HOT TOPICS
THE SECRET TO MY SUCCESS IS
THAT I SPECIALIZE IN NICE
PEOPLE.
HOT TOPICS 3/6/10
DOW
CHEMICAL CO.
is coming out with a
“PowerHouse Solar Shingle”
(I don’t know what it will
look like, picture to the
left is just my best take
from clip art), which can be
incorporated into home
roofing systems along with
standard asphalt shingles.
It is expected to cost less
than solar panels and be
easier to install. I wish
someone would invent a water
saving shingle, since water
seems to be getting more
expensive than gasoline!
___________________
JOBS.
Several factors create
reasons to believe the job
market is going in the right
direction. The Census
bureau is paying around $16
an hour for census takers,
around a million people to
help count the U.S.
households. Temporary
employment is on the way up,
signaling future permanent
gains. Accounting,
management consulting and
law have added 50,000 jobs
in December, positive news
for commercial markets.
Jobs in healthcare remain
strong. Jobs is the most
important underpinning of
the economy.
__________________
GARY
LONDON, President at London
Group Realty Advisors, spoke to the Metro area
Realtors for an hour to give
us a perspective from which
to operate. We are, he
attests, in recovery.
Employment is always a
lagging indicator, he said.
Because the recession is
global, it is harder to
manage, but to him it feels
like 1993, a couple of more
years to go. Long term
prospects for SD, he says,
are brilliant. Diversified
jobs and economy from the
high-paying bio tech to the
largest military base in the
history of the world, and
growing professional
services. As the change
comes, we will be short on
inventory. He also does NOT
see a large interest rate
increases in the future.
This is a very special
buying opportunity for
investors that will prove
them well in the tomorrows
to come. Now if only most
of us weren’t short of
dollars to take advantage of
it!
__________________
SOME DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Hope
old St. Patrick isn’t
blowing his quaff.
St. Patty’s Day
this year will be March
13th, as far
as our officials are
concerned. The Parade will
be from 11am – 1pm starting
at 6th and
Juniper Streets and heading
north, and the 30th
Annual festival, green
recommended if not required,
will be 10am – 6pm all along
Balboa Park from Laurel up
to Quince Streets. There
will be a kid’s zone with
games and rides, Beer
Gardens, and two
entertainment stages.
Admission is free.
And the City of La Mesa
(seems far but is really 12
minutes down the road!)
invites us all to their
La Mesa village Antique
Street Faire from
9am – 5pm on Sunday, March
28, on the 8200 and 8300
blocks of La Mesa Blvd. A
fun way to go is to take the
trolley, but admission and
parking are free. They have
over 125 booths with
antiques and collectibles,
plus appraisal and
restoration specialist. Of
course you can depend o live
music and entertainment and
special treats at the
village restaurants and
coffee houses.
SIGNS I LOVE:
$ SAVING POSSIBILITIES FOR
SENIORS.
Proposition
90
is a seniors (55 or order)
benefit. It allows you to
sell your (usually) family
raising home, which you have
probably owned for a long
time and which probably
carries very low property
taxes, and transfer that
property tax base to a new
home, smaller, often 1
story, sometimes newer,
instead of taking on the new
taxes that would be dictated
by Prop 13 at 1% of your new
purchase price. Say for
example, your big old
2-story sells for $800,000,
and you find a comfortable
newer 1-story for $500,000.
You have owned the $800,000
home for 30 years and your
property taxes are $1100 a
year. Under our state law,
the new home would be taxed
at $5000 a year. That could
be a $3900 annual savings!
Here are the rules: ●As
long as one of the
homeowners is at least 55
years of age and has not
used this benefit before,
●as long as the replacement
house is equal to or less in
price than the original
home, ●as long as the
replacement and original
homes are in Alameda, El
Dorado, Los Angeles, Orange,
San Diego, San Mateo, Santa
Clara or Ventura counties,
and ●as long as the
replacement house is
purchased or built within 2
years before or after the
sale the original home, you
may file with the county of
the new home to take
advantage of the Proposition
90 law and transfer your old
taxes to the new home.
Your buyer of your old home
will have the usual 1% Prop
13 taxes, dictated by his
purchase price.
Reverse Mortgage for
Purchases
is another money saving
option for seniors. If you
are 62 years or old and wish
to purchase a new home
without paying all cash so
you can leave that money
working for you to earn
income, and do not wish to
have to pay monthly mortgage
payments, again in order to
preserve cash for your
living needs, you may
qualify for an FHA-insured
Reverse Mortgage. A Reverse
Mortgage is a mortgage for
which you still make a down
payment, and usually a hefty
30-50% down is required, BUT
rather than pay any mortgage
payments, the amount that
you WOULD pay is added to
the balance in an accrual
that gradually increases the
amount of your mortgage.
And you don’t care. Because
you don’t ever intend to
sell it and move. You can
buy a condominium, a single
family house, a 2-4 unit
property where you will
occupy one of the 4 units,
or a manufactured home (that
is not on leased land). You
can buy in a seniors
community. You cannot
buy a second home, a coop, a
boarding house, or a bed and
breakfast. You must move in
within 60 days from closing
and it must be your primary
residence.
Someday when you move out or
die, the then balance of the
mortgage will have to be
paid off. Usually the home
is sold to do so. Your
heirs may receive any extra
equity in the home, but they
are NEVER
responsible for any
shortgage if the mortgage
has risen above market
values. This is something
to review with an expert,
but is an increasingly
common choice for seniors
looking to preserve living
funds. One trustworthy
source is Well Fargo Bank.
And remember, they are FHA
insured, so no schemes here.
And as always, let me know
if I can help in any way!
Best,
HOT TOPICS 2-27-10
A hug is a great gift. One
size fits all. It can be
given for any occasion, and
it’s easy to exchange!
LINDBERGH FIELD IMPROVEMENTS.
Beginning
this March, our Lindbergh
Field San Diego
International Airport will
begin construction on the
largest project in its
history. They are calling it
the “Green Build”.
Improvements will include 10
new gates, additional
shopping and dining, and a
two-level roadway to
separate arrivals and
departures and reduce curb
congestion, plane taxi
improvements, more and
improved security
checkpoints, and ore
comfortable holding areas.
It is called “green”,
because they are also
decreasing water usage,
energy consumption and using
alternative energy sources.
To accommodate construction,
some parking will be
relocated away from Terminal
2 and frequent shuttles will
carry travelers from
relocated parking areas to
the terminals. We are
becoming a big city
airport. You may get
further email alerts by
registering at: (http://www.san.org/sdcraa/airport_initiatives/green_build/eAlerts.aspx)
___________________
APARTMENT ACTIVITY IN SAN
DIEGO ON THE “UPSWING"
per Union-Tribune writer,
Roger Showley.
Ranked
by vacancy rates, rental
rates and investor interest,
San Diego is ranked 2nd
in the nation, just behind
Washington, D.C., and ahead
of New York, Minneapolis-St
Paul (who knew!),
Philadelphia, New Jersey,
Orange County, Boston, San
Francisco, and San Jose.
Marcus & Millichap,
prominent national real
estate brokerage for
investments, reported San
Diego County’s apartment
market outlook for stability
and possible growth in 2010
as positive. Not only is
the arrival of the Navy
carrier Carl Vinson with its
enormous population of 3200
crew, the return of the
carrier Nimitz and the
Ronald Reagan, currently in
port for maintenance, adding
to the rental population,
but supply is also being
boosted by formerly
owner-occupied foreclosure
properties, even though some
renters are doubling up
today. New apartments are
being built, but the vacancy
increase is expected to be
just 0.2% compared with 1.1%
last year. And rents, after
concessions and discounts
are anticipated to rise by
0.1%. San Diego is better
off than most metro areas,
according to the Marcus and
Millichap national apartment
index. As the economy
recovers and new jobs are
created, the San Diego
apartment market is expected
to be a key beneficiary.
