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Even if your home is kept tidy, decluttering your home is essential to getting it ready for your open house and for showings.
When potential homebuyers are shown your home, they can easily become overwhelmed and distracted by visual clutter. Here are eight easy ways to eliminate the mess and make your home show-ready.
1) GET RID OF STUFF YOU DON&rsquo;T NEED.
Keeping your home clutter-free is an ongoing process, but during this important time you&rsquo;ll need to remove things you&rsquo;re not using. Go through every room in your home, one at time and sort into piles:
<ul>
<li>Sell &ndash; move into storage bins during showings or have a garage sale</li>
<li>Donate &ndash; load up the car right away and donate it</li>
<li>Trash &ndash; take it right to the curb</li>
</ul>
If you&rsquo;re having trouble deciding, sometimes it&rsquo;s helpful to ask yourself, &ldquo;If I was in a store right now, would I buy this?&rdquo; If the answer is no &ndash; let someone else enjoy it, or toss it.
2) CONSIDER FURNITURE WITH HIDDEN STORAGE SOLUTIONS.
Decorative storage trunks that double as guest seating and beds with built-in drawers are smart long-term investments.
3) INVEST IN INEXPENSIVE STORAGE CONTAINERS.
After you&rsquo;ve removed items you&rsquo;re no longer using, keep your belongings in storage containers so everything has its place. These can be as simple as baskets for magazines, blankets or pillows, media boxes for electronics and cords, or plastic bins for seasonal items that you can store in your attic, garage, or basement.
4) USE STORAGE SYSTEMS. Keeping shoes in a hanging shoe rack in a foyer or bedroom closet, and hanging bags in the closet are a great way keeps your floors clear of clutter. Same goes for closets &ndash; you can find some inexpensive hanging systems to hold foldable items and keep them out of sight.
5) KEEP COUNTERS CLEAR.
In the kitchen, keep small kitchen appliances like toasters and coffee makers stowed when you&rsquo;re not using them to show off your home&rsquo;s abundant counter space. In the bathroom, keep personal items in baskets or cabinets and completely out of sight.
6) HANDLE MAIL RIGHT AWAY.
Don&rsquo;t let mail or magazines pile up. Go through the new mail when it arrives, sort and throw away anything you don&rsquo;t need right away. Use a simple filing system for mail and papers you&rsquo;ll need or take photos of items with your smartphone and toss them right away.
7) START A BASKET SYSTEM. Designate a basket for each person in your family and, as you&rsquo;re decluttering, drop each family member&rsquo;s items into their basket and have them put items away at the end of every day. You can keep these baskets on the stairs or under an entryway bench.
8) MAKE DECLUTTERING AN ONGOING ACTIVITY.
Decluttering shouldn&rsquo;t only happen before an open house. Keep your home fresh and clutter-free all year long by using some simple tricks like throwing out five items every time you clean a room, tossing or donating old clothes every time you buy something new, and filling a bag to donate every week. Being mindful of new items you bring into your home will also help maximize your decluttering efforts.
&ldquo;Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.&rsquo; &ndash; William Morris
Looking for more homeowner tips? Check out the blog and reach out to your local realty expert for one-on-one guidance.

TIPS FOR ELIMINATING CLUTTER

The papers are signed and you&rsquo;re anxiously and excitedly planning your move into your new home. Here are some ways to make your moving day go swimmingly.
1) LIGHTEN YOUR MOVING DAY LOAD.
This is a great time to hold a yard sale, donate items to Goodwill, and toss items you haven&rsquo;t used in over a year.
2) MAKE SURE YOUR FURNITURE WILL FIT.
Nothing is worse than moving a huge dining hutch or another bulky piece of furniture only to find out it won&rsquo;t fit in the room. Measure both the rooms in your new home and your furniture to make sure you have adequate space. If it doesn&rsquo;t fit, add it to your yard sale or your donation pile.
3) SCHEDULE A BABYSITTER AND A PET SITTER.
Having your children and your pets looked after and out of the way will help make the day run smoothly.
4) FORWARD YOUR MAIL.
You can do this online at usps.com and leave the mailbox key behind.
5) NOTIFY UTILITIES OF YOUR MOVING DATE.
The new owners may need to contact them as well to set up their accounts, so keep communication open between your real estate agent and the buyer&rsquo;s agent.
6) PACK BY ROOM.
As you pack up each room, organize each room&rsquo;s boxes so they can be loaded &ndash; and later, unloaded by room.
7) KEEP HARDWARE FROM FURNITURE TOGETHER.
Keep the hardware for any furniture you&rsquo;re going to disassemble, like beds and dresser mirrors, in zippered sandwich bags and tape them to the furniture items for easy reassembly.
8) NUMBER YOUR BOXES
This can be helpful if you have a lot of boxes or are hiring movers. Indicate an inventory number on each box and keep a separate list of box numbers and their contents.
9) WRAP FRAGILE ITEMS LIKE A PRO.
Pack plates vertically in small to medium sized boxes, keep glassware safe by wrapping in socks or dish towels, rent some moving blankets to cover your large electronics and furniture to keep them from knocking against each other in the moving truck. Consider moving items that are extra fragile in your vehicle with you and stowing them safely in a closet in your new home until you&rsquo;re ready to unpack them. Wrap china in plain paper since newspaper can stain your dishes. Lastly, fill those boxes up &ndash; making sure there&rsquo;s no empty space. This will keep items from shifting and potentially breaking.
10) LABEL AND ORGANIZE YOUR BOXES
On each box, indicate the room it will be placed in, along with the contents. Doing this will make for easy unloading and sorting.
11) PACK HEAVY ITEMS SMARTLY.
Pack dense items like books in bankers boxes or rolling suitcases to save your back. Renting a dolly is always worth the money. You can also combine heavy and light items like books and electronics with light objects like clothing &ndash; this will also help provide a cushion, keeping items safe.
12) CLEAN YOUR HOME. You should leave your house how you&rsquo;d like to find your new home. Go ahead and schedule a cleaning for your home once you&rsquo;ve moved out to cover all the appliances and spots that get ignored throughout the year. Leave a few cleaning supplies, hand soap, and paper towels for the new owners &ndash; it will help make their move in day easier!
13) FUEL FOR YOUR MOVERS.
Moving day is taxing, make sure you have some grab-and-go snacks and plenty of drinks available for yourselves and your moving helpers. Hoping move-out day will come sooner rather than later? Reach out with your timeframe goals for selling and moving out of your home, so you can work with a local agent to make it happen!

