Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Lake Tahoe Trivia
December 17th, 2011
Wild Cherries Coffee Shop, Truckee, CA, Dec. 2011
Once again we are at Lake Tahoe on our annual ski trip. This year finds me skiing with a sprained ankle. The skiing is tentative and the extraction of that foot from the boot can be painful. Oh well…
Here’s a bit of trivia about “the fairest picture the whole earth affords” (Mark Twain).
Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. (1,644 feet), after Oregon’s Crater Lake (1,932 feet), and the 11th deepest in the world.
If Lake Tahoe were drained, the state of California would be buried under 15 feet of water.
Lake Tahoe contains enough water to to supply everyone in the U.S. with more than 75 gallons of water a day for five years.
Lake Tahoe is as long as the English Channel is wide.
Lake Tahoe never freezes; it’s too deep.
Some 2.7 million visitors come to Lake Tahoe each year.
Skiing at Lake Tahoe
Posted in Musings, Uncategorized | 
Tags: Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe trivia, Sher Hann, skiing at Lake Tahoe | 
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New Listing: 171 Cedar Heights Dr., Thousand Oaks
October 13th, 2011
This charming one-story home on a cul-de-sac has a large lot with lush landscaping and great privacy. Interior features include new carpet and kitchen flooring, fresh paint, some bathroom fixtures (all done in Oct. 2011), plus newer heating and air. The roof has been replaced and the landscaping recently refreshed. This is an excellent 3 + 2 floor plan with a large family room open to the kitchen and to a patio and yard; the living room has fireplace. A nice-sized master BR opens to a second patio and a secluded backyard with mature trees. This home is conveniently located near Trader Joe’s, parks, open space, schools, shopping and Los Robles Hospital.
Listed at $459,000.
Conejo Valley Service Guide
August 18th, 2011
I’ve been selling homes in the Conejo Valley for more than 20 years, so it should come as no surprise that I encounter professionals for home repair and improvement who stand out in the crowd. I constant update and revise this list. Please refer to it whenever you need “something around the house.” If you have a professional you would like me to consider add, please have that person contact me.
Can You Refinance If You Are “Upside Down”?
July 23rd, 2011
Many people think that if their mortgage balance equals or exceeds the market value of their home, they cannot get new financing. Actually, they may be wrong. If your loan is owned by one of the three big government entities – FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – you might be eligible for a “streamline refi.” (Remember: these programs do not hold loans that are higher than $417,000 or $729,750, depending on when you got your loan.)
Questions to ask yourself: First of all, are you a mortgage holder in good standing? If you have never missed a payment, have excellent credit and the underlying owner of your loan is one of these government programs, you may be in good shape. If you have one of these loans plus a second trust deed, the task may be tougher or impossible.
What to do: Call your loan servicer – the company you make your payments to – and ask if Fannie, Freddie or FHA holds your loan. If so, ask to speak with the department that could discuss refinancing.
Next, ask if FHA, Fannie or Freddie is the underlying owner of your loan. You have a legal right to know this. If the answer is yes, discuss refinancing the loan. You cannot “shop’ the loan between servicers (again, the name of the company on the mortgage statement) but you may be able to do a streamline refinance without an appraisal.
What NOT to do: Do NOT ask for a loan modification if you want to find out about refinancing. These two departments don’t know what the other is doing, and the “loan mod” folks have no incentive to forward your inquiry. (In fact, they have very little incentive to process your loan modification, which explains why only some 1,350,000 loan modifications had been approved by March of last year.)
Botton line: A streamline refi is worth a try if you meet the basic criteria.
Farmers Market Coming to The Lakes July 22
July 14th, 2011
The Conejo Valley will soon have another farmers market, this one at The Lakes, near the Civic Arts Plaza.
Every Friday from 8:30am-12:30pm
Fresh. Fun. Organic
Come purchase organic fruits and vegetables from California growers. Stay for lunch at Nate ‘n’ Al’s and they will store your purchases in their refrigerator to keep them fresh.
Current list of vendors:
Ace Ranch, Escondido, Avocados
ANJIN II, Camarillo, Fish
Etheridge Farm, Visalia, Stone fruit and citrus
Finley Farms, Los Olivos, vegetables and strawberries
Hayground Organic Gardening, Los Angeles, organic seedlings, fruit and vegetables plants
Liquid Landscapes, Chatsworth, Orchids and tropical plants
McGrath Farm, Camarillo,vegetables, fruit, field flowers
Munak Ranch, Paso Robles, Melons, and vegetables
Santa Barbara Pistachios, Santa Barbara
Shepherd Farm, Fillmore, Eggs and citrus
Tom Shepherd-Shepherd Salad, Carpinteria, vegetables, strawberries, dry beans Spring Hill Cheese, Petuluma
Open Today in Agoura Hills
May 15th, 2011
Stop by today between 2 and 4 PM to see this new listing at 5901 Calmfield Ave., Agoura Hills. This is the popular four -bedroom single-story model.There is an hacienda-style front courtyard and a built-in BBQ and pool in the back. The home has been nicely updated throughout. $575,000.
Listed by Sue Drazen, Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.
Posted in Uncategorized |
Tags: 5901 Calmfield Ave, Agoura Hills homes, Agoura Hills real estate |
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28128 Laura la Plante, Agoura
Listed by Jane Swenson and Linda Rich, Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.
Posted in Broker Tour Picks, Open Houses, Uncategorized |
Tags: Agoura guest house, guest house, Open House |
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Headline Spotting
February 16th, 2011
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.
Posted in Happenings, Local Information, Market Update, Mortgage Info, Uncategorized |
Tags: Agoura Hills real estate, Conejo Valley real estate, Market Update, North Ranch homes, Oak Park CA real estate, Sher Hann, Simi Valley real estate, Westlake Village CA homes, Wood Ranch real estate |
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Letter from Jordan
February 3rd, 2011
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
Posted in Happenings, Letters from Jordan, Uncategorized |
Tags: Amman, study abroad |
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Light at the End of the Tunnel? Return of the Big Mortgage Loans
November 9th, 2010
This is an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal: The Jumbo Mortgage Comeback.
If you are looking for a jumbo loan (in LA and Ventura Counties this is a loan amount of more that $729,750), please contact me for recommended mortgage consultants.
