Landlords Win in the Sub Prime Implosion

The recent events in the sub-prime market have raised the bar on obtaining financing.  Buyers are most likely  going to have to cough up a few bucks to buy anything, unless they have great credit scores and history.  This is great news for Long Beach landlords.  You are not going to have any problems filling up those vacant Long Beach units.  We may actually have housing shortages in some areas. 

It is natural that tenants become first time home-buyers.  Not right now folks!  Unless they have a decent down payment, its just not going to happen, equating to long term tenants.  With so many foreclosures on the horizon, the displaced owners will require housing, increasing rental housing demands. 

Supply and Demand

When supply is down, demand is up.  Rents are going to begin to increase with the demand for available housing.  Who knows, maybe the rents will actually begin to justify the absurd recent prices on some of the investment properties recently and currently on the market.  It may not be a bad time to look into purchasing a reasonably priced Long Beach Investment Property, if you can find one.

The recent re-development in Downtown Long Beach has created a lot of available but not so affordable housing.  Lets face it folks, if these people cant afford to buy, or are coming out of a foreclosure, they are looking for rentals they can afford.  With more high rise development on the way it raises the question, where is the affordable housing? 

In Downtown Long Beach, affordable rental housing can be found in the Willmore City Historic District and in the East Village Arts District.  Alamitos Beach is still affordable but gets a little pricier, rentals in Belmont Heights and other Long Beach CA Beach Communities have stayed surprisingly reasonable.  The Circle area, Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Wrigley Heights, North Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and Signal Hill neighborhoods are likely contenders for housing the coming demand.  If you have been contemplating the purchase of Long Beach Income Property, now might be a good time to think about putting that plan into action. 

If you currently own Long Beach units and have been contemplating upgrading them, now is the time.  Upgraded rental units command higher rents and are always in demand. 

Do you have Long Beach Income Property that you would like to sell?  Are your rents anywhere near todays current market?  If not you might want to consider restructuring your business plan and raising your rental income to support your asking price.  Income property sells based on GRM (Gross Rent Multiplier).  In plain English, your rents must support your selling price or your buyer will not be granted a loan.  Sure, you can wait for a buyer with a lot of cash, but you are going to wait a long time.  A buyer with a lot of cash is most likely going to split that cash up and buy multiple units.  If you price your Long Beach property to sell, and your rents support your price, you should be able to sell. 

I am highly experienced in the purchase and sale of Long Beach Income Properties.  Please call if you need any assistance or advice. 

Posted on March 18, 2007 17:46:47 by Laurie.Manny

Rewarding Excellence in Long Beach CA

 LONG BEACH REAL ESTATE

Rewarding Excellence in Long Beach CA

A TRIP TO STAPLES LONG BEACH CA THAT WILL "NEVER" BE FORGOTTEN

As you all know we Long Beach Realtors are a busy bunch and when we need something we generally need it right now.  So it was for me today.  I needed a new day planner right away for my busy Long Beach Real Estate business, so I went to Staple's up at the Long Beach traffic circle on my way into the office.  Now you know that a trip to Staples isn't much different than a trip to the grocery or drug store.  Personally I don't like going into any of these stores because I usually end up leaving with about half of their inventory. 

Upon entering the store I grabbed one of those 10 ton buckets of licorice for the office, found my new day planner and remembered I needed a new head set for my TREO, so I bop on over to the electronics department.  There is a service desk in the electronics department with a Staples employee servicing another customer.  I asked where the headsets were, received an answer and went over to check them out.  None of them indicated they were comparable to a TREO so I head back to the service desk where the customer was no longer apparent.  I asked the Staples employee for assistance, he indicated that he was still working with another customer but would get me help.  He then paged somebody named Larry twice.  I waited, and waited, and waited and I was done.  I told him thanks but it was taking too long, bye bye, and proceeded to the check out counter, a bit ticked off.  Found a mess of other items at the counter that I didn't need, tossed them into my basket as well. 

Just as I finished placing all of my items on the counter the Staples employee who tried to assist me in the electronics department arrives at the checkout counter and whisks all of my items off of the counter while saying, "You are not paying for anything today!" and places my order into bags and hands it to me saying "I am really sorry for the way you were treated here today, I will make it a point for that to never happen again, please accept my apologies".  I was speechless (a rare state for me).  I thanked him and went to leave the store. 

I went back to ask his name, the employee I spoke to told me that Patrick Owens is the stores new manager and that he is wonderful.  Even the employees love this guy!  It's no wonder why.  He gets it!  He easily could have just apologized or given me a 10% discount, but no, he went the whole nine yards.  I am stunned at this level of customer service.  

When we are treated badly we never forget it.  I will never forget Patrick Owens and the way he made up for his inability to service his customer.  I will never forget the look of pain on his face at the failure of the system he managed.  I also know from that look that he finds that level of service unacceptable and will do something about making certain "his" Staples customers are treated better in the future.  He did that today. 

In Patrick Owens I find a kindred spirit.  I completely understand the position he was in today.  The perfectionist, unable to deliver perfection. 

Patrick Owens today you earned a for excellence.

I hope you never lower your standards, and that you influence many others to strive to your standards of excellence. 

