Saturday May 19th 9:00AM- 5:00PM
ASID Remodel Home Tour is a self guided tour of 5 beautifully remodeled homes in La Jolla, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo and San Marcos. As you walk through the La Jolla home learn the secrets of a great remodel for Universal Design, updating a 30 year old masterpiece, creating a Wisconsin-style ‘Lake-Front’ cottage on the ocean, and dramatically improving tract homes for ‘Aging in Place’.
The designer of each remodel will be on hand to discuss the project’s design challenges and solutions, and answer your questions. These projects illustrate how professional interior designers can literally transform people’s lives. For more information visit ASID website
(picture courtesy of ASID)
La Jolla’s Real Estate market is starting to heat up! Motivated buyers are showing up in droves at open houses across La Jolla, and homes priced right are receiving multiple offers. As a La Jolla Realtor I could feel the change starting a couple of months ago! Now, that Spring is here and Summer is right around the corner the frenzy of our real estate market is starting to heat up!
In fact CNNMONEY stated:
“Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market.”
I think buyers are finally getting the message!
In order to successful sell your home in today’s market, here are 5 great tips!
- Curb Appeal Your home is like a person and has only 6 seconds to make the right first impression! Don’t waste it! Make sure your home’s landscaping is pristine, bright colorful flowers are planted, and the front door is freshly painted! This will give a buyer a great first impression and tell him/her that the house is well taken care of.
- De-Cutter It’s time to clean out your closets, give away old clothes to make the closets look bigger. Throw away the pile of magazines that you been saving. Get rid of oversized furniture and the junk in your garage! Put your personal photos away, otherwise it ishard for any buyer to visualize himself or herself living in your home.
- Price The key to selling your home quickly is to price it right! Don’t over price your home; otherwise you will be chasing the market down. Remember Distress Properties, Foreclosures, & REO all play a part when you are pricing your home right! Of course, there are other factors to such as; location and condition! A seasoned Realtor can help advise you.
- Staging Hire a professional stager to help stage your home. Remember you live in your home one way, but to sell it is another story! A stager can help with the de-cluttering and making an awkward space make sense! Having the house staged generally leads to a faster sell!
- Qualify the Buyers Today there are more cash sales happening then ever before. But there are plenty of homebuyers that are getting financing, so make sure that buyer has a pre-approval letter in hand. You don’t want to waste time with an unqualified buyer.
So to stay ahead of your competition: make sure your home is in pristine condition, priced right and has great curb appeal! Next, open your front door and let the world know you mean business!! There will be a sold sign on your front yard before you know it!
If you are thinking of buying or selling your home feel free to give me a call 619-980-2738! I’m here to help!
Good News for processing Short Sales faster and with more transparency, Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) is updating its timelines and also requiring servicers to provide weekly updates when decisions take more than 30 days after the receipt of a complete application for a short sale under the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) initiative or Freddie Mac’s traditional requirements. All decisions must be made within 60-days
Here are the new Timelines per Freddie Mac
- Freddie Mac’s new short sale timelines require servicers to make a decision within 30 days of receiving either 1) an offer on a property under Freddie Mac’s traditional short sale program or 2) a completed Borrower Response Package (BRP) requesting consideration for a short sale under HAFA or Freddie Mac’s traditional short sale program. (BRPs are standardized assistance applications developed as part of the Servicing Alignment Initiative.)
- If more than 30 days are needed, borrowers must receive weekly status updates and a decision no later than 60 days from the date the complete BRP is received. This will help servicers who may need more time to obtain a broker price opinion or a private mortgage insurer’s approval on a BRP or property offer.
- In the event a servicer makes a counteroffer, the borrower is expected to respond within five business days. The servicer must then respond within 10 business days of receiving the borrower’s response.
- Freddie Mac will use the new timelines to evaluate servicer compliance with the SAI and its own servicing requirements.
- Freddie Mac completed 45,623 short sales in 2011, a 140 percent increase since 2009. Overall, Freddie Mac has also helped more than 615,000 distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure since the housing crisis began.
The La Jolla Historical Society is pleased to announce that the 14th Annual Secret Garden Tour of Old La Jolla will be held on Saturday, May 19 2011 from 10am to 4pm.
The Secret Garden Tour in La Jolla is one of my favorite garden tours. If you are a garden lover, like me then this tour is a must. It’s La Jolla Historical Society’s primary annual fundraising event. Proceeds from the tour make it possible for the Society to care for its extensive and unique collection, create and expand educational programs to advocate the preservation of La Jolla’s heritage. The cost for the tour: LJHS members $40 and non-members $50. Events like the Secret Garden Tour enables the Society to preserve La Jolla’s special character and charm.
To Learn more about the event or purchase tickets visit their website
(photo of garden from LJHS)
The La Jolla Half Marathon is taking place next weekend Sunday, April 29, 2012 Its course is both beautiful and challenging. Beginning adjacent to the Del Mar Fairgrounds main entrance, the course continues to the summit of Torrey Pines State Park, dips down to the residential district of La Jolla Shores, and finishes on the grass in the park at La Jolla Cove. The race is limited to 6500 and is SOLD OUT! Registrations closed on April 13 but at the Runner’s Expo (Saturday, April 28): Last Chance Registration will be available for The La Jolla Shores 5K between 9:00am and 1:00pm and between 2:00pm and 5:00pm in downtown La Jolla at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect Street. This race follows the final section of the Half Marathon course.
Starting above La Jolla Shores, the course runs through the beautiful La Jolla Shores residential district, and finishes in the park at La Jolla Cove
Two Day Event
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Sat & Sun May 5-6
Art in the Pines is a celebration of nature through the interpretive eye of the artist. Join us for the 3rd annual festival when the Reserve’s wildflowers are in full bloom. Art in The Pines Spring Art Festival benefits the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
The festivities will include music, refreshments, guided nature walks, children’s art and activities, and artist demonstrations. Enjoy the springtime color of Torrey Pines while viewing nature-based paintings, (oil, pastels, drawing, watercolor, acrylic), sculpture, ceramics and photography.
Visitors are strongly encouraged to walk, breathing in the fresh air and taking in the glorious view from one of three parking lots, for more details visit the website.
