Today, I want to focus on a beautiful pocket of San Marino, California behind Huntington Middle School - the corner of Twin Palms and Sherwood. Earlier this month, we looked at the "San Marino real estate home prices". Average price per square foot in San Marino is currently running at $593.

The San Marino real estate around Twin Palms and Sherwood seems to be on fire. A few homes came up on the market recently and sold within a manner of several weeks.

Here's the activity within a 1/4 mile radius of this intersection:

One home in the area is currently available for purchase and just had a price reduction. This San Marino home can be found at 1846 Lorain Road and is offered at $1,950,000. It has 4 bedrooms/4 baths and is close to 3,300 sq. ft. per assessor.

This San Marino pocket is very desirable since it's right next to Huntington Middle School, Valentine Elementary School and the new San Marino Public Library - Crowell Library.

It's also just minutes away from the local Starbucks, The Ice Cream Shop and a variety of San Marino restaurants.

San Marino City Hall and Fire Department are also minutes away making this corner of Twin Palms and Sherwood a very desirable San Marino location.

For more information about San Marino, California Real Estate and San Marino homes for sale, please give me a call at 626-627-7107.

To continue with my series of FHA posts, today, we're going to look at advantages and disadvantages of getting an FHA loan.

ADVANTAGES:

• LOW CASH OUTLAY - Pasadena buyers can get an FHA loan for as much as 97% of Pasadena home purchase price. Only 3% down, not a bad deal.
• FHA LOANS ARE FULLY ASSUMABLE. Yes, you read it correctly. These loans are assumable as long as the new buyer qualifies and is not an investor.
• FHA LOANS DO NOT HAVE A PREPAYMENT PENALTY. FHA loans do not have penalties for paying off all or part of the loan before the scheduled term. This feature also gives the FHA buyer the opportunity to refinance the loan to lower interest rates if rates decline (with some additional costs involved in refinancing).

DISADVANTAGES:

• SOME SELLERS FEAR FHA APPRAISALS: There are some sellers and real estate sales people who would prefer not to sell their homes to buyers seeking new FHA loans. This stems from past appraisals which were lower than the sale price or had extensive repair requirements. While the appraisals still may be a roadblock in some areas of the U.S., FHA now uses independent "fee" appraisers rather than FHA "staff" appraisers, which has eliminated many of the discrepancies.
• LOAN PROCESSING TIME: FHA loans generally take about 2 weeks longer to process and close than conventional loans. Normal FHA processing time is 4-6 weeks, compared with 2-4 weeks for conventional loans. However, many FHA lenders are now approved for automatic loan approvals which can speed up processing substantially.

READ MORE: What YOU need to know about FHA Loans - Part I

What YOU need to know about FHA Loans - Part II

Distressed Market and FNMA Announcement

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

Yesterday, I outlined FHA NON Allowable expenses for a seller to be aware of when considering an offer from a buyer using FHA financing.

READ MORE: What Pasadena Sellers need to know about FHA Loans - Part I

Today, I wanted to provide both the Pasadena sellers and Pasadena buyers with a list of items that FHA ALLOWS buyers to pay for. So, with no further ado, here it is:

• BASE Escrow Fees
• Title Insurance ALTA
• FHA Appraisal Compliance Inspection Fee
• 1% loan Origination Fee
• FHA MIP premium
• Loan Discount Points
• Credit Report Fee (Actual Cost)
• Appraisal Fee (Actual Cost)
• Interim Interest
• Hazard or Flood Insurance Premiums
• Reserves for Taxes and Insurance
• Notary Fee $10 per signature
• Recording Fees - Actual Fees
• Termite (Initial Inspection is okay, but no repairs unless approved inwriting by lender)
• Home Warranty - only if stipulated in escrow instructions and with prior approval of lender
• Amortization Schedule Fee
• Real Estate Commission (if prior approval in writing by lender)
• Broker Fees (if prior approval in writing by lender)
• Tests or Treatments required by HUD (if prior approval in writing by lender)
• Compliance Inspection Fee

Questions? Please comment.

