If you are a homeowner who is considering selling your home, you have probably began to interview several agents to list your home.  Many of these agents have most likely given you many marketing tactics that they will use to get your house sold.  One of the big ones they usually offer, is to hold weekly open houses to get potential buyers interested in your home.  But is this really helpful in the sale of the home?  Or does it just help the agent get clients?

With the help of technology and the internet, open houses are becoming obsolete.  A lot of buyers have the ability to search for homes online, from the comfort of their home or office.  Buyers want to save as much time as they can when looking for a home, and walking into a home from signs, just doesn’t prove to be as effective as the other means that are available this day and age.  Maybe back 10 years ago, open houses were the way to go, but now they are becoming a thing of the past.  Most of the time when an agent holds the open house on your behalf, they are doing it simply to pick up buyers or prospective clients.  Usually what they get is all the neighbors coming through your home just to be nosey and alleviate their curiosity on the way you live.  Most of the time, you get no traffic in the home.  A lot of other agents come through the open house to see what type of inventory is out there, and possibly even for their clients.  An agent is rarely ever successful in picking up a buyer at an open house.  Most consider open houses to be a waste of time.

Most sellers these days are in a hurry to sell, and do not have time for looky lous to come ask them a million and one questions about your home.  Some sellers though, really press this on their agents, leaving the agent no other choice but client satisfaction.    Back when the market was hot, open houses were 50 percent effective in the sale of 2 out of 4 homes being sold by a buyer who came to the open house.

An open house generally benefits the agent more than the seller.  Agents will hold them in hopes of picking up clients, or to simply get their name out there for referrals and such.  Some agents will just feel they are a waste of time off the bat.  They have to put out signs around the neighborhood, and a lot of times just sit, in a complete strangers home, and hope that some serious buyer comes in and writes an offer, most of the time that does not happen, causing the agent to become discouraged.

You and your agent can work together, to see if an open house would be effective in the sale of your home.  Some agents may agree it would help to sale your home quicker.  If it is newer and a hot item on the market.  Your Real Estate Professional can use their best judgment to help you decide what works best for you.  The agent has your best interest at heart.

Located in South Redondo Beach. It will go on the MLS on Monday, September 28th. Very nice two on a lot, rear unit. Convenient to shopping and ocean.

Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, “It’s something we can get done.”
Odds are that the credit will be extended and broadened to cover all buyers next year, but the chances of the amount increasing aren’t as good, observers say.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009081701?OpenDocument

Time is running out for first time buyers to take advantage of the $8,000  Tax Credit.

See link.

Fed Suggests Economy Is Stabilizing.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday left official interest rates near zero but suggested the economy is on more stable ground, more confirmation that the severe recession is either already over or will be very soon.

Information received since policy makers met in June “suggests that economic activity is leveling out,” they said in the statement they released at the conclusion of their two-day meeting.

Officials also offered a specific timeline for their program to buy up to $300 billion in Treasurys, making clear that they plan to end the program in October.

2506 Clark Lane, Redondo Beach, CA., 90278

SOLD

This is a big, 2931 sq.ft townhome with 3 BR, 3.5 Bath, Loft for only $725,000. 

(Note: The 4th Bedroom was converted to a master bedroom closet and could be converted back)

1800 Esplanade #A, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

I represented the buyer in this transaction that closed Feb. 13th, 2009.

Call me to help you buy or sell too. Jack McSweeney/ REMAX Palos Verdes Realty / 310 346-0391

The legislation resets the conforming loan limit cap at $729,750, up from $625,500. Numerous counties in California experienced a marked decrease in their conforming loan and FHA limits on Jan. 1, and the stimulus bill reinstates 2008 loan limits through Dec. 31, 2009.

The bill also increases the first-time home buyer credit from $7,500 to $8,000, and removes the requirement that the credit be paid back if the buyer stays in the home for at least three years. It also extends the expiration date for the credit from July 1 to Dec. 1, 2009. Homebuyers must have purchased a home after Jan. 1, 2009, and before Dec. 1, 2009, to be eligible for the $8,000 credit.

PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION SCAM ALERT
The Los Angeles County Assessor’s office is alerting homeowners that various private companies are sending mailings to property owners offering their services to pursue a reduction in the owner’s property taxes. The companies may charge hundreds of dollars to file for a reduction in value on behalf of the property owner. Some companies also are imposing late fees if the application is received after an arbitrary deadline. Solicitations from private companies offering to pursue a reduction in property taxes must clearly indicate that they are NOT a government agency and that their services are NOT approved or endorsed by any government agency. Failure to provide such notice is a violation of California law.

In 1978, California voters passed Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that allows a temporary reduction in assessed value when a property suffers a “decline-in-value.” A decline-in-value occurs when the current market value of your property is less than the assessed value as of January 1. The assessed value is the value shown on a property owner’s most recent property tax bill. Typically, an application from the property owner is required to initiate a review of the property’s value by the Assessor.