Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
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Sav Maive LawnStarter Where can you be a city dweller in a house with a nice big yard? With mortgage interest rates decreasing – aka more financial bandwidth to buy a bigger property – LawnStarter ranked 2024’s Cities With the Biggest Yards. We compared the 2,000 biggest U.S. cities based on the average yard sizes of single-family homes from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Plan your next move with our ranking below. First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Cities With the Bigge...
As a homeowner, you have the opportunity to build equity, which is the financial interest you have in your home. When your equity grows, it can mean bigger profits once you sell your house. Your equity can also be borrowed against using home equity loans or lines of credit and cash-out refinances, which you can then use to cover the costs of home repairs, pay off debt or achieve other financial goals. But how exactly do you build up equity? Here are four strategies: 1. Make a...
For starters, the market activity indicator remains at 46. To refresh, 30 is the threshold from buyer’s market to neutral market and 48 is the threshold from neutral market to seller’s market so we’re in a neutral to slight seller’s market. And what are we seeing at ground level? All of the listings in our office are getting showings; lots of showings and properties are going into escrow, and mostly they are closing, if the buyers are properly vetted. We are also seeing...
Cassie N. Saunders County of San Diego Communications Office The County of San Diego's Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program helps first-time home buyers whose income is 80% or less than the annual area median income, which ranges from $77,200 or less for a single adult, to $110,250 for a family of four and $145,550 for a family of eight. The program offers low interest loans with deferred payments. The loans may be as much as 22% of the sales price for the down pay...
SAN MARCOS – San Marcos resident Martha Kerr, an employee of Pacific Manufactured Homes, was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Manufactured Housing Institute – a nonprofit organization that started in 1937. In attendance at the awards ceremony were 200 leaders in the manufactured home industry. Kerr began her career in the manufactured home business as a bookkeeper at the young age of 31 back in 1979. In the last 44 years, she has held titles fr...
Good January day readers, I hope this week’s article finds everyone happy and healthy with the anticipation of a pleasant and prosperous 2024. Today’s article will hit some wavetops because there hasn’t been significant real estate activity to discuss lately. First and foremost, in response to inquiries, yes, we did get married over the holidays. The former Miss Dianna Branch and I exchanged vows at a smallish backyard ceremony on Friday 22 December. It was super cool as Diann...
FALLBROOK – Achieving homeownership is an aspiration for many Americans, yet it can pose considerable challenges. If you find yourself lacking funds for a down payment, one alternative is to utilize your 401(k) for the purchase of a house. Yes, in certain situations, you can use your 401(k) to buy a house. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows for penalty-free withdrawals from your 401(k) for a first-time home purchase. Here are some key points to consider: First-time h...
Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. My last article closed with a note that I would be absent from writing my weekly article until after the holiday season. I did, however, keep up with my reading and kept my finger on the pulse of real estate so when I returned I would have current information to share. To catch everyone up, the Market Activity Report remained steady since my last article in mid-December, hovering between 43-44. As previously discussed, that puts our...
Buying a home is always a big decision, but with higher mortgage rates and rising home prices, today’s homebuyers seem to face even higher stakes. Want to ensure you buy a house that makes you happy, get a mortgage you can afford, and make the best moves for your future? Read on to learn some of the most common homebuyer regrets – and how you could steer clear of them. Regret: Paying a too-high interest rate. A higher mortgage interest rate means a higher monthly payment, whi...
FALLBROOK – This year, we at the Fallbrook Public Utility District have been concentrating on doing everything we can to save you money. We've heard you, our customers, say that water costs are too high – unsustainable. We listened. And four years ago, we set out on a course to make a change. A big one. We began working together with Rainbow Municipal Water District to change water suppliers – a move that will save both districts about $7.6 million a year. It was a feat that...
Old homes can be charming and contain architectural elements not often seen in many modern housing developments. But what older homes may have in design appeal, they may lack in updated features. While cosmetic changes are not necessarily difficult, one area of concern in historic homes – and sometimes even in houses built 40 or 50 years ago – is archaic wiring. Wiring provides power to every room of the home. In today's electronics-driven society, electricity that works is an essential component of daily life. Over tim...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The mid-year budget adjustments approved Tuesday, Dec. 5, by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors established additional funding for the future San Luis Rey River Park and the Fallbrook Community Center park. The supervisors’ 5-0 vote budgeted additional amounts of $2,653,624.63 for the river park and $100,000 for the community center park. The action also corrected an insufficient appropriation to the North County Fire Protection district from assessments collected from the Horse C...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The Rainbow Municipal Water District board approved a change order to the construction management contract for the replacement of Lift Station No. 1. The board’s 5-0 vote authorizes a change order with Valley Construction Management which adds $216,413 to the contract amount. The change order also extends the contract term through March 29, 2024. Lift Station No. 1 is off of Old River Road and delivers sewage effluent to the City of Oceanside, which has an ocean outfall. The package lift s...