___________________
5 MOST IMPORTANT FOODS TO
EAT:
Jorge
Cruise, creator of the Belly
Fat Cure premiered in San
Diego magazine and now a
national bestseller, local
resident and diet expert,
has a new program (just
google him) for the best
health of women over 40.
AND it also works for people
of all ages.
Jorge says the BEST 5 FOODS
for people to eat for
nutrition, anti-aging,
anti-inflammatory and
anti-oxidants are: 1.
Salmon. 2. Spinach. 3.
Eggs – yolks and whites, he
eats 3 a day. 4. Cinnamon.
and 5. Flax seed – capsules
or liquid oil. Barleans
brand has flavors. Read
more about Jorge and his
efforts to reduce obesity
and maximize our nation’s
health at
www.jorgecruise.com. He
is a little high on the
enthusiasm, but I joined the
SDMag Belly Fat Cure and got
to know him, and he is
mostly high on sincerity!
Now if I would only make the
time to plan my meals!
___________________
NO
IDEA HOW, BUT…although
I am not an alum or a
“booster”, I received this
marvelous magazine from SDSU
extolling many of the
special accomplishments of
the University. Since I DO
receive the same thing from
my alma mater, I recognize
how important this
information is to our school
pride AND knowing what is
going on. Did you know that
fiber optics, MRI’s, Lasik,
google, LCS’s, holograms,
pacemakers, “the Pill”, and
Gatorade all came from the
discoveries of University
researchers? Faculty will
also tell you that students
are much more inspired and
influenced by teachers who
are doing relevant research
than just talking in front
of the room.
UCSD gave San Diego an
enormous gift when they
created UCSD Connect, which
generates introductions and
ties and funding between all
the various companies and
people who share interests
in the bio-tech and
high-tech fields out here,
and is probably more
responsible for those
thriving industries in San
Diego than anyone else.
SDSU has a similar program
to protect and commercialize
intellectual property,
shepherding vital research
into real use, as does my
personal school and probably
many others these days.
HERE’S THE RUB.
As getting a college degree
has become more critical,
the doors are closing to
many. In 1960 California
ranked 8th in the
percentage of its residents
25-34 years old holding at
least a bachelor’s degree.
By 2007, it was 25th.
All universities are
struggling, like everyone
else, to meet demand with
resources. There is a
direct result on the quality
of our society and economy,
as well as on the lives of
the individuals. If
education is not a priority,
we will become a shrinking
culture, less revenue, less
brain trust, even less
sustenance.
and one more fascinating
fact from this magnetic
magazine:
There is a field of science
called bio-mimicry, already
embraced by research at
industry giants like GE,
NASA, HP and Qualcomm. The
concept is that nature has
“an exhaustive catalog of
evolution-tested examples of
environmentally friendly
answers for every design and
engineering challenge on
earth, enough to transform
industry and save the
planet…a bullet train shaped
liked a bird’s beak, solar
cells inspired by leaves,
electronic displays based on
butterfly wings.”
INTERESTING REAL ESTATE
STATS: There have been
126 single family
residence’s sold in 92103 in
the past 12 months. 9 of
these (7%) were short sales.
14 of these (11%) were REO’s
or bank owned sales. Our
turnover (percentage of all
the homes that sell) was
approximately 2.5% in the
last 12 months. The average
sale was on the market for
64 days, the average listing
time today is 73 days. There
are 61 homes on the market
today.
___________________
OUR
FRIENDS DESERVE OUR SUPPORT.
Especially in these
difficult financial times, I
try to think before I dine,
shop, or spend, who do I
know that could provide this
service to me, give me the
excellence my dollar
requires, and also
the feeling that I am
supporting someone I like!
Or my neighborhood. There
seem fewer dollars to share,
so I am trying to do so
thoughtfully. And it feels
good!
__________________
GOLDEN HILL RECOGNIZED
by Sunset Magazine as 2 of
“20 Towns of the Future” in
the west, highlighting the
futuristic Main Street
“mxd830” designed by
architects Mike Burnett and
Craig Abenilla.” You can
see this online at
Sunsetmag.com. The building
is named “mxd830” for mixed
use plus its street address.
HOT TOPICS 2-20-10
MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
We
are so fortunate that our
nation, our world is in the
hands of the young people of
today. A friend of mine
whose son graduated from Cal
Poly sent me this U-Tube of
what he and fellow college
grads are doing around the
world for the Micro
Financing Investments,
washing their laundry on
rocks and giving their
skills and knowledge to
those with fewer of the
advantages than we Americans
have. It is so inspiring,
especially the spirit with
which they do their work!
Take a look at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KuakEQTwy8
and notice the
beauty in the faces of the
heartfelt givers!
Kiva is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization,
incorporated in November
2005. Kiva" is a Swahili
word which means "unity" or
"agreement". Kiva is the
world's first online
micro-lending platform. I
am not endorsing Kiva,
specifically, but it is one
way that you “teach people
to fish, rather than giving
them a fish.” There is more
information on line at
www.kiva.org.
___________________
IF YOU DON’T LEAVE YOUR
NUMBER
whenever you leave a message
to be returned, you are
assuming, thoughtless,
and
wasting time on the
recipient’s end. Even
frequent callers probably
use a pre-programmed dialer
much of the time and cannot
recite your number by heart
at a given moment. It is
such and easy habit to
develop: “Call me! Jane,
619-999-9999”, and your
intended return call has it
so each to get back to you! 
___________________
MALCOLM FORBES.
Always one to go for the
zest, Malcolm Forbes is
known for getting Elizabeth
Taylor on his
motorcycle and for his
lavish 70th
birthday party, as well as
for publishing the highly
successful and must-read
Forbes magazine for
decades. So many of his
words were blunt, honest and
to the point. I offer you:
“Too many people
overvalue what they are not
and undervalue what they
are.” A nice thought to
take with you.
__________________
The
511 Phone System,
now available in San Diego
County and the Inland Empire
offers traffic, transit, and
commuter information to
motorists just the same way
as 411 has been to directory
assistance.. You can also
log on to IE511.org.
___________
AUTO BREAK-IN’S IN MISSION
HILLS
If
you wish NOT to be among
those who have found their
automobile burglarized,
there are some simple tips
offered by SDPD: ●Take all
valuables when you leave the
car. NEVER leave
valuables in sight. Thieves
are looking for portable GPS
systems, mobile phones,
IPods, laptops, purses,
wallets, backpacks,
clothing, cameras…you know
the rest. Stow your
personal items IN the trunk
AND under cover or make
yourself a bag so that you
can easily take them with
you when you get home or
leave the car in any lot. ●
Always lock your vehicle, at
least make it hard for
thieves. And do this if you
are loading and unloading.
● Anti-theft deterrents such
as “the club” , ignition
kill-switches, and audible
alarm systems work more
often than not. And ●call
911 whenever you suspect a
crime in process or threats
to persons.
_________________
JUST
A MOMENT OF WHIMSEY
about our language provided
by our friend Norm: ●Why do
“slow down” and “slow up”
mean the same thing?
