Thousand Oaks, California has been (and still is) one of the continental United States most beautiful cities and regions. Reasons abound.

1The air. The altitude is above sea level. In fact, it is mountainous. The terrain makes you feel like you are in the Rockies or the Smokie mountains… but that brings us to

2 The beaches. Just 25 minutes through the famed Santa Monica mountains—famous because just about every single movie in the early days of Motion pictures used them as a backdrop. The beaches are eponymous. People say Malibu and it’s not as if you have to explain it’s one of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Sort of like Monte Carlo.

3The schools. Education in the Conejo Valley is, by far, one of the most coveted aspects of Ventura County. It’s “understood” that the stars a few minutes down the road in Hollywood come to reside in Thousand Oaks simply because of its blue-ribbon school system. Schools such as La Reina and Oaks Christian are known for their matriculation of the children of the Hollywood elite.

4 The safety. Thousand Oaks is also known for being

among the safest large cities in the nation. The city consistently ranks as the first or second safest large city (population between 100,000 and 499,999) in the United States in annual surveys, the main competition being nearby Simi Valley, as well as Amherst, New York, which has claimed first place seven times in the last 12 years

5The future. Because of the culture of civility, the gorgeous, year-round climate, a few of the world’s leading companies are deeply rooted and connected in Thousand Oaks. Just of few being; Amgen, Baxter and Guitar Center. Not exactly dying industries. In fact, those are just three that have been around. There’s also a vibrant cluster of parks already built and populated with future T.O. (Thousand Oaks) leaders, as well as plans for a brand new park in its early development.

These are just a few reasons why Thousand Oaks is attractive for home buyers and serious investors.

Let’s not forget we’re also a hop, skip and a jump from some of the world’s most beautiful ranch properties, Calabasas (translated means means “pumpkin,” “squash,” or “gourd,”), and beautiful surrounding gated and residential areas such as Sherwood Country Club and Hidden Hills.

Southern California Luxury real estate market – the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: Lending is alive and well for Southern California real estate.

Banks have money to lend and are anxious to approve well-qualified buyers purchasing homes priced at fair market value. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still the primary investors for loan amounts up to $729,750 in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, according to Brownie Stanisch of Fieldstone Financial.

Southern California Real Estate Luxury Market Specifically.

Still, many banks are financing loan amounts well above that limit and are placing those loans into their own portfolio until Wall Street secondary markets start to open up again. In fact, we have one client right now qualifying for 1.5 million dollar loan, stated income with 40 percent down.

The message:

if you can qualify, you will have some of the best programs and rates ever seen in lending.

The bad: The way lenders define well-qualified and fair market value has changed.

The definition of well-qualified is being driven by the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and their ever tightening risk standards. The GSEs (Government Sponsored Enterprises) are constantly re-evaluating their default portfolio and if they see a trend in the borrower characteristics of defaulted loans, they will tighten their guidelines for future loans. A recent example is Fannie Mae’s directive to re-evaluate borrower’s credit immediately before funding to determine if there has been any new debt.

The message

Right now the “new normal” in underwriting is “validate all data and re-validate at closing.”

The definition of “fair market value” is unfortunately still being driven by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).  HVCC requires appraisers to be independent from lenders. In order to comply with the required independence, most lenders have contracted the services of an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) who has the task of randomly assigning appraisers to each appraisal order.  The problem is that the AMC receives typically ¼ to ⅓ of the appraisal fee, leaving much less for the appraiser.

To compensate for the lost income, appraisers take more orders than they can comfortably handle and accept orders that are beyond their expertise.

Such appraisals may therefore be of questionable quality. It is the questionable appraisals that usually warrant a dreaded review appraisal. Luckily, we have not encountered many instances where a review appraisal was warranted, but we have encountered instances where the original appraisal did not support the purchase price. In those instances, there has usually been a compromise between the buyer and seller; the seller lowers his price a little and the buyer comes in with more money – splitting the difference that was “short.”  However, if the appraisal is lower by more than 10%, most buyers would “walk.”

The ugly: Southern California luxury real estate could get worse before it gets better, as each new group of defaults may cause lenders to re-evaluate their underwriting standards.

What is the current market? Diminishing inventory.

Although there are many buyers who would like to purchase homes, they are finding small inventory from which to choose from.

“While a large part of the market consists of distress sales, many sellers are coming back into the market…at least in our market area, and the average sales price is rising from last year”

according to John Mallett of Mainstreet Mortgage. If a seller prices aggressively, he is likely to get multiple offers bidding the value of the property up dramatically. There was a recent story of a San Fernando Valley home priced well under market at $700,000 where the realtor received 35 offers and sold the property at over $1,000,000.  In the first-time homebuyer price range of $250,000-$450,000 some REO banks have also taken to that list low-sell high strategy and it appears to be working. Unfortunately, such a bidding frenzy is making it very hard for first-time buyers to get into the southern California luxury real estate market.

