Friday, January 26, 2007

The Crosby

Crosby 也算一个传奇人物。 以他命名的高尔夫球场高级住宅小区最近开始上市了。 设计的很大气。 是没错,有人可以买得起这种豪宅。 但是太奢侈! 我觉得这种高级豪宅真是对地球上资源的一种浪费, with all respect to Crosby.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Rancho Santa fe

新年的第一天, 见识了一下真正的豪宅。 我的感想就是富人也不好当啊, 为了和一般人拉开距离还要住到那么偏僻的地, 还有就是ups大叔和邮差, 收垃圾的, 负责这个线的可是累啊。 The population was 3,252 at the 2000 census. It is the second highest income community in the United States with at least 1,000 households. Rancho Santa Fe's ZIP code (92067) was ranked second on href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes" title="Forbes">Forbes list of most expensive zip codes for 2006, after Sagaponack, New York[1].

Rooms in owner-occupied houses in Rancho Santa Fe, California:

  • 1 room: 0
  • 2 rooms: 9
  • 3 rooms: 0
  • 4 rooms: 30
  • 5 rooms: 68
  • 6 rooms: 136
  • 7 rooms: 201
  • 8 rooms: 187
  • 9 or more rooms: 432

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

4s RANCH Pros & Cons


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/reports/4sranch/


我去了几次4s, 慢慢地喜欢上这个地区了。 给大家分析一下Pros vs. Cons:

PROS:
1. Nice master planned neighborhood. Parks, town center, restauants...all close by.
2. Poway school district.
3. Close to shopping -- costco @ carmel mountain, mall @enscondido

CONS:
1. Traffic: I went there on weekends, I heard that I-15 could be really bad in the morning...The 2. Another one I could think of is the mello roos. But please note that this is included in the prop. taxes. And you get a pretty nice community with parks, great schools, YMCA, etc.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Don't become a REALTOR, if...

Don't become a REALTOR, if...
You think it's EASY. The hours can be brutal and back-to-back days of work.
You think you'll get RICH quickly. It takes years and years for most Realtors to make a lot. Don't be fooled by the nice cars. Many Realtors didn't buy those cars with real estate income.
You think it will be fun because you like to SEE HOMES. Looking at nice homes is a very small part of the business and will not make you successful.
You think it will PAY THE BILLS. When you become a Realtor, expenses go up and income goes down. You not only have to pay your normal living expenses, but you have Realtor fees that can be significant.
You think you can do it PART-TIME. As licenses get harder to get and being a good agent takes more experience, part-timers are having a hard time justifying the costs.
If you want to be part lawyer, inspector, salesperson, negotiator,interior decorator, computer whiz, blogger, marketing expert, chauffeur and financial consultant...then you've come to the right place!
Love your job and you will succeed!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Saturday, May 6, 2006

Realtor Oath

I pledge myself
To protect the indicidual right of real estate ownership and to widen the opportunity to enjoy it;
To be honorable and honest in all dealings;
To seek better to represent my clients by building my knowledge and competence;
To act fairly towards all in the spirit of the Golden Rule;
To serve well my community, and through it my country;
To observe the REALTORS code of ethics and conform my conduct to its lofty ideals.

Every realtor pledged when become a realtor. I hope everyone will remember the oath and follow the oath during practice.


Thursday, February 2, 2006

Feng shui and Foreclosre

I recently got to know a mom at the school who has been looking for her dream house in San Diego since 2001. We instantly have a click talking about Feng shui and the house searching. She told me that she was looking for a good deal at the start of her search. She looked a lot of bank owned and foreclosure houses. Then she found out that all of those houses had serious problems in the view of Feng Shui. She then gave up seeing any foreclosures.

Isn't that interesting?

I also came across an article on this issue:

RealEstate.msn.com reports, “almost 500,000 foreclosures were filed in the first
Almost 500,000 foreclosures were filed in the first quarter of 2007. (IStock Photo)
Almost 500,000 foreclosures were filed in the first quarter of 2007. (IStock Photo)
quarter of 2007. There was one new foreclosure for every 1,117 U.S. households in January 2006 compared to the same period a year earlier.”

