San Diegoans stare in awe at the night sky of the amazing specular pyrotechnics on display tonight throughout 16 areas of San Diego. And yes, yours truly will be at one of them, hopefully to get some new outstanding pictures for next years post.

The Big Bay Boom as it is called on the Bay in Downtown San Diego has a budget of over $100,000 and is best seem from Seaport Village. One of the best ways to get is there is park at one of the satellite trolley stations near downtown and take the trolley. You can avoid much of the traffic associated with this annual event and simply walk from the trolley station to Seaport Village.

Some of the other great locations around the county include, La Jolla, Ocean Beach, SeaWorld, Camp Pendleton, Poway, Mira Mesa, El Cajon, Coronado. Not to worry that you will miss something, these shows are all coordinated with two production companies, Fireworks America and Pyro Spectaculars and though some of the shows may be a little smaller, the varieties of fireworks and the displays will be extraordinary no matter which one of the shows you attend are more convenient.

Though most of the fireworks come from China, San Diegoans will see some of the more expensive and high end selections from Spain ,Portugal and Italy. These are not to be missed. Happy July 4^th Everyone and Be Safe as we celebrate our Country’s Birthday.

Living in San Diego, we needs fan to circulate the wonderful breezes we are get living near the ocean. But if your windows are closed up and if you have no fans, you are missing one of the best features of living here in San Diego. Ceiling fans today are a very affordable alternative to air conditioning and reasonably easy to install.

So for starters lets turn off the air conditioning on those days when the temperature starts rising into the high 70’s and 80’s. Open up the windows and turn on the fans. Costco sells these portable misters and a quick shot on the face or neck and you will be cooled right down. The Misting Mates are made for outside, but if you don’t tell, I won’t. And don’t fear getting wet, just take a quick spray and with the air being circulated through your home you will feel very comfortable.

I would recommend that you invest in a programmable Thermostat. These can be purchased in the range of $30. You will save an energy costs the first year, as much as several
hundred dollars. In a few years, we’re talking real money.

The cost of a new energy wise air-conditioning system on average runs in the range of  about $2500-$3000. It will only take a few years to earn all that savings back and there
may also be some local and state tax incentives for upgrading. Making a phone call to your power company and following that up with a couple calls to the leading HVAC suppliers
should give you all the information and related contact information.

Installing a whole house fan will also dramatically help lift up and out, a lot of warm air trapped near your ceilings or in your upstairs level. You will notice the change
rather immediately once this is installed.

In the hottest summer months, lower the temperature on your water heater. The recommended temperature somewhere between 110 and 115°. Taking cooler showers will also make you feel cooler and save a lot of energy.

Consider doing most of your cooking outside on the grill. It keeps the house a lot cooler and saves boatloads of energy.

Wash clothes in cold water. Even the dirtiest whites will come clean with the warm setting. Be sure to also reduce the amount of detergent. Less is more in most cases.

The summer months provide so many wonderful activities for outside. Turn off the TV or at least try watching it less.

Overhead recessed lighting also generates a lot of heat and using these less will cut down on your energy bills. There is one way however it is proven to be very cost-effective.
Change out all those incandescent bulbs to the new low-energy fluorescent. These bulbs may be a little more costly, but they last longer than virtually give off no heat. Check
with your city power companies. They have periodically set up free exchanges and that makes these new bulbs virtually free.

There are some other more permanent and longer range ways of economizing on energy. These would include having your home well insulated and it saves a ton of money on energy
costs year around. Good insulation could cut your energy costs as much as 30% a year there is a website, simply go to insulate.com that would help you get even more ideas.

A good landscaping plan a planting leafy trees on the southwest side of the house will help the extreme heat from overheating the house. In the winter months after all the
leaves have fallen, the leafless trees allow the sun to keep the house warm. It’s also wise to avoid excessive use of rock, concrete and especially asphalt, particularly on the
west and south side of the house. This heats up with the sun and radiates heat to the house making it even more difficult to cool.

