Care of Marble Surfaces

Marble-topped furniture and surfaces require special care and consideration to keep them beautiful and in great condition. But it is well worth the effort.

If you’re moving a marble table, remove the tabletop and then lift and carry it in a vertical position. Otherwise, without the supporting structure, it could snap under its own weight.

Marble is easily stained and scarred so you’ll want to always use coasters under drinks. If you have a dresser with a marble top, use a plastic runner or a tray under cosmetic or perfume bottles. Marble flooring in high traffic areas should be protected with throw rugs.  

To remove a stubborn stain from marble, mix a little whiting with acetone to treat grease or oil stains. Mix hydrogen peroxide with a few drops of ammonia for food stains. Use liquid rust remover on rust stains. Apply the treatment to the stain, cover with plastic wrap and seal with masking tape. Let the acetone and peroxide mixtures stand overnight. Leave the rust paste on for a few hours. Then sponge off the mixture and buff the area.  

If the stain removal process leaves a dull area on the surface of the marble, wet the area with water and sprinkle on a little tin oxide, which is used as a marble-polishing powder. Rub with a thick cloth and then buff.  

You can smooth away surface scratches on a marble surface with superfine sandpaper. Polish the spot with tin oxide and then buff with a chamois cloth.  

The classic elegance that marble brings to its surroundings is well worth the time and effort it may take to keep it looking its best.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor,
Nancy Hankin
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Appliance Safety

Most of us take our household appliances for granted until they break. But there is one safety feature we all must be aware of and check on periodically.

Household appliances that burn fuel, such as water heaters and furnaces and sometimes clothes dryers, must be vented to the outside. You can and should check the draft of these appliances. This is an important maintenance item and is absolutely critical to the well being of the home’s occupants. Byproducts of combustion can be hazardous.

You can find out if your water heater is venting properly by locating the draft diverter or hood. It is a funnel shaped piece of flue pipe that connects to and usually sits on the top of the water heater. When you hear the burner come on, hold a piece of tissue paper close to the opening of the draft hood, near the bottom. The paper should pull in. If it doesn’t, the water heater is back
drafting.

Be sure that your water heater only has a single draft hood in place. Oftentimes, the old draft diverter isn’t removed when a new water heater with its own draft hood is installed, creating a common double draft hood configuration which can easily lead to the spillage of flue gases into the living area.

Check for corroded pipes that can allow flue gases such as carbon monoxide into your home. Do not repair with aluminum foil or makeshift measures. Call in the experts. You can also test for flue spillage from the base of the water heater by holding a mirror near the suspected leak area. If the mirror becomes foggy, this indicates the spillage of flue gases which also can contain carbon monoxide. This condition indicates defective venting and needs to be corrected. It’s important to avoid storing combustible materials near your water heater. Do not place any items on top of the water heater. Keep the area surrounding the appliance free of clutter to avoid fire.

Poor ventilation, corroded pipes and surrounding clutter are cause for a potentially lethal situation. If you’re not sure about the potential problems, have your water heater checked regularly and save yourself the worry of wondering whether or not you and your family are safe.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor, 

Nancy Hankin 

www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Buying Palm Springs Real Estate is Good Now!

In our Desert Sun Newspaper today (April 26, 2008), the Headlines in the Business Section stated: Valley Home Sales Improve.” Coachella Valley’s home sales jumped 16.5% in March from February, the largest month-over-month increase the desert has seen since October. Real Estate agents are also seeing more sales. Both high-end sales and Canadian buyers continue to boost the market as well.”

For the past three years the media has been telling us the “real estate sky is falling” and home sales are plummeting downward. That may be true in some areas of the country, in some areas of California, and even in a few of our valley’s neighborhoods. But that has not always been a true statement for what has happened in our area, the Palm Springs Ca desert area. The amount of homes we’ve sold have fallen drastically….much of this due to the media scare…but we are still SELLING homes! And many of these homes have held their values in spite of the media scare.

The media used to present NEWS. That’s not true today. The news media  now  reports SENSATIONALISM. Newspapers and Television today, trying to compete with the Internet, feel the need to CREATE SENSATIONISM. They feel that just reporting the NEWS as it is, is not news-worthy enough. I come from a family of reporters and owners of newspapers, so I grew up with NEWS as it was reported in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. In those days NEWS was REPORTED. Today it is CREATED. That’s the difference, and the way real estate has been sensationalized by the news, has certainly NOT helped sales.

The truth of the matter is today is an “EXCELLENT TIME TO BUY.” Interest rates are historically low and there are many well-priced homes to buy. Foreclosed homes, brought about by the poor handling of loans, are a reality, but they are a very small percentage of the total market. Trying to “time” the market is just about impossible………..just as it is impossible to “time” the stock market. But buying now and holding on to your property over a 3-5 year time has been a good investment in the past, and it will continue to be a good investment in the future.

My advice is to act now so you don’t regret not having bought in the future.

Brought to You By Your Favorite Realtor, 

Nancy Hankin 

www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

The Media’s Attack on the Real Estate Industry

The Media’s attack on the real estate industry is nothing new.  For decades they have practiced doom and gloom tactics and in some cases have actually caused real estate prices to decline in the short term.  For years they reported the real estate BUBBLE was about to BURST Yet prices continued to rise in spite of their dire warnings. The good news however, is each and every short term decline has been temporary and has been followed by long term price appreciation.

On the upside of media reporting, which we seldom see, it was refreshing to see these headlines stated in the Palm Springs local newspaper on March 1, 2008. On the front page in large bold print it stated: ” Number of Escrows on the Rise in the Valley.”  When referring to “the valley,” they were referring to the Coachella Valley which consists of the cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Coachella.

