Student Loans affecting the Housing Market

With home prices and mortgage rates at their lows, it seems like the perfect market for young people to buy. What's holding these young families from buying a home is they are still paying off their student loans. The consumer Financial Protection Bureau says U.S. students have amassed $1.1 trillion in load debt- double what it was in 2007 and greater than any other consumer debt not tied to a mortgage.

This effects the market overall because we will see a decrease in the number of first-time home buyers.
First time home buyers usually make up more than 40% of the market, during the recovery this number has dropped to below 30% (National Association of Realtors). Many of these young families and students are forced to rent or move back in with their parents.

Most young adults face up to $100,000 in student loan debt. An estimated 1/3 of student loan borrows are late on their debt payments, according to the Federal Reserve report. This will affect their credit score, and their future mortgages. Many of the jobs that highly educated young adults are coming out with after their education, are working minimum wage jobs. The Center for College Affordability and Productivity reports that almost 50% of the college graduates from class of 2010 are in jobs that don't require a bachelors degree, while 38% are in jobs that don't even require a high school education. 

Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found evidence that student loan debt may prevent a large chuck of an entire generation of college graduates from securing a mortgage and owning a home. Bloomberg, report that 2/3 of student loans are held by Americans under age 40. From the third quarter of 2012 to the fourth quarter, the number of people in that age group who own homes fell by 4.6%, the steepest drop since 1982.

Texting & Driving

This message is to appeal to all Realtors and everyone affiliated with the Real Estate Industry. In this business, we are constantly on our phones. Replying back to emails, answering phone calls, texting back clients, it is apart of our lifestyle. But using the phone while you are driving is illegal and has been proven to increase your chances of an accident drastically.

69% of American drivers say they talk on their cellphones and about in three read/send text messages or emails.State wide police have issued 425,041 tickets last year for talking on hand-held phones. This April, police are planning to crack down on this matter.

Texting and driving is extremely dangerous, in 2011 3,331 people were killed and 400,000 injured. Texting takes your eyes off the road, which creates your vehicle to veer into other lanes. Some studies have shown that a driver texting can travel the length of a football field at 55 mph without even looking up once. Lets think of our families, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and friends. Life is so precious lets not take their lives and also protect our loved ones. "We can do it" If you want to text pull over and save lives. Lets all take the pledge to not text & drive. The Text can wait.



Gordon Inman

Broker/Owner

Keller Williams Realty LA Harbor

Tips for Creating your REALTOR® Brand

In today's industry, it is all about selling your self. Selling your knowledge, your personality, your experience, etc. You have to be able to create a brand for yourself. This goes for any industry, but especially for the competitive Real Estate Market. Here are some tips on creating your Realtor brand.

1. Find your niche. Figure out what sets you apart. Is it short sale expertise? Deep knowledge of Craftsman homes? Concierge customer service? Decide carefully. Your niche needs to be something you can stay passionate about throughout your career.

2. Know your client base. Who are you trying to appeal to? “Everyone” is not really an effective target audience, but “buyers looking for high-end modern design in Orange County” is. Don't go too narrow, but be specific enough to have a clear, recognizable specialty.

3. Be the kind of REALTOR® your client wants. Yes, your brand is about you, but you’re also creating an image that clients want to be associated with. Do your clients perceive themselves as value shoppers, architecture fanatics, hip urbanites? What are you offering that is valuable to them?

4. Conceptualize your brand. Once you discover your niche, who your clients are and what you have to offer, figure out how all of this—your brand—is going to look. Everything you present to the public--the paper you use for your mailings, the photos you use on your website or blog, the fonts you choose--should reinforce your brand. If you are not a visual person, hire a designer to help you create a professional look.

5. Consider a tagline. The right slogan can help position you in your niche and will strengthen clients' association between you and whatever that niche is. Go for something short, memorable and professional. Run it by a few others for a reality check.

6. Keep it unified. Whether you're reaching clients via social media, newspaper ads, flyers, or a website, your promotional materials should have a unified look and feel. If you have a tagline or a logo, make sure you put it on everything.

7. Establish yourself as an expert. Do whatever you can to establish yourself as the go-to person for your niche. If it's green housing, for example, give seminars on eco-friendly gardening choices, write articles on green building materials for a local newspaper or website, and link to articles about green homes on Twitter or Facebook.

8. Network with REALTORS® with a similar brand. Other REALTORS® with a similar niche are a good source for marketing ideas. See if you can develop a marketing synergy with REALTORS® from other parts of the country to share tips and promotional ideas.

9. Use testimonials from satisfied clients. Help reinforce your brand with client testimonials focused on whatever it is you are offering. If you're the “Short Sale Expert,” for example, use testimonials that illustrate how your specialized knowledge of the complicated short sale process made the transaction easy and clear.

10. Use your brand as a structure for business. Your brand is an outline and will help guide you in your business decisions. If something doesn't fit within the guidelines of the brand you've established, it probably doesn't belong. A smart, well-conceived brand will keep you clear and focused on your goals.

Seems Like Forever

Have you been driving in San Pedro lately? Maybe wanted to go to Pacific Diner for breakfast or grab some Busy Bee and head over to the Korean Bell?

The usual route was to take Western all the way down past 25th, but if you notice past the park and the tide pools the road is completely closed. So instead you must make your way through a detour all the way back, through the neighborhoods. On November 20, 2011 approximetly 600 feet of road collapsed on Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro. It has been over a year now, and the street is still closed off and nothing has been fixed. Paseo Del Mar is a main street that runs all the along the coast of San Pedro leading to Palos Verdes, if you take this road you will notice how it literally goes up and down, it seems as if the road is going to end up in the ocean at any point. And that is exactly where it will end up, in years to come if the city does not maintain it correctly. If you've ever driven through Portuguese Bend,Paseo Del Mar is a very similar road. They both have similar issues with road movement and are constantly being repaired. This brings up the issue, is the city maintaining our roads correctly? It could be disastrous if they would have to close down Palos Verdes Dr. South or Portuguese Bend, which are main roads leading to Palos Verdes. Depending on the option they choose to repair it, the total damages could cost $6.7 million to $51.3 mil. They have 3 options to fix the landslide area, construct a bridge, make a graded roadway, or completely restore the roadway. I for one have complete trust in our representatives making the right decision to repair our beloved road.

It is now time for our representatives to make a tough decision on the best way to repair the landslide area and also the entire street of Paseo Del Mar.Best of luck in making that decision.

Thanks for Reading,
Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Broker/Owner of Keller Williams LA Harbor

Questions To Ask The Seller

Here is a list of important questions to make sure you get an answer to before moving in. Have your Realtor communicate with the seller, before you make the big move.

1. Do you have any information about the repair history of the house

2. Do you have any warranty paperwork and owners manuals for anything that is staying with the house

3. Do you have paint colors available so that they can be matched for touch ups etc.

4. Do you have the phone numbers for any contractors you have used for repairs and landscaping on the house. You may want a contractor that is familiar with the house or perhaps you like the way the lawn looks and would like to keep the landscaping service

5. Where are the best restaurants, dry cleaners, daycare centers etc. located

6. Is there a neighborhood watch program and how do you get in touch with the organizer

7. Is there a Homeowners Association and where is the clubhouse - if applicable

8. What are the trash days and what are the requirements. Is there a trash bag limit and what do you do with bulk items

9. What is the history of the house. Things that are not disclosed on the disclosure form - such as an interesting story, the prior uses of the house, do they have a set maintenance schedule in place. Is there anything that works but is a bit quirky when operating it. This could save you hundreds of dollars in unnecessary repairs when you find out something works but is just a bit quirky

10. Don't forget to leave the garage door openers

11. Where are the emergency cut offs, the breaker box and utility meters and any tools needed to use them. What about that wrench that is needed to operate the fireplace - is it available

12. Don't forget to ask about the sprinkler system, landscape lighting, septic tank, basement pumps, pool pumps, well pumps, hot tubs operating systems. All of these items may be things you know how to operate or possibly not. So it is best to ask.


