Raymond Cruz Hired as the Next City Manager of Rolling Hills

by Donna Littlejohn |LA Times

A top Carson City Hall staffer has been named the new city manager in Rolling Hills. Raymond Cruz, community services director for the city of Carson will begin his new duties on Nov.18th. He was appointed Monday night at the Rolling Hills City Council meeting.

Cruz replaces Tony Dahlerbruch, who left in May to become city manager of the neighboring city of Palos Verdes Estates.

With fewer than 2,000 residents, Rolling Hills is a small, gated community at the top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula known for its horse stables and ranch-like ambiance, view preservation battles and some of the priciest Real Estate in the Los Angeles Area.

Cruz has more than 26 years of city government experience, including stints as public services general manager for the city of Carson and assistant to the city manager for the city of Glendale.

He has a bachelors degree in political science and public service from UC Riverside and a masters in public administration from USC.

Cruz will be paid $165,000 a year.

We Wish you a Happy Halloween!

Ten Home Staging Cover Ups

Just about everyone is familiar with home staging.  Home staging is successfully used by many realtors and is a great tool in helping to sell just about any type of home.  However, what most people don' t realize is that there are some sellers who utilize staging as a way to cover up the things they don't want you to see.  Here are a few home staging cover ups that when seen, should make you stop and pay attention.  Not to what is right, but to what is wrong.

1.  It seems like just about every home has at least one small room that the homeowner doesn't quite know what to do with.   If you see a small room that has small furniture in it, this generally means the seller is using small furniture to trick your eye and to make the room look bigger than it really is.

2.  Many homeowners use scent as a nice way to make a good first impression of their home.  However, some sellers use various scents to cover up or mask any lingering smells that may be in their home.  If you come across a home with air fresheners, pay close attention to anything your nose might detect other than the air freshener.  Do you smell pets or pet urine?  Do you smell mold or mildew?  Put your nose to the test.

3.  Often times music is used to distract you from hearing a noise problem.  When you hear music while viewing a home, you should turn off the music and listen.  What do you hear?  Does the neighbor have a dog that never stops barking?  Do you hear an excessive amount of street noise?  Are the airplanes flying overhead louder than you would expect?  Do the neighbors fight all of the time?

4.  If while touring a home you notice that all the blinds are closed or the window coverings are pulled, you should take a minute to open every window covering to see what might be hiding behind that curtain.  This is something that most people don't do.  Not doing this one thing could cost you thousands of dollars if it isn't discovered before you close on the home.  It may only be a broken window pane.  But it could be that all the window seals are broken and all of the windows are fogged so badly that you can't see outside.  Or it may be that the neighbor is a hoarder and their home is in complete disrepair or perhaps they have an auto mechanic shop in their back yard.  Needless to say it's very important to look through every window and check the view.

5.  Never assume that behind every door is a reasonable space.  You should open every door and cabinet as you tour the home.  Sometimes closed doors are closed for a reason.  Just think how you would feel if you moved in only to discover that none of the cabinets have shelves in them.  Or that the pantry you so desperately need was only a few inches deep.

6.  Area rugs are sometimes used to cover up carpet stains, a flaw in the flooring or some foundation cracks.  You should lift up every area rug and inspect what may be hiding underneath.

7.  Pay attention to each door of the home.  Are any of the doors missing?  Sometimes a seller will remove a door that doesn't function properly.  A door that doesn't open and close like it should may be an indication of foundation problems.  Or it may just be that the seller is trying to make the room look larger, etc.

8.  Look behind all the pictures.  Are the pictures covering up any holes in the walls?

9.  Check all the countertops.  Do you see any placemats or decor that could be an attempt at hiding a flaw?

10.  Look around, do you see anything that could potentially be covering up a flaw in the home?

Now you are aware that staging is sometimes used as a cover up.  You're now better equipped to address any possible issues before you commit to buying a home.  You should also talk to your realtor about assisting you in identifying any additional staging cover ups that weren't covered here.  Your realtor has multitudes of experience and can immediately spot a staging cover up that could cost you thousands of dollars if not caught before you actually purchase the home.  Your realtor truly is your best defense when it comes to buying a good quality home.

Creative Tips For Your Fall Decorating

It's that time of year again.  The leaves are turning into a brilliant array of colors and there is a slight chill in the air.  It's fall - the time of year when we all begin preparing for the holidays.  Here are some creative fall decorating tips that should help give your home that warm holiday feeling.

1.  Buy some pumpkins and clean out their insides.  Then you can add some fall foliage or flowers and line your sidewalk or porches with them.

2. Warm Things Up

Take a cue from designer Sarah Richardson and give an open, soaring space (even one as massive as her living room) a snug, welcoming feel by swapping out pillows in lightweight summer fabrics, like linen and cotton, for luxe velvet ones in rich, fall shades. Add a few coordinating throws and get ready to cozy up by the fire. 

• Add Some Layers Fall's crisp weather calls for layering up your wardrobe — put the same idea to work in your home and toss cozy wool, cotton, chenille or even luxurious cashmere throws over furniture in rooms where your family or guests gather.
• Fire up the Fireplace

                                        

3.  Multi-tiered candy dishes make great accent pieces.  Take some acorns, pinecones, gourds, decorative corn, mini pumpkins and add a variety of them to each tier. Take a footed glass container and layer it with different types of candy.  This makes a great centerpiece for any table.

4.  The metallic look is big this season.  Get some plastic mini pumpkins and cover them in glue, roll them in metallic glitter and display them around your home.  These make great accent pieces.

