Coastal Real Estate and Lifestyles

The calendar was blocked out one recent Saturday morning so that I could spend a wonderful morning with long time friends at The Clay House in Montara making succulent wreaths!  We made them now so that they will be a little more filled in by the Holidays.  One of the organizers used Martha’s instructions as a guide, then bought the supplies and a few plants and we all split the cost.  We were to all bring succulent cuttings from our gardens.  Doing it this way, it cost us $17 each to make a wreath.

On prior Martha Stewart projects I would sometimes attempt, I have found her instructions to be for the natural born crafter, of which I’m not.  So I was happy when we started by making one together to see what “worked” and what didn’t.  Then we each began on our own wreaths. 

We cut the 24 inch wide wire roll into 8 inch lengths, filling it with moistened sphagnum moss and soil, then closing the wire together, bending it into the wreath shape and securing the ends.  I know it sounds easy, and it is.  The hardest part - basically requiring a little patience and manual dexterity, oh, and close-up vision - was securing the wire together.  A small pair of pliers does the job.  We used chopsticks to poke holes in the wreath, but as the instructions say, you could use a pencil or screwdriver.

It took about 2 hours to make our wreaths, including laughter, sharing stories, helping each other, and admiring along the way.

This is what I made.  If I can do it, anyone can!

Thank you to Clay House team!

You can always call Nancy at The Clay House for class & event information - 650-728-CLAY.

I spent the day at West Coast Green in San Jose, CA with my friend, Susie, learning about tons of new “green” or eco-friendly products and information to help my family and clients.  I’ll share some of my favorites later in this post.  The highlight today was listening to Al Gore  and Jerry Brown speak.  The packed venue was brimming with enthusiasm and energy.  Two major messages I came away with…

1. We continue to need, and are moving toward, a “paradigm shift” in our Country from one of being caught up in the assumptions of the day to paying attention enough to see that we are in the process of ending one era and beginning another.  Put another way, we are collectively beginning to look at a long term approach instead of a short term approach to our world.

2.  Our Country is entering an era of limits.  We are now exceeding our limits, both ecologically and economically.  Al Gore touched on the financial/credit/housing situation as an example.  The growth, growth, growth, went unchecked and here we are.  One of the areas of limits we “assumed” would continue to grow was housing.  One of the terms he used related to unbridled housing growth was the ”human garage developments”.  What he means by this is… cheap houses, far away from business centers, cheap land, too much driving needed resulting in dependency on oil (our cars).  The analogy as it relates to climate changes is that we are now dealing with ”subprime carbon assets”.  The subprime part being the C02 emissions.  We can do something about it now before it becomes a crisis, he emphasized.

Mr. Gore ended by reminding us that if more and more of us absorb our reality, the shift will happen.

Here’s just a few cool booths I visited…there were so many more!  Let me know if you need a resource for a remodel or retrofit; I may have a contact.  My recyclable trade show bag is bulging!

LaCantina Bifold Doors - a folding door system that can accommodate up to a 52 foot wide opening for combined indoor and outdoor living.

InterWest Insurance, in partnership with Fireman’s Fund - for certified green building coverage and green upgrade coverage and other services (homeowners, start-up contractors, and commercial).

Woodshanti Cooperative - beautiful custom cabinetry and woodwork.  Certified by Scientific Certification Systems for the Forest Stewardship Council’s Chain of Custody (COC).  They also use local salvaged species of wood when possible.

ELT Easy Green - green roof and living wall systems.  Stunning designs using succulents.

Marin Outdoor Living - outdoor luxury products including portable fireplaces.

Bottlestone- countertop material made of 80% post consumer waste glass for many indoor and outdoor uses.

Clean Chute - Innovations in Trash & Recycle Systems.

Fireclay Tile - beautiful and fun designs and materials.

Ecofabulous - a creative resource for connecting you with eco-friendly products, reviews, tips, and more.