The south and west sides of your home as I  mentioned gets the most sun and the heat can be reduced significantly by installing white blinds on the windows. The sun and heat are reflected back off of the windows and helps to keep the house cooler as well.

There are many other heat cutting and energy savings ideas. If you know some, send me a comment and I can add them here. Thanks for sharing.

In a comment I made to well known and highly respected Real Estate Professional and Blogger Lenn Harley, I suggested a new definition of this change. Change is when something happens that you didn’t want to happen but must now adapt to it ( as in just live with it). Some have wished that we could continue to do business the way we used to do business. The answers that come opposed to that recent way of thinking and doing things are from those that were able to adapt early and take advantage of modifying their business and doing it early.

At the time of the sub prime crisis, many were faulted and to head off the possibility that this scenario of runaway home prices could happen again, the entire system of lending basically collapsed and is being refashioned not necessarily by those that would be the most skilled at it.  Along with the lending underwriting changes, another segment of the industry not always thought of as the one segment that actually facilitated the ballooning of property values has also been modified. The appraisal.

Not to leave a single stone unturned, in May of this year the new rules were put in place to make sure that appraisers do not facilitate an inflation of values from getting out of control again. Or so that is the way the changes are being justified.

The appraisers were as a group charged with having been too influenced by lenders to facilitate values to get the deal done. Well not any more. In making the new changes much more onerous than the older much easier to understand lending guidelines, appraisers were said to have a “too cozy” of relationships with lenders and that must now be prevented. The appraisal was always by definition to be an arms length estimation of value, and the arms length part seemed not to be long enough. My image immediately went to those shorter furry animals that often walk with their hands. They have long arms.

Just how that is too happen was the subject recently of Real Estate columnist Kenneth Harney’s article on what the new appraisal rules mean to the industry and the consumer. What are the expected and unintended consequences of these changes?

Since that the appraisers had what was believed to be that “too cozy” relationship with lenders, it was decided that lenders must now choose from a pool of appraisers on a rotating basis instead calling on their trusted relationships with known appraisers of the past. In the arbitrary selection process, it is thought that there will no longer be any possibility of strong arming by the lender to have the appraisal “ came in”, a term that implied that the value the Buyer agreed pay  would be the value that the appraiser would also see minimally as the estimate of value.

Kenneth points out several of the unintended consequences of these new appraisal guidelines as released by Fannie Mae. Since lenders are no longer directly involved with the appraisal process, the fees now have to be charged up front and can no longer be just a part of the loan costs at settlement. That now takes the form of the Buyer having to supply a credit card payment up front. The appraisal fee that used to cost $325 now goes for in the range of $450. That adds up to a 20 to 30% increase in costs for the consumer to pay for the same service that might not be performed as well.

Ken noted that we should not assume however that this increase in fees paid actually benefit the appraiser, it often goes to new appraisal management companies that facilitate the processing of the appraisal assignment and management including the processing costs.

If this sounds like we added another new layer in the real estate transaction, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, not much use in thinking of the possible exceptions like its a goose with a bad cold. Since these management companies decide what the fee will be and job out the actual appraisal and they handle the management and requirements of the who, what, and when, you can expect that their costs will over time escalate and be justified that their costs are higher and the appraisal cost will go up as demand goes up, just like other services.

As independent contractors and to protect the profitability of the new management companies, there is also the unintended consequence that new appraisers who might work for less could end up pushing the more seasoned and experienced appraisers out of the business.

The real unintended consequence of these type of changes is a greater likelihood that appraisers will not be familiar with the uniqueness of the local areas and will not be as capable of making the correct adjustments. Appraisers that typically worked certain areas and were expert in valuations may be a thing of the past. And that happened over night. Talk about unintended consequences.