We have been in two multiple offers at the 2.6 million range in the last two weeks. Once the sellers reduced the asking price very close to the realistic selling price,the offers came in, and were also realistic. Even at the “über-luxury” level, buyers want a deal. A recent buyer looked at all of our top end listings—including White Stallion—and guess what? The buyer wanted a “deal.” He ended up buying a 19,000 square foot home on a few acres in an exclusive gated community That property was listed for 19 million. The offer was 13 million—”take it or leave it.”

The seller took it, and it was a good deal.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and real estate

Q After much searching I found my dream condo, so I made an offer on this short sale and the seller accepted. I opened escrow with $1,000, but then found out that the seller filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. My REALTOR® advised that this property cannot be sold until the bankruptcy case is settled, and gave me an Addendum to Purchase Agreement to sign which will cancel the agreement and allow me to get back my escrow money. But I don’t want to cancel the agreement. I want to enforce it!  What are my options?
~ Duane

A: First, while you may want this property, you may not get it.

World Bankruptcy?

To put all your hopes on one property is not wise.

Second, you made an offer on a short sale. This requires that each lender that made a loan on the property approve the short sale – which the lenders are not required to do.

Third, the bankruptcy may have been filed by the seller to stop the lender(s) from foreclosing. If so, the lender(s) may ask the bankruptcy court for permission to proceed with foreclosure.

Fourth, even if you do not cancel the transaction, if the lenders do not agree to the short sale you will not be able to purchase it from the seller.

Fifth, if the lenders do proceed with foreclosure, you may be able to purchase the property at the trustee’s sale (if you can meet the financial terms of the lender), or if the lender ends up owning the property, you may be able to purchase the property from the lender.

You should ask your Realtor about the above and you should seek legal advice as there are a number of legal issues facing the seller and you as a buyer with regard to your deposit and with regard to your desire to purchase this property.

A look through the eyes of the luxury buyer reveals an emotional core.

By: Karen Crystal

Whether it’s a polite conversation, or a heated discussion, luxury real estate brokers are committed to the value of staging, and sometimes our view of this important marketing strategy may clash with that of our client.

The $ million question: is staging worth the investment?

By staging your home, you are visually inviting buyers to become emotionally attached, thereby enabling them to imagine the lifestyle they’ll soon be enjoying.

Visually inviting

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million, right? So, why are visual images worth so much more than the spoken word? I believe it is because visual images are actually emotional triggers. In fact, studies have shown that at least 65% of us are visual learners, much of which comes from “our minds eye”. Our “Visual memory”.
For example, when luxury buyers describe what they desire in their dream homes and the lifestyle they want to achieve, they tend to use phrases like this.

Here’s how I’d like it to look….

This is my vision…

Let me show you how I am picturing it…..

I can see my family relaxing together…

Here is another important point to remember, not everyone possesses a vivid imagination.

Emotional attachment

Whether you want to admit it or not, we are all emotional beings. Many of our thoughts, and most of our important decisions are charged with emotion.

My observation as a luxury agent, having spent thousands of hours with luxury home buyers, is that they act very differently when buying stocks and bonds, or even buying a company, then they do a home. Luxury buyers may not discuss how they feel regarding their business decisions, but they definitely talk about how they feel when it comes to their home buying decisions.

Those of you who are scientific thinkers, may not believe this is true.

To demonstrate my point, visit the staged model of a brand new luxury home development. I don’t know about you, but the minute I walk through the door, my visual senses awaken. I immediately begin to feel and imagine the lifestyle of the staged model home. Life seems a little better, and I imagine moving in with only my toothbrush. It can be a vivid and emotional experience.

What about you? I’ve watched my own buyers “fall in love” with a home, feeling it in their emotional core. They imagine their children’s birthday party in the backyard, and they picture their family eating at the beautiful dining room table already set for holiday dinner.

Lifestyle

The luxury home buyer is looking for a home where everyday living and the luxury lifestyle are inseparable. The home overlooking the 6th hole of the golf course, with the outdoor living room equipped with a flat screen TV over the fireplace, and a bar for entertaining your family and friends. This is the life….the lifestyle we are selling… and the lifestyle they are buying.

So, when my sellers say (and this is an actual quote),

” If they can’t imagine their stuff in my house just because it is empty, then they are too stupid to afford this house anyway”…

I remind them that we are not selling their 13,000 sq ft house with 12 inch crown moldings, we are selling a home with a lifestyle. We need to market visually to buyer’s emotional needs, as well as their rational minds.

