Archive for November, 2009

HERMOSA BEACH Home sales 2009

Hermosa Beach has 3 MLS areas Sand is area 148 from the water to the Valley Ardmore section

149 from there to PCH 

 150 from PCH to border of Redondo Beach

53 properties are for sale in the sand section #148

31 are Single family homes and only 6 are under 1 million dollars.

107 have sold, or in backup and pending to sate

1820 Palm is my listing. It is the closest to the water, it has a garage unlike two of the other properties in that price range. Its a fanstastic opportunity to get into a property.

Hermosa Beach photo by popelynne

  Open Invitation!

Please come to my open house today!

Facebook is the place to check out 69 photos of this property and 2 virtual tours. join in at facebook/lynnepope
click on “local schools” right from this website, get the mortgage calculated, and see a map of the whole area.
Realtor.com” is one place that a lot of people start to search. For that reason I did purchase the real estate package they offer. From there you can see the  youtube video of this home. just type in the address 4511 Toucan, Torrance 90503
Virtual tour, 360 is now enhanced by a walking youtube video! Want the West High school area? Bert Lynn? and Towers?
I bought a website for this address too..http;//www.4511toucan.com

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Torrance Real Estate Trends

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Holy Cow! Gift Cards, Credit cards & Christmas

Tis the season to be Jolly. But Fa La La- not this year. Recent “Gift Card” scam hitting the public couldn’t have come at a more powerful time. The news suggests that somehow people are able to swipe the credit card of its gift before the present is even delivered. There are dire predictions of the widespread scam and no leads at present (disclaimer here, no pun intended)  Credit gift cards are now under attack from a computer predator of some sort. Beware and avoid gift cards for the present time- the holiday season.
The safe way is just regift this year. We all have too much stuff & little cash anyway.

Good credit card fraud department:
Only this year I got a call from my credit card company and the fraud department. They knew my card was likely stolen before I did. My card was in my wallet. Someone in San Diego had made 2 cash withdrawals of 500 each in different places. I was shocked that someone could use my card when I still had it. I was also surprised they  figured it out! You may think that you are only a number to the world but by golly they knew this was Not my buying habit.Wow. The predator was someone in our nearby Arco station that put some kind of device on the atm that stole the number and the pin. This Redondo Beach Arco station bilked so much money out of our local people that the station is now closed. Within 10 days the money was returned to my account by the Bank. They never caught the criminals but they stopped that location for scam.

Gas station issue number 2

I was at a Chevron station and it said to see attendant when I put in my zip code. I started walking  toward the attendant and decided to just get gas later. I flipped around and got in my car and drove off.  Only later in the day did I realize my wallet was missing. Did I lose it? Was it stolen? I started calling the credit card companies and sure enough my wallet was taken and a credit card used. In a split second the wallet was taken and not my purse! Are we aware how close we are to people as we pump gas? I am now and was not then. The security cameras were not working either. Had I xeroxed all my credit cards in my purse front and back? Not then but when I got all the new ones I did. It will make it easier for me if it ever happens again. The good part is that I prayed for my wallet to be returned. It was a week later. The wallet and credit cards were tossed out in a parking lot of a local restaurant. A kind caller scooped them up and called me- My business card was inside. The drivers license, small amount of money and gift cards to the movies were gone but I got back all the other things I needed, like my NAR real estate card and Vons and Barnes and Noble card. I learned a valuable lesson and a nice person returned most of my wallet.
This takes me to credit ( another no pun intended) a writer for 2 amazing articles on credit cards.

This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets. Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com. The November 9th article is on archive about Credit cards are not  our friend and he blames borrowers and credit card companies for the current state of disrepair- jacking up fees at will. This one basically explains the overall history in a nutshell.

Does ¢â‚¬Å“Unfair Isaac¢â‚¬Â Give Credit Where It¢â‚¬â„¢s Due?

Nilus Mattive

In the Dividend Superstars issue that just went to press, I talked about FICO credit scores ¢â‚¬â€ the three-digit numbers that greatly determine how much money we can borrow, what interest rates we pay, and even how employers and landlords view us.

And I think this information is so critical to your financial life that I want to go over some of the details again here in Money and Markets today. Plus, I want to tell you why I think the system as it stands today is treating many responsible savers and borrowers unfairly in these credit-crunched times. That¢â‚¬â„¢s something I didn¢â‚¬â„¢t have room for in the latest Dividend Superstars newsletter.

