| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday, March 17
| Reuben H. Fleet Science Center | 1875 El Prado | 619.238.1233 | San Diego | CA | 92101 |
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Fleet Science Center Fun Exhibits & Programs March, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tips When Considering Buying an Investment/Rental Property
Lower home prices and mortgage rates are causing many people to consider taking the real estate investment plunge. But as with any big financial investment, what may be a good strategy for some, may be harmful for others.
Something to keep in mind: If you are planning on trading cash in lower risk CDs or bonds for real estate, you are trading into a dramatically higher risk asset. However, if if you do decide to jump into the investment property game, you should make sure to vet the property investments you plan to acquire to better increase the chances that the real estate you buy will increase your net wealth, not decrease it.
This is, of course, assuming you already understand the most important item in investing: making sure the property you are buying is cash-flow positive based on conservative estimates, and provides you a fair rate of return on your investment. Read more about estimating cash-flow on properties here.
What other items and issues does a buyer need to review when buying an investment property?
Home Inspection
Most people know to always have a home inspection done when they are buying property. While a competent home inspector will note all the items working or not, the inspector is not pricing out the costs to get all those items repaired, nor other items like painting, flooring, etc. that you might plan to have done. It’s your job to put together a list of all the work and get with your contractor to price them out. Put that number into your financial analysis and note that properties in poor condition rarely sell at a large enough discount to compensate for all rehabilitation work that needs to be done!
Title Abstract and Insurance
When you buy property, a title policy protects you in case there is a title problem, like the seller’s ex-fiancée was a part owner in the property but didn’t sign off on the sale. In this case, it is the title insurer’s problem and they will cover costs to defend you and settle any dispute, up to the policy maximum limit, unless the title issue was “Excluded” from the title policy.
The Schedule of Exclusions will note issues the title insurance policy will not cover, like recorded easements. It is vital to review the information there as well as in the title abstract. If there is a title issue that was “excluded” from coverage, it is your problem, not theirs.
Survey, Plats, Legal Description
Your land, lot, or condominium — plus parking spaces and storage — will also have a defined legal description of what you own. There may be a county plat showing it and/or you might want to have a survey done of the lot lines. Either way, you should walk the property and compare when you physically see to what is on the plat/survey to make sure you are comfortable that no neighbors’ fences, driveways, etc. are encroaching on your lot. If it is a condominium, make sure you review the recorded rights to your interior space, patios, parking spaces, storage, etc.
Homeowners Association
If you are buying a property in a common interest development like a condo or town home, you are not only buying your individual unit, you are buying into the larger entity. Thus, you are responsible for your share of the cost to pay for those, via HOA fees. There are many many risks related to HOAs, a few range from unfunded reserves for repairs and replacements to litigation and water issues. You can do analysis to better reduce your risk of buying into an HOA that is in a disastrous state, but you have to do the hard work of doing the proper due diligence.
Financing
You also need to make sure you are getting a fair deal on your mortgage financing. Just getting one bid from one lender is not good enough. Shop around to get pricing from at least two lenders and carefully compare those mortgage bids to determine which one gives you the best fees versus interest rate deal. It’s not easy to do as the Good Faith Estimate forms are quite complicated, but that’s no excuse for not doing the proper analysis.
Insurance
Lastly, do you have the proper type and amount of insurance coverage in place? Make sure to sit down with your insurance agent and determine what you need to be adequately covered. Look into umbrella policies as well as earthquake, interior condominium HO-6 policies and any other coverage you need. Pick your real estate agent‘s brain so you have the proper coverage for your risks.
A real estate investment, whether rental property or a home, is the largest, most complicated, and riskiest purchase you will ever make. Experienced investors know how to better reduce their exposure with the proper due diligence; you need to make sure you know how to do the proper steps too!
It’s your money, and your retirement, at risk. You don’t want to find out, after disaster strikes, that you could have reviewed, analyzed, researched and done the hard work upfront to have protected yourself and avoided that issue from ever happening in the first place.
courtesy of: http://www.forbes.com
January Home Prices Up In 40 San Diego Zip Codes
Forty of 92 San Diego County ZIP codes in DataQuick's monthly housing report show increases in median price for January.
That finding covers sales of all home types, including single-family resales, condo resales and new homes.
Is your neighborhood on this list?
Note: I only included neighborhoods that recorded five or more sales.
