Rancho Mirage is the location for one of those magical neighborhoods in the valley that has everything going for it . . . and that neighborhood is Magnesia Falls Cove. This eclectic collection of homes with an assortment of architectural styles have Location, Location, Location as their first and foremost attribute, as this neighborhood is situated in the heart of Rancho Mirage within walking distance of The River, Rancho Las Palmas and other nearby shopping centers.
Magnesia Falls Cove is nestled in a beautiful cove, surrounded by spectacular mountain views and popular hiking trails. Located at the top of the cove is Porcupine Ranch, a 240 acre private estate with its very own 18-hole golf course owned by billionaire Larry Ellison.
Also, the Magnesia Falls Cove neighborhood is just minutes away from the Rancho Mirage Library, Eisenhower Medical Center, McCallum Theatre . . . and fabulous El Paseo Shopping District. It is also perfectly situated just off of the major valley commuter route of Highway 111 and is a 20 minute drive away from The Palm Springs International Airport and the I-10 freeway. How is that for a convenient lifestyle?
The homes in idyllic Magnesia Falls Cove are varied, with Mid-Century homes built in the 50s and other styles built until present day – ranging from Contemporary to Mediterranean, to Bungalow to Adobe. Some of the homes sit on oversized lots, some upt to 24,000sf and more. This serene and mystical cove setting surely gives residents the best of both worlds. As The Cove is not a gated community, HOAs are practically nonexistent at a whopping $25 per year.
So, whether you’re an artist looking for serenity and views that inspire . . . or someone looking for one of the most coveted and convenient locations in the whole Coachella Valley, then Magnesia Falls Cove may very well be for you.
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Indian Wells – Colony Cove is a small guard-gated community discreetly tucked off of the south side of Fred Waring Drive, just west of Cook Street and right in the heart of prestigious Indian Wells.
This cozy and quaint neighborhood is made up of only 97 homes built from 1999 to 2001. These homes range in size from 2,000 sf to 2,900 sf, with lot sizes starting at 6,700 sf all the way up to approx. 12,500 sf . . . and offer wide-open floor plans, smooth stucco exteriors in a neutral color pallet and with front courtyards.
Residents who live in Colony Cove love the seclusion and peacefulness the community provides, as well as the convenience of a central location close to shopping, entertainment, spas, schools, hospitals, golf courses and major commuter routes.
Those who live in Colony Cove take pride in their manicured landscaping and beautifully-maintained homes. The homes are all single-family residences and there are no community swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts or recreational areas maintained by the Homeowners’ Association, which helps to keep the dues low.Though this gated community doesn’t offer country club amenities, it does have low and affordable HOAs and is within close proximity to any number of country clubs where golf and tennis is available.
Because of the small size of Colony Cove, the residents are close and tight-knit . . . with informal neighborhood gatherings happening twice a year. And as a resident of Colony Cove, you enjoy all of the privileges of an Indian Wells resident.
If you’re interested in Colony Cove and would like to find out more about properties for sale there, call Kim Kelly with HK Lane Real Estate. She’ll be happy to assist you and answer any questions you may have.
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Front of this meticulously kept home
Palm Desert – Looking for a superior location in Palm Desert, central to all 3 schools, the McCallum, Civic park, PD Aquatic Center, College of the Desert and with privacy and VIEWS??? Then this 3bedroom/2.5 bath home with approx. 2500 sq. ft. located on a cul-de-sac with wide open views and a Southern backyard is for YOU !
This home is so warm and inviting that you won’t want to leave. The custom entry door opens to a great room, then to kitchen and then flows to the outdoors and is bathed in natural light. There is a HUGE kitchen island, stainless appliances & tons of counter and cupboard space.
Lovely backyard patio with pool and spa
A split floorplan with the Master Suite and ENORMOUS walk-in closet is on one side of the house . . . and 2 bedrooms and a bath on the other. The backyard has a covered cook/entertainment area and over-sized sideyards on both sides. The West side features extra parking and the East yard has citrus trees and a small gated dog run. The location will lure you in, but the home itself will capture you!
Don’t miss the OPEN HOUSE this Saturday at 74551 Columbine Drive in Palm Desert from 12 to 3pm. You’ll want to see this incredible buy priced at $425,000. MLS Listing #21459894
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Indian Wells – Desert Horizons Country Club is an ultra exclusive country club in Indian Wells due to its small membership. Its private 18-hole championship golf course is available only to members and hosts no outside tournaments or offers reciprocal arrangements with other golf courses.
Desert Horizons is a traditional equity club committed to providing a superb golf environment with outstanding facilities in an unsurpassed community where relationships matter. The golf course at Desert Horizons was designed by Ted Robinson and is challenging for players of every level. Membership is limited to only 250 members and member tournaments and special golf events are scheduled throughout the year for added enjoyment.
