RubyHome

Santa Monica Neighborhoods: Best Places to Live

Santa Monica is a beach town at heart. It was built and promoted as a resort destination in the early 1900s when amusement piers were popular, attracting vacationers and well-heeled Easterners looking to resettle in The West. Tourism was Santa Monica's core economy in its early years, an unpredictable source of revenue, subject to broader ... [View]

Echo Park Neighborhoods: Best Places to Live

Echo Park is one of the best neighborhoods in Los Angeles. It’s also one of the earliest. Los Angeles grew in concentric circles from Downtown outward, beginning in the mid 19th century. Echo Park’s proximity to Downtown puts is roughly one rung away from the epicenter of L.A.’s outwardly-expanding bullseye pattern. Echo Park Lake was an ... [View]

What are the Best Suburbs of Los Angeles? [Insider’s Guide]

More often than not when people say "Los Angeles" they are referring to the entire Greater Los Angeles area, which is enormous (L.A. County alone is 4,751 square miles). It would be a mistake to lump every city, suburb, district, and neighborhood into one amorphous blob as if to suggest the whole region is an undifferentiated mass of people, cars, ... [View]

‘Active Under Contract’ Property Status: Everything You Need to Know

“Active Under Contract” is a real estate term that indicates the status of real property (single family home, condo, townhome, etc.) that has been put up for sale wherein a seller has accepted an offer from a buyer, but the deal has not yet closed. This term is primarily used in the State of California. A property's status is set to Active when ... [View]

7 Steps of the Home Buying Process

Ready to buy a home? There are seven “high-level” phases in the home buying process and many smaller steps (and lots of paperwork and documentation) along the way. It doesn’t matter whether this is your first time buying a home or you’ve done it before; the steps are pretty much the same. If you’re a “move up” buyer who’s done this before, the ... [View]

Making an Offer on a House [Step-by-Step]

If you’re a home shopper who’s made your way to this article, there’s a good chance you’ve already been pre-approved for a loan, searched houses online, viewed a few in-person, and narrowed down your choice to the home you really want. Perhaps now you're ready to get down to business, making an offer on the house with the help of your agent. Offer ... [View]