.flyertopmenu {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12px;text-transform: none;font-weight: normal;border: 1px solid #C0C0C0;width: 50px;text-align: center;}.flyertopmenu a {color: #006600;text-decoration: none;width: 50px;height: 20px;background-color: #FFFFFF;padding: 2px;}.flyertopmenu a:hover {color: #006600;text-decoration: none;background-color: #C0C0C0;width: 50px;padding: 2px;}DetailsFeaturesPhotosSchools/City DataMapCalculatorsPrint Carmel Valley Dream Townhome! Property Address: 4155 Via Candidiz #36 San Diego, CA 92130 Price: $475000 MLS: 071045794 Best Value in Carmel Valley...Buy it Now! VR: $445,000 - $475,000 Fabulous Two Bedroom, Two Bath townhome with great open floor plan, a bright kitchen & dining area with hardwood floors, and a living room w... 06/07/2007

With the affordability index for California homes exceeding 70% - twenty percent higher than the National average, many Southern Californian's have a sense that they may never be able to afford a home in today's market.  Do not think this way!  There are tons of programs out there to assist the first time home buyer in Southern California.  The State along with your local cities and counties provide a number of programs that can be daisy chained together to make home ownership affordable.  YOu just have to look for them and apply.  CALHFA, California Housing Finance Agency provides one avenue and they will allow you to have silent 2nds, 3rds and even 4ths (some of which are forgiven, so you don't have to pay them back) to reside behind their first mortgage.  Calhfa's 1st mortgages are b... 06/06/2007

In a California public housing complex, there are no utility bills - the place is powered by solar. The landscape is edible, with grounds that include sage, rosemary, and lemon trees. And, tenants of this 56-unit Solara in Poway pay 40 percent below market.In California, public housing is the green wave of the future. "It's really an innovative project. It serves as a living, breathing ... model," says Adam Gottlieb of the California Energy Commission. "Not only are they building smart and fighting climate change, but they are reducing greenhouse gases for the rest of us."The project was designed by Global Green USA, a nonprofit that combats global warming and nuclear proliferation. The complex boasts the following key features:Carport shade structures that hold solar panels to convert ... 06/05/2007

There was evidence of PMS in San Diego this Sunday.  It happened at the 10thAnnual San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.  My buddy, Lynda Eisenmann (a notable Active Rainer) and I were there to support Lynda's two sisters who participated in the race.  We loaded up our bikes with coolers stuffed with orange slices, bananas, apple juice boxes, pretzels, wet wipes, Band-Aids and water.  We met Lynda's sisters at strategic points along the course to make sure they had enough potassium and hydration to ward off muscle cramps.  While waiting for our racers, we cheered on the runners and walkers as they passed by.  Lynda got me hooked on this marathon thing a few years ago when I went to my first Rock ‘n Roll Marathon to support her sister.  I've done a few marathons and a few half marathons mysel... 06/04/2007

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. McFall, they are the proud new owners of a great 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in San Deigo.  They purchased a foreclosure property for BELOW market value and even had the sellers pay their closing cost, all of them!!!  Call on us to negotiate your next real estate deal!!!  "Don't settle for less"  We're the best. 06/01/2007

I wrote a post on May 11th, that made a declaration from the San Diego Grand Jury that in their opinion, The mayor could engage with Real Estate Brokers to sell san Diego City Land. The historical process prior to this was that was land was sold at auction. This new procedure did require that the City Council sign off on the Mayors plan.In the San Diego Union Tribune today it was announced that the San Diego City Council approved the sale of 17 properties totalling more than 37 million in value.  These parcels are a mix of single family homes,office buildings,vacant lands and rights of way.What is amazing is that for the first time we are aware of, the mayor will be selecting real estate brokers to sell the land and will begin selecting them shortly noting that the commissions will be n... 05/22/2007

Prices Continue Rising on Falling Sales The median price for single-family, re-sale homes in San Diego County rose 0.9% in April from March, and were up 1.7% year-over-year. These numbers are suspect as the market has split due to the tightening of loan requirements, which has dampened the entry-level and move-up markets. These numbers are higher than reality because the $1,000,000+ market, which is not affected by loan tightening, is a larger percentage of sales than normal. This can be seen in the average price, which is up 2.9% year-over-year. A higher percentage of $1,000,000+ sales drives the average price up faster than the median price. The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighb... 05/17/2007

