Pasadena Real Estate

How much will I pay in property taxes when I buy my home in Pasadena?  How are property taxes calculated on an existing Pasadena home?

I've been getting a lot of property tax questions lately and decided to write a quick post about how consumers are affected when they buy a home in Pasadena or surrounding cities.

In 1978, California voters passed Proposition 13.  As a result, the Los Angeles County Assessor can not exceed more than 1% of a property's maximum assessed value plus any additional bonds and other city specific taxes.

What this means to the Pasadena home buyer is that when you purchase your Pasadena home, the assessor will base your home's property tax bill on approximately 1.2% of the price that you paid for it.  1% for Los Angeles County and a little less than .2% for city bonds, taxes, ets.

For example, if you paid $500,000 for your Pasadena home expect your annual property tax bill to be around $6,000 or $500 per month.

Ongoing, the Assessor will raise your property tax bill due to annual inflation which can not exceed 2%.  Going back to our previous example:

Year 1 - Pasadena Property Tax Bill = $6,000 appx. annually

Year 2 - Pasadena Property Tax Bill = $6,120 appx. adjusted for inflation

Year 3 - Pasadena Property Tax Bill = $6,242 appx. adjusted for inflation

And so on...

READ MORE:  Proposition 8 and how it helps Pasadena owners save property taxes

There are some exemptions that are available to Pasadena homeowners that you should be aware of:

1. The most common is the Homeowners' Exemption:  if your Pasadena home is your principal place of residence (Assessor always looks at January 1st, i.e. if you are living in your home as a principal residence on Jan. 1) you may apply for an exemption of $7,000 from your assessed value.  The assessor made it pretty easy for home owners and will automatically send an exemption application.  Please beware of companies out there that will send you an official looking document asking you to pay for them to file the exemption form on your behalf.  They are out to take advantage of you.   This exemption will save you, the homeowner, approximately $70 per year on taxes.  Once you file this exemption, you do not need to refile it. 
2. Veterans' Exemption:  If you are a veteran or a surviving spouse of an eligible veteran, you may apply for a $4,000 exemption applied to the assessed value.  You do not need to reside on the property for this exemption.  There are asset requirements that apply.  Please call Assessor's office for more information on their guidelines at 213.974.3399.  This exemption must be filed each year.
3. Disabled Veteran's Exemption:  If you are a disabled veteran who is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of two or more limbs, or is totally disabled as a result of injury or disease incurred in military service, you may be eligible for an exemption of up to $150,000 of the assessed value of your home.

Please feel free to email me with additional questions regarding property taxes or use the comment section to ask them.  Hope you find this information useful. 

If I can be of any assistance with your Pasadena Real Estate needs, please do not hesitate to email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com or call me at (626)627-7107.  Thank you!

 

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/0076AC

Pasadena, CA - there's a lot of talk about "short sales" and foreclosures lately.  It's in the news.  Books are being published about short sales.  There are even radio commercials talking about short sales.

I think most people have a pretty good idea what a foreclosure is, but there's still quite a bit of confusion on what a short sale is.

A short sale simply means that a bank is willing to accept less money than what the owner owes on the property because the house can not sell at a price high enough to cover the mortgage fully. 

Here is a quick example:

Home was purchased for $500,000

1st and 2nd Trust Deed (mortgage) is $495,000

House is now worth $450,000

Bank agrees to accept $450,000 less expenses in leu of the full amount owed $495,000

Why would a bank agree to accept less than what is owed? 

To avoid the costs and a lengthy process of foreclosure and further loss of home value.

Why would a Pasadena seller consider putting their Pasadena home on the market as a short sale?

In essence, you sell the house for whatever you can get and the lender agrees not to go after you for the deficit that is owed on the property.  Even though your credit might be affected, it will not be to the same extent as a foreclosure. 

Also the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 amends the IRS code to exclude from gross income amounts attributable to a discharge of the debt incurred to acquire a principal residence.

READ MORE:  Understanding Credit Issues after a Short Sale

A short sale doesn't mean that it's a fast sale. 

It's actually more of a long sale meaning it takes on average 3 to 5 months (depending on the bank) to close escrow on a short sale.

Why should Pasadena buyers consider short sales if it takes such a long time?

Simply said -  to get a better deal. 

There are not too many short sales homes available at this time in Pasadena.  The Pasadena homes that are there are certainly worth exploring.

If I can be of any assistance with your Pasadena Real Estate needs, please do not hesitate to email me at Irina at Irina4RealEstate.com or call me at (626)629-8439 (VIEW).  Thank you!

 

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00769E

Huntington Terrace is a condominium complex in Monterey Hills. It consists of 3 stand-alone, 3 story buildings 4000 Via Marisol - 4040 Via Marisol - 4080 Via Marisol.

Huntington Terrace condo units are one level and depending on where the condo is located, you can have someone living above and/or below you.  Laundry hook ups are inside each unit as well as coin operated machines on each floor.

 Huntington Terrace 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the Huntington Terrace condo units have gorgeous city views.  The complex is surrounded by beautiful mature trees.  All units have balconies or patios.  The patios on the first floor can be quite large which can be great for pets or children.

Huntington Terrace was built by J.D. Carley & Associates in 1981 and has four floor plans.  A one bedroom condo, two plans of two bedroom condos and a two bedroom plus a den condo.

