Pasadena CA Real Estate

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!

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?

As a Real Estate Broker working in the Pasadena, California market place, I have been monitoring homes as they come up on the market.  This, of course, helps me understand and to always be on top of the current inventory.  

As new listings come up in and around Pasadena, I have programmed my computers to send me an automated email with information on the property immediately upon the home hitting the Multiple Listing Service.

Over the last year or so, I have seen some, well... the only way I can describe it is "doozies" coming through my email.  I am constantly amazed that we have Real Estate Agents that literally throw the property on the market with no forethought or plan.

So¦ I decided to write a series of posts for sellers to give some guidance as to what they should expect from their Real Estate Agent and how they can check to see that their Agent is doing their job.

After all, no one cares about your home like you do.  In most cases, its your biggest investment.  So¦ please do not take marketing lightly and ensure make sure that you get what you pay for!

Your Number 1 Goal in marketing your home is quite simply to get as many EYEBALLS as you can to see it!  Simple, isnt it?

The more people I can bring in to see your home, the more likely your house will sell faster and at the highest price!  The first TWO WEEKS of the listing period (being officially on the market, in the MLS) will either make you or break you!

Sellers make sure that your Real Estate Agent doesnt just come in, sign the listing agreement and your home is in the Multiple Listing Service the next day!  OUCH¦ no preparation and no thought given to exposure.

At the very minimum, I would suggest that your marketing plan and preparation include the following:

• First, before marketing your home, make sure its been staged.  Make sure that your Realtor is working with a Staging Professional and brings one in for a consultation to talk to you about maximizing your homes appeal and get it ready ready for sale.  If your home doesnt show well, no amount of marketing/exposure will help.  The price will be the ONLY deciding factor.  Please refer to the following post for more information on staging - What Is Staging?  Also, heres a good example of before and after pictures on a vacant property at www.WhatIsStaging.Info.

• Once your house is ready to show, make sure that your Real Estate Agent takes LOTS of pictures of your home - inside and out!  Not just one picture - TONS of pictures!  Your home at a minimum should have 10 to 12 pictures in the MLS.  Remember, that based on the NARs (National Association of Realtors) 2005 profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 77% of consumers start their search on the internet.  Price and location gets their attention, but the pictures entice them to actually set up an appointment and visit the home.  There are too many listings in the MLS that have NO pictures what so ever, or just ONE picture.  In todays age of digital cameras, that is just not acceptable.  Sellers, you can easily check the MLS to see how many pictures your home has and the quality of these pictures.  Would you want to visit your own home after seeing the way it looks on-line?  Pictures are worth than a thousand words, right?
• Make sure that there is a Real Estate Show (Flash Presentation) or a Virtual Tourassociated with your home on the MLS.  82% of all time spent searching for a home is being spent on Realtor.com.  If you go to Realtor.com, youll see that one of the search options allows you to search for homes with only Virtual Tours.  Why is that?  In my experience, we are all trying to save as much time as possible.  By looking at pictures and virtual tours on-line, consumers are quick to identify the homes they want.  I even had several of my buyers say to me that if they cant see the home on line, they think that theres something wrong with it - otherwise there would be pictures.  Also it will give your potential buyers a much better feel for the house.  

Talking about Realtor.com, the question to ask your Real Estate Agent is - Can you FEATURE my home on Featured homes in Realtor.com?  Folks, its really simple, if your home is featured on Realtor.com, it will get 500% more exposurethan a home that is NOT a featured home.  Also featured homes feed to sites like MSN.com, MOVE.com, AOL.com and more¦ Think Exposure.  Now, only 1% of all Realtors in each marketplace have the Featured Home marketing.  Try to find the ones that do.  At a minimum, Real Estate Agents should be able to Showcase (enhance) your listing on Realtor.com.  If a Realtor, doesnt have a Showcase or a Featured home package, your listing will still appear on Realtor.com, but will not stand out or have the same amount of exposure.  Again, ask before you list, and then follow up by visiting Realtor.com to see how your home looks.

