As we’ve mentioned many times in our blog, when you’re trying to sell a house, whether it’s property in Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells real estate, a beach cottage or one of the highly desirable equestrian homes in Southern California, curb appeal is key to attracting potential buyers and getting them to get out of their cars to take good long look.
Great landscaping can seriously enhance the style of your home and boost curb appeal tenfold. “Great” doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive either. As long as it’s well-planned, intriguing and cohesive with the exterior of your home, you’ll be in great shape.
Pick a theme. Whatever you do, don’t try to combine more than one theme. Pick one and stick with it. If you’re working with Indian Wells real estate or property in Rancho Mirage, you may want to go with a desert or southwestern theme—just don’t try to mesh tropical with desert or a surf theme with Japanese garden.
Refresh planters. Get rid of weeds, prune everything so it looks neat, and plant seasonal flowers. You should also refresh mulch to replenish the color that is faded by sunlight. If you have a flower bed that has borders, make sure to clean the borders and replace anything that is damaged.
Install window boxes. Window boxes are an excellent way to add some charm to the exterior of your house. Plant flowers and plants that mesh well with your overall color scheme.
Add some artwork. Incorporate some pieces that are immune to the elements—in other words, items that don’t require a green touch. Wind chimes, fountains, birdbaths and sculptures are all good examples of pieces that you can use to complement your color scheme and exterior design. If you choose to have a fountain, which can add a very calming element to your garden or lawn, make sure to place them on ground level where they can be seen and heard, and avoid having them close to a tree, so that leaves aren’t dropping into it.
Click here to browse listings of equestrian homes, property in Rancho Mirage, and Indian Wells real estate.
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If you’re not a U.S. native and are considering an international real estate transaction, then it’s very likely you’ve been considering real estate and homes for sale in areas such as Palm Desert, Indian Wells or La Quinta. This makes sense, as the cities in Palm Springs Valley boast a broad range of amenities that culminate in a lifestyle that feels like a permanent vacation.
In this post, we’re going to focus on lovely Palm Desert. In addition to the myriad golf tournaments and athletic events that take place here, there are plenty recreational activities, from relaxing poolside, wine tasting or shopping to hiking, cycling or horseback riding. Here are just a few things to do, that you can even squeeze in during a break from browsing homes for sale in Palm Desert.
Take in some art while you shop. Head to the uber chic el Paseo shopping district on the first Thursday of each month to scope out some of the exquisite art showcased in the dozens of unique galleries.
Hit a food festival. Whether you’re a foodie, culinary aficionado or novice, you’ll love dining al fresco under the palms or attending a festival such as the Food and Wine Festival Palm Desert. There are a ton of excellent cafes and fine dining options to choose from any day of the week, and plenty of opportunities to taste wine from some of the stellar California wineries, some of which are very close to Palm Springs Valley.
Get pampered. Feeling stressed from trying to navigate your international real estate transaction? Palm Desert offers the chance to revitalize your mind and body at one of its many upscale spas. Luxuriate for the day or a more extended period of time at the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Shadow Mountain Resort & Club or one of the other options in close proximity.
Take in some architecture. There are a multitude of mid-century modern homes and exquisite public buildings designed by famed architects including William Krisel, Albert Frey and Walter White.
Play outdoors. Palm Desert is nestled in the beautiful foothills of our gorgeous mountain ranges and is just a short drive away from world-famous Joshua Tree National Park, which has a wide array of picturesque hiking trails. Palm Desert is also home to several beautiful, impeccably maintained parks and the remarkable Palm Desert Aquatic Center.
Click here if you’re ready to take a look at some real estate and homes for sale in Palm Desert.
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There’s more to this weekend than Stagecoach, amazing as that music festival is. This Saturday, April 27, marks a favorite event of owners of real estate properties in Palm Desert—the Art Party Palm Desert. The event, which takes place from 11 am – 4 pm, offers everyone a chance to be an artist and to experience some unforgettable performances. Sponsored by Newman’s Own Foundation, the event will take place at the Palm Springs Art Museum—a must see for those considering Palm Springs homes for sale.
