Palm Springs – Maybe you’ve done it . . .
or you know someone who has – that is, paid a contractor up-front for work to be done on their home . . . and then it didn’t get finished or was done poorly or the contractor skipped town.
California consumers are now being alerted by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) about what the law is regarding down payments paid to contractors – painters, landscapers, or any other type of construction contractor. It is illegal for a contractor to ask for or accept a down payment of more than 10% of the total home improvement contract price . . . or $1,000, whichever amount is less.
Consumers who were victimized and have filed complaints with the CSLB tell investigators they were unaware of a legal limit for down payments. And there are many unlicensed operators out there who also don’t know about this California law. If that is the case, this should be a red flag for you if you are looking to have work done by them.
If you are asked for a large amount of money up front before beginning work at your home, the worker may not be licensed or have the skills necessary to perform the work satisfactorily. There have been many cases where unlicensed operators have taken a substantial down payment from a homeowner and never start the project. It is virtually impossible at that point to recoup your money.
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Number of foreclosures across the Palm Springs Valley fell significantly in July at a rate of 24.5% from July 2011. A new report shows that this marks 12 months of double-digit declines. The 753 bank repossessions, notices of default and trustee sale notifications that were issued in July were down from 1,096 issued in July of 2011.
A more limited inventory is available because of this drop in foreclosures for sale. Prospective buyers are not finding the availability of foreclosures to choose from that they once did.
The sustained drop in repos, trustee sales and default notices doesn’t translate to a drying up of available foreclosures for sale any time soon, according to real estate experts.
The valley here experienced a slight decline of initial default notices last month- there were 335 compared to 344 in July of 2011.
Experts say that many people are continuing to be challenged with getting banks to offer them loan modifications that would work for them – so they just aren’t paying. When that happens, the banks issue notices of default, but don’t complete the foreclosure process. Experts say that the banks are trying to get people to short sale their home rather than go through a full foreclosure.
Short sales and bank-owneds have recently accounted for far fewer of overall home sales than a year or two ago. Local experts expect more short sales and fewer foreclosures in the coming few years. They are seeing homeowners who are 20 to 30% underwater receiving loan modifications including principal reductions – but they say homeowners who are 50% or more underwater will short sell, as they will never get enough principal reduction to make keeping their home a viable option.
Contemplating short selling your home? Then consider using an agent who is knowledgeable and experienced in Short Sales and has a good track record of closing the deals. Contact Kim Kelly with HK Lane Real Estate – she Lists, Negotiates and CLOSES her deals. Call her now for a free consultation. You’ll be glad you did !
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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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Yesterday morning, fourteen dogs from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter were flown to Oregon where shelters are less crowded and there’s a greater chance for adoption, according to local animal volunteers. Otherwise, they may have been euthanized.
The dogs were shuttled out to the tarmac at the Palm Springs International Airport before 7am, where they were readied for transport by Wings of Rescue – a group of pilots who donate their services and aircraft to transport shelter animals to rescue organizations throughout the western United States.
There were Chihuahuas, Terriers and mixed breeds, all traveling in individual carriers. These dogs were chosen because they’ve been at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter for a long time. They were flown to the Humane Society of Redmond, OR, Hope’s Haven near Salem OR and Oregon Dog Rescue.
It’s hard to believe that the Oregon shelters are running short on dogs available for adoption, when our Palm Springs Valley here has such an overpopulation of dogs needing homes. The Oregon shelters have successful spay and neuter, fostering and adoption programs – and this frees up space for more rescues to come in.
Tanya Petrovna, board member of the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, says that the number of animals in our local shelters needs to be reduced and that the humane solution is to transfer the animals to a better situation.
The pilot, Yehuda Netanel, says that his canine passengers travel well. The flight to Oregon would take about three hours, and he said that eventually, the dogs lay down and go to sleep.
The volunteers were hoping to transport 17 dogs yesterday, but there just wasn’t enough room on the plane. Three of the dogs had to go back to the shelter in Palm Springs.
Heartbreaking. Hopefully these dogs will find homes soon !!!
Kudos to these wonderful volunteers who give of their time, money and heart to help protect and preserve the lives of animals. Our hats are off to you !!!
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Our Beautiful Palm Springs Valley..
Wow..is it hot! August and September are typically our hottest months here in the Palm Springs Valley and this month is starting out to be just that. Hot and Humid. Not the Locals favorite months, but the heat and humidity are not slowing down visitors from coming to our beautiful Valley..
Palm Springs Valley Hotels are jamming!
