Long Beach Mortgage Rates for August 11, 2008

Long Beach Mortgage Rates for August 11, 2008.

Loan amounts up to $417,000:

All rates offered to the borrower with 1 point cost. Rate quotes assume a Purchase transaction with a 20% down payment, 720 credit score, and full income Qualification. Rates are subject to fluctuation. Custom rate quotes and rate Lock advice are available by calling (858)-777-9751.

Remember the song “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealer’s Wheel? It was background music for a particularly Gruesome scene in the Quentin Tarantino movie, Reservoir Dogs.

Wall Street bond traders are singing that tune and it’s bouncing mortgage rates all over the place. They’re scared because they feel that “somethin’ ain’t right” with the underlying loans held by Fannie and Freddie. Still, the US Treasury Secretary has pretty much guaranteed that the government will back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should the dung hit the blades.

Wall Street bond traders are singing that tune and it’s bouncing mortgage rates all over the place. They’re scared because they feel that “somethin’ ain’t right” with the underlying loans held by Fannie and Freddie. Still, the US Treasury Secretary has pretty much guaranteed that the government will back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should the dung hit the blades.

While the treasury securities market has been somewhat stable these past few weeks, mortgage-backed securities are bouncing all over. Some days ,they act like treasuries and the spread narrows. Other days, they act like junk bonds and the spread widens. If you listened to my “dog on a leash” analogy, imagine a rabid animal running away from a scared owner one day and a docile pet running and cuddling with him the next.

Like the song, says, we’re “stuck in the middle” which means, in my mind, we’ll see mortgage rates rise a bit, to the 6.5% level, then drop to the 6.0% level. We still haven’t seen the full effect of the Russian invasion to Georgia. The American response will be much more than a Bush and Putin exchange at the Olympics. Georgia is a SERIOUS U.S. ally with a major oil pipeline running through it. The Russian attack was clearly unprovoked and part of a concerted effort to weaken the US dispute with Iran.

We’re locking loans that are closing within 10 days with an eye towards locking late August closings some time next week (when mortgage rates come back down).

Long Beach mortgage rates report is offered courtesy of Brian Brady.  Contact Brian for more information about a home loan.

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Posted on August 11, 2008 by Laurie Manny

Bluff Park Historic District Home – Sold – Long Beach Real Estate

Bluff Park Historic District Home – Just Sold

Long Beach Real Estate

Just Sold

Bluff Park Historic District Closed Sale 8/8/08

2609 East 2nd Street Long Beach, CA 90803 2 Short Blocks to the Beach Craftsman Home 2 Story 2 Bedroom 2 Bath 1,848 Square Feet 4,785 Sq Ft Lot 2 Car Garage + Driveway Beautifully Landscaped Great Floorplan Formal Entry Hardwood Floors Plantation Shutters French Doors to Rear Deck Private Back Yard Formal Dining Room Office (3rd Bdrm?) Den (4th Bdrm?) Front Porch Large Wood Burning Fireplace High Coved Ceilings with Detail Basement Lots of Storage

Buyer Represented by Laurie Manny (562) 212-5420

Offered at: $679,000 Sold at: $682,000

Bluff Park Historic District Neighborhood Market Report 2008 Home, Condo and Income Property Sales

Tale of the Sale

My buyers were relocating to Long Beach from out of town, in for the weekend they were hoping to find the home of their dreams immediately. They wanted a beach house or a home as close to the beach as possible, loved the California bungalow style and the Craftman homes. We spent the weekend looking at many Long Beach homes. There were 2 they fell into deep like with.

