Curbside Appeal Orange County California

CURBSIDE APPEAL 

Curbside Appeal
This Smithcliffs, Laguna Beach House is what I would call a stunner. In a community where homes sell for thirty million dollars this homeowner chose a Cape Cod / California style and every aspect of the home - the landscaping, hard scaping, gates, windows, doors and colors all demonstrate elegance.

Second angle of same home I just have to show you how they used understated colors in harmony with the home. The predominant color in the yard is green. The  Smithcliffs tract was originally built with mature pine trees. The owners are restricted from trimming the stately pine trees. Brinderson the developer in 1992 -dug out and boxed the pine trees that had been on the cliffs for decades.  The pines (Torrey, Ponderosa, Lodgepole. etc. ) were carefully replanted in new locations within the development. It was a daring idea to use a pair of 250-ton cranes to move trees in a  time when developers didn't provide landscaping.

Because the trees create canopies over, around and near the homes there is much shade, but owners aren't allowed to sprinkler or drip irrigate around the trees. This homeowner created a stone pathway, a picket fence and the most amazing dutch door entryway. Notice the balance in the windows. This is an A+++ for curbside appeal.

 

Another Laguna Beach home with a gate entry. This home is also on the ocean side where homes are crowded. It has a Hansel and Gretel feeling in the architecture. I don't care for the pointed gate top, it feel threatening. The owner chose to echo the gabled pointy roof lines but this is not a welcoming entrance. It could be transformed with a few simple methods: paint color, vines, flowers. The dark chocolate paint just doesn't work in a flat finish. This could be transformed in a Farrow and Ball paint glossy finish with Lancaster Yellow or Arsenic Green or Pitch Blue. Then add a matching ceramic pot color.

Southwestern Style house with Curbside Appeal that I also give an A+. This home is in Newport Beach near my office. The cactus and succulent plantings soften the plaster and add counter punch to the rounded corners of the house. A couple splashes of red bougainvillea and red flowering pots near the front door lead you right inside.

Smithcliffs home with an archway entry. The driveway is softened by a runner strip of grass. Boston ivy covers most of the plaster and stone. Maintaining that ivy is no easy task. It would need trimming weekly to keep this shape and not make the house look like Grey Gardens. Also A+

Simple North Laguna Beach house. The awnings and American flag make this one pretty.

This front yard is an amazing garden. This Laguna Beach homeowner takes pride in planting a large variety of perennials, annuals and bulbs.  The tree in the front could easily become a ball blocking the view but it is artfully trimmed to allow light and air to enter the space. I love that little French café chair in the middle of the yard, it seems to smile at the house. This style might be busy for some home buyers. Little would they know that the roses, lilacs and herbs require care.

Smithcliffs house that is just too cold of an entry. The giant door and stone stairway feels like a court house to me. The trellis over the top helps but isn't neat on the top  as the boxy angles of the building. A bolder vine like coral bells passion vine would make this sing, and bring some monarch butterflies to make dance. 

 

 In Orange County California there is a great variety of architecture and landscaping for front entryways. Making your  home beautiful and ready to sell is an art. Sometimes all it takes is to simplify as when we live somewhere after a while we don't start up new projects or see things as others might. Curbside appeal is very important to sell a home. Buyers might not get out of the car if it doesn't feel "just right."

 

 

This photograph is a little dark, but the ivy breaks up the plaster (yes it is plaster polished to look like concrete) exterior.

369 Hawthorne Road

369 Hawthorne Road, Laguna Beach California

Listed for sale

Just Reduced

Contact Hillary Caston the listing agent

Mortgage Paperwork

So You are Buying a new house and need a loan.

This is a list of the paperwork needed to start a mortgage application:

Borrower(s) names as they are to appear on the deed  We don't vest in a LLC, Corporation or Tenants in Common

Social Security number(s)  (cards if FHA)

Driver’s license or other photo ID’s passport if you are foreign national

Home address(es) for the past 2 years

Paycheck stubs for the last 30 days

W-2’s and Personal Tax Returns for the last 2 years

If self-employed or commissioned, personal and/or business tax returns with schedules

for the last 2 years (year-to-date profit and loss statement and balance sheets may be required)

 

Employment information for the past 2 years, including employer, job title, tenure and employer’s addresses

Social Security or retirement benefit award letters

 Most recent 2 months statements (all pages) from banks or other financial institutions

Source of any non-payroll deposits over $500. (order copies through your bank)

 

Fully executed gift letter and proof of transfer (if applicable)

 

Property addresses for all real estate you own

Mortgage loan statements for all mortgages

Other insurance and HOA statements for all properties

Copy of bankruptcy filing and discharge if applicable

Purchase property information with sales contract and addendums

Copy of divorce decree and proof of child support (if applicable)

12 mo cancelled rent checks or prop. mgmt co. contact (if applicable)

 

Certificate of Eligibility and DD214 for Veterans

Additional Items May be  Needed

Closing a mortgage loan takes a great deal of paperwork. Since you took the time to read my list here are twelve other bird houses I like :)

 

older estate home

cute cottage

basic starter home

Castle?

