Best of the Beach 2022: Listing Realtor, Sellers Realtor, Commercial Realtor, Escrow Office, Home Staging
Listing Realtor
Amy Cimetta
Amy Cimetta offers four strong skills to sellers who list for her, during this time of historically low inventory: Knowledge of the local market, based on her 16 years in real estate; story telling to differentiate her client’s property from other sellers’; professional videos because most buyers are searching for homes online; and negotiating skills, rooted in her MBA from Fordham University, and her previous career in entertainment,
“In the entertainment industry, I was dealing with some of the most challenging types of people you could imagine,” she said.
“It’s about managing all the different parts of a transaction and quarterbacking the whole thing, so you are not just a salesperson — you are an advocate for your clients,” Cimetta said.
Amy Cimetta, Real Estate Expert
2501 N. Sepulveda Blvd. 2nd Floor
Manhattan Beach
(310) 428-8804
luvwhereulive.com
Runner-up
Devra Zandell, Real Estate Agent
1401 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach
(310) 408-4247
devrazandell.com
Sellers Realtor
Tiffany McGuiness
In a normal real estate market, inventory and inflation exert opposing forces on price, observed Realtor Tiffany McGuiness. Low inventory drives prices up. Low inflation drives prices down.
In today’s market, the low inventory and low inflation are working together to drive prices up. Because inflation is so low, people with cash are putting it into real estate.
“Cash is trash,” McGuiness said citing an old real estate saying
As for when to buy, McGuiness quoted another old real estate saying: “Yesterday.”
Buyers can take some consolation, she said, in the fact that, with the exception of Manhattan Beach, price per square foot is still lower in the South Bay than on the Westside, where many buyers are coming from.
McGuiness cautioned against buyers getting involved in a bidding war.
“Buyers are making ‘no contingency’ offers, which are dangerous. I can’t in good conscience represent a buyer who doesn’t require an inspection,” she said.
McGuiness also cautioned against buyers encouraging a bidding war.
“You only need one buyer.,” she said.
23740 Hawthorne Blvd.
Torrance
leveluprealtyllc.com
Runner-up
3 Leaf Realty
1716 Manhattan Beach Blvd. Suite A
Manhattan Beach
(310) 546-6300
3leafrealty.com
Commercial Realtor
Mike Kantor
While Southern California industrial real estate has been virtually COVID-proof, with both sales and leasing numbers skyrocketing over the past two years, the office and retail sectors have challenged by the pandemic, Mike Kantor of Gateway Business Properties said.
But now that we are starting to see through the clouds of the coronavirus, the office space and retail tenants have a different set of needs and wants, he said.
Understanding the dynamics of the “new users” and designing commercial properties to suit their needs will enable investors/landlords to fill current vacancies and attract new tenants when current leaves expire, Kantor said.
Kantor specializes in representing tenants, owners/users, landlords and investors of industrial/commercial property,
He graduated from the University of Hawaii, where he was co-captain of the 1996 National Championship finalist Men’s Volleyball Team.
Mike Kantor, Gateway Business Properties
19210 Vermont Ave. #110
Gardena
(310) 516-8335
gatewaybp.com
Runner-up
Mike Rossi, Strand Hill
1131 Morningside Dr.
Manhattan Beach
(310) 849-9601
mrossi90266@gmail.com
Best of the Beach Escrow Agent Laurie Acore.
Escrow officer
Laurie Acore
An escrow officer is a neutral, third party between buyer and seller. Responsibilities include holding deposits, making sure contract terms are met, and titles are clear, Peninsula Escrow owner Lori Acore explained.
Because of the high turnover in the beach cities, most escrows are problem free. But complications are not uncommon with older properties, Score said. Grandma leaves the house she bought 50 years ago for $14,000 to the grandkids, who get an offer of $2 million. But the title is clouded by grandma’s Washington Mutual equity loan. Washington Mutual no longer exists. It’s unlikely the grandkids know Washington Mutual became Chase Bank in 2009. But Acore would know because she has over three decades of experience as an escrow officer.
Peninsula Escrow
1311 Hermosa Ave. Hermosa Beach (310) 376-0477
102 Vía Valencia, Redondo Beach, (310) 316-1974
57 Malaga Cove Plaza (310) 373-1063
Palos Verdes Estates, penescrow.com
Runner-up
Brighton Escrow Inc
970 Artesia Blvd.
Hermosa Beach
(310) 545-8484
brightonescrow.com
Best of the Beach Home Stager Jodi Bader.
Home staging
First Impression Design
First Impression Design’s Jodi Bader has been staging homes in the South Bay for 14 years. The former Realtor is keenly aware of the emotional component involved in buying a home. “It’s not just location and price. It’s also that instant ‘at home feeling’ when you walk through the door,” Bader said. When she stages a property, she factors in the home’s architecture, price, and potential buyer. Furniture placement and neutral products like artwork, rugs and pillows, are customized to create a design that appeals to as many buyers as possible. Those flourishes and attention to detail make First Impression Design standout from the cookie cutter staging companies. “I’m not somebody who’s going to do coastal all day long,” Bader said.
Jodi Bader at First Impression Design
1921 Carnegie Ln.
Redondo Beach
(310) 529-5848
First-impressiondesign.com