Who Can You Trust?

Do you know of an old TV game show called "Who Do You Trust?" The host was Johnny Carson before he moved to the Tonight Show. Contestants had a chance to win some money and listen to his snappy patter. Some people went home with extra cash, and everyone had a good laugh.

For a game show, trust isn't that important, and it only matters for a little while. But you don't want to play games when buying or selling a home. You want a Realtor® you can trust, and someone who will be looking out for you at every step of the way.

Where do you find that person who will give you personal attention, who will always answer your questions and your phone calls?

You might look at a large national brokerage with scores of agents. They have big numbers and they sell a lot of houses. They have also have standard procedures, forms, and policies that fit most needs. And they have a large overhead and depend on volume to support it. So ask yourself, "Will they really know me and what I want, or will I just be another 'deal' in their real estate machine?"

Then take a look at a smaller broker, one puts his name on the line with every transaction, and who works with a small team of professionals. You are not just a "deal" to them, you are an individual. These pros take the time to ask questions and then really listen to what you say. They know the area they serve and all about the neighborhoods. They take your phone calls and return calls quickly. They look out for your interests, always, unconditionally. And they know their long-term success depends on personalized service and lasting client relationships. Individual attention and meeting the client's specific needs are their trademarks. No games, just people you can trust.

Michael Trust and the Michael Trust Team – we work together to deliver what we promise.
· Personalized service
· Total client satisfaction
· Trust

Could You Use a Substantial Tax Deduction* From Your 2006 Income?

There's still time to buy a home before the end of the year. You might think this is not a good time to be house hunting, but actually the period between Thanksgiving and New Years is an excellent time for savvy homebuyers.

First, there are more properties to choose from than at any time in recent years. And, only serious, strongly motivated sellers are showing their homes during the holidays. Most people are thinking about holiday travel and family feasts, so unless they have to sell quickly, they'll wait to put their house on the market. Homeowners who are having showings are serious about making a sale.

Second, many potential buyers have also put house hunting on hold for a few weeks while they concentrate on the seasonal celebrations. That means there is less competition from other buyers, and that's to your advantage in a buyer's market.

And who wouldn't like more money in the pocket courtesy of your Uncle Sam? There is still time to buy a home and settle before December 31; that could mean a nice tax deduction from your 2006 income. *Of course, you should talk with your own tax preparer about your specific tax situation. But mortgage rates are still low, and we can help you find lenders, inspectors, and attorneys who can move deals quickly to closing.

And then when the clock strikes 12:00 on December 31, you'll have good reason to shout "Happy New Year!" Give us a call today and let's get started.

Searching for a Home in Los Angeles - as featured in my-local-real-estate.com

Searching for a home in a city the size of Los Angeles can be a daunting task, to say the least. The City of Los Angeles covers about 450 square miles, and the greater Los Angeles area (five counties) covers thousands of square miles.

Los Angeles is a highly diverse community - diverse in culture, languages, ethnicity, neighborhoods, and in architecture. In many Los Angeles communities, one will hear 15-20 languages spoken and in some areas, English is not spoken at all.

The temperate climate and vast cultural and recreational opportunities make Los Angeles an idea place to live (well, except for the traffic!). Within a two hour drive, one can surf at the beach in the morning and then head to a seasonal resort for an afternoon of skiing. In between, one may stop at a Laker’s or a Clipper’s game, a USC or UCLA game, or a Dodger's or an Angel's game. From Los Angeles, one can also head south two hours to sunny San Diego or north eight hours to reach infamous San Francisco.

One of the first and most important decisions for someone looking to purchase a home in the Los Angeles area is to find a Realtor® who is knowledgeable about the local market as the communities are so diverse. A good Realtor® can help match the right neighborhood with those amenities important to a buyer’s lifestyle. Commute time to work or school is also a priority. Although, mass transit exists in Los Angeles, it is not always a fluid or easy system to navigate. As a result, most people commute to work, school, events, etc., by car instead of using mass transit.

Within Los Angeles, there are a multitude of "areas" or "specific neighborhoods", each with their own unique characteristics. Property prices tend to rise further from the downtown "core" section of the city as well as west from this general direction. South of Mulholland Highway is the "City" and north of Mulholland Highway is the "Valley". The Valley is the suburbs and the City side is more of the "traditional" city. Prices in the Los Angeles market, have, for the most part, remained relatively stable even in a slowing market; Los Angeles is still a great draw and an exciting place to be.