However, in the brave new world of home buying, one persons’ misfortune can quickly become someone else’s fortune. Typically, investors looking to buy a home for less than its market value, find foreclosure homes very lucrative. Consumers going the foreclosure route can find family homes with high market prices and only pay half its value, saving them thousands of dollars.

Feng Shui

But while going the foreclosure route has its financial advantages, the property itself may be draped in bad luck. Kathryn Weber, a certified master practitioner in feng shui and the publisher of Red Lotus Letter, a weekly ezine, suggests buying foreclosures could perpetuate “bad energy.”

In her article, “How to Buy a House with Good Feng Shui,” featured in Selfgrowth.com, Weber suggests buying feng shui comes down to two things:
1.) The tangible items: price, location, size, and condition.
2.) The intangible location on a street; how the home is situated on the lot; its relationship to other buildings or homes; how the home flows inside; and situations such as whether the former occupants were ill, in financial trouble, etc.

Positive Energy
“If you are looking at a preowned home, buy one from someone who is moving into a bigger house or got a huge promotion and is relocating,” Weber suggests. “Houses that are for sale from a divorce, a foreclosure, or where there was serious illness or other afflictions are not the best choices.”

Recycling the Past
As the new owner, you may be walking into the prospective home with a clean slate. But according to feng shui principles, when you buy a home, you also buy the problems that existed at that home with the previous owner. The reason behind the bad energy—the house itself. “Or, there might be a landscape or topographical element causing the difficulty.” Weber says it’s best to avoid these kinds of homes.

Whether you’re a believer in this ancient Chinese practice or not, don’t always judge a house simply on its price tag. Sometimes you have to look beyond the walls to really see its worth.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

San Diego County Notice of Defaults and foreclosure

Below are some houses and condos that have been served notice of defaults (NODs). A notice of default is served to formally commence the pre-foreclosure period. With San Diego real estate prices being substantially higher than the national average, San Diegans look for a way to get a good value by way of purchasing pre-foreclosure or bank-owned properties. Another option for value-conscience condo and house buyers may also be short-sale properties. Short sales are properties that are being sold for less than the owners owe the lenders for them. Hence, the term “short” in short-sale. Though short sales can be bargains, prices are subject to lender-approval. Currently, home buyers can search on San Diego Houserebate’s website for short-sale properties.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

家务全攻略:

1、做家务是一个长久的事情,要从装修房子那一天开始考虑,不要因为图漂亮,就在家里搞一大堆什么水晶啊花瓶啊之类的装饰品,刚开始的时候就布置的蛮开心,到时候你做起家务来擦那些花花瓶瓶就要几个小时,所以,房间里最好是简洁大气,宁可花大价钱在高档的地板和沙发上,也不要那些无谓的装饰品。   

2、 选择东西的时候,最好都以方便为主,家里的衣服啊,用品啊。要耐脏好洗方便使用,过日子是过给自己舒服的,不是让外人来观赏的,所以,要自己舒服起来。  

3、 然后就是做家务了,做家务想做的快,工具就一定要舍得购全,什么去污水,飘白水,什么玻璃水、消毒水之类的必备,这些东西会省去你很多时间。   

4、 平日里养成随手放好东西的习惯,这一点需要家人配合,家人如果不配合,也行,把他乱放的东西丢到一个漂亮的装东西的专程的大盒子或者大柜子里,下次他要什么东西,自己去翻就行了,又不影响家的美观,也不花什么时间去浪费。   

5、 换掉的衣服可以先放在一个专放脏衣服的蓝色的大框里,有盖的,就是那种超市里购的放东西的筐,卧室里有任何脏衣服袜子等之内的都丢在里面,积了一筐再倒到全自动洗衣机里去洗,不要没事就开洗衣机玩,浪费自己家钱事小,浪费水资源事大。   

