Pasadena CA Real Estate

Pasadena home buyers asking home sellers to pay for some of their closing costs need to be very careful at how the California Purchase Contract is written.

There are two types of closing costs.  They are Recurring and Non-Recurring costs.

Recurring Closing Costs are charges or fees which will occur more than once.  For example, home property taxes, fire insurance, mortgage insurance, HOA (Home Owner Association) dues.

Non-Recurring Closing Costs are charges or fees which only occur one time during the purchase of your Pasadena home.  These charges include escrow fee, title insurance, recording fees, notary public fees, loan origination and discount point fees.  In essence, anything that is a one-time fee and will not be paid again.

The reason that it is important to specify the types of closing costs a buyer is asking the home seller to pay is because as a buyer, you'd want to use the full amount of closing costs allocated to you by the seller.

For example, your offer is asking the Pasadena home seller to pay $5,000 of your closing costs.  The costs are not described as recurring or non-recurring.  Most lenders will allow the escrow company to credit you non-recurring closing costs only.  If these non-recurring closing costs come up to only $4,000, you will not be able to apply the remaining $1,000 towards your Pasadena home purchase.

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When you buy or sell a home in Pasadena, California, you will incur closing costs.  Real Estate closing costs are generaly expenses associated with buying or selling your property.

Pasadena Home Seller Closing Costs usually include:

• Real Estate sales commission - usually the biggest chunk or expense.  Each real estate agent and company sets their own real estate commission fees generally based on the services that they provide.  Pasadena Real Estate agents market properties differently, belong to different real estate boards and each has their own streangths and weaknesses.  Interview your real estate agent carefully to find the right one for you.
• Escrow Company Charges - each escrow company has a fee schedule.  I prefer to use Landmark Trust Escrow in Pasadena.  Tammey Bazinet of Landmark Trust Escrow is an excellent and knowledgeable escrow officer.  She is certified by the state of California since 1993.  Landmark Trust charges $185 standard fee plus $1.75 per each thousand of the home sales price.  Price your escrow companies.  Each has a different fee schedule and a lot of escrow officers are NOT certified.

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My last post identified the price point for luxury homes and estates for sale in San Marino, California.

It is clear that the top 10% of the San Marino Real Estate market is for homes costing $3,000,000 and above.  I wanted to take a look at the 13 luxury homes in San Marino that were sold in 2007 and see what affluent San Marino home buyers expected to get for their money.

Below is a list of amenities and features of almost all the San Marino luxury homes reviewed:

• LOCATION:  All of these San Marino estates were North of Huntington Drive in close proximity to the Huntington Library or Lacy Park.
• LARGE LOTS:  Affluent San Marino luxury home buyers can expect at least 1/2 an acre of land.  A lot of these homes had an acre of land or more. 

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An average price of a San Marino CA home for 2007 is $1,750,000.  With San Marino Real Estate prices being so high, are all homes in San Marino considered luxury homes.

It's hard to come up with a definition of a luxury home.  What's luxurious to some is just average to others.

Real Estate Agents in San Marino California and the rest of the country usually agree that a luxury home is usually at the top 10% of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) prices for a particular area.

Looking at the last 136 home sales in San Marino, it's clear that if we apply the definition above, the luxury price point in San Marino starts at $3,000,000.

Currently, there are three luxury homes in San Marino California that fall into this category:

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Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I woke up this morning to an email from Laurie Manny of Long Beach Real Estate informing me that I've been tagged for the Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME.

Read Laurie Manny's MEME here - Laurie's Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME

A MEME is an idea, a contest, a survey, a fun fact that is repeated from person to person.  Yes... it is sort of like a chain letter.  This particular MEME is a way of to get to know the person being MEMEd by having them answer questions about themselves.

This Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME was started by Mary McKnight of RSS Pieces.  She decided on a MEME with a theme of 8.  I agree with Mary, the number 8 has been a powerful number throughout history.  If you lay it on the side, it signifies infinity and has been associated with the myths around the Knights Templar and other historical figures.  Katherine Neville wrote a book titled The Eight - a fascinating read!

Read Mary McKnights's MEME here - Mary's Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME

Given that I can't say no to Laurie and I still have a few minutes before I have to make breakfast for my kids, here we go:

1. Who is your favorite musical artist? (post a youtube video)

This one is easy.  Don't laugh now, but I LOVE ABBA!  It's a European band that has been on the number 1 charts all throughout Europe for years.  It hasn't been as popular here in the states.

There is nothing like being 17 and discoing the night away to ABBA. 

Of course, with Mamma Mia, the musical and the upcoming Mamma Mia, the Movie, I'm in heaven!

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