LAist published a post called “Los Fixie Riders“ written by Loren Loyd about these bikes.  I had to share it here on my own LA inspired blog.  Watch the 6 minutes video to hear their voices and get inspired.  The muse is always awake in LA.  xo Dre

Jorge Rivas, a Koreatown resident, has produced a video dedicated to fixed-gear bicycles. Hipsters, we know, you can barely contain yourselves.

Rivas’ curiosity surrounding the popular, often brakeless bikes sparked when he saw his 13-year-old neighbor saddle up on one, so he did the following: “I decided to go out with my camera and ask teens all over town why they prefer fixies,” Rivas writes to us in an email today.

With Latino teens ages 14 to 18 as his subjects, Rivas captures local fixie riders describing their active hobby via the following words: “fun,” “easier,” “adrenaline,” “faster,” “tricks,” “different style of riding,” “form of expression,” “creative,” “colors,” “save a lot of money,” “freedom,” “clears up my mind” and “flavor.”

The video reinforces how greatly neighborhood trends can affect—in this case positively—youths. One thing per the video is certain: Latino teens like to get places fast.
“Everybody’s riding ‘em, especially Mexican, well, Latino kids,” says Roger, 17, of Mid City

Central air.  Granite counter tops. Stainless steel appliances.  European cabinetry.

Two full marble bathrooms.

Walk in closets.  Gleaming hardwood floors.

Advanced security system.  Energy efficient appliances. Brand new washer/dryer.

Wall mounted TVs in every bedroom, not to mention the 42″ HDTV mounted in the living room, voiced through a top-of-the-line 8 speaker surround sound system.

Sound like the MLS description of a multi-million dollar condo in the Back Bay?  To buyers in Boston it might, but to renters this season, this sounds like a rental apartment in Boston’s Mission Hill.

Once a neighborhood marked by racism and crime, Mission Hill has gentrified into one of Boston’s hottest investor’s market.  With cap rates averaging around 8%, landlords are competing to make their apartments stand out from the rest.  For renters, this means enjoying a higher standard of quality – apartments are being renovated to feature luxurious amenities hard to come by anywhere else.

Take this for example.  In April 2011, a three unit multi-family home was purchased on Mission Hill for 113% of asking price, after being on the market for one day.

The investor who purchased the property spent three months renovating the apartment to feature the top-of-the-line amenities mentioned before.  Now, the units in the building are arguably the nicest in the neighborhood, and they rent for only $1000 per bedroom.

The benefit to either moving into or investing in a neighborhood on the rise is that if you get in early enough there’s money, sometimes substantial money to be made.

Those who are drawn to emerging neighborhoods tend to be more creative and artistic types. These people are often on a restricted budget and are trying to get into a neighborhood so that they can put their stamp on it.

“The people who buy very early have the most to gain,” Toronto realtor John Pasalis says. “Neighborhoods don’t appreciate at the same rate as across the whole city. Up-and-coming neighborhoods typically double the appreciation rate of the city as a whole. So if a city house is appreciating at five per cent, the up and coming would be 10 to 12 per cent.”

So how do you determine the gold mines from the duds? The key, says Pasalis, is doing your homework and knowing what signs to look for. Here are his top three tips:

The first step is to pick a neighborhood that will gentrify in five to eight years. To do that, look for the early signs of improvement such as people moving into the side streets, fixing up their homes, and adding curb appeal.  Once that happens, it’s often followed by the neighborhood’s commercial district, where you’ll see lively looking cafes and shops starting to open.

Established neighborhoods that have already gone through gentrification often bound emerging neighborhoods, he says.

The second pointer Pasalis offers is that the houses in the neighborhood must have some redeeming features. Curb appeal is critical. Victorian era homes are a good example of this. Their charm will appeal to younger buyers who often fuel the improvements in an emerging neighborhood.

“The types of neighborhoods that don’t appeal are older rundown houses that are completely different in style from one to the next,” says Pasalis. “That’s where one home is built in the forties and one in the eighties and they’re not in very good condition, maybe the aluminum siding is falling off.  Even if an old Victorian is rundown, you can see the potential, whereas in a neighborhood where all the houses are rundown, it’s less likely that that neighborhood will change very soon.”

The third factor in trying to determine a neighborhood ripe for improvement is to keep an eye on urban areas near main arteries that are close to transit.

Breaking down the neighborhood profile by researching its schools, house pricing, restaurants and shops, how walkable a neighborhood is, where the nearest Starbuck’s is (latte factor and Starbucks does a lot of research before entering a neighborhood) and demographics on everything from average household income and languages spoken to the number of families with and without kids. Your realtor may be able to provide some of this information but don’t be shy about visiting the local library or searching the net for statistics.

Information like this can be very informative and educate you before making a decision to buy. Once armed with a full the report of the neighborhood, your decision to buy or not to buy is generally made a lot easier. The more information you have, the better position you’ll be in to make decisions.”

Article edited – see full version at PropertyWire.Ca

Well, here I am….”Little Mary Sunshine”….here to ruin your negativity!

I just attended a Regional Homeownership Opportunities Summit and was lucky enough to hear the keynote speaker – Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors® who is considered one of the top 10 economist in the Nation. His findings are based on years of experience and hard data which is gathered not only nationally, but locally as well. He made some excellent observations – one of which is that the MEDIA has fueled the general public’s feeling of doom by only reporting selected portions of the news without letting us see the entire picture. (how often does that happen?) Sensationalism and bad news sells! Yes, there was/is problems with the sub-prime lending, yes there are more foreclosures than ever before, yes there are people losing their homes BUT these loans have only made up 9% of all the loans that were made in the last 5 years! For the most part, these loans were made to people who should have never been approved for the loan in the first place – when you mix bad credit with no money down – Guess What….you get people who WILL default.

Portland is the lowest (with Washington being next) in the nation when it comes to foreclosures and 53% of the foreclosures are Sub-Prime loans! The hardest hit are the Midwestern states where industrial and manufacturing jobs are being lost.

As we have been preaching all along – Real Estate is Regional and in Portland it is different from neighborhood to neighborhood. You will see inventory differences between Happy Valley and Tualatin or price reductions vs. price increases between Hillsboro and Alameda or days on market between North Portland and Forest Heights. It is so important to get the facts for your neighborhood – and not just what happened 6 months ago – you need to know what is going on now!

The extended forecast shows improvement and everything points to a thumbs up future. Keep hanging in there and don’t get caught up in the negative. With a little faith and perseverance we’ll end up better off. In fact, now is the best time to purchase. Yes, you might get a little less on the selling side, but you will more than make up for it on the buy side and then get ready for some GREAT appreciation!

Click on the following links to see his research and an interview from KOIN news as well.

dr-yun-forcast

Click here to see the Koin New Interview with Dr. Lawrence Yun