1. What are the experts recommending?
In the last 120 days, many experts have said that buying now makes sense. This list includes: John Talbott, Christopher Thornberg and Warren Buffett.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?
This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2016. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to remain relatively flat in 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2016.
Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: you want to buy low and sell high. This decision should not only be a financial one however.
That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?
This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason you decide to purchase or not.
Bottom Line

Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

It’s not as implausible as you might think. Popular Science reported in 2010 on IBM’s work developing digital billboards that display individualized ads. They pick up data from radio-frequency identification chips embedded in your credit cards or cell phone to retrieve details about you and your spending habits and serve up an advertisement just for you. Is it so odd to think that it could plug your name into that? Or measure changes in your body chemistry to figure out that you’re slightly dehydrated and could use something cold and refreshing right about now?

What would that kind of individualized marketing do for real estate listings? How would it change multiple listing systems? It could deliver information on houses that are on the market to people at precisely the right moment in their buying cycle. Maybe the system would peek into their bank balances and tap their credit score, changing the listings according to what they could afford to buy.

Privacy concerns notwithstanding, imagine the marketing possibilities.
Without question, we live and work in an age of extraordinary innovation. Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace. Who would have imagined 20 years ago that that staple of the real estate listing, the film camera, would become obsolete? Just try to buy a roll of film today—or get it processed. You’ll be running all over town before you find a lab that knows what to do with it.

For that matter, digital photography has changed dramatically since it was introduced. The first professional-level digital cameras in the 1990s shot images at 1.3 megapixels. Today, those $15,000 cameras are paperweights—and you can take better pictures with your phone. (Can you imagine how people would have looked at you in 1991 when Kodak marketed the first digital camera if you had told them phones would have cameras in them?) The commercial for Best Buy about gadgets being out of date before they’re even out of the box is funny because it’s patently true.

We can’t imagine what the world of real estate will look like in 20 or 30 years. But we thought it would be fun to try. So we’ve delved into the very serious world of cutting-edge research. We scratched the surface on what the massively smart people of the world are working on, spent a lot of time deciphering what the hell they were talking about, and applied it to the staple activities of the typical real estate practitioner. Come with us on a journey (cue the “Star Trek” theme song) where no one has gone before.

Robots and artificial intelligence
Humans have been fascinated for decades with the notion of building machines to perform the rote tasks we’d rather not do. Where it gets interesting is in the area of artificial intelligence—machines that learn and assimilate human behavior. It’s been a staple of film and TV, from Rosie the robot maid in “The Jetsons” to that really sad android played by Robin Williams in “Bicentennial Man.”

The Personal Robotics Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been working for years to create “highly expressive humanoids,” including a social robot called Leonardo and a robotic real estate agent named Rea who exists in a virtual world where people can ask questions about buying property. The group is focused on developing robots with social intelligence that interact with humans, work with them as peers, and learn from them.

One of the major obstacles in making robots appear human has been the fluidity of their movements. Humans see their environment and move through it intuitively. It takes incredibly complicated systems just to get robots to pick things up without knocking anything over in the process—until now. This year, researchers in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems made a breakthrough in robotic movement. This is considered a crucial step if robots are going to interact with people.

What’s the future application for real estate? Consider one activity that many agents dread—sitting in an empty house on the weekend hoping that someone will come look at it. How awesome would it be to have a robot agent to sit through open houses? First, the robot could go through the house and clean up. Equipped with extendable arms, it could replace burned-out lightbulbs in the can lights in cathedral ceilings and clean off the inch of dust that’s invariably on the blades of ceiling fans. Then it could put out all the open house signs—and maybe have a standard helium cartridge for blowing up balloons. It could do visual scans of the prospective buyers and read the RFID chips in their credit cards and cell phones to build prospect lists and perform follow-up calls. At the end of the day, it then would dutifully go pick up all the open house signs. It also would not complain about having to work Saturdays or Sundays when the weather is gorgeous. Hmmm, maybe the humans could learn something from the robots. On a more serious note, it could address the safety issue of agents being robbed or assaulted while sitting at open houses by themselves (though another solution would be needed to keep the home’s possessions secure).