• Your Pasadena Real Estate Agent should market your home to your neighbors.  Its been proven time and time again that your neighbors will know someone who wants to live in their area.  If your neighbors know about your house and are invited to participate in helping them select their next neighbor, your homes chances of selling faster and for more money increase.  I recommend sending out at least 200 to 400 Just Listed Cards to the neighborhood.  Also, your Realtor should hold a special Neighborhood only Open House - I like holding Twilight Open Houses and inviting neighbors to see the home before anyone else sees it. 
• Your Real Estate Agent should market your home to the Real Estate community.  Chances are that another agent will represent a successful buyer for your home.  Does your agent have a database with names and email addresses of top agents in the area?  Do they have established relationships with these agents?  How do they market their listings to the real estate community.  What format does the marketing take?  Your agent should utilize both email and the ˜old fashioned distribution of flyers to their fellow agents to encourage them to come preview your home.  Also, its critical to have your home advertised on a Broker Tour.
• Will your agent create a website specifically for your home?  Will it have its own domain name that can be advertised on the sign riders and in other marketing materials.  For example, visit http://www.1506Holliston.com
• What kind of brochures will your agent order?  Are they professional?  In color?  Printed on nice paper?  I sort of like to think of it as writing a resume for a job interview¦ the brochure represents your home and will be picked up by other real estate professionals, neighbors and potential buyers.  You want it to stand out!
• Is there an 800 number with a specific message about your home?  A lot of home buyers do NOT want to speak with a Real Estate Agent at the begining.  They are just not comfortable.  But, if they see an 800 number with information about your home that they can call 24/7, theyll do that.  Whats more interesting is that as an agent, I automatically get notified of any phone calls that come in on any of my assigned 800 number listings.  I can always follow up with the prospective buyer.
• Public Open Houses - I am not a huge proponent of Open Houses, but the first weekend that the house is on the market, is very critical.  Holding the home open both Saturday and Sunday makes it easier for potential buyers to stop on by and see your home first hand.

As you can see, theres so much to be done - taking pictures, creating website, publishing flyers, updating Realtor.com and other websites, creating 800 # messages, etc.  It can not be done in one day. 

There are so many steps along with the ones that I have listed here that need to be done before your home hits the MLS.   Its not as easy as just putting a sign in front of your home and saying that its now on the market for sale. 

Sellers please be aware of what your agent is doing for you!  Dont be afraid to ask questions.  Selling a home is a partnership, both agent and seller working in concert for a common goal.

Please ensure that your home is represented professionally!  Ensure that your agent communicates with you every step of the way.  Ultimately, your bottom line is impacted. 

GOOD LUCK with the sale of your home!

I have always believed that real estate is strictly a LOCAL business.  To this day, I am flabbergasted by the local Pasadena news media writing and panicking about national real estate trends.  What does that have to do with Pasadena home sales?  Very little! 

The real estate market in and around Pasadena, California has been pretty steady.  Its not as hot as it used to be, but were definitely seeing a shift to a more balanced market.

Buyers are being more cautious and are taking a little more time to find the home of their dreams.  Sellers are begining to be a bit more realistic about how fast their home will sell and for what price.

Is this a good thing?  Yes!  Pasadena home prices could not have sustained the 20% to 25% increases in home values for much longer.  The fact that the prices are stabilizing is great for everyone involved.

This list of the top ten mistakes are geared towards you, the potential seller.  Selling a home can and still is quite profitable in todays changing market.  So here you go¦ my list of the top 10 mistakes that I see sellers make today:

MISTAKE #1:  FSBO (For Sale By Owner) - Can you sell your home yourself?  Certainly!  Thousands of people across the country do it everyday.  Can you sell your home for top dollar, with less hassles and ensure that all the paperwork is completed correctly and the required disclosures are provided to the buyer?  Most likely not. 