●Why do we sing “Take Me Out
To the Ballpark” when we are
already there, and why are
they called “stands” when
they are for sitting? ●Why
do we say “after dark” when
it is really after light?
●How did “wise man” and
“wise guy” get to be
opposites? ●Ditto
“overlook” and “oversee”.
Here is my favorite: ●Why
is phonics not spelled the
way it sounds?!!! ●Why is a
bra singular and panties
plural? ●Have you noticed
we put suits in a garment
bag and garments in a
suitcase? ●Why is
“abbreviated” such a long
word? ●How come glue
doesn’t stick to the inside
of the bottle?
_________________
IF
YOU ARE A MEMBER OF AAA
you can have a free 38-point
inspection through April 30th
at a participating AAA
approved Auto Repair shop.
A list of these shops is
available at 877-552-4938 or
aaa.com/freeinspection.
_________________
9 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
ABOUT MOLD
1.
Potential health effects
and symptoms include
allergic reactions, asthma,
other respiratory
complaints. 2. You cannot
eliminated all mold and
spores indoors. The way to
control indoor mold growth
is to control moisture. If
you have a mold problem, you
must eliminate the sources
of moisture. 3. Fix the
source of water problem or
leak to prevent mold
growth. 4. Reduce indoor
humidity to 30-60% by:
venting bathrooms, dryers
and other
moisture-generating sources,
using air conditioners and
de-humidifiers, increasing
ventilation in general,
using exhaust fans when
cooking, dishwashing and
cleaning. 5. Clean and dry
any damp or wet building
materials within 24-48 hours
to prevent mold growth. 6.
Clean mold off hard surfaces
with water and detergent and
dry completely. Ceiling
tiles and other absorbent
materials may need to be
replaced. 7. Prevent
condensation on windows,
piping, exterior walls,
roofs, or floors by adding
insulation. 8. Do not put
carpet where there is any
perpetual moisture –
fountains, classroom sinks,
concrete floors with leaks
or frequent condensation.
9. Molds can be found
anywhere and can grow on
virtually any substance, if
moisture is present.
________________
THE OLD RULES ARE NO GOOD.
NEED
TO KNOW!
“Duck
and cover” could get you
crushed in an earthquake.
Our kids know, they are
being taught about the
Triangle of Life, but we
adults were trained
differently. Get under that
desk or table, and you could
be the next obituary. What
you DO want to do is lie
NEXT TO that large strong
object, which will absorb
the blow and create a space
or void next to them. You
want to be in that space,
curled up like our pets and
babies do instinctively, in
the fetal position. This
space is what is called the
“Triangle of Life”. The
larger and stronger the
object is, the less it will
compact and the larger will
be the void next to it, and
the greater the probability
of your survival. Next time
you see a collapse on tv,
look for the voids. The
triangle is the most common
shape and you will see
dozens. And brick buildings
do break up and cause many
injuries, but less squashed
bodies than concrete slabs.
Concrete slab buildings are
the most dangerous during an
earthquake. If you are in
bed at night, simply roll
off the bed and lie on the
floor next to it. If you
stand in a doorway and the
jam goes forward or
backward, you will be
crushed by the ceiling, or
if it falls sideways you may
be cut in half. Not
pretty. Never go to the
stairs. Their moment of
frequency (whatever!) swings
differently from the
building and bump and fail
structurally. Get near
outer walls if possible,
outside of course is best.
The San Francisco Nimitz
freeway death toll was so
high because people stayed
in their cars, when lying
next to them, where there
were voids of 3 feet in
height, would have saved
lives. Stacks of newspaper
do not compact! Run to the
nearest newspaper publisher
and lie next to the paper!
…Doug
Copp, Rescue Chief and
Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team
International, the world’s
most experienced rescue
team.
HOT TOPICS 2/13/10
1Mission
If you haven’t been to see 1
Mission, the new
condominiums (address is 845
Fort Stockton, but sales
office entry is on Falcon
Street) by CLB Partners who
built the Park Laurel, you
may just be missing the
classiest thing to be added
to Mission Hills in the past
ever so long. The entire
homes portion of the project
is discreet, stylish in the
rich subtle way, and what
you give up in space and
separation of a
free-standing home you may
gain in self-satisfaction
and a feeling of having
arrived. This is where you
would want your mother to
live, before she bequeathed
her fortune to you when the
time comes. This is where
you would like people to see
you, as a successful and
tasteful person. This is
where the new standard in
shared housing stakes it
timeless claim. They are
always open. Do stop by and
see if you would not like to
trade off some space for
genuine quality. And please
tell them I sent you! I
know someday you will be
very glad I did!
__________________
Did you know the first vinyl
musical recording was
made in 1948 and was
Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker
Suite”.
________________
THOUGHTS ON JUMPING INTO THE
HOUSING MARKET.
●There
is a substantial credit
(up to $8,000 for first
time homebuyers and up to
$6500 for replacement home
buyers – check the details
out!) that expires on April
30th (for
contracting the purchase)
and on June 30th
(for closing.) ●Interest
rates are low because the
Federal Reserve has been
buying up $3 trillion in
mortgage-backed securities
and mortgage agency debt.
It has no plans to buy any
more past March 30, 2010.
Economists at the Mortgage
Bankers Assn. are
anticipating rates of 6.1%
by year end. This would add
a little more than $100
every month to every
$150,000 in mortgage. X 12
months a year. = ?
●Mortgage lenders have been
tightening credit standards.
___________________
BUSINESS SUCCESS.
INTERESTING
STUDY FOUND A DIRECT LINK
BETWEEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT (having a supportive
boss, having friends in the
company, feeling an integral
part of the company’s
success) AND THE PROFIT
PICTURE.
And the more optimistic people are, the better their problem
solving ability and coping
mechanisms function. You
have to win in the workplace
to win in the marketplace!
Notice how the most
successful companies also
show up on the “best places
to work” lists?
Businesses are also finding that proximity, recognizing that
everyone still needs some
privacy to do their best
work, breeds collaboration
and fosters teamwork. Walls
are giving way to ½ walls
and central areas (like
re-purposed hallways and
cafes) are being offered as
chat lounges.
Offices with glass walls foster transparency, a sense of wholeness,
and sharing.
Reconstruction of office interiors can be very expensive.
Demountable walls with
component parts are a great
option for commercial
businesses who wish to
remain flexible.
___________________
Like,
it’s not already so
expensive to fly, now they
are discovering it is not as
safe as when the airlines
financial structures were
not so tight! Great. but
for those of us who still
think sky-travel is the best
way to get there,
MOST AIRLINES FILE THEIR
INTERNET SPECIALS ON
TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAY, AND
INCLUDING A SATURDAY NIGHT
STAY WILL IMPROVE YOUR FARE
FURTHER.
SAVINGS
AND LINTFREE. Next time you are going to reach for a paper towel, or don’t
know what to reach for,
think of these CHEAP little
items as a possibility.
●Wonderful for cleaning
mirrors, chrome, windows –
no lint! ●Protect your good
china using them in between,
your cast-iron skillet from
rust, and pressing flowers
in a phone book. ●Filter
that broken cork from the
wine bottle. ● Recycle your
frying oil with a coffee
filter in your strainer, and
drain your fried foods
●Hold popsicles and tacos.
Here’s one you never thought
of: as a sewing backing
when working soft fabrics.
●Fill with baking soda and
stick in your smelly shoes.
●As a spoon rest. ●A little
late, but for storing
Christmas ornaments.
●Remove fingernail polish
when out of cotton balls,
and as a razor nick fixer.