So let¢â‚¬â„¢s get into it ¢â‚¬Â¦

The Basics of Credit Scores

If you¢â‚¬â„¢ve been reading my columns and issues, you know I firmly believe you should pull your credit reports from the three major reporting agencies ¢â‚¬â€ Equifax, Experian, and Transunion ¢â‚¬â€ once a year. Doing so is now completely free because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

You can choose to pull all three reports at one time, or space them out throughout the year so you get a frequent look into your records.

Whatever way you choose to do it, look for errors, incorrect addresses, or any suspicious activity. If you have questions or corrections, don¢â‚¬â„¢t hesitate to contact the agency. After all, your credit score affects the interest rates you pay on all kinds of loans.

To get those reports, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. You can also request them by mail at: Annual Credit Report Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Of course, when you pull those reports you WILL NOT see your actual credit score, which is derived from your reports.

The most commonly cited credit score number is known as your ¢â‚¬Å“FICO score,¢â‚¬Â named after the firm that created it, Fair Isaac Co. The three-digit number falls between 300 and 850, with most people falling into the 600s or 700s.

Landlords and employers use credit scores as a way to get a sense of who you are, and as I noted, a FICO score greatly affects your borrowing ability. Fair Isaac says a borrower with a 580 might pay three percentage points more for a loan than someone with a 720!

The importance of your FICO is only getting more dramatic with the ongoing credit crunch. Some mortgage lenders have even been creating additional tiers above the 740-750 level, which has typically represented the general cutoff point for their ¢â‚¬Å“best¢â‚¬Â customers.

How a FICO Score Is Calculated,
Along With Recent Important Changes ¢â‚¬Â¦

Fair Isaac¢â‚¬â„¢s website gives the following general guidelines:

  • Your payment history counts for 35%. Being late on credit card balances, declaring bankruptcy, and other factors fall into this category.
  • Your debt counts for another 30%. This includes your overall debt vs. credit available, the balances on individual cards, and similar factors.
  • The length of credit history makes up 15%. In simple terms, the longer your credit history, the better your score will be.
  • Applications for new credit contribute 10%. Whenever you go shopping for a mortgage or open a new credit card, your score can potentially suffer.

The rest of your score comes from a mix of other factors. And note that the exact algorithm behind the FICO score is a closely guarded secret that is continually being tweaked.

For example, in February of 2009 Fair Isaac made a number of important changes to the formula:

  1. Only spouses and children are able to piggyback onto your cards to boost their scores.
  2. Debts of less than $100 that go into collections do less damage to your score.
  3. Having less available credit hurts a score more.
  4. A healthy smattering of loans (i.e. student, mortgage, credit card, etc.) helps a score.
  5. Closing accounts hurts a score.
  6. Single negative events may have less of an effect.

So How Can You Help Your Score
(Or At Least Not Hurt It)?

Here are some of the basic steps you can take:

First, you should keep a few credit cards open for as long as possible, and with high available lines of credit even if you aren¢â‚¬â„¢t really using them all that often.

It can make sense to close a couple newer cards, especially if they levy annual fees, but be careful that you¢â‚¬â„¢ll still have a healthy amount of available credit and a long continuous history.

Cancelling credit cards might actually hurt your credit  score!
Cancelling credit cards might actually hurt your credit score!

And don¢â‚¬â„¢t let your few cards sit completely idle because lenders may unexpectedly close them, reduce your available credit, or stop reporting the activity to the credit agencies.

Second, you should not go around opening new cards just to get those initial 10 percent-off discounts or shopping for a home equity loan just to see what rate you can get. FICO tries to account for similar credit inquiry activity all falling within a small window (roughly 45 days) such as when you go mortgage shopping, but it still makes sense to limit your activity in this area.

Third, high balances are to be avoided. And if possible, you should spread out your activity among a few cards.

Fourth, don¢â‚¬â„¢t forget about the simple steps like consistently paying bills on time and correcting errors on your credit reports, either.

Yet All This Begs One Last Question:
Is the FICO System Even Fair in Today¢â‚¬â„¢s Environment?

Think about some of the steps I just outlined: Keep cards open that you aren¢â‚¬â„¢t really using ¢â‚¬Â¦ have a ¢â‚¬Å“healthy mix of debt¢â‚¬Â ¢â‚¬Â¦ and don¢â‚¬â„¢t shop around for loans very often.

Do those make sense to you? Do those sound like steps a conservative consumer should take?

No way!

And yet these are apparently some of the best ways to get ¢â‚¬â€ and keep ¢â‚¬â€ a top credit score.

