Litigation​/ Arbitratio​n/ Mediation. What's the difference?

In response to a reader who asked, I thought I'd share this. Thanks to my fellow ZIP associate Eric Sagaspe


Litigation is formal.Can be lengthy, expensive, and the final decision is legally binding and can be used as a precedent, which means all your neighbors with the same issues will either thank you or hate your guys, depending. The Judge decides based on established case Law. Attorneys are usually involved. Is public record. Can be appealed.If you have the time and money to pay your trial attorney. Costs for trial usually run about $40,000 for a ten day trial.



Arbitration is less formal, can be binding or non-binding, arbitrator decides based on law and fairness, attorneys are usually involved. Usually, but not always confidential. It's like renting a judge for a mini trial (except it doesn't have to be a judge). Often doesn't save money over litigation. Decisions are called "Awards" and cannot be appealed. If they're binding they can be enforced in a court of law. Settlement amounts tend to be smaller than in litigation cases.



Mediation is an informal meeting, rules of evidence don't apply, quick resolution (usually 3-5 hours), parties decide on the agreement, not based on law, the only limit to resolution is the parties' imagination, relatively inexpensive (typical rate is $300-$500/h split between the parties), it's highly confidential, attorneys may or may not be involved.

Now hopefully you see the value in us insisting you sign the mediation clause in the offer contract.

ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTY IN CALABASAS

This stunning 3 BR 3 BA home is 3396 square feet, sited on a little over 3 acres out in the Mulholland Corridor leading into Malibu Canyon. Called Jai house- an iconic architectural one of a kind home designed by world-renowned architect Lorcan O'Herlihy. Winner of AIA house of the year, it has graced the covers of Architectural Record, Robb Report, Italian Vogue, and others, and is featured in several commercials, so that's why it looks familiar to you. CubeMe.com calls it

a study of the interaction between building and landscape and celebrates architecture through removal, stripping away visual and spatial excess, revealing an authenticity of construction and craft. The building is designed to blur the boundary between landscape and structure, with, for example, the pool and deck acting as an extension of the living room.

The front view of the property
Of course, an architect inevitably imposes his own expectations upon those that would occupy his design, and that is certainly true in the case of the Master Bedroom. I've seen this a lot on contemporary architecture; the bathtub is a part of the whole bedroom suite. Certainly not for everyone. I recall a noteworthy architectural piece in Hidden Hills with the same treatment. I think the ultimate buyer there reconfigured things so that you could bathe without confronting the help making up the bed. Certainly it takes some getting used to. From a Realtor's standpoint, such diversion from the norm can prove a major sales impediment.
But the unique statement and execution of this piece by O'Herlihy is undeniably strong.


Listed at $2,950,000.Call me to view this and other remarkable properties in Calabasas

Malibu Canyon Ideal

I really love this place. It's specific to a particular lifestyle appreciated by a hardy band with pioneer spirit. Listed at $1,497,000, It's only 3 Br and 3 BA, 2000 sq. ft. But it's in a sweet part of Malibu Canyon walking distance to the Saddle Peak Lodge. But not everyone appreciates being close to nature. So close, in fact, that every 36 months or so, Nature tries to do you in , either by fire , flood, or other comparable disaster. This home has been here, along with many others in the small community known as Monte Nido, since 1959. So it has seen all the big fires, floods, earthquakes, rockslides, tunnel collapses,pestilence,and all the other plagues of Egypt visited upon this lovely landscape, and emerged unscathed. This home is a wonderful mid century design lovingly sited in this small draw. In case you're wondering, this is how I roll. Were I to obtain funds enough to purchase in this price range, this is what I'd buy. Maybe I'm so comfortable out here because I've been running these hills as long as I can remember. Hey, I got my first moving violation right there at the corner where Piuma meets Malibu Canyon. The Highway Patrolman told me "that was a picture perfect California stop". About five blocks East of there, lies this home. I love native vegetation. That White Oak is probably 200 years old,and is native to the area.All the oaks are.


Great horse property. Riding around here is epic. I've been doing it for years. The Santa Monica Mountains Park system features the Backbone Trail, which basically runs from Will Rogers State Park to Leo Carillo. There are feeder trails that start above Simi Valley and run through Malibu Canyon.

In Southern California, you gotta have a pool. This one is awesome.

And of course an awesome patio to go with the awesome pool in the land of awesome.

Inside, a classic beam ceiling , with windows to the outdoors.

Check out that classic old-school fireplace.

I could go on, but I hope someone shares my taste among the readership. This home, if you're country-oriented, horse riding, lots of property and open spaces kind of folk, this place is for you. Let me know if you'd like to see it. Be forewarned, I might be bidding on it too.

A Frank Lloyd Wright for 279,000!