San Diego County, Jan. 2012
| Rank | Neighborhood | ZIP code | Sold '11 | Sold '12 | Med '11 | Med '12 | Pct Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College | 92115 | 35 | 40 | $171,000 | $285,000 | 66.7% |
| 2 | Escondido S | 92025 | 34 | 30 | $215,500 | $327,500 | 52.0% |
| 3 | Morena | 92110 | 15 | 18 | $260,000 | $373,750 | 43.8% |
| 4 | El Cajon | 92021 | 39 | 32 | $193,000 | $260,000 | 34.7% |
| 5 | El Cajon | 92020 | 37 | 30 | $200,000 | $254,500 | 27.3% |
| 6 | Logan Heights | 92113 | 21 | 16 | $145,000 | $183,500 | 26.6% |
| 7 | Tierrasanta | 92124 | 13 | 13 | $375,000 | $474,000 | 26.4% |
| 8 | Rancho Santa Fe | 92067 | 4 | 12 | $1,927,750 | $2,412,500 | 25.1% |
| 9 | Golden Hill | 92102 | 17 | 17 | $180,500 | $223,000 | 23.5% |
| 10 | Del Mar | 92014 | 8 | 18 | $1,197,000 | $1,470,000 | 22.8% |
| 11 | Cardiff | 92007 | 8 | 7 | $502,500 | $607,500 | 20.9% |
| 12 | Point Loma | 92106 | 7 | 10 | $440,000 | $526,000 | 19.5% |
| 13 | Chula Vista NE | 91914 | 22 | 29 | $427,500 | $510,000 | 19.3% |
| 14 | Lakeside | 92040 | 29 | 35 | $255,000 | $298,500 | 17.1% |
| 15 | Mission Beach/P.B. | 92109 | 26 | 29 | $402,000 | $460,000 | 14.4% |
| 16 | Chula Vista S | 91911 | 64 | 41 | $222,500 | $250,000 | 12.4% |
| 17 | Escondido W | 92029 | 14 | 15 | $414,500 | $465,000 | 12.2% |
| 18 | Lemon Grove | 91945 | 19 | 12 | $225,000 | $252,000 | 12.0% |
| 19 | Nestor | 92154 | 47 | 47 | $228,000 | $255,000 | 11.8% |
| 20 | San Carlos | 92119 | 18 | 26 | $307,500 | $342,500 | 11.4% |
| 21 | Paradise Hills | 92139 | 25 | 31 | $195,000 | $216,750 | 11.2% |
| 22 | Ocean Beach | 92107 | 12 | 14 | $412,500 | $457,000 | 10.8% |
| 23 | El Cajon | 92019 | 35 | 36 | $259,000 | $285,000 | 10.0% |
| 24 | Kensington/Normal Heights | 92116 | 25 | 20 | $255,000 | $280,000 | 9.8% |
| 25 | Allied Gardens/Del Cerro | 92120 | 19 | 30 | $332,500 | $361,000 | 8.6% |
| 26 | Carlsbad SW | 92011 | 19 | 22 | $663,000 | $715,000 | 7.8% |
| 27 | Escondido E | 92027 | 38 | 44 | $242,500 | $258,500 | 6.6% |
| 28 | Chula Vista SE | 91915 | 48 | 51 | $320,000 | $341,000 | 6.6% |
| 29 | Spring Valley | 91977 | 37 | 51 | $214,500 | $228,000 | 6.3% |
| 30 | Oceanside N | 92057 | 49 | 54 | $250,000 | $265,000 | 6.0% |
| 31 | Chula Vista N | 91910 | 41 | 45 | $250,000 | $265,000 | 6.0% |
| 32 | Poway | 92064 | 34 | 45 | $430,000 | $448,750 | 4.4% |
| 33 | Scripps Ranch | 92131 | 34 | 24 | $572,500 | $592,500 | 3.5% |
| 34 | Santee | 92071 | 47 | 34 | $253,750 | $262,250 | 3.3% |
| 35 | Solana Beach | 92075 | 9 | 19 | $775,000 | $800,000 | 3.2% |
| 36 | Serra Mesa | 92123 | 14 | 18 | $302,500 | $310,000 | 2.5% |
| 37 | Oceanside S | 92054 | 18 | 28 | $316,250 | $321,250 | 1.6% |
| 38 | Jamul | 91935 | 5 | 5 | $425,000 | $430,000 | 1.2% |
| 39 | Mission Valley | 92108 | 34 | 24 | $180,000 | $181,250 | 0.7% |
| 40 | Encinitas | 92024 | 33 | 33 | $543,000 | $543,500 | 0.1% |
courtesy of: Lily Leung at http://web.utsandiego.com
Annual Spring Home/Garden Show, Del Mar Fairgrounds Mar 2 - 4, 2012
Now in its 27th year, the Spring Home/Garden Show returns to Del Mar Fairgrounds for a three-day extravaganza of inspiring displays and home-product sales booths, real gardens, hands-on demonstrations, educational seminars, and face-to-face consultations with top experts—all with the convenience of one-stop shopping for everything pertaining to home and garden, inside and outside.
Produced by Westward Expos, the event takes place March 2-4.
The Show focuses on San Diego-area experts, services, products, and businesses. Visitors find everything they need to save time and money improving, refreshing, or remodeling their home and outdoor surroundings—from the latest in appliances to garden lighting, from fencing to security systems, from baths to sunrooms.
In addition to a huge main hall where hundreds of exhibitors showcase the newest products and hottest trends, all at special low show prices, the show offers several unique home and garden features (included in admission) that provide extraordinary added value. These truly set the Spring Home/Garden Show apart from all imitators.
• Tour “The Garden Masters,” the largest and best collection of display gardens created expressly for any weekend expo. Enjoy 20 theatrically lit gardens created specifically for this year’s Show by professional landscape architects, designers, and contractors. Emphasizing a “Water Smart” theme, the gardens will illustrate how to create strikingly attractive gardens, while at the same time conserving precious water resources.
