• Use the appropriate cooking utensils in your kitchen.  Most electric stoves are equipped with two small burners, and two large ones.  Make sure that you are using your small pans on the small burners, and large pans on the larger burners.  Using a small pan on a large burner wastes energy, adds heat to kitchen, and may cause the handles to warp on the pans if they become too hot.  Place lids on your pots and pans when they are on the stove, this will conserve the heat and decrease the workload on your cooling system.

• Repair dripping sink faucets in the kitchen.  You can replace the faucet in your San Diego real estate condo inexpensively.  A few drips on a constant basis adds up to gallons of wasted water.  Replacing the faucet can substantially decrease the amount of water you use.

• Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.  There are several ways to save energy with the dishwasher.  Make sure that the appliance itself is energy efficient.  Next, scrape the dishes before you load them.  This may allow you to set the wash cycle to a light or normal wash, instead of a heavy wash cycle.  Set the drying cycle to air dry.  Air-dry cycles decrease the amount of heat the appliance creates.  These tips will save a lot of water and energy.

It’s easier than you may think to update the kitchen in your San Diego real estate condo using green appliances and energy-saving methods.  Depending on what you buy, you may also qualify for a federal tax credit for energy efficiency.

Want to buy an energy-efficient home?  Call me now at 760-809-2788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world’s most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries…

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn’t at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the “triangle of life”.
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the “triangles” you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1.  Most everyone who simply “ducks and covers” WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2.  Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake…it is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3.  Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.  If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4.  If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed.  A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5.  If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6.  Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7.  Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different “moment of frequency” (they swing separately from the main part of the building).  The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads – horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn’t collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8.  Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible – It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9.  People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway… The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10. I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.  Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone’s life… The Entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

“We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly”

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did “duck and cover,” and ten mannequins I used in my “triangle of life” survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the “triangle of life.” This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

Once again, CNN Money published their “Top 100 Best Places to Live” for 2009. If your Encinitas homes for sale is in a place similar to the Top 10, you just might have a much better chance at selling, especially if you market those positive attributes. Here are just a few of the things these places have in common:

• Small towns: Whether a place is small or not is always relative. For instance, someone who lives in a town with less than 3,000 people would think Bryant, Arizona, with a population of almost 15,000 was a big place. However, the Top 100 list points the way; the population numbers range from 8,000 to 50,000. If your home is in a low population area, this could be a great selling point.

• Robust, needed industries: High-tech industries, energy services and health care are just a few sectors that haven’t been hit as hard by the recession. These industries will be needed for years to come, and the demand for trained workers is higher in areas with these industrial sectors than in others. If your home is located in an area with lower than average unemployment, brag about it!

• Low crime rates: For most, if not all of the top 100 places, crime is low, if not almost nonexistent. For instance, Papillion, New England has around 22,000 people. They also have less than one personal crime per 1,000 people. If you aren’t sure what the crime rate is around your home, check! Low crime rates are an excellent selling point; one that you could be missing out on.

• Education: Education has always been important to most people – a fact that is clear with the Top 100 list. The list averages 20 universities or professional schools within 30 miles, and over 71% of the population per place has had some college. Do you have great universities? Do you live in a highly educated community? It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it will to the buyer.

From population demographics to the number of recreational activities available, everything goes into making your Encinitas homes for sale attractive to buyers. Do the research and find out what makes your area special.

If you’re trying to find your home’s selling points, I can help. Call me at 760-809-2788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

In December, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new stormwater management requirements for new construction.  These new requirements have the National Home Builder’s Association (NAHB) up in arms. In a news release posted on the NAHB website, the Chairman said the new housing regulations are unrealistic.

It all comes down to stormwater. When it rains, water hits the ground and seeps into it. In most cases, that water is absorbed and filtered by the ground, and then replenishes the world’s water supply. Not so in developed areas, where pavement and roofing, among other man-made surfaces, prevent the water from being absorbed.

The remaining water becomes runoff, which, according to the EPA, damages the infrastructure of surrounding development, causes downstream flooding and bank erosion. In addition, the water carries pollutants, which are carried into streams and water supplies. The new regulations have a strict limit on pollutants in stormwater, as well as requiring that the stormwater has little to no soil or sediment in it.

While less pollution is a fantastic idea, NAHB says something is missing – such as understanding soil differences. Certain types of soil absorb water better, reducing the amount of run off, while other types of soil produce a naturally high amount of sediment. The cost for homebuilders to meet these regulations can be expensive – an expense that will be passed on to those looking for newly built homes for sale in Carlsbad, California.

The EPA has done some wonderful things for environmental protection, such as the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), that already affect construction costs. However, for newly built homes for sale in Carlsbad, California, this new stormwater requirement may end up not only being impossible to keep but impossible to pay for.

If you’re looking for new home construction that meets all necessary requirements, I can help. Call me today at 760-809-2788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

My guess is that the typical American puts more thought into the search for a flat-screen TV than into the choice of a mortgage lender.

