We talked with a colleague in the Pacific Northwest the other day and she said there's a hint of Fall in the air! Fall! Imagine!

Here in the desert, if you're looking for a cool way to cool down, check out the last two FREE films in the Palm Springs Art Museum's Free Summer Film Series.

Thursday, September 2 at 5:30 is the 1956 Hitchcock classic, The Man Who Knew Too Much, with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day.

Thursday, September 9 at 5:30 is the marvelous semi-autobiographical Truffaut film, The 400 Blows, with Jean-Pierre Léaud in his debut role as Antoine Doinel.

For more information on the films, visit the Museum or its website. For information on keeping your cool in the Coachella Valley real estate market, call Scott+Jim!

Talk about buzz! This week's gloomy news from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was more of a roar! But wait...don't panic. Here's our Coachella Valley perspective.

In case you missed it, NAR released figures that sales were down in July by 27% nationwide. A drop in sales wasn't entirely unexpected, as the federal incentives for buyers expired.

But guess what? Here in the valley, in our office, sales are up 18% this month over last August's figures. (And last August was way up over the previous August!)

Why? A few possible reasons. First, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and other Coachella Valley cities are primarily second-home communities. We have more retirees and are somewhat less affected by employment numbers. Very importantly, serious buyers are keeping their eyes on the prices and making their purchases before prices go up any more.

And prices? Yes, median prices are down from the peak (June 2005), but they're UP more than 32% over the April 2009 low!

The bottom line: we're optimistic. The Coachella Valley marketplace really heats up when the temperatures drop. So if August is any indication, get out the oven mitts!

If you're a serious buyer or a serious seller, we are always happy to give you the very best advice for making the most of your Coachella Valley real estate investment. Call us!

If you're in the market for a mortgage loan, the lender is now required to provide you with a Good Faith Estimate. Starting in 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is enforcing a borrower-protection ruling that makes a distinction between good faith estimates and informal worksheets.

A loan officer may provide an initial quote on a worksheet, which may be titled something like "estimated settlement costs." But worksheets carry no consumer protection. They are not good faith estimates - and will say so in the small print - and are not binding on the lender.

As a borrower, you complete an application with information about yourself and the property. Once you have done so, the lender must issue a good faith estimate within three days. You are not required to make any commitment to the lender, but can take the estimate with you for comparison shopping.

HUD's good faith estimate form, which can be downloaded as a PDF from the HUD website, provides detailed guidelines as well as space to compare quotes from up to four lenders.

If you're shopping for a loan - or a home - or considering relocating from your present residence, we would love to help you. Give us a call for all your Coachella Valley real estate needs!

Here's a reminder to home owners (and buyers) of houses built before 1978.

Many of those houses were painted inside and out with paint that contained lead. Now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started enforcing a ruling that was actually passed in 2008 regarding renovations to such homes.

If renovations will ‘disturb' lead-based paint - and that might include repairs, demolition, construction, as well as surface preparation such as sanding of walls and trim - the renovator must be trained and EPA-certified to prevent lead contamination. Occupants of the house must be notified within 60 days (and at least seven days) before a project begins and must be given the EPA lead hazard information pamphlet, "Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools," which can be downloaded on the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting website. Renovators must also obtain the occupant's signed acknowledgment.

While the rule does not apply to homeowners renovating the homes they live in, sellers must disclose to their buyers any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards. The rule generally applies to building contractors, handymen, residential landlords, property managers and anyone else who is paid to perform or to direct workers to perform renovations.

If you have questions about this ruling or if you would like referrals to EPA-certified renovators, give us a call. We know the rules in Palm Springs and throughout the Coachella Valley!

This isn't big news, but always worth repeating: ‘curb appeal' has the capacity to draw in potential buyers.

Many buyers look at properties from the seat of their car before they ever request a viewing. And what they see from that position implies something about what they're going to find inside. A manicured entry with a swept walk, healthy plants, mowed lawn, clean windows and windowsills and freshly painted front door suggests that someone cares about this house and has probably maintained it inside, too.

Of course sellers can't rely on the outside alone. The interior of the home should also be freshly painted, spotless and, most importantly, depersonalized and decluttered. That means removing the family photos, the kids' artwork, the dropped sports equipment and all the little knickknacks that make it feel like home.

Take extra care with odors - from smoking, pets, fragrances - that you might not even smell but buyers might find offensive. And one more thing: keep the AC set no hotter than 85 on days your house might have visiting buyers. Any hotter than that and people won't stay long enough to seriously consider your home.