We spent over an hour in a very nice Alamitos Beach California bungalow while I listened to the buyers discussing moving walls, changing a room into a closet, rearranging the yard space and more. I looked at them and said, “Lets keep looking, this is not the right home for you”. They were still interested in the home so many calls went back and forth with the agent. The comparable sales just didn’t justify the price. I called in a favor from an appraiser friend of mine, the home was overpriced by about $100,000, the seller was not going to be able to wrap themselves around that, it would send them into a short sale. Next…

Another home also located in Alamitos Beach, was represented by beautiful pictures of the interior, we were hopeful. As I pulled up to the home the buyers cracked up laughing and said forget it, we don’t even want to go in, lets just go to the next home on the list. Somebody had changed the front on this California bungalow, it looked like a mobile home with a very strange fence and front yard. It was really bad! Next…

The next day we visited another California bungalow, in the Belmont Heights historic district, which was a great looking home, but just didn’t fit right. It didn’t help that the listing agent no showed for the appointment and finally sent his assistant to show the home 45 minutes late. The bedrooms were too small, the buyers were deciding which wall would have to go to expand a bedroom. While the house had hardwood floors throughout, every room had different flooring, it was odd and needed to be replaced to be cohesive, the kitchen needed to be replaced and it was also just too overpriced. Ready to write an offer on the house I again advised them to wait, the perfect home would come along. Next…

Tuesday my clients were going home (out of state), dejected at not having found a house, as the perfect home entered the market. A large 2 story Craftsman on 2nd Street, in the Bluff Park Historic District, just 2 short blocks from the beach, it was beautiful, it was everything they wanted – and more, and it was priced to sell – immediately. I knew this home would have multiple offers on it by the next day. There were many pictures of the house which really showed the character and details of this majestic and beautiful home, kudos to the listing agent for that! I just knew this was the right home.

I called the listing agent and wrote the offer that night, site unseen, faxed it to the buyers who signed and returned it to me immediately. They had seen the pictures and were in love. The offer was emailed to the agent in the middle of the night, the first day on the market. The buyer flew back the next day to view the home and fell in love with it. By the end of the day the agent had several offers and my clients were starting to sweat.

We wrote a strong offer, the financing wasn’t exactly the strongest, but it was solid and it was real, we had a lock in letter and a loan commitment to stregnthen the offer. The agent indicated they were nervous about the loan. The lender called and assured the agent and seller that this loan was secure; he left such an impression on the listing agent that they went ahead and accepted our offer. The offer was accepted because it came in first, the financing was secure and my reputation was known to the listing agent. Geez, now that felt good.

Today I had the pleasure of turning the keys over to my buyers. This is one of the best parts of what I do. Looking at these smiling faces and knowing that they really did find their dream home. You see, my buyers knew what they wanted in a house, but this home, in this neighborhood exceeded even their expections.

I take my hat off to the listing agent Jennifer Davis and her transaction coordinator Leon Freeman. Thank you for a wonderful transaction. It is really great to work with true professionals.

Thank you to Michelle Rios, my transaction coordinator who kept this organized on my end.

Thank you to Brian Brady, loan officer, for once again stirring the magic cauldron and pulling the proverbial rabbit out of the hat.

It takes a team to close a deal. This deal had a top notch team! Thank you all for a job well done. The buyers are tickled pink today!

Call Laurie to find YOUR dream home today

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Posted on August 8, 2008 by Laurie Manny

Parking Solutions for Downtown Long Beach

Downtown Long Beach Parking

Impacted Parking Areas

The re-development of Downtown Long Beach and the multitude of new high rise buildings are certain to complicate an already difficult parking shortage.  Many of the historic condos in Downtown do not have any parking available at all.  Residents rent monthly spots in available asphalt lots at fairly reasonable monthly rates, but with land at a premium how long will these lots remain available?  Where will the owners of these condos, local business owners, guests and customers park? 

Recently a friend and I were discussing the parking problems in Downtown Long Beach now and projecting into the future.  As we discussed potential solutions it occurred to me that the solutions themselves were very problematic.  

Vertical Parking and other parking solutions involve a lot of equipment.  Equipment is expensive to both purchase and run, breaks down, requires parts that are not always immediately available and requires trained engineers and mechanics.  What happens when your car is parked on level 5 and the equipment breaks down? What if the part is not immediately available and needs to be imported from Japan?  Would there be a manual over-ride system to bring your car down to ground level? How could all of this be kept affordable?