So lets recap this. In the past, local real estate professionals knew better than anyone what the value of property was in the neighborhoods they specialized in. Not anymore. We based it on comparables sales with adjustments for particular characteristics or even unique area characteristics and our opinions of value had most often been validated by knowledgeable appraisers. Those days, it sounds to me like they are also over. Now, we must relearn what the respective value is from persons that may never have even been in any particular area before. And don’t go taking it out on the appraisers, they most likely had very little influence in these changes.

Oh and as for those thinking that you can share with the appraiser what you think they don’t know, better think twice before doing that. If you have to ask why, you aren’t paying close enough attention to the new rules. Ah, the unintended consequences of change.

The largest Desalination plant in the western hemisphere is finally a go

It has been an uphill battle for Poseidon Resources to gets it’s Desalination plant built having gone through an enormous approval process with the Coastal commission and state and regional water boards. And with intermittent lawsuits by environmental groups who are opposed it its construction and operation plans. ( a lawsuit  still pending decision at this time) after years of prevailing against these lawsuits, it seemed that the final hurdle has been cleared.

With a final approval of a compromise deal to provide 55.4 acres of wetlands to be used as a marine nursery to replace marine life that would be killed off by the Desalination process, Poseidon expects to finally begin construction of the new plant by the end of this year.
 

The plant that will be located behind the Encina Power plant and will turn 50 million gallons a day of ocean water into drinking water and with San Diego property owners currently facing a severe water supply shortage, this new plant will be a welcome addition to offset some of the dwindling supply.

It is hoped that this plant will become the new model of what needs to be provided state wide along the coastal cities to provide a self generated supply of usable water needed to offset the drought that has left California “High and Dry” for years on end. With the further curtailment of imported water for the Sacramento River Delta and other suppliers, California needs to do what it can to offset the now lacking supply.

With this Desalination concept having taken so much effort in getting through the bureaucratic and judicial quagmire , not to mention how much in financial resources have been expended to even get to this point, it is little wonder that a state that has lead the way in so many other arenas, especially research and development in technology and medicine, is now falling far behind in answering the call of its citizens for even one of life’s basics, water.

This update on the new coming Poseidon Resources Desalination plant courtesy of the The Voice of San Diego Real Estate.

I did some quick calculations of what the incentives were with the 15% allowance and this charmer seemed to pencil out. But then I heard about the bad news in the newspaper of the free fall of prices , the new higher proposed taxes and thought I should think about it a while and I did keep thinking about it the whole day. So I went back for another look at the end of the day just hoping the perfect little place would still be there and that the seller might come down even more. When I returned there was a qualified Buyer making the deal and I lost out.

I wonder how many other would be Buyers are making the same evaluation to rethink their decision based on news stories and when they come back, the deal is gone? This house should have come with a caveat that while many can afford to take advantage of these great buying opportunities out there too many are hesitating and they need to know that if they wait too long, the opportunity will just simply pass them by.

This mostly true tale was brought to you by The Voice of San Diego Real Estate.

San Diego City Council recently voted eight to zero to impose mandatory outdoor water usage restrictions throughout the city of San Diego, effective June 1, 2009.

The newly enacted measures call for the following:

Watering of lawns and landscapes throughout the city and its jurisdictions can only be done from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.

Outside watering ( applicable to residential and commercial properties) can only be done three days per week and each property owner must follow the assigned days of week according to the property address. For San Diego homes this means a serious cutback that will most likely take it toll on our lawns and landscaping.

Homeowners and Commercial properties are assigned the following watering days:

    Odd number addresses will be assigned Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday only.
    Even numbered addresses will be assigned Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only.

    Apartment Buildings, Condominiums and Commercial properties are assigned Monday, Wednesday and Friday only.

The watering time limit on all property both residential and commercial is 10 minutes.

There is a further restriction for car washing at residences can only be done between the hours of 6PM and 10AM.

This proposal and enactment  by unanimous city council vote supersedes the previous and more onerous proposal that would have capped each water customer to a specific overall amount of water usage and then charged that customer  extra if they exceeded the capped amount.