We have LOTS of suggestions for ways you can make your home more appealing to buyers - and ways that buyers can look past the obvious to the real quality of a home. Please give us a call. We'll be happy to answer your Coachella Valley real estate questions.

There's an acronym in the computer world - WYSIWYG (pronounced wizzy-wig) - that stands for What You See Is What You Get. While home buyers may be tempted to apply it to their purchase, WYSIWYG does not apply in the world of real estate!

The problem is what you don't see. While honest sellers would never attempt to conceal problems - and in fact are required to disclose defects prior to sale - a coat of paint could temporarily cover evidence of leaks or carpet cleaning might not show damage to the wood floor below.

We always very strongly urge that the buyers we represent request a home inspection prior to closing - even for newly built homes. A home inspector checks all the major systems in the home, running the dishwasher and the air conditioner, shining a bright light into dark corners, looking at plumbing, foundation, roof, windows, etc.

But it's important that buyers understand that the home inspection is visual. That means, for example, that while the inspector will look at the roof, he (or she) is not required to actually walk on the roof; the inspector will check the baseboard around the perimeter of a room (for obvious evidence of pests or other damage) but will not lift the carpeting to check beneath.

Before you hire an inspector, interview several and find out what they will and will not cover as part of the inspection. If you're concerned about a particular aspect of the property, further inspection may be required, usually at the buyer's expense (including repairs to any damages caused by the inspection).

If you would like referrals to qualified home inspectors or if you have questions about any part of the home buying or selling process in the Coachella Valley, please give us a call!

Thanks to federal law, you can easily check your credit report for free. Even if you aren't looking for a loan or mortgage, it's a good way to make sure your record doesn't include any errors that could count against you in the future. You can see whether there are any accounts open that you don't know about, or if anyone you don't know has recently asked for a copy of your report; either of these might indicate suspicious activity.



There are many websites that will charge you for this service (and may collect your personal data for marketing), but there is one official site that is safe and definitely free. AnnualCreditReport.com is operated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and provides more information on the service here.

Your credit report will NOT include a "credit score"-the FICO number (between 300 and 850) that you see used extensively in mortgage marketing. While you can purchase your credit score, it is generally not important unless you plan to get a loan in the near future. When you apply for a mortgage, the mortgage company will get its own credit report. You'll be billed for it, but then you will get a copy that includes your credit score.

We have the knowledge to help you save money on your real estate investments. Give us a call!

At a time when libraries elsewhere are cutting branches, hours and staff, it's encouraging to learn that the Palm Desert Library is booking upgrades and improvements. This may be a general sign of health for our region.

Though the library is only 14 years old, The Desert Sun reports that it is the second-busiest in the Riverside County Library System, which operates 34 libraries, including branches in La Quinta, Palm Springs and Indio. The Fred Waring Drive branch (which has its own page on Facebook!) will enjoy improvements such as new paint and carpeting, additional computer terminals and self-checkout stations.

Construction is expected to begin in about September 2011 and take approximately six months. The project architect, Tim Holt of Holt Architects, Rancho Mirage, anticipates that the branch will remain open during most of the construction.

A lively library is just one of the many perks of Coachella Valley life. We'll be happy to tell you more...just give us a call.

Ever wonder who all those people with the name badges are? Palm Springs and Palm Desert are convention destinations year-round. Between lavish hotel accommodations and conference facilities, direct flights to Palm Springs International and appealing recreational options, the Coachella Valley is a great option for large groups as well as individual vacationers.

Here are just a few of the visitors we'll be seeing over the next couple of months:

August 2-5 - American Society for Horticultural Science - JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, Palm Desert
August 11-14 - Toastmasters International - JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, Palm Desert
September 3-6 - The Rainbow Show - Palm Springs Convention Center
September 26 - Southern California Writers Conference

If you're a visiting conventioneer, a resident or simply passing through, we'd be happy to show you around and tell you more about the desert lifestyle. Give us a call!

If you're a homeowner, you probably know that a large part of your monthly mortgage payment is interest. Over the life of your loan, the interest keeps compounding. So while the amount you owe goes steadily downward, the arithmetic is not quite as simple as deducting each month's payment from the loan amount.

If paying off your mortgage a little early sounds appealing, you can do so by making extra principal payments. First check with your lender to make sure you won't incur an early payment penalty. If not, simply adding one extra payment a year (principal plus interest) will reduce a 30-year loan to about 17 years. You can do that as a single payment or spread it out over 12 months. But be sure to tell your lender that the extra money is to be credited to principal. Keep a record of your payments and review it once a year to be certain the lender has followed your directions.

We have a lot of good ideas about making the most of your home investment. Give us a call!