thrilled at these changes! If you would like to watch a five minute video about these changes please click on the enclosed link https://www.titlesecurity.com/changes-coming-august-1st-2015 Now if you like an in-depth clarification and would like a better understanding of the new rules, with questions and answers, then check out the Government’s Website for the changes here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/regulatory-implementation/tila-respa If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a...
read moreHow is the Real Estate Market in Beverly Hills?
Often I get asked: “how is the real estate market faring in Beverly Hills?” First I am thrilled that these type of questions are back in the cocktail party conversations as well as that they are being asked by serious investors and interested potential buyers and sellers. It is nice that it is not just idle conversation starters, rather serious interest on how the Real Estate Market is faring in Beverly Hills. My second reaction is to quantify my answer by saying, that there are many different Real Estate Markets in Beverly Hills. I always try to find out what the interest is i.e.: is it in particularly the first time buyer’s market? Is it the investors market? Or is it the Developer’s market? Then I try to narrow down the question, is it the Condominium Market? Or is it the Single Family Market? Just as an example let me just address the Single Family Market here and you will see even that has many different aspects. If I just simply stated, that this week the median list price in Beverly Hills, CA 90210 is $5,995,000. This would not present the entire Single Family Homes in Beverly Hills accurately. Even though the dollar mount is correct. Even if I added that inventory is increasing and the days- on-market time appears to be trending lower. Prices in the 90210 zip code are trending upward and are getting close to an all-time high. This still does not present the true picture. To get a more accurate picture of the Beverly Hills Single Family Home Market we need to separate the data into four groups based on living square feet. There are the least expensive homes which I consider in the bottom quartile. These homes are approximately 2680 square feet of living space and have lots in the neighborhood of 8-10,000 sq. ft. The Median Price for these homes is around $2,138,000. In the lower middle quartile the homes are around 4600 square feet of living space and have land from a .25 acre to .5 acre. The Median Price for these homes is around $4,299,000. As we look at the upper middle quartile, we are getting into the 6300 sq. ft. of living space and the lot sizes are around .5 acre – 1 acre. The Median Price is now around $7,425,000. Then when we look at the Ultra Luxury Homes, the living square feet increase to about 8700 sq. ft. or more on similar land size of .5 acre -1 acre. The Median Price is around $15,450,000. Needless to say I have not even addressed the Mega Mansions which fall into a category of their own. So the short answer to the question of “how is the market” looking at the current rate of sales vs. the current inventory we are still in a sellers’ market, but getting close to a balanced market. The Days on Market depending which price point we are focusing on is anywhere from 129 to 149 days. The most important factors which effect the prices in Beverly Hills consists of a three part answer: one our prices are driven by the World Demand, second we are the destination place from all parts of the Globe due to our Temperate Climate and third Beverly Hills represents Luxury. The...
read moreEndre Barath,Jr. has been Recognized by David Cabot President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeService CA Properties!
Endre Barath,Jr. has been Recognized by David Cabot President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeService California Properties for his Outstanding Sales Achievement! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations....
read moreHappy Memorial Day Weekend! Best wishes from Los Angeles!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Best wishes from Los Angeles! As I reflect on seeing neighbors and friends have their families and friends visit and enjoy the traditional and in some people’s perception “mandatory barbeque” in the back yard. I think of all those who gave their lives so we can enjoy this weekend. Memorial Day Weekend is not just the beginning of summer to me. It is all those who fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy our freedom. Here is a 3.2min video from someone who served, voluntarily Afghanistan & Iraq so we could enjoy our weekend. Check it out if you have time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6GakghQoA I was not only amazed, but it touched me how this solder described Memorial Day and the weekend. As I finished watching on U-Tube. There was another video that caught my eye. President Ronald Reagan and his views of Memorial Day also very touching and about the same time as the other. So if you have another 3.2minutes to spare please watch it as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt8y18YFH70 With that said I would like to thank all those who served to protect our freedom and I wish I could thank those who gave the ultimate sacrifice! Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all and please reflect on these words. Keep the Tradition alive! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreKegel Canyon Rd. Vacant Land! Pending! Endre Barath Vacant Land Specialist!
