Tax Reform: Is California A Winner Or Loser?

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How Much Home Can Your Lifestyle Afford?

If you're considering purchasing a home, you've likely already considered how much you have available for a down payment, what an ideal mortgage payment would be, and how much home you can actually afford based on your monthly income. But what about your lifestyle? Have you considered how much wiggle room you need to leave in your home budget to enjoy life? Here are six life factors to consider when buying a home:

1. Travel

Travel is an important goal for many people. Think about the travel goals you have for yourself:

Where do you want to go?

What do you want to see?

How long are your ideal trips?

How much money would you need on an annual basis to make your travel goals possible?

Is this already factored into your budget or will you need to cut back on travel to fund your monthly mortgage payment and home expenses?

There are no right or wrong answers, but it's important to reflect on your priorities.

2. Green Thumb?

Do you love gardening, being outside, and all things landscaping? If you purchase a home with a lawn and don't enjoy the upkeep, you could be looking at an extra $100 or more a month for professional landscape maintenance. Are you willing to skip the lawn in favor of hardscaping to reduce costs?

Bottom line: Factor hobbies and services into your monthly budget to see if the numbers still work out in the black.

3. Pool Time

How dreamy would it be to buy a home with a pool!? Before the dream becomes reality, add up the costs of pool maintenance and servicing, energy, and insurance (along with liability if you have small children) and you may be better off heading to the neighborhood swimming hole. 

Pools can be a lot of fun, but they come with a lot of work. Factor time and money into your future plans when buying a home with this special feature and, once again, ask yourself if the numbers add up to support your other financial goals.

4. Children 

If you're buying a home and plan to start a family in the next few years, don't just consider the amount of mortgage you can afford under your current expenses. Factor in daycare costs and then determine what your cash flow will look like. You may have to adjust the amount of home you're looking to purchase.

5. Entertainment

Chances are you enjoy dining out, going to concerts and sporting events, and seeing movies. If you need to rein in these activities to make room for your mortgage, home expenses, and savings, aim to strike a balance that won't leave you feeling restless.

After all, you're likely choosing a 30-year mortgage, and three decades is a long time to feel deprived. If necessary, reduce the amount of home you purchase so you can enjoy yourself in the ways that are important to you. 

6. Retirement

If you're in your 20s, you should try to save 10% of your income; in your 30s, you should be saving 15%. If you need to cut back on your retirement savings to make a home purchase work, think hard about when you'll be able to get back to your ideal contribution levels and how much you may be losing out on during that time. 

Although home ownership can help build long-term wealth, it's important to also maintain retirement savings for future security.

Why Use A REALTOR® To Sell Your Home

Using A REALTOR® To Sell Your Home 

  

What is a REALTOR®?

All real estate professionals are not created equal. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® estimates that over 2 million people hold real estate licenses in the United States, but only about 1 million of them have earned the REALTOR® distinction. Through membership in their national, state and local REALTOR® associations, REALTORS® gain numerous opportunities to enhance their educational and professional development. They also are required to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics.

Why Use a REALTOR®?

Selling a home is a complex process involving what's likely to be your most prized financial asset. Enacting a smooth transaction for your home's full value requires the expertise of a REALTOR® whose extensive training has prepared him or her to generate the best possible results on your behalf. Just like you shouldn't treat a broken leg without a doctor or handle a major legal dispute without an attorney, it's unwise to sell your home without the professional assistance of a REALTOR®.

Naturally, every seller wants to reap the highest return from the sale. It's tempting to sell the home on your own, thereby saving the REALTOR®'s fees. However, a study conducted by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® found that 82 percent of real estate sales result from REALTORS® contacts with previous clients, referrals and other sources. Additionally, NAR concluded that most homes sell for 3 to 9.5 percent more when sold through a REALTOR®.

Selling your home with a REALTOR® yields abundant advantages, including the following:

•REALTORS® have access to Multiple Listing Services (MLS) to disburse information about your property to thousands of consumers via their REALTORS®. They also have other marketing vehicles at their disposal, such as open houses and referral networks. Through your REALTOR®'s marketing efforts, a much broader range of qualified buyers will be informed of your property's availability. As a seasoned pro at negotiation skills and tactics, your REALTOR® can maintain objectivity in assessing buyers' proposals and developing offers and counteroffers. Throughout the transaction, including appraisals, inspections and legally binding agreements, you can depend on your REALTOR®'s know-how to avoid any pitfalls. Sales transactions comprise intricate legal and regulatory requirements. REALTORS® are familiar with the regulations and can help you understand and adhere to them.

•REALTORS® work with their clients to address home improvements and tips that will enhance the home's salability.

2014 Home Buyer Survey

 

 

Drought Tolerant Landscaping

With severe drought conditions across large swatches of the west and pockets of the rest of the United States, many homeowners are looking for ways to conserve water on landscaping. But there's no need to rip out your whole yard and replace it with gravel—unless you want to. There are plenty of other ways to create a drought-tolerant landscape while also creating a beautiful and functional space. And drought-tolerant landscaping not only saves water immediately, but will be more resilient against future droughts. Here are some ideas:

Take on manageable pieces

Identify your biggest areas of water consumption. Besides lawns, the biggest areas of water use tend to be rose gardens, summer vegetables and cut flower gardens. If you're not ready to eliminate these areas entirely, figure out how you might want to reduce their size. A rose garden, for example, could be made into a smaller group of favorite bushes. Vegetables and cut flowers can go in containers or raised beds where you will have more control over how much water they get. Mix compost into soil for better moisture retention.

