So this is a good time to take a long look at what you and your family should do if an earthquake hits us in Southern California. We all know it’s just a matter of time so are you ready:

Seven Steps to earthquake Safety

1. Secure it now.
2. Make a Plan
3. Make disaster kits
4. Is your place safe
5. Drop, Cover, and Hold on
6. Check it out
7. Communicate and recover

Take a moment and go to daretoprepare.org and you will find lots of information on earthquakes, earthquake safety, and helpful tips.

Now if you have been sitting on the fence to take advantage of the bottom of the market you better find a home NOW! With all the counties experiencing increases in home values except in San Bernardino County waiting for the right moment is over.

The $8,000.00 tax credit runs out the end of April 2010.

My wife for years has saved money by cutting coupons out of the newspaper, PennySaver,  grocery coupon mailers, and magazines to name a few. It’s a game to her and I used to think it was a waste of time, until I realized just how much money she was saving us each month. Coupons are now avaliable on the internet and here is a list of her favorite sites for printable coupons.

Retail Me Not, My Coupons, Hey Its Free, Promotional Codes, Coupon Barn, Slick Deals, Coupons. Just in January 2010 my wife saved $321.45.

Just found another great coupon site CouponChef.com

If you know any woman currently undergoing Chemo, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - 1 time per month for 4 months while she is in treatment.  

All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service.   http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

Please pass this information on to bless a woman going through Breast Cancer treatment. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

Over the years Carol and I have enjoyed fine wines and have spent time in the Napa Valley and surrounding areas along with Paso Robles tasting wine.  In recent years we have started spending time at the Temecula Valley wineries.  It’s a short drive from Orange County and great for a day trip or weekend getaway.  We have put together a list of the wineries, restaurants at wineries, lodging and resorts, and informational websites to make easier to plan your trip. Temecula Valley Wineries to get the information or if you prefer enter the complete U.R.L .  below.  

http://www.carolandjim.com/Buyer-Resources/Buyer-Suggested-Reading/Temecula-Valley-Wineries

I have reprinted this from AARP  to help warn people about the problems with homes exchanging hands without anyone knowing it until its too late. Just like identity theft you need to keep an eye on your properties too.

Forged deeds can give crooks the keys to your castle

 Source: From the AARP Bulletin print edition | July 1, 2009 | By: Sid Kirchheimer

Teresa Bidwell learned that her house had been stolen when contractors she hired to make minor renovations found another crew already there—and much of the Philadelphia row home gutted.

“My guys called me to ask if I had hired other contractors,” says the 45-year-old business owner. “I hadn’t.”

Instead, her property had been sold for just $5,000, and the new “owner” hired the unexpected workmen. “Unknown to me, the deed was transferred to her name, and she had that as proof I had ‘sold’ it,” Bidwell told the AARP Bulletin. Her signature had been forged. “I spent more than one year, $16,000 and a lot of hassles to get back my house.”

House stealing: easier than you might think

House stealing is a fast-growing and easy scam. Once a home is targeted—vacant ones are preferred, but occupied residences are also vulnerable—scammers find out who owns it by searching public records.

“When I went to City Hall, there were maybe 20 people in the deed recorder’s office, using its computers to research properties owned by those who, like me, live outside the city. When I told the clerk, ‘I’m here because my house was stolen,’ they scattered like cockroaches,” Bidwell says. 

 To prove how easy this scam is, William Sherman, a reporter at the Daily News in New York, bought the Empire State Building with doctored documents.

Armed with property records, crooks can then purchase $10 property transfer forms at any office supply store. The signatures of “sellers” are forged, and paperwork is filed with the city or county recorder’s office. In many states, deed recorders and those who oversee property closings are not required to authenticate the identities of buyers or sellers. Some crooks simply create fake IDs, stealing the real homeowner’s identity.

With a newly issued deed, stolen homes are sometimes sold, as in Bidwell’s case, for a fraction of their worth to cash-paying buyers (who are also scammed). But more often, hijacked homes are used as collateral to get new loans.