Posted on March 09, 2007 17:13:47 by Laurie.Manny

Media Madness - Let the Buyer Beware

Back on 1/26/2007 Active Rain member Chichi Ahia wrote an exceptional post; Is Your REALTOR on Your Side? (Yet Another Realtor Slam) which many of you may recall.  It was about an article By Stephen Gandel, Money Magazine senior writer, on CNN Money.com titled 'How to make your Realtor work for you'.  The article basically told buyers they didnt need representation, was inflammatory to the extreme and garnered a rapid 65 angry comments.

 
I was very disturbed by the article and did a Google search of the authors name which led me to Spencer Barrons blog. His post begins:

'How about that. I actually got quoted in Money Magazine. Albeit my statement appears a bit truncated, it is not incorrect. Im quoted as saying 'People offer higher commissions because it works'. Ill stand by that. Offering a higher commission to a buyers agent does help sell your home. It doesnt necessarily help you get a better price but it will get you slightly more traffic. Ill explain, but first, this is what Im talking about. The February 2007 Article entitled 'Is your Realtor on your Side?' by Stephen Gandel

Steves seems to be trying to get his fingers on the pulse of real estate but cant seem to get past the waiting room.'     Read More¦.


I stopped by his blog and invited him over to Chichis to comment: 


Stephen Gandel seems to be a little light in the research department when writing his consumer articles. Check out the discussion going on here: http://activerain.com/blogsview/38785/Is-Your-REALTOR-on

He does seem to know how to stir up controversy.


Spencer Barron took me up on the offer to visit Chichis post and left this comment:

I honestly cant say I agree with the article and I even got quoted in it! Steve seems to start with a premise and builds it into an article without determining if the premise is correct.  Its pretty poor reporting.  Its a pretty poor concept especially if anyone out there actually believes hes being accurate.  I just talked to a seller who happened to have the article on the coffee table.  They were consulting it for tips on how to go about their home buying process.  Pretty scary since now theyre looking for help because they dont feel they could trust the listing agent but still dont want to pay a buyers agent.  Theyre currently working with the listing agent who they dont trust.  Sorry, you gave up your right to seller paid buyer representation,  can you pay out of pocket?¦didnt think so.  Go it alone?  Good job Mr. Gandel, that advice will lose your readers far more than theyll ever save.   If someone wants to attempt whats in the article fine with me, but dont come crying to me.  No more free advice to home buyers,  I believe the saying is ˜casting pearls before swine¦not the Im calling anyone swine.

I got more about my conversations with Stephen Gandel via email and phone on my blog http://www.spencerbarron.com

discusses the value of having a buyers agent. More than that, it actually gets into the morality of the strategies some homeowners and builders are using to sell their homes. 

I also located another string going on over at blawg on the same subject. 

Well it seems that Stephen Gandel, the author, has decided to grace us with his presence at blawg: (from comments)

1. Actually, Stephen, there is nothing wrong with my facts:
   
   http://activerain.com/blogs/cahia
   
   I honestly cant say I agree with the article and I even got quoted in it! Steve seems to start with a premise and builds it into an article without determining if the premise is correct. Its pretty poor reporting. Its a pretty poor concept especially if anyone out there actually believes hes being accurate. I just talked to a seller who happened to have the article on the coffee table. They were consulting it for tips on how to go about their home buying process. Pretty scary since now theyre looking for help because they dont feel they could trust the listing agent but still dont want to pay a buyers agent. Theyre currently working with the listing agent who they dont trust. Sorry, you gave up your right to seller paid buyer representation, can you pay out of pocket?¦didnt think so. Go it alone? Good job Mr. Gandel, that advice will lose your readers far more than theyll ever save. If someone wants to attempt whats in the article fine with me, but dont come crying to me. No more free advice to home buyers, I believe the saying is

Posted on March 02, 2007 15:11:51 by Laurie.Manny

Downtown Long Beach-Urban Minded Buyers

World Trade Center - Downtown Long Beach California

Downtown Long Beach Living

Urban Minded Buyers

While Downtown Long Beach is certainly not the perfect place for just anybody to live, it can fulfill the needs and desires of many urban minded buyers.  Some areas of Downtown are still a little gritty, but for the most part this has become one heck of a desirable place to call home. 

The Sunset Pointe Condominiums on West 4th Street have much to offer in the way of location and access to all of the wonderful entertainment and fine dining that Downtown Long Beach has to offer.  Just one short block to the lovely Cesar Chavez Park and a short walk to Pine Avenue, the beach or to The Pike, makes this a slam dunk. 

The picture above was taken from the top floor, corner unit at the Sunset Pointe Condominiums, this is the view the seller's have enjoyed from their living room and from their couch.  Pretty nice, huh?  Since they are a corner unit, they also have a view of sunrise over Signal Hill from both bedrooms, which is very nice to wake up to if you have your furniture positioned to best advantage.  

If you work in Downtown Long Beach you would be with-in walking distance of your office, or place of employment.  You would also be a short walk to the Metro Blue Line, which will take you into Downtown Los Angeles.  So, are you an urban minded buyer, looking for that perfect Downtown Long Beach place to call home?  Do you think you might enjoy that view?  If so, give me a call (562) 212-5420, it would be my pleasure to assist you in your Downtown Long Beach Home purchase.

Posted on February 27, 2007 04:24:51 by Laurie.Manny

Gallery of Long Beach Street Murals

Gallery of Long Beach California Street Murals

 

Compliments of:  Laurie Manny

Contact Laurie for all of Your Long Beach Real Estate needs (562) 212-5420

Posted on February 23, 2007 16:30:51 by admin