Pasadena California Real Estate Home Blog is pleased to welcome a guest writer from Ann Arbor, Michigan - Missy Caulk.

Should you buy or rent if you are moving to Pasadena or the surrounding cities in the San Gabriel Valley? We get asked that question frequently.

The answer is "it depends on your individual circumstance".

One of the first things to ask yourself is,  How long will you be living in Pasadena?

In the past it definitely made more sense to buy a home, but now it really depends. If you are a Medical Resident working at the Huntington Memorial Hospital and will only be here 3-4 years, then perhaps renting is the best option. Do you have a dog, that needs space to run?  All of those personal decisions should enter into your decision.

Here's a mortgage - rent vs. buy - calculatorthat you can play around with. Put in what it will cost you to rent, and along side of it put it the monthly mortgage payment. You can add in the interest rate you have been quoted, and the cost of selling the house in the year you plan to move.

Home prices have never been better in Pasadena, so if after doing the research you can begin your home search here, to see all the homes on the market throughout San Gabriel Valley. You'll be happy to see the houses with Google Satellite Images, Google maps and multiple photos.

You can also find rentals, listed through the Pasadena area and surrounding cities like South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Altadena, Alhambra, Sierra Madre, Monterey Hills and more.

Renting vs Buying is a personal decision, and it is always best to speak to qualified professionals about your financial decisions.

Thank you Missy!

To be very honest, the reason for writing this post is because I am a victim of an unscrupulous general contractor who is currently licensed by California State Contractor's Board, operates out of Monrovia California and is continuing to take advantage of consumers.

I am hoping that by sharing my story, you will be able to avoid a similar situation and be smarter in making hiring and payment decisions.

My story begins just like most when I was in the process of getting my house ready for sale.  Prior to putting my San Gabriel home on the market and listing it in our Multiple Listing Service (MLS), I wanted to get it painted inside and out, change out some bathroom fixtures, update handles on kitchen drawers and cabinets, change out some light fixtures and do little things here and there to make the house perfect for the new buyers. 

At the same time, I also had an investment property that I was getting ready to rent out that needed to be updated - interior painting, a new air conditioning unit installed, fixtures, etc.

We were also buying a new home in San Marino and needed to have work done there.

This General Contractor who shall remain nameless, but whose name implies that he is in CONTROL, was awarded all three jobs.

Well... this guy was totally OUT of CONTROL! 

• There was no oversight at all on 2 of the 3 projects he was hired to manage.
• Unqualified and unlicensed subcontractors were hired.
• All deadlines were missed.
• The delays in these projects ended up costing me a tremendous amount of money due to last minute rescheduling of other service providers and loss of work time between my husband and I.
• The work that was done was incomplete or sub-standard.
• Charges were ridiculously inflated because the contractor didn't have time or his computer was down or a zillion of other excuses and didn't put the charges for change orders in writing.  Everything was verbal.
• I learned how to beg and beg and beg and beg....
• I was totally at the mercy of this guy given the deadlines that needed to be met and the amount of money that was paid in advance for the work to be performed.
• Come to find out after getting a payment in full from me, this wonderful god-fearing man who attends church on a regular basis decided not to pay his sub-contractors and opened me up to potential Mechanic's Liens.
• I am getting various phone calls, packages in the mail and people stopping by my house to check if my contractor received his payment from me.
• Warranty on items like Air Conditioning unit are not honored because the A/C guy didn't get paid.  UGHHHHHHH

How did I pick this jewel of a contractor?  He was a husband of a friend. 

Lesson #1 - Do NOT hire a friend without checking his references fully!

I've been doing some research to see what steps I could have taken to ensure this didn't happen.  So... here's a list I put together that you can use when you're thinking of hiring a contractor.

Read more »

I just came back from San Marino's Lacy Park after saving a nice spot for this evening's fireworks celebration.  We got there around 7:55 am and the line was one of the longest that I've seen over the years.  It was snaking all the way around Virginia Road. 

READ MORE:  Lacy Park - A Hidden Treasure

The first person in line waiting for the gates to open at 8 am was Steve Morgan.  He got there at 5 am to get his coveted spot for this evening's festivities.  I was very lucky this morning because a friend of mine was there at 7:15, patiently stood in line and was able to save my family a spot right next to his under the Eucalyptus tree on the North side of the park.  Lesson learned:  Have lots of friends!

The gates were opened at 8 am and everyone calmly walked into the park and then just as calmly - NOT! - picked up speed on their way to their favorite spot.

Honestly, if you get to Lacy Park a bit after 8 am, you'd be okay as well.  There were plenty of nice spots available still.

Here are some of the pictures that I took of Lacy Park this morning:

Derek Barker was there collecting signatures from San Marino home owners for his Eagle Scout Project.  He is taking on the challenge of creating a Dog Park in San Marino's Lacy Park.  Derek needs to collect 1,200 signatures and hopes to have the Dog Park on the East side of the Park not too far from the tennis courts.  His idea is to have the Dog Park separated for small and large dogs. 

If you are a San Marino resident and want to support Derek in this initiative, please email me at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com so that Derek can collect your signature.  He needs our support!

