Why Use a Licensed Torrance Realtor?

Why Should you use a realtor®?

All real estate licensees are not the same. Only real estate licensees who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® are properly called REALTORS®.   REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. An independent survey reports that 84% of home buyers would use the same REALTOR® again.

Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments most people experience in their lifetime. Transactions in Torrance today usually exceed $800,000. If you had a $800,000 income tax problem, would you attempt to deal with it without the help of a CPA? If you had a $800,000 legal question, would you deal with it without the help of an attorney? Considering the small upside cost and the large downside risk, it would be foolish to consider a deal in real estate without the professional assistance of a REALTOR®.

Keys to buying a home

But if you’re still not convinced of the value here are twelve reasons to use a realtor:

1. Your REALTOR® can help you determine your buying power — that is, your financial reserves plus your borrowing capacity. If you give a REALTOR® some basic information about your available savings, income and current debt, he or she can refer you to lenders best qualified to help you. Most lenders — banks and mortgage companies — offer limited choices.

2. Your REALTOR® has many resources to assist you in your home search. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available but not actively advertised in the market, and it will take some investigation by your agent to find all available properties.

3. Your REALTOR® can assist you in the selection process by providing objective information about each property. Agents who are REALTORS®have access to a variety of informational resources. REALTORS® can provide local community information on utilities, zoning. schools, etc. There are two things you’ll want to know. First, will the property provide the environment I want for a home or investment? Second, will the property have resale value when I am ready to sell?

4. Your REALTOR® can help you negotiate. There are myriad negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession and often the inclusion or exclusion of repairs and furnishings or equipment. The purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required.

5. Your REALTOR® provides due diligence during the evaluation of the property. Depending on the area and property, this could include inspections for termites, dry rot, asbestos, faulty structure, roof condition, septic tank and well tests, just to name a few. Your REALTOR® can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these investigations and provide you with written.
reports. You will also want to see a preliminary report on the title of the property. Title indicates ownership of property and can be mired in confusing status of past owners or rights of access. The title to most properties will have some limitations; for example, easements (access rights) for utilities. Your REALTOR®, title company or attorney can help you resolve issues that might cause problems at a later date.

6. Your REALTOR® can help you in understanding different financing options and in identifying qualified lenders.

7. Your REALTOR® can guide you through the closing process and make sure everything flows together smoothly.

8. When selling your home, your REALTOR® can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms and condition of competing properties. These are key factors in getting your property sold at the best price, quickly and with minimum hassle.

9. Your REALTOR® markets your property to other real estate agents and the public. Often, your REALTOR® can recommend repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the salability of your property. Your REALTOR® markets your property to other real estate agents and the public. In many markets across the country, over 50% of real estate sales are cooperative sales; that is, a real estate agent other than yours brings in the buyer. Your REALTOR® acts as the marketing coordinator, disbursing information about your property to other real estate agents through a Multiple Listing Service or other cooperative marketing networks, open houses for agents, etc. The
REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires REALTORS® to utilize these cooperative relationships when they benefit their clients.

10. Your REALTOR® will know when, where and how to advertise your property. There is a misconception that advertising sells real estate. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® studies show that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family and personal contacts. When a property is marketed with the help of your REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

11. Your REALTOR® can help you objectively evaluate every buyer’s proposal without compromising your marketing position. This initial agreement is only the beginning of a process of appraisals, inspections and financing — a lot of possible pitfalls. Your REALTOR® can help you write a legally binding, win-win agreement that will be more likely to make it through the process.

12. Your REALTOR® can help close the sale of your home. Between the initial sales agreement and closing (or settlement), questions may arise. For example, unexpected repairs are required to obtain financing or a cloud in the title is discovered. The required paperwork alone is overwhelming for most sellers. Your REALTOR® is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to closing (or settlement).

Keith Kyle is a licesnsed Realtor with Vista Sotheby’s International Realty with offices throughout the South Bay.  Keith has been a full time realtor since 2005 and a “Top Producer” in the area every year since 2007.  He has helped hundreds of buyers and sellers in Torrance and the Beach Cities and looks forward to helping you as well.  Contact Keith for all of your real estate needs.

State of Torrance Real Estate Market As We Head into 2020

Welcome to our Torrance real estate update for the coming year.   2020 is looking to be another banner year for home sellers as the combination of seemingly endless demand and historically low interest rates means more people will be looking to purchase a home.

View the current homes for sale in Torrance California.

In general the real estate market seems to be slowing down heading into 2020 but for a very odd reason…..each month there are fewer homes hitting the market.  Fewer listings mean fewer home sales.  January saw a very slight uptick in the number of listings so we’re hopeful that is a trend that continues.  Other than that small bump in January, the number of homes for sale has dropped every month since May of 2019

According to Torrance realtor Keith Kyle, “It’s clear that the market is cooling off as there has been an increase in new listings coupled with fewer sales and homes going into escrow since summer.”  The chart above shows that the number of active listings has held pretty steady between 150 and 170 since summer, but the number of sold homes as well as new escrows has continued to decrease.  If this trend continues the market will shift more in favor of buyers and less in favor of sellers.  It’s clearly been a sellers market over the past few years.

The chart below shows the upward trend over the past few months with avarage “months of inventory” of unsold homes on the rise.

Debt to income infographic

What Exactly Is Debt To Income Ratio

One of the key items that a lender takes into consideration when you’re getting pre approved for a loan and during the underwriting process is your debt to income ratio. This tells the lender how much money you owe each month compared with your monthly income to come up with a ratio to determine how much of a risk you are to them.  This ratio comes from adding up all of your debts including mortgages, auto laons, student loans, credit card balances and any other debt you pay off each month to your pre-tax income each month. Lenders have different thresholds that they’ll allow so it’s always good to talk with several lenders.  If you’re not comfortable getting the process started we would be happy to give you several lenders that we’ve worked with and that have earned our trust.

Debt to income infographic

How Buyers and Sellers Handle Home Inspection Challenges

Helpful information on home inspections in Torrance CA

One of the more treacherous parts of an escrow is the home inspection and request for repairs.  Often times the buyer thinks that the home inspection is a “checklist” of what needs to be fixed while the seller either thinks their home is perfect or “it was just fine for us so why does the buyer need things that work fine upgraded or repaired”.  Finding middle ground isn’t always easy. As the graphic below shows, 80% of home inspection reports show at least something needing to be fixed.  We always recommend to both our buyers and sellers to be reasonable.  On the buyer side stick to actual problems or repairs.  If it’s an issue that the buyer will have to immediately pay for to have repaired…it’s a reasonable request.  The biggest challenge items are either those called out as not up to current code, or items towards the end of their service life.  Buyers need to understand that the statement “not up to current building code” does not mean it’s necessarily problematic.  Codes change all of the time and unless it’s a clear safety issue, it’s usually best to stick with actual repairs.  Items at the end of their service life really depend on the item, the cost and how extensive the rest of the repair list.  We’ve found that asking for everything usually ends with the seller dismissing any repairs….even the reasonable ones. Home inspections Keith Kyle is a top producing realtor and Torrance real estate specialist with Vista Sotheby’s International Realty in the South Bay.  Contact Keith for more information on how the home inspection and escrow process works in Torrance real estate.
Down payment options

Info On Down Payments for Torrance Home Buyers

One of the big misconceptions with home buyers, especially first time home buyers, is that you need at least 20% down.  That’s often not the case with lenders offering FHA loans with as little as 3.5% down and traditional lenders funding loans with as little at 5%.  The lower amount is much easier if it’s a single family home but there are options:

Down payment options

Keith Kyle home sales

See the Homes That We Have Sold in Southern California

By Keith Kyle

We are so fortunate to have worked with so many wonderful people and in such a great area.  It just doesn’t get much better.  See the map below to view all of our local home sales. Although we’ve sold more homes in Torrance and Redondo, we have been lucky enough to sell throughout the area, from Santa Monica to Huntington Beach. Many of these were first time buyers and are now happy homeowners. The red marks are home sales in which I represented the buyer, the orange marks represent homes that I listed, and the blue marks represent homes in which I represented both buyers and sellers.  Click on the marks to see pictures of the various homes and properties.

You can also see the interactive map of our South Bay home sales on Google.

Keith Kyle home sales