Westlake Village Real Estate Blog » Happenings

Set Sail from Westlake Village!

Sher Hann — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:34:22 +0000

This Sunday, January 29, the Hyatt Westlake Plaza will host a travel show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sponsored by Michael’s Travel Centre, the show is offering free admission and door prizes. Some 40 travel suppliers – cruise lines and major tour operators throughout the world – will be on hand, offering discounts and specials for those in attendance. Come one, come all, to begin your 2012 travel adventure. “Anchors aweigh!”

This news comes from my friend, Susan Raffler, at Michael’s Travel Centre.

Joel McCrea Ranch

Sher Hann — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:07:33 +0000

Joel McCrea

Historic McCrea Ranch, located at the base of the Norwegian Grade, was home to legendary film actor and western movie hero Joel McCrea. Originally purchased in 1933, the ranch has a long tradition of dry land farming. Joel and his wife of 57 years, movie star Frances Dee, raised their three sons here, living a simple lifestyle and actively participating in the community. The family, along with hired hands, farmed and ranched the land, raised feed crops for animals, and ran an average 150 head of cattle. In 1995, the McCree: family donated 225 acres of the ranch, including the family home, to the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD).

The new 1,400-square-foot Visitor Center, which includes an exhibit/display area, meeting room, restrooms, and an expansive deck, will offer a variety of interpretive, educational and programming opportunities. The Visitor Center vividly portrays family ranch life during the 1930s -1950s.

The Joel and Frances McCrea Ranch Foundation exists to honor and preserve the legacy of Joel and Frances McCrea by raising and managing funds to support the restoration and preservation of McCrea Ranch.

Public access to the McCrea Ranch Visitor Center will initially be managed through scheduled programs with CRPD. As the trained docent and volunteer base expands, and funds are available, hours of operation will be established allowing the Visitor Center, as well as other parts of the ranch, to be open to the general public.

For the visitors center, call 805.495.2163.

More Help for Struggling Homeowners?

Sher Hann — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:01:01 +0000

The latest government initiative will allown some hoemowners to refinance their mortgages even if they are “upside down.” The program applies to homeowners who have no late payments in the last six months and no more than one late payment in the last year. Sound to good to be true, and for many, it is. The mortgage must be held by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, government entities that purchase loans (not FHA, by the way). To find out if your loan is owned by one of these federal entities (not the entity that receives your payments), go to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Don’t jump for joy yet, however. Even if you your loan is held by Fannie or Freddie, if you also have an equity line or a second trust deed, your chances for refinancing are not good unless you can pay off this second loan.

How to Survive When the 405 Is Closed

Sher Hann — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:50:11 +0000

By now, most people know the 405 will be closed for 53hours beginning the evening of July 15 and ending early the morning of July 18. The northbound 405 will be closed for 10 miles between the 10 and 101 freeways, and the southbound 405 will be closed for four miles between the 101 Freeway and the Getty Center Drive exit. The work is part of a larger $$1-billion freeway improvement project that includes constructing a 10-mile northbound carpool lane to complete what officials say is a network between Orange County and the San Fernando Valley.

La Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa suggests people go on vacation. Here are five better ideas – all cheaper and do-able from home:

1. Read a good book.
2. Write a note (not an e-mail!) to a family member or friend
3. Make a summer recipe (suggestion below).
4. Work in the garden.
5. Attack that honey-never-does list.

Pesto for anything you want to put it on

1. 16 leaves of fresh basil
2. 3-6 cloves of garlic
3. 6 T parmesan cheese
4. 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts
5. ½ c extra virgin olive oil

Put ingredients 1 – 4 in a blender or food processor and blend. Add olive oil slowly and blend again. Enjoy!

June 4 is Community Clean-up Day in Thousand Oaks

Sher Hann — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 23:47:24 +0000

If you live in Thousand Oaks, Saturday is your lucky day! Get rid 0f your electronic waste, documents for shredding, green waste and generic trash. The event will be held at Conejo Creek Park between 8 AM and 3 PM. For “special waste” disposal (paint, batteries, pharmaceuticals, for example), you’ll need to make appointment at the City Municipal Service Center. For more information on both: www.toaks.org/GoGreen.

If you live in another jurisdiction, check out your city’s website.

Remember Memorial Day

Sher Hann — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:40:48 +0000

We celebrate Memorial Day as a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. In contrast, Veterans Day honors all who have served. Approximately 1.1 million Americans have died in all the nation’s wars.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Medal of Honor, which President Abraham Lincoln signed into law in 1861. It is our nation’s highest award for military valor.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for one minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

I thank Scott Gilman, of Prospect Mortgage, for this reminder.

Pain du Jour

Sher Hann — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:49:17 +0000

My first misshapen loaf of knead-less bread - neither boule nor baguette

I know this is supposed to be a real estate and community blog, not a cooking blog. But once in awhile a recipe that is too good to be true comes along, and I must share it. The last time I got carried away like this was with a scone recipe. If you missed it, click here.

Now comes a recipe for French bread that is so amazing it must be tried and enjoyed by many. When we first moved to Thousand Oaks from Los Angeles, in the Dark Ages of 1987, I couldn’t find a loaf of good bread in this community. That has now changed, with the likes of Stoneground Bakery and the presence of loaves from La Brea Bakery and various farmers’ markets. Still, for the best French bread – the kind that is lighter than air and so crusty it cuts the top of your mouth, I ‘ve found myself buying warm loaves from The Grill on the Alley (yes, for $5 The Grill will hand over a toasty boule).