6、 不要在家里购什么跑步机之类的健身东东,都是一时心血来潮的杰作,真想运动,房外大把的场地,不用搞一个东西来占家里的空间上灰尘。  

7、 一切的东西都是开始保护,好过破坏之后修补。   

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Condo vs Townhouse vs PUD

Condominium - a form of collective ownership of real property. In a condominium, the individual property owners typically own the airspace within their own walls. The structures themselves, the land and the amenities built on the land, are owned in common with the other members of the association.
Townhouse - an architectural style; a dwelling characterized by two-story construction with a common wall or walls bordering neighboring dwellings. The common form of ownership is similar to a condominium project in that the property owner not only owns his or her respective unit, but also an undivided interest in any common area. Townhouse ownership sometimes differs from condominium ownership in that the townhouse owner owns the physical structure rather than just the airspace between the walls, floor and ceiling. However, in many areas "townhouse" now refers to the physical style of the structure rather than the form of ownership.
Planned Development (PD) - a planning and zoning term used to describe a subdivision in which the standard available zoning classifications do not apply. A master developer will, with the consent of the local governing authority, establish criteria for development of private and common area parcels specific to that subdivision. These may include special setback requirements, street lighting designs, street width standards, architectural styles, building height standards, land coverage ratios, common area park and amenity designs and the like. Planned unit developments are often used to cluster homes closer together than would otherwise be allowed by local zoning laws. Unlike in a condominium, individual property owners own the land underneath their homes.

Monday, July 14, 2003

购物逛的圣地亚哥

Outlet stores:

Las Americas 从805上开到快到墨西哥的最后一个出口出去(Camino de la Plaza)。这个里面有Neiman Marcus Last Call。

Carlsbad Premium Outlets:这个人总是很多。有COACH, GAP, POLO几个大家喜闻乐见的店。

Viejas outlet center: 这个没有去过, 在赌场旁边的。 应该不大吧。

我自己喜欢去逛的地方有: (因为能去逛的时间不多,又比较喜欢买物美价廉的东西)

San Marcus:有Marshalls, Norstrom Rack和捞面在一起的。

Forum: 有Anthopology和一些老太太牌子因为附近就是退休baby boomer的community (给妈妈买衣服的好地方)

Escondido:有TJMAXX, TARGET,还有TOY&US, 还有PIER1和WORLD MARKET同时存在。

Saturday, July 12, 2003

带父母去哪里玩

我推荐一些:

http://www.sealtours.com/

票价是大人27, 小孩半价。



1

还有harbor tour. 有一个小时也有两个小时的。 1个小时的有north tour和south tour. North的可以看著名的Hotel Del Coronado. South的可以看到Downtown skyline. 还可以参观海带工厂。2个小时的就是南北都转一圈。网站在此。





Tour Map:



另外我也坐过old town trolley, 也挺好玩的, 可以很快就转一下所有的景点, 有导游全程介绍(英文)。网站在此。



Birch Aquarium at scripps:
这个水族馆其实我觉得比sea world更有趣。人又不会像sea world那里总是人山人海的。 尤其带孩子去几次也不会腻。 还有一个好处: 票价便宜啊。

Birch水族馆背后是世界闻名的Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 所以他们有很多科教的program. 比如有模拟潮汐的tide pool displays。 挺cool的。

地点在la jolla的coastal bluff上, overlooking pacific ocean, 景色没话说。

网站在此。


Hotel Del Corodano: 带父母开车上过海大桥, 一路风景美美的, 到了Corodano小岛上转一转, 参观一下著名的Hotel Del Corodano.

San Diego Parasail Adventures


This is something that I really want to try!!!

Fly high above Mission Bay and get the thrill of a lifetime, as well as the most fantastic 360 degree view of the entire city's panorama. Feel the thunder of the offshore powerboat ride, then launch into the wild blue from the boat's deck without even getting wet! This is one San Diego adventure that you will never forget. Rates start at $50 for approximately one-half hour.

San Diego's Balloon Adventure

Have you wondered how to get a ride on those hot air balloons? I sure did whenever I see those pretty air balloons in the sky.

Here are some websites that provide the advantures:

http://balloonflightsstore.stores.yahoo.net/

http://www.hotairflyer.com/ (this one is from del mar)

http://www.gohotair.com/

Prices range from $175 to $800.