TIPS FOR MOVING OUT OF YOUR SOLD HOME

Approaching the topic of moving a loved one from their home into an adult community or retirement home can be a tricky conversation to start; even just the transition part can be challenging. The good news is, it doesn&rsquo;t have to be &ndash; if you know how to prepare. Here are some simple tactics to start a conversation with a family member and make the transition a smooth one:
1) Deciding it&rsquo;s time to transition.
This might be the most sensitive part &ndash; making the decision. It will likely be the easiest on everyone if your family member comes to this conclusion on their own. More likely, though, you&rsquo;ve reached a decision and your family member initially disagrees. It&rsquo;s normal to wonder if you&rsquo;re making the right choice &ndash; if you&rsquo;re sure, a very important next step is to take action. The longer your loved one stays in their current housing situation, the more probable it is that a crisis, like a fall or other emergency, could occur and increase the urgency of the move. It will be easier to transition your loved one during calm times than in the midst of a crisis. Helping your parent decide (if they&rsquo;re of the right state of mind to do so), will make the transition easier on everyone.
2) Choosing a retirement community.
There are lots of factors that come into play when considering a Torrance/Gardena retirement community &ndash; weather, amenities, price, activities, and proximity to family and friends. Consider all of these factors and decide which ones are the most important. Also, think through medical care.
<ul>
<li>Does the community provide medical services?</li>
<li>If they&rsquo;re not on-site, how far away is health care?</li>
<li>Are in-home health services available and do local physicians make house calls?</li>
</ul>
If a retirement community in a place like Torrance/Gardena doesn&rsquo;t quite fit your family, maybe another Los Angeles big city could be a great option. Homes in walkable cities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco can be pricey, but they&rsquo;ve proven to show value with built-in advantages such as health care services, public transit and an abundance of things to do. If your family member can be engaged throughout this process, keep them involved. If they find a community they like, visit it a few times, each during a different time of day to get a feel for the sense of community and activities.
What kinds of activities do Los Angeles communities tend to offer? Typically, you&rsquo;ll be able to find activities like golf, tennis, and swimming, but make sure the activities are aligned with your family member&rsquo;s interests.
3) Downsizing possessions.
Once you&rsquo;ve decided on a Los Angeles community, chances are that your loved one is going to need to downsize their belongings before transitioning to a new home. Work with your family member to choose which household and personal items will move to their new home. Keep in mind that it may be difficult for them to part with treasures accumulated over a lifetime, so try to stay positive, sensitive, and willing to compromise where possible.
4) Get used to the community, then relocate.
Depending on how far away the retirement home is from their current home, your family may need to acclimate first; especially if you&rsquo;re looking at locations outside of Los Angeles; like Arizona, Florida, and Southern California. Your family member may want to consider renting a temporary living space for a few weeks in the off-season before making a commitment.
Allow some time for your loved one to warm up to their new community. Spend some time greeting current and prospective community members. These new peers will be your family member&rsquo;s new neighbors &ndash; these people may have a bigger impact on their life than they might initially expect.
5) Plan something to do during your first few visits.
To make your first few visits to your family member&rsquo;s new Los Angeles community enjoyable and comfortable, plan something for all of you to do together. Have your loved one show you around, enjoy a nice meal, or just enjoy some quiet one-on-one time.
6) Keep in contact, but don&rsquo;t overdo it.
Finding a balance between visiting regularly but not too often will take some time. Stay in contact with your loved one to make sure they know you&rsquo;re still thinking about them and that you love them. A simple phone call or visit can make all the difference during a difficult transition. When things have calmed down, allow the time and space to for your loved ones to explore the community on their own and make new friends.
Thinking about making the transition but not sure you know how to broach the subject? Get in touch with your local realty expert for more guidance on how to have the conversation and what the process will involve. If you&rsquo;re ready to move forward with the sale of your loved one&rsquo;s Los Angeles home, don&rsquo;t forget to check out these helpful local tips.