Holograms
If there’s a movie scene that even the most casual “Star Wars” fan can recall, it’s the moment when R2D2 plays his message from Princess Leia. “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re our only hope.” The hologram is riveting—it brings the message to life and puts the recipient in the midst of the sender’s reality. Plus, it’s three-dimensional. No wonder Luke Skywalker was furious when R2-D2 shut it down.
Then, of course, there’s the holodeck of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fame—a way to immerse yourself in another reality. You could go to another place without really being there and experience it in safety. It was perfect for Star Fleet training exercises. The Klingons could kick students’ butts, and they could just rewind the program and play it again until they learned all the right moves to come out on top.

Both of these sci-fi technologies have real-world counterparts. The initial versions of holograms were underwhelming at best, shimmery images that seemed to move inside a picture. Today, the technology has advanced to a point where the images appear startlingly lifelike and three-dimensional without the use of any special glasses. Plus, the images can be seen by several people at the same time from different angles. The video camera systems used to create the images make it possible to interact with someone who isn’t there.

The applications for advertising are significant. In England, a department store recently had a display that appeared to feature a popular girl band singing in its window. Fiat 500 used it to create a life-sized car configurator at a launch event for prospective customers.

The holodeck is, to say the least, more complicated. At present, the closest that researchers have come is a concept called the CAVE. It’s a theater that sits in a larger room. The walls of the CAVE are rear-projection screens and the floor is a down-projection screen. Using special glasses, users walk around the room to see and hear 3-D graphics from all sides.
The future use in real estate for both of these technologies could be phenomenal. With holodecks, agents could get training on presenting model homes before the models are ever built. For that matter, models wouldn’t have to be built at all, saving builders tremendous amounts of money—and allowing them to tweak floor plans to eliminate features that buyers didn’t like and add others that appealed to them. There would be no need to send relocation buyers on home scouting trips. They could “see” prospective homes, walk through a virtual representation of them, and see the views from each of the rooms—in every season.
Combine that with holograms of their own furniture and they could see how their belongings would fit into the spaces.  Listing a vacant home and concerned about security? What if you could use holograms to simulate people moving inside the houses—reducing the risk of burglaries, vandalism, and squatters?

Space exploration
If you thought the country’s manned space exploration had come to a close, think again. Spaceport America, located in the New Mexico desert near the White Sands Missile Range, is the world’s first private commercial spaceport. In development for two decades and operated by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, it is a hub for such forward-thinking companies as Virgin Galactic, a company within Richard Branson’s Virgin Group that hopes to offer space travel someday to the public.

If there is space travel, there will be space vacations. As with every vacation destination, there will be vacation homes. Talk about a house with a view.
Time travel. Yes, you read that right.
A recent Reuters news article had this intriguing headline:“ ‘Faster than light’ particles threaten Einstein.”
Some concepts in science are considered immutable, including Albert Einstein’s 1905 theory of special relativity that said the speed of light is a cosmic constant and nothing could go faster. It’s a cornerstone of scientific views of the universe. Or so scientists thought.

Recently, an international group of physicists working at the CERN particle research center near Geneva announced a discovery that has been met by astonishment and skepticism by the scientific community. They spent three years measuring neutrino particles. Neutrinos are elemental particles that are exciting to physicists but few others. What is important to know is that they were believed to travel at a speed near the speed of light. Now, it appears that they actually travel faster than the speed of light, something that was thought to be impossible.
The news was so big that none other than Stephen Hawking, the world’s most famous physicist, was quoted in the Reuters article. He was skeptical, but that’s a scientist for you. Many other scientists will now spend a great deal of time trying to confirm or deny the results.
Why is this important to real estate? Because if the results are confirmed, it would be possible—in theory—to send information into the past.  Yes,  time travel, baby.
Imagine it. You’d never have another offer rejected because someone else beat you to it. You could sleep in late and still get your listing submitted to the MLS by 8 a.m. If a home inspector found something wrong with a house that screwed up the deal, you could go back in time and fix it before the inspector got there. It could be like the movie “Groundhog Day.”
You could just keep going back and refining your closes until you worked out ways to overcome every buyer’s objections. Closing ratios would go through the roof. You could go back and stop your clients from buying a house full of furniture three weeks before closing. You could keep your sellers from signing a contract to have their house featured on “Ghost Hunters.” The possibilities are limitless.

Let’s hope the physicists testing the results get all the research dollars they need. Because if there’s one thing real estate salespeople need more than listings in great locations, reasonable clients, and a fluid mortgage market, it’s extra time—and maybe an occasional Guinness.

