Orange County~Central

COSTA MESA
The Talk About Curing Autism recently received a $30,000 donation from Pacific Life Foundation in Newport Beach. The money will be used to create scholarships, Spanish programming and family education regarding Autism.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY
At 11am on February 7th, the city will celebrate the opening of a softball complex located at 16400 Brookhurst Street. For more information, please call 714-839-8611.

HUNTINGTON BEACH
The annual Author’s Festival will take place at the Central Library Tuesday at 2:30pm. The event is free and refreshments will be served.

IRVINE
Nothing to report.

LOS ALAMITOS
Nothing to report.

NEWPORT BEACH
Reviews of Newport Beach restaurants Tommy Bahama’s, Chart House, A Restaurant and Five Crowns may now be viewed at http://www.foodfrenzy.freedomblogging.com/

ORANGE
On Sunday March 15th, the Silverado Children’s Center will be holding its annual Chili Cook-Off. The event begins at 11am and is located at 4621 Santiago Canyon Road. For more information, please call 714-649-2214.

SANTA ANA
Nothing to report.

SEAL BEACH
The Seal Beach Tennis Center is now open and is under new management. For more information, please call 562-598-8624.

TUSTIN
Wednesday at 11am, Ophthalmologist Oat Sinchai will be presenting a health seminar on eye health at the Tustin Area Senior Center. For more information, please call 714-573-3340.

VILLA PARK
Every Tuesday through March 17th, the city will be holding story time programs at 10:30am for toddlers and 3:30pm for families. The programs will take place at the Community room at City Hall. For more information, please call 714-998-0861.

For more information visit ocregister.com

Orange County~Central

COSTA MESA
City Council will meet tomorrow at 6pm to decide whether or not to install multi-direction stop signs at four major intersections: Fullerton and 20th Street, Monrovia Avenue and Arbor Street, 21st Street and Eleden Avenue and Broadway at Weminster Avenue.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY
On February 13th, learn how to keep your heart healthy at the Palm Island Active Adult Living center. For more information, please call 800-636-6742 ext 4.

HUNTINGTON BEACH
The Huntington Beach Library will host HB Reads on Thursday at 7pm. The location is 7111 Talbert Avenue.

IRVINE
Volunteers are needed for a tax preparation assistance program for low to moderate income families in the city. For more information, please call 714-571-5264.

LOS ALAMITOS
From 11am-3pm on February 28th, the Los Alamitos High School marching band will host Cow Chip Bingo. Prizes range from $250-$700 for spaces chosen by participants. For more information, please visit lahscowchipbingo.blogspot.com

NEWPORT BEACH
Nothing to report.

ORANGE
Nothing to report.

SANTA ANA
Did you know that Santa Ana’s official city tree is a jacaranda and the official flower is the hibiscus? More interesting facts about the city of Santa Ana can be found by visiting http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/

SEAL BEACH
Nothing to report.

TUSTIN
Whole Foods Market (located at The District) will host a cooking class titled “Soups that Warm the Soul” at 7pm on Wednesday. For more information, please call 714-566-7650.

VILLA PARK
Nothing to report.

For more information visit ocregister.com

Orange County~South

ALISO VIEJO
Voulenteers are still needed for a free haircut event at the Village of Hope Homeless center in Tustin. The event will be staffed in part by the Tribeca Salon. For more information, please visit tribecahairsalon.com

COTO DE CAZA & THE CANYONS
Nothing to report.

DANA POINT
At 6pm on Thursday, the city’s Chamber of Commerce will present awards and install the 2009 board of directors at the Doubletree Guest Suites on 34402 Pacific Coast Highway. For more information, please call 949-496-1555.

LADERA RANCH
Residents are welcome to visit the Covenant Hills Orchard in Ladera Ranch (located at Covenant Hills Drive and Cambridge). The Orchard contains over 187 trees!

LAGUNA BEACH
Nothing to report.

LAGUNA HILLS
Nothing to report.

LAGUNA NIGUEL
At 11am on January 28th, Mayor Robert Ming and members of the city’s Chamber of Commerce will walk through shopping centers to visit local businesses as part of the first of many Mayor’s walks. The first walk will take place at the shopping center located at Pacific Park and La Paz. For more information, please call 949-383-0136.

LAGUNA WOODS
Today at 2:00, the support group Successful Aging will meet to discuss strategies to add quality years to life. For more information, please call 949-597-0437.

LAKE FOREST
There is still time to register for the city’s youth, adult and senior classes. For more information, call 949-461-3450.

MISSION VIEJO
Nothing to report.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA
Nothing to report.

