The award identifies San Diego Real Estate professionals who score the highest in overall client satisfaction. The award is based on extensive surveying of home Seller and Home Buyers, mortgage and title companies on nine client satisfaction criteria also based on a review of regulatory history and a review of the list by industry experts.

I always feel a sense of pride that my clients give me such high service marks and makes the extra service I provide so worth the effort to give my clients and agents that I co-op with an excellent transaction experience.

Senate Bill 183 Lowenthal (SB183) created the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 (Act). The Act requires carbon monoxide (CO) detectors to be installed in every dwelling unit intended for human occupancy. A CO detector is a device that detects the presence of CO and emits a loud noise to alert occupants that CO is present in order to prevent CO poisoning. Detection of CO in a home environment is impossible without a warning device because CO is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and invisible (unlike smoke from a fire). It is often referred to as the “silent killer” because it is virtually undetectable without using detection technology.

Although the placement and location of carbon monoxide detectors in the home is not clearly spelled out in the Act, the packaging of your CO detector (which can be purchased at any home or hardware store) will provide for the proper placement in your home of your specific device. Installation locations will vary by manufacturer due to the degree of research conducted on that specific type and style of detector. Read and clearly understand the instructions specific to your unit – they are not all the same so PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

Here are some general guidelines common to most manufacturers of CO devices:

• CO devices should be placed on every level of your home, including the basement, and near or over any attached garage

• CO devices should be located within 10-15 feet outside of each separate sleeping area

• CO devices can be placed on the wall or the ceiling as specified in the installation instructions

• They should not be installed within 15-20 feet of any furnace or fuel burning heat source

• They should not be placed in or near humid areas, such as bathrooms

• They should not be placed in areas where they may be damaged by children or pets

• They should not be installed in areas of direct sunlight or areas subject to temperature extremes. (crawlspaces, unfinished attics, porches)

• They should not be installed behind curtains or other obstructions

• They may not function if installed near ceiling fans, heat vents, air conditioners, fresh air returns, or open windows

• Life expectancy for detectors will be specific to each manufacturer’s recommendations. Carbon monoxide detectors actually have an expiration date, so check with the manufacturer instructions to determine how long the carbon monoxide detector is supposed to last and maintain your specific unit accordingly.

The Act’s only disclosure requirement in a real estate transaction is the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement, but SB183 provides that The Homeowners’ Guide to Environmental Hazards (prepared pursuant to Section 10084 of the Business and Professions Code) (Guide) should include information regarding CO when the booklet is next updated. Since the official Guide has not yet been updated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control, Property I.D. has included a general notice of Carbon Monoxide Devices since May 2010 to further ensure compliance with the Act by all parties in the real estate transaction.

Here is the notice provided in every Property I.D. Report:

Carbon Monoxide Devices
Pursuant to the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010, carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in every dwelling unit intended for human occupancy. Carbon monoxide is a gas produced when any fuel is burned, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal. Because it is not possible to see, taste, or smell it, carbon monoxide can kill in minutes at high levels. Carbon monoxide detectors are similar to smoke detectors in that they will signal detection of carbon monoxide in the air. These carbon monoxide detectors should be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms, on every level including basements within which fuel fired appliances are installed, and in dwellings that have attached garages.

The Salk Institute in La Jolla

On this first day of the new year, I visited the Hotel Del Coronado to bring you a most unusual experience. Ice Skating on the shore of the Coronado Beach. It was 70 degrees in the shade and the activity was enjoyed continuously through the day and evening. As you can see, the warm weather created a wet but glassy image on the ice , reflecting the Grand Dame of Hotels, Hotel Del Coronado on the shore of one of San Diego’s finest, deepest and cleanest beaches.

One thing you can always count on is San Diego being creative when it comes to its Halloween Celebrations. Along with the offerings of haunted houses, San Diego has in store something special that actually might scare you.

The Star of India, said to be haunted will host lantern lead tours that feature tales of its seafaring past and the ghosts that haunt it’s bowels. The tours will be held on Fridays and Saturdays during October and will last about 45 minutes. The tours go from 6PM to 10PM and are included in the general admission and any and all ghost sightings are free.

If you are into being scared, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to possibly encounter some real ghosts that haunt this ship.

So How’s Your Market?

There is good news and bad news , which would you like first?

Here is the Good News.

