How Walkable is your San Diego Neighborhood?
June 28th, 2008 Categories: Oceanside, San Diego Communities, San Diego Real Estate
With San Diego gas prices going through the ceiling, interest is building for homes that are in walking distance to shopping, theaters, schools and other local destinations.
In the past, many of these properties were shunned by home buyers because of traffic noise and “urban noise.” These days, more and more buyers of San Diego real estate are asking about the nearest grocery store, and how close homes are to schools, parks–and train stations.
Noise is no longer the deterrent it once was.
A new site offers you the opportunity to check the walkability of your own San Diego neighborhood–or perhaps the one you grew up in across the country.
Curious about how walkable your neighborhood might be? Just go to: WalkScore
Now, think I’ll go walk the dog and consider the possibilities….
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La Costa Canyon: Break Up with Bottled Water
May 27th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad, Encinitas, Hot Market Trends, San Diego Communities
Trash cans at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, CA are emptier now that students, faculty and staff are switching to reusable water bottles.
And that is all because students with LCC’s Social Justice Project came up with a plan that is succeeding beyond all expectations, according to students and Christopher Greenslate, the LCC Social Justice teacher who also teaches journalism and English at the school.
Students sent out emails and made posters on recyclable paper to educate fellow students on the hazards of plastic water bottles, which are disposed of at the rate of 60 billion per year–and is the leading source of plastic pollution in the United States. They also sold recyclable bottles, which student and faculty quickly bought.
When that supply sold out, reformed plastic bottle users found other off-campus sources. It is hoped that the ubiquitous plastic water bottle will be replaced with reusable ones that won’t trash our planet so needlessly.
As a result of this successful effort, La Costa Canyon High School’s video about their breakup with bottled water has been selected as a finalist in Quantum Shift’s $50,000 contest for best environmental project.
Please visit the site and cast a vote for La Costa Canyon’s Social Justice. Perhaps their efforts will spread to other area schools, colleges and workplaces. In addition to lessening environmental impact, there will be significant cost savings. Home filtered water put in glass bottles is not only healthier, but runs just 1/10 the cost of bottled water.
All of San Diego and the neighboring communities of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Olivenhain, Cardiff, and Rancho Santa Fe should be proud of La Costa Canyon High School and their very green project.
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Downtown Oceanside: Moving Up
May 6th, 2008 Categories: Oceanside, San Diego Activities, San Diego Communities, San Diego Events
by Roberta Murphy
Late yesterday afternoon at a Carlsbad Cinco de Mayo fest, I met two wonderful ladies who had spent the last 20 years with their families living in downtown Oceanside.
Their kids went to school in Oceanside–and for the umpteenth time, I heard rave reviews about the downtown Oceanside community spirit, and the friendliness and caring of its residents.
“People here don’t just come home from work and pull down their garage doors. We truly connect and socialize with our neighbors,” one explained.
Oceanside, CA is a great place to spend a weekend, a two-week vacation, or even a lifetime (say local residents). It offers a great coastal climate, broad sandy beaches, relatively affordable homes, condos and townhomes, and lots of activities for all ages.
Visitors to Oceanside (many arriving by train) marvel at the downtown building and bustling activity. High rise condominiums, such as the newly-constructed Oceanside Terraces, are reshaping the local skyline, while the historic Oceanside Pier continues to draw fishermen, sightseers or those out for a lengthy ocean stroll.
For those seeking museums and missions, Oceanside has many rich offerings. For example, the California Surf Museum located at 223 North Coast Highway is a surfers’ mecca. Not only do they offer displays showing the evolution of surfing, but they also have a large display of surfboards, ranging from single-finned woodies to contemporary four-finned and lightweight fiberglass models.
If you are interested in the visual and fine arts, there is the edgy Oceanside Museum of Art, located at 704 Pier View Way. In addition to their eye-opening and provocative art displays, the museum also hosts their School of Art, which offers instruction in a variety of media, including painting, pottery and ceramic sculpture, along with drawing and drumming. The Oceanside Museum is housed in the classic Irving Gill-designed building that preserves the 1930s flavor of Southern California.
Oceansides Mission San Luis Rey de Francia is California’s King of Missions. It was established in 1798, and is located just four miles east of downtown Oceanside. This early and largest California mission is still a center of Catholic Church activities and events. Visitors are welcome to stroll through the Mission Church and the surrounding gardens and grounds.
