8/28/2013

Rancho Mission Viejo


Rancho Mission Viejo
kitchen 
 SEA COUNTRY's model home I LOVE the galvanized light fixtures
patio furniture
Patio off Sea Country's model home

For the 55+ buyers four single-story neighborhoods each feature their own character, but all offer conveniences. The entry will be gated with electronic openers (not guarded). Large community pool, Hacienda Club house, community gardens set with surrounding hillsides that hold on to their rural beauty. Orange Groves, horse stables, and hiking trails all in area create a country setting for this new community.

Exit the I-5 at Crown Valley Parkway to avoid the Caltrans construction on the Ortega/I-5 on and off ramps. Go east. At Antonio Parkway turn right and head south. Before Ortega, turn left at the signed entry.
hanging barn door indoors

RYLAND Homes Bright and airy model number two

box light fixtures marble kitchen
Kitchen so clean and white!

 The hillsides have been inhabited by native peoples, then cattle ranchers, then orange and lemon groves. Today there are hiking trails and cowboy activities with the rodeo and equestrian events. There are a couple phases to Rancho Mission Viejo and this post is about the "retirement" section. What is it they politically correct call it? It's not Senior living any more it is just for the over 55 set.

Gavilán Neighborhoods

·            Standard Pacific   and Standard Pacific Casitas: Courtyard homes

·             Shea: Single-family

·             Del Webb: Single-family detached homes




Standard Pacific | Bungalows

Spanish-modern designs single and duplex bungalows feature two- and three-bedrooms and range from 1278 to 1809 square feet.

Plan Name
Priced From
Square Feet
Beds
Baths
Garage
Stories
Plan 1A/B/C
mid $400s
1,276
2
2
2
1
Plan 2A/B/C
low $500s
1,533
2
2
2
1
Plan 2XA/B/C
mid $500s
1,843 – 1,860
2
2
2
2
Plan 3/A/B/C
low $500s
1,692
3
2
2
1



Standard Pacific | Casitas

Casitas showcase the relaxed spirit of ranch-style living. From the cook’s kitchen with its oversized island to the covered outdoor Ranch Room, these two- and three-bedroom homes with den or loft range from 1624 to 2059 square feet and feature two-car garages. They do not look like “retirement living” homes.

Plan Name
Priced From
Square Feet
Beds
Baths
Garage
Stories
Plan 1A/B/C
mid $500s
1,624
2
2
2
1
Plan 1XA/B/C
high $500s
1,900
2
2
2
2
Plan 2A/B/C
high $500s
1,787
2
2
2
1
Plan 3A/C/D
high $500s
1,748
2
2
2
1
Plan 3XA/C/D
low $600s
2,059
2
2
2
2



Shea | Single Family Homes

Single family homes on graded lots with full amenities

Plan Name
Priced From
Square Feet
Beds
Baths
Garage
Stories
Plan 1
mid $600s
1,770
2
2.5
2
1
Plan 2
high $600s
1,929
2
2.5
2
1
Plan 3
mid $700s
2,041
2
2.5
2
1



Del Webb | Single Family Homes

Spacious and energy-efficient is the idea in the Del Webb neighborhood. Dual pane windows, additional insulation, reflective roof materials and a contemporary ranch feel.

Plan Name
Priced From
Square Feet
Beds
Baths
Garage
Stories
Residence One
$830,990
2,021
2
2.5
2
1
Residence Two
$853,990
2,156
2
2.5
2
1
Residence Three
$908,990
2,325
2
2.5
2
1



Soon I will review Sea Country’s innovative homes in this tract and compare:

·             Lyon Cabanas: Townhomes  and  Lyon Villas: Townhomes

·             Shea: Townhomes

·             SeaCountry: Single-family detached homes offering three and four bedrooms in

·             TriPointe: Single-family detached homes offering three and four (optional bonus

·             Ryland: Single-family detached homes







·             Meritage: Single-family detached homes
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8/25/2013

Vote For Pretty Snail Trap


Creating garden organic art that are work as tools to get rid of snails.
Snail ranch come on in and never check out.
 