I trusted you.  Please help me regain confidence in you and your industry…

A buyer is faced with so many decisions when buying a home that they HAVE to trust the professionals around them, even when it does not feel natural to them.  I realize that I do not speak to all of you, and I’m pretty sure that the ones who should be reading this are not.  In fact, they may no longer be selling loans.  But I have to say it anyway.  For the part that the mortgage industry played in our current crisis, you let us down.  I don’t have any control over mortgage-backed securities, interest rates, federal fund rates, loan packages, or the like.  But I do have control over who I refer my clients to for a loan.  It is up to them to act on referrals from me or not.

When I work with a buyer to find a home, sometimes I can make a referral and sometimes they come to me pre-approved with the lender or mortgage broker of their choice.  Some of you I know and the rest of you I have to hope will make the right choices for my client through the process of getting them approved and their loan funded.  I am constantly looking for the most trusted financial resources for my clients, as I’m sure most Realtors do.  So don’t think this is a one-shot deal with me when you do a loan for a client of mine.  I’m continually evaluating you, just as the world (at least my little world) is continually evaluating me.

This is what I want.  I want you to keep me educated, especially if I know you - because I already trust you.  Tell me what’s going on in your industry that will have a direct impact on my clients.  I want to know that.  I want you to help me create solutions for them.  While I’m focusing on MY work. . .helping my clients choose the best community/neighborhood/home for them,  previewing homes that they find on the web, contacting agents to understand what’s going on with a property, writing offers that will hopefully get accepted and then ratified, understanding disclosure packages, etc., etc., I can’t keep up with your industry also beyond the few articles I have time to read.  I want you to put financial industry changes into perspective for me utilizing your experience and expertise. 

I don’t like the email blasts that you send to me as I know you’re sending them to your entire real estate agent database.  I get too many of those and I don’t read them.  If you have something special to share, call me and explain it to me.  Or send a short email explaining the type of client your program is best for - then I can turn your valuable information into something that may help a client instead of just deleting it with the other (tons of) emails I get from people I don’t know.  I want you to keep me up to date on what’s going on so that I can be a valuable resource to my clients on several fronts.  I educate my contacts and those that ask me questions freely.  I hope you do too.  As an aside, those who already provide this kind of service to me and my clients, thank you.

Let’s help our clients navigate these choppy economic waters together so they can feel guided and informed about their decision to purchase a new home.  Because now is the time that many buyers - some who are entering the market for the first time, and others who have not been in the market for years - are ready, willing and able. 

I welcome your feedback.  My readers pay attention even if they don’t comment (yet).  I know because they tell me.

Sincerely,

Marian Bennett
Living and helping people on the San Mateo County Coastside

p.s.  Here’s just a few sites that I try to read regularly to keep up to date on the mortgage industry:

Economist’s View

Blown Mortgage

WSJ.com - U.S. Business

This home was on Tuesday Tour last week for the first time - as were several new listings.  I usually try to see all of them, but that day I selected 2 or 3 that I really wanted to see in the Half Moon Bay area, and then focused the rest of my touring on Pacifica and Daly City for clients.

24 Ventura St., Half Moon Bay, CA was one of the ones I previewed. 

This new construction home definitely has curb appeal - to me it looks like a combination craftsman/California ranch, fitting in perfectly with the beach community feel.  There are other homes on this street in west-side Miramar that have a different look and are obviously older.  That is a very common finding here on the Coastside and contributes to the uniqueness and “non-cookie-cutter ambiance” (made that up) of several local neighborhoods.  To check out what the street looks like, you can go to “Home Search“, select the property, and go to the Maps tab.  There you will see the Google Hybrid View..

and the Google Street View…

What I most remember when I walked in was the very open and welcoming feeling and the very special master suite.  The 4 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms, large open living area and island kitchen flow nicely over approximately 2700 square feet on a level lot.  The builder put in beautiful finishes and materials including walnut hardwood floors that bring a stunning richness and warmth to someone’s future home.  The main living area has a beautiful tile (easy maintenance) flooring.  No stairs wanted?…no problem…and there’s very easy access from the garage to the kitchen.  Oh, it’s also got a built-in vacuum and radiant heat.  Picture this home with the landscaping a bit more mature and this home will be a true oasis, yet only a short distance to the Coastal Trail, the Bach, Ebb Tide Cafe on the beach, and much more - not to mention it’s overall great location.