Properties can be searched on www.MichaelTrustRealty.com under "Property Search" for a good selection of what is available on the market now. This search feature is updated daily and shows all currently available properties listed in the Multiple Listing Service. In addition, there is a wealth of community information about Los Angeles and the surrounding areas available on this site. At Michael Trust Realty, we are committed to total client satisfaction and we treat each client as our only client. We would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for reading.

About the author: MICHAEL TRUST, REALTOR, AND BROKER/OWNER, Michael Trust Realty, MichaelTrust@MichaelTrustRealty.com or (818) 342-3470 or Toll Free (877) 755-7755 x709.

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2006. All rights reserved.

Five reasons why now is a good time to be in the real estate market

It's been hard to keep track of real estate over the last few months, hasn't it? The news media told us "It's booming!" and then "The bubble has burst!" You had trouble figuring out what was really happening. But now we have some answers that make sense.

You probably have seen the full-page ads from the National Association of Realtors lately saying that this is actually a great time to get into real estate. Sure, they are the industry association, but it's in their interest to tell the truth. And I agree – this is a good time. Here's why:

1. Great interest rates. 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rates are near an all-time low. This means your payments will be as low as possible, making it a good time to buy and lock in favorable rates.

2. Plenty of choices. There is a good selection to choose from now. Housing inventories grew over the spring and summer so buyers have many more choices than they did last year. This means that there are more homes looking for buyers, and sellers are starting to make some adjustments to encourage sales. Buying today gives new owners the opportunity to find their dream house at a favorable price.

3. Good value pricing. Housing prices have slowed their dramatic climb. In our area of Southern California prices are still strong, but the enormous increases of a year ago are no longer the rule. Buyers are finding good values today. And with the trend indicating continued increases through the rest of this year and into 2007, this just might be the best price period.

4. Positive outlook. The overall outlook for real estate is good. On October 26, 2006, Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan said, "Most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us." (Reuters News) And real estate is still one of the best investments for individuals to build long-term wealth.

5. Local knowledge and personal service. The Michael Trust Team stands for personal, individualized service. We are a small, established company and we know our territory, so we give you the local market knowledge to help you take advantage of the opportunities in the current market.

Now is the time - take advantage of this combination of interest rates, inventory, and pricing to find your dream home today.

When a Great View is Not a View

By: Raynor

House hunting is a game wherein you try to get the most while paying the least. Part of getting the most is often finding a home with a view, but don’t be a sucker.

When A Great View Is Not A Great View

After a hard days work, you come home to your dream home. You change into something comfortable, grab a beverage and head out to the deck. There, you relax and take in your fabulous view. This is the daydream you have while standing in a home for sale that has an incredible view. Yes, it is a nice view. In fact, it may be so nice that you do not really pay attention to the rest of the home. Even if you do, you may be able to overlook some problems that you would not otherwise if there was no view. At the end of the day, you make an offer and the seller accepts.

Sixty days later, you are the owner, moved in, unpacked and enjoying your new property. After a year or so, you come home after a stressful day. You change clothes, grab a beverage and head out to the deck. You are stunned to see a two-story home being built in the middle of your view.

How can this be? This is an outrage! Unfortunately, you probably are out of luck. Depending on your state laws, you may have no way of keeping the other property owner from spoiling your view.

As you might expect, this situation arises more often than people would like to admit. When considering making an offer on a home, one must be very careful when it comes to views. You should never dismiss other problems with the home because you like a view. Further, you should not overvalue the view.

A beautiful view today may just be a view of the side of a home in a year. Investigate local legal regulations regarding new construction in the area, the height homes can be built to and whether pre-existing homes can add second or third floors. If you do not, you run the risk of owning the room without a view.

Article Source http://www.articledashboard.com
Raynor James is with the site - FSBOAmerica.org - http://www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.com

Open House Flyer – Ideas to Maximize This Simple, Useful and Inexpensive Real Estate Tool

The Open House flyer is one of the most useful and inexpensive advertising tools a realtor or a For-Sale-By-Owner can utilize before, during and after an Open House is held.

A good quality, well-written, colorful and informative flyer has good staying power and may end up on a potential Buyer’s kitchen counter or refrigerator door rather than in the trash. Here are some tips to creating a good Open House flyer.

