Dove Canyon, like most communities in South Orange County has been hit by a wave of short sales and foreclosures.  Unlike some of the surrounding areas, however, there have been a number of standard sales mixed in with the special condition sales. This past week there were three new listings in Dove Canyon - and none of them were short sales or REOs.  So what does that mean in terms of market trends?  On it's own, probably not too much, but combined with a number of other factors however, it might pay to look a little closer at Dove Canyon.  If you're looking to purchase in a beautiful gated community, this might just be the market you're looking for. 13 Greenspring, in the Waterford Crest tract is a beautiful property with a slightly higher price tag than 27 Lawnridge, the last model m... 11/13/2008

Next Thursday, November 13th, Rancho Santa Margarita residents can join millions of other Southern California residents in what is being touted as the Largest Earthquake Drill in U.S. History. The simulation is designed to include local governments, individuals and families, schools, businesses, medical facilities, churches and other organizations. I encourage you to take this opportunity to dialogue with neighbors and colleagues in your community. Ask your school-aged children what their schools are planning for the event. Rancho Santa Margarita is a beautiful place to live. We have a moderate climate, an abundance of things to do, a variety of restaurants, and numerous places to shop. It's also a friendly and social area. Neighbors know their neighbors. But what would we do if we wer... 11/06/2008

What?  Blood Drive for American Red Cross Where?  Century 21 Superstars, 22342 Avenida Empresa Suite 100, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA When?  Friday, October 31, 2008  11:00am to 5:00PM How?  To schedule your appointment or for more information, call (949)480-5200.  WALK INS are WELCOME! All blood collected will be designated for CHOC at Mission Hospital Gloria Bumanglag, GRI  Realtor (949)303-9532 Helping you find your path home.     10/28/2008

Car Show In Rancho Santa Margarita by John Alesi, Mission Viejo REALTOR® Mission Viejo CA Real Estate You may have heard of Habitat for Humanity's Homes For Heros commitment to build homes for disabled veterans and survivors of veterans killed in action. To support this cause, Cox Communications in Rancho Santa Margarita will host the 2008 Inaugural Rods, Rides & Racers CRUZIN4WISHES hot rod show. Set for this Saturday, October 18, 2008, from 10am-4pm, the event is open to anyone with a Motorcycle, Show Car, Exotic, Street Rod, Truck, Muscle Car, Fueler, Funny Car, Monster Truck, Boat or Classic Car.  In addition to the awesome vehicles, entertainment will be provided by Turn The Page, a local Bob Seger tribute band. For event information and registration of a show vehicle, just visit C... 10/17/2008

Would you like to live in Rancho Santa Margarita? Are you having trouble locating the property that is right for you? Then come and check out our site for free! That's right for free! Click on this site: Http://www.PGLeases.com It is very user friendly and has all the properties in all the prices! 10/14/2008

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not only insure mortgages, but they also create the lending guidelines that almost every lending institution in America abides by. So, even if a bank is not selling their loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they surely are using the same underwriting tools and restrictions so that they have a marketable security for wall street to purchase. And yes, EVERY bank scrutinizes their mortgages on wall street. Even if the bank continues to service the loan. My lender Dean Rathbun assures me that if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went out of business, real estate as we know it today would cease to exist. Dean also sent me this great article below. Interesting article on the NY Times website at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/washington/14fannie.html which explains how t... 08/24/2008

Here's your last chance to get some FREE Rock n' Roll in Rancho Santa Margarita.  The final free concert of the summer begins at 6pm this Sunday August 17th, 2008.  The Roling Stones tribute band, Jumping Jack Flsh will perform in Central Park at 30842 La Mirnada.  For more info see www.cityofrsm.org.  Your thoughts and feedback on this topic is greatly appreciated.  Please feel free to post your comments. Keeping you informed about the Orange County real estate market, economy and life in the OC is what I'm committed to doing.     For more great Orange County market insight and industry news visit Laguna Niguel Real Estate or view the Orange County Market Trends at Orange County Real Estate.   Listen to Zen's Laguna Niguel Real Estate Podcast available 24/7. SEARCH ORANGE COUNTY'S BEST... 08/16/2008