                                 
5.  White Pumpkins. Keep it simple with an elegant display of white, or ghost, pumpkins. For visual interest, stagger the heights by using stacks of old books or vintage scales as pedestals. Design by Beth Hunter.

• Buy some different sized plastic pumpkins and build them up into a topiary.  Use a decorative base and then you can layer the pumpkins by size up into a nice looking topiary.  Add some nice fall foliage pieces to trim it out.
• Painted Pumpkins, Faux pumpkins and gourds painted in a monochromatic color scheme adds understated elegance to a mantel. Design by Susie Harris

                        

6.  Take a window box and paint it a metallic color.  Then you can add some winter flowers and fall decor such as pinecones, gourds and decorative corn to give it that festive look.

7. Fill a wooden fruit bowl with apples.  Then add some holly leaves, cinnamon sticks, twigs with fall colored leaves, etc. and use as a table arrangement.

8.  Get several pieces of large decorative corn and glue them around the base of your potted plants and wrap them with a raffia ribbon bow.  This will give your home the feeling of fall.

9.  Buy some clear glass canisters and line them with kernels of corn.  Then you can add some small white candles.  You will then glue some decorative leaves to the front and sides and wrap them with a little raffia for that nice finishing touch.

10.  Go to Pinterest.com and put "fall decorating" into the search box.  This will bring up a multitude of fantastic fall decorating ideas that you may have never thought of.  Additionally, it will show you pictures of what the finished piece should look like.

11. Dress Up Any Space With a Wreath. An inexpensive wreath form, moss and our free printable templates are all you need to create this rustic fall wreath.

• Add a Wreath to your front door

12. Faux-liage

Add an autumnal touch to an open bookcase with silk fall leaves, which you can find at your local craft store. Whether they're pressed inside a picture frame or strategically placed along the shelves, autumn-colored leaves are sure to pump up the fall factor. Design by Layla Palmer

                                     

13. Fall for Autumn's Hues

With its rusty palette and laid-back look, chose the colors for your dining room to be dressed for casual fall entertaining. Designer Lauren Liess created the layered tablecloth by topping a linen drapery panel with a vintage russet and orange quilt. Gourds, candles, fresh herbs and a stoneware urn filled with vermilion branches create a fuss-free centerpiece that works equally well for Thanksgiving dinner or any fall get-together. Use colors like orange, brown, red, green, and earthy tones. 

14. Decorate the Front Porch

HGTV fan dezignrogue makes a good thing even better by adding an assortment of pumpkins, gourds and colorful mums to their Italiante villa's front entry. A wrought-iron bench is a nice addition and gives the outdoor room a sit-a-spell feel.

                                 

Contemporary Kitchen Cabinets

Contemporary kitchen cabinets are generally composed of minimal ornamentation and flat surfaces. The cabinetry style is intentionally non-traditional, avoiding decorative moldings in favor of simplicity and function.

This black and white kitchen features contemporary cabinets by ALNO, AG. [+] More Pictures

Historic Influences: Contemporary kitchen designs date from the 1940s to the present, and trace many of their stylistic origins in Europe.

      

Elements of Style: For a clean and spacious look, contemporary kitchen design typically avoids excess ornamentation. Crown molding, wood carvings, and raised panel door styles are almost never used. Small spaces can be made to feel bigger if there is less visual stimulation. Therefore the relatively flat surfaces found in contemporary kitchens can be of benefit to smaller modern homes.

Materials: Most materials in contemporary kitchen designs are man-made, including metal, plastic, concrete, glass, and recycled goods. While these man-made materials can often feel cold and sterile, many designers like to incorporate natural elements such as wood veneer and natural stone to bring some warmth back into the room. Simple decorations such as a potted plant or a bowl of fruit can also give your kitchen a more natural ambiance.

      

Color Schemes: Many contemporary kitchens have monochromatic color schemes, featuring various combinations of black, white, and gray. These kitchens tend to look very modern and sharp. Some contemporary designs, however, incorporate unique colors or exotic wood in order to create a visual impact and showcase the homeowner's favorite materials or hues.

Kitchen Design Photos: Below are some pictures of kitchens featuring contemporary cabinets. If you enjoy the beauty and simplicity of these kitchens, be sure to take a look at our galleries of European, Asian, and Modern kitchens as well. Enjoy the photos!

     

Read more: http://www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/contemporary-kitchen-cabinets.html#ixzz2iaPib6pn

Foreclosure Filings Drop in California

By Andrew Khouri

A foreclosure sign tops a for-sale sign outside a home. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press / August 29, 2007)

By Andrew Khouri, LA TIMES

New California foreclosure filings tumbled during the third quarter, as a stronger economy continued to heal the housing market.

Notices of default fell 21.1% from the second quarter and 58.6% from the same period last year, research firm DataQuick said Tuesday. Completed foreclosures dropped sharply as well, reaching the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2006.

Lenders filed 20,314 default notices from July to September, the lowest amount since the first quarter of this year when a new series of state laws — known as the Homeowner Bill of Rights — went into effect. The laws restrict how banks conduct foreclosures within the state.

Foreclosure starts peaked during the first three months of 2009 at 135,431.  The crisis — which wreaked havoc on families, neighborhoods and the economy — has now greatly subsided.

Sharply rising home values this year lifted many Californians from their negative equity positions — meaning they no longer owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.  That has helped reduce the number of homeowners vulnerable to foreclosure, DataQuick said, allowing them to more easily sell their homes or refinance if they get into financial trouble. 