 

 

 

Parking is in a subterranean garage.  Usually, 2 spaces have been assigned to each Huntington Terrace homeowner.  Some parking spaces are side by side.  Others are tandem.  There is plenty of guest parking spaces in the complex and easy street parking.

Amenities in this complex include a pool, spa and a recreation room. 

As of April 28th, theres one condo available for purchase:

4000 Via Marisol #102	2 BRS + DEN	1,495 sq. ft	$439,000

 

 

Last year, there was a total of 5 sales in the Huntington Terrace complex ranging from $350,000 to $417,000.

If I can be of any assistance with your Pasadena Real Estate needs, please do not hesitate to email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com or call me at  (626)627-7107 .  Thank you!

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00770E

Congratulations!  Escrow is closed and you just received the keys to your new Pasadena home.

Before you move into your new home, most Pasadena real estate agents will recommend that you change your keys.  Even though the home sellers were very nice and you know that they will never try to break into your home, how do you know how many home keys are out there cirulating with their family and friends.  Unless you want to take a chance on seeing a surprise guest, its time to change your keys.

As you are changing the cylinders out for your new home keys, consider the following:

Lock Bumping is more and more prevalent.  Lock bumping?  You must mean lock picking?  Well.. its actually both.

Lock Bumping as described by Wikipedia is a lock picking technique for opening a pin tumbler lock using a specially crafted bump key.  In essence, someone with this special key, inserts it into the lock, bumps it with a heavy instrument and is in your house.  No major work required on their part.

A little history on locks and keys: 

 

Keys have been around since Egypt as far back as 4,000 years ago.  Of course, in those times locks were made out of wood. 

The first all-metal lock appeared between the years of 870 and 900 and are attributed to the English craftsmen.  Then came the padlocks, castle & chest locks, treasure locks, safe locks, etc.

The basic anatomy of todays common door lock:

The locks that we are familiar with now are basically pin-tumbler locks.  There are two parts to the  lock:  the body of the lock itself and a round cylinder with holes drilled in.

A lock will have a minimum of two pins.  A spring keeps pressure on the pins in the cylinder.

The drilled-in holes correspond with the notches of your key. 

The two most commonly used locks in Pasadena are:

1. Medico - considered to be a high security lock.
2. Schlage - very common lock, but is considered by many licensed locksmiths to be the best in the West.
3. Quikset - based on my interview with several locksmiths, Quikset is not as good as Schlage or Medico, but is considered to be a better lock than some of the others on the market.

What can you do to protect your family? 

1. Get a Medico lock - although having a Medico lock can be an ˜announcement to the burglars that you have valuable worth checking out.
2. The next easiest and least expensive thing to do would be to hire a licensed locksmith to insert several spool drivers (minimum of two) into the mechanism of your lock.  Its not difficult to do and will make your lock very difficult to pick and to bump.  I just had all my locks updated with these spool drivers by a wonderful locksmith - Greg Stewart.  Greg is licensed, specializes in repairing antique locks and is extremely customer service focused.  You can reach Greg at  (818) 554-3135 .  On average, the price of this additional security runs an extra $5 to $15 per lock plus a service call.
3. Get a security system/burglar alarm.

 

As Benjamin Franklin said ˜All a lock does is keepn an honest man honest.  It removes temptation.

We have to take stewardship of our Pasadena homes seriously.  Take the necessary steps to secure your lovely Pasadena home.

 

 

 

 

If I can be of any assistance with your Pasadena Real Estate needs, please do not hesitate to email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com or call me at  (626)627-7107 .  Thank you!

 

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00769D

Earlier today, I had an appointment with a home seller in Pasadena.  He had his home listed on the market and in the period of two months had only a few showings.  His listing expired and he is now in the process of interviewing to find a Pasadena real estate agent that he can trust to handle the sale and marketing of his home.  A very smart move on his part given the diversity of experience in the Pasadena real estate market place.

His previous real estate agent entered his home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  Thats great, right?  NO¦  The problem is that his real estate agent added his listing in the wrong MLS.   The Multiple Listing Service that provided listings of home in Los Angeles NOT Pasadena.

Pasadena Home Seller Tip:

 

When interviewing your Pasadena real estate agents find out WHICH MLS they are members of and WHICH MLS your home will be listed in. 

Your Pasadena Home should be listed in the following MLS services:

1. ITEC (Pasadena Foothill Association) - covers all Pasadena and surrounding cities - West San Gabriel Valley.
2. IMRMLS (Arcadia Association of Realtors) - covers all Pasadena, surrounding cities - East San Gabriel Valley)
3. CLAW MLS - Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors - covers mainly the West side.
4. SoCAL MLS (encompasses CRISNET) - San Fernando Valley and Orange County

Remember that the goal of marketing your Pasadena home is to get as many "eye balls" on your lisitng as possible.  If your Pasadena home or condo is listed in all four of these Multiple Listing Services, it will have a lot more exposure.

In this sellers case, since his Pasadena home was listed in CLAW, 99% of Pasadena area realtors were not aware that it was for sale.  This seller just lost 2 months of active marketing in a down trending market.

Dont make the same mistake.  Ask the right questions.  After all, you want to hire the best Pasadena Real Estate agent to selli your Pasadena area home.

READ ALSO:  Top 10 Pasadena Seller Mistakes

READ ALSO:  Pasadena Real Estate Agent Tells All - Sellers Beware

READ ALSO:  What Does Your Real Estate Agent Do For You?

 

 

 

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/00769C