For more information about this new measure that is effective June 1st, 2009 and the consequences for not abiding by it can be found at http://uniontrib.com/more/conserve

A family friend who frequents the spa with annual regularity, invited me to join her and her two daughters for a specially prepared lunch at the coy pond. The stylings at this spa opened since 1958 are of the Japanese Honjin inns famous in Japan. And as far as I could tell, from style of the architecture to the sheer beauty of the surroundings, that I just as well could have been in Japan.

Tucked away in an area north of Escondido, the location of this exclusive spa would be missed unless you knew exactly how to get to to it. There are no signs and if you have to ask, you probably wouldn’t be on the list for visiting.

I brought my camera to take some pictures but as you see there are no pictures here. Out of my respect for it’s exclusive nature, nothing I could take pictures of could even come close to capturing what I was taking in using all of my senses. Pictures even with my written description could never do justice to what I was experiencingh. The Golden Door has a web site and they even have a picture gallery but I can tell you from my own eyes, the pictures they include don’t even come close to the splendor and tranquility of the magnificent surroundings. The entire experience can not be expressed in pictures anyway. The total of all your senses would be needed to fully appreciate.

The luncheon was served by the coy pond in a setting that was almost hypnotic in its calming beauty. The attention to details as well as the lunch itself was unlike anything I have experienced. I was gifted the while there the Golden Door Cookbook signed by the world famous executive chef, Michael Stroot. It contains over 200 recipes of what the patrons of the this most exclusive spa experience 3 times a day while there are a guest.

My impressions of this most tranquil spa was that of a trespasser, wondering if my mind would make any disturbing noise as took it all in through my senses. A magnificent place and I hope I am invited again and again as my family friend makes her annual pilgrimage for a week of de-stressing and pampering at this most celebrated  spa.

The most successful sellers in todays San Diego Real Estate Market  can not be driven to list and sell by their bottom line. The priority of the move must outweigh the actual dollar consideration. When that is not case, there is a much greater likelihood that the seller in our current market will be staying put.

Playing the let’s try this amount, then wait and see game and then scrambling to try and save a possible transaction is too often the sad consequence of a Seller not being properly prepared for what is before them, either emotionally or financially.  The difficult conversations about price and value and today’s appraisal process need far more attention and discussion than they are getting. This discussion needs to be presented in the context of the current changed market until both the seller and listing agent see clearly what the correct course is ahead of them.

I can cite an example where the comps showed clearly what the value trends were in a subdivision of like homes and because this particular property was so upgraded, the list price was set too high. A full price offer came within a couple days by one adoring Buyer and then another. At first glance, it seemed to vindicate what the Seller believed about the list price. That a Buyer would in fact pay the higher than current market price. The stark reality hit home when the property was appraised at even under what the past sold comps indicated the value should be because of an automatic downgraded value in a declining market in parts of San Diego. The difference between appraisal and the offer was in dollar terms rather substantial. The Seller still didn’t believe it and counted on the Buyer to see the value and bring in at least a little extra cash. The Buyer was not willing to budge an inch and the deal fell through. Not deterred by the appraised value, the Seller was determined that value was in the eye of the beholder and made only a cursory price adjustment and yet another Buyer come to the plate. You guessed it, the second time failed as well.

The point I am making as The Voice of San Diego Real Estate, is that if the Seller had been motivated by the priority of the move and the price secondarily, these things would not happen as often. Now the above Seller has been hit with even lower appraisals of similar types of recent home sales and lost even more value. When a seller actually wants to sell….,failing to take the cue from a good qualified real estate professional will cost them a lot more in this market.

We must all take seriously the declined market values that have occurred and help prevent our sellers from making these same mistakes over and over. Today’s market is different in so many ways. The lenders require more from the borrowers in terms of assets and credit and the process eliminates many many potential buyers. The appraisal process is more costly and has tighter guidelines than in the past and adds a new burden on the Seller. The new lower property values are still showing decline in many areas and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. In past down markets, once the market stabilizes the values began to rise again. I don’t see that happening in most segments of our San Diego real estate market for a very long time to come.