●Just
in time this year, use them
to sprout seeds – dampen,
place seeds in side, fold
and put into a baggie until
they sprout.
HOT TOPICS 2/6/10
Every sixty seconds you
spend angry, upset or mad,
is a full minute of
happiness you'll never get
back.
BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW…
Chapter
4 of Division 11 of the
California Vehicle Code
21809 (a) A person driving a
vehicle on a freeway
approaching a stationary
authorized emergency vehicle
that is displaying
emergency lights, or a
stationary tow truck that is
displaying flashing amber
warning lights, shall
approach with due caution
and, before passing in a
lane immediately adjacent to
the authorized emergency
vehicle or tow truck, absent
any other direction by a
peace officer, proceed to do
one of the following:
(1) Make a lane
change into an available
lane not immediately
adjacent to the
authorized emergency vehicle
or tow truck, with due
regard for safety and
traffic conditions, if
practicable and not
prohibited by law.
(2) If the
maneuver described in
paragraph (1) would be
unsafe or impracticable,
slow to a reasonable and
prudent speed that is safe
for existing weather, road,
and vehicular or pedestrian
traffic conditions
If God is
your Co-pilot, swap seats!
SMALL IS THE NEW BIG
New-home
buyers responded to the
tough times in 2009 by
opting for smaller houses,
driving down the average
size of a house built in the
United States for the first
time in 27 years. Data
recently released by the
National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) found the
average size of a new home
that was completed in 2009
fell to 2,480 square feet
from 2,520 square feet in
2008. The last time the
average completed-home size
fell by a statistically
significant amount was
1982.
Homeowners surveyed by
Better Homes and Gardens
magazine said downsizing was
becoming a bigger priority:
36% said in November 2009
that they expected their
next home to be “somewhat
smaller” or “much smaller”
than their current home
versus 32% who said that in
2008. “Not surprisingly, we
see a ‘cents and
sensibility’ approach when
it comes to buying or
improving a home, with
practicality and price being
the top priorities,” said
Eliot Nusbaum, the
magazine’s executive editor
of home design. While the
small-house movement in the
United States has been
gaining steam for a number
of years, the recession has
accelerated it and home
builders have responded.
“The era of easy money is
over. You really have to
think before you go out and
decide you need that
five-bedroom, five-bath
home,” said Rose Quint, the
NAHB’s assistant vice
president for survey
research. “Couple that with
the energy cost concerns of
consumers today and I think
we will continue this trend.
Houses will not shrink
drastically, but they will
shrink.” In 2009, the
number of homes with three
or more bathrooms fell for
the first time since 1992.
Two other trends in home
construction are
contributing to the
declining square footages:
The prominence of first-time
buyers in the housing market
and the increasing number of
households with members 55
and older who are buying
homes.
First-time buyers, driven
into the market in good part
by the availability of an
$8,000 tax credit, are more
likely to compromise on home
size in exchange for a lower
price. And the 55-plus crowd
tends to purchase
single-story homes. Land
costs favor the
more-efficient two-story
plans. BUT “Barely over
half of new homes today are
built with two stories or
more,” For 2010, home
builders say they will focus
on lower-priced models and
smaller homes. More than 95%
of builders surveyed by NAHB
in January said that was the
way they saw their business
evolving this year. The
penchant for smaller homes
will necessitate some design
changes. Builders,
attempting to respond to
those consumer demands as
well as hold the line on
prices, told the NAHB
surveyors that they were
most likely to include these
features as standard in
their houses this year:
-Walk-in closets in the
master bedroom, Laundry
rooms, Great rooms,
Energy-efficient windows and
programmable thermostats,
Energy-efficient appliances
and lighting, Linen closets,
Separate shower and tub in
master bathroom, Nine-foot
ceilings on the first
floor. Among the things
that builders said they were
least likely to add
to houses in 2010:
Outdoor kitchens and
fireplaces, Sunrooms,
Butler’s pantries, Media
rooms, Desks in kitchens,
Multiple shower heads in the
master bath, Smaller
kitchens. they are
concentrating heavily on
energy-saving features, but
a lot of the luxury items
are on the chopping block or
on hold as builders try to
lower costs.
_____________________
REAL ESTATE IN SAN FRANCISCO
Last
week I reported on
Manhattan, thanks to my
friend who is Exec VP at
Prudential Douglas Elliman
there. This week, may I
pass on to you the wisdom of
another friend from the City
by the Bay up north.
Yesterday she reported that
while sales in January were
better than a year ago, they
were no where close to
December 2009. Their
inventory is scarce, as is
ours in San Diego, and
people have but a brief time
to take advantage of the
homebuyer (new and repeat)
tax credits, and interest
rates are still good.
Lenders are NOT improving,
the new laws are not
necessarily clarifying, and
it takes courage to step up,
but may nevertheless be the
best buys we will see for a
long time. And that crystal
ball factor, opinions
varying from A-Z, is still
the big one.
CLUTTER CAN DEMORALIZE AND
OVERWHELM.
If
you are giving serious
thought to attacking the
problem, you might talk to
Stacy and get some
professional help. Until
you have worked with a
professional, you don’t know
how easy they can make it.
Imagine waking up without
the pointed finger of too
much stuff inter-fering with
your regular day. A phone
call to get information on
costs, processes, etc. is no
obligation. Consider doing
YOURSELF a Valentine favor!
Don't let your worries get
the best of you; Remember,
Moses started out as a
basket case.
And while I am
recommending…LISA MAYWOOD IS
A NEW FRIEND, BECAUSE I AM
ATTRACTED TO EXCELLENCE.
Lisa
is a glass artist. I own
the most wonderful party
plate with a picture of a
sophisticated lady on it
that she did.
She does commissioned
stained glass and other
work, she repairs leaded
glass and stained glass, she
makes all kinds of art and
accessories, and the most
amazing characteristic about
Lisa is that
she has the most beautiful
and harmonic personality and
disposition. Imagine in
this super-pres-sured world,
an experience of light and
happiness. You can find
Lisa at
lisa@verredesigns.com or
by phone at 858-220-3282,
and she lives right here in
Mission Hills!
Every day is a do-over.
This time I am going to get
it right!
Hot Topics 1/30/10
30
millions pounds
of potato chips, tortilla
chips, pretzels, popcorn and
nuts are expected to be
consumed on Super Bowl
Sunday, Jan 7th.
How much burn off do you get
for yelling at the refs?
___________________
AN AUTOBODY SHOP I LOVE!
While I hope you don’t have occasion to find out, I did, and I
cannot say enough about
Sutherland Enterprises Auto
Body. They are right down
the hill from Mission Hills
on Hancock Street, they call
Enterprise to take care of
your rental needs in
moments, they bid $900
less than the company I
went to first, but the bid
looked so ridiculous, even
though I only had to pay the
$250 deductible regardless
of the bill, that I ran
furious to Kay, my insurance
agent, saying the first
people were trying to cheat
us and she sent me to
Sutherland. I didn’t
mention I had been
elsewhere. I just petted
the friendly small golden
retriever that came
respectfully to greet me,
and appreciated that the
office was clean and smart,
the staff friendly and
responsive. When they
handed me their $900 lower
bid I was both happy and
questioning.
Until I picked up the finished job a day earlier than promised at
shop #1, and looking
GORGEOUS! And they even
stayed late (having called
my home not my office to
tell me it was done) so that
I could retrieve my car.
What’s not to love!?
Unfortunately, it is not the common experience today to be treated
like your business matters.
