Random thoughts on art, technology, stuff, and occasionally Real Estate: April 2009

My partner Bob has an 11-year-old mixed bred dog named Bear.  Bob has been seriously thinking about getting a young companion dog for Bear, and Bob has always wanted a Basset Hound.
 
Bob registered with Basset Rescue and his home visit was just approved on Friday.  But we've also been looking at Basset Breeder sites online.
 
And I just thought I'd remark that I love this breeder's web site , Desiree Acres  ... it's not cutting edge technology, it's not state-of-the-art design,  BUT it has what any dog lover wants to see most of all,  DOZENS of photos of wonderful, beautiful, adorable Bassets  :-)  and there's just enough information about the kennel owners to make you think "These seem like OK people" ...

Go look through Desiree Acres' site right now, and try to come back without a smile on your face.  :-)
 
There's a lesson there, I think, that probably applies to real estate web sites as well as dog breeders.  :-)

Here's something Jorgen could work on in his spare time:  :-)

If you post frequently to Localism, chances are it is ~always~ the same State, County and City.

Wouldn't it be great if those fields were "sticky" and you didn't have to plow through the whole drop-down menu every time you posted.  That has to be painful for folks in Wyoming or Yukon.  :-)

Los Inbetweens: Artists Sin Barrios

Curated by Armando H. Torres

"Hard to Swallow -Rigo Maldonado

Opening Night Reception: April 11, 7:00-11:00 PM

Nena Amsler
Alix Gonzales
Marvin Jordana
Rigo Maldonado
Stephanie Mercado
Albert Reyes
Guadalupe Rodriguez
Sandy Rodriguez
Shizu Saldamando
Rainbow Underhill
Angel Villanueva

With a spoken word performance on opening night by Reina Alejandra Prado Saldivar

The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present an exhibition of 11 local artists in an exhibition curated by  Armando H. Torres.  Los Inbetweens: Artists Sin Barrios is a survey of creative individuals who have had  t deal with being in-between worlds whether due to issues regarding nationality, community, race, gender o sexuality, and how these issues have filtered into their Art.

Los Inbetweens: Artists Sin Barrios examines the tradition of the artist's self-portrait as a means to  acess their particular concerns expressed within the work, and thus provides a systematic study of  cntemporary art, and its process by Latino/Latinas in 21st Century Los Angeles.

Los Inbetweens: Artists Sin Barrios is a direct reflection of the artist and of a defining moment within the period, and or reality, in which they currently live.

*A Catalog of the exhibition will be available for purchase on opening night.

Where:     Avenue 50 Studio, Inc., 131 N. Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA  90042.
When:      Saturday, April 11, 2009 from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Gallery hours:   Tuesday-Thursday 10 am - 12 noon, Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 4 pm

April 11 - May 3, 2009

www.avenue50studio.com/ave50studio@sbcglobal.net

The UFW Foundation invites you to the 11th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Day Walk & Festival

Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at Historic Olvera Street
124 Paseo de la Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Registration  9am

___

Music, Speakers, Vendor & Information booths and more!

Join the Chavez Family, the farm worker movement, students, community organizations, celebrities, and elected officials.

Special Guests:

Dolores Huerta, co founder of the UFW
Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas
and Mexican regional music stars, Graciela Beltran and German Montero

When I posted this yesterday, a thought crossed my mind.

I wondered what sort of Investment Analysis software the previous owner used that convinced him or her to buy the property.

You know those programs:  They factor in appreciation, and income tax advantages and use some high tech formula to compute a cap rate .....

What might have been of more benefit to that previous owner is some plain old skool arithmetic ..

If the total monthly income number is bigger than the total monthly expense number this equals "A Good Thing."

If the total monthly expense number is bigger than the total monthly income number this equals "A Not So Good Thing."

There are plenty of statistics, reports and graphs dealing with the presence of foreclosures in current real estate market in Los Angeles.  However, sometimes studying one individual case can present a clearer picture than all the combined data. 

This bank owned duplex in Highland Park is located in the hills overlooking York Valley.  City records indicate appoximately 2,000 square feet, built in 1960.  The listing remarks indicate a 3-bedroom, 1-bath unit upstairs, and a 2-bedroom, 1-bath unit downstairs.  It is currently offered for sale at $339,000.

It originally sold 1976, for $82,500.

The next sale, over 30 years later, in December, 2005, was for $630,000, with a mortgage loan of $504,000.

The Notice of Default was filed February, 2008.

The Notice of Sale was filed May, 2008.

The Trustee Sale took place June, 2008.

The property is tenant occupied.  The listing remarks indicate gross rental income of approximately $2,000.

Consider this:  With a loan of $504,000, the previous owner's monthly mortgage payment would have been approximately $2,800.  The previous owner's annual property taxes would have been $7,875 per year (or approximately $650 per month).  Add in water, gardening, and a little for repairs and maintenance, and it appears the previous owner would have been running a negative of over $1,500 every single month.

Compare with this:  The payment on a loan of $271,000 (80% of the current asking price) would be about $1,500.  Annual property taxes on a sale price of $339,000 would be approximately $4,200.00.

Someone buying this bank-owned property at the current asking price of $339,000, actually has a good chance of breaking even each month.

This article is not intended as an advertisement of any property listed by another brokerage firm.  It is intended only as a report of current real estate market conditions.