Covina, CA Real Estate Podcast
50 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago -A Video Blog about the Covinia CA Real Estate Market for buyers and sellers by Covina's premiere Realtor Shawn Luong
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Episodes
2 Methods of Helping Buyers Compete
April 15, 2021 14:00Here are two strategies to help buyers find success in our market. I’m sure that you’ve heard about all the bidding frenzies we’ve seen in our market. Listed homes are currently receiving five, 10, or even more offers apiece. That has left many buyers wondering what they can do to increase their chances of getting their offers accepted and ultimately winning the house. Today I’ll share two methods that I have used to help my buyers secure a property. “ Since homes are selling fast, selle...
Great News for Homebuyers With Recovering Credit
April 01, 2021 11:30Here’s some key info regarding changes to the lease-to-own program. When ‘lease to own’ was introduced in 2011, the program sponsor would agree to purchase a home for up to $600,000 and lease it out to a would-be buyer with bad or recovering credit but a qualifying income. It was designed for people who had just gone through a bankruptcy, short sale, or foreclosure. So long as you had the necessary, dependable income to pay rent each month, you could build up your credit while renting...
What to Know About the Mortgage Credit Certificate
March 03, 2021 15:00First-time homebuyers should take advantage of this little-known program. I discussed mortgage credit certificates a few years ago, but now we have so many millennial first-time homebuyers that I thought it was a good idea to remind you about them. Be sure to ask your lender if they’ve been approved by your state and local governments to sponsor you for the MCC. So what does the MCC do for you? Suppose that you pay $20,000 in annual interest. With the MCC, Los Angeles County allows a ta...
What If Your Appraisal Price Doesn’t Match the Contract Price?
February 17, 2021 17:15You have a couple of options when your sales price differs from your appraised value. What happens when there’s a difference between your home’s sale price and the appraisal value? This conundrum comes up a lot when there are big increases in property values over a short period. Well, we have a couple of ways to address the issue: 1. The agent can submit a rebuttal. Your agent can compile a list of comparable sales and send it to the appraisal company to show them why the...
How Do SBA Loans Make Commercial Property Cheaper?
February 02, 2021 16:59Here’s what you should know about the SBA loans in the new stimulus bill. You all know by now that I’ve been following the financial world for the last few years. Today I have a piece of information that I’m excited to share with you, and I hope you share it with your friends and family. With the new COVID-19 stimulus package, SBA loans are here. Traditionally, it carried a 2.3% rate on a guaranteed fee, but that has now been cut in half to 1.5%. The origination fee has been eliminated a...
Still Not Convinced Real Estate Is Better Than Stocks?
January 05, 2021 22:24Real estate offers more leverage than stocks; 2020 is the proof. If you’ve done business with me or have been a follower of my blog, you know that I’ve always said real estate gives you leverage. In 2020, the real estate market has outperformed the stock market—one slice of “normal” we can be thankful for. If you don’t think that’s normal, consider this: As I’ve pointed out in past videos, the stock market didn’t effectively change in the period between 2000 and 2009; if you had put $10,00...
What Do the Latest Stats From September Tell Us?
November 25, 2020 22:29Here’s what you need to know about our market as we head into the holidays. We now have the complete market report for September 2020, so let’s compare it to September of last year for a clearer picture of real estate’s remarkable comeback: - Home prices increased 15.2% year over year (note: average yearly appreciation is only about 5% to 6%) - The median price for a single-family home in Southern California increased from $570,000 last year to $656,000 this year Of course, most of y...
Q: What’s the New Construction Market Doing?
October 28, 2020 15:59Here’s everything you need to know about new construction right now. With interest rates historically low, buyer demand remains high in our market. Furthering this demand is the fact that more buyers than ever before have the freedom to work remotely, which means that they don’t have to settle for a cramped apartment in the city—they can use their increased purchasing power to move wherever. Resale inventory is still scarce, so all of this demand has begun spilling over into the new const...
Q: What’s Your Real Estate Investment Journey?
October 01, 2020 17:29If you’re thinking about investing in real estate, think about ADUs, too. I’ve been building wealth through real estate for years, and today I’m going to share my journey with you. Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch it in its entirety, or use these timestamps to browse specific points at your leisure: 0:55- Why my property’s location doesn’t allow me to take full advantage of the ADU laws 2:00- How ou...
Q: Is This a Good Market to Build Wealth in Real Estate?
July 22, 2020 20:41Here’s what the market looks like for homeowners who want to build an ADU. Continuing my series about how to create wealth through real estate via an ADU, I’m going to shift my focus to the market and how it is right now for investors. I’ll take a look at the second quarter numbers of 2020 and compare them to the second quarter numbers of 2019. In April of 2019, we had 2,500 new listings come on the market, and 1,787 homes went under contract. That means 71% of the listings were going to ...
Q: How Can I Get an ADU If I Don’t Have the Cash?
July 06, 2020 14:02Today I’m explaining how to get an ADU even if you don’t have the cash. This is my first week back to work in my regular office after more than three months of lockdown! In my last video, I discussed ADUs (accessory dwelling units) and received a ton of feedback from people who are telling me they’re interested but don’t have the cash and want to know how they can pull it off. Today I’m going to be sharing all the information about the Fannie Mae program that can assist with this. I’ve he...
Q: How Can You Build $330,000 in Equity Quickly?
June 08, 2020 19:51Here’s how to build wealth quickly via real estate with one simple plan. As mentioned in Part I of my series about how to retire and build wealth in real estate, my case study focused on an Accessory Dwelling Unit (additional unit) in the city of Burbank, California. Now, I’m using data from Burbank for houses between 1,100 and 1,500 square feet that have sold within the last six months; that makes my average 1,300 square feet, valued at around $511 per square foot and totaling $664,000 ...
Q: Is a Housing Crash Coming?
May 14, 2020 21:53Here’s why ours is still a strong seller’s market with multiple offers. Are we headed for a housing market crash? Today I’ll share the latest market data from April to draw contrasts between the calamity of 2008 and our current crisis. Believe it or not, we’re still currently experiencing a strong seller’s market, and prices are stable. Though total sales were down significantly year over year for April (1,087 compared to 1,683), the average sale price this year was much higher, and invent...
Your May Market Update
May 14, 2020 21:53Here’s why ours is still a strong seller’s market with multiple offers. Are we headed for a housing market crash? Today I’ll share the latest market data from April to draw contrasts between the calamity of 2008 and our current crisis. Believe it or not, we’re still currently experiencing a strong seller’s market, and prices are stable. Though total sales were down significantly year over year for April (1,087 compared to 1,683), the average sale price this year was much higher, and invent...
How Homeowners Can Pay Down Their Mortgage Through ADUs
May 07, 2020 13:30Today I’m sharing how first-time buyers can use ADUs to help pay down their mortgage. Welcome to part one of my new series on how to retire without savings through real estate. This information can benefit anyone, including millennials who have just purchased or are about to purchase their first homes. A quick note before we settle into today's topic: Remember that we do have down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers through FHA and conventional loans which only require 3% to...
How Has the COVID-19 Lockdown Affected Real Estate?
April 24, 2020 14:21Our market has slowed since the COVID-19 lockdown began, but not substantially so. What do the latest numbers say about our Southern California market? First a quick reminder: I sent out a slew of emails before the CARES Act was passed about the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan. If you’ve applied for this loan and received it, I welcome your feedback. Also, for those I referred to a small community bank that processes this loan faster than big banks, I estimate that 50% of them have be...
COVID-19: How to Properly Respond to Tenants’ Inquiries About Their Rents for April
April 01, 2020 18:32In my last email, I asked for all to sign a petition to Congress to provide tenant rent and landlord mortgage relief. What I will discuss now is strictly for residential properties. There is a 60-day no eviction and no rent increase moratorium throughout the state of California, ending May 31, 2020. Courthouses handling unlawful detainer are closed and cases are suspended until April 16, 2020, so the tenant has 10 days to respond and the default date will be May 5, 2020. For units with Se...
What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic
March 06, 2020 18:10James Robb, pathologist and molecular virologist, recently released this letter discussing the likelyhood that the coronavirus could be “widespread in the US” by late March and April. Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have...
Down Payment Assistance
February 28, 2020 16:49First-time homebuyers don’t have to pay a 20% down payment. Down payment assistance programs can help you save. Lately, I have received many questions from people about down payments. They say they want to buy a home but don’t have enough to pay for a 20% down payment. The good news is, 20% is rarely needed these days. There are down payment assistance programs for first-time homebuyers in California, but in some regions, there are income limits. These programs range from 3% to 5% of the...
How to Properly Increase Rent Without Legal Troubles
February 11, 2020 21:54I’m back to answer more of your questions surrounding the rent control measures here in the state of California. There has been a lot of talk about rent control in California lately; many people don’t seem to fully understand how to navigate this tricky issue. Today I’ll answer three frequently asked questions to provide clarity on this issue and help you avoid legal issues down the road. “Why is there rent control now when, in 2018, Prop 10 was defeated by 62%?” Well, the state legisla...
Answering Your Questions About California Rent Control
January 27, 2020 20:38Today I want to provide some clarity about California’s Assembly Bill 1482, a rent control law that has some investors worried. My last video regarding California’s Assembly Bill 1482 generated a lot of interest and questions, so today I’ll review the bill and provide some clarity on rent control and what it means for you. First, single-family homes and condos are not subject to rent control unless they are owned by a corporation or a real estate investment trust (REIT). In the city of Lo...
Setting Up a Self-Directed IRA
January 10, 2020 20:56A great way to invest in ADUs is by using a self-directed IRA. As you may know, my last blog post focused on how the new ADU laws impact you and why it makes sense to invest in ADUs. Since then, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to do this. The answer is something quite a few companies offer: self-directed IRAs. Your opportunity zone fund, which is an LLC, will be owned by your self-directed IRA. You, therefore, become the manager of the LLC. So, you simply sell your stock into a se...
It’s Time to Move Your Unrealized Gains to an Opportunity Zone Fund
December 27, 2019 19:16How can stock investors turn their unrealized gains into profit through real estate? Let’s discuss. Many who invest in stocks have found themselves in a favorable position right now, thanks to the general health of our market. That said, if you’ve had a long run-up of gains over the recent months and years, now is the time to lock in that profit. How? Well, one way to do so is by selling your stock and investing in an Opportunity Zone fund. (If you need a refresher on what Opportunity Z...
How Do the New ADU Laws Impact You?
November 18, 2019 16:23The state of California recently passed a series of laws regarding the construction of ADUs. Here are the changes you need to know about. On October 9, three laws were passed by the state of California that intend to address the housing crisis by relaxing restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs): Senate Bill 13, Assembly Bill 68, and Assembly Bill 881. Within these three laws, three specific changes were enacted that you need to know. The first is that ADUs don’t have to be own...
What Does the Passing of the Tenant Protection Act Mean for Landlords?
November 11, 2019 16:30What does AB-1482 (the Tenant Protection Act) mean for landlords in California? Let’s discuss. The Tenant Protection Act (AB-1482) was just signed into California law, and this has many landlords wondering about the implications of this move. There are a couple of key changes to keep in mind. The first is the new 5% annual rent increase cap. This cap does account for local inflation, which is about 3.8% in the Los Angeles area, so the “true” cap is actually closer to 8.8%. So long as you...
How the Real Estate Industry Compared to the S&P in the Last Decade
October 07, 2019 21:29How did the real estate industry compare to the S&P 500 between 2007 and 2016? Last time, I discussed the last decade of the stock market with a focus on the S&P 500. After getting some great feedback on the topic, today I’ve decided to focus on another decade—the years between 2007 and 2016, aka the Great Recession, when about 5% of all homeowners had their homes foreclosed upon and many lost a fortune in real estate. Here’s the data for Los Angeles County for that turbulent decade: In ...
The Difference Between Investing in Real Estate Instead of Wall Street
September 30, 2019 19:09 VideoInvesting in real estate is a much more secure option than investing in stocks, and today I’ll explain why. As you’re likely already aware, the economy can change dramatically in just a few years. For instance, while the value of the American dollar remained fairly static between 2000 and 2009, money invested into the S&P 500 during that decade would equate to a significantly lower sum, thanks to the high fees and inflation. These factors could easily erode a $100,000 investment into abo...
What Is Tenant-in-Common Homeownership?
August 29, 2019 18:41 VideoWhat is tenant-in-common ownership and why has it become so popular lately? Let’s discuss. When multiple people purchase a property together, but each only maintains a certain percentage-based portion of ownership, this is what’s known as being “tenants in common.” Because of the rising cost of housing and the lack of available inventory in and around Los Angeles, tenant-in-common homeownership has become increasingly common in our area lately. Therefore, many former landlords are conve...
What’s Happening With Rates in the SoCal Market?
August 05, 2019 15:44 VideoInterest rates have come back down from where they were earlier this year. Here are some of the latest numbers you should know. In my recent email about the state of the market, I mentioned that we are shifting to a buyer’s market, where homes are sitting longer on the market. When the Federal Reserve increased the federal discount rate, the interest rate moved up to nearly 5%. Recently, we’ve heard talk of the Fed decreasing this rate by 0.5% and the market has reacted pretty well. Mort...
What is a Qualified Opportunity Zone?
June 24, 2019 22:11 VideoDo you want to boost your cash flow while reducing your tax liability? Today’s message will teach you how you can. Today I’d like to share how you can improve your cash flow by 20% without any additional money out of pocket by investing in a Qualified Opportunity Zone. Through the Qualified Opportunity Zone program, you can invest in multiple assets while reducing your tax liability on all capital gains, including gains from stock and business. With this program, your tax liability is re...
Where Will You Find Opportunity Zones in Our Area?
June 14, 2019 19:27 VideoIt seems opportunity zones are a real hit, so today I'll share some more info on this. Welcome back, everyone! Because I received some excellent feedback from my recent message on opportunity zones, I’ve decided to explain how they work a little more and where they’re found in our local communities. Just to recap, opportunity zones are economically depressed areas that the government incentivizes investment in. Unlike a 1031 tax exchange where you have a mere 45 days to identify a prop...
Get Better Cash Flow With a 1031 Exchange
May 09, 2019 20:26If you want to increase your monthly cash flow, it’s time to take advantage of the 1031 Tax Exchange. Did you know you can get up to 20% more monthly cash flow without spending a penny? It’s true, and it’s as simple as implementing the 1031 Tax Exchange. You’ve probably heard of the 1031 Tax Exchange in the past, but now’s the time to truly take to heart what this strategy can do for you. Through the 1031 Delayed Tax Exchange, you have 45 days after closing escrow to secure a replacem...
The Improvement Tax Exchange in a Nutshell
April 26, 2019 19:13Can I do an improvement tax exchange with a property I’m building? What must the home’s value be? I’ll cover that and more in today’s overview of this type of tax exchange. Some of you have expressed interest in or have had questions about improvement exchanges in the way of taxes. In light of this fact, today I’ll help you gain a richer understanding of how this process works. One such question I’ve received is, “Can I do an exchange while I build a new home?” As a matter of fact, tha...
How Should You Use the Equity in Your Home?
April 26, 2019 14:30If you have a lot of equity in your home, keep reading. I’ve got some great tips for how you can use it to create even more wealth. If you have equity in your home and you’re looking for different ways to use it, I’ve got a few recommendations for you today. First, you can get a line of credit. Depending on the institution you’re working with, you could use that line to take out money via arbitrage. You could also invest in stocks, such as the S&P 500 Index, which returns about 9.7% per y...
What’s the Best Way to Determine How Much Your Home Is Worth?
April 01, 2019 23:15I’m offering you a free home evaluation that is much more accurate than a Zestimate. Thank you all for your great feedback on my last blog post regarding the state of the market, where I compared what we saw in 2018 to 2017. As we have all learned, the market has pretty much reached its peak. Many of you have done well in terms of your net worth by accumulating equity on your properties, though a few of you have called me to say that while your equity looks nice on paper, it hasn’t given ...
A Past Market Comparison & Update for 2019
February 25, 2019 23:59We saw some considerable changes from the final six months of 2018’s real estate market compared to that same time the year before. What were they? First, I’m happy to report that average home appreciation rose from $623,000 in 2017 to $658,000 last year. However, the total number of homes sold dropped off by 11.1%—total sales reached 10,383 in 2017 and 9,229 the following year. In 2017, home appreciation rose little by little between July and December without ever experiencing a true s...
3 Advantages to Having a Checkbook Control Self-Directed IRA, LLC
December 20, 2018 16:32Today I’ll be shedding more light on checkbook self-directed IRAs, LLC after receiving some questions from a few of you. Unlike more traditional self-directed IRAs, where your funds are held by a custodian who acts as an authority on each transaction, the owner of a checkbook self-directed IRA, LLC possesses full control, which is commonly referred to as “checkbook control.” There are three benefits that set checkbook self-directed IRAs, LCC apart: 1. You’ll be able to keep more from a...
How to Take Advantage of Your Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account
December 14, 2018 16:43I recently had the chance to meet with some old colleagues and friends of mine. During our get-together, I was asked what I do with my individual retirement account (IRA) money. I shared with them what I do. I took my IRA money out and, combined with my wife’s IRA, we now have a self-directed IRA. We've turned this into a checkbook controlled self-directed IRA LLC, and with our IRAs, we are the owners and managers of the LLC. We’ve been using this fund since 2007 and invested in a renta...
This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful for You
November 09, 2018 22:16With Thanksgiving just around the corner, now is the perfect time of year to pause and reflect and be thankful. And one of the things I’m most thankful for in life is you—my valued friends and clients. I appreciate the incredible support you’ve shown me this year, and look forward to continue serving as your real estate resource in the new year ahead and beyond. I hope that you’re able to spend this holiday season surrounded with those you love, and that you have a very happy Thanksgiving. ...
How to Prepare For Proposition 10 Rent-Control Changes
October 16, 2018 21:57In our latest message, I’ll be discussing the potential changes of Proposition 10 and why you should consider increasing rent. With votes being cast next month, Proposition 10 could potentially change the way rent control works in Southern California. As the balloting comes closer, I’m being asked more and more about what should be done in preparation for these changes. The simplest solution? Raise rent periodically to reflect economic and market trends. Employees receive wage increases...
What I Learned About Our Market at a Recent Conference
October 01, 2018 14:38I attended the largest default servicing conference in the country. Here are three things that I learned I recently spent three days in Dallas attending the largest default servicing conference in the country. Here are three specific takeaways from this conference that I want to share with you: 1. Fannie Mae has reported a very healthy gain. They have returned $193 billion to the treasury of the $119 billion that they took out as a loan. At the height of the great recession in 2010, they ...
How Has the Southern California Market changed in a Year?
August 24, 2018 20:19The latest statistics are in for the Southern California market. Here’s what we’ve been keeping an eye on. Today I’ve got the latest numbers from our Southern California real estate market and I want to bring that data to you. Our market is defined from Monterrey Park and Pasadena to the west, Rancho Cucamonga to Eastvale on the east, and along the 60 and 210 freeways. In summary, our real estate market is very healthy. Here are a few reasons why. For starters, our unit sales have decre...
How Accessory Dwelling Units Help Resolve Our Housing Shortage
June 08, 2018 19:49Today I’d like to cover a few key points that California homeowners should know about accessory dwelling units. Accessory dwelling units (or ADUs) are creating a lot of buzz in the market lately. They even have the blessing of the state legislature in the form of Assembly Bill 2299 and Senate Bill 1069, which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law in 2017. This legislation has unified all disparate municipal codes in terms of the legality of ADUs. The purpose behind these bills is to ad...
Where Can You Find Alternative Financing for Investment Properties?
June 06, 2018 20:45If you need to obtain alternative financing for an investment property, I have a tool on my website that can help you. The key to investing in real estate is to find the right property and the right financing. What if you have the right property but need to find alternative financing, though? For example, most of the properties that I have right now are so-called "good deals,” meaning they are more or less scratched and dented. Let’s say you have a property with a single-family home i...
What Can the Dream Home Finder Program Do for You?
May 16, 2018 20:48In today’s hot market, finding the right home to meet your needs can be a difficult task. This is true regardless of your real estate goals. Listings come on and off the market so quickly that many prospective buyers are left feeling a little defeated. Thankfully, I have a solution for this. And today I’m going to share it with you. Allow me to introduce you to the Dream Home Finder Program. This solution allows you to find the perfect property without ever facing competition. All you ha...
Good Tax News for Business Owners
March 22, 2018 15:20I’ve got good news for business owners and other self-employed individuals. Keep reading to find out what it is. Today I want to share with you some news that will be of special interest for those of you who are business owners, contractors, and otherwise self-employed. The good news is that if you have had your business for over four years and you have a good credit score of 720 or higher, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only require your most recent tax return, as opposed to the last two yea...
The Demographics of the Market
February 22, 2018 21:10Market demographics are important. What sorts of people should mature buyers be paying attention to when they want to sell? In previous entries, I’ve discussed creative ways that mature buyers, aged 62 or older, can purchase homes and get financing in order to compete with first-time homebuyers. Since then, I’ve gotten some feedback, and I noticed a number of people asking about demographics. Who are these first-time homebuyers? Based on a statistical survey from the National Association o...
2017 Has Been a Good Year for Real Estate
December 22, 2017 20:58Since the year is just about over, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you a little bit about how the market did over the course of the year. As the year draws to a close, many of you have asked me how the real estate market did in 2017. I have good news to report to you about that. Stock values like the Dow Jones Index, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 have increased by about 25%, and the real estate market is doing well also. In the market that I’m tracking for you, in 2016, we had an avera...
Seniors: Do You Know About Reverse Mortgages?
December 13, 2017 19:37Hear two different true stories that demonstrate how reverse mortgages can help senior buyers purchase a home without adding monthly payments to their budget. Today I’d like to talk about two scenarios, both of which are true case studies. In each scenario, a reverse mortgage helped the senior buyer to do away with their monthly mortgage payment. The first refers to a home in Orange County for $950,000. The mortgage is still about $550,000. After the selling cost and the commission, the ...
What’s the Key to Identifying a Great Investment Property?
November 20, 2017 17:40The key to identifying a great investment property is determining if the 1% rule applies to it. How do you locate and identify a good investment property? First, there are a few terms brokers use when it comes to real estate investment that you need to know about. The first is cap rate (or capitalization rate). This is taking the net operating income the property is expected to generate over the property’s purchase price. Your net operating income is defined as your gross income minu...