The state’s median home price rose to $360,000 in the third quarter, up 26.3% from a year earlier.

“Cleanup of the foreclosure mess is ongoing, but it’s difficult to imagine a huge new wave,” DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement, noting higher housing prices, an improved job market and the government efforts to stem foreclosures.

DataQuick said foreclosure activity plummeted temporarily after stricter laws went into effect.  Indeed, after plunging in the first quarter this year, notices of default jumped 39% a quarter later.

But foreclosure starts started to decline again in the third quarter.  Excluding the first quarter, notices of default in the third quarter were the lowest since the first three months of 2006.

Default notices remain more prevalent in the state’s least expensive neighborhoods, where subprime lending was prevalent. ZIP codes with a median price below $200,000 recorded an average of 3.4 default notices for every 1,000 homes. For ZIP codes with medians of $200,000 to $800,000, an average of 2.2 foreclosure starts were filed. The ratio fell to 0.9  for ZIP codes priced above $800,000.

Loans were more likely to enter default in Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Kings and Yuba counties. Loans were least likely to default in San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin and San Luis Obispo counties.

In Los Angeles County, new foreclosure filings dropped 20.5% from the second quarter, while completed foreclosures fell 21.5%.

Homeowners getting into financial trouble now are mostly those who purchased a house during last decade’s boom, when lending standards were much weaker. Most loans entering default were taken out from 2005 to 2007, with the median origination quarter for those loans being the fourth quarter of 2006.

Common Credit Myths You Need to Know Before Buying Your Next Home

If you have good credit and think you won't have any problem buying a house, you might need to think again.  Most people with good credit have many common misconceptions about their credit and how it could affect their likelihood of being approved for buying a home.  When in fact, having good credit, even extremely good credit, doesn't necessarily mean you are a good risk in the eyes of a mortgage lender.  Keep reading to learn some of the most common credit myths that could cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage loan.

1.  Do you have a large amount of cash?  Do you have a fairly high income?  Do you have some reasonable equity in your home?  If you answered yes to those questions, you probably think your FICO score is not a factor.  That is false.  The fact is that your credit score is what determines whether or not you will be approved for a home loan.  It  will also determine what the interest rate will be for that loan.  There are only two exceptions to that rule.  If you pay cash or if you put down a great deal of money on the home.

2.  Are you debt free?  Do you pay all of your bills on time?  If you answered yes to those questions, you probably think you have what is considered good credit.  That is false.  Lenders look at your credit differently than you do.  A lender will look at your FICO score to see how well you manage your debt and your credit.  The lender will look to see if you're at your limit on your credit cards, and if you are, but you continue to apply for more credit, a lender will consider that credit abuse.

However, if you have credit, but don't carry any credit balances on the credit you have, that doesn't mean you have good credit in the eyes of the lenders.  You may find this hard to believe, but you will get a higher FICO score if each month you carry a balance of 30% of your credit limit and you continually make your payments on time.  This is where most people are completely baffled, because common sense, in most people, would tell them that no debt is a good thing, when in reality it's not.  Go figure!

3.  Have you experienced a short sale or a foreclosure in the past?  Many people believe that if they've had a short sale or a foreclosure in the past, they can't qualify for another home.  That is false.  Remember what we've been talking about?  Your credit score is the number one factor in determining whether or not you will be approved for a loan.  So even though the short sale or foreclosure will stay on your Experian and Transunion credit reports for seven to ten years, that doesn't mean you can't work on improving your credit score enough to buy another home sooner rather than later.

In order to achieve this, you will need to start paying your bills on time.  It will also require that you have a reasonable amount of money to put down on your new home.  And if you had any extenuating circumstances that caused your short sale or foreclosure to occur in the first place, that should be explained.  This alone could help lead to a more likely approval and quite possibly a lower interest rate.

The bottom line is to save your money and use your credit accordingly.  Take all of these credit tips we've given you to get the most desirable loan you can.  Your best bet is to talk with your realtor about buying a new home.  He can then make the proper recommendations for your specific situation.

Your realtor has plenty of experience in dealing with mortgage lenders.  He will assist you in making the necessary corrections that could lead to a mortgage approval and quite possibly the lowest interest rate available for your new home.  Asking your realtor for assistance could ultimately save you thousands of dollars over the course of your loan.

Finding L.A. buildings with quake risk a challenge, official says

Crushed vehicles at the Northridge Meadows apartment complex on Jan. 17, 1994, the day of the Northridge earthquake. Sixteen residents were killed in the magnitude 6.7 temblor. (Roland Otero / Los Angeles Times / January 17, 1994)
By Rosanna Xia, LA TIMES

Los Angeles city building officials have concluded that inspectors would most likely have to visit all of the city's 29,000 older apartment buildings to determine which ones have a certain type of wood frame that is particularly vulnerable to collapse during a major earthquake.

City staffers are developing a plan to winnow out these so-called “soft” story wood-frame buildings among the 29,000 apartment buildings across the city that were built before 1978, Ifa Kashefi, chief of the engineering bureau at the building and safety department, told a group of structural engineers and stakeholders at the annual Buildings at Risk conference.

Officials have long known about the risk of soft-story buildings, particularly after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, when about 200 of these structures were seriously damaged or destroyed, and 16 people died in the Northridge Meadows apartment complex.

Soft-story structures often are built over carports and held up with slender columns, leaving the upper floors to crash into ground-floor apartments during shaking. No city data exist to easily identify which structures are wood-framed and are soft-story, Kashefi said.