THE 6 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO HELPING A LOVED ONE TRANSITION TO AN ADULT COMMUNITY

Selling your home doesn&prime;t just mean hiring a Realtor to stick a sign out front. There are a lot of preparations you should make to ensure you get the best offer possible in the shortest time.
Repair.
Just because you&rsquo;ve gotten used to the cracks in the walls and the rattles in the radiators doesn&rsquo;t mean a buyer will too. If you have hardwood floors that need refinishing, be sure to get it done&mdash;hardwood is a huge selling point. Buyers like to snoop around, so be sure to fix any sticky doors or drawers as well. Finally, don&rsquo;t forget to address any issues with the exterior&mdash;fences, shingles, sidewalks, etc. After all, without curb appeal, some buyers may never get to see the inside.
Neutralize.
You want buyers to see themselves in your home. If your living room has lime green shag, wood-paneled walls, and all your collectibles and personal photographs, this will be much harder for them to do. Try replacing any bold color choices in your floors and walls with something more neutral&mdash;beiges, tans, and whites. Repainting and reflooring will make everything look fresh and new, and help prospective buyers imagine all the possibilities.
Stage. Once your house is clean and updated, it&rsquo;s time to play dress up. Home stagers can add small details and d&eacute;cor touches that will bring out the possibilities in the various spaces in your home: lamps, mirrors, throw rugs and pillows, flowers, decorative soaps and towels, patio furniture. Home staging can be particularly useful if your home is especially old or if the exterior looks dated. Think of it as a little mascara and rouge&mdash;if it&rsquo;s done right, you notice the beauty, not the makeup.

PREPARING TO SELL

If you&rsquo;re a veteran or on active military duty, you&rsquo;ve likely heard of a Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage loan and are wondering if it&rsquo;s a good choice for you. You could also be eligible for a VA loan if you&rsquo;re the spouse of a military member who passed away while on active duty.
A fundamental difference with VA loans is that the VA guarantees the loans made by lenders, but doesn&rsquo;t lend money. The VA&rsquo;s backing for private financial institutions serves as insurance against losses if a borrower defaults on a loan. Is a VA mortgage loan right for you? Here are some pros and cons to help you evaluate:
Pros:
<ul>
<li>There&rsquo;s no need to be a first-time buyer, and if you&rsquo;ve used this benefit in the past, you can use it again on a future home purchase.</li>
<li>You could qualify for a Los Angeles/ Southbay VA loan with 100% financing, and no Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI); which is required on conventional loans if your down payment is less than 20%.</li>
<li>With a conventional or an FHA loan, you&rsquo;ll need to make a down payment anywhere between 3 to 20%, but if you&rsquo;re using a VA loan to purchase a private residence, there&rsquo;s no down payment needed.</li>
<li>VA mortgages allow a higher debt-to-income ratio of up to 41% as compared to a conventional loan program which could only be 36%. A debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of your income to the amount of your monthly loan payments plus all other monthly debt payments such as car loans, credit card minimum payments, child support, and student loans.</li>
</ul>
Cons:
<ul>
<li>While there&rsquo;s no limit to how much you can borrow on a VA loan, there are limits that may affect you based on your state and county, and how much of a financial burden you can withstand.</li>
<li>While there&rsquo;s no down payment required, you may need some cash for an earnest-money deposit and closing costs.</li>
<li>There&rsquo;s a mandatory funding fee of 2.15% of the loan amount if it&rsquo;s your first time using the benefit, or a fee of 3.3% if you&rsquo;ve used the benefit in the past.</li>
<li>VA loans can only be used for a primary residence, and not for an income property.</li>
</ul>
If you&rsquo;re eligible for a Los Angeles/ Southbay VA mortgage and have questions, we&rsquo;re here to help. Contact us to learn more.

