Long Beach Real Estate-Long Beach Condos

Small Living Space Solutions for Long Beach Homes

Buyers relocating to Long Beach California from various parts of the country are often dismayed at the idea of leaving their 4000 + square foot homes on acres of property for smaller homes on smaller lots here in Long Beach.  Having built up a lifetime of collections and belongings they look at our smaller spaces and often just cant wrap themselves around how to fit into these spaces.  While additional storage space is not always the answer it often helps. 

Beach living often means less living space.  We have smaller lots but better air, less square footage but a better quality of life. 

• So what the heck do we do with all of our stuff? 
• We look for wasted space in our Long Beach Homes and find ways to use it effectively. 

Closets have a lot of wasted space. Organizing closets and utilizing every square inch of space has become a necessity.  Organizational systems line the walls of our garages, our attics fill up and still we search for that elusive additional storage space. 

Staircases take up a lot of space, so why not use them for storage as well.  Unicraft Joinery designers have come up with an absolutely brilliant idea for unique storage in otherwise wasted space.  Imagine each step is a box with a hidden drawer in it still allowing for additional storage or home office space beneath the staircase.  

Long Beach has a lot of smaller living spaces.

Feel free to submit your unique use of smaller space ideas.

Laurie Manny Long Beach Realtor® (562) 212-5420 244 Redondo Avenue Belmont Heights Long Beach, California 90803 Buyers/Sellers/Investors Homes Condos Income Properties 1031 Exchanges

 

Bump Keys

Are You Safe in Your Long Beach Homes?

Your Long Beach homes are your safe haven from the world.  At least they are supposed to be.  What if they aren't safe?  What if anybody could get in at anytime?  Would you still feel safe?  My Dad sent me an email yesterday with a link to a news video about bump keys.  To say that it was enlightening would be a major understatement. 

Have you heard about Bump Keys yet?  Apparently they can be purchased online for about $2.00 each and can be used to open almost any lock in seconds. I urge your to watch this video. You may want to upgrade the locks on your Long Beach Homes after watching it.

How does this work? Check out this short video as well.

Protect yourself and your family.  Invest in better locks.

Laurie Manny Long Beach Realtor® (562) 212-5420 244 Redondo Avenue Belmont Heights Long Beach, California 90803 Buyers/Sellers/Investors Homes Condos Income Properties 1031 Exchanges

 

My email box is very busy, every day there are many hundreds of emails to deal with.   The email from buyers and sellers is expected, that is my business. Sometimes there are emails from people who just want information on neighborhoods, condo complexes or the market and once in a while a student will ask how to break into the real estate business.  Today I received a great email from a student who is smart enough to be future planning and asking for the best advice on how to attain their future goal of home ownership. 

Hello Ms. Manny,

I am a student who just graduated from college and will be entering the work force within a few short weeks. It has always been my dream to own a home near the ocean and so I have been researching costs and locations to prepare for that day when I make that investment. I've always loved Newport Beach and hope that one day that will be the city I dwell in.

In my search I found your site and loved it! It's so well organized, eye catching, and has some of the most beautiful homes with ocean views that I've ever seen. My question to you is, "How should I prepare for making my dream come true of owning a home (in particular a townhouse) with an ocean view?" I've been keeping my credit together and have an excellent score, however I need to pay off my school loans and maybe add another credit source in order to have more credit history. So, other than good credit, what other pieces of advice could you give to me from your experience that can prepare me to make this dream come true?

I appreciate your taking the time to read this and please take your time answering, I know that you are a very busy business woman.

Also, I would love to join your site, "Long Beach Real Estate," but I don't want that to be misinterpreted by your team that I am interested at this time in buying a home. It would be strictly for keeping a watch on the market for the future. Would joining the site prompt them to call me about buying a home? I'd hate for them to waste that time when I am just looking at the site for inspiration.

Thanks again and God Bless!

Sasha

Hi Sasha,

Thank you so much for the kind words about my site.  Having worked so hard on it for so long I always love hearing that it is being received well and that readers find it useful and easy to navigate. 

It is so refreshing to hear from young people who are taking an active roll in planning their future.  You are already on the right road!  I hope that you are entering a profession that will provide nicely for you as you progress in your career.  You didn't mention what profession you will be pursuing, so I will keep this a bit general. 

The first thing you should do is save up as much money as you can and pay off those student loans.  Invest and grow your earnings wisely.  Build your reserves and do not use all of them to purchase your home, condo or townhouse.  You should always have reserves to cover unexpected expenses.  Yes this will take some time, do not be discouraged, the best things in life are worth waiting and planning for.

