Palos Verdes Lifestyle - Norma Toering's PV Real Estate Blog

I'm not a big football fan, but I felt euphoric after watching the Saints win the Super Bowl.  Hard work, coupled with believing in yourself, often delivers big-time payoffs.  It also reminded me, giving up is not an acceptable option.  These life lessons are applicable in business and personal endeavors and are not limited to national sporting events.

Today I received an email from a want-to-be-homeowner.  The odds are not in his favor, but they are not insurmountable.  He career is in public service and I appreciate his dedication to helping others. I plan to give my best effort to help him realize his home ownership goal.  It may take some time to achieve it, but anything worth having often requires delayed gratification and sacrifice.  They Saints waited over forty years to have their winning moment. My client's wait will be short by comparison.

I'm hoping with a little help from the economy, some astute debt reduction and increase in income my client will have a place to call home in less than twenty-four months.  Maybe sooner if a raise and a roommate materialize.

Go Saints!  And thanks for inspiring us to never give up our dream--whether it be to win a game, or be a winner in the game of life, our best effort is never a failure.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Valmonte neighborhood real estate and home sales report for Palos Verdes Estates, CA in January 2010.

Active listings: 10 Homes are currently for sale in Valmonte priced from $840,000 to $2,799,900.

Pending sales: 10 Houses are in escrow priced from $849,000 to $2,075,000.

January sales: 3 Homes sold in the Valmonte area of PVE during January 2010:

• Via Pavion $830,500
• Palos Verdes Drive North $895,000
• Via Picaposte $1,780,000
  

All Valmonte, Palos Verdes Estates real estate and home sales reports.

Previous Palos Verdes and San Pedro Market Reports

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Malaga Cove neighborhood real estate and home sales report for Palos Verdes Estates, CA in January 2010.

Active listings: 10 Homes are currently for sale priced from $1,060,000 to $9,995,000.

Pending listing: 5 Houses are in escrow in Malaga Cove priced from $1,525,000 to $3,690,000.

January sales: One home sold in January 2010:

• Via Arriba $2,125,000
  

All Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Estates real estate and home sales reports.

Previous Palos Verdes and San Pedro Market Reports

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Monte Malaga neighborhood real estate and home sales report for Palos Verdes Estates, CA in January 2010.

Active listings: 20 Homes are currently for sale in Monte Malaga priced from $1,249,000 to $11,500,000.

Pending sales: 2 Houses are in escrow priced at $1,049,000 and $3,250,000.

January sales: No homes closed escrow during January 2009 in the Monte Malaga area of PVE.

All Monte Malaga, Palos Verdes Estates real estate and home sales reports.

Previous Palos Verdes and San Pedro Market Reports

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

I planned to work today, but instead I'm going to catch up on blogging.  Yes, it's true I really do not consider blogging work as much as I consider it one of my free time indulgences.

2010 started strong and the work day flies past filled with tending escrows, writing offers and counter offers, updating clients and files and following up on leads and showings.  I have to look back to January 2007 to remember a time I was this busy with transactions and their related workload.  It's a good feeling.

Tomorrow will find me showing property and preparing a mailer (yes, I still use snail mail for some marketing pieces) but this rainy day finds me catching up with blogging buddies, writing a few new posts and generating a couple of new leads while taking a break from the office.  Blogging makes real estate so much more fun, more social and more productive!

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Breaking news is playing in the background as I write this blog post.  41 Homes were either destroyed or damaged by mudslides overnight north of Los Angeles.  The local hills were charred from recent forest fires and last night's heavy rainfall was sufficient to trigger a flow of mud into the community below the barren hills.

When building or purchasing a home it is important to be familiar with local conditions and past history of landslides and other acts of nature.  Hillside homes are common throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area.  The Palos Verdes Peninsula consists of hills, canyons and cliffs.  I currently have a hillside home listed for sale in Rancho Palos Verdes.  Thanks to the forethought of the City, adequate drainage systems lace the hillsides and mudslides are rare.