One week before the Open House is scheduled, place at least 20 copies in a flyer tube next to the “Open House This Saturday and Sunday” sign in front of the property. Passer-bys interested in your listing will almost always stop to pick up a flyer, which may end up on the refrigerator door helping to reserve the date for an interested Buyer. Having the flyers available before the event is an opportunity for the Buyer to keep the date handy and can be a visual reminder of the upcoming Open House. As the Seller/Realtor, keeping the advertising tube full is imperative and check back often to see if refills are needed. You may lose a sale by not having a flyer available for the drive-bys and an empty tube can leave the impression that the home has been neglected by the realtor or homeowner. Keep the outside tube filled with Open House flyers even on Open House Day.

During the Open House, keep a fresh supply of flyers in two or three places around the home but be sure to keep a small stack somewhere near the entry so that each Buyer will prompted to take one as they enter the property. If you have a ‘Take One’ sign (a folded index card is fine), place this next to the flyers so the Buyers will follow this instruction…they almost always do. (We are creatures of habit.) Next to the Guest Book (where you will ask for names and phone numbers), and a stack of your business cards, keep a small supply of pencils or pens handy so the Buyer can jot down notes as they go through the home. This is optional but will give the Buyer a chance to refer to the flyer as they go through the property and make any notes that may be helpful later on. If the Buyer has any questions, notes taken during the Open House can be addressed directly from the flyer. Good questions addressed to the realtor or homeowner is yet another marketing opportunity to open up a dialog about the property while developing a business relationship between Seller/Realtor and Buyer. Most people will leave with the flyers in hand, so make sure everyone who comes through the door has at least one flyer as they exit the property.

After the Open House, the flyer may end up in the trash (if the Buyer is not interested in the home) or it may end up back on the fridge door. The Seller’s name and phone number are on the flyer, which gives continued exposure if the Buyer has any questions. Of course, after the Seller/Realtor does the follow-up calls from the Guest Book to see if the Buyer is interested in this listing, so having a good flyer in front of them will only help both parties share common information during the pre-sales process.

To maximize the effectiveness of an Open House flyer, here are a few tips to make that flyer stand apart from all others.

Print the flyer on light colored paper. If the Buyer is touring several Open House events in one day and has a stack of flyers on white paper, your flyer will be color-coded and can be easily identified. Dark papers conflict with colored photos so better to use light colored good stock paper to make a lasting impression.

Print good quality colored photos on your flyer…3 or 4 at most. These photos should show the best views of the property; front, foyer, living room with fireplace and so forth. If you do not have good quality photos then you will need to get them taken. Poor photos are not a good sign of a quality sales presentation.

Make sure the photos are current and do not show any holiday decorations left over from last season. Holiday decorations date the home so if you are having an Open House in July but the photos show Christmas decorations from December, this is a clear indication to the Buyer that this home has been for sale for some time and there might be a problem.

List the basic information first on the flyer; number of bedrooms, bathrooms and then go right into good descriptions of the best qualities of the home. Begin each short sentence with solid, descriptive and visual words such as, “Park-like views”, “Tree-lined street”, “Winding oak staircase”, for example. Bullet these descriptions on the front of the flyer using the bullet tool in your word processing or flyer program. The features need to be quickly read in eye-easy font, bold and should be to the point. Too much information with a difficult font and little open background or “white space” in the margins is a turn-off. Give the Buyer the facts and make it easy to remember.

The flyer heading should only include a simple heading such as, “Open House – Saturday – August 5, 2006- 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.” Below that, include the address of the property in good detail. Use a larger font for this heading but make sure the font used for the entire flyer is the same throughout. Avoid script, fancy or italic fonts. They can be difficult to read, especially for senior Buyers.

Always run a spell check before printing the flyer. Have someone else proofread it for accuracy.

At the bottom of the flyer include the realtor listing information with at least two phone numbers and an email address. Sometimes people would rather communicate by email rather than pick up the phone so leave email as an open option for communication. Do not try to advertise too heavily on these flyers. The realtor’s agency name, homeowner name (if applicable), realtor name, phone numbers (2), email address is fine. If you must use the back of the flyer for additional information, keep it simple and uncluttered. You want to advertise the home and keep the Buyer focused on the important aspects of the listing, which are printed on the front of the flyer.

*Bloggers - Any other tips or ideas about flyers, please let me know. Thanks!

Meet Mattie and Zephyr

Mattie

My wife and I are dog lovers. We own a beautiful 7-year old black lab named Mattie. She is AKC clear bloodline. Recently, we added a new addition to our family; whippet puppy by the name of Zephyr. He too is AKC clear bloodline.

We are very proud of our pets. If anyone else is a dog lover, I'd love to hear from you.



Zephyr

Email Michael mailto:info@michaeltrustrealty.com