If you are a seller and you want to sell, the market will welcome you. Your task though is ever greater in that you must clearly understand how you need to present your property in appearance and price .  Then of course in how you may need to respond to the Buyer’s offer to have the deal close.  I can and will provide you that excellent counseling to get your property transaction closed.

For those of you who live in San Diego that don’t know of this place, it is one of the oldest continually operating wineries in southern California. And for those who don’t live here, this needs to be on your itinerary the next time you visit.

The Rancho Bernardo Winery was founded back in 1889 on what was a Spanish Land Grant, the winery was opened and operated until Prohibition. The winery is located in a valley that used to be covered with vineyards and with the advent of Prohibition, the winery went up for sale. When it was purchased in 1927 by  Vincent Rizzo, the harvest was then used to produce grape juice and sacramental wine. After Prohibition ended, the winery became a major wine producing company along with it’s famed Cold Pressed Virgin Olive oil made from the many olive trees that were found on the property.

As the valley began to grow and the land was purchased for residential development, the vineyards disappeared and today, the Rancho Bernardo Winery imports most of its wine making grapes from around the county and state. In 1962 when Ross Rizzo, the son of the founder took over the winery, he turned it into what it is today, a destination.

When you visit the Rancho Bernardo Winery, you will be overtaken with the vast amount of antiquities found everywhere on the property, even to include a museum. There are over a dozen village shops, a wine tasting room, a coffee shop, an award winning cafe and more charm than you can fit into an afternoon.

The Arts and Crafts Fair was filled to capacity with local artists showing their creations. I was taken with several of them for their unique design qualities as well as with the artist themselves.

Two artists that create these sculptures from gourds really caught my eye.

Ruth Phillips and Vickie Echols proudly display their creations. Each artist creates their unique pieces using the gourd as inspiration and from there, their artistry takes over and you can see here for yourself, each one is its own little unique masterpiece.

Ms. Vickie Echols (on the left) creates beautiful object d’arts using gourds as the core of the piece then enhanced with a woven reed type material. Many of her pieces have a distinct Southwestern influence. Each one is totally unique and a real stand out.

Ruth Phillips also uses gourds in her designs ( one of my favorites that first got my attention is the purple gourd pictured here) some of which also have the look of metal sculptures like her bird collection. Ruth’s Bird designs are made completely from gourds or cuttings from gourds finished in metallic finishes that would simulate aged and weathered bronze. These pieces are truly stunning! Both Vicki and Ruth will showing at the 13th Annual Gourd and Fiber Art Show May 17th through June 28th, 2009 at the Falbrook Art Center.

Another artist, Susan Smith, who I had the pleasure of visiting with is a world traveler and has her art studio in Spanish Village in Balboa Park. Susan uses computer software to create her work by enhancing her photography creating the affects of oil, acyclic and water colors. One of my favorite pieces that Susan has done is shown below titled “Vernazza II” ~ Cinque Terre. Her technique is called Fauxtography. A true Artist and a lovely person to boot. Susan can be reached at susankphotography@yahoo.com

Throughout the entire Arts and Crafts Fair, there are so many wonderful items reflecting some of the outstanding talent to be found here in San Diego. I was taken with a very novel idea of unique garden art as presented by “Creative Garden Art”.

The artist uses old chairs, furniture, antique objects from decades past and creates some of most unusual garden planters you will ever see.

Planting chair seats might never have occurred to you but when see them, it is little wonder everyone wants one. For things already designed or custom commissions, Creative Garden Arts can be reached at 1-760-724-8906

One of the biggest and permanent contributors of art at the Winery is the Stone and Glassworks Studio at the RB Winery.