VA MORTGAGE LOANS – A LOOK AT THE PROS AND CONS

Looking for a vacation home might just be more fun than looking for a new everyday home. With the daydreams of long weekends and extended vacations in your new home can still come the usual buyer stress. Even though you&rsquo;ve purchased a home before, it&rsquo;s important to remember that not every part of the experience will be exactly the same when buying a vacation home. One of the key pieces of purchasing a vacation home is financing&ndash; the good news is that it can be a straightforward, and painless process! Here are some simple tips and things to consider:
GET YOUR CREDIT IN ORDER.
As always, when purchasing any type of real estate, the state of your credit is a significant factor in how smooth the financing process will be. Your credit score will likely need to be in the mid-600s to qualify for a mortgage on a vacation home. Of course, the higher your score, the more competitive the interest rate you&rsquo;ll be able to secure. If you know you&rsquo;ll be considering a vacation home in the near future, check your credit now so you can take pre-emptive steps to strengthen your score if needed.
WILL A VACATION HOME MORTGAGE AFFECT THE MORTGAGE ON MY CURRENT HOME?
A vacation property won&rsquo;t affect your mortgage on your current home. Your lender will want to understand your total housing expenditures between both, your primary and secondary residences, to make sure it&rsquo;s in line with your income and other expenses.
SET SAVINGS GOALS.
Just as your lender will take into account how much you can afford, given that you already have a home, you should do the same. Start by figuring out how much money you&rsquo;ll need to save for a down payment. For your primary residence, targeting a down payment of 5-20 percent of the total purchase price is typical, however, the minimum down payment for a second home may be higher. You may need to start with 20 percent to get the best rate possible and avoid paying mortgage insurance. In addition to the down payment, you&rsquo;ll also need to account for the cash needed to cover closing costs and any reserves if required. Reserves range from 2-6 months of income that you would need in order to pay your mortgage in the event you experience an interruption in income. Once you understand your savings goals there are many ways to make saving your targeted amount easy&mdash;like automating your savings, cutting back on unnecessary subscriptions, and paying off credit debt.
UNDERSTAND THE TOTAL COSTS.
The idea of a vacation home is a fun one, but it also comes with some extra responsibility. For example, maintaining two households could end up being more costly than you planned. Don&rsquo;t forget to account for the cost of traveling to and from your vacation home, regular maintenance, HOA fees, repairs or upgrades, utilities, furnishings, and household items. You may be able to offset some or all of the costs if you rent out your vacation home from time-to-time. Keep in mind, though, that some financiers will have restrictions on this. Come tax time, you may also be able to write off your mortgage interest and property taxes, effectively reducing the overall cost.
BE READY TO PROVE IT&rsquo;S YOUR VACATION HOME.
It&rsquo;s typically easier to get financing on a vacation home than it is for an investment property, so your lender will want to know that the home will actually be used by you for vacations and not by renters for additional income. Usually, this means that your vacation property should be at least 50 miles away from your primary residence and you&rsquo;ll need to confirm that you don&rsquo;t have any plans to lease out the vacation home for large chunks of time.
KEEP THE FUTURE IN MIND.
If you don&rsquo;t convert your vacation home into your primary residence at some point in time and, instead, sell without purchasing another vacation home, you&rsquo;ll pay taxes on the gains. Whether you&rsquo;re planning to vacation in Los Angeles/ Southbay or somewhere else, the best way to ensure the future of your vacation home is to work with a real estate professional. Reach out for more details on how to get started!

