The Long Beach RiverLink

Have you seen the proposed plan for the land beside the LA River on the West side of Long Beach yet?  It is well thought out, extremely attractive and incredible!  If this plan comes to fruition it will beautify the West Side and increase Long Beach home values substantially. 

This stroke of genius was developed by 606 Studio, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University.  The plan is intended to provide a framework for the city to connect the neighborhoods of the west side of Long Beach, CA with the Los Angeles River. 

The Key Issues prompting this plan include:

• Inadequate amount of outdoor recreation areas
• Loss of neighborhood identity (Residents see Long Beach as a 'City of Neighborhoods )
• Severed connections between city and river (Residents think it is unattractive, too much vandalism, noisy, underutilized and uncomfortable)
• Lack of nature in the urban setting (The Westside is severely lacking in acres of open space, this plan would provide for badly needed open space)
• Perceived unsafe public places (Perception of unsafe areas is high, much more so in the night-time hours)

The Eastside of Long Beach has the bulk of City parks 16.7 acres per 1,000 residents, the Westside has 4.7 acres per 1,000 residents.  Not a very green Westside.

The Goals and Objectives of The Plan include integrating the parks and open space creatively to blend with and enhance the natural heritage and historical design of the neighborhoods, while reconnecting them with the river.  Initial plans include walking and bicycling paths, mass transit use and more.

The strong heritage and historical design of the neighborhoods along the river are to be complimented in the design elements. Some of the design elements being woven into The Plan are:

• Craftsman Style Designs, responding to the history of the Willmore City Neighborhood.
• Art Deco
• Industrial - The City of Long Beach has plans for economic development of the areas affected. 
• Spanish Revival designs responding to the Spanish Revival history of the Wrigley Heights Neighborhood.

The RiverLink concept designates a system of Gateways, Pathways, Connections, and Destinations to direct visitors to and from the Los Angeles River.  The plan includes beautifully designed Gateways (Park Entries) that blend with the design of the area.  The designs are lovely and will be a tremendous addition to the areas.  The Pathways encourage walking and bicycling while providing safe and comfortable paths enhanced by mature trees and landscaping. Stop and rest on one of the many benches along the way and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings.

Proposed RiverLink Spotlighted Sites begin at Long Beach Harbor, at the mouth of the river where an overlook will provide visitors a place to view the new wetland and park areas; then make their way clear up to the City of Paramount:

• Golden Shore Wetlands 6.4 acres
• Drake Greenbelt 31.8 acres
• Magnolia Yards 23.1 acres
• Wrigley Greenbelt 9.8 acres
• Wrigley Heights Park 50.0 acres
• Dominguez Gap Wetlands 49.2 acres
• Deforest Wetlands 33.5 acres
• Deforest Park 23.4 acres

The City of Long Beach hopes to develop the Magnolia Yards area incorporating live/work lofts, developing a warehouse district featuring galleries, small retail shops, and restaurants, creating economic vitality in an underutilized area within walking distance of Downtown Long Beach.  

The proposed Wrigley Heights Park will include Fresh Water Wetlands, an Eco-revelatory Amphitheater, Woodlands, a Playground and mini-park, and a Dog Park among other attractions. 

River overlooks are planned viewing areas of river wildlife along the bike path and will provide access across the river channel.

The City of Long Beach RiverLink plan is a creative redefinition of open and unused space that can be adapted as ephemeral open space patches and is the creation of Edward Anaya - James Chaddick - Jon Loxley and Jeremy Person, whom I would like to personally thank for this stroke of genius.

Posted on March 20, 2007 14:07:13 by Laurie.Manny

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

Sub Prime Implosion

Some of you may have heard about the implosion in the sub-prime market.  Many are intimating that 100% financing is no longer available, or only available to those with pristine credit.  At this time approximately 40+ mortgage companies have closed their doors, some without notice, and foreclosures are on the rise. 

It is still possible to obtain 100% financing.  The lenders have certainly tightened up the requirements, and will continue to do so.  If you have reasonable credit and are not reaching beyond your means you should not have any problem obtaining financing for your purchase.  The wisest decision would be to call your loan officer prior to beginning your home search, and to shop within your means. 

