April is the first month of the second quarter and always marks the start of the real estate season. Daylight savings is in full swing and more and more people are looking to buy, sell, or refinance their homes. The business we start to see towards the end of April and beginning of May is usually a good indicator of how things will shape up for the summer season.
April seems to be a busy month with tax returns due, Easter holiday celebrations, and also spring break for those of us who have school age children. There are a couple more holidays/celebrations with Memorial Day weekend and also Fourth of July, however these seem to be a more carefree time to spend barbequing with friends and family rather than cooking up big turkey dinners and gift buying.
With all the busyness of the major holidays and the dark side of daylight savings behind us, the numbers for April are pointing to a much improved real estate season compared to the last few years. Interest rates are still at record lows and the home prices within Los Angeles County have dropped by about 6% in the last year. It’s no wonder that pre-approval letters for prospective home buyers have increased by about 25% for most mortgage brokerages across the L. A. area.
Refinances still make up about 78% of the mortgage business at present time with many making sure that they still get that low rate. Actually, rates have dropped so low that many home owners have refinanced twice in the last 14 months while having the bank pick up all the one time costs.
Fed Underestimated the Housing Crisis
As always, if you are thinking about either buying, selling or refinancing, this is the time to meet with your mortgage planner to have a review of your finances and home value to see what needs to happen in order to meet your goals of home ownership and also retirement.
April numbers:
$345,000 Medium home value in LA
$69,200 Median income in LA
3.875% for a 30yr fixed with no points
58 days is the average time a home stays on the market in LA
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
For more questions on this or any other: Mortgage- Insurance - Merchant Services questions feel free to contact me at cezar@cezarmansour.com
About Me
- ceezmann
- Redondo Beach, Califorina, United States
- I am the Author of the business book "The Official Guide to Building a Referral Based Business", as well as, a business owner.
My company "Beach Lending" offers Mortgage, Insurance and Merchant Services (credit card processing)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
97th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
“Where there are two Armenians, you have Armenia”
Little Armenian one of LA's best places to get some excellent Kabob and Humus, as well as many other tasty Armenian dishes was a buzz just before 10:00 am. on the corner of Hollywood & Hobart. this is where the ceremony march took place remembering the 97th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
It was Hitler when asked if he thought he could get away with killing the Jews that said. “Well who remembers the Armenians?”
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died from 1915-23 in what has been called the first genocide of the 20th century.
The story is passed down from generation to generation about what happened to the Armenian people who lived in Turkey during 1915 to 1923. More than 200,000 children were left without parents.
Their is a great article in the daily Breeze about the Genocide, its history and how the United States and Turkey still do not recognize that it actually took place.
The memorial museum located in Montebello is an excellent place to see the photos and hear the story of the 1st genocide of the 21st. Century.
Today there are almost 500,000 Armenians living in Los Angeles
This week is a great time to get down to little Armenia and taste the foods and meet the people that will never forget why they currently call Los Angeles home.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Little Armenian one of LA's best places to get some excellent Kabob and Humus, as well as many other tasty Armenian dishes was a buzz just before 10:00 am. on the corner of Hollywood & Hobart. this is where the ceremony march took place remembering the 97th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died from 1915-23 in what has been called the first genocide of the 20th century.
The story is passed down from generation to generation about what happened to the Armenian people who lived in Turkey during 1915 to 1923. More than 200,000 children were left without parents.
Their is a great article in the daily Breeze about the Genocide, its history and how the United States and Turkey still do not recognize that it actually took place.
The memorial museum located in Montebello is an excellent place to see the photos and hear the story of the 1st genocide of the 21st. Century.
Today there are almost 500,000 Armenians living in Los Angeles
This week is a great time to get down to little Armenia and taste the foods and meet the people that will never forget why they currently call Los Angeles home.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Sunday, April 22, 2012
July 2011 law makes homeowners buy Carbon Monoxide sensors
Homeowners that are in the proccess of refinancing are finding out that Carbon Monoxide Detectors are now required by law to be installed in every home in California.