Sometimes it’s good to get out of your own space and head to our quiet Valley. Amazing how fast you adapt to the lifestyle. Up early, out to golf, walk, or swim, in again mid-day. Nap or see a matinee or hit your computer. Then back out after 4. Kind of the Siesta style of living…
Come on down!
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PALM SPRINGS – Well, we knew it was coming . . . the extreme heat, that is. That time in the summer when we’re biting at the bit for fall to come, when the temperature gets up over 110, then 115 . . . if you’re a Desert Dweller, you know the routine. Power outages or blackouts, as they are also called, can happen this time of year when the demand for electricity strains the system.
Yesterday, Southern California Edison sounded an alarm by asking its customers to turn up their thermostats . . . especially at night. And IID (Imperial Irrigation District), which serves La Quinta, Indio and Coachella, said yesterday that it was just 25 megawatts short of hitting maximum capacity at 3:30pm.
When the temperatures here in our valley turn into a heat wave lasting several days or more, people use more electricity around the clock. If the equipment doesn’t get the chance to rest, that’s when problems can begin.
Here’s what you can do if an outage occurs:
- Open the fridge and freezer only when necessary
- Turn off and unplug any electrical equipment that’s not being used
- Take advantage of “Cool Centers” – find list of locations at www.sce.com/coolcenters
- Instead of using candles, use flashlights. Candles are a fire hazard
- Have an emergency plan for anyone in your home who’s dependent on electric-powered medical equipment – a back-up power source or somewhere to relocate to
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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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The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was constructed in rugged Chino Canyon on the north side of Palm Springs as the dream of a young electrical engineer named Francis Crocker. He wanted to “go up there where it’s nice and cool” – what a concept !! This was in 1935, and there were many setbacks over the years which stymied his project, even though enthusiasm was high. Finally, in 1963, Crocker’s dream became a reality and more than 12 million people have been transported up those majestic mountains overlooking the Palm Springs Valley.
If you live full time in the valley here, round about this time of summer, it’s just HOT, plain stinkin’ HOT. And you find yourself wanting some relief from the intense heat (and this summer, the humidity too). Maybe you don’t have the time to drive up to Idyllwild or down to the coast to get your relief fix . . . so just a day trip up the Tram is the perfect Stay-cation.
The temperature differential between the valley floor and the top of the Tram is about 30 degrees. And if there’s a little wind up there, you might even want to bring along a light sweater or jacket since Desert Rats like us have thin blood and get chilled. But what a pleasure to have to put on a wrap on a day when it’s 105 degrees down below, but a chill 75 degrees up above. Yippeeee !!!
Tickets for the day are $23.95 for adults, $16.95 for children (ages 3-12) and $21.95 for seniors (62+). Year passes and Summer passes are also available. It’s a cheap way to rock your world for a day, from desert to alpine in one quick trip up the Tram. Take a picnic, bring a chair and binoculars for birdwatching or a good book to read, take a hike or have a sumptuous meal at the Peaks Restaurant or the Pines Cafe. Make a day of it, or even an evening.
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is truly of of the Wonders of the World and certainly one of the Palm Springs Valley’s most popular and sensational attractions.
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Beautiful land..Palm Springs Valley
Here in the Palm Springs Valley, we LOVE our foreigners..and apprently, they love us right back. Property buyers from Canada, Asia, China, Europe, Australia, New Zealand..and I even have a client coming over from Central America in a couple weeks..wow! But..I already knew we were selling Land, Ranches & Residential properties soI was pleasantly surprised when I read this morning about how the Foreign Investments in our Business community are pumping alot of dollars into our local economy.
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Well, I’ve been hearing about it and talking about it myself for years here in the Palm Springs Valley is “When are we getting a Whole Foods in the desert?” Well, wait not more . . . Whole Foods Market has finally confirmed it is opening a store in Town Center shopping center in Palm Desert.
Previous scuttlebutt had Whole Foods moving into the now defunct Toys R’ Us across from the Desert Crossing shopping center. Apparently, that’s not the place, but the Best Buy building just a hop and a skip east from the Toys R Us along Highway 111 will be the place. Best Buy will be relocating to the old Circuit City space in the Desert Crossing shopping center.
Obviously, Palm Desert is thrilled to be the lucky Desert City getting the market. Though residents in some of the other Desert Cities will have a bit of a drive, it will be worth it if you are a fan of Whole Foods fare. Town Center shopping center where the new Whole Foods will reside will be undergoing renovation and expansion . . . and there are more announcements yet to come.
Whole Foods currently has 329 locations and says it has plans to open 25 more stores by fiscal year’s end this fall. It will probably be next fall before the new Whole Foods opens up here.
All I can say is Yippppeeeeeee !!!!!
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