Cover Drafty Windows

• Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames during the cold winter months. Make sure the plastic is sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.
• Install tight-fitting, insulating drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty after weatherizing.
• Find out about other window treatments and coverings that can improve energy efficiency.

Take Advantage of Heat from the Sun

• Open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows

Adjust the Temperature

• When you are home and awake, set your thermostat as low as is comfortable.
• When you are asleep or out of the house, turn your thermostat back 10°–15° for eight hours and save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills. A programmable thermostat can make it easy to set back your temperature.
• Find out how to operate your thermostat for maximum energy savings.
• Also see ENERGY STAR’s June 5, 2008, podcast for video instructions on operating your programmable thermostat.

Find and Seal Leaks

• Seal the air leaks around utility cut-throughs for pipes (“plumbing penetrations”), gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets.
• Find out how to detect air leaks.
• Learn more about air sealing new and existing homes.
• Add caulk or weatherstripping to seal air leaks around leaky doors and windows.
• Find how to select and apply the appropriate caulk.
• Learn how to select and apply weatherstripping.

Maintain Your Heating Systems
Schedule service for your heating system.
Find out what maintenance is required to keep your heating system operating efficiently.
Furnaces: Replace your furnace filter once a month or as needed.
Find out more about maintaining your furnace or boiler.
Wood- and Pellet-Burning Heaters: Clean the flue vent regularly and clean the inside of the appliance with a wire brush periodically to ensure that your home is heated efficiently.
Find other maintenance recommendations for wood- and pellet-burning appliances.

Reduce Heat Loss from the Fireplace

• Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. Keeping the damper open is like keeping a window wide open during the winter; it allows warm air to go right up the chimney.
• When you use the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of the firebox (if provided) or open the nearest window slightly—approximately 1 inch—and close doors leading into the room. Lower the thermostat setting to between 50° and 55°F.
• If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue.
• If you do use the fireplace, install tempered glass doors and a heat-air exchange system that blows warmed air back into the room.
• Check the seal on the fireplace flue damper and make it as snug as possible.
• Purchase grates made of C-shaped metal tubes to draw cool room air into the fireplace and circulate warm air back into the room.
• Add caulking around the fireplace hearth.
• Find out more techniques to improve your fireplace or wood-burning appliance’s efficiency.
  Learn tips for safe and efficient fireplace installation and wood burning.

Lower Your Water Heating Costs

• Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home.
• Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). You’ll not only save energy, you’ll avoid scalding your hands.
• Find other strategies for energy-efficient water heating.

Lower Your Holiday Lighting Costs

• Use light-emitting diode—or “LED”—holiday light strings to reduce the cost of decorating your home for the winter holidays.
• Learn about the advantages and potential cost savings of LED holiday light strings.
• Find manufacturers and brands of ENERGY STAR®-qualified decorative light strings

Are you anticipating a move? Are you planning to sell your house? Prepare to redecorate. And for good reasons.

Decorating changes you make to prepare your house for the real estate market can hasten its sale, increase the financial return and give you a head start on moving preparations.

A move means you face decorating adjustments in your present home as well as planning the personal décor for your new home. But decorating and accessorizing principles applied to market a house or condo differ from those applied when simply living in that same space.

In your present home, you need to depersonalize the décor and remove the stamp of your personal style. Instead of layering for warmth, a minimalist approach is recommended, which you’ll see in many model homes.

So gather your creative energy and decorating talents, shift into high gear and steer toward the goal of broadening the appeal of the home you are selling before you focus on your new residence.

 Broaden the Appeal of Your Home

Of course, you want the showings of your property to be positive. How can you make that happen? Well, start by assisting potential buyers in picturing themselves owning and living in your house. Remove your family pictures, trophies, monogrammed articles and signs at the door with your name on it. These accessories all convey that you live here. The buyers need to see the house as a home for them.

Buyers also need your help to visualize the intended use for the rooms they are viewing. If your dining room is currently being used as an office, it’s time to turn it back to its intended use. Yes, home offices are a positive feature, but it is better to situate it in a smaller bedroom rather than offer a home with no dining room. This principle applies to all rooms that are currently being used in ways contrary to a standard floor plan.

Get Rid of Clutter

The next step is to reduce visual distractions. Collections of figurines, dolls, ducks and personal clutter may make you more comfortable living in your home, but they divert the buyer’s attention from where you really want it to be.