I recommend you ask your seller who is resisting staging this question.” Would you prefer getting a massage at the physical therapists office or the Four Seasons Resort Spa“? The answer is obvious. Then I ask them why they like the spa more than the therapist’s office? They usually say they like the atmosphere in the spa better because it feels more relaxing. ” Is it worth paying more for the massage in the beautiful spa then the cold therapist’s office”? I think most of us would agree the answer is an emphatic, yes.

I believe the luxury home buyer will pay a premium for a staged home that creates a lifestyle image that resonates in their emotional core…and they may just buy all the furniture with it!

QI currently have a 5 bedroom home with 4 full baths and 2 half baths. The home doesn’t have a designated master suite. Would taking 1 bedroom and 1 full bath away to make a nice master suite make sense? ~ Margaret

ask a realtor®

AMargaret, this is a common question, especially in neighborhoods of older homes, where there are more bedrooms than needed, and they are usually very small. The idea of walk-in closets and larger master bedrooms and bathrooms are virtually non-existent.

I believe that one of the most important and biggest selling features in a home is the master suite. It is arguably equal to an updated kitchen.

In my opinion, you should definitely lose a secondary bedroom, and create a well thought out sanctuary of a master suite, featuring “his and her” closets, as well as separate “zones” to the master bathroom and dressing areas.

A sumptuous master bedroom space makes the home more attractive to the comtemporary family lifestyle.

From REALTOR.com® ask a REALTOR®

NickiAndKaren.com on Alltop.

Featured on Alltop | Real Estate

See for yourself here: http://real-estate.alltop.com

This is quite a privilege and honor to be syndicated on Guy Kawasaki’s list. . .

Also, NickiAndKaren.com has also been in the Top 100 Real Estate Blogs in technorati.com.

Indeed, a heartfelt thank you to all of you who read, glance, click or just look at our client’s beautiful luxury real estate… which, of course, is why we started this blog in the first place…

Thank you again! And maybe this is another reason you should list with us

Magical Malibu tour

Malibu is a city on the Southeastern coast of Los Angeles, California. The Chumash Indians, the city’s earliest settlers gave the city its nomenclature. Originally, “humaliwo,” translated to “the surf sounds loudly.” For most, Malibu conjures images of the über-wealthy and über-luxury real estate—rightly so—but, it’s also a place of divine beauty and natural beauty. It is home to the stars because of this beauty as well as its proximity to Los Angeles. This, along with many other things (read on…), makes the town home to some of the most sought after beachfront property in the world.

Location, location location. Isn’t that what has always been said about real estate? Not as much for luxury real estate, but Malibu Beach is a one of the Earth’s most extraordinary locations. It’s only about a half an hour from Hollywood and just another 5 minutes down the road to the heart of Los Angeles. So the commute to work is pretty close. Isn’t that much the same as living in the suburbs of…say… Omaha, right?

Andrea Bullo's Moonshadows

Malibu has to be created divinely. The landscape is literally mind-blowing. The cliffs, the surf, the blue Pacific, the sand, the bungalows, the mansions… All make up part of Malibu’s charm and eclecticism. There really is no other place on earth like it, except maybe Santorini. But, then again, you can’t very well hop in your Lamborghini, or have the limo take you to LAX for a flight to LaGuardia for a scene to shoot in Jamaica, Queens for the next blockbuster film.

Malibu is a beach paradise. Much as the French Riviera or the idyllic Greek Isles. Most alluring is its location and its natural beauty.

Ephemeral Malibu moments

Not to be forgotten are these fascinating celebrity movie and popular music tidbits.

Interesting to note, Cat Stevens almost drowned in the ocean off the coast of Malibu thus leading to his name change and beliefs…

…But in 1975 while swimming off the coast of Malibu, Calif., another brush with death revealed his true destiny.

“I decided to go for a swim. Of course nobody told me that that wasn’t a good time to go swimming,” Islam said. “So there I was, you know, out there, and I’m thinking, ‘Ah, great, hmm, OK, let’s go back now.’ And then I … tried to swim back to shore. And suddenly I felt ‘I can’t do this’ — the tide was going the other way. I wasn’t getting any closer.

“Suddenly I was petrified. I thought: ‘This might be it.’ I said: ‘God, if you save me, I’ll work for you.’ It was without hesitation that I knew that, instinctively, there was a power that could help me. And then a little wave, you know, came behind me — a little wave, it wasn’t very big. But it was that miraculous moment when suddenly the tide was going in my favor. I had my energy, I could swim back. I was on land. I was alive. Wow, what next?”