Keeping your credit in tip top shape and your credit scores high will always net you the best loan terms when it comes time to purchase your home.  Good loan terms can net large differences in your monthly payments.  This article will help you to understand those scores a little better:

• Long Beach Home Loans - Understanding Your Credit Scores 

Your lender will want to see employment in the same position and profession for 2 years before considering you as a candidate for a home loan.  This short series will be helpful in preparing yourself to qualify for your home loan:

• Don't Make Any Major Purchases - Part 1 of 3
• Things to Avoid Before Purchasing a Long Beach Home - Part 2 of 3 
• Changing Jobs Affects Your Ability to Purchase a Long Beach Home - Part 3 of 3

Homes and condos can be purchased with as little as 3.5% down payment with an FHA loan at this time. This may or may not still be true in a few years when you are ready to begin your home search. Conventional loans require larger down payments. You should examine the terms of the loans available when you are ready and make your decision based on a long term financial plan. A very good lender should be able to assist you with your long term plan. Often when buyers purchase their first home they have a plan to sell it in 5 to 7 years and trade up. If you decide to do this then you may decide on a different loan product than somebody purchasing a home they plan on living in for either a long time or forever. Keep in mind that the best of plans can be laid to waste by a major life change. For instance, somewhere in the middle you could fall madly in love, get married and start a family. That would change everything.

One of the things that first time home buyers often don't consider initially is after purchase cash.  If you buy a home or a condo that requires work, you will need to have after purchase cash reserves for this.  After purchase repairs can become more costly than originally planned for and often do.  If you are not careful these repairs (and upgrades) can quickly deplete your bank accounts.  Read also...

• Buying Long Beach Homes - Issues for 1st Time Buyers - Great Information for today's first time home buyers.
• Buying Fixer Upper Homes in Long Beach -This article highlights issues that many 1st time home buyers do not consider, that being the remaining life of the existing systems currently in the home and the cost of future replacement.

If you decide to purchase a condo, townhouse, or buy into a planned development you should have at least a basic understanding of HOA's (Home Owners Associations) and how they affect you and your finances directly.  This article tackles some of these issues:

• Long Beach Condos - Buyer Tips for a Smart Purchase - Buying condos is serious business, learn how to arm yourself with necessary information.

I absolutely love that you are just starting out and I have the opportunity to educate you on several huge pitfalls most people never consider when they purchase their first home.  California is a community property state.  If you purchase your home before you get married and handle it properly as separate property going into a marriage, you will still own it coming out of the marriage if things don't work out.  People don't like to think about this, love is very powerful, but the truth of the matter is that the divorce rate in California is astronomically high and these things need to be considered.  It is in your best interest to learn about separate property laws and how to protect your assets in the event of a divorce:

• Divorce and Real Estate
• Separate Property- Whats Love got to do with it?   

If you purchase your first home while married the home will be considered community property, as will all major items purchased during the marriage.

I hope you find this information helpful and that it gets you off to a good start.

Feel free to sign into my site.  When you do you will find an area to leave a message.  Go ahead and explain that you are future planning and do not wish to be contacted.  We will honor your wishes and allow you to search freely and undisturbed.  When you are ready to purchase let us know, it will be our pleasure to assist you when you are ready.  In the meantime, if you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact me. 

Warmest Regards,

Laurie Manny

Laurie Manny Long Beach Realtor® (562) 212-5420 244 Redondo Avenue Belmont Heights Long Beach, California 90803 Buyers/Sellers/Investors Homes Condos Income Properties 1031 Exchanges

 

Inman Connect 2009 San Francisco - Long Beach Realtors Review

Industry trade shows are always interesting to attend.  You just never know what you what you are going to discover, who you are going to run into or exactly how the experience is going to turn out.  So I guess they are a bit of an adventure and help to keep life in your chosen industry interesting.

I've just returned from the Inman Connect trade show in San Francisco, a real estate industry event I attend each summer, which included  4 days and 3 nights of non-stop action.  I am exhausted!

The economy being what it is the event seemed to be a bit trimmed down, which is expected in these troubled economic times.  There were less soirees and after parties, fewer sponsor rooms, less toys distributed, smaller rooms utilized for many sessions, less creature comforts and many notables were...........well, just notably missing.  The times being what they are everybody is conserving resources.  None of this got in the way of networking, learning or having a good time.  It is amazing how resilient we humans really are.

This year I was closely examining new start up companies.  As a tech savvy Realtor in Long Beach CA, it is important to know what products and systems are coming available to best enhance both my business and my customers experience.  There were 16 start-ups being promoted at the show and a few others promoting themselves around the event.  My partner and myself were there on press passes and interviewed quite a few of these fledglings for upcoming articles.  Over the course of our interviews we made some very interesting and unexpected observations.

