Raffle House

by | Mar 18, 2018 | Jim's Take on the Market, La Jolla | 3 comments

From the UT:

There are a host of dream-house raffles across the West this year, and a big winner in many of them appears to be a Seattle-based consultant.  The raffles have the same concept — for a $150 ticket, get a chance to win a multimillion-dollar dream home. Although there are lesser prizes, the house is only given away if ticket sales hit a certain threshold.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego has used consultant Neal Martin Zeavy to run its dream-house raffle at least since 2008. In the decade that he has run the event, the fundraiser has never sold enough tickets to result in a house giveaway.

Zeavy was paid $525,000 by the San Diego charity last year, according to the nonprofit’s tax returns. For context, Charles Day — the San Diego charity’s president and CEO — received $224,985, the tax records show.  Zeavy has helped run dream-house raffles for at least five other nonprofits.

(more…)

Torrey Pines Paragliding

by | Jan 27, 2018 | Bubbleinfo Readers, Bubbleinfo TV, Jim's Take on the Market, La Jolla, Local Flavor | 5 comments

Those who took in the pro golf and spectacular weather at Torrey Pines today also saw a number of paragliders in the background.  It reminded me of our reader Murph checking out the bluff-front houses:


Here’s how he described his close calls:

During my “formative” flying days (about 3 years ago) I had quite a reputation at the Torrey Pines Gliderport. Some of my hair-raising moments included……..

**I was losing lift and trying to make it back to the gliderport, but could not make it so I had to land at Black’s beach. This is rather routine as you just aim for a dry section of sand. Well, as I was rounding a bend and setting up for a final *flare* to land I realized that it was high tide and that particular section of beach did not exist anymore! I landed in 4 feet of water and began a mad panic to unclip my gear before the waves sucked me and my wing back out to sea.

Never have I been so happy to see a middle aged nude guy, as he raced into the surf and held onto my paraglider so I could extricate myself!

**Once while flying over the Torrey Pines Reserve area the wind got too strong and I landed traveling BACKWARDS on the north side of Torrey Pines Rd with my wing draped over a tree. The lifeguards showed up and left when I told them I was uninjured. 15 minutes later I started hearing lots of sirens. They started getting louder and before I knew it there were 4 emergency vehicles there. I told them I was okay so they all left….including a hook and ladder truck that COULD HAVE helped me get my wing out of the tree, but hey…I was alive AND unhurt so no worries here!

** My alternative landing stories also include one where I was trying to fly with the big-boys above Scripps aquarium. In my attempt to make it back to the lift-band along the cliffs I sunk-out and had to land right on La Jolla Shores Dr. Fortunately for me a construction truck not only yielded, but even gave me a ride back to the gliderport!

Luckily I have never hurt myself or anyone else. Torrey Pines is actually a very safe paragliding site……as long as you stay within your comfort zone and fly smart.  The more I fly the more conservative I get. My library of noteworthy “stories” has not expanded in the last couple years.


Most Expensive Homes of 2017

by | Jan 8, 2018 | Bubbleinfo TV, Jim's Take on the Market, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe

Saw this at the VOSD, and it reminded me of these short clips:

The U-T tracked down the most and least expensive homes sold in the county last year. The cheapest was in Jacumba, which was in bad shape and went for just $27,000: “One room on the property included old laundry, broken computers and abandoned Christmas decorations.”

And the priciest was in La Jolla. It went for a cool $12 million.

Zillow listing with photos

The story also included the accidental flip…of a RSF spec:

One of the most expensive homes to sell last year, 16568 La Gracia in Rancho Santa Fe, sold twice. Real estate agent Megan Luce said her clients bought the property in April but realized they weren’t there as much as their other properties so they decided to sell.

“I couldn’t believe they were selling so soon,” she said. “But, the property is breathtaking and I was excited to go into it again.”

Luce did not want to give the buyers’ names, and it is unclear from property records who they were. The home was purchased by Florida-based limited liability company, Covenant RJC, in April for $10.6 million. It was then sold to the Greenfield Trust out of Washington state for $10.85 million in December.


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