Mission Hills is located on hills just south of the San Diego River valley and north of downtown San Diego, overlooking Old Town and San Diego Bay. The area was home to many of San Diego's pioneers and many of the homes are historical. Homes were also often designed by San Diego's premier architects. There are California bungalows, craftsman homes, Spanish Revival and Mission-style homes and many other one of a kind residence.   A Beautiful Day in Mission Hills    Have brunch at The Gathering (902 W. Washington St) where you're greeted cheerfully, seated quickly and served attentively. You'll feel completely spoiled.    Spend the afternoon at local antique shop "The Private Color", and furniture store "The Comfort Zone", or art gallery "The Frame Maker". You might find some vintage Fre... 05/17/2007

In an article today in the Union Tribune, San Diego's primary newspaper, a grand Jury report released yesterday became allied to the Mayor's approach to selling city owned property. The Mayor favors allowing real estate brokers to sell city land instead of liquidating the properties  at auction. The grand Jury report touted this approach as one way to assist in the revamping of the city's troubled Real Estate Assets Department.The city owns 3400 properties  covering 1200 acres. It also rents 680 properties and many of those leases have expired. The Mayor will ask the city council  to approve selling 19 properties valued at over 40 million.A member of the council lauded the Mayors entrepreneurial spirit but also cautioned that this practice should not be done for the  simple purpose of b... 05/11/2007

What a pleasure it has been to go through the entries for the first Carnival of Luxury. It was fun to read entries not only from outstanding Active Rain real estate professionals (including Active Rain's Jeff Dowler, Eric Carlsen, and Jennifer Kirby), but a rant from a therapist, an art review, advice for creating abundant lifestyles, and the story of a Las Vegas legend who went from a $2500 loan to billionaire status. Perhaps it is the ultra-warm weather we have been experiencing in San Diego-or the fun of judging, but hot seems to be the word du jour. It is also a convenient way to describe the winners and their blogs in the first Carnival of Luxury: Hot  Luxury Tipsfor Luxury Home Photography (or any home, for that matter) comes from Eric Carlsen and Room Reviews - Prep for Your Pro ... 05/10/2007

Shopping for a mortgage?  Good for you!  Most originators in today's marketplace are order takers or paper processors and offer you little or no value. They operate as functionaries, and as such, are in your way to affordable mortgage terms. If you are going down the path to find the absolute best mortgage terms, good luck!  You'll probably end up with the least competent loan originator who can ultimate costs you thousands of dollars.READ:  You'll NEVER get the lowest rate on your mortgage.I know why you, the California mortgage shopper, are doing this.  Mortgage loan originators in California are as plentiful as dead jellyfish on the beach in August (and about as useful, too).  Be careful, though!  These little useless lumps can sting you even though they appear to be dead. READ:  How... 05/07/2007

Enough has surely been written in this forum about LinkedIn and the importance of being listed there. I won't dwell on the importance of being there, but if you're not, GO DO IT RIGHT NOW!If you use the system actively, it can be a great way to reconnect with clients, colleagues and frieneds. When I first joined, I went through a personal database and send out invitations. The results were fun and  even received a few thank you calls. LinkedIn provides a great additional way to stay in touch with your connections and you'll be adored if you take the time to write kind recommendations for them. For example, Brian Brady, a great mortgage professional, and I recently exchanged recommendations and I am more likely than ever to recommend him for mortgage loans. (this is a test to see if Bria... 05/07/2007

South Park is just of Balboa Park, North of Golden Hill and Grant Hill and South of North Park, the boundary being Juniper Street.  Historic architects whose work is here include Irving Gill, William S. Hebbard, and Richard Requa. Those Historic Craftsman homes are beautifully restored. Burlingame district, along Balboa Park's eastern boundary, completes the classic Craftsman circle. Burlingame has carefully preserved its historic Craftsman and Mission-style homes, making it ideal for a walking tour.   A Beautiful Day in South Park    Take your dogs to The Grape Street Dog Park, one of San Diego's largest off-leash areas. Later play golf at Balboa Park Golf Course.    After playing golf, check out some CDs at independent music store "M-Theory". Buy some gifts at The Grove, The Zen Merc... 05/07/2007