If you would like referrals to several excellent lenders, do not hesitate to ask. 

Posted on March 17, 2007 20:29:47 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

Selling Your Long Beach California Home? Its A Whole New Game!

Selling Your Long Beach Home

ITS A WHOLE NEW GAME

First came the 'Do Not Call List'.  Soon to be followed by the 'Do Not Mail List'.  Now the City of Long Beach has Launched a campaign to stop unwanted handbills, which means no fliers and menus on doorsteps.  Even I have to admit that I was very pleased about the 'Do Not Call List', the unwanted solicitations were out of control.  The mail doesnt bother me much, I open my mail over a large trash can which is where the clear majority of it lands.  I dont know about you, but I like receiving the take out menus, you never know when they will come in handy.  I also enjoy getting the latest fliers and area information from my local Long Beach  REALTOR.  Its great to know whats going on in your neck of the woods. 

So, if a Long Beach REALTOR cannot call, cannot mail and now cannot drop on some door-steps, how are they going to reach the community to market your Long Beach property, beyond placing it on the MLS?  The local newspaper?  The Grunion Gazette and the Downtown Gazette have been the Long Beach Real Estate Bible and have been great resources in the past, but buyers really dont frequent the Gazette ads any more, and they are very expensive to place.  Same story with the Long Beach Press Telegram, The Real Estate Book, Homes and Land Magazine, etc¦  All of the paper resources, that have been so successful in the past for advertising and marketing your Long Beach Home, just dont work anymore.  Some, like The Real Estate Book and Homes and Land Magazine are moving most of their advertising onto the Internet in order to stay in the game.  The New York Times doesnt even expect to be in print in the coming years says Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times. 

The Internet is evolving so rapidly that companies like Realtor.com, who have been integral in the sale of homes for years now are beginning to fade into the background as major powerhouses emerge.  Zillow, Trulia and many other companies are taking the Internet by storm.  If your Long Beach Realtor  is not a part of the transition into the future of marketing real estate in a big way on the Internet, you will be left in the dust. 

A year ago 70% of all Buyers were beginning their search on the Internet.  Now more than 80% of all Buyers are actively shopping, and finding their homes, on the Internet.  Hiring a local Long Beach Realtor who is Internet savvy, has the technology in place, and can provide you with massive Internet exposure has become an absolute necessity in todays new market.  Internet Marketing has become the only effective venue to sell your Long Beach Home

You would think that all REALTORS would have, Search Engine Optimized (SEO), lead generating web sites, wouldnt you?  A lead generating web site takes a tremendous amount of time, maintenance, knowledge and money to produce. 

As many of these real estate agents scramble to get web sites, technology passes them by unnoticed.  Welcome to the age of Blogging.  Todays top real estate professionals across the country have discovered the many advantages of an amazing opportunity.  Blogs are not like traditional websites.  They are not bogged down by all of the toys and gadgets, and provide a clear path for the search engines to find them and send your message to the top of the search engines.  Savvy real estate agents from around the country have set up local real estate blog sites and are blogging on large national networks like ActiveRain and Localism, driving heavy traffic to their websites.

What buyers want is information, and lots of it.  Realtor web sites are a dime a dozen, and while a rare few are very powerful, most say pretty much the same thing.  Blogs are personal.  Your REALTOR can reach out on a blog and speak to the buyer in a real voice.  Providing them with local area information, news, events, market reports, listing information etc¦ in their voice.  A real person reaching out and touching real people.

A Buyer searching on the Internet will find blogs, read them and be directed to REALTORS web and blog  sites, already knowing something about the REALTOR because there is a connect on a blog that is missing on web sites.  For example, this article on Downtown Long Beach-Urban Minded Buyers  , tells a story, while promoting a listing.  There is a little area information, links to much more information, providing a 'Soft Sell' of the area, the Condominium complex and the view from the Downtown Long Beach Condos.

A blog provides both Buyers and Sellers with tremendous amounts of information, in order to make more informed decisions.

Where do you think YOUR buyer is on this chart?

Posted on March 04, 2007 13:25:26 by Laurie.Manny