The Art Party Palm Desert will inspire art lovers in several ways—not only by what can be seen at this original art event, but in the ways that attendees can participate. Whether you watch professional artists demonstrate their craft, witness live performances in the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden or play with new media while making your own original masterpieces in the Annette Bloch Education Wing, you’ll enjoy the experience on many levels. And when you see how vibrant the desert art communities are, you may quickly find yourself browsing real estate properties in Palm Desert and the surrounding cities.
Here is the schedule for Saturday:
11 am -2 pm
Screen Printing Demonstration
Watch local artists demonstrate screen printing on t-shirts. Combine a design and color of choice for a unique piece of art you can wear. The first 100 visitors to Art Party get a free t-shirt.
11 am – 3 pm
Clay Sculpture
Time to get your hands dirty! Use potters’ tools and your own hands to shape unique clay pieces.
11 am – 3 pm
Book Art
Make your own sketchbook. Then use your sketchbook to have fun drawing in the gallery and garden.
12 -1 pm
Artful Tales
Kids of all ages meet in the garden pavilion and listen to a special guest read stories out loud.
All day long
Play With Words
Discover how funny art can be! Using different colored crayons and papers, rub over the textured words on the wall to reveal a humorous joke.
All day long
Passport Portrait
Pick up your summer passport and get ready for a season of fun and art. Personalize your passport by creating a self portrait on the inside.
All day long
Magnetic Messages
Be inspired by the exhibition Beg Borrow and Steal and transform an everyday image by adding your own twist. Using magnetic text and icons, create your larger-than-life work on the wall and then photograph it to keep forever.
3 pm
Live Performance
Enjoy musical selections performed by members of the Coachella Valley Symphony and the Buddy Rogers Youth Symphony
Click here to learn more about the desert communities and browse Palm Springs homes for sale.
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If you live abroad and are considering an international real estate transaction in the Palm Springs Valley, it’s good to learn about the myriad benefits you may be able to reap. While there are many intricacies that are virtually impossible to cover in a short blog post, we can share an overview of some of the advantages we’ve seen our clients experience. Whether you live on another continent and are interested in Palm Springs properties,Rancho Mirage real estate or a beach condo in La Jolla or Malibu, it’s essential to do your research and perform due diligence before making a decision.
Purchasing international real estate is an excellent way to maximize your portfolio. It can actually be ideal for managing and minimizing risk, especially if you already own real estate in your home country. Depending on where you live, international investments can expose your portfolio to assets with lower correlations to your current economy, while also enabling you to take advantage of the tax benefits that the U.S. government offers to foreign investors. In addition, physical assets such as real estate can provide a level of protection against inflation.
For some European and Asian countries, maintaining real estate investments can be too costly. If your resident country falls into that category, it may be cheaper to invest in Palm Springs properties or Rancho Mirage real estate. In addition, there may be much less opportunity in other markets, while the U.S. real estate market appears to be on the rise, and continues to have a positive outlook.
While there are a multitude of investment opportunities in general, one of the safest you can make is in real properties. The stock market can be volatile and is difficult to predict, while real sate investments tend to be more stable in comparison, and the potential for growth in value over the years is substantial.
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This weekend, April 26-28, the famous Stagecoach Festival will take place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. This outdoor country music festival features a wide range of artists, from mainstream to relatively unknown musicians, in genres including mainstream country, alternative country, folk, bluegrass and roots rock. This amazing event is a favorite of those who own homes in Indio and other parts of Palm Springs, as well as all California residents and country music lovers from all over the United States.
The first ever Stagecoach took place in 2007. While it’s held at the same venue as Coachella and also put on by Goldenvoice, this festival has grown faster, with 55,000 attendees in 2012, resulting in a sold out crowd. Past performers include Grammy-award winning acts and standout performances including Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Brooks and Dunn, Sugarland, The Charlie Daniels Band, Rascal Flatts, Luke Bryan,Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, George Strait and legends like Alabama, the Eagles and Willie Nelson, among others. You can see why lucky owners of real estate in Palm Desert, La Quinta and other nearby desert cities look forward to this amazing event each year.
This year’s Stagecoach lineup includes a wide array of popular musicians including Lady Antebellum, Nick 13, Maggie Rose, Lonestar, Darius Rucker, Don Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Jeff Bridges & The Abiders, Haunted Windchimes, Charley Pride, Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Waddie Mitchell, the Honkytonk Angels Band and the Zac Brown Brand, among others.