Lenders are more likely to issue new loans to homeowners with no existing mortgage. “The elderly are most often targeted because they usually don’t have a mortgage,” says Molly Butters of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.

To prove how easy this scam is, William Sherman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at the Daily News in New York, bought the Empire State Building with doctored documents. “After downloading the correct existing deed, I transferred it from its rightful owners to my own phony company, Nelots (“stolen” spelled backward) Properties LLC, using paperwork I bought at Staples,” he told the Bulletin. “It took about 90 minutes, and the next day the property was mine, according to the New York Register’s office.” Sherman promptly “returned” the landmark skyscraper.

How do you protect your own home?

• From time to time, check all property records with your local deed recorder or register’s office to ensure all documents and signatures are legitimate.
• If you receive a payment book or other information about a loan that isn’t yours, “whether your name is on the envelope or not, don’t just throw it away,” advises the FBI website. “Open it, and follow up with the company that sent it.”
• Some deed-recording offices use software that alerts homeowners whenever a transfer is made on their property. If yours doesn’t, ask why not.
• If you discover your home has been stolen, immediately report it to your district attorney or state attorney general’s office.

Consider switching to a natural gas clothes dryer, which is typically less expensive to operate than electric dryers, often by as much as 50 percent.

DRE issues fraud warning
The DRE recently issued a fraud warning alerting consumers about loan modification scams and informing consumers of what they can do to protect themselves. The alert is available in both English and Spanish.  Last July, the DRE had fewer than 10 complaints involving loan modification companies; today the department has 750 pending investigations. In addition, since last October, the DRE has filed more than 200 Desist and Refrain Orders. A list of the companies and persons the DRE has filed an action against can be viewed at http://www.dre.ca.gov/cons_drs.asp..

It is worth noting that not all firms who collect advance fees for loan modification services do so illegally, the DRE said.  In general, only licensed real estate brokers and attorneys operating within the scope of their license may collect advance fees. Real estate brokers must have their advance fee agreement reviewed by the DRE prior to its use to ensure it is compliant with real estate law.

C.A.R. also has learned of what appears to be a loan modification assistance program and lead generator, from a company using the legislative bill number 3648, that looks as if it’s a government entity, complete with a misleading seal closely resembling a governmental seal but that is not affiliated with the government. C.A.R. cautions all members to be on the alert for schemes seeking funds from REALTORS® or consumers with no value, or that may be misleading or unlawful.

Daily Real Estate News  |  May 29, 2009  | 

FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.

Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent.

The loans can't be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning.

Thus, buyers applying for FHA-backed financing with an FHA-approved lender that offers a bridge-loan program can get a bridge loan to bring down the upfront costs of buying a home significantly but would still have to come up with the minimum 3.5 percent downpayment.

There remain many sources of assistance for buyers needing help with the 3.5 percent downpayment, including many state and local government instrumentalities and nonprofit lenders.

In addition,  some state house finance agencies have developed their own tax credit bridge loan programs (None in California yet), so buyers in states whose HFAs offer such programs can monetize the tax credit upfront to cover all or part of their downpayment. These programs are separate from what HUD announced today.

The first-time homebuyer tax credit was enacted last year--and improved upon earlier this year--to help encourage households to enter the housing market while interest rates are low and affordability is high. The credit is worth up to $8,000 and is available to households that haven't owned a home in at least three years. The credit does not have to be repaid, and is fully reimbursable, so households can get their credit returned to them in the form of a payment.

Learn more about the credit, including how to apply for it this year even if you've already filed your taxes, at REALTOR.org.

Source: Robert Freedman, REALTOR® Magazine Online

HUD: Homebuyer Tax Credit Loans Still on Track
News reports that the federal government is backing away from its plan to permit eligible borrowers to monetize the first-time homebuyer tax credit are off the mark, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says.

"The technical details are still being finalized and will soon be published in a mortgagee letter and posted on our Web site," Lemar Wooley, a HUD spokesperson, told REALTOR® magazine Wednesday afternoon.

Under the guidance that's under development, state agencies and other HUD-approved entities would be able to provide short-term bridge loans that households could use to help with their downpayment. The loans would be repaid with the proceeds from the households' federal tax credit.

