December 2014

Resolutions to Make (and Keep) in Your Long Beach Home

Let Pamela and Ric with The Boutique Real Estate Group help you buy or sell a Long Beach home. Keep your resolutions in 2015 and explore Long Beach.

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New Years Day is the time to make resolutions. Our good intentions have mostly petered out by February. Make this the year you keep your resolutions by taking a different approach. You live in a beautiful Long Beach home, but how often do you explore your city? Let this be the year you find some of the quirky shops and fun eateries the city is known for. Get acquainted with the arts scene. Or maybe this is the year you’re really going to make your home a sanctuary. We have a few suggestions to get you going.

Attending the 2nd Saturday Art Walk in Downtown Long Beach can help you start to know your city better. The East Village Art District is full of galleries, shops, and restaurants. For the Art Walk, they all stay open later than usual. There are many local artists exhibiting their work. You may find the perfect piece for your Long Beach home.

Head down to 4th Street, also known as Retro Row, for incredible vintage finds. Several shops specialize in vintage furniture. Deja Vu focuses on Mid-century Modern and Danish Modern. They will also help you design a home bar with custom upholstery. Inrestrospect was named Best Vintage Store in the OC Weekly’s Best of 2014 issue. Check out the collection of clothing, LPs, furniture, and decorations. Your house should reflect you. Unusual vintage items set your house apart and really make it your space.

New Years resolutions usually include something about losing weight or exercising more. Instead of going to the gym, how about visiting the El Dorado Nature Center. Studies are showing how important it is for people to be in nature. Stress levels decrease and a feeling of well being increases. The El Dorado Nature Center is a lovely place to go for a walk or a jog. There are also classes that focus on gardening with native California plants, yoga, birdwatching, and more. Become a Friend of El Dorado Nature Center to support its work and for access to fascinating members-only events.

We hope this gives you a good start for a 2015 that will be fulfilling and fun!

Meet Raj Qsar: The Boutique Real Estate Group, Newport Beach

via Leverage Global Partners

Get to know Raj Qsar, Principal/Owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group, the exclusive representative for Leverage Global Partners in Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Balboa Island, Newport Coast, Huntington Beach, and Sunset Beach, CA, USA. 

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What was your vision in founding The Boutique Real Estate Group?

I reflect back on a quote that crossed my news feed some years ago.  “Excellence is never an accident. It is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.”  The Boutique had our “ah-ha” moment back in 2008 as technology and social media found Real Estate. We knew there had to be a better way of not only marketing luxury real estate but there also had to be a better way of managing the mountain of paperwork and people involved in a real estate transaction. Our vision was clear. We had to digitize the real estate experience. The world is on the web – advances in technology are changing the way businesses interact with clients. People are on their smartphones, heads down and focused in a hyper-local world, yet our listing content grabs worldwide attention.

We know we need to be where our clients are, so we can be at the forefront of their minds all the time whether it is on a smartphone in Newport Beach or on an iPad in China. You will never find our clients running to a fax machine and most likely our clients will never even pick up a pen to sign anything. We are a paperless office, completely mobile and can run an entire real estate transaction from our iPads and iPhones. Our technology does not require our clients to be tech savvy – it only requires our agents to understand the benefits of technology and to implement that technology into our client experience.  With this simple direction built on technology first, our brokerage concept came to life and then layered on in-house design, creative marketing strategies, world-class social media and internet optimization.

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How has social media, creative marketing, and in-house design changed or impacted your approach to business?

Real Estate marketing has truly evolved over the last 10 years. The Boutique has developed a comprehensive in-house strategy which showcases our client’s home through real-life video (actual movies with creative storylines), Architectural Photography, 360 HD V-Tours (amazing technology), custom built individual property websites for each & every home, in-house staging & interior design, custom graphics & design, and a social media content strategy that reaches people on a global scale. We have had the pleasure of being able to bring all aspects of our marketing standard completely in-house. What that means to our agents & clients is that we have complete control over our designs, feel and strategy when marketing luxury real estate. When surfing the web for real estate, our listings stand out: they have a unique look & feel and buyers recognize our listings as being “boutique-ified.” Every part of the marketing strategy has been touched by our in-house team to ensure the story has been told on that particular home. Hours of storyboarding a listing video, post-production of each and every photograph, creating a content strategy for each social portal and custom in-house designed print brochures & booklets for each of our listings.  This is all done with intention and skill to give our clients the upfront best chance of success when marketing their home on the open market.

