FED Rate Cuts Are Coming, but Lower Interest Rates Have Already Arrived
In the worlds of real estate and finance, things can change very rapidly. A positive or negative economic report, data point, or headline can move markets and strongly impact consumer sentiment. In the quest to allocate huge sums of money based on future predictions, expectations can quickly become reality. Earlier …
How an Election Year Impacts the Real Estate Market
If you follow the real estate market, you might notice a slight cooling or slow down in activity in the months leading up to November during election years. The fact that this process repeats itself one out of every four years makes this a noticeable trend. While there is no …
Making LA’s Mansion Tax Work Better
April 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of the implementation of Measure ULA in the City of Los Angeles, also known as the “Mansion Tax”, which levies an additional 4% transfer tax on all real estate sales above $5 million and a 5.5% tax on all sales above $10 million. This …
The Beginner’s Guide to Purchasing an Investment Property
Many of my clients and friends have asked me how to get started in real estate investing and also how to decide what type of real estate investment they should pursue. Since I have invested in a handful of buy and hold multi-family properties, been a partner on some rehab …
Making Sense of the National Association of Realtors Lawsuit Settlement
You might have heard about a proposed (at the time of this writing) settlement to multiple lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and several real estate brokerages that, if approved, would lead to changes in the way real estate agents are compensated. The lawsuits focused on home sellers …
Homeowners insurance – Once a Formality is Now a Potential Deal Killer
Until recently, I rarely had much concern about the prospect of my clients obtaining homeowner’s insurance when purchasing a property, or for obtaining insurance for my own properties. Not that it wasn’t important – fire insurance has always been necessary to close a loan – but it was easy to …
A Brief History of Not-So-Timeless Home Design Trends
Isn’t it funny how home décor trends from 10 years ago now seem dated and 50 shades of brown kitchens found in many of the early Playa Vista homes are now virtually prehistoric? Well, it gets worse. Here is an evolution of home décor trends by decade beginning in the …
Question and Answer (for The Neighbors of Playa Vista, February 2024
I have been inspired by other expert contributors and thought having a question and answer session would be the sincerest form of flattery and a fun way for people to get to know a little more about me and my real estate business. I have received some good questions recently …
Kaplan Family Joins 21st Century with Smart Home Upgrades
While I have often been early to leverage technologies to help grow my business, I have not been what you would call an early adopter in my personal life. I generally figure “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This mindset began in my childhood as my parents refused to …
If The FED Tells You Something, You Should Believe It
The most notable change over the past two years in the economy, which has dramatically shifted the real estate market, has been the rapid rise in interest rates. Elevated inflation, which was the result of massive stimulus and supply chain disruption during the pandemic, was the catalyst for the …