By Don | May 17, 2010
OPM means Other People’s Money and it’s a great scam if you can figure out how to do it. You get the glory and someone else pays for it – sweet! Well, a number of developers figured it out. When a developer builds out their homes or condos, they can insert into the covenants and/or deeds a requirement that when the property is sold, a fee must be paid to the developer’s charitable foundation.
The Lennar complex of condos (between Telephone Rd and Thille, a couple of blocks west of Victoria) has such a deal. Looking at a previous deal we did there, $202.50 went to the Lennar Charitable Housing Foundation. This scam is getting so prevalent that the Residential Purchase Agreement we Realtors use in submitting an offer just added a line item under “Other Costs” called a “private transer fee” for just this sort of thing.
Wanna start your own foundation? Just build some homes!
By Don | January 3, 2010
It’s a bit hard to read, but this whimsical sign on the sliding gate hints at the life style these owners enjoyed – “To The Beach”! New on the market this weekend, this 3 bedroom home is being offered at $379,000. With hardwood floors, this home evokes the beach lifestyle of yesteryear in Ventura. But its recent past has been difficult and now it needs some TLC. Read the rest of this article »
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By Don | October 28, 2009
It is with great pleasure that I get to announce to all our friends and clients that Leslie just got the results of this rigorous test – she passed and on the first time!
Since the beginning of summer, she’s been getting up early (4:30!), staying up late, and giving all her free time to study copious amounts of arcane real estate “stuff”. For those active in real estate, the broker level represents the highest level of technical and professional competence.
Please email Leslie or give her a call to congratulate her on this milestone in her life!
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By Don | August 29, 2009
It’s late Friday afternoon (yesterday) and I’m clearing out old paperwork that inevitably stacks up on the counter behind my desk, when I stumble upon a ripped out page from an auction catalog from earlier this year. Wow – look at those great deals!
I’d been curious last March to see what the ultimate results would be from those “great deals” so I’d ripped out the page and promised myself that someday I’d check out the final bid prices to see what really transpired on each home.
I’d circled the bid items for our local towns in Hueneme, Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard – what did I discover yesterday on those homes?
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By Don | August 7, 2009
Our office is across Victoria Avenue from the County’s Hall of Justice where the majority of foreclosure auctions in Ventura County are held every day at 11:00. I was interested in a particular commercial property scheduled for sale yesterday, and so for those interested in what happens at a foreclosure auction read on… Read the rest of this article »
By Leslie | August 1, 2009
This morning, as I was glancing over articles in both The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times that the one billion dollar Cash for Clunkers program has been so popular there’s no money left, I thought:
What does this have to do with the Real Estate market?
You know from reading our newsletters and housing statistics reports that inventory is way down and prices are finally strengthening.
This is in large part because just as folks are taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, folks are taking advantage of the first time homeowners $8,000 tax credit in the real estate market. Also about 1/3 of the homes for sale are foreclosures. There’s such demand for these homes that buyers are bidding up the prices and we’re seeing bidding wars!
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By Leslie | February 12, 2009
Ventura City Council will be considering approval of the controversial final draft of The Victoria Avenue Corridor Plan on Monday, February 23, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers. See the article from yesterday, February 11th, for more detail and updating the meeting date.
This Plan would guide land use decisions for the location, design and appearance of future development.
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By Leslie | February 11, 2009
The Planning Commission for Ventura presented to the public and the Ventura City Council recently their recommendation for approval of the final draft of the controversial Victoria Avenue Corridor Plan.
Victoria Avenue shop frontage
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By Don | January 30, 2009
In a meeting for Association brokers yesterday afternoon that Don attended, it was announced that the California Association of Realtors (CAR) formally voted last week to create a new statewide MLS. Read the rest of this article »
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By Don | November 4, 2008
Leslie and I attended a workshop yesterday afternoon at City Hall concerning the City of Ventura’s new, proposed “Rental Housing Preservation Program”. Some of the provisions are: 1) A landlord must now have a City issued rental permit (and pay the annual fees of course!); 2) Must include that permit number in all advertising for your rentals; 3) and if you don’t have a permit, violations will “constitute a misdemeanor punishable in the manner provided for by Division 1 of this Code”. Read the rest of this article »
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