SAN CLEMENTE
If you heard loud firework-like noises over the weekend, it was most likely part of the Camp Pendleton Artiliery untis conduction exercises.

For more information, please visit ocregister.com

Orange County~North

ANAHEIM
Nothing to report.

BREA
Bids are currently being reviewed by the city for construction of a new traffic light at the intersection of Olinda Place and Carbon Canyon.

BUENA PARK
Now through February 28th, artwork by artist LeDOUX will be on display at the Buena Park Library. For more information, please call 714-826-4100 ext. 125.

CYPRESS
Voulenteers are needed for the planning of this summer’s Cypress Community Festival. For more information, please call 714-761-5142.

FULLERTON
Trustees from the city’s school district will be discussing a study that would offset a possible loss of seventeen million dollars in state funding. The meeting to discuss this issue will take place on Tuesday at 5:30pm at the district’s board meeting. For more information, please call 714-447-74003.

GARDEN GROVE
The city’s “Wreck Hall” for teens will re-opne tomorrow in Eastgate Park. The center will be open from 3-7pm weekly from Tuesday through Thursday. For more information, please call 714-412-2130.

LA HABRA
Nothing to report.

LA PALMA
The city’s teen lounge, located at 8611 Watson Street will offer such activities such as casino games and karaoke at Teen Game Night from 7-10pm this Friday. For more information, please call 714-690-3350.

PLACENTIA
Nothing to report.

STANTON
Nothing to report.

WESTMINSTER
Low income families in Westminster may apply for home purchase through Habitat for Humanity. For application information or additional inquiries, please call 714-434-6200 ext. 227.

YORBA LINDA
Victims of the Freeway Complex Fire may apply for federal and state assistance through tomorrow. For information or to submit an application, please visit http://www.disasterassistance.gov/.

For more information visit orangecountyregister.com

One New Year's Resolution You Can Keep

Many people are have set a New Year’s resolution to cut back on spending in 2009. Here are some helpful ways to enjoy yourself in the New Year without making a dent in your pocketbook:

· Cut back on eating out. Cooking at home is not only a less expensive option, but it is often healthier!
· When shopping for home-cooked meal supplies, select store brand items rather than name brands.
· As old-fashioned as it may seem, clip coupons from newspapers and advertisements. Sign up for store club cards as well.
· Buy in bulk. If you’re afraid of food spoiling, why not freeze what you will not eat before the expiration date for later use?
· Scale back on vacations. Rather than elaborate getaways, consider package deals or utilize accumulated airline miles.



What New Year’s resolutions did you make this year?


We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please send comments if you have a moment.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.
Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

WHAT WOULD MR. GREENSPAN HAVE DONE?

Regardless of how you felt about good old Mr. Greenspan – like or dislike, one thing is for sure…we all feared him and the world watched and listened to his ‘Greenspeak’ announcements which made most of us quiver, shiver, or cheer.

December 11th, Mr. Bernanke might have moved us one step closer to recession with a negligible ¼ point drop in Fed Funds rate. Then, yesterday the Fed announced a new global effort with other central banks and unveiled a plan to sell billions in loans in order to create more liquidity in the mortgage markets. Let’s face it, the banks don’t trust each other any more, so this could be a welcome avenue to create liquidity which would allow lenders to make loans again!! Analysts and Wall Street professionals think yesterday’s announcement is brilliant…

But I can’t help to think…What would Mr. Greenspan have done? And I think he would have dropped the Fed Funds rate by ½ point to try and get ahead of the mess we’re in. No doubt that when the 4th quarter earnings are reported by major banks in January it will be ‘confession time’ again with more write-off’s and more discord on Wall Street.

The Fed might be just too hawkish on inflation here and we are perhaps at the tipping point! Please Mr. Bernanke …have an egg-nog with Mr. Greenspan over the holidays and get this economy going again.

We’d love to hear your feedback on this topic. Drop us an email when you have a moment.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.
Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

Does Experience Contribute to Success?

Did you know that approximately 54% of the Realtors in California have less than 3 years experience “in the business”? That means they have never experienced a market with any degree of challenge.

Do you think that an experienced agent or broker can contribute to the level of success a home owner can achieve as a seller in the current real estate market? Experience means a verifiable performance record, marketing plan references and full time commitment to the business as well as an unblemished personal record at the Department of Real Estate and Local Association of Realtors.

Get back to me with some feedback on this topic.
Send us an email when you have a moment.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

Is 2008 the Dead End For Limited Service Providers?

In the midst of a heated real estate market (as was the case from 2002 – 2005) some sellers sought an opportunity to ’save a few bucks’ and contracted with a limited service provider (formal term for a discount broker). Why does this happen in real estate?

