Burbank Real Estate Blog

City of Burbank Water and Power  is offering free shade trees!                    

Qualifying residents can receive up to three trees and businesses can get up to 20 trees! 

By providing shade and blocking out the sun's heat you cut down on air conditioning usage and  help save on

energy consumption.

An arborist will meet with you at your home or business to discuss how and where these trees may be planted for maximum benefit to you! 

This is a great opportunity for those wishing to take part in the program! 

A 1031 Exchange can be a very useful tool for the property owner who wants to defer capital gains on the sale of a real estate property. 

Recently the Wall Street Journal and today Realtor Magazine  had a great article about investors running into trouble with the IRS because of misappropriation of funds by the qualified intermediary or QI the investors used to manage the 1031 exchange funds!

If you know of any clients who utilize this tool, you may want to alert them to this situation!  In the last year two QI's have misappropriated client funds and the IRS is looking at the investors as well as the QI's. 

It is unclear, other than losing the tax deferral, if the investors will face any other penalties.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome! 

Come one, come all to the Verdugo Street Fair on Saturday, June 2nd.

City of Burbank will sponsor this great event filled with entertainment, prizes, giveaways, drawings, balloons and much more! This event provides for a fun filled time for both you and your kids!                                                                                               

Admission is FREE! 

Monday 28 

All U.S. Banks and markets are closed for Memorial Day! 

Tuesday 29 

The Conference Board, a private consumer group, releases its consumer confidence index for May.

Wednesday 30 

The Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC), the policy making arm of the Federal Reserve, releases May 9th meeting minutes.

Mortgage Bankers Association releases weekly refinance index.

Condoleeza Rice, US Secretary of State, attends G8 meeting of foreign ministers in Germany

Starlight Bowl Summer Series is just around the corner!

This venue offers fun and entertainment for the entire family!  It includes stadium seating and a grassy area for picnic style fun for you and your children. 

Musical programming includes rock, classical and shows for the kids.  The Starlight Bowl is located in the mountains above Burbank and makes for a great outing!

Wow, I was Meme'd! 

For those who are not familiar with this game, type in meme in the search field for blog posts and you'll see how this is played! 

So here goes: 5 things, mostly hobbies, you may not know about me:

• I play the piano.

• I design and make jewelry.

• I'm learning how to knit, which I've decided is an acquired skill......still working on acquiring it.

• I used to compete in Ice Dancing many moons ago!  I was ok, not Olympic material, but it was lots of fun!

•  I graduated from USC, also many moons ago, with a Bachelor of Science degree.
  

 Short and sweet!

I pick George Tallabas, Stephanie Edwards-Musa, and James Arias! 

Are you motivated or are you driven? 

 
I have heard these terms used a lot over the years.  Have you ever wondered which one most defines you? 

When I think of motivation I really tend to sort it into daily compartments.  Each day I motivate myself to complete the tasks that I know will lead to my future success.  Some tasks seem mundane for example, trying to figure out why the printer is not working, or the task of just picking up the phone can seem like a staggering exercise.   You know, when the phone suddenly puts on a hundred extra pounds making it physically impossible for you to complete your prospecting calls!

Other activities are much more enjoyable such as previewing a house or speaking with a referral, these don’t seem like work at all!  If  I’m not motivated I will look for an inspirational post, such as Broker Bryant’s Move forward….Your future is waiting!  I also like to seek out those folks that boost me up just by their positive attitude, focus and/or humor.

Being driven evokes a much stronger feeling, almost a hunger that keeps me focused on my long term goals.  I personally find that drive is much stronger and much deeper than motivation.  It comes from within.  It’s my inner desire to succeed despite the setbacks that I encounter on a sometimes daily basis. 

Personally I think drive most defines me…….I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Wednesday, May 23^rdMortgage Applications for the week ended May 18^th are released.

Thursday, May 24^th

 New home sales for April-economists consensus is that it increased slightly to 860,000 annual rate.  This report talks about new private homes and usually lags changing mortgage rates.  New home sales tend to be stronger early in the business cycle as there is more demand.  This report tends to be more volatile and subject to large revisions and as far as I’m concerned making it somewhat unreliable.

 Friday, May 25^th

 Existing home sales for April-Economists are predicting a drop to 6.10 million from 6.12 million homes.  This is a more reliable indicator of housing activity.  These numbers tend to be more dependent on mortgage rates.  Two worthy components of this report include the median home price and the inventory of homes for sale.  The lower the figure the more we need more new housing on the market.

 
For more information, please visit Briefing.com!

Folks there are some great pieces of legislation that have been introduced that would provide much needed relief and oversight for the real estate industry and consumer.

First we have S.1394, the Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief Act.   This piece of legislation was introduced this week by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).   The goal is to limit or alleviate the tax burden when someone has experienced a true economic loss.  This is a huge issue for many families, especially with today's market conditions and the sub-prime loan mess.  To get more information, please read, NAR-Do Away with the Phantom Tax.

We also have a bill, Community Choice in Real Estate Act (H.R. 111) to preserve a separation of banking and real estate, by keeping banks out of real estate.  To read more, please see Banks in Real Estate Issue Takes on New Urgency.

If either of these potential pieces of legislation resonate with you, please email or write your local House representatives,   and/or  U.S. Senators and let them how you feel!  Elected officials do keep a log of written letters and many are now keeping track of emails to in order to measure the pulse of their constituency.  

Unfortunately, I missed the show, but read the 60 Minutes piece on their website and have the following thoughts……

Is this really any different than what’s happened to the stock brokerage industry over the last 15 or so years?  That industry has survived the discounting by developing niche markets and specializing in areas where they add value. 

If you look at the makeup of our potential clients there will always be people looking for the “deal”.  If someone comes to me and tells me they can sell their home on their own or that they feel comfortable using a discount outfit, I will wish them well.  If they don’t see the value in my services, then they should not use me.  

It comes down to value.

Those agents that are truly providing great service will know how to demonstrate their worth and value.  Just as in the stock brokerage industry there will be those individuals who try to manage their transactions on their own,  get burned in some way, or realize they just don't have the time it will take and  go back to the services of a Realtor®.

I do think that what I read on the website did not adequately address where the commission monies go, for example, the fact that the broker gets a percentage, that the agent spends on gasoline, the wear and tear on automobiles, advertising costs, health insurance etc.  The list goes on, but my point is if you’re going to write a piece such as this one, please represent both sides equally!