Many of the systems exhibited in these videos showed fully automated parking structures.  Who do you call when the systems fail?  What happens if it is very late at night?  There I go assuming the lots would be open 24 hours, I am still such a New Yorker sometimes!  But seriously, how could they not be open 7 and 24? 

Tonight I watched many videos from around the world displaying parking systems for both small and large spaces.  While watching I realized that every one of them showed 1 car being easily and quickly parked or retrieved.  It was so simplistic it made me laugh.  I remember an evening in Manhattan when a group of us went to see a show.  The last parking lot with any space available was in a very thin and very tall building with an elevated vertical parking system.  They charged a whopping $60 to park the car and that was 8 or 9 years ago.  We waited well over an hour to retrieve the car.  All of the shows let out at about the same time and the lots were inundated. 

The other thing that really struck me while I was watching these videos was the desolation of the parking lots.  I couldn’t imagine retrieving my car at 3:00 AM without experiencing a great deal of fear. 

I can only imagine the stress levels of people waiting for their cars to be delivered to them when they are late for an appointment.  Imagine having to wait for 10 or 15 cars before yours is delivered!  Downtown has a large workforce most of which finish their work day between 5 and 6 PM.  How long would it take for them to get their cars out of these lots? 

We didn’t come up with any solutions, but it was an interesting conversation and has my wheels turning (pun intended). 

What do you think?

Update 9/3/08

The owner of Apex Skypark in Anaheim contacted me about the concerns expressed in this post.  As a manufacturer of Robotic Parking Solutions and a company currently involved with the City of Long Beach in an effort to bring these solutions to us, I offered them space on this site to respond. 

Please visit their article at:

Downtown Long Beach-Belmont Shore-Parking Solutions-Long Beach California

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Posted on August 3, 2008 by Laurie Manny

1611 E 3rd St-Alamitos Beach Home For Sale-Long Beach Real Estate

Alamitos Beach Home For Sale

Long Beach California Real Estate

1611 East 3rd Street

Alamitos Beach

Long Beach California

I recently viewed this beautiful Victorian Style Alamitos Beach Home and was impressed by the ambiance of the home and by the gleaming wood floors throughout.  This home is walking distance to the beach and local shops, is warm and inviting, and has a nice floorplan.  The outdoor areas are quite private and are conducive to entertaining.

It was the Master Bedroom Suite that was the hook in this lovely home; soaring ceilings and a sizable private sitting room, which could double nicely as a nursery, and master bath, that just stole the show. 

Maybe it was the romantic arbors or the brick walkways in the large rear patio area, or perhaps it was the spa and gazebo or the BBQ, but I could see the future owner of this home wanting to spend a lot of time outdoors at this home. 

If you are shopping for a spacious home near the beach this home is a must see. 

• 4 bedrooms (3 upstairs, 1 downstairs)
  
• 3 full baths
• Wood flooring throughout
• Fireplace
• Cathedral ceilings
• Ocean breezes
• Walk to the ocean
• Bay Windows
• Formal Dining Room
• Breakfast Nook
• 2 pantries
• Laundry with washer/dryer – in house
• Lighted attic
• Automatic gates
• 2 car oversized garage and additional gated parking.
• Cable and Satellite ready
• Security system
• Water Softener
• Forced air heat
• A/C ready

Offered at:  $675,000

If you would like an appointment to view this home, call Laurie at (562) 212-5420.

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Posted on August 2, 2008 by Laurie Manny

Duh!

Yesterday I had to make a trip to the Long Beach satellite office of the Pacific West Board of Realtors®.  It is a very large room with 2 work stations manned by 2 very knowledgable and helpful staff members. 

While both of them were busy helping myself and another Realtor® another agent wandered in and started looking around.  She pondered the above pictured signs for awhile then asked “Do you have a Bank Owned sign?”  and pointed at the “Bank Repo” sign and asked: 

“Is that the same thing? Does it mean the same?”

I just sat there with my head in my hands!

Duh!

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Posted on August 1, 2008 by Laurie Manny