Los Angeles Real Estate

Here's a map that keeps track of the incidences of swine flu and the deaths associated with this flu. It might be good to keep this link for future reference.

http://www.aragonestates.com/swine-flu-map

I had known a client for 2 years and had shown him properties way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth (pre-mortgage meltdown). Life took a turn and he decided not to buy at that time, but I kept in contact with him through emails and postcards.

After stepping out of his time capsule and the influences of the news media, he decided to go through the process again. We made offers on seven homes and lost out to the properties due to multiple offer situations (every offer was above asking price.) The eighth was a charm and we entered escrow 37 days ago.

Through the whole transaction, he kept asking, "When is the $h!t going to hit the fan. We've been moving smoothly and I have friends warning me that my realtor must be lying to me because every transaction has problems."

I told him that the reason we didn't get into the other 7 properties was simple- it was not meant to be...

- We had a budget we wouldn't go over

- We never countered with more than we could afford AND no more than the house would appraise at

- We had home specifications we absolutely needed

- We had neighborhood considerations we needed

- We had an FHA loan that wouldn't fund if there were items missing in the house

- We got DU approval on the loan BEFORE we made any of our offers

- We submitted ALL tax information, employment information (including phone number of human resources departments for verification of employment)

Plain and simple, we had all our ducks in a row. I told him, "It's because you trusted my judgement and direction which brings us to the close of our escrow today. You knew it would be a journey which required active participation on your part- I drilled that into you before we even stepped into the first house."

If you folllow these steps, you too can come to the same conclusion of your journey...a smooth and stress free closing.

I hope this helps to give you a better picture of what is going on in the Local Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley Housing Market.

Paul Aragon was voted one of the top two realtors in all of Los Angeles County by the 2008 Daily News Reader's Choice Awards.

He gladly gives free advice on real estate transactions, contracts, and negotiating the best deal. He can be reached a www.AragonEstates.com or at Paul@AragonEstates.com