Do people seek out a discount orthodontist, a discount heart surgeon, a discount attorney? The likelihood of that is pretty slim. But Sellers felt like they were in the driver’s seat during the recent real estate boom and some looked for a way to avoid commission dollars, even at the risk of improper protection or representation for their transaction. Perhaps they just didn’t understand the true value of a Realtor.

National statistics show that homes sold with a full service Realtor yield on average a 16% higher sales price*. That alone is well worth the cost of a fair commission. But now it’s nearly 2008, and with the market swinging to the tempered side (to say the least) and with enormous inventory levels, without a doubt it is the Buyers who are in the driver’s seat.

So, are the days of discount brokerage gone?

We’d like to hear from you on this topic.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors





* Statistic from N.A.R.

Real Estate Hurt by Media Spin

I am so tired of the negative media constantly ranting about how horrible everything is in our business. It’s time for our industry to fight back against these psychic vampires who seek to suck every bit of hope and optimism out of us just to build their circulation.

Newspaper headlines and buzzwords abound, such as: “Two million people will lose their homes in foreclosure in the next two years!” “Sub prime Fiasco!” and “Mortgage Meltdown.”

These are the headlines we hear every day, yet where is the positive news about the real estate market? The answer is, buried in statistics on page 18 of section 5 of your newspaper, provided you can find them at all.

A September news article ends with the negative media’s favorite theme for scaring their readers and/or listeners: “Two million people will face foreclosure in the next two years.”

Here are the numbers that the negative media did NOT report from that article:

1) Thirty-five percent of the homes in the U.S. do NOT have a mortgage.

2) Some 94.88 percent of the loans ARE performing.

3) The foreclosure problem in this country is really a story about seven states.

4) The biggest foreclosure problems are in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. These are manufacturing states that had horrible job losses. Since 2001, Michigan has lost 300,000 jobs. These states would probably have had problems no matter what the market was doing.

5) The other four states -- California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona -- experienced significant overbuilding. Twenty-five percent of the foreclosures in these states are on properties that are held by investors who were speculating.

6) Only 25 percent of all mortgages are sub prime, and of these, 75 percent are performing.

7) In the other 43 states, foreclosures have fallen in 2007 from 2006 (data from Michael Clawson, vice president, Central Texas Mortgage).

Furthermore, buyers who are waiting to purchase when the so-called bubble pops in California’s major metropolitan areas are going to be sitting on the sidelines, according to the latest data from the C.A.R. Realtor group.

According to Leslie Appleton Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, the areas being hardest hit in California are the outlying areas where there has been overbuilding. The resale market in California’s major markets continues to be strong. In fact, the closer you are to a metropolitan area, the better the sales are. In the million-dollar-plus price range, there has been essentially no change from 2006 to 2007.

There’s no question about the fact that there is bad news in some markets. What upsets me is that there is also a lot of good news that is either being buried or is not being reported at all.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment you have a moment.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.
Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

Did Governement "Ride to the Rescue" for Homeowners?

Yesterday, the government announced it's plan to assist those homeowners suffering from sub-prime loans and interest re-sets.

Did they do enough?

Did they do too much?

Email us your thoughts after reading this overview...

President Bush unstrapped a plan on 12/06/2007 that offers foreclosure relief to potentially 1.2M homeowners. It includes a temporary freeze on low, introductory mortgage-interest rates that could otherwise increase dramatically in the next few years.
But the plan has some restrictions...do you think they are good or bad? Email us your opinions...read on.

The plan excludes anyone more than 30 days late at the time the mortgage would be modified or anyone who has been more than 60 days late at any time within the previous 12 months. According to reports, it also covers borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) resetting in 2008 and leaves out any who are judged capable of continuing to make mortgage payments at the higher reset rates.

But you should know that there are 2.2M borrowers with sub-prime ARMS that are expected to reset through the end of 2008. According to an analysis made by Barclays Capital, only 240,000 of those 2.2M loans would be covered by this plan.
Some industry experts called this "a step in the right direction" and President Bush said "there is no perfect solution".

The plan applies to loans originated between Jan.1, 2005 and July 31, 2007 that reset between Jan. 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010. But the aid will only come to those who ask for it.
Congress could also help by acting quicker on passing mortgage relief legislation, including the FHA Modernization bill, the change in tax code and a bill enabling local and state governments to issue bonds to finance mortgage refinancings. All of these bills have been held up in Senate for weeks or months...shame shame!!

Please send us your thoughts...

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.
Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors