Coyote Watch! Please Protect Your Pets
Laguna Beach is as close to paradise as you can get in California—perfect weather, beautiful beaches and a great community. Unfortunately sometimes it’s not all paradise out here in Laguna Beach and we do encounter issues, and as a community it is our duty to help each other out.
Recently, Laguna Beach has been dealing with an issue of unwanted intruders—no, we’re not talking about the summer tourists, but of the increasing coyote population problem in our town! Coyotes are running rampant and have become increasingly bolder, fearlessly wandering around during daylight and even jumping 5-foot walls into backyards to kill pets. Last May, a coyote bit a woman on her hand as she tried to protect her dog, and just last Tuesday a coyote snatched and killed a poor Yorkshire terrier right from her leash.
Jumbo Mortgages to Expire Soon!
Anyone who is interested in taking out a $700,000 mortgage should act soon. Rates on jumbo mortgages, loans that exceed the normal loan limits, will soon be expiring this upcoming fall, dropping down to $625,500 in the highest priced markets. Jumbo mortgages were instated three years ago in 2008 when former President George W. Bush passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, in which the conforming loan limits were temporarily raised in hopes that the provision would accelerate the housing market. These high-limit mortgages became especially beneficial to buyers in expensive and luxury housing markets such as those commonly found in Southern California.
Meet One of Our Colleagues: Mortgage Broker Rick Cirelli
This week, I welcome Rick Cirelli, one of my most trusted colleagues in the industry. Rick has been a mortgage broker for over 35 years, so needless to say he’s a bit of an expert in the real estate realm. Whenever I have any questions dealing with lending issues, Rick is my go-to source. In Rick’s latest e-blast, he discusses what’s wrong with the tight underwriting guidelines, and what he thinks the government should do to help homeowners and homebuyers. Here’s what Rick had to say:
Laguna Beach’s Pageant of the Masters is Back!
It’s that time of year again—Laguna Beach’s proudest display of art, the Pageant of the Masters, returns again for its 79th year in the running. The Pageant of the Masters is a one-of-a-kind production that celebrates “living pictures”, or tableaux vivant, where people transform classic works of art into real-life, 3-D displays. This year’s theme is “Only Make Believe”, which will explore the fantasy and magical realms populated by “modern superheroes and strange, mythical creatures”. “Only Make Believe” will venture into the world of dreams and imagination, and the local artists have come together to produce a show that encompasses everything from fairytales to futuristic visions. Fantasy and fun will be abundant for everybody.
Reverse Mortgage News
Two of the biggest lenders for reverse mortgages in the housing market, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have both pulled out and are no longer providing reverse mortgages to consumers. The two banks accounted for 43% of reverse-mortgage business, and with them out of the industry, borrowers will now have more trouble obtaining a mortgage.
Laguna Beach Housing Market
Looking to buy property in Laguna Beach? Short-sale homes are at an all-time high!
Good news: The Laguna Beach housing market is picking up its pace! In a recent review, we found that there were a total of 352 homes listed on the real estate Multiple Listing Service with 30 new openings coming up in the past month. The market time for each listing has dropped to 11.97 months, as opposed to its 15.22 months just two weeks prior. Thirty-eight of the homes listed in Laguna Beach were foreclosures and short sales, leaving about 10.6% of the entire home supply as distressed properties.
The most surprising statistic is that nearly 20% of homes listed in Laguna Beach are short sales. The increased number of short sales in Laguna Beach means that more Laguna Beach homebuyers are being proactive about the housing market. However, short sales also mean lower home median prices. Short-sale homes are great to purchase homes that are just below market value, and give buyers a great opportunity to purchase excellent properties at excellent prices. However, short sales are tricky, can take a long time to process and have no guarantees.
Laguna Residents: “Open Spaces” Campaign Warning
In the last several weeks, a there has been a rising campaign to solicit Laguna property owners for money in order to preserve some elusive “open space” properties throughout our town. Proponents are asking Laguna taxpayers to pay a $120 per year that will go towards buying open patches of land in and around Laguna. However, the problem is that these people are not releasing any type of detail about the alleged open spaces, only vague information like they are open spaces sold by “willing sellers”. They do not offer up anything else—no maps, no explanations, no developmental details, nothing, unlike how the purchase of canyon land from the Irvine Company was handled 20 years ago.