* During the month of August, there are 263 Active Listings in RB ( Rancho Bernardo). The Average Price is $899,718 and the Median Price is $668,880.  There were 53 Listings Pending Close of Escrow and 46 Sold Listings during the month. The Average Sold Listing was $694,993 and the median sold was $564,450.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 246 sold homes so far with the high selling price of $4,000000 and the low of $324,900. As you can see, we have a wide variety of single family homes ranging in size from 1200 sq ft to over 9,000.

On the Attached Home side of the housing market we have the following activity that took place in August. There are 58 Active Attached Listings through the end of August. The Average List price was $272,370 and the Median List Price was $278,000. There were 10 Listing Pending Close of Escrow ranging in price from $132,500 to $383,000. The 4 Attached Properties that Sold ranged from $145,000 to  $499,876.

A Recap of the Year to Date Sales shows we had 138 Attached Homes Sales with a High Selling Price of $689,000 and a Low Selling Price of $125,000 for 540 sq ft. The Average Selling price was 261,249 for 1,163 sq ft and the Median Sales Price year to date was 234,950 for 1092 sq ft.

That was the Good News! Ready for the Bad News? Home prices are tending up and there is strong evidence that interest rates will likely be going up as well. Sitting and waiting for a better deal in Rancho Bernardo is not likely to happen so if you are considering a new Home or Condo, now is time to get in the market.

*Data obtained from Sandicor MLS and believed to be correct but not gauranteed.

Padres ” OPENING DAY ” at Petco Park

TONY Gwynn ” Mr Padre”

All is in readieness as the Padres and Petco Park get set for Opening Day 2011.

While I was down taking photos of the new 550 foot Pedestrian Suspension Bridge ( Dedication Day) , one end of which connects to Petco park, I noticed the gates open for the “Park in the Park”. I can’t attend the homeopener game today against the 2010 World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants but I wanted fresh new photos from just two days ago of our wonderful ballpark.

In the foreground of this picture is the “Park in the Park” where families  and baseball enthusiasts can come in, bring blankets and enjoy the park, watch the game, have a Play by Play screen just for their use and enjoy the thrill of baseball. All that for $5.00

Well, baseball in San Diego wouldn’t be baseball without our long time hero and Hall of Famer, Tony Gwynn, A bronze statue of him rightfully placed at the top of the hill in our “Park in the Park”. He will be in the park today as he should be. The Padres won their first opening series away with the St Louis Cardinals  2-1.

Today is also designated “ Military Day” , honoring those of who served our country. When they sing the opening anthem, no doubt today, it will have an extra special meaning.

” GO Padres “

A Real Lesson in Spring Renewal !

When you read the news about all the tragedies that have befallen mankind, it is so heartening to read about something as innocuous as an annual Cherry Blossom Festival that transforms itself into being something so much more. In this case, a fundraiser for the victims that have suffered such terrible losses from the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that took the lives of many thousands of loved ones last week in Japan.

Tomorrow, an annual event celebrating the relationship of the sister cities of San Diego and Yokohama Japan, will become a fund raiser for relief efforts in Japan. It is what any true sisters would do, look out for each other. So tomorrow, the Japanese Friendship Gardens at Balboa Park that would normally be celebrating the life transformations of the over 160 Japanese Cherry trees in various levels of bloom will instead quietly and respectfully accept donations to assist with the horrific tragedy that has befallen our friends and neighbors in the Pacific.

I have shared my pride with all of you of how wonderful our San Diego city is and the many treasures it shares with citizens and visitors alike. But it is these special times when the people themselves share their own treasure to help mankind through it tragedies that makes me the most proud to be a citizen of this awesome community.

And this wonderful way of helping is certainly not unique to just San Diego but found throughout our America. The organizers of the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco as well as the one slated for March 26th in Washington DC will also move fund raising to the center of their activities.

It will be my mission to make my way sometime during the day to the  park and make my contribution as well. And don’t be at all surprised if I just happen to come away with a few beautiful photos of the blooming Japanese Cherry trees. These Cherry blossoms signify the beginning of Spring. No matter how harsh the season or severe the obstacle, these trees teach a real lesson in renewal. As they have for centuries, they bud, they bloom and after a brilliant show, wither and die but they leave behind a life that regenerates itself year after to year to remind us of the wonderful Spring Renewal.

I hope the citizens of San Diego will open their hearts and share their good fortune with those that so need our help as they begin their own Spring Renewal, not for the show of their beautiful flowers but for their very survival.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! When Passion Meets Opportunity | San Diego Real Estate|William Johnson!

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