Other tools I have made effective in my suburban neighborhood of South Orange County are: my organic snail eradicator, my special stick around ladybug house, Noni’s female dog sauce elixir for no brown spots, and a host of tips of what to plant next to your tomatoes, peppers and roses to keep away pests. The problem is my tools aren’t “pretty.” I want them to be durable and beautiful rather than what I have is MacGiver recycled containers crazy glued together. This post is about a snail trap prototype that I am making and prize for your input.
Idea A.
The snail ranch will be a ceramic or porcelain house with a hole and lid that can be removed. I am thinking of making it as a simple box bird house.
 
 
 
I have not tried to my get rid of snails in suburbia using Sluggo, Ortho bug-getta, iron phosphate or any other store bought chemical. I don’t use any chemicals, poisons or fertilizers in my garden in an attempt to keep the vegetables I grow healthful and my pets safe.
Idea B
more rustic or steam punk house with muted colors and not so cheerful?

After making twenty different “snail ranches” I’m ready to build a pretty prototype to  sell. “Snail ranch”- is a nicey nice term I use for traps that capture snails that are being permanently removed from my garden. A couple of  kind gardeners posted about putting the snails they gather into zip lock bags, placing them into the freezer for a quick gentle death and others who release them into a stream. Freezing to death is might be more painful than my quick smash. My snail hut is designed to capture slugs overnight, immobilize snails until I do a manual squish. You can trust these buggers to a baggy in the garbage (I find some escape and I want them to never to return to my yard).  This is snail war.
Idea C
a simple box with printed flora and fauna?
When my children were younger paid them to gather snails in a plastic bucket with a flashlight as if it was a fun game. It has become impossible to engage in battle them as teens.  My teenage son says I ought to make the snail trap an army bunker, but that's not the pretty look I am aiming towards.
I’m not allowed to have chickens where I live (once had lovely hens who roamed around doing the chore and as hard as I try I can’t seem to encourage toads to stick around). The only natural predator easily accessible to my Orange County California yard is crows. I have trained the crows to wait around in the morning for my cup full of snails tossed into the middle of the street. The crows have become peaceful inhabitants, but that’s another story.
Idea D
a box with a real house perhaps a Dutch or English Cottage printed on the ceramic?
 

Nothing seems to easily “kill” the mollusks.  They only are slowed down by crushed eggshells, sandpaper, cinders, wood ashes, and diatomaceous earth (this will need replacing if it gets wet), work well as a barrier.


Putting mint or sage in your mulch is reported to do a good job of repelling them. Which snail trap is both cute and one you might try in your garden?
Idea E a white or bisque finish that has removable lid and hole in rear to match any garden?

Another scratchy material they don't like to cross is sandpaper. You can make sandpaper collars to put around your plants if you have the time. I don’t find this works as the paper renders worthless as soon as you water.



This ammonia mix of: 1 cup water to 1 cup ammonia and 1 tablespoon of Murphy’s oil soap to make it stick seems to piss hem off and doesn’t wreck you soil like salt. It is the AK47 of the spray bottle in the slug war but you have to find the enemy and get it on them. The slugs hate it and die quickly. Plants love the ammonia it is pure nitrogen (and some H3). Consider this the Marine Corps down and dirty battle. Personally I prefer two methods: pick and squish the big ones and leave snail ranch traps out and refill with secret bomb juice every other day. My dogs will eat the bomb juice filled with fresh escargot but they won’t eat the snails. This is not harmful to dogs.

Idea F
I love these little sculptures I would need to make the house larger- smaller than a bread box and larger than a grapefruit with a blue bird of happiness on top? or maybe threatening with a crow?
 
Please give your input on the prototype and there is a prize!
Yes anyone who votes on one of the images for the exterior appearance of my snail trap gets a two free taco coupon. Why a two free taco coupon from Jack in The  Box? It just seems funny for an organic gardener to give away junk food. Make a comment and leave some bread crumb trail to find your mailing address where I can send the taco coupon. Make two votes get two coupons… or show me some gingerbread house design that I can make out of porcelain.
More to follow - secret sauce, and the final mock up


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8/19/2013

FHA Loan ONE Year After Bankruptcy, Short Sale ...