The best way to get to this lot is to go to KAGEL CANYON RD from there to INDIAN MESA DR and the lots are on THE CORNER OF INDIAN MESA DR AND KAGEL CANYON RD! THE PROPERTY IS ON THE CORNER OF INDIAN MESA DR & Kegel Canyon Rd! The best part is one side is on a paved road and the other side is a dirt road. Both LOTS ARE FLAT . This is truly COUNTRY LIVING BUT CLOSE TO THE CITY TOTAL OF 4800+/- LAND TWO APN NUMBERS. ALSO INCLUDED IS 2845-024-028. SELLER MIGHT CONSIDER SELLING SEPARATELY PREFERS SELLING TOGETHER. PERFECT FOR LONG TERM INVESTMENT TOO. OR BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME NOW. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreThe Median Sold Price for Bel Air- Holmby Hills is up by 55%!
The Median Sold Price for Bel Air-Holmby Hills is up by an incredible 55%! As most of you know Bel Air has some incredible Price Points. The Median Sold Price in February 2014 was around $1.1million that is about a $650k+/- increase for February 2015. I can hardly wait to see how March fared. All I can tell you is at every office meeting I heard multiple offers and agent grousing that they missed out on sales with their buyers. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue...
read moreLow Tech or High Tech? What do you prefer?
Low Tech or High Tech? What do you prefer? We were in beautiful Pasadena, yesterday. The assignment was to go to Restoration Hardware, truly a blog by itself. (Soon to be published) On our way we had to stop in at Snyder Diamond Kitchen & Bath Appliance Store (Another blog post to be published soon). Followed by a quick detour to Vromans, we finally arrived at the block which houses Restoration Hardware. Keep in mind I will tie this all in about my question of: Low Tech or High Tech which do you prefer? Now the monumental challenge of trying to find a Parking Space was ahead of us. Clearly the desirability of Pasadena makes street parking a virtual impossibility or you have to have the perfect alignment of stars. Understanding that generally one street behind or should I say parallel one can always find either a public parking lot or parking structure. Armed with that knowledge, I turned off Colorado Blvd to find a Parking Place. I was on the right track. The shock of finding a Parking Lot which was reasonably priced was minor compared to be what we found. Well see these pictures for yourself I have never seen anything like this before, write your parking space with a pen, add your license plate, the time you parked and add $3 or $6 depending how long you are staying. Clearly the first thought in my mind is there an enterprising person behind the fence who is collecting money? Or is this for real? We are in 2015 people with Smart Phones and I could go on and on. Needless to say I had to go look on the other side and I found the continuation of the same parking lot with an attendant who charges a couple dollars more and parks your car. More interestingly look what I found: A Tesla Charging Station too. As you can see High Tech can coexist with Low Tech. So if you are looking for a Realtor who is comfortable with High Tech Reach out to me. Now if you prefer Low Tech like face to face meetings vs. Video Conferencing or Texting I do answer the phone and meet people face to face too! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read morePet Update from your Greater Los Angeles Pet Friendly Realtor: Endre Barath, Jr.
