Garden Gates

garden gate and trellis

This Arching Cottage gate with Trumpet Vines is "California Eclectic" - Succulents, geranium and front yard swing set in Newport Beach 

arching gate

Elegant brick walkway with rose arbor arching over the entry way in this Laguna Beach cottage.

simple white garden gate

This simple PVC gate is flanked by privet hedges. It needs some color or more white flowers in pots.

california modern or bungalow gate

Craftsman and California modern with Bower vine

beach cottage gate

This casual unpainted teak gate is fun and funky. It suits the tiny friendly clapboard cottage

brick posts for gate

The curved brick walk way add charm to this entry. There is no gate but a wooden triangle will hold the wisteria when it droops purple cascades of flowers next spring.

boho funky trellis and chain link gate

Even the most casual of gates can be charming. This is an old style chain link fence with a trellis holding stephanotis - the white flowers are intoxicating. They grow very slowly and only in part shade. This vine may be more than ten years old.

white picket fence gate

Picket fence gate- this is also pvc ( not my material of choice but popular because they advertise in California the advantage of never having to paint or worry about termites. The plastic does age, oxidize and get chalky looking in our moist weather of Orange County Coastal California

pretty wooden gate

Wooden craftsman somewhat Oriental feeling without any vines.

Chase Bank Mortgage Foreclosure Cases to Follow

Stodgy Bankers?

CHASE Bank Recent Court Cases Regarding Mortgage Foreclosures

Bakenie v. JPMorgan Chase, Case No. SACV12-0060 JVS

U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Santa Ana) 1/13/2012
Joseph Arthur Roberts, Newport Beach, CA, attorney for Ernest Bakenie

Plaintiff alleges that J P Morgan Chase is engaged in the business practice of deceiving bankruptcy judges, creditors, debtors, and attorneys as to Chase's status as a secured creditor in thousands of bankruptcy cases filed nationwide.

Through fabricated assignments, endorsements and affidavits that purport to transfer Deeds of Trust, notes and the rights to money due under thousands of non-negotiable promissory notes, Chase is playing "hide-and-seek" with debtors and judges.

Where are the wet signed notes and deeds that are stored in numerous locations? How many were tossed in the trash?

The complaint seeks an order vacating all Bankruptcy orders, claims and awards granted based on Chase's misrepresentations and deceptive business practices. A case to follow, anxious to learn the outcome? Is Jamie Dimon unfairly gaming the courts?

Naranjo v. SBMC Mortgage, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103735, Case No. 11-cv-2229-L(WVG)  July 2012

M. James Lorenz, District Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
Penelope Bergman, Deborah Gutierrez, Los Angeles, CA, attorneys for Carmen Naranjo

"The allegation in this case is the assignment of the loan into the WAMU Trust was not completed by May 30, 2006 as required by the Trust Agreement. This allegation gives rise to a plausible inference that the subsequent assignment, substitution, and notice of default and election to sell may also be improper. Defendants wholly fail to address that issue. This reason alone is sufficient to deny Defendants' motion with respect to this issue."

Settled on June 21, 2013.

Other legal mortgage issues continue to haunt the banks:

Banks took short cuts to foreclose on owner occupants in cases still pending in California.

 Notice of default did not include a declaration required by Cal. Civil Code §2923.5

 MERS cases still churning in the court system

Time lines increased for lenders to make work outs

Values have increased perhaps getting some homeowners back into the black
Will Orange County's recovery be enough to stop foreclosures? The numbers of notice of defaults in Orange County, California have greatly reduced. This is due to values climbing.

What is APR?

WHAT IS APR?

The annual percentage rate (APR) is an interest rate reflecting the cost of a mortgage as a first   yearly rate.  This rate is likely to be higher than the stated note rate or advertised rate on    the mortgage because it takes into account points and other credit costs.  The APR allows   homebuyers to compare different types of mortgages based on the annual cost for each    loan.  The APR is designed to measure the “true cost of a loan.”  It creates a level playing   field for lenders and prevents lenders from advertising a low rate and hiding fees. Most lenders advertise rates with one point origination buried into the rate.

Your monthly payments are strictly a    function of the interest rate and the length of the loan.

Because different lenders calculate APRs differently, a loan with a lower APR is not exactly a better rate.  The best way to compare loans is to ask lenders to provide you with a good-faith estimate of their costs on the same type of program (e.g. 30-year fixed) at the same interest rate, on the same day around the same time. Rates change sometimes several times a day.  Then disregard the fees that are independent of the loan such as homeowners insurance, title fees, escrow fees, attorney fees, etc.  Then add up all the loan fees.  The lender that has lower loan fees has a cheaper loan than the lender with higher loan fees.

The following fees are generally included in the APR:
- Points – both discount points and origination points

I generally discourage borrowers from paying any more than a half a point. If you plan on staying in the property for at least five few years, paying a half a discount point to    lower the loan’s interest rate can be a good way to lower your required monthly loan payment.  If you  only plan to stay in the property for a year or two, your monthly savings is not be enough to recoup the cost of the discount points that you pay in cash or finance up-front
- Pre-paid interest.  The interest paid from the date the loan closes to the end of the month.

We lump our underwriting, processing, doc prep, DU or LP, flood, wire and others into a flat number of $1590.00. This makes it easier for a Borrower to compare the exact costs.
- Loan-processing fee
- Underwriting fee
- Document-preparation fee
- Private mortgage-insurance
- Tax service, flood certificate, wire transfers, email documents, all kinds of and a.. add a junk.

The following fees are sometimes included in the APR:
- Loan-application fee

The following fees are normally not included in the APR:
- Title or abstract fee
- Escrow fee
- Attorney fee
- Notary fee
- Document preparation (charged by the escrow or attorney agent)
- Home-inspection fees
- Recording fee
- Transfer taxes
- Credit report
- Appraisal fee

Please give me a bargain rate, a really cheap deal that I can trust

INTERESTING FACT: the APR on our 5 and 7 Year LIBOR loans the APR is lower than the actual rate.     Call me and ask why???  (949) 637-8190  Caroline Gerardo 

NMLS # 324982

7/22/13

S&P 500		1696.01
1y Treasury		0.09%
10y Treasury		2.48%
30y Treasury		3.55%
30y FXD		4.37%
30y FXD Jumbo		4.57%
Prime Rate		3.25%
6m LIBOR		0.397%
Bird houses because yes, APR is a bit boring have a great day