The city's housing department was able to provide addresses to the 29,000 apartment buildings in the city built before 1978, Kashefi said, and city inspectors would need to go to each address and determine whether a building should be included in this inventory.

A motion, introduced in July by City Councilman Tom LaBonge, asks building officials to present a proposal for how the city would be able to identify wood-frame soft-story residential buildings with at least two stories and at least five units and built before 1978.

“We have a choice. We can either be prepared, or not be prepared,” said LaBonge, who was also on Tuesday's panel. “It's about our safety.”

LaBonge's motion came after San Francisco passed a landmark earthquake safety ordinance this year that requires about 3,000 wooden apartment buildings to be strengthened there. LaBonge said he expected a report from L.A.’s building and safety agency sometime in November.

Home Prices Remain Hot Year Over Year

Median increases 21.3% over last September, but slips $3,000 from August.

By: Gregory J. Wilcox

Southern California’s housing market settled into a typical seasonal pattern in September with sales falling from August, but prices continued making big gains from a year earlier, a market tracker said Wednesday.

Last month the median home price across the six-county region increased 21.3 percent to $382,000 from $315,000 a year earlier, said La Jolla-based DataQuick. The median price did slip $3,000 from August, the first month-to-month decline since February. It was basically flat all summer.

However, the median has increased year-over-year for 18 consecutive months, DataQuick said. The increases have been in the 20 percent range for the last nine months as distressed properties have been weaned from the market and sales of more expensive homes increased.

Last month sales increased 7 percent to 19,112 properties from 17,859 a year earlier. Sales fell 17.1 percent from 23,057 in August as the summer buying season wound down.

“We’ve seen a fairly normal downshifting in the housing market this fall. Couple that with the rise in inventory, higher mortgage rates and the ongoing gradual drop in purchases by investors and cash buyers, and it’s no wonder prices have leveled off in recent months,” DataQuick president John Walsh said in a statement.

What is not yet clear is how the government shutdown, which ended on Wednesday, impacted the housing market. That won’t be known for several months, Walsh said.

In San Bernardino County during September the median price jumped 32.4 percent to $225,000 from $170,000 a year earlier, the biggest increase in the region. Sales increased 15.4 percent, also the region’s biggest gain, to 2,358 properties from 2,044 a year earlier.

Los Angeles County’s median price increased 25 percent to $425,000 from $340,000 a year earlier and sales increased 5 percent to 6,494 from 6,188 in September 2012.

DataQuick tracks sales and prices of new and previously owned houses and condominiums.

During September the number of homes that sold from $300,000 through $800,000 — a range that would include many move-up buyers — increased 25.5 percent year-over-year. The number that sold for $500,000 or more jumped 42.1 percent from one year earlier, while $800,000-plus sales rose 43.4 percent.

Transactions involving foreclosed homes and short sales also continued trending down.

In September sales of homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months accounted for 6.3 percent of the Southland’s resale market, down from 6.9 percent in August and down from 16.6 percent a year earlier.

Last month’s foreclosure resale rate was the lowest since 5.5 percent in May 2007. During the downturn foreclosure resales hit a high of 56.7 percent in February 2009.

Short sales, deals in which the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property, accounted for a 13.1 percent share, down from 13.3 percent the month before and down from 28 percent a year earlier.

September’s level was the lowest since a 12.9 percent share in May 2009.

Absentee buyers, mostly investors and some second-home purchasers, bought 26.3 percent of the Southland homes sold last month. That was down from 26.7 percent the month before and down from 27.7 percent a year earlier.

DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said that the market is downshifting a bit.

“I’ve heard of fewer multiple offers and properties are staying on the market a little bit longer,” he said. “And there are some drops in asking prices. Some sellers are really trying to reach for the stars based on the appreciation we were seeing during the summer. The market has cooled somewhat from then.”

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What You Need To Know Before Installing A New Fence

Many homeowners think that putting up a fence is as simple as getting the supplies and beginning the installation of their new fence.  However, there is much more involved than that and what you don't know could get you into trouble.  Not to mention the money it will cost you if you don't get it right the first time.  Below are a few things you should know before you begin your fencing project.

1.  The first thing you will need to do is to check your city's code enforcement laws regarding fencing.  You will need to know if they allow fencing, and if they do you will need to know if there are any height restrictions.  Then you will more than likely need a permit.

2.  You need to know your property line.  This doesn't mean you should guess.  You should have your property line professionally marked according to your legal plat map and legal description of your property line.  Your legal plat map can also be obtained from your tax assessor's office.  You shouldn't skip this step; otherwise, you could find yourself having to remove your newly installed fence due to encroachment on to your neighbor's property.

3.  You are legally required to have the utility lines on your property marked before you dig.  If you don't, and you hit a utility line, you could be fined and will more than likely be responsible for paying the repair costs and any damages.

4.  You will need to know ahead of time what quantity of materials you are going to need.  That means you will need to know the height of your fence and how many poles it will take to complete your fence.  When buying fence poles, you will need to remember that the poles will be buried approximately 18" to 24" in the ground so plan accordingly.

5.  Determine how many gates you will need.  Keep in mind that the taller the gate is, the more hinges it will need in order to hold it up and to keep it functioning properly for years to come.   A standard gate uses two hinges; however, if your gate is over eight feet tall, you should use three to four hinges on each gate.

6.  There are several different types of wood from which you can choose.  Pine, spruce and cedar are the most popular, with pine being the least expensive and cedar being the most expensive.  However, the cedar, even though it is the most expensive, will last the longest.

