Belmont Shore & Belmont Heights-Long Beach City Council Considers Mansionization Ordinance

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LONG BEACH REAL ESTATE

Long Beach City Council Considers Mansionization Ordinance

 

The Long Beach City Council will be meeting on October 9th at 5:00 PM to consider a Mansionization ordinance for the Belmont Heights and Belmont Shore areas.  If passed this ordinance will considerably limit and/or restrict local homeowner’s rights to modify thier own homes. 

 

>> Download the City Council Agenda

 

 

If you cannot attend but would like your voice to be heard, please contact your city council representative.

 

 

District 1: Bonnie Lowenthal (562) 570-6919

District 2: Suja Lownehtal (562) 5706684

District 3: Gary DeLong (562) 5706300

District 4: Patrick O´Donnell (562) 5706918

District 5: Gerrie Schipske (562) 5706932

District 6: Dee Andrews (562) 5706816

District 7: Tonia Reyes Uranga (562) 5706139

District 8: Rae Gabelich (562) 5701326

District 9: Val Lerch (562) 5706137

 

 

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Belmont Shore & Belmont Heights-Long Beach City Council Considers Mansionization Ordinance

Belmont Heights-Long Beach Ca Market Report-2007

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LONG BEACH REAL ESTATE

 

Current ACTIVE properties on the market in Belmont Heights, July 14, 2007:

 

Condos     70     Ranging in price from $239,500 to $920,000

Homes      59     Ranging in price from $575,000 to $3,399,911

High Rise   2     Ranging in price from $439,000 to $869,000

 

Total Active Residential Properties on the market in Belmont Heights: 131

 

 

2–4 Units 37     Ranging in price from $599,000 to $1,995,000     (Residential)

 

5 + Units  20     Ranging in price from $895,000 to $17,500,000     (Commercial)

 

 Total Active Residential Income Properties on the market in Belmont Heights:  57

 

2007 Belmont Heights Closed Sales: 

2007 Month	Condos	Homes
January	14	7
February	13	13
March	22	12
April	16	11
May	17	9
June	13	17
July	N/A	N/A
August	“	“
September	“	“
October	“	“
November	“	“
December	“	“
2007 Total Sales

 

 

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Belmont Heights-Long Beach Ca Market Report-2007

Belmont Heights Condo-For Sale-Location!-Location!-Location!

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LONG BEACH CONDOS

BELMONT HEIGHTS CONDO

1 SHORT BLOCK TO THE BEACH AND BLUFF PARK

Ahhhhh, beach living! Come home to this large upper front corner condo, in Belmont Heights with a nice open floor plan and a very affordable price.  Priced to sell, below the neigborhood comps, this condo is a great value. 

Just one short block to Bluff Park and the beach, this one has LOCATION, LOCATION LOCATION!

Located at 100 Loma Avenue #304, on the corner of Loma Avenue and highly desirable East 1st Street. This quiet building has just 12 units.

Walk to the Belmont Brewing Company for a great dinner and a fabulous sunset over the Port of Long Beach, or drop into La Palapa for an evening of great music, they are right on the sand.

• Location, Location, Location
• Upper, Front, Corner Condo
• 2 Bedrooms
• 2 Baths
• 1 Parking Space and storage
• 1,124 Square Feet
• Low HOA of $173
• 1 Short Block to the Beach
• Balcony
• Open Floorplan

 

Modestly Offered at:  $430,000

Belmont Heights is a great community, with tons to do:

• Get some of that exercise you have been talking about by swimming laps in the Olympic sized Belmont Pool, just a few blocks from your new home.  Or spend the afternoon relaxing fishing on the Belmont Pier.
• Stroll on up to Broadway and check out the funky shops, or stop into Christys for a fabulous martini.
• Stop in at the Library, up on Broadway, for your morning java and a fabulous muffin.
• Feeling like a cold brewski?  The Reno Room is just a couple of blocks away. 
• Take a stroll into Belmont Shore and Naples Island; enjoy the restaurants and shops of 2nd Street.
• Hop on the Long Beach Transit Red Passport Bus and spend the day in Downtown Long Beach.
• You are centrally located to everything that is fabulous about the seaside community of Long Beach.

Local Schools:

The following schools are part of the Long Beach Unified School District.

• Elementary Schools
  • John C. Fremont Elementary School, 4000 East 4th Street
  • Lowell Elementary School, 5201 East Broadway
  • Horace Mann Elementary School, 257 Coronado Avenue

• Middle Schools
  • Jefferson Leadership Academies, 750 Euclid Avenue
  • Will Rogers Middle School, 365 Monrovia Avenue

• High School
  • Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, 4400 E. 10th Street

 

Belmont Heights’ borders are Ocean Boulevard (and Livingston Drive) to the south, Redondo Avenue on the west, 4th Street to the North, and Nieto Avenue to the east.