Make your lawn more water-efficient

If you want to keep a lawn, consider downsizing to a smaller swatch, picking a spot where you'll get the most use, like a play area for kids. Find low water grasses for your area. Raise the blades on your lawn mower—keeping grass longer will reduce evaporation and promote deeper root growth. Leave clippings on the grass after mowing to help retain moisture and return nutrients to the soil--extra clippings can also be tossed on the compost pile. Aerate soil with a soil aerator tool to reduce runoff and help water absorb into the soil.

Or go lawn-free

Consider replacing your lawn with an alternate ground cover. Try ornamental grasses for interesting textures, low-growing flowering plants for seasonal color or edibles like low-growing herbs or strawberries. Some cities offer financial incentives for switching to a drought-tolerant landscape or for using gray water (reused water from baths, sinks, washing machines, and other kitchen appliances.) Check your area for opportunities.

Add more areas of low-water use

Replace a section of lawn with an outdoor seating area, a sandbox for kids or a raised bed with herbs. Create intrigue by laying down paths of flagstone, pavers, gravel, mulch or other porous material. Add new focal points like a porch swing, fire pit, or a patio. Instead of water-thirsty blooms, think of other ways to incorporate color with colorful perennials, planters, chairs or bright native grasses.

Optimize your sprinkler system

Inspect your sprinkler system for leaks, broken heads or misdirected heads that water driveways, sidewalks, or the street. Make sure the system runs early in the morning or late in the day. Consider a “smart” system that will monitor the soil and automatically adjust watering as necessary. Try watering less frequently or for shorter periods. When reducing your irrigation, make changes gradually, so plants and trees have time to adjust.

Water smartly

If you have plants with high water needs, plant them together. Use a drip irrigation system or soaker hose to minimize run off and evaporation. Watering deeply and infrequently encourages deeper roots and more resilient plants. Take advantage of natural sources of water by putting in plants next to paths, driveways and other spots where water run off naturally occurs. Direct eave spouts into raised beds or other planted areas and consider using rainbarrels to collect rain water.

Go native

Native plants are a great choice for drought-tolerant landscaping because they won't need much (if any) watering once established. Over time native plants have developed a natural resistance to pests and won't require added chemicals and special care. For ideas on good native plants for your area, ask at a local nursery, look on the EPA's listing of native and regionally appropriate plants, or contact your local extension office.

Plant smartly

Shrubs, perennials, bulbs and trees use less water than most annuals and lawns and well-established plants use less water than newly-planted ones. Evergreens and other trees are also a good choice—they're drought-resistant and offer shade that helps retain moisture in the rest of the yard. Cover steep areas with deep-rooted native ground covers and/or shrubs to discourage water run-off and erosion. Mulching is essential—it helps soil retain moisture and keeps weeds at bay. Use organic mulch like bark, cocoa husks, or pine needles that decompose and nourish the soil. Layer mulch about three inches deep and replace as necessary.

And don't worry too much about the pool

New research indicates that pools use only about as much water as a lawn of the same size. And covering a pool will cut water use by 50-70 percent, making a covered pool about equal in water use to drought-tolerant landscaping.

Where do renters plan on buying a home?

SoCal home prices up 21%; February sales volume hits 6-year high

The six-county Southland saw the median home price rise nearly 21% over the year, while remaining essentially flat compared with January, real estate information provider DataQuick said Wednesday.
A total of 15,945 new and resale homes and condos sold in February — the highest volume for a February in six years. Buyers in Southern California paid a median of $320,000 last month as fewer homes sold in lower-cost Riverside and San Bernardino counties that have become a haven for investors looking to flip or rent out houses.

“Most every gauge shows prices are up significantly over the past year, even after adjusting for changes in the types of homes selling,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement.
Still, last month's median price was still well off the 2007 peak of $505,000, Walsh noted.
The median sales price is the point at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as a general rise or fall in values.
Home prices have been on the rise as inventory has tightened significantly and interest rates have remained low. Investors have scooped up many low-priced and bank-owned properties to rent or flip and foreclosures have made up a declining share of homes sold.
Foreclosed homes were 15.8% of the resale market last month, down from 32.6% a year earlier.
Absentee buyers — chiefly investors, along with some second-home buyers — accounted for 31.4% of home sales in February, the highest figure since DataQuick began tracking the figure in 2000. Buyers paying with cash purchased a near-record 35.6% of homes.
Data from the previous two months shows investors playing a major role, Walsh said. But that may be influenced some by the holiday house-hunting season, which tends to skew the buyer pool more toward investors.
“March and April will offer a better view of how broader market trends are shaping up this year,” Walsh said. ”One of the real wild cards will be how many more homes go up for sale. More people who've long been thinking of selling will be tempted to list their homes at today's higher prices.”
As prices rise, more homeowners will escape their negative equity positions, allowing them to sell their homes and potentially loosening supply. “A meaningful rise in the supply of homes on the market should at least tame price appreciation,” Walsh said.
All counties — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura — saw significant price increases.
Orange County saw the most dramatic price gains as the county’s median sales price rose 22.3% to $477,000.  In Los Angeles County, the median sales price rose 17.1% — a sizable jump, but the smallest of the region. Buyers there shelled out a median of $350,000.