 

Farmhouse

These metal Birdhouses are available at Madison Square Gardens In Laguna Beach

low budget condos

Bird house photographs taken with my iphone

BANK REFUSES TO CLOSE MY DINKY HOME LOAN!

MY LENDER WON'T CLOSE MY LITTLE LOAN

Bank can't close as there were changes after we locked and says this is a HPML

What are Higher Priced Mortgage Loans?

	Weekly Average Prime Offer Rates for Fixed Rate Loans
Week of 09/02/2013
Term (in years)		5*	10	15	20	25	30
APOR		3.44	4.51	3.64	3.64	4.57	4.57
Margin		1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
HPML APR Tolerance		4.940	6.010	5.140	5.140	6.070	6.070

 

Weekly Average Prime Offer Rates for Adjustable Rate (ARM) Loans
Week of 09/02/2013
Term (in years)	1/1*	3/1	5/1	7/1	10/1
APOR	2.90	2.92	3.04	3.37	3.86
Margin	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
HPML APR Tolerance	4.400	4.420	4.540	4.870	5.390

 

     * Amortization or adjustment rate terms may not be available in current product offering.

 Higher Priced Mortgage Loan (HPML) test implemented under Regulation Z is a tricky rule. The HPML rule applies to Conforming and Jumbo loans for Primary Residences with an APR that is 1.5% or more above the Average Prime Offer Rate (APOR) for loans secured by a first lien. APORs are published each Friday and are effective the following Monday. Once the loan is locked, the APOR used for that loan does not change.

If the APR is equal to or exceeds the HPML APR tolerance, the loan is HPML and will be un-saleable in the Secondary market. If a $55000 mortgage is going to cost a lender $10000 to close because of this rule there is no money to pay the huge penalty. Many banks, brokers, mortgage bankers don't want to mess with a loan that they might earn $200 on for the risk of having to pay that $10000. Although Dodd Frank set this rule to protect Borrowers from being switched to a costly loan, the rule is a Catch 22.

 

What Causes HPML Loans?
There are several things that may cause a loan interest rate to go above the APOR:

·         Lower loan amounts – the impact of fees on the APR increases as the loan amount decreases. A $100,000 loan is more likely to trigger an HPML than a $300,000 loan.

·         Mortgage insurance – The loan may have MI over a longer period of time because the LTV is in excess of 100% (common in HARP loans).

·         Shorter loan terms – APR fees are averaged over the term of a loan, so the shorter the term, the higher the fee (a 20 year loan will have a higher APR than a 30 year loan).

          Locking a loan before you know the property is something different than you were told upfront

          Changing a loan request

          Adding or deleting a Borrower with lower FICO score

          FICO score change on Borrower with long extended escrow due to New Construction taking longer than planned or delays by Seller

           Locking a loan on a Short Sale to find substantive changes to package after months of wait and hold

      Discovering additional fees from Escrow, Attorney or Title

Borrower’s failure to disclose facts                                                      

Condo complexes that add huge fees after the fact for information and transfer.

LENDERS CAN’T CLOSE A LOAN THAT COSTS THEM THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

ORGINATORS SHY AWAY FROM TAKING LOANS UNDER $120000 BECAUSE DODD FRANK’S HPML RULE IS A CATCH 22

How to Resolve an HPML Issue
If you receive a notice of HPML there are a number of different ways to reduce the APR:

·         Apply a seller credit to the APR fees

·         Lower the APR fees

·         Reduce the discount (if there is one)

·         Lengthen the term of the loan

·         Increase the premium paid to the borrower

·         Reduce the note rate

 

WHAT CAN A BORROWER DO?

          Disclose vesting type upfront

          Provide existing mortgage statement

          Get cost commitments from HOA or Management Companies upfront 

      

Don’t lock upfront on a delayed purchase such as short sale or new construction if you need have no real idea of closing date.