Although I would like to add
that the Enterprise office
at Palm and Pacific Highway
did exactly the same thing,
three young people who were
quick, crossover assisting
and very courteous to the
herd of people at their
shop. I was very impressed
with them too, and would
call them any time I needed
a rental.
You don’t have to write this down. It is in my RESOURCES on
GinnyOllis.com, for sure!
__________________
IN
MISSION HILLS –
related to the Red Door, The Wellington, and Market Street Café, is
getting wonderful first
reports. They have a Happy
Hour with wines by the glass
at $5 and GREAT small
plates. Just the kind of
thing for people who don’t
want a heavy meal for the
evening too. 807 W.
Washington Street, 291-1717,
open for dinner 4pm-10 or
11, and ½ price wines by the
bottle on Mondays!
__________________
ALTERNATE GUEST HOUSING.
If your guests can’t get
rooms at the historic Park
Manor Suites on Sixth Avenue
at Balboa Park, this bed and
breakfast in the heart of
Little Italy may give them a
visit to remember. 23
distinctive rooms, premium
memory foam mattresses and
luxury linens, Continental
breakfast, weekend Happy
Hour with complimentary wine
and comestibles.
___________________
MISSED YOUR FAVORITE TV
SHOW?
Or you didn’t know it would be great until you heard at the water
cooler that it was! I
imagine every cable,
satellite and other tv
service offers their own
systems, but you can also go
to
www.hulu.com for
full-length episodes of
shows. Many of the networks
offer their already exposed
shows on line. And if you
haven’t mastered your TIVO
or Cox DVR, these can be
great answers!
___________________
BE “GREEN” WITH BAKING SODA
Replacing many harsh household chemicals with baking soda can save
you money as well as the
environment! ● Sprinkle a
little in your compactor or
trash can when you replace
the bag and avoid annoying
odors. ●Run it through a
cycle of empty dishwasher to
clean it well. ●Wherever
moisture is a problem, plunk
a bowl of baking powder to
control the humidity (we
already know to do this in
the refrigerator! ●Remove
water stains on wood floors
with a little baking
powder. ●Sprinkle it on
carpets before vacuuming,
ALSO discourages fleas! ●Put
in on the edges of your
countertops to deter ants,
they won’t cross! ●Clear
drains with 1C baking powder
followed by boiling water.
●Put baking soda into sock
toes and then into smelly
shoes to remove odors. ●As
snow on Christmas trees, and
NON-toxic! ●Re use it.
After it has done your
refrigerator, pour it down
the sink to clean the
drains.
HOT TOPICS 1/23/10
NEW
VOCABULARY FOR THIS ECONOMY:
“Temporary Mortgage” – a
mortgage until they
foreclose.
“Dreams” – for the older
generation is to pay off a
mortgage, for the young
generation it is to get one!
“Property Line” – where the
neighbor stops cutting his
grass.
“Housewarming” – final call
for those who haven’t sent a
wedding present.
MISSION HILLS RENTAL HOUSE NEEDED DESPERATELY!
And the desperate is me not
them.
I have been
asked to put house on the
market where wonderful
people have been living for
5 years. They need 3 more
years in our community to
finish schools.
Professional mother, 2 high
school children, 1 mature
friendly dog, $2500/mo is
what they can afford. If
you know of anything that
might suit, please let me
know. Truthfully, the
landlord will be grateful!
Tenants and Owners are
really good people!
____________________
A broker was
dismayed when a brand new
real estate office much like
his own opened up next door
and erected a huge sign
which read 'BEST AGENTS.'
He was horrified when
another competitor opened up
on his right, and announced
its arrival with an even
larger sign, reading 'LOWEST
COMMISSIONS.' The broker
panicked, until he got an
idea. He put the biggest
sign of all over his own
real estate office. It read:
'MAIN ENTRANCE' .
___________________
HELP FOR HAITI
The hardest
thing for me, particularly
when my pennies seem dearer
now, is how to contribute so
that it will make a
difference, not get lost on
the tarmac. Amazing how
much difficulty has been
professed in just getting
stuff there and delivered.
And then I heard on the news
on day 3, right after a
story about how hard Doctors
Without Borders and others
were working in Port au
Prince with NO supplies or
equipment, that Israel had
delivered and set up an
operating hospital and 6
clinics! Whether it is
because their nation is
accustomed to life under
siege and is trained to
respond to emergencies, or a
reflection of the Israeli
culture that makes this
little country a major donor
to crises in the world (!),
I felt that action not
politics would make me feel
effective. So, I put my
retired sister to work to
find out how we could funnel
our donations through these
pipelines. And she did. If
you are interested, she
discovered and we donated
through:
https://www.kintera.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.5719841/k.1795/AJC_Haiti_Earthquake_Relief_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=5719841&en=5dJIKNMfFbIGIEPnGdKyGLMuFkITIUMpEfIPJXMtFeJGKOOxHrE
Of course there are many
choices, and just helping is
the important thing. a fun
thing your children might
like to do is participate is
make up “Hygiene Kits” and
bring them to the Mission
Hills United Church of
Christ (see below):
|
Emergency Aid to
Haiti
Church World Service
(CWS) has had
workers on the
ground in Haiti for
years. They are
members of the
community assisting
with the education,
healthcare, and
physical needs of
the people of Haiti.
They have reported
an immediate need
for hygiene kits.
Please consider
assembling the kits
or purchasing the
items necessary for
the kits.
All kits and/or
supplies can be
dropped off Monday –
Friday between the
hours of 9 a.m. - 3
p.m. or Sunday,
between 9 a.m. –
12:30 p.m. at
Mission Hills United
Church of Christ,
4070 Jackdaw Street,
San Diego, CA 92103.
**Please bring your
donation no later
than Sunday,
February 7. Thank
you!
To assemble a
Hygiene Kit you will
need:
-
One hand towel measuring
approximately 16" x
28" (no fingertip or
bath towels)
-
One washcloth
-
One wide-tooth comb
-
One nail clipper
-
One bar of soap (bath
size in wrapper)
-
One toothbrush (in
original packaging)
-
Six Band-Aids®
Please do not add
toothpaste to the
Hygiene Kit.
Toothpaste that has
an extended
expiration date will
be added to Hygiene
Kit shipments just
prior to shipment.
Seal all items in a
one-gallon plastic
bag with a zipper
closure.
Church World Service
is an ecumenical aid
organization that
works with partners
in the U.S. and
around the world to
build interfaith and
intercultural
coalitions to
eradicate hunger and
poverty and promote
peace and justice.
CWS is supporting
sustainable
grassroots
development,
disaster relief, and
refugee assistance.
Thank you for your
support! |
This is the time of year to
register or renew your
membership to support the
Mission Hills Town Council.
A bargain at
only $25 for individual or
family, and $100 for
benefactor members, so that
your community can continue,
collaborate, contribute,
communicate with government,
and initiate:
-
Concerts in the Park
-
4th of July
Parade, Celebration In
the Park and concert
-
Mission Nights
-
Liaison with SD Police,
Neighborhood Watch, and
CERT to improve and
enhance our safety
-
Historic and “green” and
economically efficient
Acorn lighting
-
Traffic configuration
and Parking concerns
-
Pioneer Park Children’s
Playground and Mural
-
West Lewis Street Pocket
Park
-
Enhancement of the
commercial core with
benches, trash
receptacles and Garden
Club’s hanging baskets
-
Advocacy for the
community with City
Council and County
Supervisor’s Office
-
Website for effective
community communication
and bulletin board
purposes
-
Holiday Arts and Crafts
Fair
-
Rose Award quarterly for
businesses that
contribute to the
community
-
Vons redevelopment has
been a primary focus for
over 4 years now.
