20 Tips to Sell Your Home FasterAsk for help to see you home from a buyer's point of view.  Ask someone who can be objective and honest of their impression of your home.  Of course a Realtor is always a good choice, but you'll also want to review their marketing techniques to ensure they are professional, creative to ensure they will provide you with the appropriate help.Stimulate buyers' imagination by scenes throughout the house, such as setting the patio table with Margarita glasses or a magazine open on a lounge chair.  Play soft music, invest in the new battery operated candles and leave them on, while you're gone.Use folded quilts, brightly-colored pillows and fresh flowers to draw attention to the positives.Disguise unsightly views.  Remove dark, heavy drapes and replace with lig... 01/30/2008

Kelly's Weekly Events with her clients in mind!Ladies looking for something to do this upcoming weekend that will inspire you to new heights.  Saddleback Church in Lake Forest has two events with you in mind.  Girls Night Out:     Friday, January 187:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Worship Center Cost: FREE - Special guest Ashley Smith Robinson, author of Unlikely Angel, will share how God used her to influence her captor and impact hundreds of lives through her amazing story. - Kay Warren and Debbie Eaton, director of Women's Ministry at Saddleback, will share messages of hope and encouragement. - We'll enjoy music and worship led by Angel Smythe and her band.Invite a friend or the women in your small group!Can't make Friday nights event, then consider the Saturday Morning Event - Soul Matters ... 01/17/2008

We have done it again.  After great success with our last seminar " Buying Smart in Today's Changing Market" we are excited to have Gary Watts join us and provide consumers with his invaluable insights into the the Orange County Real Estate Market.  Rarely is this information available directly to the public, but C21 Superstars has done it again and you won't want to miss this exciting and informative event.With the current media storm on the housing, it is our goal to get the data out to consumers so they can make their own informative decisions on whether now is the time to make a real estate move.  The fact is, buying a home, investment property or move up property is a personal decision, if the numbers work for you and you understand the data behind the current market you will make ... 01/17/2008

For many this past year was a difficult one, personally, financially and physically, but in the big scheme of things I believe everyone in the area can take a big deep sigh of relief and now how truly blessed we are.  The big story for the year of course was the real estate market, below is a snap shot of how the community faired. The second big story of the year was the Santiago Fire and again we were truly blessed with little personal damage. I am sure everyone is still dealing with the continuing ash storm we receive everytimg there is a Santa Ana wind event but if that is all we have to deal with then bring it on.My hope for 2008 is that we will see the local real estate market stabalize and plants begin to sprout in our beloved canyon.  In addition, that those in this great communi... 01/02/2008

The Lake Forest market, as well as surrounding cities in the South Orange County area, seem to be picking up the pace a little now. The inventory has shrunk some, as many sellers have taken their homes off the market for the holidays, and the prices are now noticeably lower than last summer. I have heard from several of my agent friends that they also are feeling that the market is picking up from the doldrums, as buyers seem to be cautiously reappearing. The pricing now starts at $169,900 for a single story, one-bedroom condo that is a short sale, and 3 other short sale or bank-owned condos are on the market priced under $200,000. The 2-bedroom condos start at $203,900 with 9 others priced under $250,000.There are currently 9 single family homes priced under $500,000 available today. W... 12/16/2007

Portola Hills eNews Most Recent Real Estate Activity Address  AmenitiesPriceDays on marketCommentsNew On The Market    28385 Boulder Dr.3 bed/3 bath/1305 sq.ft.$429,9005Steal, Steal,Steal19416 Highridge2bed/2bath/1770 sq.ft.$679,000 4 SOLD PROPERTIES    28885 Canyon Pt.2 bed/2 bath/975 sq.ft.$302,00039 28940 Canyon Lake2 bed/2 bath/1000 sq.ft.$320,00014 28392 Klondike Dr.3 bed/ 3 bath/1216 sq.ft.$413,00067 19091 Willowbrook 4 bed/3 bath/2513 sq.ft.$710,00046Someone got a deal!Open House Sunday 12/9 - 19512 Highridge. Open from 1-4 stop in and say hi and check out the view.  This home is bank owned and the bank is ready to negotiate.Mortgage Acceleration - We have been so busy with calls from this program so make sure to give us a call if you want to learn how to get out of debt an avera... 12/07/2007

There is lots of fun to be had for the holidays in Lake Forest.  Details can be found on the city's website.Breakfast With Santa - This Saturday, December 8th.  Seatings at 8am and 10:30am in the Lake Forest Community Center (25550 Commercentre Dr.).  Cost is $5/child and $7/adult for a delicious home-cooked breakfast, side dishes, juice, milk and coffee.  There will be music, cookie decorating, and story time with Santa to round out the morning.But that's not all... later in the day and also at the community center is Holiday Hoopla from 1:30 to 5:30pm.  Children ages 6-12 will spend a fun afternoon making crafts, watching movies, playing games, and preparing snacks (allowing mom and dad a few free hours to finish that shopping they've been meaning to do!)That evening, at Heritage Hill... 12/05/2007