A new ruling is coming down the pipeline that will pave the way for once-struggling homeowners to qualify for an FHA mortgage.
The Federal Housing Administration has announced in a letter to mortgagees that it will reduce the time homebuyers must wait after a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale before qualifying for an FHA loan.  Before the wait time was two years following the discharge of a bankruptcy, and three years following a foreclosure or short sale in addition to establishing new credit and having no late payments after the event.

The agency will reduce the wait period to one year.
"FHA recognizes the hardships faced by these borrowers, and realizes that their credit histories may not fully reflect their true ability or propensity to repay a mortgage," per FHA Commissioner Carol J. Galante this week.

But fulfilling the new, more lenient waiting period won't automatically qualify borrowers for an FHA-backed loan. Borrowers will have to show that they experienced an "economic event" whereby their household income fell by 20% or more for a period of at least six months.


 
 

Applicants must also show and explain how they have fully recovered from the event, and agree to complete housing counseling prior to closing.
Carol J. Galante began her service as the Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner on December 30, 2012. Prior to confirmation, Galante was Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing/FHA Commissioner.

As FHA Commissioner, Ms. Galante watches over and manages the FHA’s trillion dollar insurance portfolio, which includes single family and multifamily housing.
Caroline Gerardo, NMLS # 324982  phone (949) 637-8190
 

 

 
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8/14/2013

Direct Lender



Lenders like to say they are direct. They also say they are big or have assets or they are fast. They just might be wearing a funny hat and can't close your home on time

Here are the top twenty Companies and banks that Closed Mortgage Loans in the United States in 2012.

Flagstar BankTroy, MI$53,586,827,00094%/6%221,237$26,612,567,9042,8715020
2Guaranteed RateChicago, IL$14,710,666,0930%/100%53,411$6,800,000,0007504912
3Freedom Mortgage Corp.Mount Laurel, NJ$13,772,356,12071%/29%65,163$3,589,663,4841255023
4PrimeLending, PlainsCapital CompanyDallas, TX$13,735,022,8250%/100%66,670$8,787,254,1881,1855027
5Stearns Lending Inc.Santa Ana, CA$11,810,814,44882%/18%48,655$5,692,804,0905604923
6Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Roseville, CA$7,647,142,66732%/68%29,732$4,999,555,953995135
7Sierra Pacific Mortgage Co. Inc.Folsom, CA$7,559,405,05875%/25%29,917$5,162,249,7253684827
8Mortgage Master Inc.Walpole, MA$7,305,861,6380%/100%23,809$5,285,471,5642502225
9United Shore Financial Services LLCTroy, MI$7,041,740,63488%/12%34,091$1,797,284,739754927
10Fremont BankFremont, CA$7,000,016,43124%/76%25,024$3,771,706,00033349
11George Mason Mortgage LLCFairfax, VA$6,577,775,13538%/62%18,617$3,893,934,5381551026
12W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital LLCCentennial, CO$6,495,740,6570%/100%22,187$2,378,546,3014402211
13Guild Mortgage Co.San Diego, CA$6,441,077,57810%/90%31,691$3,571,310,4648023752
14Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.Sun Prairie, WI$6,001,390,6138%/92%29,377$3,609,673,1495224516
15Caliber Funding LLCIrving, TX$5,484,274,22465%/35%23,068$891,506,517211475
16Cole Taylor MortgageAnn Arbor, MI$5,187,000,00081%/19%20,617$1,880,000,000413
17Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.Salt Lake City, UT$4,990,129,7960%/100%25,715$3,473,560,0288315014
18New Penn FinancialPlymouth Meeting, PA$4,773,680,00041%/59%19,268$1,492,728,813468465
19Academy MortgageSandy, UT$4,663,752,4240%/100%25,935$3,327,846,3917054425
20Mortgage Services III LLCBloomington, IL$4,599,082,17280%/20%20,699$2,880,410,086122426

W.J. Bradley was number 12 last year and in June of 2013 we were number five. The only Bank on the list is Flagstar - forget about Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America they aren't in the top 150.

My company has the smallest number of  mortgage loan originators in the top 50. We also have the fastest turn time. Caroline Gerardo with W J Bradley closed purchase loans in eleven days. Think of me as the little engine that could. Call and find out what is the difference between a real direct lender who has assets to weather the storm.

(949) 637-8190  C. G. Barbeau  NMLS # 324982


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