Like disco?  Want to relax in Central Park and enjoy some 80's sounds.  Come to the free concert in Central Park in Rancho Santa Margarita on Sunday August 10 the Funkomatics will be playing- you can pull out your white suit, your spandex and join in the dancing! What a great night to bring the familiy- let your kids enjoy "your music"  bring back some good memories and share the night.  Hope to see you there.  There will be area restaurants where you can purchase dinner to enjoy while soaking in the evening. What a great backdrop, the mountains, the sun setting- this is what Rancho is all about. 08/06/2008

There is something wonderful about living somewhere that is walking distance to everything.  In Orange County, it's a not particularly common.  During my brief couple years of living in San Francisco my husband and I would park our car Friday night and not move it until Monday morning.  We walked to restaurants, movies, dry cleaner - everything.  And I enjoyed my high school and college years in Ashland, Oregon where everything was just a short walk.  It definitely gives you a greater sense of community - a neighborhood. There is a relatively new site that can assist buyers in 'finding a walkable neighborhood'.  The site is www.walkscore.com.  It will score an address from 1 to 100 on the walkablility to restaurants, grocery stores, entertainment, schools, libraries, etc.  I recently pu... 07/15/2008

2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS June - August June 7 Tot Treasure Hunt June 14 Fishing Derby June 20 Movie in the Park - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory July 4 Star Spangled Spectacular July 18 Movie in the Park - Over the Hedge August 8 Great Rancho Campout August 15 Movie in the Park - Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Continue reading ‘Rancho Santa Margarita Summer Activities' 07/14/2008

Did you ever see the movie the Wedding Planner where Jennifer Lopez daydreams in the park while a movie is playing in the backdrop and eating M&M.  I always liked that scene, as it is such a nice dream of community, relaxation and hope. Gather round, the city HOA in Rancho Santa Margarita, SAMLARC, will be presenting movies throughout the summer.  The first movie showing is this Friday the 20th and it is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at Solano Park. So grab a picnic lunch, a blanket and a couple of pillows and enjoy a fun movie under the stars.   Psssst - It’s Free! Enjoy!       Kelly Turbeville is one of South Orange County premier Realtors® focusing in the Saddleback Valley and the communities of Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch. Whether she’s... 06/19/2008

I posted earlier about painting my house and extolling the virtues of XST Caulking. While painting the outside of my home, I looked at pretty much every square inch and found to my dismay, some damaged wood. Some of the damage was wood rot, just a small section under a window where the wife had been watering the wood along with her potted plants. I just pulled that piece out, cut a new one to size and nailed it in place. Fortunately, none of the adjoining wood was affected. I have a small balcony off the back of my home. Both the Vertical supports needed a lot of attention before I could paint them. Upon hammering some nails that needed to be pounded back in on one column, I noticed the tiny spherical shaped saw dust like particles; evidence of Termites! ARGH Having done termite work in... 06/14/2008

  The sun is shining, the birds are singing and so are some wonderful musicians in the city of Rancho Santa Margarita.  Each summer the concert series is better and better and it is a great way to get out, enjoy the community, meet with neighbors and just have some plain fun. Below is a listing of performers scheduled to appear during the Rancho Santa Margarita Summer Concerts Series.  Get out and enjoy this great community. July 13                    Stone Soul                         Mowtown July 20                    The Fenians                       Celtic Rock July 27                    The Answer                        Classic Rock August 3                  Chico                                Variety Dance Band August 10                The Funkomatics                Disco August ... 06/02/2008

The short sale condition in South Orange County continues to have a severe impact on our market and on prices.  Until some of the Bank Owned and Short Sale inventory diminishes - we will continue to have pressure on prices. That being said, you can see from the following graphes that the # of escrows is on the rise.  Whether that is temporary seasonal buying, or an actual improvement in our market remains to be seen but I suspect the former. If you break down the inventory by price, the number of distress sales is even more alarming in the lower price points: Properties over $600,000 have significantly less Distress Sales, however there is much less movement in the higher price ranges.   Please Note the following :  This represents properties in Rancho Santa Margarita according to the M... 05/28/2008