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

FHA loans have been in the news recently due to the increase in the FHA mortgage limits, up to $729,750 for single family homes and the fact that buyers can get an FHA loan with a much smaller down payment - as low as 3% down.

READ MORE: Distressed markets and FNMA announcement

If you are a Pasadena home seller, it is critical to be aware of the following:

• Pasadena home buyer with less than 20% down in almost all instances will need PMI insurance (Property Mortgage Insurance.)
• PMI rates are going up quickly and making it more expensive for home buyers which in turn makes the home that they want to purchase NOT affordable. Most home buyers are not aware of these changes in the lending/mortgage industry until they are already in escrow.

FHA loans have very specific requirements for home buyer expenses. These fall into allowable and NON-allowable expenses. Non-allowable expenses are usually paid by the SELLER!

To qualify for an FHA loan, Pasadena home buyers can NOT pay for the following expenses:

• Sub-Escrow Fee to Title Company
• ALTA Endorsement Fees
• Some Inspection Fees
• Recording Assignment Fees
• Processing Fees
• Document Preparation Fees
• Tax Service Contract
• Any Messenger Fee including Overnight Delivery
• Loan Tie-In Fee
• Bring-Down Fee
• Title Binder
• Tax Stamps/City Transfer Tax Charges
• Homeowner Association Transfer Fees
• Repairs or work required on FHA appraisal (unless approved in advance by lender in writing)
• Home Warranty Program - (unless stipulated in escrow instructions and approved by lender in writing)
• Photo Fee/Photo Inspection Fee
• Reconveyance Fee
• Preliminary Change of Ownership Report
• Commission
• Transaction Coordination Fees

If you are a Pasadena Home Seller and you receive an offer from an FHA home buyer or are in escrow with an FHA home buyer, please be aware that these fees will most likely come out of YOUR pocket.

FHA loans offer a very viable financing option for many buyers and I think that we will see more home buyers with FHA financing in the coming months, but Pasadena home sellers need to understand the financial impact to them.

Make sure that your Pasadena Real Estate Agent provides you with an estimated closing costs statement so that you know your home sale bottom line.

Remember information is KING!

Questions? Comment below.

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

Here we go again... another media proclamation - The Housing Crisis is OVER!

Read all about it HERE

A quick excerpt from the article:

How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. - CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX

I said it before and I will say it again - REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY is LOCAL!!!!

So my questions are?

1. Do we have a housing crisis now? If so, from whose perspective buyer's or seller's?
2. And, do you believe that Cyril Moulle-Bereaux's opinion about the market bottoming out applicable to Pasadena real estate?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I love the new San Marino Public Library, now known as Crowell Public Library.

Living in San Marino, one of our family's most favored traditions has been our Saturday morning visit to the library. I have to admit that we do not go each Saturday as we used to when the kids were little, but we still try to go as often as we can.

The library always offered a world of never ending mysteries, travel, romances and answers to any questions that I had as a kid and as an adult. Finding a book to read and the anticipation of the read is just one of those little pleasures in life. My hope was to relay my love of reading and the library to my kids and I think I did a pretty good job of it. :-)

As I get a lot of questions from home buyers looking to relocate to San Marino, I thought that it would be great to share a couple of great videos SCBarr about the San Marino library - the old and the construction of the new one.

It's really mind boggling that our new library was built so quickly in just a year or so.

Here's a couple of videos that I think you will enjoy.

This first video was posted on YouTube only a year ago - May 11, 2007. Take a look, it has some nice history of San Marino, as well as some aerials. A nice reminder of the library we had before. Way cool and Kudos to director.

This video captures the Topping Out of the San Marino Library.

Unfortunately, we don't have a video of the new Crowell San Marino Library, but for now here's a photo courtesy of www.Flickr.com and Daryl Chan.

If you are interested in getting more information about San Marino real estate, you might find the following post interesting: May 2008 San Marino Market Report

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

Or, are you just listening to the white noise?