 How do you like to spend your free time?

I am an Orange County Native and growing up, my parents would always take us to the beach to play, surf, BBQ and just enjoy our time together.  So this tradition has carried onto my family as we spend most of our free time on the beaches of Orange County.  When we travel we look for resorts on the beach anywhere in the world.  One of our fav spots is Nantucket Island off the coast of Boston.  We have spent many summers on Nantucket and it truly has a piece of our hearts.  Most recently, we have developed a true passion for wine and all the intricacies it brings to life. Most family gatherings as we break bread we are also opening a nice bottle of wine, which of course always has a story behind it.

Leverage Global Partners is proud to have Raj Qsar and the team at The Boutique Real Estate Group as our partners in the network.   

36th Annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk Holiday Festival

Come visit The Boutique Real Estate Group Sunday Dec. 7th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM for the 36 Annual Corona Del Mar Christmas Walk.  Our door will be open and we will be serving yummy treat & playing Christmas music. This year the Christmas Walk will feature:

–          12 live bands

–          Food tastings from our local restaurants

–          Local Merchants promotions, samples and giveaways.

–          Beer & Wine garden.

–          Santa Claus, Bouncy houses, and a petting zoo.

–          Drawing for over $15,000 in prizes.

The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the community’s most popular event of the year! This is an absolute can’t miss special event filled with holiday festivities for family, friends, residents and visitors looking for a spectacular way to ring in the holiday season. Each year “The Walk” brings together thousands of fun-loving people into the Village of Corona del Mar for live entertainment, food, prizes and games in true holiday spirit!

The Boutique Real Estate Group

3653 E. Coast Hwy, Corona del Mar, Ca 92625

949-612-2535 or Info@TheBoutiqueRE.com

Items required for a home loan

Important Documents Your Lender Will Need From You.  Yea. It’s a crazy list!

Using this list of key documents, gather all the materials into one online folder so that you’re never scrambling to find the right paperwork.  We suggest dropbox or google drive.

  • Copy of your driver’s license or passport
  • Proof of regular rental or housing payments
  • Copies of your two most recent paycheck stubs
  • Copies of your W-2’s from the past two years
  • Copies of your federal tax returns with all schedules for the past two years – state not needed

 

Are you self-employed?

  • A statement of year-to-date profit-and-loss for the business
  • Copy of any corporate tax returns and K-1’s for the past 2 years

 

Proof of assets:

  • Copy of all current IRA statements, stock and bond accounts, or any other retirement or investment accounts for the past 2 years
  • Copy of current bank statements for each account for the past 2 months
  • Documents on the value of personal property like automobiles
  • Forms showing the face amount and value of life insurance policies
  • Copy of lease agreement for all rental properties
  • Copy of any student loan deferment letter or agreement reflecting the monthly payment

 

Additional documents you may need:

  • If you are divorced, a copy of the final divorce decree
  • If you have filed for bankruptcy, the complete bankruptcy paperwork including discharge paperwork
  • If you are an active veteran, a statement of service, DD-214, and Certificate of Eligibility

 

Shopping Your Loan? Here are some good questions to ask…

Print out the following list and keep it on-hand as you start shopping for your home loan. Meeting with loan officers can be overwhelming — this way you won’t forget to ask important questions.

  • Is the mortgage fixed or variable?
  • If the loan is fixed, what is the interest rate or annual percentage rate (APR) of the loan?
  • If the loan is variable, when does the rate change? And how is the rate change determined?
  • How long are quoted interest rates good for?
  • Is the Good Faith Estimate guaranteed?
  • What are the escrow requirements for taxes and insurance?
  • Is there a penalty for paying off the loan early?
  • Do you allow extra principal payments?
  • How long do funds, say for a down payment, need to be in my bank account before closing?
  • What are all the closing costs? Will you provide a written list?
  • Are any of the costs or fees negotiable, or capable of being waived?
  • Which financial firm will service the loan?
  • How long does the funding process usually take? Are on-time closings guaranteed?
  • What changes, such as employment changes, should I avoid before the loan closes?

 

For questions or comments please contact Allycyn Bennett with United American Mortgage Company at 949-717-7290 or Abennett@uamco.com

To find out the current value of your home please visit http://GetMyHomeWorth.com

Items Needed For A Loan