Many amenities are available at Desert Horizons – it offers five night-lit tennis courts, a brand new state-of-the-art fitness center and a variety of social events that are held in its 40,000sf Clubhouse. The Dining Facility there prides itself on offering fabulous cuisine in a serene atmosphere with impeccable service.
Real estate opportunities at Desert Horizons include a wide array of choices, everything from 22 custom Estate homes, 200 single family homes to a choice of 288 “paired” condos. The condos are available in 23 floor plans ranging in size from 2,365 to 3,649sf. Beautiful views of the golf course and the Santa Rosa Mountains make this one of the most popular communities in Indian Wells.
Desert Horizons Country Club is centrally located in the Palm Springs Valley with easy access to the other Desert Cities, Interstate 10 and the Palm Springs International Airport. Palm Desert El Paseo is only a ten minute drive, offering its own version of “Rodeo Drive” with fine dining, upscale shopping, galleries and world class entertainment. To the East is La Quinta and a visit to Old Town La Quinta for its Old World flavor, cafes, boutique shopping, farmers market and more make it well worth the drive.
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Duna La Quinta, located adjacent to the La Quinta Resort and Club, is a gated community which offers luxury single family homes and condo living.
This idyllic community is located just off of 50th Avenue, making it convenient to so many local amenities such as Old Town, hiking & biking in La Quinta Cove and much more.
Owners at Duna La Quinta have access to both the Resort’s Pete Dye designed public courses, the Mountain Course and the Dunes course. The Dunes Golf Course runs right through the community and many of the homes are ideally located right on the Fairway with spectacular views of the Santa Rosa Mountains.
Duna La Quinta owners also have the option of joining the Golf Club for special member access – in addition to resort dining, shopping, tennis and the La Quinta Resort’s world famous spa facilities.
This peaceful community also offers a tennis court, community pools and spas. The development is oriented so that when walking and bike riding, you are offered rolling Southwest fairway and mountain range views. A very desirable place to call home !!!
If your interest in this desirable and affordable golfer’s community has been piqued, then don’t hesitate to call Kim Kelly, Realtor with HK Lane Real Estate in La Quinta. She will be happy to tour you around and show you properties for sale there.
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Palm Springs – Every year – runners, walkers, joggers flock to the Palm Springs Tram Road Challenge 6K race. This year it will be held on October 27 and there will be something new about the race!
Each of the Palm Springs Valley’s nine cities is invited to compete with one another for the highest number of registrants in the race. The city that gets the greatest turnout of people signed up for the race will receive acknowledgement in The Desert Sun . . . and also receive a plaque giving special recognition celebrating the city’s dedication to its residents’ health and the community’s spirit of volunteerism.
The Desert Sun’s designers are working with all of the cities to help promote the competition by creating fliers and helping with promotional outreach. The fliers will include information about the challenge such as the schedule of events leading up to the race and the link to register. Each city will have fliers posted on its website and they will be distributed around to businesses and neighborhood associations.
You can visit the main informational link to get more info on the Tram Road Challenge or to sign up at www.facebook.com/PSMakeADifferenceDay.
So, come on out everybody and support your city while you are supporting your own healthy lifestyle. It will be one fun party you won’t want to miss!
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La Quinta – Palmilla is a desert community built in 2002-06 – sitting just off Avenue 50, west of Jefferson St. It catches your eye, as its exterior wall is painted lovely earth colors compatible with its desert surroundings. it is guard-gated, like so many communities around here are, but what lies inside the artistically designed wrought iron entrance gate is distinctively different and appealing.
Palmilla’s grounds are scattered with over 8 acres of lakes – a beautiful juxtaposition of water to the dry arid desert environs. There are 159 homes here, painted in strong earthy tones of terra cotta, umber and sage. There are interesting architectural features used here such as stacked stone accents, curved exterior walls and artsy courtyard gates – all lending an air of sophistication and class to these homes which range in size from 3,800sf to 4,600sf built on over-sized lots of varying sizes.
Another draw to living in Palmilla is its close proximity to the many restaurants and convenient shopping in La Quinta. It is within walking distance of a drug store, grocery store and restaurants. Residents of this highly sought after address also find their community to be a friendly one. Though there are no country club-type amenities at Palmilla, the upside is that the HOAs are relatively low. Most of the homes here have their own private pools.
Many of Palmilla’s homes are located lakeside, as there are 13 connected lakes running throughout. The landscaping is premier and only serves to enhance the community’s unique architecture. Palmilla received “Best in American Living” designation by the National Association of Home Builders . . . and has also received awards for its desert landscape design.
Palmilla is also conveniently located a couple of miles from Old Town La Quinta and is less than 3 miles from the Empire and Eldorado Polo Grounds. Highway 111 is just 2 miles north and Interstate 10 is just 4 miles north of the community.