Consider this case: A hypothetical borrower has paid cash for his house and cars. He uses just one rewards card for all his purchases and pays off the balance in full every month, though he sometimes changes what card he uses based on the best rewards program at the time. And he frequently rolls his savings into CDs with whatever bank pays the highest rates.

Now, that sounds like someone I would loan money to! I mean, the guy has no debt and makes sound financial decisions.

Yet, as far as the FICO system is concerned, he doesn¢â‚¬â„¢t have much of a credit history nor a smattering of loans. And all that credit card and CD shopping will also cause a lot of credit report pulls.

Oh, and get this: From what I¢â‚¬â„¢ve heard, the FICO system doesn¢â‚¬â„¢t recognize patterns like regularly paying off large credit card balances. So in our hypothetical example, Mr. Conservative would also show a high debt-to-available credit balance.

Now, I¢â‚¬â„¢m sure this guy would still have a very decent score. And if he¢â‚¬â„¢s cash rich and debt free, he probably wouldn¢â‚¬â„¢t give a darn what Fair Isaac¢â‚¬â„¢s system thought of him, either.

But what if he did decide to go shopping for a second home mortgage? Would the system ¢â‚¬â€ or the lenders who blindly rely on it ¢â‚¬â€ actually see him for the low-risk borrower he is?

My general impression is that FICO is best applied to the masses ¢â‚¬â€ people who live with all kinds of loans and spend the rest of their days faithfully paying off little bits here and there. And I guess that¢â‚¬â„¢s exactly who lenders want to court, too.

Still, anyone who is responsible and doesn¢â‚¬â„¢t fit ¢â‚¬Å“the mold¢â‚¬Â might be left calling FICO¢â‚¬â„¢s creator ¢â‚¬Å“Unfair Isaac¢â‚¬Â when it¢â‚¬â„¢s time to shop for a loan.

Best wishes,

Nilus

Got to love Saturday night live, because we live in California we spend about 10 times more for a house and sometimes have jobs that allow us to pay that mortgage. The Government has not really figured out the State of California and NY and a few other places don’t fit the “one size fits all ” regime of thought.

The first time home buyer credit did help one of my buyers this year! Hooray.

It was almost a miracle. Getting the right home in escrow and closing in the timeframe.  Now with the new tax credit…it could help others.

However…see if it “Fits” your income.

“The first-time homebuyer tax credit may be restricted by the taxpayer¢â‚¬â„¢s income.  The tax credit starts to phase out for an individual taxpayer with a modified adjusted gross income from $75,001 to $95,000 (or $150,001 to $170,000 for joint filers).  The tax credit is eliminated entirely if an individual¢â‚¬â„¢s modified adjusted gross income is over $95,000 (or $170,000 for joint filers).  (26 U.S.C. § 36(b)(2″

Soon I will add a page from NAR that shows the way the formula could work if you fit the income formula. Your lender and tax people will have to get involved with you to actually work out all the facts. Your realtor can help get you all you need on the house, the time frame and keep the ball in the air till your people measure your exact profile to see if it works.

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College towns Affordable and a GREAT idea

Sending Amy off to college?  Think about finding a condo or home for her to live in and have a roomate help pay the mortgage. Visit one you can stay there while you get her settled and decorate. After 4 years, you can sell it and in this climate….2010 you should be able to sell it at a profit. Wouldn’t it be great if that paid you back for her tuition.  This has happened many times for people that I personally know. It would have happened to people that I know that thought about it and didn’t do it. After the 4 years, I mentioned it to one friend and we agreed that it definately would have worked.

This is a link to an article emphasizing a real estate company. Just disregard that and stay RE/MAX and work with me!

Home Buying 101: College Towns are Undiscovered, Affordable and Stable Markets for Homebuyers | RISMedia

Hermosa Beach had a cute small home for 450K when someone I know well thought California prices are crazy. Five years later they bought at 799K. Think long term and you will see the real estate market has always been a moving target. Low prices now and low interest rates are so great and so many people are not in a positon to buy. Thats what creates these markets. Advise your children to save for another great day like this or a rainy day like this.popelynne trend graphics

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-06

  • @christophechoo #popelynne just saw your james bond should live here…sweet! Im calling you! #

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Twitter Updates for 2009-11-05

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On Localism.com can find great local Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Rolling Hills, and Century City information. LYNNE POPE is California member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network. As an investor, Realtor in the Beach community as well as married to Robert Pope, Century City Designer Owner of Pope and Associates Interior Space Planning and Design, Inc.
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