15. March 2009 by admin.

A fence was added that had a non conventional look.  Be sure to check code requirements in your city.  Here we have 6′ to the front of the house then drop to 4′.  4′ can continue to 12′ from the curb.

Starting right to left it starts out as edging and grows to a 6′ fence in a rolling fashion.

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20. December 2008 by admin.

Jim Cramer from Mad Money has predicted the bottom of the housing market. The date is June 30, 2009!

Here is the link to CNBC to see the original broadcast.

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29. November 2008 by admin.

Concrete stain can do a lot for that same old concrete look. It is easy to apply but take care on picking a color because you cant go back.
Before the stain

and after

If dealing with old cracks in the concrete it is sometimes to just let them alone. It’s a stain not a resurface application. Patching the crack can look worse then the crack itself with staining.

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6. November 2008 by admin.

Not much is going on currently for us. I can not foresee any action until the start of 2009. Way too much has to happen to take on the risk of a flip. It is a great time to buy and hold though. But to resell…we need to feel comfortable that buyers can access credit.
In the mean time we can take a look at some projects that you can do yourself.

Porcelain Sink DYI refinish.
Here is what a kitchen sink looks like refinished with one of those kits that sell for around $35.
They supply you with some cleaner, gloves and 000 steel wool.
It really is not too bad. I believe professionals use acid to etch the porcelain.
The only complaint I have it that they do not warn you or suggest a way to handle heavy wear or deep scratches. It appears to be for light wear. Other then that the process is very simple. The paint sprays very evenly, I like the way it goes on and holds it’s place. Here are some pictures of what it looks like. How does it hold up over time? That’s what we all want to know.

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21. October 2008 by admin.

After all the whining and complaining…where do we go from here.
Well, It’s a GREAT time to buy. It’s a GREAT time to buy and HOLD.

In the midst of all this news is one report out of Riverside County California.
mydesert.com
September home sales for September 2008 are UP 106% over last year.

According to the Los Angeles Times home sales are up 65% in Southern California but due the fact that home prices are down 33%.

It goes on to say half the homes bought are foreclosures being bought up by bargain hunters.

No matter what happens it is now trendy to put a bad spin on everything. Personally I am happy sales are up, I am happy that contrary to all the news, someone has money and or credit to buy homes.
It is as if we are not allowed to have any good news. It could be sales are down, or sales are flat, we were able to say sales are up…but…

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1. October 2008 by admin.

We made it through the funding process on one. Start to finish took 6 months. Can you believe that!
Let’s cross our fingers on the second one.

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18. September 2008 by admin.

Last week we were threatened by the lender, telling us we should have a check by Monday at the latest (6 months later). Well it’s Thursday and we still have no check.

I could go on and on, oh yeah I already have. It is incredible. This is the same lender that sent out their appraiser and would not honor their own appraisers figures. What? If a contractor does something like this they are sued, if a financial institution does it…you’re screwed. See articles”
Appraisal system broken
Or how about my favorite article from CNN
Let’s look at it:
“many on Wall Street and in Washington are pointing fingers and looking for someone to blame.
But in the end, it all comes back to one issue - housing”
There you see, it’s no ones fault, it just housing.

They go on to say:
“None of this would have happened if the housing market had not imploded”
“”The housing correction poses the biggest risk to our economy,” Paulson said the day he announced the Fannie and Freddie seizure”

One more time what we have gone through:
Lender sends out their appraiser
They tell us they will not honor that appraisal
They say that it must be 13% under the appraisal
We either start this whole process over or go with it
The problem with starting over is losing the buyers
So, who caused the price of the house to drop?
The seller, the buyer, the appraiser, the house? The lender. Hmmmmmm

Plunging house prices are such a disaster and they are running around looking for the culprit.
The lender artificially caused the price of the house to drop.
Does anyone care.

Maybe the house will fund this week, after all, it’s just housing.

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4. September 2008 by admin.

It is September 4, 2008. Have either of the houses funded? What do you think? No, of course not. Keep in mind the lenders are not saying that no one qualifies, or it can not be done, they are just dragging out the process.

Let’s look at 1035 11th street. The process started way back in the spring. The goal was for a May 31st sale. We buy it, fix it up, start the loan process early so the sale could be final May 31st. It is now 6 months total. 3 months since the May 31st sale goal. My best guess is that it will fund in the next two weeks. BUT…what is going on? Could you imagine buying a car this way, yes that is the car and we will have the loan money for you in 6 months. What do you think that would do to the automobile industry? Yes you are correct, it would kill it. So, what do you think this is doing to the housing industry, yes your are correct again, it would kill it and is killing it.

Are buyers creating this? No.
Are sellers creating this? No.
Is the house creating this? No.
Are lenders creating this? Yes.
As we go forward and try to “fix” the housing situation via government intervention, who is actively working and lobbying the government with fixes?
The buyers? No.
The sellers? No.
The houses? No.
The lenders? Yes!
Yes, that’s correct, the inmates are running the asylum.

So housing prices continue to fall here in Southern California. Still buyers can not come up with loans to purchase the property or endure the 6 month seesaw ride. Again, keep in mind, they qualify for the loan! It is not a “bad” loan.

Bad loans. My favorite new term. What is a bad loan? Did it get a life of it’s own and then was approached by Darth Vader and turned to the dark side? People are out there looking for loans, who is in charge of matching them up with the proper loan?
The buyers? No.
The sellers? No.
The house? No.
The lenders? Yes. Hmmmm.

If a contractor builds you a home and it falls apart in two years, who is responsible? Correct, the contractor. The contractor is in the home building business. You are not. The contractor has the license and knowledge to build a home that will stand the test of time, you do not. It is the contractors responsibility to build it correctly. 2×3’s can’t be used where 2×6’s are required and it is not the home owners responsibility to know that.
If the lender builds you a loan and it is not the proper loan for you, it’s your responsibility to know that. Yes I know the lender is in the loan business and has the license to go with the knowledge to prove it, but it is not their responsibility to see that the loan is “built” correctly for you to stand the test of time. If houses were built the same way mortgages were built I think we would have a lot of contractors out of business for legal reasons. So now what, I know let’s drag our feet on all the loans right now and try not make to many loans to try and over correct what we have done.

Who is now buying these homes at these new lower prices? Cash buyers. People who have cash and will then rent the home. Now that in itself is not bad but the first time or lower end homeowners are few and far between. It depresses the market (on purpose?) and creates mini Pottervilles. What? Potterville? Don’t tell me you have never watched the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”? Well someone has to play George Baily and I guess it’s us!!!

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19. August 2008 by admin.

Last Friday we were told. One house we were at the 99% point. What does that mean?

And the other…We had to “fix” what the inspector pointed out. All we need to do is supply a written statement from a licensed contractor and we are good to go. OF COURSE Monday came and that was not the case. Monday they said we had to have the inspector back out to verify. What if we constantly miss lead the public. We would probably be in jail. But the lenders can just say anything they want. So…the inspector will be out on Wednesday.

The question is. Will that be the last thing required to release funds? They say yes, I say no. I say they will come up with something else, and keep in mind they are saying no. What do you think?

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4. August 2008 by admin.

So here is the deal on the property. The piece of property in question is on the other side. The original property had 50′ of road frontage, sometime between 1940 and today an additional 25′ was purchased for a total of 75′ of frontage. It was on the complete opposite side that we thought. It does make sense that it was added. Now we should do a rough measurement to see where we really stand.

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