This law addresses the problem of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas produced whenever any fuel is burned.
If you are in the process of refinancing currently or are thinkining about refinancing, make sure you have a Carbon Monoxide Detector installed before the appraiser comes by, or you'll pay an extra 100 bucks to have them come back out and "reinspect" for that Carbon Monoxide Detector.
Because it's a California requirement, lenders will not fund loan until you have the detector installed and it is verified by a licensed appraiser.
Sellers are required to have Carbon Monoxide Detectors in place before the home is sold, and Landlords must have them in their rentals.
If you are lucky enough to own stock in a company that makes these detectors, then you might be seeing some serious financial gain in the near future now that every residence in the great state of California is required by law to have one installed.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
This law addresses the problem of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas produced whenever any fuel is burned.
If you are in the process of refinancing currently or are thinkining about refinancing, make sure you have a Carbon Monoxide Detector installed before the appraiser comes by, or you'll pay an extra 100 bucks to have them come back out and "reinspect" for that Carbon Monoxide Detector.
Because it's a California requirement, lenders will not fund loan until you have the detector installed and it is verified by a licensed appraiser.
Sellers are required to have Carbon Monoxide Detectors in place before the home is sold, and Landlords must have them in their rentals.
If you are lucky enough to own stock in a company that makes these detectors, then you might be seeing some serious financial gain in the near future now that every residence in the great state of California is required by law to have one installed.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
IN-N-OUT Secret Menu
In-N-Out Burgers is a West Coast institution. And one of the keys to their success has been keeping it simple. There are only four food items on the In-N-Out menu: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double-Double and French Fries.
In-N-Out compliments the food with the standard array of Coca-Cola beverages and three shakes: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. And that’s the menu in its entirety…
…or at least that’s what they want you to think. The truth of the matter is that there is an extensive “secret menu” available for those in the know. In fact, the secret items actually outnumber the items legitimately on the menu.
This isn’t just stuff made up by bored employees. If you order a Flying Dutchman, “Flying Dutchman” prints out on your receipt. It’s in the computer.
There is lots of information out there on the Internet about the secret menu, but no one seems to have gotten it all, and a lot of what is out there is just plain wrong. Nothing is more embarrassing than ordering a secret item that doesn’t exist.
2×4 Burger
Description: A “2×4″ is a burger with two beef patties and four slices of cheese. You can also order a “3×3,” a “4×2″ or any other meat/cheese combo your little heart desires. Rumors of a “100×100″ are widespread and thus far unproven. (Yeah, yeah. It’s been proven now. We know. —The Mgmt.) We’d love to see a photo, though.
Comment: The 2×4 was humongous, but great.
3-by-Meat Burger
Description: Three beef patties, no cheese. You can pretty much order “any number”-by-Meat.
Comment: Triple the meat, triple the pleasure. Do you want your colon blocked but don’t want to wait for years and years for it to happen? Well, In-N-Out has the burger for you. I miss my cheese.
“Animal Style” Burger
Description: Mustard-cooked beef patty, additional pickles, extra secret sauce with grilled onions.
Comment: I love this burger. Best if ordered without tomato. It has lots of oniony, cheesy, goodness with “special sauce” to boot. (No one ever says that the sauce is just Thousand Island
“Double-Meat” Burger
Description: A Double-Double without the cheese.
Comment: The Double-Meat burger was huge — very filling. I would have liked some sauce, however. It seemed a little dry.
The Flying Dutchman
Description: 2 beef patties, 2 slices of cheese. That’s it. No lettuce. No onions. No bun. No nuthin’.
Comment: Two all-beef patties with cheese. What more can you say?
Grilled Cheese
Description: Cheeseburger without the “burger.”
Comment: I always order the grilled cheese because I don’t eat beef and veggie burgers are boring. It isn’t as boring as a regular grilled cheese. The sauce makes it better.
