Private Real Estate Loans, Hard Money Lending, Real Estate Investing

Southern California is well known for its beautiful beaches, sunny weather, entertainment, and great food from many different ethnicities. Despite the large cities with sizeable populations and heavy pollution, Southern California offers beautiful places to escape to on the weekends or after working in the city. Whether just visiting or taking up a permanent residency, the beach-side communities in Southern California are a breathtaking escape from any busy lifestyle.

The 3 favorite beach-side communities in Southern California offer beauty, peace, and serenity:

1) Venice Beach - The Venice Beach community lies on the Westside of Los Angeles, boasting a population of approximately 50,000 people. Home to the bodybuilding community for centuries, Venice Beach is well known as Muscle Beach. It is home to the famous bodybuilding gym called Venice Beach Gym. It's an outdoor gym on the beach loaded with free weights for anyone wanting to exercise under the sun. Venice Beach is also known for its beach boardwalk, which offers a continuous view of the Pacific Ocean. The beachfront area has numerous markets for tourists and residents alike, as well as street performers. It is a very lively and entertaining community. There are shopping areas ranging from upscale boutiques to local wear, and many casual to fine dining eating establishments. Living in the Venice Beach community comes with a high real estate market value of million dollar homes.

2) Santa Monica - Santa Monica lies in the Western Los Angeles County community. It prides itself as a clean beach and surrounding community of a population of 89,736 people. Santa Monica is home to the famous amusement park located on its beach pier. It is well known for its beach lifestyle, with its gorgeous bike paths that surround 3.5 miles of pure beach. Its large, clean beach area is also popular for hosting beach volleyball tournaments. Santa Monica has both private and public schools for its community, as well as a local public library. The housing prices range from $456,858 to $1 million for condominiums and townhouse, to $668,333 to $1.6 million for a home.

3) Hermosa Beach - Hermosa Beach is the beach volleyball capital of the world. Lying in the South Bay Region of Los Angeles County, it has a population of 19,506 people. Due to its small size, it only offers schooling from grades K through 8, in both public and one private school. The landscape of Hermosa Beach was redone approximately 15 years ago to make the beach community more enticing to visitors. An average home in Hermosa Beach costs approximately $324,900 and a townhouse averages approximately $600,000.

The beauty of California's beach communities is relevant in the pride that is taken in keeping the streets and beach clean for both visitors and residents. The lifestyle is more relaxed with the influence of the panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. Although it costs more to reside in these beach communities, there is no cost that can be placed on the serenity of being near the natural beauty of the ocean.

Purchasing a home is not only a large investment, but it is a considerable commitment. It is one of the most important decisions that a person will make in his or her lifetime. The responsibilities that come with such a purchase can only be made if you are ready to embark in a long-term investment.

You will surely know that you are ready to buy a home you are able to do the following:

1) Make a Commitment - If you are ready to make a commitment to reside in one place for a long period of time, buying a home can be a wonderful opportunity to have a place to call your own. If you are constantly moving due to job changes, or educational opportunities, than buying a home may not be something that would be feasible to do unless you can rent the property and have it cash flow. The commitment of being a property manager is a completely different story and one you'd need to consider.

2) Hold Down a Steady Long-Term Job - Nothing is guaranteed, but if you have been working for a company for a long time and have a steady income, or have an established business of your own with high profits, then investing in a home can be more secure. Not only that, lending is much more difficult to obtain in today's volatile market and banks are risk averse. They want to see solid employment to ensure they get paid back.

3) Generate Good Credit - An excellent credit history is essential in being able to buy a home and achieving a good mortgage rate. Get a free credit history check, which is offered on many online sources, and review the report for any discrepancies or items that need to be cleared to show a positive credit history. When you are serious about buying a home, you don't need any unexpected items showing up on your credit report.

4) Debts are Under Control - Ensure that all unsecured debt is eliminated, decreased, and under control. It is important that your finances are solid.

5) Have Time to House Hunt within Your Budget- Don't feel that you have to purchase the first home you see, or settle for less than you are looking for, based on someone elses opinion. Ensure that you have researched what you can afford, make a budget, and stick to viewing homes within that price range. Take your time. Do your research on the home. A large investment as this should be made with much thought, so don't be intimidated by realtors.

6) Save Money for a Down Payment - You will need to make a down payment on a home. Ensure that you have saved enough money that is readily available. With a good credit, you could put down as little as three percent of the purchase price. Also look into first-time buyer incentives in the city where you are looking to buy.

7) Time to Study and Know the Community You May Want to Live In - If you have children or plan on having children, check out the school district. If you enjoy being outdoors, see if there are nearby parks. Take a weekend to spend observing and visiting the community that you may want to live in. Make sure you visit the area during the day and at night. This will give you a basic idea if it will meet your needs.

Right now is an excellent time to invest in California Real Estate. The reason is that it is always best to buy at the lowest price possible, then sell at a higher price. With the rise in foreclosures and the decrease in the purchasing of property that's going on now, it is a wonderful time to invest in property. The ideal would be to buy the property, and then hold on to it for a while.

The most savvy real estate investors will be able to get a hard money loan quickly for a good deal. They can use that private real estate loan to fix up a property and then sell it for a much higher rate. Hard money investors are looking for individuals to loan their money to, sometimes regardless of credit history. Private real estate loans are a great start up for someone who is interested in getting into the field of "flipping" houses for profit.

One of the upsides of the down economy is that many homeowners are foreclosing on very nice pieces of property. A few years ago, homeowners started defaulting on loans for newer houses. The foreclosure process on these houses would have taken about a year. Even investors who missed the initial down swoop and rush on foreclosed homes will still have the opportunity to invest in these properties to turn a profit. What's better is that we have stopped the steady decline in home sales. At this point, the country has pretty much bottomed out at a steady pace of minimal sales. This means that investors who are able to obtain hard money loans for quick purchase of recently foreclosed properties will be able to hold those properties for only a short amount of time before they are able to sell them.

When an investor looks for a deal, he or she should focus on finding the cheapest home, with the least amount of repair needed, and the highest resulting market value. There is no better time than right now to find these bargains.

On the up side of this business practice, the investors who turn a profit and sell these homes are in effect re stimulating the economy. First time homebuyers are more likely to purchase a cheap home that has been fixed up, even if it is a little older. These new homebuyers will be able to get a better deal on a home that is already in place. They will have less stress because their home has already had most major repairs and redecoration completed. This is a win win for investors and buyers alike.