Archive for October, 2007
San Diego Fires: Coming Home to Ashes
by The displaced people of San Diego County are beginning to return home. Most return to standing homes; 1600 or so others are greeted by their nightmares.
We are just beginning to hear and see stories of people returning to the burned heaps of rubble that were once their homes. They sift through some of the debris and find broken china, perhaps a metal bed frame, perhaps a spoon. They are somber, and many are tearful, as they survey the charred remains of former lives.
Still, the common response of all has been a profound gratitude for life. The fires may have stolen lifestyles and mementos, but they have also gifted people with a new appreciation for living.
A few days ago, I spoke with some who thought people would be leaving San Diego by the thousands.
At that time I thought not–and still do.
A family whose home was destroyed in Ramona was asked by a reporter if they were going to pull up stakes and move. The owner replied that his burned house is just a house, but Ramona is home. They will rebuild and remain in their home: Ramona. That is their community, where friends pull together and share a common history. Fires cannot destroy that bond.
I have spoken with several people whose La Costa area homes were destroyed 12 years ago in the Harmony Grove Fire. Most rebuilt and remained in the community–because it is the community that is home.
No one means to minimize the horrible trauma of losing one’s home. There is the shock of the initial loss, the months of haggling with insurance companies and contractors, the problems of displacement and finding temporary shelter, the process of rebuilding a lifestyle.
But the process of rebuilding a lifestyle allows for changes in living that might not have occurred otherwise. The rebuilt home may be configured differently, may better reflect your identity, may better serve your needs. And the rebuilding will be a process shared by the community, which will further tighten the bonds between neighbors and friends.
San Diego will survive and thrive.
If grass can grow through concrete, life can arise from the ashes.
read comments (10)The Witch Creek Fire
I awoke at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning with a sense of dread, quickly remembering that there is a demon called the Witch Creek Fire raging in the communities around our home in La Costa. It is just one of several mega firestorms raging in San Diego County–but is the one we fear(ed) the most.
Monday afternoon, our Reverse 911 system called to inform us we are under “volunteer evacuation” guidance. We chose to remain home because the fires were distant and the ocean even closer. A half-packed suitcase still sits by the bedroom door, and we are ready to leave with minimal notice.
As I tiptoed downstairs in the dark, I wondered which of our sons had been burning incense. I then realized that threads of smoke from the fires had slipped into our home. Why did it smell almost-fragrant?
Stepping outside in the pre-dawn hours, I saw reassuring stars in the sky. Monday, the sun was red as it glowed behind huge layers of smoke. The air is still full of floating ash and other waste from the fires. The winds are still, there are fewer lights in the hills and the bottoms of my feet stay black because of barefoot habits.
Television news stays on. Over 500,000 people in San Diego County have been evacuated, 25,000 are without power and we all hanging onto news reports and trying to sort out the rumors that are raging with the fires. I am following the aptly-named Witch Fire, because it is the one which endangered our own community.
Coastal Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Carlsbad and Oceanside are still intact. Rancho Santa Fe has suffered losses. Parts of The Bridges were in flames; several homes off Via de la Valle and across from Morgan Run Golf Club were burned; that Fairbanks Ranch was in the path of flames, and it appears firefighters were able to stop the Witch Fire at Escondido Creek, which would have put Encinitas and South Carlsbad in danger.
The Witch Fire, as it is now called, has very expensive taste.
The Luxurious Closet
In our coastal San Diego luxury real estate market, buyers are almost manic about their closets–and especially the ones in the master suite.
Luxury home buyers are most pleased when there are separate closets for each–or if single, closets for the seasons. The compleat closet in the luxury home will be spacious, well lighted and masterfully organized. It is a room where we prepare ourselves to meet the world–or simply the day. The closet holds our clothing, our personal treasures, our shopping triumphs. It’s status in homes has been elevated to be far more than functional storage. People now want to spend real time in their master bedroom closets.
And what are some features they would like to see?
- A staggered hanging carousel for shirts, skirts and jackets.
- A swing rod that comes down and elimates strain from reaching up for hangers–especially in closets with the more prevalent high ceilings.
- Banks of bureau drawers that are fully extendable, and which have super-quiet concealed glides that prevent snaggy contact.
- All shelves are smooth, snag-proof and have vertical dividers that can be adjusted for height.
- A built-in floor or wall safe for valuables.
- A few locking drawers.
- Floor to ceiling mirrors. Natural lighting is often achieved with protected skylights.
- Large spaces for organized shoe storage.
- A dressing bench.
- It is also a plus when laundry facilities are nearby.
Other bonuses and accessories in the luxury home master closet would be rotating show carousels, scarf and tie cellarets, lingerie caches, jewelry inserts, tasteful garment bags, decorative storage boxes, and wicker storage baskets with washable cotton liners.
If your closets come nowhere near this description (and my own do not), the best and first thing you can do (whether you plan to sell or not) is to clear it out and keep only those things that you love–and those which love you by hanging so well on your body. Look at your emptied closet and determine if it needs paint, new rods, shelves, scented shelf paper, or new lighting. Is there room for a mirror? A dressing bench? Might it be organized differently? Is there room to move in a small chest?
(If you follow Feng Shui guidance, this might also be the time to introduce needed elements to the room.)
This closet re-do is one that will yield great benefits to you, whether you intend to sell your home or not. There is nothing that beats the sense of peace and control that comes from having a beautifully organized personal closet that is used day in and day out. And if you are selling your home, it is a feature potential home buyers will appreciate.
The bedroom closet may be a small thing, but is one of the most frequently used spaces in the home.