In addition to all the great musical acts that will perform at Stagecoach, there is a slate of fun activities, including family friendly things to do. Attendees can check out the famous Clydesdale Horses, sing Karaoke and take in the breathtaking views of the Coachella Valley from the Ferris Wheel. The Half-Pint Hootenanny includes rawhide games, crafts, jewelry making, music and dancing for children.
This amazing music festival is a perfect example of how diverse the culture and activities are in Palm Springs Valley. If this inspires you to check out listings of homes in Indio or real estate in Palm Desert, La Quinta or any of the other desert cities, click here.
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Guest post from Shane Parker of MortgageFit
Are you in the market to take out a home mortgage loan? Are you aware of the number of calculations that you have to make before taking the plunge into mortgage bandwagon? With the low rates in the mortgage market, there are too many homeowners who are either trying to refinance their mortgage loans or the prospective homebuyers who are looking for ways to take out mortgage loans within their means. A mortgage loan is a secured loan that requires your home as collateral and the agreement will say that the lender will foreclose your home in the event of default. In order to reduce the risk of the mortgage lender, they try to keep a valuable property (often your home) as collateral so that they can repossess it and recuperate the money by selling off the property. For more information on loan mortgage calculator, please click here.
When you’re about to take out a home mortgage loan, you have to make various calculations and for that you need to use the loan mortgage calculator efficiently. There are different types of mortgage calculators that you can use when you’re in the market to take out such a loan. If you’re not aware of the different calculators, here are some that you might try considering.
- Mortgage rate comparison calculator: Testing your shopping skills is immensely important when you take out a home mortgage loan as its sheer foolishness when you choose the first mortgage rate that you come across. You just have to compare and contrast the different mortgage rates from the lenders so that you can choose the one that offers you the best rates and the closing costs on the loans. This is even possible through the mortgage rate comparison calculator as you can save your time and money in getting multiple quotes from the lenders.
- Mortgage affordability calculator: Apart from checking the rates, there is another factor that you need to check before taking out a home mortgage loan and that is your mortgage affordability. Taking out the wrong mortgage loan that is not within your affordability will cause much distress in the long run as you might not be able to manage your monthly payments later on. Therefore, choose to take out a home loan within your affordability by checking it through this calculator.
- Mortgage monthly payment calculator: The mortgage monthly payment calculator is another one that can help you calculate your monthly payments. When you’re making timely repayments on the home mortgage loan, you might be eager to know the monthly payments that you have to make in a particular month. Use this mortgage monthly payment calculator in order to determine the payments that you need to make in a month.
- Mortgage amortization calculator: You might also need to use a mortgage amortization calculator through which you may know the term throughout which you can repay the loan with the principal balance and the interest rates. You just have to enter the rates that you’re paying and the principal balance that you’ve borrowed in order to get the desired result.
Therefore, if you’re in the market to take out a home mortgage loan, don’t forget using the mortgage calculators mentioned above. You can download them from authentic websites as they can help you with the accurate results.
For more info, visit Homebuilder-guide.com.
image: thefreemortgagecalculator.com
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OPEN HOUSE today, April 20 from 12-3 pm!
Today, Saturday, April 20 from 12-3 pm at 40389 Calle Estela. This home is offered for $575,000 and offers one of the premier locations at Sun City, Shadow Hills in Indio, CA. Amazing Western mountain views over a double fairway PLUS the driving range. The views are stellar, but the privacy is a true surprise in this 55+ community for active adults.
No neighbors close enough to bug you, and the peace, serenity and quiet are why a buyer would choose this particular location. Calle Estela is one of the premier streets in Sun City, Shadow Hills and it’s easy to see why. Come on out to our Open House and see for yourself!
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The Living Desert
For those passing on part two of the famed Coachella music and arts festival, there are still several ways to celebrate the weekend and Earth Day Palm Springs style. Whether you’re a music fan, nature lover or hot rod aficionado, you can find something fun to do or a stunning place to relax in the desert. When those interested in homes for sale in Indian Wells or real estate in Palm Desert or Rancho Mirage come to look at properties, they end up staying much longer to take advantage of the incredible array of recreational activities and options for relaxation.