The Oceanside Farmers Market is a local’s favorite and is held every Thursday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Pier View Way, between Coast Highway and Ditmar Street. The event reopens in the late afternoon at 4 p.m. to the delight of both downtown residents and visitors. All can find just-picked and local fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, fragrant and steaming hot tamales, bouquets of local flowers, and other culinary surprises. Bring your appetite and sense of adventure!
Restaurants are abundant in downtown Oceanside, and range from seafood spots by the Oceanside Harbor, to Cuban, Japanese Mexican, French and California Nouveau cuisine. For a taste of history (but not yesterday’s fare ), you may wish to stop for a cup of coffee or a meal at the 101 Cafe, located at 631 S. Coast Highway. This roadside treasure has been around since 1928, and offers visitors glimpses of what life was once like in this scenic California beach town.
For additional information about Oceanside and life in San Diego’s prime North County, you may wish to view the following:
Oceanside Urban Luxury: Oceanside Terraces
San Diego Baby Boomers: The Wish List
Fun at Oceanside and San Diego Farmer’s Markets
Oceanside and San Diego a Bargain for Foreign Investors
Things to Do with Kids in Oceanside and San Diego
Oceanside and San Diego Real Estate Irresistible to Foreigners and Expats
Things to Do in Downtown Oceanside
Testimonials from Our Real Estate Clients
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Two Income Tax Tips for San Diego Filers
April 10th, 2008 Categories: Carlsbad, Mortgage News, Oceanside, Real Estate News, San Diego Communities, San Diego Real Estate
Income tax filing is just around the corner, but here are a couple of tax tips owners may want to keep on hand:
1. Congress, reacting to the subprime mortgage mess (in San Diego and elsewhere), has provided welcome tax relief to San Diego homeowners facing foreclosure. In the past, if a mortgage lender foreclosed on a property and it sold for less than what was owed, income taxes were due on that so-called forgiven debt.
In other words, a homeowner in San Diego who sold for less than what was owed on the home would still owe income taxes on the loss suffered by the mortgage lender. Now, for 2007-2009 tax years, this so-called forgiven debt will no longer be taxed up to a $2 million cap. This provision may also be applied to amounts forgiven when qualifying loans are restructured in order to reduce the principal amount owed to the lender.
2. New to 2008 is an IRS provision that allows a surviving spouse who sells a primary residence no later than two years after the spouses death to exclude as much as $500,000 in capital gains on the sale from taxable income.
In years past, if a home was sold in a year after the death of a spouse, when a joint return could no longer be filed, the maximum gain exclusion was $250,000. To qualify for this benefit, the exclusion requirement must have been met immediately before the spouses death and the surviving spouse must not have remarried as of the date of sale.
Of course, I am no tax expert (just a San Diego Realtor) and am just passing along a couple of tips from our accountant. Please consult your own!
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Should Rancho Santa Fe Incorporate or Remain a Rural Enclave?
April 9th, 2008 Categories: Golf Courses, Luxury Homes, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego Communities
Want to inspire spirited discussion or argument at a Rancho Santa Fe soiree?
Just bring up the topic of whether San Diego Countys rural and exclusive Rancho Santa Fe should incorporate as a city or NOT.
Those favoring incorporation of Rancho Santa Fe have tired of paltry allowances from the county for road repairs, San Diego Countys poor planning and budgeting for Rancho Santa Fe infrastructure, and RSF traffic laws that are enforced by the California Highway Patrol. There may also be more than a few Rancho Santa Fe real estate developers who might stand to benefit from incorporation of this affluent community.
Those opposing Rancho Santa Fes incorporation would certainly include denizens who wish to maintain this top-rated affluent rural communitys identity. These RSF residents cherish winding roads absent sidewalks, real estate signs, exposed open garage doors, streetlights, and mailboxes. Open houses sans signs in the Covenant of Rancho Santa Fe are a nightmare for me agents who wish to publicize the open availability of listings.
To the proponents of Rancho Santa Fes incorporation, though, I would like to ask them to consider carefully its lovely winding roads, dark night skies, citrus groves and flowers, and a lifestyle that begs to remain in some other more peaceful century.
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