“Protein Style” Burger
Description: Any burger you want wrapped in lettuce instead of that carbohydrate-laden bun.
Comment: It felt like it was missing something…oh yeah, the bun! The lettuce wrapping actually made it less messy, but I was still hungry afterward. Next time, I’ll try “Animal Style.”
Veggie Burger
Description: Hamburger with no burger and double tomatos.
Comment: Expected a “veggie burger.” Got a bun with whole grilled onions*, sauce, lettuce and double tomato. Not bad, but rather overly simple for eating out. Won’t order it again. I’ll stick with my usual Grilled Cheese with grilled onions.
“Extra Toast”
Description: Leaves your bread on the grill a tad longer resulting in “crispy buns,” which is not as dirty as it sounds. Can be ordered with any burger.
Comment: About the same. Maybe slightly crispier than normal — but not much.
Fries: “Animal Style”
Description: French fries with secret sauce, onions and cheese on top.
Comment: Excellent! I will definitely order these again. Mmmmm…cheesey, oniony goodness!
Fries: “Light”
Description: French fries cooked a little less than normal.
Comment: My light fries were very good.
Fries: “Well-Done”
Description: French fries cooked a little longer than normal.
Comment: I couldn’t really tell the difference from these vs. the normal fries. Not very impressive. I don’t think I’d bother asking for well-done again.
*Articles from Badmouth.com
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
In-N-Out compliments the food with the standard array of Coca-Cola beverages and three shakes: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. And that’s the menu in its entirety…
…or at least that’s what they want you to think. The truth of the matter is that there is an extensive “secret menu” available for those in the know. In fact, the secret items actually outnumber the items legitimately on the menu.
This isn’t just stuff made up by bored employees. If you order a Flying Dutchman, “Flying Dutchman” prints out on your receipt. It’s in the computer.
There is lots of information out there on the Internet about the secret menu, but no one seems to have gotten it all, and a lot of what is out there is just plain wrong. Nothing is more embarrassing than ordering a secret item that doesn’t exist.
2×4 Burger
Description: A “2×4″ is a burger with two beef patties and four slices of cheese. You can also order a “3×3,” a “4×2″ or any other meat/cheese combo your little heart desires. Rumors of a “100×100″ are widespread and thus far unproven. (Yeah, yeah. It’s been proven now. We know. —The Mgmt.) We’d love to see a photo, though.
Comment: The 2×4 was humongous, but great.
3-by-Meat Burger
Description: Three beef patties, no cheese. You can pretty much order “any number”-by-Meat.
Comment: Triple the meat, triple the pleasure. Do you want your colon blocked but don’t want to wait for years and years for it to happen? Well, In-N-Out has the burger for you. I miss my cheese.
“Animal Style” Burger
Description: Mustard-cooked beef patty, additional pickles, extra secret sauce with grilled onions.
Comment: I love this burger. Best if ordered without tomato. It has lots of oniony, cheesy, goodness with “special sauce” to boot. (No one ever says that the sauce is just Thousand Island
“Double-Meat” Burger
Description: A Double-Double without the cheese.
Comment: The Double-Meat burger was huge — very filling. I would have liked some sauce, however. It seemed a little dry.
The Flying Dutchman
Description: 2 beef patties, 2 slices of cheese. That’s it. No lettuce. No onions. No bun. No nuthin’.
Comment: Two all-beef patties with cheese. What more can you say?
Grilled Cheese
Description: Cheeseburger without the “burger.”
Comment: I always order the grilled cheese because I don’t eat beef and veggie burgers are boring. It isn’t as boring as a regular grilled cheese. The sauce makes it better.
“Protein Style” Burger
Description: Any burger you want wrapped in lettuce instead of that carbohydrate-laden bun.
Comment: It felt like it was missing something…oh yeah, the bun! The lettuce wrapping actually made it less messy, but I was still hungry afterward. Next time, I’ll try “Animal Style.”
Veggie Burger
Description: Hamburger with no burger and double tomatos.