• “Ask The Experts” allows attendees to consult face-to-face with experts and chapter representatives of professional organizations and even building department representatives. All consultations are complimentary in the “Ask the Experts” area.
• Visit the “All About Gardens” areas for free garden-related seminars throughout the weekend (five hours total each day) and gain priceless knowledge from top San Diego garden experts, including authors Debra Lee Baldwin, Pat Welsh, and Nan Sterman. Topics like “How to Have A Beautiful, Water Smart Yard” include instruction on designing with succulents, creating sustainable landscapes, clearing the yard of thirsty plants, the latest efficient water delivery hardware, information and visuals on recommended plant materials, and a docent-led walking tour of an impressive display garden containing many of the suggested plant materials.
• In “The Garden Marketplace” select from hundreds of varieties of plants on sale direct from San Diego-area garden and plant societies, clubs, and other local growers—who also enjoy giving planting tips and advice.
Bargains? The Spring Home/Garden Show is a home and garden shopper’s paradise. Special pricing is a big attraction for any homeowner looking for deep one-time-only savings. The Marketplace is also an ideal opportunity to easily arrange for multiple bids on any home project, be it shutters, doors, windows, skylights, or hundreds of other essentials. Save TIME and money!
Show hours are: Friday, March 2, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, March 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: $8.00; children under 12 are free. Seniors: only $1 on Friday. After 3 pm daily, all tickets $6.00. Discount tickets on the show’s website are $6.00. For more information visit: www.springhomegardenshow.com.
courtesy of: http://www.delmartimes.net
Old Globe's 2012 Summer Shakespeare Workshops for Pre K-12
Auditions for The Old Globe's 2012 Summer Shakespeare Intensive for San Diego County high school students will be held on Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11 on the Globe campus. The four-week program is a unique opportunity for high school actors and actresses to refine their skills as performers in a professional setting. The Intensive will take place on Saturday, July 14, Sunday, July 15 and on weekdays from July 16 through August 13. The program will culminate with a performance in the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre on Monday, August 13. The program cost is $650 with a limited number of need-based scholarships available. Auditions are by appointment only. For more information, please visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/SummerIntensive or email GlobeLearning@TheOldGlobe.org.
Students in the Summer Shakespeare Intensive study classical theater technique, voice, movement and stage combat led by theater professionals while rehearsing for two productions of Shakespeare's plays. Throughout the Intensive, the students have the unique opportunity to study Shakespeare and see the productions of the Globe's Shakespeare Festival, which runs concurrently with the program. Festival company members lend the students insights into the art of performing Shakespeare that the students then apply to their own performances of the Bard's work.
Registration begins on March 1 for the Middle School Summer Conservatory, a three-week program of intense acting study with professional teaching staff and actors from the Shakespeare Festival's repertory company. Students will explore scene study, stage combat, theatre games, improvisation, movement and specialty workshops. The Conservatory will take place on weekdays, July 9 - 27. The program cost is $600 ($550 for subscribers) and does not require an audition, though a passion for theatre and acting is important. For more information or to register for the Conservatory, email GlobeLearning@TheOldGlobe.org.
Registration is also now open for the March 10, 17, 24 and 31 sessions of Theatre Tots, a highly imaginative introduction to the magic of theater for children ages 4 - 7. Theatre Tots students are divided into groups featuring age-appropriate activities and introduced to the elements of story, voice, movement and imagination through an interactive read-aloud story time. Parents return for the last 15 minutes of class to watch them perform a short presentation of the story of the day. For more information or to sign up for one or more Theatre Tots sessions, email GlobeLearning@TheOldGlobe.org.
Theatre Tots sessions for 4 and 5 year olds are different on each date, and children can attend one or more classes throughout the month. Each of these sessions costs $20 per class, with a 10% discount for enrollment in three or more classes.
Theatre Tots classes for 6 and 7 year olds take place over the course of four weeks and are continuous as students work each week on a final presentation at the end of the month. The cost for these sessions is $100 for a set of four classes.
courtesy of: http://www.scoopsandiego.com/
Mortgage Rates Hold At Record Lows
Mortgage rates are holding at record-low levels, with 30-year fixed-rate loans unchanged at an average 3.9 percent for the week ending Feb. 16, according to the latest numbers from Freddie Mac .
The 30-year loan rate has been less than 4 percent for the past 11 weeks and less than 5 percent for the past 52 weeks.
A 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.2 percent this week, unchanged from the previous week. A year ago at this time, 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 4.3 percent.
A one-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.8 percent this week, virtually unchanged from the previous week. At this time last year, a one-year ARM averaged 3.4 percent.
"Fixed mortgage rates were unchanged this week amid mixed confidence measures," says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC). "Small-business confidence ticked up slightly in January, representing a fourth consecutive month gain, according to the National Federation of Independent Business index. However, the Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell in February by more than the market consensus forecast, breaking a five-month trend. In the meantime, homebuilder confidence rose in February to the highest reading since May 2007, based on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index."
Ongoing low mortgage rates have been a factor in boosting the housing market.
courtesy of: http://www.bizjournals.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
