Jul
29
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When I first move to the Orange County and was looking at homes the word that a lot of real estate agents would use was that the home was "turnkey." At first I had no idea what they were talking about since it seems to be real estate lingo but quickly understood what they were talking about. Basically, the phrase means to turn the key and enter the home without having to do any repairs, etc. This phrase is used so much that it's the one keyword to look for if you are in the market to find a home that doesn't need any work done to it. Huntington Beach has several homes currently on the market that are in this condition with a wide range of prices from smaller residential condos to single family homes.
Buyers in this current…
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Oct
30
1172 Views, 0 Comments.
One of the common requests we get from our clients is finding a home that comes with inside laundry. Of course, for larger homes this a pretty much a common thing to have as many luxury homes even come with their own individual laundry room. For smaller homes and condos this is a common question as laundry areas can be located in the garage and for residential condos you may find the laundry in the community laundry facility. In fact, one of the first questions we get from condo buyers is regarding the laundry and having inside laundry is a huge selling feature. You will sometimes see in condo listings that a unit comes with laundry hookups which often equates to having inside laundry as well.
Probably, the most asked…
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Feb
28
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Home buyers love buying a home that has many upgrades found throughout the home. Many home owners often forget to upgrade a garage as it's seen as the last thing to do to update the look. Having a clean and modern garage can add to the value of the home, especially for those buyers who are car enthusiasts or expect everything to be modernized throughout the home. One easy way to upgrade a garage is to add an epoxy finish to it. Epoxy floors have a very clean look with a variety of colors that one can choose from. Once complete, epoxy flooring can add value to any home for a minimal amount of cost.
We did a quick search for homes that are being offered with epoxy floors and found a wide range of properties. This…
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Jun
15
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Huntington Beach offers a wide range of housing opportunities from residential homes, condos, townhouses and even manufactured homes. Our office gets a lot of calls from renters who have the ability to buy but would like to test out the market first before making the big purchase. They often ask about properties that are available for lease that can be purchased down the line. This is typically called a lease option where the renter has the ability to purchase the home at a later date. Here is a brief explanation on how this works.
First, you find a rental home in Huntington Beach where the owners are open to selling the property as well. A lot of times owners will have their property up for sale and for rent at the…
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Jan
19
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The Huntington Harbor is well know for it's man made islands that wrap around the bay with some of the most exclusive water front homes. Within the Harbor there are several gated communities that offer an extra layer of security and are perfect for those who travel extensively or need to live in a secure and safe location. Here is our guide to the gated communities found in the Huntington Harbor.
The most expensive gated neighborhood in the Harbour include the Faire Marin, Harbour Coves and Coral Cay communities. The Coral Cay neighborhood is on the very south end of the Harbor and offers a 24 hour guard gate, private beach with some of the expensive homes in Huntington Beach. These homes rarely come on the market for sale. The Faire Marin and…
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Dec
30
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An interesting term that you may have heard of in the real estate community called "Broker Preview." Broker Preview is basically a day designated for real estate brokers and agents to view new listings as they come on the market in the Huntington Beach area. Not all new listings will be held open for the broker preview as it is completely on a voluntary basis from the listing agent on the property. Basically, it's an open house for real estate agents. The theory is that Realtors who have seen a large majority of the listings on the market can quickly identify the correct property when a buyer gives them an exact criteria on the type of home that they are interested in finding.
Even though the Broker Previews are designated for real estate agents…
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Jul
8
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Owning a boat brings a lot of joy and happiness and is a way of life for a lot of residents here in the coastal Orange County area. For those looking to park their boats in front of their home then and have a healthy budget up to $3 million dollars will be pleasantly surprised with the various communities to choose from. Huntington Beach is considerably less affordable then neighboring towns like Newport Beach where boat dock homes can easily be double the price point.
Some of the best communities to find boat dock homes in Huntington Beach include the Faire Marin, Coral Cay, Trinadad Island, Davenport Island, Admiralty Island, Humbolt Island and Portofino Cove Patio homes which all surround the various fingers that are connected with the…
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Feb
25
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For those looking to lease a home instead of purchasing a home then Huntington Beach provides many of great choices at affordable prices. Water Front rentals are a popular choice due to the large number of properties that sit on the water front. Rentals are normally long term and will vary in terms from six to twelve months or more. These long term rentals are best found in the Northwest area of Huntington Beach where you will find many condo and single family homes near the Huntington Harbour.