We hope you have found this information helpful.  If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, talk with your realtor.  Let him know that you are considering a move.  He would be more than happy to supply you with a list of available homes in your area, as well as, a competitive market analysis of your neighborhood.

2014 NEW LAWS FOR CALIFORNIA'S REALTORS®

Just hours before his deadline at midnight last night, Governor Jerry Brown signed or vetoed all the legislative bills on his desk to end the legislative process for 2013. C.A.R.’s Legal Department has summarized and made available on our webpage about 130 of these New Laws mostly taking effect next year that may affect your real estate practice or otherwise be of interest to REALTORS®. The full text of each new law is available athttp://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. This legislative session’s new laws cover a wide range of topics of interest, including disclosure requirements, licensing matters, adjoining owners, affiliated real estate services, landlord-tenant, subdivisions, land use, employment, and many more. Some of the significant new laws for REALTORS® are as follows: TDS Revised to Include Construction Defect Litigation Effective July 1, 2014, the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) has been revised to require disclosure of the seller’s knowledge of certain construction defect claims for newly constructed homes under a law commonly referred to as SB 800. As amended, the TDS will inquire, in question 16 of Section 11C, as to whether a seller is aware of any claims or lawsuits involving construction defects threatening to or affecting the real property, including any pre-litigation claims of a construction defect, claims of breach of warranty, or claims for breach of an enhanced protection agreement under SB 800. Senate Bill 652. Disciplinary Action for Broker Record Tampering Starting January 1, 2014, the Bureau of Real Estate can suspend or revoke the license of any real estate salesperson, broker, or corporate brokerage, if the broker, salesperson, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, knowingly destroys, alters, conceals, mutilates, or falsifies any of the books, papers, writings, documents, or tangible objects required to be maintained and provided upon notice, or sought in connection with an investigation, audit, or examination. Under existing law, a real estate broker must generally retain for 3 years copies of all documents executed or obtained by him in connection with any transactions involved licensed activities. Senate Bill 676. Consumer Protection Against Prepaid Rental Listing Services Beginning on January 1, 2014, the California Bureau of Real Estate (CalBRE) is authorized to issue a citation to an unlicensed person for engaging in prepaid rental listing services without a prepaid rental listing service license or real estate broker license. As background, a prepaid rental listing service is generally a business that charges a fee for providing a prospective tenant with a list of available places for rent. Existing required content for a written contract that a prepaid rental listing service licensee must offer a prospective tenant before accepting a fee has been broadened to include the licensee’s license number as well as a specific statutory notice about refunds. An aggrieved person with a final judgment against a prepaid rental listing service licensee may apply to CalBRE for payment from the Consumer Recovery Account. Any payment from the Consumer Recovery Account will result in automatic suspension of the prepaid rental listing service licensee. Senate Bill 269. FTB Information Return for Out-of-State Acquisition in 1031 Exchange For any 1031 exchange that occurs on or after January 1, 2014, a taxpayer acquiring a “like-kind” property located outside of California must file an information return with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for that taxable year and every year thereafter in which the gain or loss from the exchange has not been recognized. If a taxpayer fails to file such information return and tax returns, the FTB may propose to assess the amount of tax, interest, and penalties due by estimating net income from any available information, including the amount of gain. Assembly Bill 92. Adjoining Owners Equally Responsible for Shared Fences and Boundaries Commencing January 1, 2014, adjoining landowners must share equally the responsibility for maintaining boundaries and monuments between them. Adjoining landowners are presumed to share an equal benefit from any fence dividing their properties, as well as equal costs for construction or maintenance, unless otherwise agreed in writing. This new law also provides specific procedural requirements for an owner who intends to incur costs for a division fence to notify the adjoining owner of the estimated costs and other information. Existing law enacted in 1872 which requires a homeowner who fully encloses a property to refund a neighbor a just proportion of the value of a division fence has been repealed. Assembly Bill 1404. Increased Insurance Requirements for Structural Pest Control As of January 1, 2014, existing law allowing a structural pest control operator to file with the Structural Pest Control Board evidence of either an insurance policy or bond as specified, has been revised to eliminate the option of the bond. Furthermore, the minimum limit of the insurance policy that an operator must maintain has been increased from $25,000 to $500,000 for bodily injury and destruction of property. Additionally, the amount of a surety bond that an operator must maintain has been increased from $4,000 to $12,500. Also, the surety bond requirement for reissuance of a license or registration after suspension or revocation has been increased from a range of $1,000 to $8,000, to a range of $8,000 to $25,000. Senate Bill 662. Smoke Detectors Specifications Changed Starting on July 1, 2014, the State Fire Marshall will not approve a battery-operated smoke alarm unless it contains a non-replaceable, non-removable battery capable of powering the smoke alarm for at least 10 years. This rule was originally slated to take effect on January 1, 2014. Until July 1, 2015, an exception to this rule applies to smoke alarms ordered by, or in the inventory of, an owner, managing agent, contractor, wholesaler, or retailer on or before July 1, 2014. Furthermore, starting January 1, 2015, the State Fire Marshal will not approve a smoke alarm unless it does all of the following: (1) displays the date of manufacture on the device; (2) provides a place on the device to insert the date of installation; and (3) incorporate a hush feature. A previous requirement for the smoke alarm to incorporate an end-of-life feature that provides notice that the device needs to be replaced has been eliminated. The requirements taking effect on January 1, 2015 was originally slated to take effect on January 1, 2014. The State Fire Marshal has the authority to create exceptions to these requirements. Senate Bill 745. Title Companies Protected for Good Faith Filing of Notice of Default or Sale Except when acting as a trustee, a title insurance company is not liable for violating certain laws prohibiting the filing of a notice of default or notice of sale if the title company, while acting in good faith and in the normal course of business, records or causes to record a notice of default or notice of sale at the request of the trustee, substituted trustee, or beneficiary. This protection applies to the following laws: (1) prohibition against the filing of a notice of default until 30 days after the lender contacts a borrower to explore options of avoiding foreclosure; (2) prohibition against the filing of a notice of default or sale if a short sale is approved by all parties as specified; (3) prohibition against the filing of a notice of default or sale if the borrower has submitted a complete loan modification application as specified; and (4) injunctive relief for certain violations. Senate Bill 310. Literal Translation of “Notary Public” in Ads Prohibited Effective October 5, 2013, any person who is not an attorney is guilty of the unauthorized practice of law for literally translating from English into another language any words that imply that the person is an attorney, including “notary public,” “notary,” “licensed,” “attorney,” or “lawyer” in any advertisement or other document. The literal transaction of the phrase “notary public” into Spanish as “notario publico” or “notario” (which means in Spanish an attorney with special credentials, not a notary public) are explicitly prohibited by anyone other than an attorney. A person who violates this law may be held liable in a civil action brought by the State Bar for a penalty up to $1,000 per day for each violation. The civil penalty is in addition to any other remedies, including criminal prosecution for a misdemeanor punishable by one year imprisonment, plus a $1,000 fine. Assembly Bill 1159. Landlord Required to Provide Specific Utility Rate Schedules Starting January 1, 2014, a master-meter customer of an apartment building, mobilehome park, or similar residential complex, must post in a conspicuous place the applicable specific current residential gas or electrical rate schedule as published by the serving utility, rather than the prevailing residential utilities rate schedule as previously required. Alternatively, the landlord as a master-meter customer may elect to post a website address for a tenant to access the schedule as long as the landlord also does the following: (1) state in the posting that an individual user may request a copy of the specific current residential gas or electrical rate schedule from the master-meter customer; and (2) provide the schedule upon request at no cost. Senate Bill 196. Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking as Tenants Beginning January 1, 2014, a residential tenant can terminate a tenancy within 30 days by notifying the landlord that the tenant was a victim of human trafficking as defined. The tenant’s notice to terminate tenancy must generally include a copy of a police report or court order regarding the tenant or tenant’s household member. From January 1, 2014 to January 2016, however, a tenant may simply provide documentation from a qualified third party professional indicating that the tenant or household member is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries resulting from the offense. This law also prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy, or failing to renew a tenancy, based on acts of human trafficking if documented by a police report or protective court order and the wrongdoer is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit. The landlord, however, may terminate the tenancy if, after invoking protection under this law, the tenant allows the wrongdoer named in the police report or protective order to visit the property, or the landlord reasonably believes that the wrongdoer poses a physical threat to other tenants or to the tenant’s right to quiet possession. Existing law already protects a tenant if the tenant or tenant’s household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or elder or dependent adult abuse. Senate Bill 612. Enactment of Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act The Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act has been enacted to, starting January 1, 2014, provide for the creation and regulation of commercial and industrial common interest developments. Many provisions of the new law are patterned after provisions in the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act for residential properties, including association governance, operating rules, and property use and maintenance. However, various provisions of the Davis-Stirling Act are not part of the Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act, including, among other things, sales disclosure requirements, board and member meetings, accounting, and dispute resolution. Senate Bill 752. Revised Billing Statement for HOA Documents and Other Changes Commencing on January 1, 2014, existing law requiring a homeowners’ association (HOA) to use a statutory form for billing charges for HOA sales disclosures has been revised. The new law requires the form to be in at least 10-point type and include an itemization for “Rental Restrictions, if any.” Furthermore, existing law stating that, when an inconsistency exists, governing documents prevail over articles of incorporation, which in turn prevail over bylaws, and in turn prevail over operating rules, has been revised to apply when a conflict, not inconsistency, exists. Additionally, existing law requiring delivery of documents to an HOA by email, fax, other electronic means, or personal delivery if the HOA consents to any of those methods, has been extended to allow delivery by first-class mail, postage prepaid, registered or certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery by an express service center, regardless of HOA consent. Senate Bill 745. Condominium Manager Exempt from Contractors Law Effective January 1, 2014, the law states that a common interest development manager performing management services is not required to have a contractor’s license. Conversely, the term “contractor” or “consultant” does not include a common interest development manager. A “common interest development manager” is generally defined as someone who, for compensation or in expectation of compensation, provides or contracts to provide management or financial services (or represents himself or herself as providing management or financial services) to a condominium complex or other common interest development. Real estate agents who are property managers performing activities for which a real estate license is required are already exempt from the contractor’s licensing requirements under existing law. Senate Bill 822. 24 Month Extension for Approved Tentative Subdivision Maps To allow cities and counties to preserve development applications not currently being processed due to adverse economic conditions in the construction industry, the existing time frame that an approved tentative map or vesting tentative map for subdivided parcels of land under the Subdivision Map Act has been extended. Under existing law, an approved tentative map or vesting tentative map generally expires within 24 to 36 months, depending on local ordinance. The new law, effective July 11, 2013, automatically allows an additional 24 months for any map approved on or after January 1, 2000 if the map was not expired as of July 11, 2013. A tentative map or vesting tentative map approved on or before December 31, 1999 can also be extended by 24 months if the subdivider applies for an extension at least 90 days before the expiration of the map, and the map is determined to be consistent with applicable zoning and general plan requirements. Assembly Bill 116. Local Code Enforcement Officer Can Determine Substandard Housing As of January 1, 2014, the enforcement authority for determining certain substandard housing conditions previously delegated only to county health officers, has been expanded to include local code enforcement officers as defined. To help clean up blighted areas, an infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents, as well as inadequate garbage storage and removal facilities, can now be determined by a local code enforcement officer if the city does not have an agreement or the resources to contract for county health services. To qualify to make these determinations, the local code enforcement officer must successfully complete a course of study in the appropriate subject matter as determined by the city. A property owner will not be cited by both local and county enforcement agencies for the same violation regarding pest infestation or inadequate garbage storage or removal.Senate Bill 488. City May Allow Small-Scale Urban Farms Beginning on January 1, 2014, the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone Act has been enacted to promote small-scale sustainable urban farm enterprises. This new law authorizes a city or county and a landowner to enter into a contract for at least 5 years to restrict the use of vacant, unimproved, or otherwise blighted lands for small-scale production of agricultural crops and animal husbandry. The property must be at least 0.10 acres in size. The county assessor must value property restricted for crops and animal husbandry at a rate based on the average per-acre value of irrigated cropland in California, adjusted proportionately to reflect the acreage of the property as specified. This law expires on January 1, 2019. Assembly Bill 551. Minimum Wage Increased to $10 Per Hour Minimum wage in California has been increased from $8 per hour to $10 per hour. A one-dollar increment from $8 per hour to $9 per hour will come into effect on July 1, 2014, and another one-dollar increment from $9 per hour to $10 per hour will come into effect on January 1, 2016. The minimum wage has been $8 per hour since January 1, 2008. Assembly Bill 10. Various Other Safeguards for Employees The Legislature enacted a significant number of new laws this year aimed at protecting employees. A brief description of 14 of these employment laws is provided here, but more detail on each law is available on ourwebpage. The new laws protect employees engaged in the following conduct: (1) claiming unpaid wages (Assembly Bill 263 and Senate Bill 666); (2) not working during meal or rest periods (non-exempt employees) (Senate Bill 435); (3) updating personal information (Senate Bill 263); (4) disclosing information reasonably believed to be a violation of law (Senate Bill 496); (5) voluntarily providing CPR or other emergency medical services (Senate 633); (6) being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking (Senate Bill 400); (7) taking off from work to appear in a court proceeding involving the employee as a victim of certain offenses (Senate Bill 288); and (8) not disclosing a criminal conviction that has been judicially dismissed or ordered sealed as specified (Senate Bill 530). Additional new employment laws do the following: (1) protect an employee against unfair immigration-related practices (Assembly Bill 263); (2) include military or veteran status as a protected class of people who cannot be discriminated against in employment (Assembly Bill 556); (3) protect an employee against an employer’s willful failure to remit withholdings from wages to the proper agencies by punishing such behavior as a felony (Senate Bill 390); (4) protect an employee against liability for a prevailing party’s attorney fees if the employee sues in good faith (Senate Bill 462); (5) entitle an employee to liquidated damages for receiving less than minimum wage (Senate Bill 422); and (6) allow the Labor Commissioner to place a lien against an employer’s real property to secure payment under a final order (Assembly Bill 1386).

