My Real (Estate) Life in South Orange County

  The short answer to this question is – a lot!  In fact, the interest rate can make a bigger difference than the price when it comes down to how much house you are able to buy.    In south Orange County, the median price of a condominium over the past year has been $330,000.  (“Median price” mea...

What is Mello-Roos? Mello-Roos assessments are special property taxes levied on California homeowners  in  “Community Facilities Districts”.   The funds are used to provide vital community resources within the district.  School districts, public libraries, recreational parks, police and fire stat...

  Losing your home to foreclosure is a painful experience, no question about it.  After surviving that trauma, you are left to deal with a damaged credit record that can take years to repair.  Even worse, though, is the common opinion that foreclosure is the result of irresponsible behavior on yo...

Happy Father's Day To dads everywhere who guide their children to adulthood!

What is a certified farmer's market, anyway?  This means that the sellers have been inspected by the county agricultural commission to verify that they are the ones who grow the items that they are selling.There are lots of "farmers' markets" around Orange County, where you can buy produce from ...

The south Orange County weather is beautiful this week!  Celebrate by coming out for the first annual Capistrano Beach community garage this Saturday from 8am until noon.  Families throughout the neighborhood will be participating, with lots of goodies on display that you know you need!  To find ...

You may think that nothing could be more exciting than yesterday's "tsunami watch", but the Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup stand up paddling event at Baby Beach is guaranteed to be far more entertaining.  The day begins at 9AM with a Fun Paddle event, and continues through the day with contests, semin...

Whatever opinion you have about the future of North Beach, tomorrow is the day to make your voice heard. If you don't know where you are supposed to go to cast your vote, here is the way to find out: http://www.ocvote.com/vote/polling.htm If you vote by mail, you must mail your ballot today, or ...

It's a beautiful weekend to enjoy the Festival of the Whales in Dana Point.   This week-long event starts today at 10 AM with a parade along Pacific Coast Highway from Selva to Golden Lantern.  You can park in the Harbor parking lots and take the free shuttle to the parade route.  After the parad...

In researching a local neighborhood to determine the market value of a home, I ran a report to see how much similar homes have sold for in the last six months, along with the asking prices for nearby homes for sale.  It was in a small subdivision with only four different models, so all the prices...