As I was getting ready to go to work this morning, I overheard a news report that my husband was watching about the real estate market. What struck me as odd was not that it was yet another "chicken little" report about the downfall of the Los Angeles real estate values. Let's face it, there's nothing like fear to get viewership.

No... what struck me as odd was that immediately after that dreaded real estate "for sale" sign, there was an image of a No Vacancy sign and a discussion about the difficulty renters are having finding good housing at a reasonable price.

So let's see... the prices are going down and the rents are going up, does anyone see an opportunity here? Savvy investors do.

It's common sense, isn't it?

There's an opportunity for investors to get into properties at a reasonable price and get them rented quickly. Demand is there!

Now is also a great time to purchase that investment property at pretty decent interest rates.

Finance costs will rise as the economy recovers, so trying to time real estate might not pay off - Justin Sullivan / Getty

Let's take a look at the price of homes in its relationship to the price of financing:

Scenario #1 - Price of a Pasadena home decreases 5% and interest rates increase .5%

Scenario #2 - Price of a Pasadena home decreases 10% and interest rates increase 1%

The assumptions for the above scenarios are 20% down and a 30 year fixed mortgage.

As you can see, even if the prices go down 10%, but the interet rate goes up by only 1%, your monthly payments will be about the same. Interesting relationship between prices and rates.

With the rental prices going up, interest rates still being historically low and the home prices more affordable, the time could be right to buy a Pasadena home or investment right now.

The question is, is the time right for YOU to buy a Pasadena home right now? I don't know. It depends on YOUR individual needs.

What I would suggest though, is that you get together with a Pasadena Real Estate agent who can sit down with you and take a look at your long term personal or investment plans. Someone that can provide FACTS not conjecture and then make a decision that is right for YOU.

Also, there's an interesting article in Times Magazine that provides a level look at the housing market - see it here.

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

Built in 1981, as part of the original Monterey Hills residential community plan, Fremont Villas is a 45 unit townhome complex. It is accessed off of Via Marisol and sits next to Vallejo Villas.

With beautiful views of rolling hills towards South Pasadena, Fremont Villas offers Spanish architecture with cozy porches, clay tile roofs, and lush landscaping. As I drive through this complex, the birds are singing and the tree branches are rustling and the feeling of serenity is in the air.

Fremont Villa's amenities include a recreation room, pool and spa, a sun deck, and easy guest parking both inside the complex and on Via Marisol.

For the most part, these are 2 and 3 bedroom homes with attached garages and balconies.

As of the date of this post, there is one unit for sale - 707 Fremont Villas #24 offered at $499,000. This town home is 2 bedrooms and 3 baths and is in move in condition.

READ ALSO: Top 10 tips to buying a condo in Monterey Hills

READ ALSO: Monterey Hills Neighborhood Overview

Last year, in 2007, there were two sales - both 3 bedroom units which sold for $548,000 and $550,000.

Of course, the beauty of living here is that you're close to everything - South Pasadena, Pasadena, Alhambra, Highland Park and downtown LA. Come check it out, you'll be surprised with what you find in this hidden area.

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

There's some discussion about whether or not to allow a Farmer's Market in San Marino.

If approved by city council, San Marino will have yummy fresh fruit and veggies every Sunday morning from 9 am until 1 pm.

The location under consideration for this weekly Farmer's Market is on the North-West corner of Huntington Drive and Sierra Madre.

Some of the concerns include early morning noise during set up since there are homes close to the proposed site and clean up after the market.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to have a Farmer's Market in the area or are you okay driving to Alhambra or South Pasadena for your veggies?

Feel free to comment here or stop by the Public Meeting on this topic at San Marino's new and beautiful Crowell Public Library on Wednesday, June 4 at 7 pm. For more information, please call 626-300-0708 .

Read this all the way through and let me know what you think!

House #1 A 20-room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. per month. In natural gas alone, this property co nsumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.

House #2 Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000-gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the hou se. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

Now, for the clincher:

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of the "environmentalist" Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford , Texas; is the residence of the President of the United States,
George W. Bush.

Is this an "inconvenient truth?"

You can verify it at:http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp