Archive for the 'Luxury Products' Category
Yahoo! to Google: Real Time Stock Quotes
Google has become a noun, a verb and a trusted friend in my life.
It of course answers endless questions and sends curious clients my way, but also handles my email, documents, maps, spreadsheets, instant chat, and more. And when I want to check traffic conditions, I can do it with another Google real time mapping application on the Blackberry.
Just when I have to count both fingers and toes to list all the very cool Google applications, they surprise us with another:
Now, we can all get real time stock quotes and financial news about our favorite stocks. No more delayed quotes from Yahoo or other financial sites. If Google had any shortcoming, it has been in the financial arena. For stock quotes and financial news, son and sometimes-trader Scott has always championed Yahoo Financial News for quick quotes and relevant company news.
No more. When life moves quickly (and it does), consider the importance of twenty minutes–and all the things that can happen in that short time frame.
Yahoo! to Google (and a thousand balloons) for transporting real time stock quotes from the traders to the people. This is major financial news–and one I’ll also be able to put on my Blackberry.
read comments (0)Luxury on a Gold-Plated Shoestring
I call Eve Sieminski the Polish Contessa. She loves fine jewelry, expensive hairstylists and fine wine. I don’t know where Eve shops for jewelry or what deal (if any) she strikes with her hairstylist, but we follow her wine recommendations religiously.
You see, the Polish Contessa, has no problem pouring a classless wine down the drain, nor does she hesitate to share her latest finds. One recent jewel was the TBD Zinfandel that is available at Trader Joe’s for (shhhh!) $4.99 a bottle. We tried one bottle and immediately bought a case. It really is that good. But the recommendation comes from Eve, who says:
“This tastes like a $30 bottle of fine Zinfandel that I wouldn’t hesitate to serve at a State Dinner–or to my snootiest clients. It might be good, however, to decant the wine first. The TBD label and name just don’t do justice to what is inside the bottle.”
If you are looking for commentary about hints of raspberry, chocolate finishes or oakey notes, Eve suggests you visit a symphony or read reviews for $80 bottles of wine in Wine Spectator or the like. And while Eve can afford Opus One or perhaps a Chateau Clement Pichon, she takes great pleasure in finding great wines at fabulous prices–and enjoys sharing her conquests.
If you want reviews and inside bargain scoops on fine wines from a true wine lover (instead of a critic), I advise you to stay tuned. Eve has promised to gift our luxey readers with more of her outstanding finds in wine and food. And if you, dear reader, have a recommendation for great wines under $20, Eve promises she (and we?) will try them out and share the results.
Eve’s Bonus Wine Tip: If you don’t have time to property chill your red wine to European room temperature (yes, red wine blossoms with slight chilling), put it in your freezer for 15 minutes (set timer), remove and enjoy.
This will be an irregular column, but we promise to share great wine finds, food discoveries and bonus wine and food tips with our luxury readers as soon as they become available.
What better way to truly enjoy your luxury home with appreciative friends and other oenophiles.
In the meantime, please feel free to share your own!
You may also wish to read:
The Luxury Shower (and 5 Tips on How to Create One)
Once upon a time, the lowly shower offered faint competition for the jetted bathtub.
The bathtub was where one went to luxuriate, while the shower was a functional cleanser.
Not any more.
These days the lowly shower is one of the hottest home luxuries in demand. The shower stall might contain a steam shower, a multi-headed storm of warm water, or simply a place to stand under a rainfall of ambient temperature.
More and more, as we tour San Diego luxury homes, we are seeing the shower stall (or room) overtake the once dominant bathtub. And even if the shower stall doesnt have a steam feature, discriminating home buyers will often stand back and scrutinize the possibilities of extending glass walls to the ceiling so that steam features and functionality can be installed.
What are these luxury buyers seeking? They want oversized shower rooms with a tiled seat and multiple shower heads. They also like the possibility of sharing the luxury shower with others.
Hence, dual shower heads are also popular. On busy mornings or playful evenings, it might be necessary, compelling, or just plain fun to shower in toto.
These days, the luxury bathroom is closer to a luxury spa than the tiled bath with sink, toilet and tub of the last century. Owners now want not only the jetted garden tub, but also a high-performance shower system that can deliver calming massage sprays as well as invigorating jets that might awaken the most sleep-starved soul.
And even if a complete shower overhaul is not possible, there are some alternatives and remedies to consider:
- Consider installing a shower arm extension to raise the shower head. Most older homes assumed that nobody in the home stood over 5² 5³ tall.
- If you are considering relining the shower stall, consider alternatives to the traditional tile. How about travertine or other stone products?
- Is it possible to add a second shower head especially if there is a tub and water supply nearby?
- Be sure to locate shower head products that accommodate your local water pressure. The higher the better.
- Want a steam shower? When remodeling the bath, this might be an alternative to consider especially if the glass enclosure and door can be brought to the ceiling.
Other luxurious appointments:
The Self Service Spa (Do it at home?)
Induction-Cooktop for the Luxury Kitchen
Ultimate Phone for the Luxury Bath
Switchable Mirror Glass Windows
SONOS: The Ultimate Sound System
Haute Refrigerators for Cool Kitchens?
Kinkos: The Ultimate Business Luxury
But that is a blog for another time.
Pat Kitano has just reported some juicy news that should cause luxury readers to jump with bridled glee:
It is now cheaper to have Kinkos copy, collate and staple ones garden club or horse show announcements (.08) than to do the job by ones self (.49).
Lets keep it a secret, but we thinks soknik might have been calculating things backwards.
God catch, Wizard Kitano!
Real Estate Exchanges: Banter and Barter
by Roberta Murphy
Yesterday afternoon and evening were devoted to Leaving Las Vegas. I was tired of long lines at the airport, anxious to get back to San Diego, and was dismayed to hear the Southwest flight had been delayed two hours.
I spent much of the time catching up on email, reading about Costa Rica and near the end of the wait, met David Greenberger, a real estate attorney and San Diego 1031 exchange specialist. We discussed real estate exchanges at length. Some tidbits from San Diego’s real estate exchange master:
1. The first government-challenged exchange occurred when two farmers agreed to exchange horses. One owned six white horses; the other, six black ones. After the amicable swap, the federal government claimed that a taxable event or sale had occurred. Not so, claimed the farmers. They challenged the government and won. In 1921, like-for-like property exchanges emerged as legally recognized income tax shelters.
2. Real estate 1031 exchanges no longer require that the exchanged properties be “like for like.” Someone can now trade their La Jolla duplex for a La Costa vacation rental–or an avocado grove in Fallbrook. 1031 exchanges allow for any U.S. real estate to be traded for any other U.S. real estate.
3. Real estate agents in the San Diego and other resort markets tend to be more generally familiar with 1031 exchanges than agents in the Midwest or the East Coast.
4. Though 1031 real estate exchanges are certainly tax deferred, they can also result in facilitating a tax free gain under current law. You’ve got to love David’s motto: œDeath and Taxes are Certain Unless You Exchange!
It also turns out the we had each spent a couple of days in Las Vegas attending the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Convention. He had 1031 real estate Exchange classes to teach, and I–along with several other real estate brokers–had a meeting with the developers of a five star luxury resort in coastal Costa Rica.
And that explains my overwhelming curiosity about 1031 exchanges–and how they might somehow be utilized by investors seeking to exchange U.S. real estate investment equity for offshore real estate investment in a luxurious Costa Rica development….