Since the glass blowing and artistry takes place right there on the site, wandering into their gallery and design studio display will delight the senses. Some of the more creative and beautiful glass works I have ever seen can be found here. James Stone is the Master Glass Artist and using the word “master” would be no stretch at all. To see the magic he creates is something you will likely never forget. Take a look at one of his most recent glass wall sculptures and be dazzled with a love seat in glass.  James can be reached at his studio 858-485-7701

With so many wonderful art and crafts, this show is such a wonderful representation of the many Arts and Crafts artists we have here in San Diego.

This show will be repeated this October and I would recommend strongly that if you have never been here, that you should make this a priority. And it will be perfect timing for the Christmas Holidays.

There is plenty of parking nearby and come early and plan to stay for lunch and enjoy the wonderful settings, antiquities, the art and crafts, the food and don’t forget to visit one of the most fabulous bakeries in all of San Diego.

The Bon Bon Bakery and Chocolates. Their offerings are so outstanding and beautiful they rightfully belong in the art show itself.  Here is just a little sample to tempt you. The genius behind these amazing delights is Joanne Hansen.

No photograph could ever do justice to these colorful chocolates, exquisitely hand decorated. The cakes and pastries are nothing short of amazing and  the collection of chocolates will certainly whet your sweet tooth. For special orders call JoAnne at 858-592-0570

From the time you walk through the gates at the Rancho Bernado Winery, you will be awe struck with its lush vineyards and the mediterannean influence of the gardens in this exquisite setting.

The antiquities are found over the entire poperty and you will see things that you have likely never seen before. Please plan to do a wine tasting and visit the museum. In short, plan to make a day of it and you will walk away having experienced one of “San Diego’s Best Kept Secrets“.

It was Julia that first used the words “Mother’s Day” in her “Mother’s Day for Peace” movement back in 1872. If Julia were alive today, she might be categorized as a modern day peace activist in that she promoted peace after having observed the carnage about the Civil War and Franco-Prussian war. Her campaign was to inspire women the world over to rise up against war.

Her “Mother’s Day for Peace” was first observed in London at the International Women’s Peace Congress in 1872. All the while, a second woman Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis in her efforts to heal the nation after the Civil War attempted to improve sanitation and child care that she learned from her brother who was a doctor, for what she called the Mother’s Friendship Day.

Ann Reeves Jarvis a school teacher from Philadelphia is given credit for saving thousands of American lives in America after the Civil War through her teaching women in her Mother’s Friendship Clubs, the basics of nursing, child care and sanitation. Ann’s daughter, Anna Jarvis though is the one that succeeded in introducing Mother’s Day in the way we celebrate today.

Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother after her mother’s death in 1905 and decided that all mothers should be honored  with a special day designated as Mothers Day. She stated that effort with a letter writing campaign, urging businesses and congress to declare a national day of honor for Mothers. Her efforts she hoped would increase respect for parents and strenghten family bonds.

In 1908 in Grafton, West VA, a church service would honor Anna’s mother and that church would ultimately became known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine. Anna’s efforts would continue and in 1912, the Mother’s Day International Association came into being.

Anna continued to lobby the US Congress and convinced them of the need to honor all mothers which lead to a Congressional Resolution honoring mothers in 1913.

In 1914 on May 8th, by presidential proclamation, Woodrow Wilson officially set aside a national day, the second Sunday in May for the observation of Mother’s Day to honor all mothers. As Mother’s Day became very popular commercially, Anna became infuriated that the real sentiment of the day was being sacrificed by greed and profit. She even did a door to door campaign as well as a letter writing campaign to have the holiday, Mother’s Day rescinded, feeling that it was not being observed the way she had intended.  But despite her efforts that Mother’s Day should not be about gifts and flowers but genuinely expressed appreciation of motherhood in writingby ones children, Mother’s Day remains commercially profitable today in America and has spread throughout the world.

In the true sentiment of what this day means, let us each in our own way express to our Moms how much they mean to us and our appreciation of their sacrifices they made to rear us, protect us and love us. Let us then set aside this day in reverence of our appreciation to them.

Happy Mothers Day!