-
And always open to
supporting new ideas and
efforts.
If you wish to join or renew, you may do so by going to the Council
website
(which, by the way, is under reconstruction!) and clicking on
membership, or sending your
check with name, address,
phone and email to Kathy
Jones, 1506 Plumosa Way, San
Diego, CA 92103. PS: the
Council NEVER gives out
anyone’s contact
information!
________________________
“IDEAS THAT SPREAD ARE MORE
LIKELY TO SUCCEED THAN THOSE
THAT DON’T.”
__________________________
Remove Water
Spots from Polished Wood
Water makes a filmy gray
spot. If not too deep,
rubbing with the fingertip
will remove the spot.
Otherwise, use a small piece
of cheesecloth tightly wrung
out of hot water with 2 or 3
drops of household ammonia
in it. Rub lightly and
quickly with the cloth; then
instantly rub with a soft
oiled cloth. Finally go over
the whole surface with oil.
Rub until all extra oil is
used. Other ways to repair:
Try wiping with mayonnaise;
Make a paste of wood ash and
salad oil; Ashes from
cigarettes and saliva, and
rub; hunk of raw potato with
wood ash rubbed on it. Rub
over the area.
Carpet
Cleaning Tips
Vacuum your carpet at least
once a week, even if it
doesn't look like it needs
it. The dust, and dirt,
gets ground into the carpet
and will slash the fibers.
Have your carpets
professionally cleaned at
least once a year (every 4
months is preferable)
___________________________
U.S.
CENSUS
– referred to as a
“snapshot” of our country,
the census is important for
government and service/asset
allocation. However, to be
safe, you should know that
an accredited census taker
will have:
·
badge
·
a handheld device
·
Census Bureau canvas bag
·
a confidentiality notice
AND THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS
on what they can ask:
DO
NOT GIVE THEM
·
social security number
·
credit card or banking information
·
they may ask for salary RANGE, but not any specifics about your
financial situation.
·
donations of any kind
·
they do NOT work with Acorn, so you shouldn’t either.
NEVER click on a link or
open any attachments in an
email that are supposedly
from the U.S. Census
Bureau. If they contact you
it will be by phone or in
person, N0T EMAIL.
Hot Topics 1/16/10
MISSION HILLS VON’S
IMPROVEMENT BECOMING A
REALITY!
Over 100 members of the
Mission Hills community
gathered for the Town Hall
meeting on Thursday evening
to hear Jan Martin, Real
Estate Director for VONS,
and two associates present
their plans and status on
the renovation of the
Washington/Dove/University
Avenue store. Thursday they
submitted their plans to the
City with hopes that by
summer they will have city
staff review, environmental
review and public comment,
community support, planning
commission and finally City
Council approval of their
concept by June. While
their concept plans are not
available on line at this
time, I can tell you that
the store has a “pavilion”
look with a large round
turret top at the main
entrance, which would be on
the corner of Washington and
Dove. The plan will take the
store from its current
10,000sf to 55,000sf, plus
addition of retail
businesses on the now vacant
lot site East of the current
store (credit to the Vons
organization for donating
that lot for the past year
to parking use by the
employees of the 1 Mission
Construction site at the
urging of Mission Hills Town
Council Business Enhancement
Co-chair John Lomac, which
saved dreadful hours of
parking agony around the
construction site for so
many!). Two substantial
considerations were the
relatively small acreage of
the site and the uneven
topography, which slopes 9
feet from Washington to
University and has a 5’ dip
in the middle of the
East-West direction.
Several University Avenue
residents were concerned
about the delivery trucks.
It was also important to
Vons to plan well for
delivery vehicles to service
the store and create minimum
negative effect on the
neighborhood. A large
shield wall is planned to
screen delivery vehicles
from neighbor views.
The new store is planned to
provide many more services
than currently provided by
either of our Mission Hills
grocery stores: Bakery,
Deli, World of Cheese,
Produce with a Farmer’s
Market tone, Organics, Meat
and Seafood with a full
service station, Liquor,
Floral and Gardening,
expanded Check stands and
Customer Service, Quick Pick
Up and Take Home Section,
Pharmacy, Dairy, Frozen
Foods, Starbucks, and an
outdoor seating café on the
Washington Street side
approximately 10’ above
street level.
A number of people at the
meeting protested the street
level but in-building
parking, saying that
pedestrians would be looking
in at cars as they walked
the street, but I think that
is just a design issue and
concur that the cost and
space benefits of NOT
creating subterranean
parking with very expensive
engineering and retaining
wall costs and sacrificed
space and much more limited
access is well born in the
light that the city requires
142 parking spaces and they
are giving us 192, 50
extras. The parking and the
hard standard look of the
building seemed to attract
most of the criticism.
Their studies say that
people prefer open, safe,
light parking rather than
enclosed below ground, and
plan to have high garage
ceilings of at least 10’ and
natural light coming in from
the sides. (which creates
the criticized pedestrian
view of the cars.) A large
4-5 grocery cart elevator
and several escalators carry
shoppers to and from the
garage and the store.
They reported that an urban
feel is consistent with the
existing community plan, and
there is a bold Las Vegas
Boulevard escalator entry at
the main front. The
sidewalks along Washington
and Dove would both be 10
feet wide, with the current
Washington Street bus stop
remaining where it is.
Several smart suggestions
asked for the signage (as
shown in the art above) be
softened since we would all
know it was a Von’s and to
include the name Mission
Hills, to include hanging
baskets as we have in the
commercial cores of Mission
Hills, and it was
acknowledged by one speaker
that a new modern store
would certainly improve our
property values.
Anticipated COMPLETION was
reported to be planned for
on/before Thanksgiving
2011. People with comments
are encouraged to email the
Mission Hills Town Council,
information@missionhillstowncouncil.org,
which will serve as
intermediary to the store
and its planners.
___________________
SENIORS Helping SENIORS™
is a new franchise service
that provides in-home care
of all kinds for seniors BY
seniors. It is a chance for
those who have turned a
little gray themselves to
provide valuable help to
those who need it, and a
great service for those who
are lonely or need some
help. Their website is very
helpful
www.SeniorsHelpingSeniors.com,
AND there is a business
opportunity out there for
someone who sees the future
and it is now!
______________
DR.
DAVID GRUDER SUGGESTS MANY
SUFFER FROM A FAULTY FORMULA
FOR LIFE FULFILLMENT.
He says the formula that has
created our problems is
Money + Lifestyle = Life
Fulfillment. There is
nothing wrong, he continues,
with pursuing abundance or a
particular lifestyle, what
is wrong is depending on
them for fulfillment. We
have compromised life
fulfillment, social
responsibility, and love,
all for profitability, and
compromise is the problem
not the solution. Democracy
can thrive only if we eschew
compro-mise for some more
purpose-driven focus on what
we need and must. …and that
is me, not David. Haven’t
you been in a “meeting”
where the bloody bones of
the matter are hacked into
hash rather than a fat roast
by trying to make everyone
happy rather than working
for the best result?
Collaborating should be
about gaining the best of
each contributor, not
“averaging” all ideas into a
stew of mediocrity.
David talks about the 3 main
forms of problem-solving:
1. “Coercion”, when someone
is forced to another
person’s decision. 2.
“Compromise” when everyone
is ripped off equally.
3.“Collaboration” or
“Synergy”, when co-creators
combine their different
perspectives to create a
larger vision. Have you
ever been in a meeting where
ego is absolutely put aside
in search of most effective
solution? Energizing!
You might find David’s work
of interest. His book, “The
New IQ: How Integrity
Intelligence Serves You,
Your Relationships and Our
World” is an award winner,
and he has an “Integritize
America” program you can
join. More at
www.thenewiq.com.
__________________
WINTERIZING YOUR HOME.
OK, yes I know, we are in
San Diego, but both energy
responsibility and health
issues
suggest
we keep temperature shifts
and energy waste in
control. People have told
me that putting insulation
in their attics has made a
recognizable difference in
their temperature comfort
summer and winter. We found
an air turbine in our attic
made the summers much
easier! Zoned and timed
temperature control can save
substantial dollars over a
year. Little steps like
having furnaces and air
conditioners services, and
KEEPING THE FILTERS CLEAN
can make a marked
difference. Dampers on
fireplaces, bathroom fans
and other outtakes can
prevent your paying to heat
or cool the neighborhood.
Ceiling fans can be switched
to push heat back down in
the winter and pull it up
and away in the summer.
___________________
“It’s incredibly easy to get
caught up in an activity
trap, in the busy-ness of
life, to work harder and
harder at climbing the
ladder of success only to
discover it’s leaning
against the wrong wall.” …
Stephen Covey.
___________________
IT’S NOT JUST YOUR THREE R’S
ANYMORE.
Those
of us who completed our full
time academics some time ago
may not be aware of the many
new programs involving
students today. Yale’s
“Brady Johnson Program in
Grand Strategy” which
combines rigorous study of
classical texts with
high-profile internships and
immersion in the craft of
policy-making and crisis
simulation. My alma
mater’s program to engineer
Innovation, which focuses on
bringing new ideas to every
arena with attention to
communication,
commercializing them (how to
take the new ideas to actual
usefulness!), and leading
with optimizing
collaboration and
connecting. UCSD’s
“Connect” is surely
responsible for a
considerable amount of the
bio-science and high-tech
growth in San Diego using
those same ideas. Practical
experience, experimenting
and learning is so much a
part of the day that once
was docile note-taking in a
classroom. Rather than just
information, so much new
learning is about how and
the process. The part that
really excites. The future
looks good!
___________________
Beginning
Jan. 1, 2010, the standard
mileage rates for the use of
a car (also vans, pickups or
panel trucks) will be:
-
50 cents per
mile for business miles
driven
-
16.5 cents per
mile driven for medical
or moving purposes
-
14 cents per
mile driven in service
of charitable
organizations
The new rates for business,
medical and moving purposes
are slightly lower than last
year's. The mileage rates
for 2010 reflect generally
lower transportation costs
compared to a year ago.
__________________
With California’s economy struggling to rebound, there is one
benefit: lower property
taxes for most homeowners in
2010.
For the first time in 30 years, deflation will be used when
calculating assessments
effective Jan. 1, 2010. The
California Board of
Equalization estimates
deflation at 0.237 percent,
which translates to a
decline of roughly $2.60 per
$100,000 in assessed valued.
Adjustments will be reflected on tax bills sent out in October 2010
and due by December 10, 2010
and April 10, 2011.
Those homeowners whose property values have not fallen, or whose
tax rates already reflected
fallen value, will not
receive an additional br
HOT TOPICS 1/9/10
GREAT READ!
I
just read a book recommended
to me by a new friend, and I
wish to recommend it to
you. Very different, very
interesting, very VERY well
written, one of those books
that tells me I am not at
all qualified to be a
writer! "Peace Like a
River" by Leif Enger. One
reviewer described the
central young girl as
"literature's most
unforgettable little girl
since Scout in To Kill a
Mockingbird. It about
unfancy America, miracles
and not silly or
unrealistic. I loved it and
the people.
___________________
REFERRALS
– I think the coach of the
team can make a great
difference in the success of
the team, and the Realtor
you use can make a great
difference in the purchase
or sale of real estate. If
you have property or a
desire to have property
somewhere else and do not
have a great Realtor in
place, please feel welcome
to call me for a referral.
It is much easier for me to
find you that “great coach”
from the inside, and to give
you back up from here,
should you need, and of
course, there is no charge
for this!
___________________
HOME EQUITY LINES OF CREDIT.
If your home equity line was
cancelled or frozen last
year, or you are thinking of
getting one for some
remodeling or other major
expense, our neighbor and
community partner, Lucy
Jackson, at the San Diego
National Bank (now part of
U.S. Bank) has HELOC loans
at 3.99% until the end of
this month! You can call
her at 619-294-9104 for this
or any other help. Business
friendly small business
loans are a specialty at
U.S. Bank, and you will find
yourself in really good
hands with Seth McKechnie at
the Washington Street branch
619-682-5300.
___________________
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put
words on them ourselves. The
book is called Opportunity
and its first chapter is New
Year's Day."
Edith Lovejoy Pierce.
________________
BREAKING SOME OLD BAD HABITS.
Most of us recall a few
years ago when money seemed
not quite so precious, and
moving into this new decade
is nice time to hone our
spending practice and stop
wasting.
1.
Identify the leaks.
The big expenditures are
easy, they are catalogued in
our checkbooks and Quick
Books. Are their $50+ items
we could do without and not
really effect our
lifestyle? But the smaller
ones, the dribbles out of
our wallets on a daily and
weekly basis can really add
up. How much? Just add up
your ATM withdrawals and
then explain where it all
went. Keeping a cash
journal for 2 weeks may be
very eye-opening.
2.
Meals at the Workplace
is often one of these
“leaks”.
Working Americans spend an
average of $6 when they buy
their lunch at work. The
average cost drops to $2
when we bring our lunch from
home. That's a difference of
$4 a day, or $20 a week, or
over $1,000 a year. Consider
adding this savings to your
savings account, and after
just a few months you'll
really see the difference
add up.
3.
Utilize the Public Library.
Here’s my favorite. I just
LOVE
www.bn.com.
I just pop my
choices onto the page and
voila, Barnes and Noble (I
like it much better than
Amazon!) delivers it for
free. And how quickly this
adds up!
By obtaining and using a
library card, you can save
on books, magazines, and
even DVD rentals. You can
go into
www.sandiegolibrary.org
with your library card and
request whatever book you
want, they will email you
when they have it for you at
your branch, and more
voila! At $20 or so for
every book, I could save a
lot.
4. Treat yourself.
Sure, this sounds contrary,
but if you deprive yourself,
you won’t stick to the plan
AND you will feel badly.
Choose a special meal place
or activity or something
special you want, and plan
to do it. Enjoy the
anticipation, the event, and
the afterglow. It might be
free if you are making other
saving steps! One nice
thing instead of lots of
little dribbles, and you
will probably still be
substantially ahead.
5.
Don't be Afraid to Ask for
Discounts.
Much of life is business.
If you're
paying bills or buying items
such as airline tickets
based solely on the price
you're quoted, you could be
wasting money. Many
companies provide discounts
on goods and services but
only for those customers who
request them. It never hurts
to ask so start asking.
6.
Sell Your Junk.
Come Springtime, go
through your closets,
garage, and CD collection.
Figure out which items you
no longer use. You can
either hold a garage sale or
locate stores which buy and
sell used merchandise, and
sell the items to them. Our
next Mission Hills Garage
Sale will be Saturday, April
17, 8am – noon, and some
blocks just make a party out
of it as well!
___________________
SAN DIEGO SUPER BOWL CHARGERS?
We all hope!
If you are planning a big
game get-together and don’t
have a big screen, think
about congregating your
several tv’s in one room.
Incorporate a “chili”
contest – with prize! – for
the best cook. Plan a half
time “player interview” with
your look-alike friends or
kids. On the invitations
suggest that your guests
bring Charger words to a
song tune and revive your
karaoke machine. Don’t
forget to decorate and dress
up. Oh, and please remember
to share the credit once we
have the Lombardi trophy!
Hot topics 1/2/10
For you math guys….
IT WOULD TAKE A REINDEER 778
HOURS TO FLY AROUND THE
GLOBE AT THE TOP SPEED OF A
REINDEER. 32 MILES PER
HOUR.
May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your
debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for
$100
bills..
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter
assault your lips!
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that
of joy
May the problems you had, forget your home address!
In simple words ............
May 2010 be the best year of
your life!!!
Did
you notice that YESTERDAY
WAS A PALENDROME? 01021010
!
________________________________________
A
FEW THINGS ABOUT THE
FIRST-TIME AND HOMEBUYER TAX
CREDITS MANY PEOPLE DON’T
REALIZE.
We all know eligibility has been extended to April 30, 2010, for
the deadline to contract a
purchase and to June 30,
2010 to close the purchase.
We also know the credit
amount most often quoted is
$8,000 for first timers and
$6500 for repeat buyers.
What many people do not realize is that there is an income
ceiling to qualify for these
credits. The full credit
will be available for people
with modified adjusted gross
incomes up to $125,000 (full
credit) and $145,000
(reduced credit) or $225,000
and $245,000 for joint
filers. Incomes above that
DO NOT QUALIFY.
Homes purchased prior to November 30, 2009, are under the
original plan and have
income maximums of $75,000
or $150,000 for joint
filers, or a reduced credit
for those with incomes
between $75,000 - $95,000,
or $150,000 - $170,000 for
joint filers.
And NO CREDIT is available if the home purchased is more than
$800,000. Purchasers must
be 18 years of age and not a
dependent on the date of
purchase. Military
personnel may have an extra
year if serving outside the
U.S. See
www.IRS.gov.
A first time buyer is someone who has “not owned a primary
residence during the three
years immediately prior to
the purchase”. He may have
owned investment property.
He may have owned PRIOR to
three years. It is not
first time ever!
(Don’t Miss the ‘FIRST LOOK’ program by Fannie Mae in my last
Hot Topics)
__________________________
Laughing is good exercise.
It's like jogging on the
inside.
__________________________
WHAT’S NEXT?
Oh, let’s try truth here.
There are so many opposite
effects going on right now,
my crystal ball is as foggy
as the next. However, we
all expect it won’t be
worse. Overall. The war
seems to be getting worse.
I mean, Israel and Palestine
hardly make the national
news any more! People have
begun new (restored) habits
of saving, enjoying doing
things themselves rather
than hiring everything done,
spending time with loved
ones instead of cold cash,
helping others, board game
sales were up and it appears
that although no trip is a
straight line, home prices
have stabilized. Low
mortgage rates and income
tax credits are contributing
factors in stabilizing the
market, to be sure, but no
factor is more important
than employment in not only
maintaining stability but
stimulating activity. We
are likely to see the end of
the sub-five-percent 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage. Many
economists predict rates
quoted in the low sixes will
be the norm for 2010. The
higher rates will likely be
accompanied by a more robust
economy, with more jobs and
greater consumer demand.
Higher rates should then be
accompanied with more
relaxed underwriting
standards, as banks and
other lenders become less
risk adverse. Having banks
re-enter the mortgage
business, in turn, will
allow sellers to consummate
transactions in a timelier
manner than in the recent
past and for buyers to take
advantage of artificially
low selling prices.
It might be worth remembering that today's deals in both the
mortgage and housing markets
are the anomaly, not the
norm, and that the norm can
return faster than many of
us might have expected.
YOU
NOTICED, METAL IS IN
in interior design.
Beginning with the dominance
of the stainless steel
appliances – I have a
listing that has woven
stainless as a backsplash,
tres stylish! Mosaics,
liners, and functional
designs in all areas of
homes today. As is glass
tile. With a long history
in art and design perfected
in the 3rd
century BC by innovative
artisans from Greece, Persia
and India, perhaps reaching
its zenith under the
Byzantine E Empire, which
developed the glass mosaic
technology known as Smalti
by mixing molten glass with
metal oxides for color.
Today glass tile is popular
for its sustainability, high
performance and low impact
material.
____________________
HOUSE
SITTERS
can be a very good solution
for Puff, Spot, houseplants
and general security of a
home. AND those problems we
often have are as much
because we didn’t anticipate
as because of fault. Sad
story from friend reminded
me that it is in your best
interest and the sitter’s to
have a specific agreement.
What can they not touch,
eat, drink, feed the pets,
tell other people about your
absence. Who can they
depend on for help if a leak
happens? Is there
compensation and is there a
bonus if things are returned
to you in impeccable
condition? Just a little
thought can avoid “but we
are friends, I didn’t think
you would miss a bottle or
two from your cellar…” “oh,
did you not intend for me to
rent movies while you were
gone?” and the like.
___________________
MOVERS.
One cardinal rule. If you
are moving a distance, HIRE
A COMPANY FROM THE DES-TINATION,
not the p
oint
of departure. A friend and
client who sold here and
bought in Tennessee found
her moving bill, payable
upon delivery! to be 57%
more than quoted to her.
This after they showed up
late on moving day with a
full truck and not enough
room to board all her
belongings in one day or on
one truck, so she had to
cancel plans and sleep on
the floor for a night and
leave a day later. This
after they had made two
visits to review her
belongings and make an
estimate and she cooperated
with everything they asked.
They were, she assumed, the
experts. This after
delivery was equally fouled
up. We shall not waste
words here on damage, things
happen. But the greatest
wound was that she was so
aggrieved particularly by
the attitude of the people
who were so nice when she
hired them, that she flew
back to meet them in court.
More expense. The defense
proposed to the court that
she had added belongings
after their two visits to
cheat them. That she had
not told them the truth.
Seems to me a complete
estimate would have covered
this well, but these people
who were referred by a
relocation company and are
headquartered in Rancho
Bernardo, won the case and
the move got nothing more
than a lesson. If I did not
know the movee personally
and well, and have
professional experience as
to her veracity and patience
in a difficult situation, I
might wonder why a court
would have made this
finding. But I will also
take her lesson and point
out that if she had hired
someone well respected and
referenced in Tennessee she
would have had an easier if
not better resolution! How
important to take
recommendations from
reliable sources!
DON’T MISS …
This
is Whale Watching Season –
don’t forget to book your
tour!
January 17-22 SAN DIEGO
RESTAURANT WEEK. Take
advantage of the bargains at
over 200 of San Diego’s best
restaurants, 3 courses for
your choice of $20, $30, or
$40 per person. More info
at
www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com
January 19 – Martin Luther
King Jr. Parade, 10a.m. from
13th and Imperial
side of Petco Park and
winding through Downtown.
January 20 – Free Bus Tour
by Port of San Diego – get
to know the working
waterfront,
behind-the-scenes tour
starts in Chula Vista and
includes Tenth Avenue Marine
Terminal, a real working
shipyard and National City
marine Terminal. 9:30 a.m.
Chula Vista Marina, 550
Marina Parkway, Chula Vista.
More info at
www.portofsandiego.org/community-service/tours.html.
