Palm Springs Market report
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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Real Estate Blog for La Quinta , Indian Wells , Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs
Rob Zwemmer
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Mountain View Country Club - Monthly Market Analysis
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
NO MICKEY MOUSE STORY!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
"Time, which changes people, does not alter the image we have retained of them."- Marcel Proust
NO MICKEY MOUSE STORY!
While watching a Disney re-telling of the well-known "A Christmas Carol," one of the scenes was striking. Scrooge McDuck (a.k.a. Ebenezer Scrooge) was being taken on a tour of his past by Jiminy Cricket (the Ghost of Christmas Past). As Scrooge glimpsed himself at an early age, losing the love of "Isabel Duck" as he paid closer attention to his piles of money, he couldn't stand the pain of his past.
Scrooge lamented to Jiminy Cricket to "Take me home. I can no longer stand these memories!" It was Jiminy's reply that brought a powerful lesson forward. He explained, "Remember Scrooge, you fashioned these memories yourself."
Of course, we all have missed an opportunity at one time or another to craft a positive memory for someone we love. If we think about it very much, we will wish we had done things differently. But that's not the point.
If it is indeed we ourselves who fashion life's memories, then we also have the power to fashion good ones - beginning now. It is what we do NOW to craft a special memory for others that will last far beyond tomorrow. During this magical season of giving, why not create a forever "Kodak moment" for someone you love? To coin a familiar song title: "Memories are made of this!"
Have a Great Week!
Rob
Total housing inventory fell 2.2 percent in October 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
home sales in Palm Springs ca
Existing-home sales rose 1.4 percent in October according to a recent report by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Existing-home sales, which include recently purchased single family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops were up to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.97 million units expected to sell in 2011. This represents a 13.5 percent increase over the pace set last year at this time.
A True Story
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Today's true story is all the inspiration you will need!
Small World!
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in urban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec. 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sunk when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 6 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.
The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in.
One of the items was a beautiful, hand-made, ivory colored, crochet table cloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers etc. to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "Where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home - that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to the one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a concentration camp. He never saw his wife or his home again for all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door, and saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
A true story
One reason I don't text while ...... !
Sunday, December 04, 2011
As most of you know my weekly e-mail typically is about the Palm Springs Real Estate market. My message today is about a subject that is very close to home for many of us. It is about TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. texting and e-mail is now a primary source of communication among each other. In fact I would say that a couple of my friends are what I would call text addicts. Constant text communication has become a way of life with most young people in this country and now even with many adults. The following video is one that each one of you should watch and share with everyone you love. Even if your friend , spouse, partner etc does not text, they may ride in a car with someone who does. Pass this video on. It may save their live one day .
Have a great week
Canadians With US Property
Sunday, December 04, 2011
We are not professionals, nor should any of the content here be used without professional validation to make decisions for your situation.
Two US Senators proposed the "Visa Improvements to Stimulate Tourism to the United States of America" (VISIT USA) Act. The text can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-1746
The main intent is to encourage increased investment from "non resident aliens".
There are 8 sections to the proposal excluding "section 1" which just introduces the "VISIT USA" short sale name for the act. At least two sections are aimed at Canadians. Section 5 (Encouraging Canadian Tourism) provides for 3 year visas for Canadians over 50 that allow stays of up to 240 days. And, Section 8 (Increasing Home Ownership by Priority Visitors) provides for 3 year visas that do not have a 240 day limit, but require investment in Real Estate of at least $500K including a minimum $250K residence.
This is an interesting development, but it remains to be seen how beneficial it will be. Section 8 details in particular requires the individual to pay US Taxes; and requires a minimum $250K residence which is a pretty fancy house in Phoenix right now. Neither visa provides any other benefits such as the ability to work in the US, fast-tracking of a green card, or access to social programs. Then of course, there are the Canadian impacts of being outside the country for more than 180 days. Something to keep an eye on anyway.
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
Sunday, November 27, 2011
INSPIRATION, La Quinta Real Estate, real estate in La Quinta
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."
-Dante
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!
Think there's any "moral crisis" going on in our country right now? What about in our city? Our schools? Our neighborhood? Where did it come from, and why are we facing these challenges?
We are a country - city - neighborhood - blessed with peace and prosperity. Our daily choices range from which SUV we will drive, to where we will dine next, to how we will redecorate our home this year. Our concerns include our child's upcoming soccer match, whether or not to refinance the house, making "Salesperson of the Year," and taking more time for golf or tennis.
With all the choices complemented by our affluence, we have also become compliant, accepting, and politically correct. We strive to please everyone, avoid "rocking the boat," and prefer the status quo. It's so much easier that way, isn't it?
In doing so, however, we may also abdicate responsibility for teaching our children the value of principle-centered living. What principles should we be teaching - and practicing? Why not adopt and teach the value of courage, diligence, faithfulness, generosity, cleanliness, honesty, encouragement, frugality, humility, industry, justice, moderation, order, resolution, silence, honesty, sincerity, temperance, and tranquility?
Imagine how the world around us would change if we taught and participated in more of these time-honored values. Remember that our country IS our cities, our neighborhoods, and our homes. What begins at the grass roots level - literally in our own backyards - can be spread throughout the world. Abandon neutrality and you can change the world!
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