Westlake Village Real Estate Blog

Gentlemen, it’s February and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. What to do? Remember the old adage, Diamonds are a girl’s best friend? Or, in the current economy, let’s say, Jewelry is a girl’s best friend. So here’s an idea for you: Stella & Dot.

Enter Jessica Dreyfus, Stella & Dot stylist in Thousand Oaks. Stella & Dot is sold primarily through in-home parties – groups of friends enjoying a glass of wine, munchies and, of course, jewelry.  You can also purtchase it directly from Dreyfus (see contact info below). According to Dreyfus, more than half the line sells for less than $50 – a great price point for the quality. For the little Valentine princess in your life, a little girls’ line debuted last year.

Says Dreyfus, “I love the versatility of Stella & Dot.  I can find one piece that works at the park with my son, out with the girls, and at a spring wedding .”

So, gentlemen, perhaps you can get by this Valentine’s Day with only one purchase for less than $50! Contact Jessica Dreyfus (310.351.9652) to make your selection!

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It’s official: I am pleased to announce that I have earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows.

According to a recent NAR survey, nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures. For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” transaction. REALTORS® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities.

“As leading advocates for homeownership, REALTORS® believe that any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many, but unfortunately, there are situations in which people just cannot afford to keep their homes, and a foreclosure or a short sale results,” said 2009 NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Foreclosures and short sales can offer opportunities for home buyers and benefit the larger community, as well, but it’s extremely important to have the help of a real estate professional like a REALTOR® who has earned the SFR certification for these kinds of purchases.”

The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves. To earn the SFR certification, REALTORS® are required to take one core course and three Webinars. For more information about the SFR certification, visit www.REALTORSFR.org or call 1-877-510-7855.

I am happy to report that I have just completed all coursework for a certification from the National Association of Realtors in Short Sales and Foreclosures. For homeowners facing either of these situations, there are a number of resources on the Internet that discuss federal assistance programs. These include:

Making Home Affordable. You can click here to find out if you are eligible for various governnment programs.

The Basics: Short Sales will give you additional information as well as updates on various initiatives by mortgage holders.

And here is a link to a recent newsletter, courtesy of Buffini and Company, that presents a chart (page 2) comparing the impact of a short sale to that of a foreclosure:

Options for Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosure

In addition, there may be legal and tax issues, so if you are contemplating a short sale, or foreclosure be sure to seek advice from your legal, accounting and tax advisors. After seeking such advice, if you decide to move forward with a short sale, be sure your Realtor has the experience and knowledge to guide you through the process. Folks, this is not for amateurs! I work with an experienced short sale agent-negotiator, Emill Hartoonian, to the benfit of my clients.

If you are a home buyer, make sure your agent confirms that the listing agent has a level of expertise with short sales and that your agent has briefed you on what to expect. These are not “typical” home sales! If you and your agent do not have confidence that the listing agent can close the deal, it may be best to move on to another property.

Marshall Lumsden, 1922 - 2010

A veteran of World War II, he flew as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Force’s 324th Fighter Group, which flew more than 28,000 sorties during the war. He received the Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster for his achievements in aerial combat.

He returned from the war and entered Columbia University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history. A former Life magazine reporter, Marshall wrote and edited several other publications, including the Saturday Evening Post and the Los Angeles Times. He was the founding editor of both West magazine and Human Behavior.

Later Marhshall became a manager in an oil company public affairs department, where he took a chance on me in the early 1980s. Although I had virtually no corporate writing experience, he decided my Time-Life Books background was good enough.

While Arco soon had other plans for our department, I remained in touch with Marshall until a few years ago. He was witty by word, gentle by nature and humorous by human condition. “At no time,” ho once wrote, “is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer.”

As we all sally forth into the malls buying gifts and throwing them in our closets until the special day, here is a word to the wise about another march: Bedbugs are on the move!

 Two years ago year my son suffered an infestation in his apartment in San Francisco. “There’s one on the dust ruffle!” he screamed into the phone at 11:30 one night. Thus began an expensive ordeal and two months of his sleeping in his livingroom.

The advice below came across my desk from a friend, and even if you don’t believe it, it offers an easy precaution:

 “We have friends here in our community and one of their sons is an entomologist (insect expert) who travels all over the country as an advisor to many of stores. He is telling them that there is an epidemic of bedbugs now occurring in America. Recently,  several stores in New York City have had to close due to bedbug problems, as well as a complete mall in New Jersey.

“He says that since much of our clothing, sheets, towels, etc. now comes from companies outside of America, even the most expensive stores sell foreign clothing from China, Indonesia, etc. The bed bugs are coming in on the clothing as these countries do not consider them a problem. He recommends that if you buy any new clothing, even underwear and socks, sheets and towels, bring them into the house and put them in your clothes dryer for at least 20 minutes. The heat will kill them and their eggs. 

“DO NOT PURCHASE CLOTHES AND HANG THEM IN THE CLOSET FIRST. It does not matter what the price range is of the clothing, or if the outfit comes from the most expensive store known in the U.S. They still get shipments from these countries and the bugs can come in a box of scarves or anything else for that matter. That is the reason so many stores, many of them clothing stores, have had to shut down in New York and other places. All you need is to bring one item into the house that has bugs or eggs and your live will change forever in an expensive way as you try to get rid of them.”