Adopt that minimalist style and start your packing process. This will encourage the buyers to focus on the positive features of the home rather than your possessions.

How do you bring attention to those positive features? Effective furniture placement is the simplest way. For example, to showcase your fireplace, the preferred arrangement would have your sofa and chairs flanking the sides of the fireplace rather than facing it directly. This will create a direct line of vision to this attractive element.

Next, open your fireplace screen and place greenery in the firebox to add depth and appeal. Creatively placed artwork can also enhance a focal point. Also, try positioning your plants and greenery near windows as it will help draw the outside in and visually enlarge the room. Use placement to show off all the dominant focal points. Remember to open your window treatments to allow maximum light as well as feature attractive views.

Knock! Knock! Who’s There?

Your front door is the most important place “in” your house. Buyers pause there the longest and gather clues as to what to expect inside. Entice them! Add healthy plants with bright color. Add a welcome mat that is new and fresh. Place a lovely, seasonal ornament on the door (which you have cleaned to a shine or applied fresh paint).

Do you have a porch? Add an inviting chair. First impressions count and this is an important spot that must be remembered and receive your best decorative touches.

The Most Bang for Your Decorating Buck

In many cases, investing a little decorating money when marketing a home is recommended. The best place to start is to freshen the paint on your walls. The impact on prospective buyers can be amazing. Choose a neutral paint color of ivory, beige or light taupe. Millwork and trim, if painted, should be a lighter shade to show some contrast.

Is your carpeting showing soil and wear? Sometimes professional cleaning and restoration will make a sufficient difference. However, does your rug color have broad appeal or does it make a strong personal statement? Consider installing new carpet. It is normally very cost effective.

Again, the color should be a neutral one that is in the same family as the wall paint. Coordinate color choices with any permanent surfaces in the home, such as tile floors or counter tops. If you are lucky enough to find hardwood floors under the carpet, restore them rather than recarpet. Hardwood floors definitely increase the value of the home.

If this whole process seems daunting, you can always reduce your anxiety and stress by hiring a professional like me to assist you.  Relax…I’ll handle the details!

Have a plan for reviewing purchase offers so you don’t let the best slip through your fingers.

1. Understand the process

All offers are negotiable, as your agent will tell you. When you receive an offer, you can accept it, reject it, or respond by asking that terms be modified, which is called making a counteroffer.

2. Set baselines

Decide in advance what terms are most important to you. For instance, if price is most important, you may need to be flexible on your closing date. Or if you want certainty that the transaction won’t fall apart because the buyer can’t get a mortgage, require a prequalified or cash buyer.

3. Create an offer review process

If you think your home will receive multiple offers, work with your agent to establish a time frame during which buyers must submit offers. That gives your agent time to market your home to as many potential buyers as possible, and you time to review all the offers you receive.

4. Don’t take offers personally

Selling your home can be emotional. But it’s simply a business transaction, and you should treat it that way. If your agent tells you a buyer complained that your kitchen is horribly outdated, justifying a lowball offer, don’t be offended. Consider it a sign the buyer is interested and understand that those comments are a negotiating tactic. Negotiate in kind.

5. Review every term

Carefully evaluate all the terms of each offer. Price is important, but so are other terms. Is the buyer asking for property or fixtures—such as appliances, furniture, or window treatments—to be included in the sale that you plan to take with you?

Is the amount of earnest money the buyer proposes to deposit toward the downpayment sufficient? The lower the earnest money, the less painful it will be for the buyer to forfeit those funds by walking away from the purchase if problems arise.

Have the buyers attached a prequalification or pre-approval letter, which means they’ve already been approved for financing? Or does the offer include a financing or other contingency? If so, the buyers can walk away from the deal if they can’t get a mortgage, and they’ll take their earnest money back, too. Are you comfortable with that uncertainty?

Is the buyer asking you to make concessions, like covering some closing costs? Are you willing, and can you afford to do that? Does the buyer’s proposed closing date mesh with your timeline?

With each factor, ask yourself: Is this a deal breaker, or can I compromise to achieve my ultimate goal of closing the sale?

6. Be creative

If you’ve received an unacceptable offer through your agent, ask questions to determine what’s most important to the buyer and see if you can meet that need. You may learn the buyer has to move quickly. That may allow you to stand firm on price but offer to close quickly. The key to successfully negotiating the sale is to remain flexible.