This historic residence in Valley is bank owned. Cute as heck, it's in Reseda on a huge(for Reseda)12,625 sq. ft. lot. It was executed by Lloyd Wright, Frank's son, using a design by his father.
I'm totally charmed by this. It's 2 BR 1 BA but the cachet of owning a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house cannot be denied! If you're a regular reader you know I'm a sucker for architectural pieces (scroll down for my piece on Eichler homes in Thousand Oaks) This is akin to finding a dusty '54 Ferrari in a barn. The possibilities are endless

To preview this unique property, call me @ 805-907-5211

Internet Bargain ( or maybe not)

ONLINE

I found this, or rather, one of my clients found it, which brought it to my attention. I'm always amazed at what my clients find searching our ZIP Realty Website. The market is currently chock full of opportunity, and interest rates haven't been this low since post war America, and by that I mean post WW1!
So, back to this place: looks pretty neat, huh? The price is 50k under the market in that neighborhood. I get pretty excited. Then I visit there. Ho-ly shit. I'm not sure what kind of filter the guy that took these pictures used, but I want one. The place was a hodgepodge of poorly done and mismatched improvements, the floor reminiscent of the haunted miners shack in Knotts Berry Farm. There were roaches and spiders scurrying everywhere. That garage looking thing back there? Bootleg guesthouse. The bones of this house are 1941 vintage, but I suspect it was more of a bunkhouse back then; there were several large ranches it could have been a part of in that era. The exterior paint was amateur and the wood peeling everywhere. Major termite damage was visible just upon casual inspection. I told my client who was looking at it (her hands were drawn up tightly together at her chest, body language tells all!)that it would never do for her. There's another guest unit behind the bootleg one, which purports to be permitted. So there's kind of upside if you can save that roof, bring back the garage and get rid of all the termite infested siding. In the home, you'd better plan on jackhammering the slab, and repouring it. While you're at it, add on another bedroom/bath. The tab for all this would probably be about 50k. That makes it even with the neighborhood comps, and you could probably use it as income property.
But the condition in person vs the photo online was like night and day. I imagine internet dating is a lot like this.
The moral of this tale? BUYER BEWARE! ALWAYS SEE THINGS IN PERSON.
REALITY

Santa Monica, walk to beach, Seller problems, = way under market!

This 4 BR 6 BA 3000 sq.ft. plus guest house home is up a canyon not far from one of my favorite stretches of coastline. You literally can walk down to the beach, it's about four blocks by my estimation. The Seller was re-doing and during the course of remodeling, became severely ill and must now live elsewhere.

It's almost done, so you can still pick your own appliances and floor treatments.
I love the beach here, it's long and sandy and used to be a favorite surfing spot of mine back in the day. We called it Chautauqua after a signalized street nearby and it used to have a great point break similar to Malibu. Sometimes the waves got huge- over 20 feet, as it was a south facing beach. They still get huge, but not like back then. A monster storm in '69 completely obliterated most of the point, and the beach bottom took on way more sand, so giant waves so longer break here. But the canyons still have the ancient Sycamores and Oaks. This home is built around one. Looks like it's priced around 700k under the market per the seller's broker, and I agree.
$ 2,499,000. Call me to view this home or other coastal properties.
Skylights, lots of them!You can get a glimpse of the ancient Sycamore through that window

The Tax Credit Makes a Comeback

Call it the temporary tax credit that just won’t end.

Congress approved late Wednesday an extension to the June 30 closing deadline for the home buyer tax credit, hours before it was set to expire. The move will give would-be buyers who signed a purchase agreement by April 30 more time to close on those deals and receive the credit that is worth up to $8,000. The new deadline is Sept. 30.

The Senate approved the measure unanimously on Wednesday, one day after the provision sailed through the House of Representatives with little opposition. The President is expected to sign the measure soon.

The Senate had failed to pass the provision last week when it was included in a bigger package that would have extended jobless benefits, among other measures. On Wednesday, an effort to reinstate unemployment insurance failed, and the Senate opted to pass the tax credit provision by itself.

In recent weeks, lenders and real-estate companies have warned of bottlenecks that could lead thousands of potential buyers to miss out on the credit that they thought they were getting. The probably is particularly acute for short sales, where a lender allows a home to sell for less than the amount owed. Banks and the federal government have stepped up efforts to encourage short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, but the deals take longer to approve because they require noteholders to reconcile losses.

Congress first created a tax credit for homeowners in 2008. It was extended and expanded twice during 2009. The last extension, approved last fall, said that house purchase contracts would have to be signed by April 30, and home buyers would have until June 30 to close on those sales. The extension is only good for those buyers who were under contract by April 30. Someone who signed a contract after April 30 and buys a home by Sept. 30 isn’t eligible for the tax credit.

The Senate also passed an extension of the federal flood insurance program until Sept. 30. The change is retroactive to June 1, when the program had lapsed.