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He walked a thousand miles on patrol, toting his pack on his back through terrain that can only be described as desolate. He is Stateside now, but not at home in the Conejo Valley. Rather, he is at a naval hospital undergoing treatment and observation for back injuries. He considers himself fortunate: he can stand upright.

This is just one of the thousands of stories emanating from Afghanistan and Iraq. Project Holiday Stockings, now in its eighth season, seeks to provide a bit of cheer at this time of year to our troops enduring brutal conditions, injuries, and death on our behalf.

The stockings are filled with items requested by our troops. The Project is a nonprofit organization, with  no salaries or expenses. Everyone involved donates their time and associated expenses.  To date the Project has shipped over 27,000 stockings to our troops. 

To show your support, fill a holiday stocking not longer than 20 inches from top to heel with some of the items listed on the Project’s website. Be sure to include your personal holiday greeting and/or e-mail address, as well as a check for $10.70 to cover shipping for your stocking. Make checks payable to Denise Snavely.

All monies are deposited into a special account set up by the Westlake office of Merrill Lynch.  The checks drawn on that account are made payable to the United States Post Master of Thousand Oaks.     

You can deliver your stocking to one of the local collection points listed on the website. The deadline is December 13.

This year Project Holiday Stockings is dedicated to U.S. Army Spc. Andrew Jordan “A.J.” Castro, who graduated from Westlake High School in 2008; he was killed August 28 in a land mine explosion in Afghanistan.

The photos above are courtesy of a serviceman from the Conejo Valley. His mother, who live in Westlake Village, asked that I not share his name.

What do electronic waster, good food and wine, and breast cancer research have to do with each other? Find out today at Bellavino in Westlake Village (3707 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.)

Drop of electronic waste today between 9:00 and 3:00 at a 25% discount coupon on all food for a dinner of your choice. Receive an additional 25% discount for a delicious lunch served between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm the day of the event. The discount applies to both food and drinks.

Don’t forget to apply for a 42 inch flat screen when you drop your electronic waste.

Proceeds will benefit the Susan C. Komen for the Cure of Los Angeles County. OCtober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

It’s a happening weekly event in Westlake Village. And no wonder! At $22.96 per two people, it’s a great deal. From 6:00 until 8:00 pm on Thursday nights, Bristol Farms in the Westlake Village Promenade offers several wines, each paired with a mini course of the chef’s specialties – and it’s sit-down style (no more balancing a glass of wine with a plate of food and trying to eat and drink at the same time)!

This month’s featured wines are from the Piedmont region of Italy. Last evening a merry group of eight ladies eschewed tennis, families and a teen-ager’s driving lesson for this delicious activity. The chef even prepared a special meal for one of us who was pork-shy.

At the end of the meal – no surprises here – all the featured wines are offered for sale at special pricing.

So for a wallet-friendly evening, grab a friend and head to Bristol Farms on any Thursday at 6 pm, where you can eat, drink, be merry, and buy your groceries too.

Paris Jacket with Knotty Shirt

CAbi. It’s a noun, it’s a verb. It’s even an adjective. Carol Anderson by Invitation. For the unitiated, Carol Anderson has been designing women’s clothing for three decades. She first displayed in Nordstrom, and then other retailers as well. She is well known for her reversible skirt.

In 2001 she reinvented herself, going directly to her customers. Now CAbi is sold only through in-home parties. It’s a marketer’s conundrum: Women who shop for sale merchandise all the time will go to a friend’s house for a CAbi party, have a glass of wine, try on clothes in front of each other, and pay full price. In this stubborn recession, CAbi enjoyed its best August in its history.

I have CAbi-ed for seven years at my friend Betsy’s home in North Ranch – twice a year, rarely missing a show. Last night Betsy’s CAbi rep, Debi Rote, unveiled the new fall collection. The theme this season is New York: Soho, Chesea, Madison Avenue – you get the idea – and the color is black. As the rep said, black is the new black. There were black stretch pants, black skirts, black sweaters, black dresses, black tubes, black jeans – with interesting colors such as spruce, blueberry and hot tamale sprinkled throughout. (Carol’s colors are never simply green, blue and red; even black is not black; it’s licorice.). You can see the collection online, but you can’t buy it there, and in truth the online presentation doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it’s not supposed to: You have to go to a party and get inspired, get undressed and get your wallet out. In short, you have to CAbi.

Prices aren’t cheap, but they are easy to justify. The fabrics are soft and non-wrinkly. The styling is detailed and glides sinuously over all types of bulges and bumps. And for those who really do their homework, CAbi leggings, for example, are at least $40 cheaper than a recent number at Nordstrom, and Carol’s Paris jacket a bargain compared with a dashing Nanette Lepore at the same store.

So 13 women, some plump, some skinny, some tall, some short, some 20-something, some “we shall not whisper their age,” some friends, some strangers – CAbi-ed last night. It was great fun, and I know those black leggings and that Chanel-like jacket will look smashing. And think of all the money I saved!