Then, without warning, my friend Kym, another “foodie,” posted a recipe first published in the New York Times several years ago. The credit goes to writer Mark Bittner and baker Jim Lahey, of the Sullivan Street Bakery. What is really amazing, however, is that this bread – yes, it’s lighter than air and the crust cuts the roof of your mouth – requires no kneading! It’ so simple a child could make it.

What it does require is timing, about 23 hours of it, as I learned with my first batch, when I had to work at home to attend to my bread’s need for flipping, flopping and baking – and, of course, savoring just out of the oven. While its shape defied geometry, its taste was divine!

Welcome, staff of life, goodbye, low-carb diet! Mange, mange – and enjoy!

Local Spin: Tennis Pro Nico Riego de Dios

Sher Hann — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:02:38 +0000

Perhaps the most qualified tennis pro in the area, Nico Riego de Dios is head pro at Pacific Tennis Club in Westlake Village. In charge of both the junior and adult programs, De Dios also coaches several top-ranked area young players, including Kareena Manji, Jack Sanford, Hank Workman and Isaiah Volk.

De Dios’s tennis career began when he was four, serving as a ball boy for his father in Olongapo City. Both his parents play tennis and instilled in him great technique and a passion for the sport. He played throughout his high school years there and competed in pro circuits.

A world-class player, de Dios has represented the Philippines in numerous tournaments in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Brunei, Vietnam and South Korea. He also manned the No. 1 position for Eastern Washington University, a well-known Division I school.

De Dios is also working to become a physical therapist, completing several PT internships. He can be reached at 805.444.2183.

Headline Spotting

Sher Hann — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:48:50 +0000

If you want to follow the trends, just follow the headlines. In the past two weeks we have seen headlines pointing to a more positive real estate market. From the Huffington Post and other news outlets, 30-Year Mortgage Rates Top 5%. Why is this positive? As interest rates creep up, sooner or later home buyers begin to notice. The sentiment that there is no hurry, that an even better deal will be there tomorrow, begins to slip away. As this article points out, if interest rates rise from 5% to 6% and the price of a home drops from $500,000 to $450,000, the actual cost of the home over 30 years will be $90,000 higher.

From the LA Times, California Luxury Home Sales Jump 21% (even the wealthy like a bargain). And the Wall Street Journal, Cash Buyers Lift Housing, cites data from the National Associations of Realtors indicating 28% of home sales last year were all-cash deals – double the rate in 2008.

Finally, from the LA Times again, Now May Be the Time to Buy a Home. Says the usually pessimistic economist Christopher Thornberg, principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, “Certainly, we’re pretty sure we’re at the bottom” for home prices, as quoted in the luxury home sales article.

What does it all mean? If you are a home buyer, it may be time to step up to the plate. Stories of homes selling in multiple offers are not uncommon. This means you could soon find yourself paying both a higher interest rate for your mortgage and a higher price for your home.

If you are a seller who is buying up, now may be the time to pick up that dream home. And if you are selling because of a personal or financial situation, don’t wait for prices to rise dramatically unless you have a lot of time. During the 1990s, in the LA area,it took 9.5 years for home prices to regain their 1990 peak.

Letter from Jordan

Sher Hann — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:27:54 +0000

My son, David, is doing study-abroad this year in Amman, Jordan. Needless to say, we have been anxious about his situation. He finally delivered one of his e-mail epistles this morning.

Hey guys,

The situation in Egypt may have some of you a little concerned about the condition in Jordan. Let me take the time to allay some of those fears. Egypt’s transition has led to a number of violent demonstrations in the streets of Egypt’s major cities, and has placed Egypt’s president in the same spot that the former ruler of Tunisia found himself in not too long ago. There have also been very recent confrontations between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak forces, resulting in a fair number of protesters being wounded and a few killed. As the world sits in suspense, news stories about concurrent waves of politically charged protests occurring throughout the region are making their way to the front pages of major newspapers around the world. Since the majority of you get the news in some form or another, I will assume you’re aware of the change in cabinet and prime minister here in Jordan, as well as the recent protests. I’ve been told these developments have made the front page in the States. Take comfort: The King has done this before – eight or so times, to be exact. The protests are normal, and not even the largest Jordan has seen in the past 10 years.

Jordan also has a strong intelligence and security network, employing more than 20% of the population. Good for tourists, not so much for residents. This means that many of the protests that take place in Jordan are known of by the intelligence and security arms of the government before they occur, and are mostly (90%) peaceful and organized when they do occur. There are definitely going to be some changes in Jordan, and without a doubt some of them will develop into headlines. Just keep in mind that the news the rest of the world finds “breaking,” is not always so alarming to those residing in Jordan.

Now that that’s cleared, it’s time to talk of other things, like “shoes and ship and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings.” I’ve recently picked up a translated and abridged version of Dr. Zhivago from a great bookstore in downtown Amman (loved the movie, had to get the book). The bookstore is literally filled from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. They have popular Western books translated into English, as well as a whole array of Arabic literature. If there is a particular book you’d like in Arabic, for a collection or something, let me know. I’ve already given an Arabic version of Twilight to a friend of mine in San Diego. I love to go downtown, but often need a good reason to do so… give me one.

I hope everything is going well for all of you. On a side note, if there is a specific topic you’d like me to write about, related or unrelated to my time in Jordan, let me know. I tend to have trouble finding things that I think would interest you guys, so suggestions are highly encouraged. As always, take care.

Cheers,

David