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Low 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....
read moreExecutive Summary of the Beverly Hills,CA 90210 Single Family Homes Market Activity!
Executive summary of the Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Single Family Homes Market Activity! Recently I was introduced to new Market Trends Report. This one is powered by Altos Research LLC. I guess they have been around a while, but I have not been exposed to them. So needless to say I was intrigued by their information. So I have been quietly watching the weekly trend reports and this time I thought I would share them with you. I find it very impressive how they break the data into four different Quartiles. Let me know what you think. 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 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 moreBaked Stuffed Artichokes by Endre Barath, Jr.
Baked Stuffed Artichokes by Endre Barath, Jr. There are many ways Artichokes can be baked and stuffed. This Recipe is being posted because my friend Alexandra Seigel, was interested on what my Recipe is for ’baked and stuffed artichokes’. Before I start with the Recipe, I must give a little background, in case you are not familiar Artichokes they are loved by almost every person in Italy. The Romans go a step further, they have what I call an “Adoration with Artichokes”. Carciofi alla Romana (Stuffed Artichokes Roman Style) one of my favorite actress and the love of my father’s life: Sophia Loren had a great cookbook and I am lucky to be the owner of it. Taking her Recipe, mixed with “ Culinaria Italy” another great cookbook mixed with Recipe from the cookbook “The Heart of Sicily” and a couple other ones that I might forget is where my recipe comes from. Clearly it is a combination of many fantastic Recipes tailored to our taste. So with that said, Artichokes begin to ripen in late February or early March and then they are at their highest price points around the world. Then they drastically drop in price all the way through May because it is later in the season. There are many cooks and chefs, who just stuff them with garlic and oregano and douse them with olive oil then set them in the oven or grill them on coals. Perfectly fine way to do it. I love to go to the next level!! So with that said, I like to take some fresh Alaskan king crab, or if nothing else is available a can of crab meat from Trader Joes, (keep in mind this is worst case scenario) mix it with parmesan cheese preferably Regiano Parmesan Aged Cheese and Cold Pressed Extra Virgin preferably unfiltered Olive Oil. (Trust me the flavors make a difference what you use as ingredients, the better the ingredients, the more flavors you get) one egg mix all this together with some bread crumbs, Italian flavored are my favorite or do it from scratch. Then there is also another aspect to consider, what type of Artichokes would you like to use? The Purple Violetto di Toscana is a medium sized and very tender artichoke. The Omanseo artichokes have a large round head and are thornless. Then there is the Catanese variety an elongated in shape and also thornless. In all fairness the Violetto usually can be found at Trader Joes or Whole Foods. The others can be found at all the regular Grocery Chains. Clearly the Violetto is my favorite but I will use any and all to make this recipe. Traditionally most people make it with the large or Roman variety of Artichokes many of you know them as Globe Artichokes… These you need to trip the rough leaves off as well as the stems on the bottom so you can place them flat on a baking sheet. As I do the trimming I like to place the Artichokes in cold water with fresh lemon juice and slices of lemons floating in the water. (This will insure that the vibrant colors do not turn dark) Once you got down to the inner core of the Artichoke cut about 1/3 of the top...
read moreHow will you celebrate St Patrick’s Day in 2015?
How will you celebrate St Patrick’s Day in 2015? Did you know that St. Patrick’s Day 2015 falls on a Tuesday that is March 17th, 2015? When I lived and worked in Boston, MA it was for all practical purposes a National or at least at the minimum a State Holiday. We showed up for work and did the bare minimum to get things done by lunch time and then off we went to the Bars. Clearly it was a ‘…eat and drink…’ all day event. Of course it helped that the population had a strong Irish background. The Bars, Pubs and Restaurants were jam packed and everyone had fun. So fast forward to my relocation to Los Angeles and one could barely find two Irish Pubs or Restaurants not alone celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the “right way”. Keep in mind Boston, MA is a walking or should I say stumbling town with an Irish pub just about every other block vs. Los Angeles is a sprawling city that driving is virtually a must. Hence that immediately shrinks the Revelry. (Now thanks to Ueber this might be changing) So that brings me to my original question: How will you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 2015? My parents thought me at a young age that if a holiday falls on a day that you have to work or have scheduling conflicts, then celebrate it at a different time. After all celebrate the event for you and your family and friends… the actual calendar day is not that important. The gathering of family and friends is where the value is. So with that said the Saturday before on March 15th, 2015 the Le Cordon Bleu one of three well respected Cooking Schools in the US will be holding an Open House at their Campus. Start your St. Patrick’s Day celebration early by joining our chefs as they cook up some of their favorite dishes. Pick up some tips to try at home where you can impress your family and friends on a day that ‘everyone’s Irish’. Just imagine the quick tidbits one could learn. Unfortunately I am booked on March 15th, 2015, but I truly would love to go to this great event. So if you are in the area take advantage of this event. Call them or email them because an RSVP is required. The Dome Entertainment Center Los Angeles Campus of Le Cordon Bleu, 6370 Sunset Blvd, LA, CA 90028 The Pasadena Campus of Le Cordon Bleu,521. E Green St, Pasadena, CA 91101 Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis/St. Paul – 1315 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120 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 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...
read moreDowntown Los Angeles: Sold Properties by Month Market Report is down by 6%!
The Downtown Los Angeles : Sold Properties by Month Market Report is down by 6% ! On closer analysis we discover that this is so insignificant in the big picture because in February 3014 there were 34 sales and in February 2015 there were 32 sales which is a small change of -2 which translates to the 6% decrease of the numbers. It is important to look at the numbers not just the per cent headlines or as some people would call the sound bites. Every time I go downtown to show properties I see the positive and vibrant changes. There is life not just in the day time but at night as well. People are walking to restaurants and others are walking their dogs, clearly a sign of a community that did not exist fifteen years ago. 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 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...
read moreDowntown Los Angeles: New Properties by Month are up by 32%!
The Downtown Los Angeles; New Properties by Month are up by 32%! This is quite incredible. The Demand is there and the inventory is increasing. Clearly there is still a lack of inventory in all price points, but the good news is that it is better than it was in February 2014 because there has been a 32 per cent increase in the inventory. As most of you have seen I have been writing Posts how Vibrant the Downtown Landscape has become. Fantastic Restaurants walking distance from your condominiums are truly valuable. One can walk to the Staples Center where you could watch two local Basket Ball Teams when they are in town and the list is endless. 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 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 moreDowntown Los Angeles Views
When we represent buyers in Downtown Los Angeles, the focus is basically on three things. One what are the amenities that they get for the Home Owner Dues i.e.: is there a roof top pool or an indoor pool or a pool on the grounds? The second focus is on the question is there a Gym to work out i.e.: how state of the art is the workout room? Then lastly and most importantly what are the views like? The best part is since it is Downtown, there are virtually no bad views. Clearly everyone knows that the “walk score” is perfect. After all you can walk to the Restaurants and Staples Center from virtually all Condominium Buildings. Parking could be an issue because some of these Condominiums were converted commercial buildings. So what are your questions that you would like to know and want in your Downtown Condominium? Let me know and I will try to find our for you. 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 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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