Newport Beach Upcycled Birdhouses

Recycled Upcycled Birdhouses from Pallets and wine crates

Newport Beach Winery Bird Houses

My office looks over the Newport Beach Winery. I am sharing some of the wonderful upcycled birdhouses created from pallet wood and wine crates

Caroline Gerardo

W J Bradley Mortgage Capital LLC

20341 SW Birch Street

Newport Beach, California 92660

(949) 637-8190 

 

 

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