This invitation was extended to me yesterday.  Many other Active Rainers will be panelists including Ardell Della Loggia, Teresa Boardman, Greg Swann, Rudy Bachraty, Drew Meyers,  Jim Cronin, Mary McKnight,  Pat Kitano, Dustin Luther, Matt Heaton, Jonathan Washburn,  and Joe Ferrara. Brad Inman, Publisher of Inman News and Jessica Swesey & Joel Burslem, our Editor and Manager of Social Media and would like to invite you to be a speaker at Bloggers Connect on August 1, 2007 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.   Bloggers Connect (click to see the entire program) is an exciting new conference running in conjunction with our SF Connect event.  The event is being created by bloggers for bloggers and will have a dynamic program addressing all the issues that bloggers want answers to now.  S... 05/06/2007

Can the presence of termites screw up a home loan for a beach home?  You betcha they can.Dian Hymer, an author on Inman News, writes this about termite clearances in her column : In this era of consumer awareness, most buyers require a current termite inspection of a home before they'll agree to buy it. However, a termite clearance is not always part of the agreement. Whether or not a termite clearance is required to close a home sale depends on the buyer's lender and on the terms of the agreement negotiated between the buyer and seller. Buyers who purchase a home using an FHA or VA mortgage -- or a low-down payment first-time buyer mortgage program -- may be required to provide the lender with a termite clearance on the home they're buying before the lender will fund the loan. In this ... 05/06/2007

It is difficult to avoid the subject of short sales and foreclosures when discussing real estate these days. We receive ongoing emails and calls from people wanting to buy short sales and foreclosures because they want the best deal possible. They believe that the best buys can only come from bloodied sellers and lenders-and that somehow real estate agents are the best bloodhounds of all (which is often true).There's this misconception floating around that if a lender is willing to shave off some of the debt owed on the property and sell it for less than what is owed,  it must be a good buy. The same logic is also applied to foreclosures.But reality sometimes paints a different picture.Many of our San Diego clients have been able to get outstanding buys on real estate not through short ... 05/02/2007

How many of you are finding it harder and harder to get your buyers and clients to qualify for a mortgage these days? It seems like 100% financing programs have disappeared and programs for First Time Homebuyers are depleting as well. Companies like Countrywide did away with their 100% financing and other big lenders are following suit. The good news is that there are still many 100% lending programs that are available to buyers and grant/silent 2nd programs to assist homebuyers get into their home. If you are running into these scenarios please post them and lets discuss whats going on. 05/02/2007

  New York has Greenwich Village. San Francisco has the Castro. Vancouver has the West End. And San Diego has Hillcrest, our closest thing to a diverse, lively, hip and colorful neighborhood. Hillcrest is the residential and commercial hub of San Diego's gay and lesbian community. Prominent gay clubs are mostly found within Hillcrest. The LGBT community center ("The Center") is located here as well. Hillcrest is a walkable neighborhood with many of the cafés, restaurants and shops near the main residential pockets. The neighborhood hosts annual Gay Pride parade and Hillcrest City Fest Street Fair. Other regular events in Hillcrest include a weekly farmers market, Book Fair, Taste of Uptown  and Mardi Gras.   Beautiful Day in Hillcrest      Go to Farmer's Market (on Sunday 9 a.m.-1 p.m.... 04/26/2007

The Subprime Crisis: Is Your Home at Risk?It's all over the news. Subprime mortgage companies are in the midst of a true crisis! According to The New York Times, over two dozen lenders have already closed their doors for good. In fact, more than half of the top 25 mortgage companies from 2006 have either reported serious losses, been sold off to other companies, or have filed for bankruptcy!When asked how many subprime lenders will be taken down by the current credit crunch, Bill Dallas, mortgage industry icon and former CEO of Ownit Mortgage Solutions, replied "all of them." When asked how many borrowers would be impacted by tightening credit standards, Dallas estimated anywhere from 10% to 40%, adding, "the coming shift in available products will be huge." This could negatively impact... 04/24/2007

Luxury is booming and Wall Street is keeping a keen eye on how the rich are spending their wealth. And what better way to measure that hedonism than by creating a variety of indexes that track the shopping of the ultra-rich?  The demand for four-figure handbags, five-figure baubles, six-figure cars, seven and eight-figure homes, luxury resorts and travel,  insurable art and heady wines has created a new and trackable economy for the very wealthy.What intrigues many investors is how well the carriage trade merchants are faring. This is mostly due to the fact that the rich are getting richer and their numbers on a global basis are growing-along with their spending habits.  A look at some of these uber-wealth tracking indexes reveals more than a little about the favored products and shoppi... 04/22/2007