Read more »

Last week, I shared with you an article by Joanna Beresford who writes a weekly real estate column for Pasadena Weekly. 

Joanna and I met last week when she contacted me about another article that she was doing about Pasadena short sales.  We took a couple of hours to go out and preview some of the homes for sale and had an opportunity to get to know one another.

So without further ado and with much fanfare, here's this week's Pasadena Weekly's articles on Pasadena Short sales with a few memorable mentions of me.  How fun!  Enjoy!!!

History in the making

Short sales make owning a home a reality for many

By Joanna Beresford 06/26/2008

Last week's CMA Report listed 20 single-family residences available as short pay properties in the city of Pasadena, more commonly referred to as short sales. Offered at prices ranging from $279,000 to $869,000, most of those homes have been on the market for about 100 days. The newest house on the list was built in 1984; most date from the first half of the last century, and the oldest place was constructed in 1886.

I visited the latter home recently, where I swear, when I put my hands on an original door frame and closed my eyes, I could almost hear the conversations and feel the vibrations of people who've passed through those rooms for the past 122 years. This was a slightly melancholy place. The previous owners have left behind neat piles of clothing, children's toys, even family photos. I studied a picture of a mother and her two handsome boys for a while. They looked very proud and confident. Maybe they're coming back for these belongings, or maybe they had to leave them behind.

Irina Netchaev, a broker with Keller Williams Realty, guided me through several short sale properties. She's great at making lists and she offered me, at the outset of our tour, an overview of the short sale process in list format:

1.    Seller contacts a Realtor for help

2.    Seller completes a hardship package

3.    Short sale application along with hardship
       package is submitted to the bank (or banks) for review

4.    Bank reviews for completeness, orders valuation and assigns to a negotiator

5.    Negotiator begins the initial review and contacts Realtor and homeowner

6.    Property valuation performed according to investor guidelines

7.    Mortgage insurer and investor approval gained and additional liens negotiated by Realtor

8.    Application decision is made and a decision letter mailed.

This list applies to sellers, obviously. Potential buyers should consult a lender and determine what they are comfortable with paying for a home. Buyers can research the market to some extent on their own and then should contact a real estate professional who can help them find the perfect home.

Many agents don't want to bother with short sale properties because, ironically, the process can be LONG and arduous, compared to a more conventional transaction. Netchaev considers it an obligation to present buyers and sellers with all options, so she's become adept at negotiating the ins and outs of the short sale procedure.

"The first question I ask a potential seller is, 'what are you trying to accomplish with this sale?'" says Irina. "And what helps me as the Realtor is education. So many of us aren't trained properly, and I've found it invaluable to me and my clients that I'm familiar with trends, listings, timing, and aspects of the community."

Here's another list and this one I made up all by myself - Five Reasons Why I Admire
Irina Netchaev:

1.    She's got the most delicious Russian accent

2.    She has a spiffy GPS system in her car

3.    She's smart, honest and funny

4.    Her husband is a former Russian hockey player and mentor
       to hundreds of other athletes (not relevant, maybe, but interesting!)

5.    She's pretty and extremely graceful

In 1886 (by the way, the year the oldest short sale house was built), Pasadena incorporated as a city. I've been told that the main reason residents sought incorporation was so they could get rid of the local saloon. In the next decade sewers, paved streets, and electric lighting were installed.

Read more »

Okay, I've been struggling with something for a few weeks now and decided that I can't do it alone.   So... that's the reason for this post.  I need YOUR help!

I have been trying to come up with a catchy term for "stale" home listings. 

What is a stale listing?  A home listing that has been sitting on the market, in our Pasadena MLS for over 3 months with no takers.

Pasadena home buyers are not interested in these home listings because they're either over priced, not marketed properly by the real estate agent or are just plain overlooked by the Pasadena real estate community for a variety of reasons.

As new homes come up on the Pasadena Real Estate Market, the first few weeks are critical to the successful sale of that home at the best price. 

This is the time when most Pasadena Realtors will preview the homes on the Pasadena weekly broker tours.  Open Houses will drive a lot of new home buyer traffic during the first weekend or two of the home being placed on the market and on-line marketing is at its strongest with search engines picking up the new home listing.

As time goes by, these in most instances, overpriced homes, sit on the market and lose value day by long day.  This offers an amazing opportunity for my Pasadena home buyers to pick up these homes at a great price.

So... getting to the point here... what I would like to do is provide a monthly list of these "stale" homes to my readers and clients.  And to do that, I need a catchy name for this list of homes.  For example, a real estate agent in San Franciso, Alexander Clark, has come up with a great, catchy name for his list of homes that he calls his StaleFish List.

My creative juices are just not flowing and I'm getting some major writer's block here, so I am hoping you can help me come up with a name that would be perfect for our Pasadena Real Estate Market's stale homes.

If you have a suggestion, please comment below.  If I end up using the name you suggest, I will thank you by giving you a $100 gift certificate to your favorite restaurant.

So come one... what are you waiting for?  Please help a desperate realtor.  :-)