If you are considering purchasing a hillside home, investigate, inspect and engage professionals to ensure proper precaustions are in place to keep your home free of mudslides.  The rains will come, but with ample planning the water and mud will flow through the designed channels, not through your home.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

A perfect stranger feels she knows me very well.  You see, I am in her "Favorites" column on her computer.  She is a buyer but she is not working with me.  She is following my blog and turning to my website when she wants information on the the local real estate market.

She recognized me from my photo (that's a relief, it's oh so embarrassing when they say you don't look a thing like your photo--another good reason to update those images as time goes by) and immediately thanked me for,"... doing a real service for the community and the buyers and sellers who live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula."

It was lovely to receive a sincere compliment with no strings attached.  It is satisfying and rewarding to know she feels more informed and knowledgeable because of my Active Rain blogging efforts.  It's true she found my blog after she found an agent to work with, but if she finds my blog helpful, informative and a "great guide to the area" I'm betting other consumers and prospective sellers and buyers will too.

The Active Rain platform returns your efforts tenfold.  Sometimes with a trickle, sometimes virtually untraceable and sometimes directly in your face.   It was a good reminder why I've written over 800 posts and why I'll continue to blog about buying and selling real estate on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Active Rain, here's a big thank your for providing a platform consumers can turn to when they want information on the housing market, local real estate agents and community affairs!

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

The event was planned weeks in advance, but Mother Nature had a different plan in place for February 5, 2010!  A few loyal clients braved the torrential downpour and attended the twilight open houses at The Estates at Trump National Golf Course last night!

I felt like a duck on one of the water features of the golf course in my over-sized yellow slicker as I dashed from my car to the welcoming lights and warmth of 2990 Twin Harbor View Drive, in Rancho Palos Verdes.  The panoramic ocean view was ensconced in coastal fog and we could only peer out at the pool as the rain pelted the windows and classical music failed to filter out the sound of the pounding rain.

Ahh, but it was almost romantic to be on the cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean enjoying a glass of wine, a slice of cheese and experiencing the storm from inside a gorgeous $4,400,000 Trump home.

If you missed the rained soaked event and would like to schedule a private tour sans rain, I would love to arrange it for you.  No rain slickers or umbrellas required---only an appointment and preferrably a sunny day. 

 I so prefer showing property in sunglasses rather than rain gear.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Lunada Bay neighborhood real estate and home sales report for Palos Verdes Estates, CA in January 2010.

Active listings: 27 Homes are currently for sale in Lunada Bay priced from $1,080,000 to $3,995,000.

Pending sales: 6 Homes are in escrow priced from $999,999 to $2,299,900.

January sales: 5 Houses sold in Lunada Bay during January 2010:

• Via Carrillo $1,160,000
• Via Pacheco $1,300,000
  
• Via Borica $1,425,000
  
• Rivera Pl. $1,530,000
  
• Via Zumaya $2,995,000
  

All Lunada Bay, Palos Verdes Estates real estate and home sales reports.

Previous Palos Verdes and San Pedro Market Reports

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Palos Verdes Estates Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos

Frustration can be a expensive thing.  The simmering cauldron of frustrations and delays involved in a real estate transaction can erupt into words and actions not in the best interest of closing the transaction.  It is better to win the war and lose a battle or two than win the battle but lose the war house.

The real estate market of the past few years pushed many homeowners to the edge.  It tested the mettle of real estate professionals, lenders incurred the wrath of the masses and millions of consumers watched as unrealized home and stock equity disappeared.  No wonder the frayed and raw nerves just below the surface stand ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.  We are suffering a bit from Post Housing Meltdown Trauma.

With millions of homeowners upside down, thousands of real estate agents with declining incomes, and banks guarding their vaults with a long list of conditions before they will approve a loan, the times are challenging to say the least.  As I told a client ready to issue escrow cancellation instructions, "Calm down, take a deep breath and step away from the transaction for a day."  Things may look very different after a good night's sleep.

Often, all the ranting and raving, threats and posturing are simply wasted energy.  It takes time to sell a house.  It takes time to get a loan.  It takes time to close an escrow.  It is never a straight line adventure.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Property Blog - Rancho Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Listing Agent
Boitano Palms Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Ocean View Homes - Palos Verdes Homes
Palos Verdes Photography - Palos Verdes, CA Videos