Rentals prices for condos on the water will typically range from $3,000 to $4,000 and are best found in the Portofino Cove, Weatherly Bay and other condos that reside in the Northwest area. If you are looking for a boat slip then you are most likely to…
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Feb
11
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The Huntington Beach Real Estate market is on the rebound and that includes the million dollar plus range as well. In Jan 2013, there were a total of 8 homes that sold over the $1 million dollar price point. The highest sale reported in at $1,825,000 for a french Normandy estate home located in the downtown Huntington Beach area. The home was on the market for a total number 84 days and closed from the original list price of $1,999,500. Other sales over the million dollar mark included new construction homes in the new Huntington Beach community of Pacific Shores.
The two sales came in at $1,193,128 and $1,137,514 for their four and five bedroom homes with square footage's of 3,585 and 3,608 respectively. We were noting on our last blog…
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Feb
4
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Everyone wants to find a good deal when buying a home in Huntington Beach. With the shortage of homes up for sale it has become a seller's market and buyers have less room to negotiate for the best deal. There are still good deals to be found and you just have to know where to look. Here is a quick guide to where you can find them.
1) Huntington Beach Inclusionary Program - We love these homes since they help low income buyers who need financial assistance in buying a home. Since most applicants can qualify for these homes the buying and negotiating buyers is really good. The first step is to see if you qualify for the program. You can visit the official website by just entering into any search engine the phrase "Huntington Beach Inclusionary…
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Dec
10
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We get a lot of requests from buyers looking for a condo that sits directly on the water in Huntington Beach. One of the first places we direct them to is the Portofino Cove condos. Select condos in the Cove has direct water views of the Huntington Harbor and the Marina. Condos prices in 2012 have ranged from $420,000 to $670,000 with a total of 4 sales in the community.
The lowest price sale was listed and sold as a short sale with the remain three properties sold as a standard sale. The condos range from 1 to 2 bedroom units that can range anywhere from under 1,000 square feet for a one bedroom to a luxury 2 bedroom unit that is approximately 1,177 square feet. If you are looking to rent in this community expect to spend $2,000 to…
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Nov
19
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If you are thinking about renting a home in the Huntington Beach area then you may want to consider renting in the next several months. The winter months always have the best rates as this time of year is always considered the low rental season. Landlord that have their rental homes up for lease are typically more willing to negotiate with you in price and terms than in the summer months.
If you are not sure you want to stay in the lease property for over a year then offering to do a 6 month rental is truly a win-win situation for everyone. The landlord is able to have his home rented during the winter months and will come back on the market in the more marketable summer months. We see a lot of renters doing exactly this with great…
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Oct
8
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There is a lot of speculation on what the real estate market will do in 2013. With the upcoming Presidential elections coming up next month many buyers are sitting on the fence and waiting to see the outcome before making any buying decisions. This is typically during an election year as many home buyers are skeptical in making the wrong move. There have been many reports that indicate 2013 will be a strong year for real estate and prices will slowly continue to go up.
We have already started to see this happen here in Huntington Beach as well priced properties are receiving multiple offers. The banks are also gearing up to flush out any distressed properties that may have in their portfolio and focus on helping these owners short sell…
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Aug
20
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Within every city and community you will find hard to sell properties. These homes typically have some unique feature which causes it to be difficult to sell. Some of these factors may include located near a freeway, homes with some kind of functional obsolescence and those that require major renovation. When looking for a realtor to handle these kind of properties it's important to understand how these homes get sold. One of they ways to sell a home in today's market is exposure. If the home is not exposed to the right buyer then your property will never sell. Magazine and newspaper advertising only results in a very small percentage of homes sales today. Roughly 45% of all homes are sold by another real estate agent then the agent you hire. What this…
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Jul
2
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Portofino Cove Patio Homes are some of the most sought after water front homes here in Huntington Beach. One of the main reasons why is the location. Located directly on the Huntington Harbor and next to the luxury Portofino Cove condos sits 17 single family waterfront and water close homes. The history of these homes dates back to 1985 when these single family homes were built.
Built in the Spanish style, these gated community patio homes range in various sizes from two to four bedrooms with up to 5,154 square feet of living space. Over the years we have only seen 8 different homes come on the market and have varied in price from $1.3 to 3.75 million dollars. The 11 Homes that are located on the water side have great views of the…
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