 

OK, I will sweeten the deal. 

Write your offer through me, the listing agent and I will credit you, the buyer, back $2,000 at the close of escrow from my commission.  That is more value.

 

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Belmont Heights Condo-For Sale-Location!-Location!-Location!

Open Houses-Do They Sell Your Long Beach Home?

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ONG BEACH REAL ESTATE

Open Houses – Do They Sell Your Long Beach Homes?

Less and less buyers are visiting Downtown Long Beach open houses.  Did you know that less than 1% of homes are actually sold as a result of an open house?

Most weeks I find myself scrambling for agents to help hold 6 to 8 open houses each weekend.  Each weekend they report back on the traffic, which has been rapidly dwindling to nothingness.  Agents do other Realtors open houses to find new business.  With no buyers to pick up for new business they are very reluctant to hold the homes open.

Real buyers just don’t go to open houses often anymore and agents are reluctant to spend the time sitting at them.  It’s not just happening here.  It’s happening in many markets around the country as is witnessed in this article by Maureen Francis, a Top Michigan Realtor.

Personally I don’t mind doing open houses for my Long Beach Sellers, I have met several of their neighbors and have secured many new listings while doing them, hey I don’t turn down new business, but buyers are few and far between.  Open houses are a great way to meet the neighbors.

Do you remember Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched?  I have met quite a few of her relatives (giggle).  I learn a lot about the neighbors, the neighborhood and about the house from the neighbors, they usually just love to talk, if you have the time to listen.

Last week, a neighbor came in to an open house and kept me company for a while.  We had a great conversation.  It was quiet so I had time to spend chatting with her.  As it turns out she is thinking about selling her nearby Downtown Long Beach Condo and wants to discuss it further with me.  I now know all about the building she owns in, it’s financial state, about many of her neighbors and many other details that will assist me in the sale of her condo.  She saw my sign and stopped in because she knew me from the area, I sell many properties in Downtown Long Beach and am very well known in the area.   But no buyers have come in for the open house I am sitting at.  Nada, nothing, ziltch!

The open houses are heavily advertised, lots of signs are all over the neighborhood with arrows pointing in the right direction.  Heck,  buyers used to drive around Downtown Long Beach and call on every sign and stop into every open house.  I am going to start singing here “Where have all the buyers gone? Long time passing”.

It is not often that I find 3 or 4 hours to sit quietly without distractions.  Doing an occasional open house gives me time to work on my computer, catch up on phone calls or to call my family (I don’t do that often enough).  It is quiet time that I otherwise never seem to find.  So if a seller wants open houses, I don’t mind doing them, as long as the expectations are realistic.  They just don’t bring in the buyer for the home very often.  There are other, more effective ways, to attract buyers.

We Realtors chat amongst ourselves and compare notes on traffic in open houses around the different areas of Long Beach.  Apparently you can get a tremendous amount of traffic to an open house if you flood Ocean Blvd in Bluff Park with open house signs on every corner, and have a multi million dollar beauty open.  One agent reports approximately 250 people walking through one prestigious manse the first day it was open, 25 through the following weekend.  Yep, lots of beach traffic and looky-loos, prancing through this lovely home – curious to see how the well off live.

I recently called the listing agents of 5 or 6 properties in the Lakewood Plaza area, near one of my many listings, to see how showings and open houses were going on their listings.  Most of them were not even holding the homes open, due to little or no traffic.

Buyers are shopping on the internet.  There are scads of pictures, slide shows, virtual tours for them to view properties and choose which ones they want their Realtor to show them.  There is no longer a pressing need for them to give up an entire day to run around viewing open houses.  They can cruise them from the comfort of their own home until they find several that strike them.  They can view them in their own time, with their Realtor, and prefer to work on their own schedules.

If a seller wants open houses, I am happy to accomodate them.  I love getting new business, but I am not recommending open houses in Long Beach any longer.  They just don’t seem to work any more, and I feel badly about putting the seller out of their home for 4 or 5 hours on a badly needed weekend.

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Open Houses-Do They Sell Your Long Beach Home?

Exclusive DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH CONDO Rarely on Market-For Sale

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Downtown Long Beach Condo

For Sale

403 West 7th Street #104

Have you been searching for an upscale Downtown Long Beach Condo?  Can’t seem to find one in your range that works?  This may be the place for you!  Priced to sell, this 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit was crafted with Downtown Long Beach’s Urban minded buyer in mind.

This lovely and spacious Downtown Long Beach Executive Condo is a quiet and sunny rear corner unit, with an open floor plan, 1,003 square feet, 2 balconies and a patio.