The loans were announced on the opening day of NAR's 2009 Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, D.C., last week. In his announcement, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said guidance would be issued shortly.

When the guidance is released, it is expected to cover eligible lenders and set parameters for loan terms and repayment.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online

We held 2 open houses over the weekend and had over 50 groups of people through both 2151 Clears Springs Rd and 1155 Timbergate in Brea. That’s more people than we have had in the last 6 month holding open houses.

No one knows where the bottom of the housing market is until long after it has passed. There are a few signs to be optimistic about though; 1. Inventory is down for the 3rd month. 2. The number of multiple offers on properties has increased. 3. The length of time on the market is decreasing. These are all sure signs we are in the bottom curve of the market and home sales will begin to improve

And, "Here's Your Monday Morning Coffee"...On Memorial day: it is good to be reminded that veterans and active duty personnel alike deserve our undying gratitude.  Keep in mind that there are heroes from the past and there heroes today, living and dying for our country and our freedom.

There have been 5 Medals of Honor presented in Afghanistan and Irag ... All five recipients gave their lives to save others, 3 of the five literally covered grenades with their bodies to save others... you can read their stories at www.homeofheroes.com

(When you read this story remember our soldiers are in the middle of an ambush, guns blazing, RPG's blasts (Rocket Propelled Grenades), and comrades being injured all happening all around them.)

This story is about a surviving recipient of the Silver Star...

Staff Sgt. Lincoln V. Dockery said he didn't even see the grenade that sent shrapnel into his right forearm while charging insurgent fighters in Afghanistan's Korengal valley, Nov. 16, 2007.

"Someone yelled out,” he said.  “My hand went up and a hot, sharp feeling went through."

Dockery, a combat engineer then assigned to a route clearance patrol with Company A of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Special Troops Battalion, said he decided the injury wasn't major, and continued his charge up a hill into enemy fire.

"I don't want to think about what would have happened had he not been there," said Capt. William Cromie, Dockery's platoon leader that day in Afghanistan. "It would have been a completely different day."

Dockery said the description of the mission for which the patrol departed from Forward Operating Base Asadabad in Kunar Province that day sounded like the description of their mission for any other day: "Out looking for bombs."

"My only concern was for the guys who worked under me," the 25-year-old stated.

His concern became reality when the lead vehicle on the mission, a Husky mine-detecting vehicle, activated an improvised explosive device. Rocket-propelled grenades immediately started hitting the damaged vehicle and it became clear the convoy was in the middle of an ambush.

With RPGs coming at his men and him from two different directions, he realized that the enemy was not only across a nearby river, but also about 20 meters from their position.  He had to make a quick decision. 

"If we didn't assault the hill they were attacking from, they would have taken us out. They couldn't miss with their weapons they were so close," Dockery recalled.

He checked on the lead vehicle’s driver who was barely conscious but not wounded.  Pfc. Amador Magana managed to give a thumbs-up, Dockery said, and soon stood up, manned his M-249 machine gun and returned fire on the enemy.

Dockery and one of his Soldiers, Spc. Corey Taylor, then stormed the hill as their team members provided support from the convoy.  During the charge Dockery was injured, but he kept going, through hand grenade exchanges and incoming RPGs.

The pair low-crawled the rest of the way up, watching bullets kick up rocks and dirt all around them.  They then pushed the enemy back from their position and found the IED command detonator and wire.

Indirect fire, air strikes and other close air support was called in later to deal with about 30 fleeing fighters, but Dockery's assault kept everyone else from the patrol alive.

Dockery received the Purple Heart for his injury in combat and earned a Silver Star for valor.  Both medals were presented on March 11 in Bamberg, Germany.

"Hopefully anybody would have done the same thing I did that day," Dockery said, downplaying his role in the event.

Excerpts from article by Sgt. Micah E. Clare, U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs Office, March 19, 2009.

Support our soldiers by sending a gift this holiday at

www.AnySoldier.com

Have a thankful and enjoyable day and remember to thank our Serviceman and Servicewomen.

Sincerely,

Carol & Jim