• By trying to sell your home without the help of a professional agent, you automatically limit the exposure of your home.  Lets face it, most realtors will not show it AND as a FSBO, you will not have access the same resources that a professional real estate consultant has - Multiple Listing Services, Realtor.com, Trulia, LATims.com, Blogging platforms, etc.  It goes on and on¦.
• The number of forms/disclosures required to sell a home is mind boggling.  Contracts are changed and updated annually by the California Association of Realtors.  Each city has their own disclosure requirements.  Realtors take continuous classes to stay on top of the most current legal requirements. Most of our files are 2 to 3 inches thick.
• Negotiation - selling a home is not a simple matter of getting the buyer to offer the highest price.  Great realtors understand that selling a home is a factor of PRICE and TERMS.  We know that there are buyers out there that will come in with a high price and then try to negotiate at every step of the contract and wear you down.  By the time, the escrow closes - if it closes - you did not sell your home for as much as you anticipated.  The terms are critical - loan and appraisal contingency periods, down payment, physical inspection contingency, etc.

MISTAKE #2:  Hiring an Out of the Area Realtor to sell your home - Yes¦ I know¦ you have a friend¦ you have a distant cousin¦ you have a name of someone who sold a home for one of your coworkers, BUT they work 45 minutes away.  Its okay.  Its just putting the home into the Multiple Listing Service, right?  It is critical that you find a realtor that specializes in your neighborhood, knows the city requirements, understands and tracks the market trends on a regular basis and has a great reputation in the real estate community.

There have been countless times, where I was able to get a great deal for my buyers because the Realtor representing the seller, placed information about the home in question in the wrong Multiple Listing Service or under a wrong area.  Or, the realtor didnt understand the intricacies of pricing the home properly given the schools or other area idiosyncracies.

READ ALSO:  Pasadena Real Estate Agent Interviewing Tip

MISTAKE #3:  Hiring a SOLO Real Estate Agent to sell your home.  I am not saying that you have to hire a Realtor that is part of a huge team.  But, the Realtor that you hire should have a group of experts on THEIR team.  For example, my team consists of a Accredited Certified Stager, Transaction Coordinator, a Marketing Director, a Title Representative, a Termite Inspector, a Contractor, an Inspector, a Buyers agent, and an assistant.

MISTAKE #4:  Hiring a PART TIME Real Estate Agent - honestly¦ thats even worst than selling your home For Sale By Owner - the agent will not have the knowledge and experience required to sell your home and will charge you for it.  UGH!  Shall I say more?

MISTAKE #5:  Not having your home STAGED - Staged homes sell faster and for more money - period!  I am a complete believer in staging.  I bring in an Accredited Staging Professional for a consultation and a detailed report for each and every one of the homes I sell.  It is critical that your home shows its best and is optimized to create the most positive response with the potential buyers. 

MISTAKE #6:  Not getting a physical inspection performed prior to putting your home on the market.  By inviting a physical inspector, you are able to foresee and address potential issues down the road and avoid cancelled escrows.

MISTAKE #7:  Putting your home on the market too quickly! - Putting a house on the market is an orchestrated event.  It requires a lot of preparation and full and complete execution.  You can not just throw the house into the Multiple Listing Service and then add on photos, marketing, announcements later.  Think of it as a ˜roll out, a ˜blitz.  You need to create excitement and anticipation for the buyers out there.

MISTAKE #8:  Not using the internet to the fullest - Over 70% of all buyers start their search on the internet.  Multiple photos, Virtual Tours, Personal Address websites, Blogs - all these SELL YOUR HOME!  Make sure that your agent utilizes the most advanced technology.  Make sure that your home is entered in every local Multiple Listing Service in your area - most areas have several.  In the Pasadena area, there are 4 Multiple Listing Services that your home shoudl be in!  Make sure that your Realtor has Featured Homes on Realtor.com in your area (Featured Homes on Realtor.com generate 500% more hits to your homes information).  Make sure that they post your homes information anywhere and everywhere!  Its critical.

MISTAKE #9:  Ignoring your neighbors - always, always invite your neighbors¦ make them feel special¦ involve them in the selection of the new buyer.  Chances are that your neighbor knows someone - a friend, a family member - that wants to live next to them.  Have Twilight Open Houses for neighbors only.  Send out special invitations for them and their loved ones.  Let them know that theyre welcome to visit and to tell all their friends about your home.

MISTAKE #10:  Overpricing your home.  Many sellers are under the wrong impression that if they start out high, they will eventually sell at the price they want.  That is a fallacy.  A home needs to be priced correctly the moment it hits the market.  Work with your Real estate Consultant and review the current market condition for your area.  Take a look at your competition, as well as the closed sales. 

To sum this all up an appropriate pricing and marketing strategy coupled with staging and an experienced real estate consultant will help your home stand out and sell quickly and for more $$$$$s.

Good luck in the sale of your home!

Sellers what do you expect from your Pasadena Real Estate Agent? 

Most sellers will say to sell my home at the highest possible price with the least inconvenience.

But, how do Pasadena Real Estate Agents differ?

We all have different approaches and views on how to accomplish our sellers goals.  When you are interviewing a Realtor for the job of selling your home, I would urge you to first LISTEN to what the Realtor says:

Is he or she trying to identify whats important to you in selling your home? 

• Is the Realtors approach more consultative vs. ˜salesy?
• Do you feel like theres a connection between the two of you?
• Do they understand the market trends in your local area?  Can they intelligently predict, based on hard data, the pricing trend in your area?
• Do they know the inventory and how many months of inventory is there on the market currently?

Here are some of the questions to ask:

• How will you market my property?  A good Realtor will have a nice mix of internet, ˜snail mail, e-mail, paper/magazine advertising.  She will also market to top agents in the area, neighbors and current sellers that could fall into the move-up category for your home.
• How will you keep in touch with me throughout the process?  A Realtor should be updating their clients via phone at least once a week and should be able to provide access to a personal website where youll be able to track activities on the sale of your home.  If you like using email, is your agent email savvy?  How often do they check it?  Do they have set times for returning their voicemails daily?
• Do they have an assistant or helper for when theyre out of town or unavailable?
• Do they have a full blown campaign ready to go the moment the listing is ready to be put on the market with custom color flyers, personal websites, 800 number (IVR) technology?  It usually takes at least 7 to 10 days to line everything up so that your home is marketed correctly on day 1.  The first 2 weeks of putting your home on the market are the most critical.  Make sure that everything is perfect and not rolled out ˜piece-meal.
• Will they stage your home?  A staged home will sell for more money and in less time than a home that is not staged.  

Read more on Staging:  What is Staging?

• Does he/she have Showcase homes on Realtor.com?  Featured Homes?  Only very few Realtors have Featured Homes.  These spots give your home unprecedented exposure with hundreds of hits daily.
• Are there tracking reports available for all activities on my listing?  A good Realtor will provide you with weekly stats.
• How often will you reevaluate the market and my competition?  Its critical to make sure that you and your Realtor know what your competition is so that an appropriate strategy is used.
• What kind of pricing strategy would be best used for my home?  Theres a fixed price and a Value Range Marketing Price.  A good Realtor will be able to discuss the best pricing strategy and recommend the one that is right for you.
• How many Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are in my area?  In the Pasadena area, there are 2 distinct MLSs and another 2 that are on the border.  To get the maximum exposure, your home should be listed in ALL of them. 
• Where does most of the Realtors business come from?  You want to hear - REFERRALS!  What a great indication of them doing a spectacular job if their clients refer them to more.

Dont be afraid to ask for names and telephone numbers of past clients.  Your home, in most instances, is your largest investment.  ASK, ASK, ASK and LISTEN!

All Realtors are NOT created equal!  Do your homework and Good Luck!