Shopping for a TV is fairly straightforward. You read reviews online or in Consumer Reports; you eyeball a few models in the store to see if the image looks sharp; then you buy from whichever merchant has the lowest price. If the TV doesn’t work, the merchant gives you a new one.

Shopping for a mortgage is more complicated, less fun and infinitely more dangerous to your long-term financial interests. At the end of the process, you probably have no idea of whether you got the best deal available. Was the upgrade on those cherry kitchen cabinets really worth the high rate and fees you paid to the lender affiliated with your friendly home builder? Probably not, but that salesman sure was persuasive, and you were glad to be relieved of spending the next three days shopping for mortgages.

Now help is on the way from a most unlikely source: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

Federal rules that take effect Friday mandate a standard, three-page Good Faith Estimate that urges consumers to shop around for the best loan and helps them compare lenders’ offerings. The rules, announced by HUD in November 2008 but just taking effect this week, are an update of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a 1974 law known as Respa.

One difficulty of shopping for mortgages is that the lender with the lowest rates often isn’t offering the best deal. High fees can wipe out the benefits of low rates, and little-noticed features such as prepayment penalties might blow up on you later on. Even for members of Mensa, it’s hard to compare different combinations or rates, “points” (paid in exchange for a lower rate), fees and other terms. Lenders often sprinkled in lots of confusing charges, such as processing and messenger fees, to pad their margins. Dickering over theses “junk” fees distracted borrowers from the bigger picture of total costs.

All of these complexities favor lenders, of course. The more confused you get, the less likely you are to realize you just got fleeced.

To address those problems, the new estimate form requires lenders to wrap all the fees they control into one “origination charge.” That lets you compare one lender’s fees with another’s. Jack Guttentag, a finance professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, recommends that borrowers focus on two items as they shop: the interest rate and the “adjusted origination charge,” which includes any points paid to lower the rate.

Good Faith Estimates have been around for decades, but there was no standard format. Under the new rules, lenders and mortgage brokers are required to give consumers the standard estimate forms within three days of receiving a loan application.

Lenders aren’t allowed to increase the origination fee from the estimate. Some additional charges, including title services and recording charges, can increase by as much as a combined 10%. Estimates for other charges, such as homeowner’s insurance and other services provided by third parties selected by the borrower, aren’t subject to such limits.

Title insurance typically is the largest fee, and the new forms let consumers know they don’t have to accept the insurer suggested by the lender. Mr. Guttentag says title insurance can be “vastly overpriced” and consumers should take the time to shop for it.

Settlement firms, which organize the closings of home sales, will be required to issue a new version of the HUD-1 form used in closings. This new HUD-1 includes a comparison of the estimated and final costs, as well as a summary of the loan terms.

Will all this make a big difference? Mr. Guttentag, who has been exposing the tricks of lenders and brokers for decades, thinks the new rules will help, though they aren’t a cure-all.

Much depends on whether Americans want to put in a bit of effort rather than simply accept the often biased mortgage advice of a real estate agent, home builder, broker or banker. The real estate agent may urge you to use an affiliate of his firm, or recommend the lender most likely to grant a loan quickly rather than the one with the best terms. The builder wants you to use his in-house lender. The brokers and loan officers are working for themselves, not for you.

When you’re trying to pick a new TV, you don’t rely on a TV manufacturer to give you an impartial review of the alternatives.

If you’d like more tips on how to buy San Diego real estate, subscribe to this blog.  It’s free and easy.  Just enter your email address in the subscription section, and you’ll automatically receive tips like this in your email inbox a couple of times a week.

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Pre-qualified Loans
Before shopping for Encinitas homes for sale, you want to look at lenders. Not all mortgage lenders are created equal. Especially now, with the rocky economic times, you have to be especially careful who you get your mortgage through.  When you find a lender you’re comfortable with, you have two choices: start shopping for houses or get pre-qualified for a loan.

Pre-qualification for a loan is based on the best estimate of the loan officer, not “set-in-stone,” verified facts. The officer believes, because of the information you tell them, that you have good credit and can financially afford a specific loan amount. For this reason, because it isn’t verified, pre-qualification doesn’t hold as much weight with buyers. As well, you could still end up wasting a lot of time looking at houses you can’t afford.

Pre-approved Loans
The second step in getting a mortgage loan is pre-approval. With pre-approval, the lender has received verification that, yes, you are credit worthy and yes, you can afford up to a specific loan amount.

Pre-approval not only gives the seller the idea that you’re a good prospect, but it also helps you out while looking for a home:

• You already know how much home you can afford.

• You already know that you’re qualified to buy any home you look at that falls within your verified loan amount.

• You have better negotiating power with the seller (who may be more willing to accept less than list price knowing that you are already pre-approved).

• The closing period can happen faster, narrowing the typical 30-day period to less than three weeks.

In short, when looking at Encinitas homes for sale, it’s better to be pre-approved, but you can’t get pre-approved for a mortgage without being pre-qualified.  So do yourself (and your new home) a favor and do both.

Need help selecting a mortgage lender?  I can help. Call me at 760-809-2788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners are also choosing to forego the legal building permit process, trying to further save money.