Market worries have you feeling a little under the weather?  Here's some Chicken Soup for the... uh, stomach. Yesterday I made a lovely chicken soup in the crock pot.  Here's how you can do the same:3 cans chicken broth (on sale right now due to the impending holiday!)2 carrots, peeled and sliced relatively thin2 stalks of celery, chopped1/2 brown onion, finely chopped2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunkshandful or two of frozen mixed green beans (optional.  Trader Joe's has a great mix)Seasonings (to taste):Poultry seasoningSalt (taste before salting as broth carries a lot already)PepperI layered all this into the crock pot, putting some veggies down in the bottom so that liquid would be sure to get all around the chicken pieces.  Leave on low for about 8 hours (overnight, while... 11/14/2007

Portola Hills eNews  Recent Real Estate Activity Address  AmenitiesPriceDays on marketCommentsNew On The Market    19996 Canyon Tree2 bed/1.25 bath 954 sq.ft.$349,9008 28371 Boulder Dr.3 bed/3 bath/1300 sq.ft.$429,9005Steal, Steal,Steal28372 Millwood Dr.5 bed/3 bath/3000 sq.ft.$999,0005 SOLD PROPERTIES    18992 Singingwood Cir3 bed/3bath/1600 sq.ft.$535,00010 28311 Harvest View Ln.5 bed/3 bath/ 3000 sq.ft.$857,81678Someone got a deal!Portola Market Snapshot:  Currently there are 55 homes on the market which has been pretty consistent inventory all year.  44 of the homes are attached homes with an average listing pricing of $466,351 or $369 price per sq.ft. and they have been on the market an average of 107 days.11 are single family with an average listing price of $954,800 or $308 sq.ft... 11/09/2007

I admit it, I love nothing better than a good hole-in-the-wall restaurant with good food and low prices.  My current favorite sits just below the 5 off the Lake Forest offramp.  In the rather nondescript center just across the street from Best Buy is a little place called The Snooty Fox.  (Technically, it's in Laguna Hills because it's on that side of the freeway)  It's barely (if that) visible from the street.  In fact, we only found it because one time we were headed into Coco's at the other end of the center and noticed the CROWD outside.  We decided we should try that place some time.Can I tell you... we haven't been back to Coco's since!Now the thing with Snooty Fox is, they're only open for breakfast and lunch.  So plan on getting there before 3pm.  I've tried the turkey salad san... 11/08/2007

Okay, so I admit that we're in fact surrounded by decent shopping.  Target (since that's the topic here) has locations at Irvine Spectrum, up at the Foothill Ranch center, and just above the 5 on Alicia.But now we have one even closer.  As I was driving across Jeronimo today I noticed the "Now Open" banners next to the signs for the new Target they've been building at Jeronimo and Los Alisos.  I'm a bit surprised as I expected more of a "grand opening" kind of event, especially with Target being set up so high off the street as to render itself nearly invisible, but in the end, I'm just glad it's open, it cuts my distance to the store in half. 11/07/2007

As everyone is aware this has been a tough week in Southern California.  For me and my community that hit was a little too close to home, as we live in the great community of Portola Hills! Abeautiful neighborhood that is set up against the Saddleback Mountains where the Santiago Fire was taking place.  On Sunday 10/21 I was having a family over for dinner and with the winds of the previous night, I had thought maybe tonight wasn't the best night for a get together but went ahead anyways. So my family came from both San Diego and Riverside.  As the night continued, we looked from my backyard to see smoke begin to appear off in the canyon and then my Sister-in-law got a call from a friend in San Diego saying there were was a fire down south.   So the family went on their way home and my ... 10/26/2007

The City of Lake Forest website has a great feature on it, showing you not only all the parks in the area, but detailing what amenities they have as well.Click here for information on parks in Lake Forest.Also, the city offers some great recreation programs for everyone in the family, from kids' sports to senior programs, and classes in everything from First Aid, to Guitar, to Tai Chi.  Those programs can be found on the activities page. 10/24/2007

