Equity Accounts and Real Estate

Real estate is a game of psychology. If you want to be a successful real estate agent and perform your best for clients, you need to master the art of negotiation and the mental prep required. Unfortunately, most agents are not the most excellent negotiators… So...

The Psychology of Real Estate

  Here we are, starting the 3rd year of this visit by Mr. Covid. The first question that comes to my mind is,“How does this affect my rugged good looks and fabulous physique”? But let’s go to the more important second question; “How does this effect the real...

Evaluating HOA Dues

I have a topic to broach with all of my readers that I think you’ll find interesting. Here’s the question; why do the nerdy underwriters place more importance on an unreliable source of income such as a paycheck in a small firm, than a steady income backed up by...

2020 In Our Rear-View

I’m sure we are all happy to see the year 2020 now in our rear-view mirror, saying good-bye to one 12-month stretch of time that saw a pandemic, focus on the historic friction between the black community and law enforcement resulting in riots in our streets, a...

Real Estate is a Lifestyle and an Investment

Real estate is both a lifestyle and an investment. The dual goals are not mutually exclusive, and present tremendous wealth building opportunities if you hear those opportunities knocking at your door.  The key is to keep your ears open to the knocking. I believe we...

An Incredible Crossroads in Real Estate

We are at an incredible crossroads in real estate.  The Corona-19 virus has decimated complete businesses, we are experiencing all-time low interest rates, there’s a change in social norms resulting from working virtually from home, that has resulted in increased...

Finding Sanity in This Time of Insanity

We’re now all accustomed to our masks and personal space but, I wonder if you also recognize a sense of peace during this crazy time in our lives. One of the most interesting new discoveries has been my ability to stay home and enjoy it. I never thought I’d see the...

Mr. COVID and Real Estate

Mr. COVID and Real Estate We are all seeing our “normal” change every day. (No, this is not another policy statement or restatement of the news). How does this ever-shifting “normal” translate into fundamental economic changes that are the cornerstones of our way of...

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Are we having fun yet? How about some fun numbers to put everything into perspective. 92,000 – Highest number of new unemployment claims filed since March of 2005 (Beacon Economics) 215,000 – Number of new unemployment claims filed week ending March 21st 2020 (Beacon...

Here’s My Thoughts For February

Our country is entering what promises to be a fascinating year. We are in an exciting election year, our country has a 60-year low rate of employment (although I question the quality of the employment), interest rates remain at historic lows, the tariff wars seem to...

90 Days at Compass- So Far So Good!

Lynn and I just rounded our 90th day as Compass agents. In that period of time we have closed nine escrows, five are in the hopper coming up on the market, three leases were finalized and two referrals. That was a rush of business at the same time we were tackling the...

I’m back! Did you miss me?

I’m back! Did you miss me? INTRODUCTION My inbox is full of data and information that I want to share with you, but I have to be brief. So let’s talk about our new home at Compass and what it has to offer, some data on a changing market and an introduction to...

The New Year Has Started….

Dear Friends, The New Year has started and is well on its way in real estate. With only two months under our wing, we have discovered three truths; (1) inventory remains at historic low figures but is slowly trending upwards nationally as more properties hit the...

It’s The Economy

It’s the Economy! Yep, it sure is. The National Association of Realtors reports that the sharpest drop in three years in existing-homes just took place in November/December as the nationally annualized rate of 4.99 million homes fell an unexpected 6.9%.  This is after...

“Them Thar Rich Celebrities”

“Them Thar Rich Celebrities” Many of you know that I spent the first 25 years of my adult life as a used machinery dealer, working for my father in the family firm until I eventually bought the company. Life was different and my career was certainly different,...

The Market Has Turned

Dear Friends and Neighbors, It’s official; the market has turned and we are in a correction. It’s the topic I’ve mentioned numerous times and that everyone asks me about. Now it’s no longer a topic of conjecture but rather an item of fact. The U.S. economy is in an...

JUNE 2018

Dear Friends, Lots of stuff to bring you up to date on. All of it is very interesting. 1. According to Realtor.com “The Top 20 Hottest Markets in the United States in April” were; I might be missing something, but do you see Beverly Hills? Bel Air? Brentwood? Palo...

For Our Neighborhood

May 2018 Dear Friends – this is an important issue to our neighborhood. If you don’t want to have UCLA students making decisions that impact our neighborhood and quality of life, you need to vote in the May 22 election! We need every single NO vote to defeat this...

Super Opportunity for Investors!

          The perfect income property configured in the perfect floor plan for today’s high tech movement into Silicon beach. These are all single bedroom units, making them ideal for young techies and/or young techies + significant...

Topics Of Interest

        Real estate is a very geographically focused business that requires utmost attention to events that can change values in an instant. A cursory review of MTA plans for our Purple subway line are already impacting commercial values in the immediate vicinity of...

Yes, We are in a Correction.

Dear Friends and Neighbors, Real estate is a very geographically focused business that requires utmost attention to events that can change values in an instant. A cursory review of MTA plans for our Purple subway line are already impacting commercial values in the...

Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Neighbors, Happy New Years! May the New Year bring Blessings of health and happiness to you and your loved ones. As my grandfather said, “Your Health is Your Wealth” This past year is behind us and the numbers are in. I can’t imagine a more...

Happy New Year!

      Happy New Years! May the New Year bring Blessings of health and happiness to you and your loved ones. As my grandfather said, “Your Health is Your Wealth” This past year is behind us and the numbers are in. I can’t imagine a more fascinating year with this new...

Westside Real Estate-What is going on?

Dear Friends and Neighbors, What is going on? Last year, 33 properties on the westside were sold for $20M or more. So far this year, 31 have closed escrow and we have six months to go! In the $10M and higher properties, 160 closed escrow in all of 2016 and yet there...

The Benefits of Staging

One of the interesting things about this current real estate economy are the creative ways agents are able to  bust their listings through the edge of the envelope. Even though prices continue to rise, buyers are not stupid, and properties that are priced beyond the...

My Perspective for May

My Friends, Real estate continues to march forward, as we all expected.  Our weekly office meeting today included over 60 of the 208 agents, and had a review of the current state of the market from our Sr. Vice-President Beth Styne. Listings are down, pending sales...

It’s an Election Year…

My Friends, It’s an election year, a time when most Americans are concerned about the direction of the country and prefer to put off major decisions until after the election, such as buying or selling a home. It is in our nature to protect our biggest asset during...

A Banner Year

This past year was another banner year for real estate, the agents and the investors. While most of the country wallowed in indecision, there was no such animal around when it came to west side real estate.  Beverly Hills to the ocean once again proved to be an...

Looking to 2016

It’s that time of year for reflection and to count our blessings. Best of all, it’s the perfect time to look forward with optimism to 2016, a year promising all of the normal entertainment associated with a presidential campaign year. Our year in real estate is over,...