If you’re in the area, stop by this Sunday 9/14 or next Sunday 9/21 from 1-4 and we can chat in this beautiful setting.  Or we don’t have to chat, you could just walk through.  I promise I won’t make you chat.  Bring a friend or neighbor who may be contemplating a move-up to a larger home but with the ease of a single level.  Special thanks to Listing Agent, Deborah Cozzolino, for offering me the opportunity to hold open this beautiful home and showcase it for you here.

Miramar Market Snapshot

There are currently 9 active homes in the Miramar/City of Naples neighborhood of Half Moon Bay ranging in asking price from $750,000 to $1,849,000.  Of the 9 homes, 3 are new construction.  One Miramar home has sold in the past 3 months - in 5 days.  There are no pending home sales in Miramar as of this post writing.  Average Continuous Days on Market is 29; at least one is a re-list from a prior listing.  At an asking price of $1,350,000, this home is is in the 2nd quartile (the second highest range of list prices for Half Moon Bay) making it an ideal move-up consideration for a 3rd (median of approx. $1M) or possibly 4th quartile (median of approx. $750K) homeowner. 

To get email alerts of homes that you’re looking for, simply go to “Home Search” and set up a Log-In and password.  This is a new search system and it’s very interactive.  To be notified when I write a new post, you can subscribe to Coastside Real Estate and Lifestyles.

As an open house visitor and I stood chatting on the home’s lovely deck overlooking Pillar Point Harbor, we also noticed the the neighbors’ trees continuing their reach toward the blue sky - that day - as they hugged the adjoining fence.  My visitor commented about the trees vs. solar panels story, widely reported, including a San Jose Mercury News article on 7/23/08, and in the Global Edition of the New York Times on 4/7/08.

You may recall this story surfaced a few months ago centered around a Santa Clara county homeowner and the question of who has greater rights, the homeowner with the trees, in this case redwoods, or the homeowner with the solar panels.  The disagreement had been going on for some time with each homeowner hoping to protect the investment each had made in their home - one - trees, and the other - photovoltaic solar panels, with an undercurrent of  “Who is greener?”.

Even though the existing law, the Solar Shade Control Act, signed by Jerry Brown in 1978, favored the panels, the new/amended law approved in April 2008, SB 1399, favors the trees.

“Under the old law, property owners could be required to trim back their trees or face criminal prosecution for public nuisance and fines of up to $1,000 per violation if the branches grew to shade someone’s solar panels. It didn’t matter if the trees were planted before or after the panels were installed.

Under the new law, trees can grow to shade solar panels without the tree owner facing a penalty - as long as the trees were there first. If the solar panels were there first, the solar panel owner can seek redress through a civil lawsuit, but not criminal prosecution.”

Our community will get more energy resourceful, no doubt, especially with the goal to reach 20% renewable energy in CA by 2010.  The Half Moon Bay Coastside is about to have its third Solar and Sustainability Tour* on Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 1-4 p.m..  There will be another event on the peninsula - the Solar and Green Home Tour, October 2, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Our neighborhoods have wonderful pockets of sun ideal for solar panels and wonderful pockets of mature trees that make you feel like you’re in Tahoe.  We certainly must find a way for these to co-exist peacefully on our beautiful coastal communities.  Buyers will want to look at the surounding homes and trees if you plan to install solar panels onto your new home.

*To include your home or business on this tour and to learn more about local efforts, visit Sustainable Coastside of San Mateo for details.

More references & resources:

MSNBC.com - “In California:  It’s Solar Panels vs. Redwoods”

KQED.org blog:  “The Right to Sunlight”

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

Cool Communities Shade Tree Progam

Go Solar California
-has a database of registered installers, contractors & retailers searchable by city, zipcode, area code, or name.