Winner of an AIA Merit Award, world recognized architect Paul McClean and acclaimed designer Lindsay Chambers create this bespoke 9,200 square foot home resting on a prestigious quiet cul de sac in Trousdale Estates. Four years in the making, this home’s exterior is from stonework finished by artisans in Italy to create the one-of-a-kind exterior seen nowhere else in Los Angeles. Highlights include a wellness center, large home theater, 10 car garage, interior pool, and westward ocean views. An additional apx 2,850 sq ft garage can be used as a showroom or art gallery (12,050 Sq ft includes garage).
CARLSBAD — The iconic smokestack atop the Encina Power Station received a stay of execution.
The City Council approved an extension, not to exceed nine months, for the demolition deadline of the regional landmark.
Gary Barberio, deputy city manager for Carlsbad, said NRG Energy, which owns the power plant and new peaker plant located behind the old station, stated two reasons for the delay. One is the desalination plant using water pumps from the power plant for seawater. The second reason is an antenna atop the smokestack, which is used by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for its Regional Communications System used by law enforcement and fire departments for emergency response.
The goal is to have both items addressed by April 2020, although the desalination pumps may not be installed until June 2020, Barberio said.
“We are very hopeful the new system will be up and running for the sheriff’s department by April 2020,” he added.
NRG and San Diego Gas & Electric own large swaths of the property, although NRG owns significantly more. Barberio told the council he would not discuss a potential agreement with SDG&E and its North Coast Operations Center, which sits along Cannon Road.
Here are Susie’s comments on the Boise article from Monday – she moved there from California a few years ago:
Hi Jim, just saw this. The recent election was interesting. Incumbent mayor Dave Beiter (since 2004) was running for his 5th term and received only 30% of the vote, while the Boise City Council president Lauren McClean got 46% of the vote. There was a field of 7 candidates. Wayne Richey, whose platform was anti-California,received just 2% of the vote.
McClean’s platform was for more affordable housing–(Boise was the fastest-growing city in the nation a couple years ago and prices have skyrocketed)–and transparency in local government.
Since no one received 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff for Boise mayor in early December between Beiter and McClean. The new home we built a year ago is only about a 1/2 mile from the Boise so I wasn’t able to vote in the Boise mayor election.
Yep, I did change my California plates as I heard that it was important to do. Ironically, I have been unable to remove my sunbaked UC-Santa Cruz bumper sticker in my back window as my daughter graduated from there in 2012. I have never had anyone yell at me on the roads but took a neighbors advice to say I’m from Santa Barbara and not California. Why? “Everyone loves Santa Barbara!”
The only time I’ve been verbally assaulted–strangely– had nothing to do with California. It happened in my first few months here. A lady in a store was very upset at me because I pronounced Boise “Boi-zee” and not “Boi-see”. “If you’re going to live here, you better pronounce it correctly!,” she admonished me.
Being a real estate addict, I’ve asked agents if everyone moving here is coming from CA. The answer was California, Washington and Colorado, with some from the East Coast.
I find Boise a friendly place. When I moved up here, I decided it’s best not to get into too many political discussions. That philosophy has proven to be a good decision.
-Sue
PS I was in deep mourning over the Dodgers not getting into the World Series this year. How about you?
I went to the annual seat shuffle at Petco Park on Tuesday. It’s the event where Padres season-ticket holders can see which seats have become available, and possibly switch to a better location.
It reminded me of our local real estate market:
The best locations are owned by seniors who have had them for a long time, and they’re not giving them up!
There were some decent seats available, but very few of the prime seats up close.
Old-timers discussing their future mirrored what I hear about their real estate too. Some have a specific succession plan where, upon their death, the kids will take over the tickets, but there were others who mentioned that their kids are out-of-town, and have no interest.
Will there be a time when a load of great tickets become available?
Just like we’ve seen in real estate, probably not.
But you don’t need every senior to bail – all you need is one old couple to give up their prime spot!
Visitor’s clubhouse
Here’s a 33-second look at how few of the good seats were available:
A dynamic new approach to homelessness with roots in settling the West: Conestoga Huts. The trend started in Eugene and the supporters are hoping it will spread through the Northwest.
“This is our hut,” said Tracy Joscelyn leading a tour of her hut. She said this temporary shelter is a godsend. “We have a beautiful bed. Most of them have a raised up bed.”
It is only 60 square feet of indoor living space. “It’s just really warm and awesome and amazing,” said Joscelyn. The main thing is it gets her off the streets and into a secure spot. “When you have a place to keep your possessions dry and safe instead of hauling them around, then you can start stabilizing your life and figuring out what the next step is.”
The huts look similar to a Conestoga Wagon, the precursor to the Prairie Schooner covered wagons that helped bring settlers west.
“I designed the Conestoga Hut,” said Erik de Buhr of the group Community Supported Shelters in Eugene. He is the driving force behind this effort, which is supported by donations.
He said Conestoga Huts are stronger and more permanent than tents and at $2,500, much less expensive than tiny homes which can cost from $10,000-$20,000.