When people ask me how much the taxes are in Dove Canyon, my typical response has been, "it depends". It depends on the neighboorhood, the selling price, and the HOA. It was because of this question that I got curious, and decided to find out how much the "additional costs" amounted to in Dove. By additional costs, I mean Real Estate taxes, Supplemental Fees (Mello Roos etc.) plus the HOA. I looked up the tax records on every home currently listed in Dove Canyon, then imported the data in Excel. I created a few formulas and let Excel do the calculations. I calculated several things including furture estimatate taxes, estimated tax rate, total of taxes, supplemental fees and HOA fees both monthly and annually. But the most useful number I came up with is what I'll call the "all inclusive... 05/18/2008

Lots of us locals have enjoyed the annual Taste of Newport, which is always a rousing success.  Well, we've got something new in OC this year:  The First Annual Taste of Rancho.  This Saturday, April 19 from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Civic Plaza in Rancho Santa Margarita you can stop by and check it out.  Admission is free and Taste Tickets are just $1.  Local restaurants will be participating in the celebration, with booths offering sampling of their menus.  Prices for the menu items will range from $2 - $8.  After you've enjoyed sampling the wide variety of foods available, stick around for the concert presented by Rotary del Sol www.rotarydelsol.comBut wait.  There's more.  Go Green Expo will offer an educational showcase with info on products and services offered locally that promote a... 04/16/2008

The City of Rancho Santa Margarita is hosting a great event on April 19th, between 4pm and 8pm.  Entrance into the event is Free, yummy tastings from local restaurants will be sold from a $1.00 on up.  The Rotary Club of Coto de Caza/Rancho Santa Margarita will host a Beer and Wine Garden at the event.  As guests nibble away they will also want to check out the Go GREEN Expo.  This educational showcase will allow attendees to learn about the products and services offered locally that promote a greener lifestyle.  Stop in to the Bell Tower for the “After Taste” and listen to the funky sounds of the 1970's at a fundraising event to benefit Rotary del Sol and their local charities, including the Bell Tower Foundation.  Attendees must be 21 years of age and there is a $35 cost to attend th... 03/28/2008

Well, here I am blogging on day 2 of my active rain experience.  I was thrilled to read the comments from other AR members.  Their words of encouragement were greatly appreciated.  One thing I am still a little confused about is how best to utilize this site.  What expectations can I expect from this experience?  Is this mostly for the exchange of information regarding our industry?  Do we share ideas about what works for us in our markets? What benefit from someone "outside" our community get from this site?  Should we be concerned about one of our clients checking out other realtors within our region and switching their allegiance?  My personal experience in this business is that some realtors are willing to share information,,,and many are very competitive and reluctant to exchange i... 03/12/2008

 I know that your time is valuable and gas is expensive, so please make use of this new technology.  The search is easy to do.  You outline the criteria, such as cities, school district, size of home, attached/detached, pool/no pool etc.  You can get very detailed if you want to, such as single story only.  However you can also make it a little more general and see what results show up.Once you sign up, you can  view the properties, save the ones you like, and even send me a note if their is more information that you need that does not show up.  For example does the property back up to a busy street? Or, is there an elementary school within walking distance.  One of the most important jobs I do as your Realtor, is introduce you to the community.  When buying a home, you are investing in... 03/11/2008

I have just discovered this fantastic website!   I became familiar with "blogs" while I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  It allowed me to stay in touch, yet keep people updated on my condition, without repeating my story a hundred times a day.  My favorite part was when I would log on everyday and read messages left to me, along with helpful suggestions.I am now back at work full-time and feel great!  Life is good.  I am going to spend sometime blogging about the real estate market here in south Orange County.  I haven't been through all of the suggestions for blogging yet, so tonight I will read through all of the tips and get rolling. Stay in touch, and if you feel so inclined you can go to my personal blog on breast cancer and read my story:www.nancymccracken.blogspot.com... 03/11/2008