On Friday, April 19, El Paseo Cruise Night will take place from 4-6:30 pm. Local car enthusiasts Jerry Martin and Judy Lockwood recently started this cool recurring night drive of classic cars and hot rods. Also on Friday, the fun and electric dance, disco and 70s band, Grooveline, will perform at the Morongo Casino. The show starts at 10:30 pm.
On April 20, The Living Desert will host an Earth Day celebration with a daytime festival filled with fun, exciting activities for the entire family to enjoy. Bring a recyclable item to trade for a native plant grown at The Living Desert. The event takes place from 9 to 5 pm. If you’ve been considering homes for sale in Indian Wells, you won’t want to miss this chance to see The Living Desert in its full glory. For more information, contact 760.346.5694.
Also on April 20, EZ 103.1, CBS Radio, KMIR 6 and KPSE My 13 will host Up Close & Personal, which offers a live performance by John Tesh, and an open mic Q&A with Melissa Etheridge and Delilah, the most-listened-to woman in radio, as they speak about their life journeys in the intimate surroundings of The Show At Agua Caliente Casino, Resort & Spa.
Click here to look at listings of real estate in Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage.
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Another weekend of festivities is lined up for Palm Springs Valley—and there is literally something for everyone of every age and every taste. With such a wide range of things to do, it’s no wonder people come visit for a weekend and find themselves on a quest to find property for sale in Palm Springs soon after. We have visitors from all over the world come here to relax for a bit and end up making an international real estate purchase within weeks. Here’s a sampling of this weekend’s slate of activities.
Friday, April 19 marks the first performance of Tony Award- and Drama Desk-winning play TRU at the Annenberg Theater. Written by Jay Presson Allen, TRU is a compelling look inside the mind of Truman Capote, one of America’s most controversial authors. Set in 1975, this devastatingly witty play is adapted from Capote’s words and work, culminating in a truthful portrait of a complex and colorful man. The show will run through April 28, 2013.
This weekend also marks Weekend 2 of Coachella at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. The annual three-day music and arts festival is a favorite among music aficionados. This year’s event features rock, indie, hip hop and electronic musicians ranging from Benny Benassi and New Order to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Wu-Tang Clan. Music lovers from all over the world are inspired by this amazing musical festival—so much so, that some of them end up making those international real estate purchases we mention above.
On Friday, April 19, there will be the Earth Day Bird-a-Thon Century Run Bus Tour in Thousand Palms for nature lovers. It’s the perfect opportunity to glimpse the spectacular desert and mountain scenery and well-known birding and nature hotspots in and around the Coachella Valley. This guided bus tour is a great way to have fun while raising money for conservation. The tour lasts from 7:30 am – 4 pm.
If this weekend’s activities excite you about living in the desert cities, click here to browse listings of property for sale in Palm Springs.
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Living in Palm Springs Valley has its benefits. For some, such as owners of Indio real estate, that may include easy access to Coachella, while for others who opt for more relaxing activities, this may translate as the availability of impeccable golf courses or hiking trails with stunning views. If you’re interested in seeing houses for sale in Palm Springs, then you probably want to check out what some of the cultural amenities of living in this beautiful region entail.
On Tuesday, April 16, the Coachella Valley Symphony will offer the best of three musical worlds with A Symphony of Rockin’ Jazz! Located at the Sun City Palm Desert–Sierra Ballroom, this concert will feature local legends Tom Keenlyside and Steve Madaio, who will perform their unique and exciting jazz versions of the great rock hits from the 60’s with a symphonic background. The show takes place from 7 to 9 pm. For more information, visit CVSymphony.com.
On Thursday, April 18, from 6 to 8 pm, Palm Desert’s chic shopping district will host Night B4 @ The Shops on El Paseo. This cool shopping event kicks off weekend two of Coachella, with top DJs and other entertainment. It’s an excellent way to celebrate one of the world’s top international music festivals.
Also on Thursday, April 18, the University of California, Riverside Palm Desert will host a free screening of Maynard Dixon: Art and Spirit, as part of the Palm Desert Public Art Documentary Film Series. This film documents the artist’s life through interviews with family, friends, and members of the art community. Open to the public, these art-themed documentary films are followed by a guest speaker who discusses and answers questions regarding that night’s film. The event will be held from 6 to 8 pm. While admission is free, reservations are required. For more information, call 760.837.1664.
Click here to browse Indio real estate listings or for houses for sale in other parts of Palm Springs.
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