Hat tip to bode for sending in the latest article on realtor videos. It’s behind the paywall and mostly the usual banter but here’s the money quote:
It makes sense that Hollywood-style promotional real estate is hitting a peak in Southern California, said Jonathan Miller, a New York City-based real estate appraiser and consultant. That’s because the high-end market from Los Angeles to San Diego is flush with inventory, creating longer marketing time, reduced foot traffic at open houses and greater competition between agents.
“In a market where there’s escalating supply but still anchored to another time, the sellers are trying to market much more creatively,” Mr. Miller said. In his mind, the sleeker and more expert-looking the video, the more likely it is that the seller is trying to justify a high price tag.
“When I see these videos, or something like a camel at an open house, that’s a clear sign of something that’s overpriced,” he said.
If you are a widowed taxpayer who doesn’t meet the 2-year ownership and residence requirements on your own, consider the following rule. If you sell your home within 2 years of the death of your spouse and you haven’t remarried at the time of the sale, then you may include any time when your late spouse owned and lived in the home, even if without you, to meet the ownership and residence requirements.
Also, you may be able to increase your exclusion amount from $250,000 to $500,000. You may take the higher exclusion if you meet all of the following conditions.
You sell your home within 2 years of the death of your spouse;
You haven’t remarried at the time of the sale;
Neither you nor your late spouse took the exclusion on another home sold less than 2 years before the date of the current home sale; and
You meet the 2-year ownership and residence requirements (including your late spouse’s times of ownership and residence if need be).
The MLS Statement 8.0 Clear Cooperation Policy is ‘a lightweight, middle-of-the-road policy that will just make the problem worse’ because it doesn’t go far enough. It’s so full of holes that it will only exacerbate the problem, and by the time they figure it out, it will be too late to fix it. It might be too late already.
The new policy just helps to define the ways that agents can avoid putting their listings on MLS:
Office Exclusives Are Allowed. Agents will shop around their new listings for days or weeks among their fellow agents in the office. Only once that avenue is totally exhausted will listings find their way to the MLS.
Submitted to MLS Within One Business Day. From now on, all listings will be signed on Fridays (or postdated).
Sellers Can Market Publicly. The listing agent isn’t supposed to publicly advertise the home, but……..
Showings Aren’t Required. Just because a listing is in the MLS doesn’t mean agents can show it. This is the oldest trick in the book. When an outside agents calls to arrange a showing, he/she is told that the property can be seen any time….as long as it’s between 5:00-5:05pm next Thursday.
No Penalties Mentioned. There has never been a MLS police, so any enforcement will be sketchy at best. But realtors love to rat out their fellow agents so complaints will be flying – but what will be the penalty? Most likely it will be the usual, which is a letter in the offender’s file for six months. Will it be that much?
Stop Using the MLS. If it gets too complicated to navigate the rules, agents will just stop using the MLS. This is why being on the right team is so critical now – if all the hot deals are sold in-house, then working at a small brokerage or being an independent broker will be detrimental. Those agents will only see the leftovers as the MLS becomes an afterthought.
Local compliance was first scheduled for March 1, 2020, but they pushed it back to May 1, 2020 so agents have six months to contemplate. Will we be sitting around discussing how important it is that we share our listings with each other via the MLS?
What’s missing is that no one in the industry is demanding that we share our listings with one another because that is what’s right for consumers and agents alike. Instead, our leaders come up with a lukewarm policy full of holes and no teeth. The spotlight will cause more people to find ways around the 8.0, and proudly conduct off-MLS sales because now they are the even-sexier option.
Yesterday, we entered into the final phase of the MLS implosion, with the latest blow being delivered by the National Association of Realtors themselves. Instead of strictly forbidding Off-MLS sales, they have tried to appease everyone by concocting a lightweight, middle-of-the-road policy that will just make the problem worse:
The National Association of REALTORS®’ Board of Directors approved MLS Statement 8.0, also known as the Clear Cooperation policy, at its meeting Monday. The policy requires listing brokers who are participants in a multiple listing service to submit their listing to the MLS within one business day of marketing the property to the public.
NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board proposed the policy as a way to address the growing use of off-MLS listings. The advisory board concluded that leaving listings outside of the broader marketplace excludes consumers, undermining REALTORS®’ commitment to provide equal opportunity to all. The policy doesn’t prohibit brokers from taking office-exclusive listings, nor does it impede brokers’ ability to meet their clients’ privacy needs.
Here’s the full text of MLS Statement 8.0:
Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
MLSs have until May 1, 2020, to adopt the policy.
Rationale: Distribution of listing information and cooperation among MLS participants is pro-competitive and pro-consumer. By joining an MLS, participants agree to cooperate with other MLS participants except when such cooperation is not in their client’s interests. This policy is intended to bolster cooperation and advance the positive, procompetitive impacts that cooperation fosters for consumers. The public marketing of a listing indicates that the MLS Participant has concluded that cooperation with other MLS participants is in their client’s interests.
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