Thanks for Reading,
The Inman Team

Mortgage Troubles do a Reversal

The self employed and first time home buyer are finding it difficult to qualify for a loan. The tightening of money began in 2007 and the mortgage credit has not eased much. Low rates and the recovery in housing has borrowers seeking financing. The tight lending standards are even making credit worth borrowers from buying homes. What we are experiencing is buyers paying all cash, FHA for Lower Income borrowers are raising insurance Fees and are tightening Credit Standards. With all this said, The Real Estate Sales are containing multiple offers on properties.

Thanks for reading,
Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Owner/Broker Keller Williams L.A. Harbor

Real Estate Update

Many companies and economy analyzers are making predictions of what will be happening in the future of the Real Estate Market.
Home prices are expected to rise 3.3% annually through 2017.

The housing recovery is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 percent through the third quarter of this year, then gain momentum and prices are projected to grow 3.7 percent between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014 until settling down to 3.3 percent annual increases over the next three years according to Fiserv, a financial services technology provider using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
“Although some recent real estate activity has been speculative, it seems as if buyers have more realistic expectations about housing market returns after having lived through the largest housing market crash in U.S. history,” says David Stiff, chief economist, Fiserv.
Fiserv Case-Shiller predicts that by the end of 2013 home prices, will rise dramatically everywhere in the U.S.

This past year for Keller Williams has been the best yet. We are #1.

DIY Or Hire A Professional?

This weekend, may be a perfect opportunity for you to show you creative side and start a DIY project. With all the DIY shows and Pinterest app its easy to find really good ideas. Sometimes these DIY projects can actually cause more of a headache. Have you ever seen an amazing post on Pinterest, and thought "I can do that", But after you attempt to recreate it, you quickly learn that it is not turning out the way you planned. You have to find that fine line between what you can manage on your own and what you should leave for a professional to accomplish. With that being said, there are some home improvement projects that can absolutely be done yourself. So how do you determine if you should DIY or hire a professional?

Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help decide whether or not your home improvement project is one that you should try to tackle yourself or if you should hire a professional in order to avoid a DIY disaster!

1. Make a list. Write down the name of the project and everything you will need to complete that project. On your list make a pros and cons column. Write down in the pros column all of the tools you already have and know how to use. Then write down the extent of the knowledge about the project you know how to do. Then write in the cons column all of the tools you don't have for the project and what knowledge you are lacking to complete the project. This will help you determine whether or not you should hire a professional. It could be that by the time you buy all the tools you will need for this one project that you could have saved yourself the trouble and hired a professional for relatively the same price. You quite possibly could have saved yourself a lot of time and hassle.

2. Will your project require permits? Quite a few projects do. Do you know how to obtain a permit? Call your City's Building Services or Building Permits Division to determine if you need a permit and how to go about actually getting the permit. Getting a permit, if you are not well versed in doing this, can be extremely tedious, stressful and time consuming. Sometimes one project can trigger the need to meet another city requirement. Therefore, this may be something best left to a professional.

3. Are there any safety issues? Does your project entail having to use a ladder, electrical issues, gas or anything that could potentially collapse? If so, you will need to determine your level of expertise and then either proceed with caution or just go ahead and call a professional. It's not worth it to take a chance on your safety or the safety of your family.

4. Get bids. Get several bids and then compare the cost of doing the project yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised. Example: you may be perfectly capable of painting; however, more than likely, a professional will do a better job and do it more quickly and without all of the mess. Additionally, most contractors get their supplies at a reduced cost because they buy them in bulk. This could mean savings for you.

5. Time. Do you have time to do this project? Do you really want a project to be drawn out for a month or more just because you don't have time to complete it?

6. Do you enjoy the whole DIY thing? If so, go back over what you do and don't know how to do and then have at it.
Generally speaking, if you have the money to have your DIY project professionally done then do it! If not, take a good hard look at what needs to be done and think about every step very carefully to determine what could go wrong.

So next time you try to paint your kitchen cabinets, like the ones on Pinterest take the time to research and see if it is worth Doing Yourself or Hiring a Professional.

Thanks for Reading,
The Inman Team