It’s easy to understand why people fall in love with Palmilla and make their homes there permanently. If you are interested in looking at homes for sale there, call Kim Kelly of HK Lane Real Estate in La Quinta. She is well acquainted with the homes in Palmilla and will be happy to tour you around the property.
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It’s good news in Palm Desert that Federal regulations are helping to significantly reduce the amount new homebuyers pay for closing costs. That’s another incentive for prospective buyers – especially those who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time to jump back into home ownership again.
The average cost of closing on a mortgage has fallen over the past year by 7.4% according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. As of the end of June, a homebuyer looking to close on a $200,000 mortgage with 20% down paid an average of $3,754 – which was $300 less 12 months earlier.
Included in these costs are origination expenses (such as application fees and the cost of doing credit checks) and third-party fees (such as those paid for title searches and insurance).
Attribute this decline to new regulations that requiring lenders to be more accurate when estimating closing costs for borrowers. The regulation was put into place 2 years ago as part of the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act and requires lenders to provide a “good faith estimate” of third-party fees that is within 10% of the actual amount the buyer will pay.
Third party fees dropping is actually indicates that the lenders are doing a better job at estimating what the actual costs will be.
How refreshing !!!
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If you have been sitting on your home waiting to Short Sale it, now would be a good time to consider making your move. Real Estate analysts are saying that indicators look good. Also, if you are looking to get a deal on buying a Short Sale, you may want to listen up too.
- For Sellers – some lenders such as Bank of America and Chase have now expedited short sale programs to where they pre-qualify their sellers and their homes at agreed-upon prices. This has greatly cut down on the time it takes to push all of the paperwork required for a Short Sale through. Also, these big banks are selectively choosing some of the more troubled properties for extra owner incentives. Banks may pay you as much as $45,000 to sell your distressed home.
- You must start soon – if you want to get your tax break. Lenders are also wiping out any extra debt left after the Short Sale is completed. For example, if you owe $200,000 on your home and you sell it for $150,000, then it would stand that the bank would still be able to come after you for the additional $50,000. What they are doing now is forgiving that debt, and that debt is typically subject to income tax. BUT, it will not be subject to be taxed under a special provision that expires at the end of this year. So, try your best to close your Short Sale this year – it can easily take 3 or 4 months to close once you have a buyer.
- Before a lender will approve a Short Sale, the Seller must make the case that financial hardship is keeping him from paying off his loan. In trying to expedite Short Sales, banks are now broadening their definition of what situations qualify as hardships – a job change or impending retirement could be considered as a hardship.
- For Buyers – you should be realistic in your expectations for a bargain. There’s more competition now that bankers and investors have caught on to what good deals these Short Sales are – usually better than foreclosures because more often they are owner-occupied and well cared for, as opposed to foreclosures which may have been stripped of appliances and other things. Expect to pay market price for a Short Sale – avg. price is $175,000, which is still 20% below avg. price of non-distressed properties.
- Try for long locks on your mortgage rates, Buyers, because it may take a long time to find a property you want to purchase – and you want to take advantage of today’s record-low interest rates. Even 60 day locks may not be enough to get you through to closing of a Short Sale. If you’re buying a house that has been pre-approved via one of the banks’ expediting programs, closing time can be cut down to as little as 10 days.
If you are thinking of a Short Sale of your home . . . or looking to Buy a Short Sale, choose a realtor who is knowledgeable and experienced in Short Sales specifically. Call Kim Kelly, an agent with HK Lane Real Estate at 760-285-3578 for a free consultation. She Lists, Works and Closes her Short Sales !!!
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La Quinta is fortunate to have an amazing art event held during season called “Art Under the Umbrellas.” About this time of year when we locals are weary from the incessant heat of our lovely desert clime, it’s nice to think of something bright and cheerful and fun that will be returning to Old Town La Quinta.
October 27th kicks off the first “Art Under the Umbrellas” for the new season. Trust me, that date will be here before you now it. Over 70 artists will be presenting their works . . . everything from painting, glass, ceramic, jewelry, wood, sculpture, photography, fiber and mixed media. The streets are closed off in Old Town just for this artistic venue.
Lovers of art can find amazing quality pieces for purchase at “Art Under the Umbrellas.” It is always a special day outdoors as those seeking to enjoy and experience the art . . . and to buy, amble along the streets taking in all of the incredible talent. It’s also a good time to explore the shops and dining opportunities in Old Town.
And guess what could be even better . . . admission and parking are FREE !!! The new “Art Under the Umbrellas” schedule is on the following Saturdays from 10am to 4pm: October 27, November 10, November 24 and Dec. 1 – all in 2012. The 2013 schedule is: January 12, January 19, February 9, February 16 and March 23.
So, just something to keep your mind occupied, thinking about those days that are coming when the weather is cooler and picture perfect – and “Art Under the Umbrellas” will be waiting for you.
For more information, go to www.lqaf.com/cultural-events/art-under-the-umbrellas/
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