Every building, occupied or unoccupied, has a set of building codes. Any changes that you make to your home must comply with those building codes, which means most home improvements, whether done by you or by a professional you hire, needs a permit. Depending on your locality, the home improvement that requires a permit could be as simple as installing a water heater.

Hire Someone to Get the Permit
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) says hiring a contractor can actually save you money and time, even if all they do is handle the permit process. They also warn that a contractor that expects you to handle the permits is a contractor you don’t want to use.

Get the Permit Yourself
So how do you get a home improvement permit if you’re doing your own remodeling for your home for sale in North County San Diego? Submit a building plan for big projects or a description of the work for smaller projects. The plans are approved for a fee (if they comply with building codes). Building inspectors will look over the job while it’s in progress, after it’s finished or both, and make sure you used the right materials and techniques.

Cost of Not Getting a Permit
It may sound like a lot of trouble to go through, but the cost of not getting a permit can be a lot worse. For instance, if a potential buyer hires a home inspector to look over your property, the home inspector may see signs of your remodeling. They might then look for the permit record. Without one, you could lose the deal.

As well, home appraisers may look for permit records to see if a remodel changed the property value. If the work wasn’t covered by a permit, there’s a very real possibility of the escrow not going through.

If illegal home improvement is found, you might end up paying hefty fees for further inspections. You might even have to tear down sheet rock inside the house so framing, insulation and other interior work can be seen. In addition, you might have to tear out what you’ve done just so you can legalize the work and sell the home.

If you have a home for sale in North County San Diego and are thinking about sprucing it up to attract more buyers, a word of caution. Don’t skimp on the permits!

If you’re ready to sell your home, I can help. Call me now at 760-809-1788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

Ownership
When you purchase a San Diego real estate condo, you own the space within your condo’s walls.  The actual walls are co-owned with your neighbor, as well as the common areas like the hallways; building exterior; yard and amenities such as the pool, gym, and walking trails.

Condo Association Fees
Each condo has Association fees that are in addition to the mortgage.  These fees are used for maintenance and repairs of the common areas.  The Association fees also pay for the landscaping and, usually, trash removal.

Condo Association Rules
Associations also have rules.  They have regulations about what you can do with your property, including what kind of pets, if any, are allowed.  Most Associations don’t allow making changes to the exterior of the property.  You can paint the walls inside your condominium, but can’t paint the outside.

Neighbors
So you’ve found the condominium that works for you.  The next thing to consider is what kind of neighbors you’ll have.  Disruptive and noisy neighbors can ruin even the perfect condominium.  A good thing to do is stop by the condo at different times on different days, so you can get an accurate impression of what living there is really like.  Think about looking at the Association’s board meeting minutes.  They’ll list what complaints the other owners have, and by looking at those you can get the big picture of life there.

Don’t let Association fees and close neighbors scare you away from condominium life.  While purchasing a San Diego real estate condo is not simpler than buying a single-family home, living in one may be.

Thinking of buying a condo?  I can help.  Call me now at 760-809-1788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net.

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

Moscow Ballet is best known for its annual Great Russian Nutcracker holiday productions. The company evolved out of the all-star Russian cast “Glasnost Festival Tour” (1986-92), created by award-winning Juilliard alumnus, composer/conductor and theatrical producer, Akiva Talmi. Moscow Ballet made its debut in 1993, with an all-star Russian cast presenting the Great Russian Nutcracker, directed and choreographed by Stanislav Vlasov (soloist, Bolshoi Theatre).

Coastcondo@earthlink.net

Government-owned Fannie Mae may have come up with a solution.

Deed-in-Lieu
Some homeowners facing foreclosures in Encinitas homes for sale have more than foreclosure, loan modification or short sale options. Some qualify for a deed-in-lieu (DIL), where they sign away all their equity back to the lender and walk away “debt free” (except, possibly, for taxes). Unfortunately, a DIL leaves the homeowner without a home to live in, and the lender with a house to sell in an uncertain market.

Deed for Lease Program
Under Fannie Mae’s new Deed for Lease Program (D4L), those who go through the DIL process may be eligible to rent their home back from Fannie Mae at current market rental rates. This may not sound like a great deal, but many families have ended up on the street because of foreclosure. Those who qualify for the D4L Program will be able to remain in their homes for at least 12 months. To learn more, read the entire D4L Program eligibility list.  Here are a few of the qualifications:

• No prohibitive Homeowner’s Association rental limitations

• The cost of any required repairs is an acceptable amount, based on the value of the property

• The income the lender receives from the current rental market should be expected to cover any maintenance/management costs

• The current rental rates must be less than 31% of your gross income

• The home must be a primary residence

Whether the D4L Program will help or hinder the number of foreclosures in Encinitas homes for sale is still up in the air, but it does give homeowners other options – something they’ve been sorely lacking.

If you’re facing foreclosure and qualify for short sale, I’d love to help. Call me at 760-809-1788 or email me at CoastCondo@earthlink.net for more information.

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