Lenders: Pre-Negotiate Your Short Sales
by Roberta Murphy
We are trained and skilled negotiators. Give us a chance, and we could probably get hostages released from terrorists, convince a teenager to leave his tongue unpierced (perhaps)–or successfully negotiate a sale leaseback of the Brooklyn Bridge.
As competent Realtors, it’s what we enjoy doing, and we are passionate about negotiating on behalf of our clients.
Most successful transactions have been hammered out when we account for and respect the needs of both the home buyer and the seller. When we understand what each party really wants, we can begin to negotiate a successful resolution. And though each party to the transaction ( much like a molecule) has different missions, perspectives and requirements, we each function efficiently to facilitate the smooth transition of lives.
Short sales, though, are the real estate market’s free radicals that are contributing so much to its current decomposition and breakdown. And just like the free radicals that attack our health, short sales are unstable, highly reactive, and prone to creating chain reactions when combined with so many other short sales and foreclosures.
One only needs to go through burgeoning MLS inventory in distressed real estate markets to see the effects of this chain reaction:
- Non-negotiated short sales create uncertainty in the market prior to a sale because neither the Realtor nor the buyer/seller knows what price the lender(s) will accept–especially a second lien holder who stands to be totally wiped out because there is no equity to support the loan.
- Realtors have also come to realize that short sales entail much more work than the usual transaction, have a much higher failure rate, and have uncertain compensation if the transaction does succeed (lenders arbitrarily determine the fee). It’s far easier to work with a property that has already been foreclosed upon, or better yet, negotiate a purchase from a motivated seller who is obligated to disclose known property defects and any hidden liens. When a homeowner sells a property, everybody generally knows what to expect. The buyer is advised of repair histories, insurance claims, and other details the seller must disclose. Additionally, the home seller knows what funds to expect at settlement, and the agents who put the transaction together also know they will ultimately be paid. The title company or attorney has checked for liens or other outstanding claims against the property, and surprises should be few.
- Short sales are languishing unsold on the market, while foreclosures and market-priced homes are moving. Why? Because these latter offerings have some degree of certainty (beware of as-is disclosures, though) and time is not wasted trying to negotiate a price before the home goes to foreclosure. What we see happening in the San Diego real estate market is buyers offering less on a short sale than a foreclosure or owner-offered home because of this uncertainty, and not knowing the pricing floor.
Why don’t lenders pre-negotiate their short sales so they never have to go to foreclosure in the first place? Why not set a price prior to or just after a listing is taken? Why not set out clearly defined requirements for all?
It just makes sense.
When a homeowner needs to sell and owes more than what the property is worth, lenders should step in, quickly set a realistic sales price and handle negotiations with secondary lien holders if possible. These junior lenders may be willing to accept pennies on the dollar, rather than being wiped out altogether–and allowing the transaction to fail prior to ultimate foreclosure. Appraisals and BPO’s (Broker Price Opinions) could be done in advance, which would allow for realistic pricing that could compete with foreclosures and motivated sellers.
Additionally, sellers might be motivated to keep up with monthly payments, knowing that there is a resolution in sight. As it now stands, most lenders won’t even discuss a short sale unless the seller is seriously behind in payments.
Lenders, why not encourage some degree of responsibility on behalf of your borrowers?
Instead, agents and buyers are avoiding short sales because of the transaction failure rate. While buyers and their agents wait for lenders to decide what they are going to do, other desirable properties are being snapped up by more fortunate buyers. Though clean transactions are always more desirable, real estate agents would rather represent their buyers in a foreclosure than a short sale because the parties against which they are negotiating are at least known–and in a position to make a quick and positive decision. Not so with most short sales.
Wouldn’t it be better for lenders to take the lead in pricing and get those homes sold, rather than collecting them as REO’s on the courthouse steps?
Sotheby’s Realty Debuts in San Diego
Owners of luxury real estate in San Diego should be celebrating because of the long-awaited arrival of Sotheby’s International Realty. It’s been a long time coming, but luxury listings in San Diego County will now reach the plasma displays at Sotheby’s Auctions throughout the world. Passing by the Sotheby’s real estate desk, an equestrian property in Rancho Santa Fe might tweak the interest of buyers attending a contemporary art sale in London–or an Asian Art auction in Hong Kong. A Del Mar oceanfront estate might capture the bidding fancies of venture capitalists and oil barons who are simultaneously vying for masterpiece tapestries at Sotheby’s Auction in New York.
Sotheby’s has long known and practiced the old adage of being in the right place at the right time. And that likely explains Sotheby’s recent investment in San Diego’s Villa Sotheby’s International. Within their discreet, newly-opened and well-appointed office in the Del Mar Plaza, luxury real estate legend Bob Dyson is orchestrating the opening of San Diego’s first Sotheby’s real estate office.
Plasma screens, i-Macs, and cutting edge technologies merge elegantly with the Sotheby’s fine tastes and traditions. And with a market perspective that comes from being in business sine 1744, Sotheby’s understands the gyrations of markets and has decided that now is the time to finally expand into Southern California and Las Vegas. With Bob Dyson at the helm, Sotheby’s is able to tap top real estate talent who will be able to represent the luxury real estate markets in San Diego (Del Mar and Poway initially), Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Garner Valley– as well as fine communities in the Las Vegas area.
It is also with much excitement that we announce our recent affiliation with the San Diego Villa Sotheby’s International Realty in the Del Mar Plaza at 1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, CA 92014. We can still be reached toll free a 877-818-8197 or via my cell at 760-402-9101.
Cheers!