Pet Update from your Greater Los Angeles Pet Friendly Realtor: Endre Barath, Jr. Those of you who follow our trials and tribulations will recall my previous posts about our “Backyard Kitty” aka. Wiley. As you know unbeknown to us, when we bought our house, it came with a “stray cat”. Needless to say, making the transition or should I say the move with three indoor cats was a challenge by itself. Hence working on taking care of “Wiley” our “Backyard Kitty” was no lesser of a challenge. We made huge progress, as you know we were able to “Spay & Neuter” him and he still remained our “friend”. A while back, I was happy to report that we were able to pet him. Then life takes its turns and we incorporated into our “little house”, Chachi aka. Diane’s Dog, whom we have had in a foster home for many years. Needless to say this is still a work in progress. He has some issues with the cats. One of our cats he cannot stand and at the same time he is a bit afraid of him as well. Needless to say the feeling is mutual on Douggy’s part too, he can’t stand Chachi either. Chachi is neutral with Jack and that is good thing and Jack basically is neutral to him as well, or should I say he keeps a respectful distance. On the other hand he is smitten with Jill, so you are now caught up with the dynamics of the inside of our home’s animal life. Clearly since Chachi is a dog he needs to enjoy the back yard as well. Needless to say this created a new dilemma that we are working on resolving. Sharing the back yard with Wiley is no small task either. Between the hours of six pm and nine am the back yard belongs to Wiley. Now between nine am and six pm depending on my day Chachi gets to enjoy the back yard as well. As you can see we clearly have our hands full and often our friends have to understand that we are not always available on “short notice” to do anything, including going out to the movies, dinner etc. It is more than a full time job for me and Diane. Being the caregivers has created changes in our home entertaining as well. Keep in mind there is a huge difference of having just a dog or just cats in your home. I wanted to share this update for those of you who are interested in our animal kingdom and at the same time give you a glimpse of insight for those of you who are considering more than two pets in your life. If you do not have enough to keep you busy or you have not been discouraged by my post. Then please go ahead and rescue a cat or two, or a dog or two, there are so many in local Rescue Organizations that are looking for a Forever Home! The take away here is, that having pets is rewarding in itself, but just like anything in life you have to work at it every day and every moment. Just like being a Realtor you have to work hard and consistently for your clients. So...
read moreAre you ready for Spring Selling season in the Greater Los Angeles area?
Are you ready for Spring Selling season in the Greater Los Angeles area? If you are a seller you need to look at the Trends, are the prices increasing in your pocket? Or are they flat? Or are they decreasing? Keep in mind this is Southern California so if your pocket has slowed it has nothing to do with the Brutal Winter of the East Coast. It more than likely has something to do with the Consumer Confidence. If your geographic pocket is hot, it might have something to do with the desirability of your neighborhood, because of the schools or possibly the location. The key is that you need a knowledgeable Realtor who watches the Economic Market as well as the Trends and can put it in perspective for you whether you are buying or selling a home. Just as an example the big story last week was the Fed Meeting and how well the mortgage investors received their comments and this in turn let them know what to expect. My observation is that the Fed officials lowered their outlook for economic growth and inflation over the next three years. What this means is, that interest rates will remain low and the prospect that rate hikes will be further away and at a more gradual pace. Hence the Real Estate Market will continue to benefit from lower Interest Rates. This is great for buyers especially buyers who are already feeling the squeeze of increased prices. It is equally beneficial for sellers, because this will not limit the pool of potential buyers. So if you would like to know the value of your property and what the trends are in your geographic pocket please reach out to me directly. Now if you are considering purchasing a Luxury Home I know some great lenders who have ample jumbo funding and they will help you navigate you through an overmatched banking system. If you are looking to purchase homes that fall under the Jumbo funding category I have some great lenders who can help you with possible even zero-point options as well. The important aspect is to have a knowledgeable Realtor who can help you navigate you through the process of selling or buying a property. Someone who can help you find a Lender that delivers on what he says. Someone who can make sure that you have a qualified buyer who will close the sale! If you are looking for someone who is seasoned and is well respected by clients and peers, please reach out to me directly. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. ...
read moreBreaking News, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett said: Good Profits to be made in the United States!
Breaking News, Warren Buffet Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) spoke in a video address to the SelectUSA summit. whose goals are to attract foreign investment, made it clear that there are great advantages in investing in the United States and there is good profits to be made here in the US. He gave direct credit to his and Berkshire Hathaway’s success to the fact that Berkshire Hathaway operates in the US. “…I know that a very large part of (our) success has come because we have been operating in the United States…” The reason for this he attributed to the fact there is “…equality of opportunity, the rule of law and the encouragement for innovators…” If you want more details of his comments and the details go to the Fox Business page on Facebook. He further added that “…there is more to come.So join in with us, Berkshire Hathaway is going to do well in the years ahead…” Clearly I am honored to be affiliated with the Berkshire Hathaway Brand of Real Estate. To elaborate a bit further, if you are an investor I have a fantastic Development Opportunity in Beverly Hills to build two mega mansions with a huge upside. Please reach out to me directly for more details. I have other development opportunities with upsides as well. If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com. I am a pet friendly realtor and I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations....
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