Comment: Expected a “veggie burger.” Got a bun with whole grilled onions*, sauce, lettuce and double tomato. Not bad, but rather overly simple for eating out. Won’t order it again. I’ll stick with my usual Grilled Cheese with grilled onions.
“Extra Toast”
Description: Leaves your bread on the grill a tad longer resulting in “crispy buns,” which is not as dirty as it sounds. Can be ordered with any burger.
Comment: About the same. Maybe slightly crispier than normal — but not much.
Fries: “Animal Style”
Description: French fries with secret sauce, onions and cheese on top.
Comment: Excellent! I will definitely order these again. Mmmmm…cheesey, oniony goodness!
Fries: “Light”
Description: French fries cooked a little less than normal.
Comment: My light fries were very good.
Fries: “Well-Done”
Description: French fries cooked a little longer than normal.
Comment: I couldn’t really tell the difference from these vs. the normal fries. Not very impressive. I don’t think I’d bother asking for well-done again.
*Articles from Badmouth.com
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Bernanke says: “Expect only temporary rise in gas prices”
Today’s trip for Bernanke to the Hill was to tell congress that while we have some positive signs in the economy, it’s only “Uneven and Modest Growth”.
As everyone has seen and felt the gas prices are creeping higher and higher, Bernanke stated he expects this to be only temporary and that outlook for inflation is subdued based upon the persistent downside of economic risk.
The FOMC says “Labor Market is the key to recovery” and that can be seen with the current lack of growth in the housing market, the housing affordability index is lower now than ever before however home buyers face:
3 issues potential home buyer face
• Amount of down payment
• Lack of good credit history
• Concerns about job prospects
With the main item being job prospects, while unemployment is down the job market is far from normal and there is no expectation of a big drop in unemployment.
The European Union has many fiscal and financial challenges that remain, and these items will take some time to sort out, all this combined with the wranglings with Iran’s nuclear ambitions in the Middle East, the United States bond market looks to be the safest place for investors to park their money, even though the returns are small.
Therefore with given the persistent downside of economic risk and subdued inflation outlook, conditions for the Fed’s extremely low funds rate looks to last into 2014.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
As everyone has seen and felt the gas prices are creeping higher and higher, Bernanke stated he expects this to be only temporary and that outlook for inflation is subdued based upon the persistent downside of economic risk.
The FOMC says “Labor Market is the key to recovery” and that can be seen with the current lack of growth in the housing market, the housing affordability index is lower now than ever before however home buyers face:
3 issues potential home buyer face
• Amount of down payment
• Lack of good credit history
• Concerns about job prospects
With the main item being job prospects, while unemployment is down the job market is far from normal and there is no expectation of a big drop in unemployment.
The European Union has many fiscal and financial challenges that remain, and these items will take some time to sort out, all this combined with the wranglings with Iran’s nuclear ambitions in the Middle East, the United States bond market looks to be the safest place for investors to park their money, even though the returns are small.
Therefore with given the persistent downside of economic risk and subdued inflation outlook, conditions for the Fed’s extremely low funds rate looks to last into 2014.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Getting your taxes right, so you "do qualify" for that refinance or purchase
Last year I wrote an article about how the affluent in LA were stuck between the IRS and the Bank.
Here they sit with their income crossing over that 6 figure mark with ease, their home has a bunch of equity and more than half the loan they are seeking is in a retirement account or sitting in reserves, oh and their credit score, its well over 700.
Yet they do not qualify for a home loan... and why? Because of their taxes and what they show as taxable income. That's it, taxable income.
So this year as you sit with your CPA or Turbo-tax software, ask yourself this question: Do I currently qualify for a home loan with the income I showed in 2009 and 2010?
After writing the article last year I began to realize how many people actually don't have a good mortgage planner as part of their professional team.
their CPA will make sure they pay the least amount of taxes and save them as much as possible, however they will not take into consideration the economic impact that can come from not being able to take advantage of historic low rates and save thousands of dollars per year in payments.
