Irina Netchaev, Pasadena CA

Eunice, feel free to email me with the address of the property and I can check with the listing agent to see the status of the house - Irina@irina4realestate.com. Also, if you are actively looking for a home, you absolutely need to get yourself preapproved asap. - Sat Nov 15 2008, 22:08

Eunice, what a sad situation. There's really no way to tell whether or not your agent did her job. Bottom line is that you didn't get the house that you wanted.

If the home just went into escrow, you might want to put a back up offer. It is very difficult for buyers to qualify for a loan and the buyers still need to release contingencies prior to solidifying the deal.

You might still have a chance.

I am so sorry that you had such a frustrating experience.

I wish you the best of luck in your home purchase! - Sat Nov 15 2008, 21:07

Hi there,

A lot of the answers will depend on how many years the home that you own have been rented for. To take advantage of capital gains exclusion, you need to have lived (owner occupied your home) 2 of the last 5 years. The order of the years is not important.

Irina - Fri Nov 7 2008, 10:34

Eunice, 439 Highland in Monrovia was sold in June of 2003 for $375,000. The LA tax assessor lists this property as 1 bedroom and 2 baths. The current sellers could have legally converted the walkway, but you or your agent will need to request to see copies of "signed off" city permits to confirm.

The assessor lists this property as having 845 sq. ft. The recent sold homes in the 1/2 a mile radius of this home have averaged $413/sq. ft. This home is listed at $439. It's not unusual for smaller homes to run a little higher than average for price per sq. ft. Although, the average sold price per sq. ft. for Monrovia, overall, has been running around $350.

I strongly recommend that you hire a professional and experienced real estate agent to represent you in this transaction. Trying to buy a house with suggestions over the net is a risky situation. Monrovia market report is attached for your information in the link below. - Tue Nov 4 2008, 19:24

Hi Eunice,

You have been doing your homework!

To address your questions:

1. There are a lot of excellent real estate agents working in Pasadena. You can do a couple of things. First, ask your friends and family for a recommendation - if they had a great experience with an agent most likely, you will too. Also, use the power of internet to learn more about the agent, or just google pasadena real estate agents, see who comes up and explore their sites. Also, interview your potential agent candidates to ask them about their experience, how they work with consumers, what their specialty is - residential, income, first time buyer, etc. See who you feel more comfortable with.
2. The best way to get a loan is to go through a referral from the agent that you pick. Real estate agents have established relationships with credible and reliable lenders and mortgage brokers. For example, I have a list of several lenders/mortgage brokers that have consistently provided great rates and service to my customers. Most importantly, there were no surprises or last minute changes. That's critical, especially, in today's real estate market.
3. As a buyer, you are in a great position. The seller will pay commissions for you. As far as rebates are concerned, you might be able to find an agent that will give part of their commission back, but if they're willing to give you a portion of their salary, I'm not sure that they would be the ones to negotiate on your behalf. An experienced, full service real estate agent, will not consider that.

Hope this answered your questions. I am putting a link to my website below and it has a lot more information and articles about buying a home in Pasadena and surrounding cities like Sierra Madre and Monrovia. Also there are posts about how to find a great agent.

Good luck,
Irina - Sun Nov 2 2008, 13:46

I disagree with Jeffery and Irina. There's no way for us to know whether or not you should take the offer of $415,000 without understanding how your home has been marketed and if it has been marketed correctly. How did you come up with the price of $449,000? Being behind Occidental College tells me that you're in a pretty good area of Highland Park. It depends on the condition of the home, size of interior and lot and a very intensive look at the market analysis, past trends and anticipated trends over the next six months. You also need to understand which homes in the area are on the market now - who is your competition?

Are you working with a real estate professional? If not, hire one.

Feel free to click on the link below for real time real estate market report on Highland Park. That might help you in your decision.

Feel free to call if you'd like to discuss further.

Irina - Mon Oct 13 2008, 18:00

Wow Allison, that's a hard question to answer without having more information. Have your agent contact the seller's agent to see if the terms were significantly different.

Best of luck to you! - Mon Oct 13 2008, 09:27