Found 16 blog entries tagged as l3.

When is the best time for selling your Costa Mesa house? Is there even a best time? If the change in residence is triggered by some inflexible external factor (like a transfer at work), the answer is foreordained: NOW! That can be right now, or in November, or February—since you will be making the move, to avoid paying for two homes, there really isn’t a choice. The sooner it’s listed, the better. But if the timing of a move is completely at your discretion, the “when” can be troubling. More than one Costa Mesa homeowner has worried so long and hard about the issue that years pass. When the For Sale sign does eventually go up, it’s probably because the cost of inaction has become apparent. The true answer to the question about the optimal time for…

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There hasn’t been a call for “All Hands On Deck!”—but if we start seeing an influx of Costa Mesa homes for sale ahead of this spring’s peak selling season, it’s not hard to guess why. There may not have been any conspicuous heads-up for homeowners, but thoughtful deductions based on the news might prompt just such an effect.

At point is the possibility of a coming “double squeeze” for homeowners on the move. If it happens, there could be a decrease in the total number of Costa Mesa homes for sale because of what sellers face after they have given up their current residence.

The steady flow of good news about the national economy has clearly been the main culprit. Last week’s release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from last month’s meeting…

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Huntington Beach residents have long heard that Los Angeles real estate prices can be stratospheric— particularly in the choicer neighborhoods like Bel Air and Malibu where apartment lease prices can touch the sky. Downtown L.A., on the other hand, has only recently matched the more westerly districts because DTLA lacks the strong ocean breezes that bring temperatures down from Downtown’s almost-ideal range to the Westside’s slam-dunk-absolutely-ideal range.

Even so, last week’s apartment lease announcement for the penthouse at 888 Olive Street rated a double-take. Even squinting at the screen didn’t change what seemed to be a typo in the monthly lease listing price.

By way of explanation, the ad pointed out that L.A.’s downtown area has…

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mystery-spot-history

Especially when it’s been a particularly long or hard winter, real estate agents in the sunnier states count on getting an influx of inquiries. In California, that phenomenon usually gets a boost when TV starts broadcasting shots of sunny blue skies over the Rose Parade.

Perhaps in compensation, California is also the frequent object of Costa Mesa residents’ jokes about how nutty the state is—and there are some exceptional examples of real estate weirdness found only in California. These are real estate curiosities, so they aren’t transportable beyond the borders of the Golden State. Three come to mind:

First, there’s The Winchester House of Mystery. This San Jose tourist landmark was built by the heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune.…

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Anyone who has ever thought about becoming a landlord in Huntington Beach has probably been attracted by its distinct advantages as an investment. Owning a property that appreciates in value at the same time it generates cash flow is a hands-on investment with obvious appeal. Yet that same “hands-on” factor can cause second thoughts: the very phrase “becoming a landlord” can inhibit busy would-be Huntington Beach investors who aren’t eager to enroll in a second or third career. In reality, becoming one of Huntington Beach’s next landlords is considerably less daunting than it might appear. The “Forbes Real Estate Council” recently offered some choice observations on that score. The Council is an assembly of seasoned high-end professionals whose…

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Many Costa Mesa homeowners will be planning to list their properties this spring because it’s when future home sales would be expected to peak. Historically, at least, spring is when a sudden crush of prospects usually arrive on the scene. But this year, the upward drift in mortgage interest rates might have would-be sellers worried. After all, it’s common sense that any rise in home loan rates would put a damper on buyers’ enthusiasm.

Sometimes common sense and reality don’t go hand in hand. When we try to estimate the strength of Costa Mesa’s future home sales, it could be a case in point. That’s one way to look at the conclusions drawn by a pair of studies released last week. Both were focused on examining how rising interest rates are…

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