When we approached the owners of these companies to set up private interviews it was in the public arena, they were selling and exposing their products to the attending real estate industry.  Having observed the presentations being made to the crowd we were very concerned that none of the products were going to cut it and that these new business ventures were destined to fail, which the odds say, many likely will.  It was during the private interviews that we witnessed the passion, commitment and love that is poured into a new venture.  We listened to these young entrepreneurs tell of of the many hours, months and years of hard work spent to develop, fund raise and promote their ideas.  After the interviews were over we were discussing the difference that we witnessed in public and private and realized that these new business owners were just not salespeople or marketers.  They were not the best representatives of their own product.  Something to think about, huh?  Imagine spending all of that time and those resources only to fail because you are not the best representative of your own product!

There is a lesson in this.  Use some of the funds that you raise to hire top notch salespeople and marketers.  You have done your work, now let the professionals send the business in.  Business owners, salespeople and marketing professionals have different mind sets and function on different levels.  It is a wise business owner who knows when to step aside and let the professional do their thing.  That time was this trade show.

We wish all of the fledgling start ups the best of luck in their new ventures and want to thank them for their time.  Over the next week  we will be releasing reviews of the start up companies we  chose to interview, so stay tuned. 

Laurie Manny Long Beach Realtor® (562) 212-5420 244 Redondo Avenue Belmont Heights Long Beach, California 90803 Buyers/Sellers/Investors Homes Condos Income Properties 1031 Exchanges

 

Long Beach Homes - Bathroom Remodels

Long Beach Homeowners want more space in their kitchens and bathrooms.  Bathroom remodels are reflecting many of the same design trends and choices as kitchens. 

Long Beach Homeowners want their bathrooms opened up.  They want more space, more light and room for more than one person to be comfortable in the room at the same time.  Adding windows and skylights, or enlarging existing windows brings light into the room, cheering it up and creating the illusion of more space.  Using lots of glass and glass block helps achieve this goal. 

We all know that the choice to live in a beach close Long Beach Home generally means higher prices and less square footage.  How can we create more viable living space when we only have just so much in the way of usable square footage?  

Adjoining closets are being eliminated and used to increase bathroom square footage while closets and storage space are reconfigured in other areas of the home.   At a loss for space but want to open up your bathroom?  Consider opening up the ceiling, utilize that wasted attic space and add cubic square footage.  Sometimes this is enough to remove the oppressive feeling and open up the room.

The Master Bath is the homeowners retreat, they want a little luxury here.  Homeowners are insisting on many of these items:

• Heated floors
• Towel Warmers
• Multiple shower heads
• Mounted Flat Screen TVs
• Recessed Lighting
• Dual sinks
• Soaring ceilings
• Decorative Fixtures

Consumers are leaning toward nickel and antique bronze fixtures, chrome is still popular but is waning.  Brass is so out!

Eco friendly, green remodeling is playing a role in bathroom remodels with an increase in interest in renewable materials and water conservation.  Dual-flush toilets and other technologies have become very popular.  In Japan over 70% of all homes now have Toto heated bidet toilet seats.  These seats come complete with remote control and have a rather hefty price tag. 

Homeowners are paying special attention to ventilation, many installing central exhaust fans or environmentally friendly fans that run constantly on low and adjust automatically to cycle up or down when someone enters or leaves the room.  Whole house fans have become very popular aiding in the ventilation and temperature control of the entire home. 

Baby Boomers considering remodeling are having bathtubs removed and are replacing them with large glassed-in showers with multiple heads.  Boomers like to spend a lot of time at home and are craving more luxury accommodations in their home.  Other features the Boomers are seeking are:

• Raised vanities and toilets
• Lower upper cabinets
• Larger Doorways

Boomers are expanding first floor baths and adding guest rooms on the first floor with the idea that this could eventually become a master suite. 

A well thought out and nicely designed kitchen and bath remodel can make the difference in whether a buyer decides to write an offer on your Long Beach Home or another.  These are upgrades worth considering. 

If you are considering a future sale and are remodeling in anticipation of that sale, it is wise to consult with your Realtor.  We work with and know what Long Beach Home buyers are looking for in their new homes.  A consultation could make the difference in the amount you net at the closing table. 

Thinking about a remodel of your Long Beach Home?  You may also find this article helpful: Long Beach Home Kitchen Remodels

Laurie Manny Long Beach Realtor® (562) 212-5420 244 Redondo Avenue Belmont Heights Long Beach, California 90803 Buyers/Sellers/Investors Homes Condos Income Properties 1031 Exchanges