HOW TO FINANCE PURCHASING A VACATION HOME

Buying a home without researching (and loving) the neighborhood is a bit like getting married after the first or second date &mdash; a serious gamble that pays off at best, and the prelude to a horrible, costly mistake at worst. When the time comes to sink your hard-earned dollars into a down payment on a place to live, you want to be sure that you&rsquo;re making a decision that benefits you today and up to a decade or more down the road.
And knowing you want to buy in one metro area over another isn&rsquo;t enough in this era of hot housing markets and internet listings. You need to narrow it down to a specific neighborhood that fits your lifestyle and your household&rsquo;s future, whether you&rsquo;re a single artist seeking a studio apartment or a family of four hunting a single-family home.
So how do you make sure that the neighborhood where you&rsquo;re about to buy is &ldquo;the one&rdquo;? By conducting your research, talking to experts, crunching the numbers, and narrowing down your options until you have a good fit. It might not be the height of romance, but it&rsquo;ll keep you from making a mistake you can&rsquo;t undo for months.
Know yourself
It&rsquo;s absolutely fine to choose a home based on life aspirations or goals that you hope to achieve one day. But the joy and agony of being human is that we can imagine ourselves into almost any situation &hellip; whether or not it&rsquo;s realistic for us, in particular, to get there.
So if you&rsquo;ve got your eye on a two-bedroom that&rsquo;s right around the corner from your best friend&rsquo;s CrossFit box, and you enjoy CrossFit, then that might be a great match for you! But if you have to admit to yourself that you prefer yoga to calisthenics, then maybe the place upstairs from the lauded Vinyasa studio is a better bet.
Draw up a fantasy list of everything that you want in a neighborhood &mdash; but with a dose of realism in the sense that you&rsquo;re only including features and amenities that you really want, not things that you think you should want.
If you&rsquo;ve rented in a few different places in the city, this should help you with your list. Consider what you liked about each place, whether it was the easy access to the best pizza in the district or the fast commute to work.
While you&rsquo;re at it, think about any dealbreakers that emerged while you were moving around as a renter. What did you not like or appreciate about any of your previous neighborhoods? What annoyed you, and what made you grit your teeth and vow to move as soon as possible, if anything?
Get schooled
Even if you don&rsquo;t have kids and don&rsquo;t ever plan to reproduce, it&rsquo;s a mistake to ignore the schools in your neighborhood of choice. School quality is tied to home prices, whether you like it or not, and you don&rsquo;t want to eliminate families from the pool of households who might be interested in buying your place when you eventually move on.
You can find general school ratings online, but bear in mind that some providers might not give you the granular information you need &mdash; like the individual ratings for elementary, middle, and high schools, and background context that shows how the schools in your area measure against the rest of the city. The more information you have, the better-educated you&rsquo;ll be when the time comes to make an offer on a home, and that never hurts.
And if you do have kids, then it&rsquo;s extra-smart to do an additional layer of research when you&rsquo;re narrowing down your neighborhoods of choice. Test scores only tell part of the story when it comes to any school. Call schools and ask about safety policies, how they manage struggling students, the availability of gifted programs, inclusivity efforts, and any other areas of concern that you might have.
Commerce and traffic
Even if you used to live in the neighborhood (or currently do), don&rsquo;t assume that you know everything there is to know when it comes to the traffic that flows through and businesses that place their stakes.
Start with the neighborhood council or city league, which can direct you to the appropriate government and Chamber of Commerce entities for the neighborhood, or possibly even answer your questions outright. Ask whether you can obtain a list of current business establishments in the neighborhood, and ask about planned developments and traffic projects.
Not only will this give you a heads-up to any major construction that could be surrounding you in the near future, but it can also serve as a red flag; neighborhoods with little to no plans for development in a metro area that&rsquo;s mostly booming can signal an area where growth (including home price growth) will probably not keep up with the rest of the metro. And if there aren&rsquo;t plans to expand that already-congested highway, you&rsquo;ll want to know that the commute is probably only going to get worse.
You&rsquo;ll also want to look at public transportation in the neighborhood and how it hooks into the wider city network. Is it relatively easy to get to and from the airport on the train or bus? How about from your prospective neighborhood to significant local landmarks or areas of interest, like arenas, ballparks, music venues, and your workplace? Is there decent public transportation established in your neighborhood? What are the train or subway stops like? How long is the ride to the city center, and how much does it cost?
Worst-case scenarios
Just like school ratings, there are a number of platforms that offer crime ratings for different neighborhoods &mdash; and that&rsquo;s a good thing to know when you&rsquo;re about to buy a home.
It&rsquo;s always smart to understand exactly what the maps are showing, and that&rsquo;s especially true for crime ratings. Oftentimes, those ratings are based on crime reports rather than filed charges or convictions secured, so the crime ratings platforms don&rsquo;t always tell the full story. It&rsquo;s not a bad idea to check with any friends who live in the area or a real estate professional to get deeper insights into how safe a neighborhood is.
And nobody wants to think about being rushed to the hospital, but you might want to think about it before you buy a home. What&rsquo;s the local average emergency response time, and which hospital would be the go-to if you had to call for emergency services? Hospitals in any city can range from &ldquo;top-notch&rdquo; to &ldquo;okay.&rdquo; University hospitals in particular can be good options, as they often carry the latest equipment and have some of the best-trained health care providers.
Spend the night
If you can, it&rsquo;s wise to try to spend at least one night (and preferably closer to a week) in the neighborhood where you want to buy. Find a vacation rental, if possible, so you&rsquo;re not cushioned by the &ldquo;hotel experience&rdquo; and can spend the week navigating where to shop for groceries, how you&rsquo;ll get to work, where you can walk the dog, and whether the sounds and smells are welcome or repugnant.
Take walks around the neighborhood to familiarize yourself with where things are and decide whether you love it or loathe it. Maybe being close to a big city park is a dream come true, or maybe you&rsquo;d rather nestle closer to the nightlife hub. Whatever the case, it&rsquo;s best to figure it out before you&rsquo;ve plopped down your (nonrefundable!) earnest money.
And if you can, try to stretch the week for a full seven days so you can experience the neighborhood on weekdays and weekends &mdash; after all, you&rsquo;ll be living there all week, too. Some neighborhoods seem sedate all week long but turn into raucous celebrations for 48 hours every weekend, and you should definitely know that before you move in.
Get the numbers
You might know that home values are rising all over the metro area, but understanding the historical price growth in your specific neighborhood of interest will give you a better idea as to whether your neighborhood is ahead of or behind the typical trajectory &mdash; and what your sales opportunities might look like in a few years when you&rsquo;re looking to move on.
Likewise, you probably want to investigate the rate of homeownership in any neighborhoods you&rsquo;re considering. Homeowners tend to invest more in their properties than a landlord would, and neighborhoods with high rates of homeownership tend to be up-and-coming or well-established neighborhoods where you&rsquo;re more likely to see healthy home price growth.
If you&rsquo;re not sure where to find those numbers (especially reliable ones), talk to a local real estate professional.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD

Buying a home anywhere feels like a huge step, but getting settled in the suburbs can seem especially momentous for any household. After all, traditionally, suburbs were for establishing a place in the community and raising a family, where you can put down roots and grow a life. Where you might plan to stay in your city home for just three to five years, a home in the suburbs could be the place where you retire.
So it pays to do some research on the suburb and neighborhood where you want to plant those roots. There&rsquo;s a lot you can do to an individual house to help it fit your lifestyle, but if the neighborhood isn&rsquo;t a good fit, remodeling it isn&rsquo;t quite as simple.
How do you make sure that the neighborhood where you&rsquo;re about to buy is a place to sink your roots? By conducting your research, talking to experts, crunching the numbers, and narrowing down your options until you have an option that sounds like home.
Know yourself
It&rsquo;s not wrong to choose a home based on life aspirations or goals that you hope to achieve one day. But unfortunately, humans have a tendency to imagine themselves reveling in situations that, realistically, they wouldn&rsquo;t actually enjoy.
So if you know that watching the local baseball team is one of your great pleasures in life while football leaves you more or less cold, then don&rsquo;t expect yourself to develop a sudden love for football just because you found a home that offers an easy commute to the field, for example.
Draw up a fantasy list of everything that you want in a suburb &mdash; but with a dose of realism in the sense that you&rsquo;re only including features and amenities that you really want, not things that you think you should want. Every suburb is going to have perks and deficits, and it&rsquo;s up to you to decide now what your ideal place to live is like and then see how close you can get.
If you&rsquo;ve rented in a few different neighborhoods or suburbs in the city, this should help you with your list. Consider what you liked about each place, whether it was the best schools in the area, the extensive park system, or the quick commute to work.
While you&rsquo;re at it, think about any dealbreakers that emerged while you were moving around as a renter. What did you not like or appreciate about any of your previous neighborhoods or suburbs? What annoyed you, and what made you grit your teeth and vow to move as soon as possible, if anything?
Get schooled
Even if your kids are in high school and you won&rsquo;t be looking at elementary or middle schools at all, it&rsquo;s a big mistake to ignore the schools in your suburb of choice. School quality is tied to home prices, whether you like it or not, and you don&rsquo;t want to eliminate families with younger (or older) kids from the pool of households who might be interested in buying your place when you eventually move on.
You can find general school ratings online, but bear in mind that some providers might not give you the granular information you need &mdash; like the individual ratings for elementary, middle, and high schools, and background context that shows how the schools in your area measure against the rest of the metro area. The more information you have, the better-educated you&rsquo;ll be when the time comes to make an offer on a home, and that never hurts.
If you do have school-age kids, then it&rsquo;s extra-smart to do an additional layer of research when you&rsquo;re narrowing down your suburbs of choice. Test scores only tell part of the story when it comes to any school. Call schools and ask about safety policies, how they manage struggling students, the availability of gifted programs, inclusivity efforts, and any other areas of concern that you might have.
Commerce and traffic
Even if you used to live in the area (or currently do), don&rsquo;t assume that you know everything there is to know when it comes to the traffic that flows through and the businesses that place their stakes. You never know which suburbs are going to get the benefit of future public transportation infrastructure, or which businesses might be moving into which parts of the metro.
Start with the the appropriate government and Chamber of Commerce entities for the suburb. Ask whether you can obtain a list of current business establishments in the neighborhood, and ask about planned developments and traffic projects. Ask about city facilities in the works, too, like rec centers, theaters, parks, or other public amenities.
Not only will this give you a heads-up to any major construction that could be surrounding you in the near future, but it can also serve as a red flag; suburbs that have a lot of empty storefronts and few businesses opening can signal areas where values might not be rising as quickly as the surrounding metro. Conversely, suburbs with new developments planned and businesses getting ready to open can signal spots with up-and-coming desirability, even if they&rsquo;re not quite there yet.
Ask about population and how many people have moved into and away from the suburb. You&rsquo;ll get a sense about whether those congested roads to and from work are going to get better or worse, and you won&rsquo;t be surprised when your commute changes accordingly.
You&rsquo;ll also want to look at how the suburb&rsquo;s public transportation network hooks up with the larger metro&rsquo;s and how easy it is to get to the places you already know you like to visit. Where are the closest transportation stops or hubs, and what&rsquo;s the parking like there? Is it relatively easy to get to and from the airport on the train or bus? How about from your prospective neighborhood to significant local landmarks or areas of interest, like arenas, ballparks, music venues, and your workplace? Are there any shuttles or other public transportation systems established in the suburb? How easy is it to call up a ride on Lyft or Uber? What are the train or subway stops like? How long does it take to grab public transportation or a cab to the city center, and how much does it cost?
Worst-case scenarios
Just like school ratings, there are a number of platforms that offer crime ratings for different suburbs &mdash; and that&rsquo;s a good thing to know when you&rsquo;re about to buy a home.
It&rsquo;s always smart to understand exactly what the maps are showing, and that&rsquo;s especially true for crime ratings. Oftentimes, those ratings are based on crime reports rather than filed charges or convictions secured, so the crime ratings platforms don&rsquo;t always tell the full story. It&rsquo;s not a bad idea to check with any friends who live in the area or a real estate professional to get deeper insights into how safe a suburb and its surrounding county (or counties) might be.
And nobody wants to think about being rushed to the hospital, but you might want to think about it before you buy a home, especially in the suburbs, where a hospital could be fifteen or twenty minutes away, and a good hospital even further. What&rsquo;s the local average emergency response time, and which hospital would be the go-to if you had to call for emergency services? Is there an urgent care center that&rsquo;s closer? What are its hours?
Those are good questions to be able to answer before you decide that a suburb is for you, especially if you or someone in your household has a health issue that requires specific care. Level I Trauma Care centers are equipped to handle most medical needs, including emergencies.
Spend the night
If you can, it&rsquo;s wise to try to spend at least one night (and preferably closer to a week) in the suburb where you want to buy. Find a vacation rental, if possible, so you&rsquo;re not cushioned by the &ldquo;hotel experience&rdquo; (if it&rsquo;s available) and can spend the week navigating where to shop for groceries, how you&rsquo;ll get to work, where you can walk the dog, and whether the sounds and smells are welcome or repugnant.
Take some drives around the area to familiarize yourself with where things are and decide whether you love it or loathe it. (Park every now and again to stretch your legs and look at the suburb from a new perspective.)
Maybe being close to a golf course is a dream come true, or maybe you&rsquo;d rather nestle closer to the street where the best restaurants in the area are clustered. Whatever the case, it&rsquo;s best to figure it out before you&rsquo;ve plopped down your (nonrefundable!) earnest money.
And if you can, try to stretch the week for a full seven days so you can experience the suburb on weekdays and weekends &mdash; after all, you&rsquo;ll be living there all week, too. Maybe you&rsquo;ll see plenty of families out and about on weekdays and practically nonexistent on weekends, for example, which might or might not align with your own schedule. If the suburb has any festivals or events, try to visit those, too, to get a feel for what the locals take pride in and how they celebrate.
Get the numbers
You might know that home values are rising all over the metro area, but understanding the historical price growth in your specific suburb of interest will give you a better idea as to whether the spot is ahead of or behind the typical trajectory &mdash; and what your sales opportunities might look like in a few years when you&rsquo;re looking to move on.
Likewise, you probably want to investigate the rate of homeownership in any suburbs you&rsquo;re considering. Homeowners tend to invest more in their properties than a landlord would, and suburbs with high rates of homeownership tend to be up-and-coming or well-established neighborhoods where you&rsquo;re more likely to see healthy home price growth. If you&rsquo;re not sure where to find those numbers (especially reliable ones), talk to a local real estate professional.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD

Whether you have a small yard, or an acre of land, you want to keep your lawn looking and feeling lush &ndash; so how do you do this without breaking the bank? Your lawn can stay green and healthy all season long with these simple budget-friendly tips.
1) DON&rsquo;T WATER YOUR LAWN.
This might go against what you&rsquo;re thinking, but it will only die if your area is experiencing a drought. If your homeowner&rsquo;s agreement requires you to water your lawn &ndash; water only when you see signs of drought stress, like the grass bending or drooping at the top. If you see this, it&rsquo;s time to water.
2) USE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS EFFICIENTLY.
Most sprinkler systems have smart timers to adjust the watering time and frequency. To maximize the system&rsquo;s value, you&rsquo;ll also want to adjust the flow rate and spray patterns so that you&rsquo;re not wasting water from overspray.
3) COLLECT RAINWATER WITH RAIN BARRELS.
You may be able to purchase these through your municipal office for a discount. These easily attach to your downspout. When the barrel is full of rain water, distribute it over your lawn.
4) USE GRAY WATER.
Water your lawn with water that&rsquo;s been reclaimed from inside your home &ndash; like used water from your sink, shower, or washing machine. This will reduce your municipal or well water consumption, and if you water your trees and plants with gray water, this can also help cool your home in the long run.
5) START COMPOSTING.
Put vegetable and household paper scraps into an outdoor compost bin. These are fairly inexpensive to purchase, or you can make your own. You can also add leaves, lawn trimmings, and cardboard. When you&rsquo;ve been tending to it regularly and it&rsquo;s full, you can put it on your garden and sprinkle some throughout your lawn to keep it healthy.
6) CHECK THE FORECAST BEFORE CUTTING YOUR LAWN.
You&rsquo;ll only want to cut your lawn when rain is likely in the next day or two.
7) SET YOUR LAWNMOWER BLADE TO THE HIGHEST SETTING.
First, let your grass grow tall so it can provide shade and protection for the ground so it can preserve water. And when you do cut your grass, setting the blade to its highest setting will help keep the grass somewhat tall. If your grass is too short, this can quickly dry your lawn out since it doesn&rsquo;t have any shady protection.
8) USE A MULCHING LAWNMOWER.
A lawnmower that takes grass and chops it up into small pieces creates a fine mulch that&rsquo;s sprinkled over the lawn as you mow. This finely chopped mulch breaks down quickly to provide fast nutrients for your lawn.
9) THINK LONG-TERM BY PLANTING SHADE TREES.
It will take some time to notice a difference, but when your shade trees are tall enough, they&rsquo;ll block a lot of direct sunlight from hitting your lawn, saving you water, from the grass prematurely drying out, and time, from needing to cut your lawn less. Brush up on your homeowner best practices with more real estate tips and tricks, from our blog.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR LAWN WITHOUT WASTING RESOURCES