The large living room has both a patio, and a balcony, permitting morning as well as afternoon sunlight to stream in.  There is also a romantic, gas fireplace to curl up in front of, for those cozy evenings.

The living room opens onto a separate, formal dining room, with ceiling fan, and onto a very nice sized kitchen with a large pantry/laundry closet.

The laundry closet currently houses side by side, full sized, washer and dryer (included), but could easily handle a stackable unit, freeing up even more closet space.

The kitchen is quite large, has oak cabinets-in very good condition, the sink is stainless with new faucets, the flooring is linoleum (easily replaceable).  The kitchen includes a suite of newer appliances; stove/oven, microwave, dishwasher and trash compactor, most of which are newer.  The laundry/pantry closet is in the kitchen area, but is in a separate space.

Both bedrooms are a very good size and have large closets. The master comes equipped with a private bath.

The second bedroom, currently being used as a home office, has it’s own balcony and a private entrance to the second bathroom.  The second bedroom is also very generously sized.

The unit has Central Heating and a  transferable ADT security system, including motion detectors.

The building has beautiful landscaping throughout.

There are assigned storage spaces for each unit and a secured bicycle storage area in the garage. 

The center courtyard of the complex has a garden/deck lounge area.  This is where you will find the community Jacuzzi.  The area is raised, sunny and very inviting.  It is easy to imagine spending an afternoon in a lounge chair, reading a good book-undisturbed.

This highly desirable, and extremely well managed building, of just 36 units, almost never has any turnover, it is no wonder – the building is  remarkable!

Small pets, up to 25 lbs., are welcomed, one per unit.

Offered at: $344,900

Low HOA of $192.00 per month

and

I Will Sweeten the DEAL!

Write your offer through me, the listing agent,

I will refund YOU $2,000 at the close of escrow

If you choose to make this Downtown Long Beach Condo your new home, you will be within walking distance of Shoreline Village, (the home of Parkers Lighthouse Restaurant, and The Aquarium of the Pacific), Pine Avenue, The Pike at Rainbow Harbor / Rainbow Marina and the Beach.  Freeways are nearby as is the Metro Blue Line which will take you into Downtown Los Angeles.

The Downtown Long Beach area has gone through a vibrant revitalization which still continues. New low-rise and high-rise condos, Manhattan style loft developments, condo conversions, new malls and entertainment complexes all either at the beach or within a several blocks walk continue to sprout. A total urbanization of the area is under way. It really is quite spectacular.

Downtown Long Beach has much to offer.  Take a stroll along the waterfront, watch the cruise ships come and go from the Downtown Port of Long Beach terminals.

Whether you like to shop, dine, tour a museum, catch a professional sporting event or see the sights…there’s something for you in Downtown Long Beach.  Here, water taxis take visitors to the Queen Mary, and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.  Or you can hop a ferry to Catalina Island.  Like to shop?  You’ll love the wide variety of shops and exotic restaurants at The Pike at Rainbow Harbor and Shoreline Village.  Searching for conventional discount stores?  Head for the open air shopping opportunities at City Place.  And for great sports, check out the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center and Long Beach Arena.  You might catch the hometown professional hockey team, The Ice Dogs, in action.

Living in Downtown makes it easy to walk to  Pine Avenue.  Here, you’ll find one-of-a-kind specialty shops housed in quaint historic buildings.  Enjoy your morning coffee and check your email under a blue Long Beach sky as you sit on a café patio, Downtown Long Beach is a Wireless Hot Zone.  And when the sun goes down…the fun continues!  Enjoy a delicious European style dinner at one of the many upscale restaurants, and then dance the night away!  The Blue Café on the Promenade is a popular nightspot.

You won’t want to miss the East Village Arts District, where the Art Deco style abounds.  You will find it chock full of small galleries, eclectic shops, coffee shops and wonderful little restaurants.

Long Beach has smart Public Transportation.  Need a quick and easy way to get around Long Beach without a hassle?

• Metro Link: Take the Metro Blue Line, L.A.’s first light rail transit system which runs from 7th Street in Downtown L.A., to downtown Long Beach.
• Long Beach Transit: Take advantage of the city’s public transportation services available both on land and water! The bright red Passport Shuttle offers service to major Long Beach attractions and is free throughout several stops in the downtown area and the Pine Avenue Link is also available and is free around downtown. Or, let the Village Tour D’ArtAquabus and the Aqualink, with services between the Queen Mary and Alamitos Bay Landing.  All shuttles and water taxis are bicycle friendly. whisk you quickly to downtown’s cultural spots. You can also hail water taxis, the
• Aquabus & Aqualink schedule.

And so very much more…

If you live and 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 Condo to call home? If you are, call me today.

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Exclusive DOWNTOWN LONG BEACH CONDO Rarely on Market-For Sale