He wouldn’t touch a guitar again for more than 20 years. [sic]-By Judy Faber

Charlton Heston filmed the famed scene of the end of the cult classic, Planet of the Apes, on the beach there… the prop of the Statue of Liberty sat on the beach for months as they were filming it…

Charlton Heston | Planet of the Apes

from IMDB, (The Internet Movie Database):

The filming location of the classic final scene has been erroneously thought to be Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but is in fact Malibu, California. For die-hard fans who want to visit the true location, it is a secluded cove on the far eastern end of Westward Beach, between Zuma Beach and Point Dume. Ignore the wide curving beach by the car park and clamber over the rocks to the east until you get to the quiet, often deserted, little beach surrounded by cliffs. (The Statue of Liberty was an optical effect skillfully achieved with a matte painting blended into a still existing rock structure.)

Funny the way it is… the beginning of that epic film starts with George (or Taylor as he’s known throughout the movie… never George… don’t think even once…):

“…And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We’re now on full automatic, in the hands of the computers…”

I guess that has virtually nothing to do with luxury real estate… (hmm… pun intended, I guess…) … or does it? How many memorable moments are in the IMDB about Omaha?

Westlake Village, California | Certainly a village… though its beauty might surprise you…

The City of Westlake Village, set between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains in Western Los Angeles County, combines the beauty of the Southern California countryside with choice luxury real estate. This master planned ‘City in the Country’ enjoys the distinction of being home to thriving businesses, well executed residential and commercial development, and high quality schools, making it a fantastic place to live, work and raise a family.

malibu canyon

Acclaimed as one of the nation’s most successful suburbs and some the most beautiful luxury real estate Westlake Village (91361) has a population of 8,858, occupying 5.4 square miles in Conejo Valley. Only nine miles from the Pacific, at an elevation of 900 feet above sea level, Westlake Village is only 38 miles from Los Angeles.

Westlake Village is the hub of Ventura Freeway’s (US 101) Technology Corridor, and because of the City’s business friendly environment, it has become a center of growth for technology, research and development in Southern California. Future plans for restaurant, office and commercial development along the corridor, and a high quality work force make Westlake Village the ideal spot to start or expand your business.

The City has many Youth and Senior programs available through Parks & Recreation, as well as five city parks and over 100 miles of hiking trails to explore and enjoy. Restaurants, convenient shopping and a public library are also a vital part of the Westlake Village community.

In addition to its commitment to business development and controlled growth, Westlake Village is also committed to preservation and protection of natural settings and resources.

The City of Westlake Village is working to help keep the natural environment of Southern California pristine for future generations to enjoy for years to come.

Amazing Tuscan Retreat | Joni Koneig | Luxury Staging

Not Sherwood, but it’s close. Thought we’d talk about the virtues of Calabasas today. We tried to assemble the other 3 parts but we decided to introduce you to something more “historic.”

A city that actually is part of “an historic time” and founded by a Father (which is coming up soon!): Calabasas, California.

Calabasas, California, part of the El Camino Real, the original mission highway founded by Father Junipero Serra in the late 1700’s, is a delightful contrast of breath taking mountains and canyons, old and new, traditional and progressive. Home to some of Southern California’s finest luxury real estate, Calabasas maintains a charming small town quality. Recognized as one of the Top Ten Places to live in the US, Calabasas’ award winning schools and safe, upscale neighborhoods make it a perfect place for individuals and families, and a perfect bedroom community for local business owners and employees.

Father Junipero Serra

Calabasas (91302) has a median elevation of 796 feet, and a population of 22,185, covering an area of 12.9 square miles. Calabasas’ scenic landscape and highways are home to a variety of local plant species and wildlife. As a Tree City USA community, Calabasas has claimed oak trees as protected, which also maintains its rural, woodland atmosphere. Hiking trails, parks and picnic areas also add to the beauty and enjoyment for visitors and local residents. An ongoing effort to acquire more open space as part of Calabasas’ dedication to natural preservation is another positive environmental indicator.

Historic Old Town Calabasas makes a picturesque setting for local gatherings and festivals, a weekly Farmer’s Market, dining and shopping. The Leonis Adobe, at the center of Old Town Calabasas, is a living history museum, where people can experience the real Old West. Along with its convenient bike commuter lanes and public transportation options, Calabasas plans to expand the downtown experience with a new library, civic center, fountains and plazas.

Close to the Ventura Freeway Technology Corridor (US 101), Calabasas is the perfect place to do business. Supported by business friendly local government, and strong service, housing and retail markets, Calabasas is at the forefront of economic recovery. Calabasas’ relationship with its sister city, Anqing, China, and its strong connection with the entertainment industry encourage growth and stability to both local and international ventures.