Tom Frew Courtesy of the Fallbrook Historical Society Tommy was Thomas Elias Morris (1878-1966), an England born long-time resident of Fallbrook. The first mention of Tommy's Restaurant is when the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce announced a luncheon meeting at Tommy's on October 22, 1935. (1) Tommy's began as a small café renting a narrow space in what was then known as the Tiffany building just a few feet away from the coffee shop located in the southeast corner of the older...
Majestic Christmas trees garner the lion’s share of the decorative fanfare when the holidays arrive. Trees may be the focal points of holiday decor, but the humble wreath adorning the front door is the first decoration guests are likely to see when visiting a home. Wreaths may need some care to maintain their beauty all month long. Here are some tips to help holiday wreaths last as long as possible. Choose a wreath wisely When shopping for a wreath, choose freshly cut greenery that you assemble yourself; otherwise, look f...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The speed limit on Pepper Tree Lane and Calavo Road between McDonald Road and Stage Coach Lane will be lowered. A 4-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Wednesday, Dec. 6, with Terra Lawson-Remer absent, approved the first reading and introduction of an ordinance to reduce the speed limit from 40 mph to 35 mph and certify the new speed limit for radar enforcement. The second reading and adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 10. If the second reading and adoption...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an increase of the security bond amount for the Palisades Estates subdivision which includes a portion of the Bonsall Community Planning Area while also extending the time to complete the required improvements. The supervisors voted 4-0 Wednesday, Dec. 6, with Terra Lawson-Remer absent, to approve the amendment to the security agreement. The time extension creates a Dec. 6, 2025, deadline to complete the infrastructure improvements although...
I get these questions a lot. When will housing prices fall? Will there be a housing market crash? When is the best time to purchase a house? Everything I read and listen to indicates that “no,” there isn’t going to be a housing market crash. Prices may flatten if mortgage interest rates rise and continue to lock buyers out of the market but even that is a changing dynamic as rates have dropped from +8% to currently in the low 7%, and even into the high 6% with certain governme...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The Fallbrook Community Planning Group approved a priority list for Park Land Dedication Ordinance funding. The planning group’s 14-0 vote Monday, Nov. 20, with Tom Harrington absent, approved a prioritized list of recommendations which will be provided to the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “Looking forward to having some of them implemented,” planning group chair Eileen Delaney said. Park Land Development Ordinance fees are collected from developers to fund park improve...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The Rainbow Municipal Water District and Hazard Construction reached an agreement on compensation for change orders on the project to relocate the Rainbow water mains along the Live Oak Park bridge, and the Rainbow board approved a change order compensation agreement Dec. 5. The 5-0 vote approves a change order with Hazard Construction for $232,500. The change order agreement also modifies the work completion date. The work was to have been completed Sept. 8 prior to delays caused by the...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The State of California periodically adjusts the maximum developer fees a school district can charge, but the school district must have a study which demonstrates a reasonable relationship between the additional development and the need for additional school facilities. Key Analytics will be preparing a pair of justification studies for the Bonsall Unified School District. The BUSD board voted 4-0 Nov. 15, with Pascal Lapoirie absent, to enter into a professional services agreement with Key...
SAN DIEGO – San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister is reminding property owners that there are 12 days until the Monday, Dec. 11, deadline to pay property taxes. The total amount owed is $8.63 billion dollars, $566 million more than last year’s total of $8.1 billion. “The deadline to pay property taxes is 12 days away, so we call this time of year ‘The 12 Days of Taxes,’ since there are 12 more days to pay without getting a penalty,” McAllister said. The 1,013,632 secured tax bills were sent in early Octobe...
In this weekly article, I have lamented what appeared to be seemingly capricious action by the Federal Reserve Board regarding monetary policy (versus fiscal policy, aka government controlling its spending) to try to curb inflation and get it down to 2%. I have expressed concern that it will take 12 months for changes to manifest and, since we have endured 12 Prime Rate increases in the last 13 months, it occurs that there hasn’t been sufficient interval time to analyze the c...
Jane Kepley Special to the Village News It can be a good idea to update your home a bit before putting it on the market. Making some updates could mean better photographs and a more eye-catching listing – plus, it could help your home sell faster or for a higher price. Still, home projects can add up, and you may not want to spend a lot on a home you’re ready to list. Fortunately, there are lower-cost ways to improve your house prior to selling. Try one or more of these options: • Add curb appeal. You don’t have to fully c...
Joe Naiman Village News Reporter The North County Fire Protection District approved a purchase agreement for a new Pierce Type 1 fire engine. The NCFPD board voted 5-0 Nov. 14 to purchase the engine from South Coast Fire Equipment, Inc. Although the fire engine will not be delivered until 2027, the NCFPD board approved pre-payment which will cost the district $975,256.89 including sales tax and fees. “That will ultimately save the district over $150,000,” said NCFPD Fire Chief Keith McReynolds. Type 1 trucks are designed to...