Join us at the Sapphire Food Fair/Farmer’s Market this coming Saturday!
This Saturday, June 4, 2011, I will be attending the Sapphire Food Fare and Farmer’s Market at St. Anne School (32451 Bear Brand Road in Laguna Niguel) from 10 AM to 2 PM. The event, hosted by Chef Azmin and the Sapphire Culinary Group at St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel, will be an absolute culinary experience—a world-class farmer’s market that boasts a selection of fine ingredients, produce and food, accompanied by world-renowned chefs present for cooking demonstrations and providing tasty samples, and nutritionists to help families learn more about how to incorporate better food into their diet. Food at the event is based off of the concept of the Mediterranean Food Pyramid, which strives to help people eat healthier while still enjoying delicious food.
Among the participants of the Food Fare will be:
Bautista Family Organic Date Ranch
California Produce Wholesalers
Coleman Farms
Fitzgerald’s
Garcia Organic Farms
Gourmet Specialty Farms
Hayground Organic Gardening
It Begins In The Garden
Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Meats
Sapphire Nutritional Board
Scott Farms Specialty Gourmet Foods
Tae Kwon Do Jang, Master Cardenas
Wong Farms
Come to the Sapphire Food Fair to gather ingredients for your upcoming summer festivities, learn more about healthy eating, and support the local merchants!
Hope to see you there!
James St. James is a luxury real estate agent serving all of Orange County. Come join him at the Sapphire Food Fair this Saturday, June 4, 2011, or if you have any questions regarding real estate, please feel free to complete an online form on his website here.
The 2011 16th Annual Taste For Charity Event Was a Great Success!
The Realtors' artwork display
Every year the Laguna Board of Realtors organizes and hosts a special event called Taste for Charity, a silent and live auction event which seeks to benefit local charities and organizations. This year, the 16th annual Taste for Charity was held at Tivoli Too in Laguna Beach, and all proceeds went to the 1st Thursday’s Art Walk, Laguna Beach High School Scholarships, Helping Hands, Laguna Beach Seniors, Laguna Beach Playhouse, Laguna Plein Air Painters, no square theatre and LBR/CAF. Among the major sponsors of the event were Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Firebrand Media and Bianchi Winery, who donated the entire event’s wine supply.
There were an additional 45 sponsors who also donated funds to the event. Of course, Taste for Charity called for the participation and involvement of the local community as well—local artists donated approximately 75 pieces of original artwork for the silent and live auction events, and other local businesses also funded various raffle drawings. The talented local realtors also held an art contest, with Nick Church of Coast Sotheby’s taking first place. Overall, the event garnered more than 500 people in attendance and raised over $50,000.
We had a fantastic time at the Taste for Charity event! We walked away with a lovely ink octopus original artwork by Nikki Norman of my own office, Surterre Properties in Laguna Beach, and of course stuffed ourselves silly with all of the sponsored restaurant food. Our favorites were the poke from Big Fish and the sushi from O Fine Japanese Cuisine. And, we were blown away by all of the incredible art work by our talented peers. We are extremely proud to have been a part of this event which raised a phenomenal amount of money for the local organizations.
Congratulations on another successful year, Laguna Board of Realtors, and we’ll see you at next year’s Taste for Charity event!
John Eagle paints live at Taste For Charity 2011
The sun sets on another fantastic Taste For Charity!
Thanks, Nikki, for the beautiful painting!
Attendees browsing the silent auction offerings
What Are People Asking When Buying A House?
Looking to take that leap to purchase a house? We know there are millions of questions bubbling inside you, and believe us, we have encountered every single imaginable question from our clients. We welcome questions! That way we know that our clients are well informed.
Here are the top three most popular questions (and our answers) that our clients ask when faced with the daunting decision of whether or not to buy a house.