My advise is meet with a Mortgage planner and have them review your income to confirm if you qualify or not, and if not, determine what you will need to claim on your taxes to qualify for that loan you want.
What does qualify mean? 45% of your "gross" income can go towards this only.
• Home loans
• Credit cards
• Property tax
• Home insurance
• Student loans
• Car loans
If you are over this, by a few percent you "may" qualify yet not for the best rates.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Here they sit with their income crossing over that 6 figure mark with ease, their home has a bunch of equity and more than half the loan they are seeking is in a retirement account or sitting in reserves, oh and their credit score, its well over 700.
Yet they do not qualify for a home loan... and why? Because of their taxes and what they show as taxable income. That's it, taxable income.
So this year as you sit with your CPA or Turbo-tax software, ask yourself this question: Do I currently qualify for a home loan with the income I showed in 2009 and 2010?
After writing the article last year I began to realize how many people actually don't have a good mortgage planner as part of their professional team.
their CPA will make sure they pay the least amount of taxes and save them as much as possible, however they will not take into consideration the economic impact that can come from not being able to take advantage of historic low rates and save thousands of dollars per year in payments.
My advise is meet with a Mortgage planner and have them review your income to confirm if you qualify or not, and if not, determine what you will need to claim on your taxes to qualify for that loan you want.
What does qualify mean? 45% of your "gross" income can go towards this only.
• Home loans
• Credit cards
• Property tax
• Home insurance
• Student loans
• Car loans
If you are over this, by a few percent you "may" qualify yet not for the best rates.
If you find this info helpful, or not, and want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Remember "The Cult of Mac"?...Steve Jobs, the real deal!
I doubt we will ever see candles, roses, or photos laid out in front of a Verizon store, however if you pass by an Apple store be sure to pay your respects to a great visionary and leader, and to a person who basically had a hand in changing the way you live your life forever.
Yesterday we lost what many are calling a great visionary and creative business man in Steve Jobs.
As you read the articles about Jobs and what he accomplished in such a short time period one can’t help but feel like his life was cut short.
An excellent article titled “Where is Steve Jobs among the Greatest” by Rick Newman asks a very interesting question. How great was he? How does he compare to Henry Ford, or Thomas Edison?
Remember the book “The Cult of Mac"?… People who had a Mac were how do you say “different”, they were not PC fans at all however they did “put up with them"
Now spring forward 15 years and everything is different. People love their Apple products and really can’t live without them. This is what Rick Newman states is what makes Jobs great. It was the way he did business, being able to make people not only love the product, but also the business owner.
Marketplace Money also does an excellent piece on Jobs and our economy throughout their show with a great sound bite of Jobs speaking 6 years ago about living everyday as if you were going to die, and making choices based on that philosophy. (Fast forward to minute 25:00 to hear the sound bite)
If you find this info helpful, or not, or want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
Yesterday we lost what many are calling a great visionary and creative business man in Steve Jobs.
As you read the articles about Jobs and what he accomplished in such a short time period one can’t help but feel like his life was cut short.
An excellent article titled “Where is Steve Jobs among the Greatest” by Rick Newman asks a very interesting question. How great was he? How does he compare to Henry Ford, or Thomas Edison?
Remember the book “The Cult of Mac"?… People who had a Mac were how do you say “different”, they were not PC fans at all however they did “put up with them"
Now spring forward 15 years and everything is different. People love their Apple products and really can’t live without them. This is what Rick Newman states is what makes Jobs great. It was the way he did business, being able to make people not only love the product, but also the business owner.
Marketplace Money also does an excellent piece on Jobs and our economy throughout their show with a great sound bite of Jobs speaking 6 years ago about living everyday as if you were going to die, and making choices based on that philosophy. (Fast forward to minute 25:00 to hear the sound bite)
If you find this info helpful, or not, or want to hear more on this topic please let me know by commenting on this blog, as well as, sharing it with friends, family, and co-workers
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