Due to the limited quantity of both luxury homes and prospective luxury home buyers, marketing a luxury home in Torrance can be a challenge. Unlike marketing traditional homes, a luxury home requires that you target a very small, specific section of the home-buying population. Here are some tips and tricks for helping you do just that:
GO STEALTH MODE
Many sellers list their luxury homes in multiple listing service (MLS) databases, in national media listings, and in other very public spaces. However, marketing your luxury home in a private network first can help you attract only the most qualified of buyers. A local luxury real estate pro could help you tap into the most valuable markets and strategies for selling your home.
One idea for building such a network could be to host an event with your real estate agent so your affluent Torrance friends and community members can get familiar with the property. Should you decide to take the &ldquo;stealth&rdquo; approach to marketing your home, attending country club benefits and charity auctions could also help you build connections with potential buyers and spread the word subtly.
MAKE YOUR PROPERTY POP
Even with all of its amazing amenities, a luxury home can still fail to resonate with prospective buyers if it doesn&rsquo;t have the proper staging and presentation. Curb appeal is essential, so make sure to get your landscaping in order before any prospects come to visit. The interior of your home should not only be neat and tidy, but your furniture should be strategically arranged to optimize flow and highlight architectural features. If any furniture is damaged or out-of-date, consider renting new, modern furniture for when prospective buyers come to visit. Your trusted local agent can also be a great resource for helping you get everything in order and connecting you with any other professional Los Angeles/ Southbay stagers they recommend.
CONSIDER INCLUDING INCENTIVES
If you really want to see your Los Angeles/ Southbay luxury home move fast, think about including something of value to sweeten the deal. While you probably won&rsquo;t be willing to throw in a shiny new sports car, adjusting your home sale to include things like artwork, high-end furniture/appliances, or other desirable items could provide the leverage you need for motivating a prospective buyer.
See these other selling tips for Los Angeles/ Southbay real estate, but don&rsquo;t forget to contact a local realty pro to help you get started off with only the strongest marketing strategy for your luxury home!

HOW TO MARKET A LUXURY HOME IN LOS ANGELES/ SOUTHBAY

Many homebuyers dream of owning a beautiful, modern, luxurious home decked out with all the best amenities. For those fortunate folks who are actually poised to purchase such a home, however, careful consideration is essential. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;ve laid out the following tips to help you find a luxury home that meets your needs as well as your desires.
BEGINNING YOUR SEARCH 
Luxury home sellers often prefer to maintain a low profile. As a result, their homes may be unlisted or minimally advertised, making it difficult for you to find out when a luxury home becomes available for sale. Hiring an Torrance experienced agent, especially someone who has the requisite connections, can give you a huge advantage when trying to track down luxury homes on the market.
LOOKING FROM ABOVE 
While seeing photos of a luxury home can give you a good idea of its architectural style and key features, you&rsquo;ll want to do a bit more research before deciding to attend an open house or book a showing. Try typing the luxury listing&rsquo;s address into Google Maps to access the Street View. This will help you get a better picture (literally) of the home&rsquo;s plot, yard space, and overall landscaping. Not sure if a home has that in-ground pool you&rsquo;ve always wanted? Google may show you if this home will fulfill that dream, even if the public listing details do not.
SMART TECHNOLOGIES
Considering the price tag, it should be a given that the luxury home you&rsquo;re looking for will have modern flooring, fixtures, the most up-to-date appliances, and other features. To stay on the absolute cutting edge of home technology, you should choose a luxury home that also comes equipped with an automated control system. Smart home systems will allow you to adjust blinds, turn lights on and off, adjust the temperature, and more, all from your smartphone!
BATHROOM BASICS
A truly luxurious Torrance home will have a beautiful, high-tech bathroom. Popular features include high-end jet tubs that can shoot sounds waves through the water, and showers designed to mimc the rainforest or falling rain. Electronic control panels on such tubs and showers make adjusting temperatures and other settings a breeze. To ensure you&rsquo;re looking at only the truly luxurious Los Angeles/ Southbay homes, make sure to reach out to your local realty expert for advice and guidance on how to hunt for your dream home!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A LOS ANGELES/ SOUTHBAY LUXURY HOME

You may remember my previous blog that highlighted a beautiful Spanish-Style home in Los Angeles that hit the market on March 10th. Well, I&rsquo;m proud to announce that as of April 11th, it&rsquo;s SOLD! Not only that, but at an amazing $12,500 above asking price. That&rsquo;s exactly the type of service you can expect when you work with JB Real Estate &amp; Investment Inc. With over 13 years of experience in the industry and a professional team on my side, we&rsquo;ll listen to your needs, guide you every step of the way, and can negotiate on your behalf to ensure you sell your home quickly and for top dollar. Whether you&rsquo;re buying or selling, we&rsquo;re here to help. Contact me, Joanne Brown, directly at 888-751-0086 to get started.

JUST SOLD $12K ABOVE ASKING PRICE!

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