Elizabeth Samuels & Associates

Elizabeth Samuels & Associates REALTOR® at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices serving the South Bay and greater LA since 2005. The moves nobody plans for. Call (424) 247-3870.

Probate and trust sales, Prop 19 tax basis transfers, senior rightsizing, short sales, VA.

Everyone is watching mortgage rates right now. Fewer people are watching the calendar, and the calendar might matter mor...
09/03/2026

Everyone is watching mortgage rates right now. Fewer people are watching the calendar, and the calendar might matter more this fall.

Realtor.com's data shows something that repeats almost every year. Home listings peak in September through November, not in spring like most buyers assume. Homes that list in summer don't all close right away, and new listings keep arriving through fall, so the pool of homes for sale is largest right when the weather turns cool.

Asking prices tend to soften too. HousingWire tracks this every year. Sellers price high when spring demand is strong. By fall, buyer traffic slows, so sellers price to compete for the buyers still looking.

Price cuts also peak in fall, according to Realtor.com. Fewer buyers are shopping, and many sellers want a deal done before the holidays. That combination gives you more room to negotiate than you'll likely have for months.

Run the math on what that means. A 5% price cut on a $500,000 home is $25,000. That's a smaller loan, or more room in your budget after you move in.

Realtor.com's own senior economist, Hannah Jones, put it plainly: the best window to buy usually falls in early fall, around October.

If you've been waiting for the market to feel more workable, this is worth a real conversation, not just a rate check. Message me and let's look at what's happening in your specific area right now.

A new home costing less than an existing one sounds backwards. Right now, in a lot of markets, it is true.Census Bureau ...
09/02/2026

A new home costing less than an existing one sounds backwards. Right now, in a lot of markets, it is true.

Census Bureau and National Association of Realtors data put the gap at about $40,000. Builders can't wait for the right offer the way a homeowner can. Every month a house sits empty costs them money, so they cut prices and add incentives to move it.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that in August, 35% of builders cut prices by an average of 6%, and 63% offered incentives, like covering closing costs or buying down your mortgage rate. A rate buydown lowers your rate for a period, sometimes for the whole loan. That can beat a flat discount over time.

None of this is guaranteed at every builder or every community. The deals vary, so it pays to compare before you sign anything.

One more thing worth knowing: the rep in the builder's sales office works for the builder, not you. Bring your own agent to check the price against the local market and negotiate on your behalf.

If you want the list of new construction communities near you offering price cuts or incentives right now, send me a message.

"Can I just pull the down payment out of my 401(k)?" The headlines this year have a lot of people asking that question, ...
08/31/2026

"Can I just pull the down payment out of my 401(k)?" The headlines this year have a lot of people asking that question, so here's the part they leave out.

If you're under 59½, an early withdrawal costs you a 10% federal penalty. California then adds its own 2.5% additional tax on early distributions. That's 12.5% in penalties, and income tax on the full amount comes after. Pull $50,000 at 45, and you're out $6,250 before the tax bill even starts.

In other words, the money that was supposed to make the house affordable makes your tax year harder, right when you're picking up a mortgage payment.

Here's what I'd look at first. FHA lets qualified buyers put down 3.5%, which on the $888,120 LA County median is about $31,084, not the six figures most people picture. CalHFA's MyHome program can cover that down payment for first-time buyers through a loan you don't pay back right away. If you served, VA financing needs nothing down.

Fair warning on the other side: a 401(k) loan is gentler than a withdrawal- no penalty and no immediate tax, but if you leave your job, the balance usually comes due fast. It's a real option, not a free one.

A seller asked me last month why her deal was suddenly in trouble when nothing had gone wrong with the buyer. Nothing ha...
08/20/2026

A seller asked me last month why her deal was suddenly in trouble when nothing had gone wrong with the buyer. Nothing had. The insurance quote did it.

A lender can't fund a loan on an uninsured house. So when a buyer's quote comes back at three times what they budgeted, or no carrier will write the house at all, that's your escrow, not just theirs.

Some context on why this got worse. The California FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort, the option when nobody else will cover you. It grew from 464,900 homeowner policies in fall 2024 to 668,600 by the end of 2025, and its rates rose another 29.1% on October 15. In other words, the backstop is getting crowded and expensive at the same time.

CAL FIRE also updated LA County's fire hazard maps. More than 30% more land now carries a "very high" rating, including neighborhoods that were never flagged before.

If you're selling in the next year, the useful move is simple. Get an insurance quote on your own house before you list. It costs nothing, and it tells you what your buyer is about to find out.

I've sat through more than 200 closings, and this is the fastest-growing reason they stall. If you want to know where your house stands, just reach out.

A Compton house bought in the 1970s is worth something very different today.That number is what the probate court applie...
08/12/2026

A Compton house bought in the 1970s is worth something very different today.

That number is what the probate court applies its fee schedule to. On a median Compton home, it works out to roughly $15,500 in statutory attorney fees, before anyone lists the property.

California opened a shorter route in April 2025. Four things have to be true before a family qualifies, and one of them is a date most people never think to check.

One page. The arithmetic and the qualifying rules. If your parents are still living, a trust beats every route on this page. Ask them about it this week.

Compton homeowners: Your home may be worth more than you think.You may be wondering if now is really the right time to s...
08/11/2026

Compton homeowners: Your home may be worth more than you think.

You may be wondering if now is really the right time to sell. With homes in 90220 selling quickly and inventory still tight, that’s a fair question.

Would it be a bad idea to find out what your home could sell for before making any decisions?

Question for anyone with parents in California: have they said no to moving closer because of what it would do to their ...
08/10/2026

Question for anyone with parents in California: have they said no to moving closer because of what it would do to their property taxes?

That answer was right for thirty years. Since 2021, it has not been.

Prop 19 lets homeowners 55 and over take their old tax base with them to a new home anywhere in the state. Here is how it works, who qualifies, and the one form that has to be filed.

Prop 19 is two laws in one ballot measure.The half people know gives homeowners 55 and over a real benefit: move anywher...
08/08/2026

Prop 19 is two laws in one ballot measure.
The half people know gives homeowners 55 and over a real benefit: move anywhere in California and take your old property tax base with you.
The half nobody explains changed what happens when your kids inherit the house. The old exclusion is gone. A child now has to move in as their own primary residence, file within a year, and even then there is a cap.
Both halves below.

Prop 19 is two laws in one ballot measure.The half people know gives homeowners 55 and over a real benefit: move anywher...
08/08/2026

Prop 19 is two laws in one ballot measure.

The half people know gives homeowners 55 and over a real benefit: move anywhere in California and take your old property tax base with you.

The half nobody explains changed what happens when your kids inherit the house. The old exclusion is gone. A child now has to move in as their own primary residence, file within a year, and even then there is a cap. Both halves below.

Can you sell your California home after 55 without your property taxes exploding?Yes. Since April 2021, Prop 19 lets hom...
08/07/2026

Can you sell your California home after 55 without your property taxes exploding?
Yes. Since April 2021, Prop 19 lets homeowners 55+ sell, buy anywhere in California, and keep their low tax base. Up to three times.
Same $850,000 home. About $2,000 a year with Prop 19. About $10,000 without it.
Two catches: you have two years from your sale to buy the replacement, and it's not automatic. You must file with the assessor in your new county.
Estimates, not tax advice. Confirm with your tax professional.
Know someone still guarding a tax bill they could take with them? Share this. Want your own two numbers? Message me.

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600 Deep Valley Drive
Rolling Hills Estates, CA
90274

Telephone

+14242473870

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