2. Who should I call to fix that? I You may get “just go to Home Depot and buy ______ for $35″ or “call a plumber”. And even on the larger repairs, your home inspector might be able to give you a few referrals to the plumbers, electricians or roofers you’ll need to get bids from during your contingency period.  And same goes for any further inspections they recommend – if neither you nor your agent knows a specialist, ask the general home inspector for a few referrals.

3. If this was your house, what would you fix, and when? Your home inspector’s job is to point out everything, within the scope of the inspection, that might need repair, replacement, maintenance or furthe inspection – or seems like it might be on it’s last leg. But they also tend to be experienced enough with homes to know that no home is perfect.  The inspector may describe an item as “at the end of its serviceable lifetime” and then say, “I wouldn’t do a thing to it. Just know that it could break in the next 5 months, or in the next 5 years.

4. Can you point that out to me?  At the end of the inspection, while you’re all still in the property, just ask the inspector to take 10 or 15 minutes and walk you through the place, pointing out all the items they’ve noted need repair, maintenance or further inspection. When you get the report, then, you’ll know what and where the various items belong.

5. Can you show me how to work that? Many home inspectors are delighted to show you how to operate various mechanical or other systems in your home, and will walk you through the steps of operating everything from your thermostat, to your water heater, to your stove and dishwasher – and especially the emergency shut-offs for your gas, water and electrical utilities. This one single item is such a time and stress saver it alone is worth the lost income of missing a day of work to attend your inspections.

SAN DIEGUITO HERITAGE MUSEUM
450 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 632-9711 • Fax (760) 632-5695 • sdheritage@sbcglobal.net

The annual San Dieguito Heritage Museum BBQ and Concert will take place on Saturday, May 21,2011, celebrating local heritage.

The 23rd annual BBQ has become a community tradition as friends and families enjoy visiting and tasting great food. Brett’s BBQ will serve their delicious food.

The BBQ event starts at noon and food will be served until 2:30 p.m. During the event, the museum and exhibits will be open for visitors to browse through. There will be kid’s activities, a silent auction, a $100 cash drawing and a bake sale. Several vehicles will be on display, including a 1957 Del Mar Fire Department fire engine, a stagecoach, a 1917 Model T Ford and other unique cars.

Tickets are $25.00 for adults ($30.00 at the door); $20.00 for teens (13-17), $10.00 for children (5-12), under 5 is free with an adult.

On Saturday night, a live Country, Bluegrass and Blues concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. The concert performers are Carl Verheyen and Steve Trovato. Both are critically acclaimed musicians. Carl has been a member of the rock group Supertramp since 1985. He has played on movie soundtracks and at the Academy Awards broadcast. Carl and Steve teach at USC. The concert will be held outside, under a tent. Drinks, including wine and beer, will be available. Tickets are $15 online before the event. $20 at the door.

Both events will be held at the Museum, 450 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas CA. Tickets for the events are available at the museum or on the museum website, www.sdheritage.org. For more information call the museum office at 760-632-9711.

The Annual San Dieguito Heritage Museum BBQ and Concert is an event not to be missed.  Make plans now.  I am sure you will see many of your Sea Coast friends at this fun gathering.

La Costa Valley homes offer a unique living experience. Prices range from $675,000 to just over $1,000,000. Many have beautiful Architecture with vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, swimming pools and gourmet kitchens. Another great thing is LOW HOA FEES! If your are in the market for a La Costa Valley, I’m holding this lovely 5 Bedroom, 5 bathroom home located at  2205 Vista La Nisa Rd, Carlsbad, CA, 92009 this Sunday from 1-4 pm. Built in 1999 and boasting 3356 square feet, this highly upgraded home has ceramic tile & tropical Hardwood flooring, Abundance of glass & vaulted ceilings, Cooks delight kitchen granite counters, Thermador double oven & cook top, Bosch dishwasher, Family entertainment, Seperate nook center, surround sound & custom tile. Fire Place, Formal dining & living room  Gigantic landing upstairs ideal for media center or study large master bedroom with 2 mirrored wardrobes, Master bath shower & jacuzzi type tub. One  Bedroom with full attached bath downstairs. Professionally landscaped front & rear with Kidney shaped grey bottom pool & spa. The owners have already moved into their new home! Their motivation to sell is stated in the listing price!
If your looking for your dream La Costa Valley home, come by Sunday or contact me for a private viewing.