How to Organize a Kitchen: 10 Tips & Ideas

Learning how to organize a kitchen not only ensures that your kitchen is consistently neat and tidy, but also helps to streamline kitchen activities. Regardless of whether you have just moved into a new house or want to improve the functionality of your current kitchen, we believe these tips will help.

One of the most popular ways to organize a kitchen is to start with a good drawer divider system. See more of this ALNO kitchen here.

1. Dispose of Clutter: Donate or discard anything that you are no longer using in the kitchen. You can hand it down to a relative, donate it to charity, or sell it on eBay or at a yard sale. While some of the cookware in your kitchen may have some sort of sentimental value to you, be sure to weigh how much you use it versus how much space it consumes. For example, when did you last use the cookie press? Is the melon baller gathering dust? Do you use all the gizmos in your kitchen? Getting rid of kitchenware that you no longer use will create space for the items you really use. If you want great de-cluttering ideas and inspiration, read Clutter's Last Stand by Don Aslett.

2. Go Shopping: If there is broken kitchenware, replace it with cookware that is functioning. For example, if the fry pan keeps scorching your delicate dishes, replace it with a non-stick fry pan. If you do not have the money to replace the kitchenware, include it in your birthday or anniversary request list.

3. Sort Smarter: Keep utensils that are frequently used in an area that can easily be reached. For instance, you can have a cupboard for keeping utensils that are rarely used and shelves for keeping cookware that is frequently utilized. Then again, if you lack enough room in your kitchen to build shelves and cabinets, rarely used items can be kept in an protective container in the garage.

A pull-out spice rack is a great way to keep your spices organized in one place.

4. Create Work Zones: Consider various centers of activities and keep related cookware close to one another. If you happen to be remodeling, consider building a pantry near the refrigerator to consolidate your food zones, adding a preparation area where meals are prepared before cooking, and a cooking area where the stove is to be placed with appropriate spices and utensils close by. Other zones to consider are a cleaning and waste disposal area as well as a baking and serving area. Creating these activity zones will streamline operations in your kitchen. Check out Blum Dynamic Space for more suggestions on ideal work zones, which are introduced in the video below:

5. Clear the Countertops: The kitchen counter is your main workspace. Do not forget to clean it in addition to removing clutter from it. How often do you use the appliances currently taking up space on the countertop? Is the mixer, toaster oven, rice cooker, or juicer collecting dust? If you any of your countertop appliances infrequently, consider storing them in a nearby cabinet instead to be pulled out when needed. 

Save counter space by storing your stand mixer in a base cabinet. This one is built onto a mechanized cabinet lift for frequent access.

6. Organize Shopping Lists: For couples and families, keeping a consistent place for a shopping list is very helpful, so that anyone can mark the things that you do not have in your kitchen. Also, maintaining a separate list of supplies you like to store your kitchen will help you in ensuring that your kitchen is always stocked. Maintaining this supply list aids you in buying what is necessary for your kitchen, thus avoiding impulse buying.

7. Setup a Workstation: Do you use your kitchen when sending mail or helping your kids with homework? Do you find yourself reading the morning newspaper in the kitchen? If you find yourself using the kitchen for other activities besides cooking, make sure that there is a tidy location within your kitchen where you can sit and read a book or help your child with their homework. See this gallery of Kitchen Desks on Pinterest for more inspiration.

An increasing number of families now use the kitchen for everyday tasks, from checking email to doing homework. If you plan to have a desk in your kitchen, be sure to keep it tidy. See more pictures of this kitchen.

8. Get a Tune Up: Your kitchen will not be at its optimum if there are broken or damaged components, such as leaking faucets or partially clogged drains. If something is broken in your kitchen, make a point of replacing or fixing it as soon as possible.

9. Sort by Frequency of Use: Ideally, an efficient kitchen basically boils down to having what you need at your fingertips. If there are items that you use on a frequent basis, you can keep them close to the area where they are most used, while lesser-used items should be placed in harder-to-reach areas.

10. Keep Tidy Habits: Finally, do not forget to clean the kitchen as you work. Once you are through with a pan, have it cleaned and stored away. This is the most productive habit to maintain. Cleaning as you work ensures that clutter does not pile up to unmanageable sizes in the kitchen.

Read more: http://www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/how-to-organize-a-kitchen.html#ixzz2hvIZeqZL

Better School, Better Pay Out

Redfin study finds that even within neighborhoods, schools can have big impact by: Teke Wiggin Staff Writer

An analysis by Redfin illustrates the steep price premiums that homeowners are willing to pay for homes served by top-ranked schools, offering the latest concrete evidence that buyers place remarkable importance on the quality of schools.

The sky-high premiums help explain the ongoing race among listing sites to provide razor-sharp school information.

They could also add fuel to a debate over whether buyers and the real estate agents representing them give too much weight to rankings, which school officials say don’t always provide a complete picture of the differences in the quality of education provided.

Redfin’s study found that buyers pay an average of $50 more per square foot for homes served by top-ranked schools than for those served by average-ranked schools. It also found found that, even within the same neighborhoods, buyers will pay substantially more for homes served by top-ranked schools than they do for comparable homes served by average-ranked schools.

“Homes just a short distance apart with nearly identical attributes are selling for drastically different prices,” the report said. “We’ve looked across the country at homes that have sold in the last three months and found five examples where the prices vary on identical homes by as much as $130,000.”

Not accounting for home size, San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Calif., carry the highest price premiums for top-ranked schools while Queens, N.Y., Raleigh, N.C., and Eugene, Ore., carry the lowest of all the metros that Redfin analyzed.

The report adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests that many homebuyers are ready to shell out substantial cash for access to top-notch schools.

Three out of 5 homebuyers who responded to a recent realtor.com survey said that school attendance boundaries would be a factor in choosing a home, and most of that group said they’d be willing to go above budget or give up amenities to have their children go to their school of choice.

The online survey, conducted this summer, found that of those who said school attendance boundaries were important:

• 23.6 percent would pay 1 to 5 percent above budget.
• 20.7 percent would pay 6 to 10 percent above budget.
• 9 percent would pay 11 to 20 percent above budget.
• 40.3 percent would not go above budget.

Some school officials have questioned whether buyers and their agents are relying too heavily on test scores and school ranking sites when pricing listings.

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that buyers in San Mateo County, Calif., are willing to pay premiums of $200,000 or more for homes served by schools that score only slightly better than other schools in the same school district. School district officials told the newspaper that homebuyers and their agents may read too much into simplified school rankings offered on real estate sites, and are working with Realtors in the hopes of helping them gain a better understanding of what qualities make for a good school.

A Canadian real estate agent who’s branded herself as her community’s “#1 schools advisor” has rankled school district officials and parents by posting not only standardized test scores on her website, but devising her own system for ranking them. The ranking system penalizes schools with lower household income and parental education levels, or a higher prevalence of single-parent households and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students.

The increasingly evident focus among buyers on school quality has helped spur a push by listing services to offer deeper school-centric features and data.

Zillow rolled out a school search boundary tool earlier this month that lets users filter home searches for public, private and charter school attendance boundaries by their ratings from a national school rating site.

A handful of other sites, including realtor.com, Trulia and Century 21 Real Estate, offer school-based search tools.

For its study, Redfin analyzed listings on multiple listing services that sold between May 1 and July 31; school zone boundaries provided by Maponics; and additional school data provided by Onboard Informatics and GreatSchools.

- See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/09/25/homes-served-by-top-schools-command-drastically-high-premiums/#sthash.EfQCkzJ5.dpuf