                                                                                            Portola Hills eNews  Recent Real Estate Activity Address  AmenitiesPriceDays on marketcommentsNew On The MarketCurrently there are 53 homes on the market in Portola   18923 Canyon Hill2 bed/1 bath/800 sq.ft.$279,0006 28411 Boulder Dr.3 bed/2.75 bath/1216 sq.ft.$384,9003Great Price  good rental19716 Totila Way2 bed/2.5 bath/1106 sq.ft.$409,9002 28512 Klondike Dr.3bed/3bath/1300 sq. ft. $469,00014Way below mkt - great rental19622 Torres Way5 bed/4 bath/3600 sq.ft.$950,00011Back on MarketSOLD PROPERTIES No closed sales since last report8 properties currently in escrow   Open House Sat 10/20: If you are out and about on Saturday pop in to say hi and see this great starter home Open 1-4.  19575 Highri... 10/19/2007

                                           UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO 11/28 DUE TO SANTIAGO FIRES.   Please join the community and support the school in the Annual Portola Hills Elementary Hoiday Boutique.  Nov. 28th 11:00 am - 6pm in the Multi-Purpose RoomWhat a great way to support the school and maybe get a little holiday shopping out of the way.  There will be raffles every 1/2 hour with some wonderful prizes supplied by businesses throughout the community.If you sell handcrafted items or have a home-based business and would like to have display at this year's boutique, registration forms are available at the school office.Enjoy!                                           Kelly Turbeville is one of South Orange County premier Realtors® focusing in the Saddleback Valle... 10/15/2007

With the ever changing real estate market in South Orange County, where do you go for answers to your questions?  We have put together a Home Buying Seminar that is designed to ask just those questions.   Is it truly a buyers market?Can I get a loan?Is this a good investment time?What tax saving strategies do investors use?If you have asked yourself any of the above questions or are just curious about the current state of the real estate market then you'll want to RSVP with Kelly for this exciting seminar "Buying Smart in Today's Changing Market ".This is an excellent opportunity to come and get answers for yourself on the current market in South Orange County.  We promise you will walk away with a wealth of knowledge.  You won't be disappointed but seats are filling up fast so contact ... 10/08/2007

Top 10 Mistakes Sellers Make 1.     Either overestimating or underestimating the value of their home. 2.     Failing to disclose material facts about their home that adversely affect desirability or value. 3.     Not properly staging their home. 4.     Not making their home easily accessible to agents to show. 5.     Starting out with an inflated asking price, not understanding the negative impact of later price adjustments. 6.     Emotionally overacting to an initial offer. 7.     Thinking that subsequent offers will be better then the first offer. 8.     Excessive conversations with the buyers and/or buyer's agent. 9.     Letting small things in the negotiations or transaction become big things, while losing site of the bigger picture. 10.                        Not using Kelly to rep... 10/03/2007

Lake Forest Real Estate Market Conditions - October 2007 Like many areas across the country, the Lake Forest, California real estate market is chugging along at a snail's pace!  Between the mortgage availability issues and the fear of price declines, buyers seem to be sitting on the fence and it's hard to say when they will start to jump off!Overall, we are now at a 16+ month inventory level when you compare the active properties to those that closed in the last 90 days.  The turmoil in the mortgage market has resulted in fewer buyers being able to qualify for "jumbo loans" of over $417,000, and the buyers who had previously thought they could qualify for those are now having to adjust their searching (and expectations) to the lower price ranges.  Currently out of the 453 active propert... 10/02/2007

                               Portola Hills eNews  New On the Market  Property Details  Price  Comments28463 Klondike3bed/3 bath/1216 sq.ft$479,000 19091 Willow brook4 bed/3 bath/2513 sq.ft.$849,900 28372 Harvest View5 bed/4 bath/3100 sq.ft.$1,149,000 19301 Jasper Hill5 bed/4 bath/4000 sq.ft.$1,400,000   Sold Properties   18912 Canyon Smt2 bed/2bath/1 car garage$402,500 As you can see there are some great properties available currently. Should you know anyone looking to move to the area, please make sure to contact Kelly to review the best deals on the market. Open House Sunday 9/23: 23722 Lagarto, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 - This home is a great deal - 4 bed/3 bath/completely remolded with a gorgeous pool and spa overlooking the golf course. Priced to sell at $729,000.  Make sure to sto... 09/22/2007

The current market is very slow now, but it is typical for this time of year.  Traditionally, August and September are the months when people's attention is focused on vacations, returning from vacations, or back-to-school activities, and football so this is not unusual.  Next month should pick up as buyers will try to get moved and settled in before the holidays.In Lake Forest today, there are 256 single family homes on the market.  The lowest end is now priced under $500K, with 3 currently available, and several others that are "value range" priced from $499K to mid-$500s.  Last month, one actually closed at under $500,000 which is the first this year.  There have only been 2 others since October 2004!  The upper end of the market includes 5 homes that are listed above $1 million.  La... 09/17/2007