Today we are in the middle of a window of opportunity to purchase attractive real estate at the best prices with the most attractive interest rates we may see in our lifetime and to receive “incentives” on our purchases on top of it!  The incentives, which are being offered by builders and developers, will not last any longer than they need to.  Once the market begins showing signs of a rebound which it is beginning to do, these incentives will dry up.

Here is something else you should know: When you visit a new home development WITHOUT a Realtor to represent YOUR best interests, you are NOT represented by anyone. The on-site sales staff only represents the Builder. Therefore, it is in YOUR best interest to ALWAYS have representation BEFORE visiting a New Home development. Unfortunately, many folks are not aware of this, and only find out after it’s too late. And the nice part about this…is that my services don’t cost you anything! The builder compensates the Realtor, just as the seller does on a resale.

Sit back and enjoy some of these dire media projections from yesteryear and allow them to mirror the wide variety of “fear factor” type “media” comments that exist today.

“The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline.” - Time Magazine, 1947

“Houses cost too much for the mass market.  Today’s average price is around $8,000 - out of the reach for two-thirds of all buyers.” - Science Digest, 1948

“The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs about $28,000.” - Business Week, 1969

 

“You might well be suspicious of ‘common wisdom’ that tells you, ‘Don’t wait, buy now… continuing inflation will force home prices and rents higher and higher.’”
- NEA Journal, 1970

“The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000…  Housing experts predict price rises in the future won’t be that great.” - Nations Business, 1977
 
“The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close.” - Money Magazine, 1981

“The golden-age of risk-free run-ups in home prices is gone.” - Money Magazine, 1985

“Most economists agree…. [a home] will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through much of the 1980’s.” - Money Magazine, 1986

“Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment.”- Kiplinger’s Personal Financial Magazine, 1993

“A home is where the bad investment is.” - San Francisco Examiner, 1996

“Home prices experience historic drop.” - CNN Money.com, 2007  

 

Each and every negative prediction by the Media was short-lived.  At the time such predictions made it appeared real estate would never go up again in value - similar to the way it feels for many now.  The good news is found in the few lines below.  This time is no different than times past!  

FACT:  National real estate values have appreciated

o         88% since 1996

o        340% since 1977

o        685% since 1969

o      2650% since 1948   

Brought To You By Your Favorite Realtor,

Nancy Hankin

www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com 

 

 

Realtor Employed & Doing Well

This morning in our Desert Sun Newspaper headlines there were several stories about how more than 52.1% of the Realtors in our area are now finding themselves unemployed and having to work in other jobs. A few are now selling cars, some are selling furniture, waitressing and working at Macy’s! This does not surprise me.

When I moved to the Coachella Valley, more commonly known as the Palm Springs Desert, it was sixteen years ago and real estate was at a long time low with few homes being sold. Businesses were moving out of California, prices of homes were dropping rapidly, and Realtors were seeking other employment. In looking back over the highs and lows of my real estate career, and other careers I’ve had while raising a family singlehandly, I think the secret to my success has been twofold.

Firstly, I treated my business as a BUSINESS. For every dollar I made, fifty cents went back into BUILDING & INVESTING in my business. I’ve always worked on commission and I never lived beyond my means. When business was good, I set aside funds to help me thru leaner times . Secondly, my clients were always my TOP PRIORITY, and they still are today.

You’ll see two phrases on my business cards, email signatures and on my website. I thought long and hard trying to think of something to say that would depict HOW I ran my real estate business and WHO I was.  One simply states: In the “People Business” since 1965. And that accurately describes my career from Sales, Management, Advertising, and Public Relations over the years.

The second phrase states: “Old Fashioned Service Using New Fashioned Technology.“ And that’s because I was one of the first Realtors in the business to design and build a website that would be People friendly, helpful and informative. You do not need to SIGH IN on my website unless this is YOUR CHOICE. The entire MLS, the same one I use, appears on my site for anyone to use. There is a multitude of helpful information there about the personalities and differences of the nine cities that comprise of the Palm Springs desert area. There is even a FUN GAME to test your geographic skills on my site.

I also studied over the years and became a Certified Residental Specialist (CRS) in real estate. There are only 50,000 nationwide! Because so many SENIORS are relocating to the desert, I studied and became one of the first Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES).

Last year, when so many Realtors in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area were looking for business elsewhere…………I sold just under $10,000,000 in properties………….and many of these were from client referrals, past clients, or clients who found me on the Internet. In January of 2008 I closed on three escrows, and I have many buyers appointments for the next few months as well! And I truly believe it’s because I TRULY CARE about each and every client I’ve ever worked with.  Many are now my personal friends as well.

Real Estate is one of the largest and most expensive investments you’ll ever make. Ask yourself this: If you were in need of open heart surgery, would you seek out the best cardiologist and surgeon around, or use a doctor with little experience in this field? You should ask the same question when buying or selling real estate. The next time you want to buy or sell a home, give me a call………………..I’m the Realtor with sixteen years of experience, with YOUR best interests in mind!

Brought to you by Your Favorite Realtor,

Nancy Hankin

www.PalmSpringsHomesandEstates.com

I thought this might interest you.

This afternoon President Bush will sign the Economic Stimulus package into law. Last week, Congress gave overwhelming final approval to the Economic Stimulus Package supported by (NAR) National Association of Realtors and REALTORS® across the country. As a result, the government will be sending payments to most American households and grant tax incentives for business investment.

The legislation includes the requested GSE and FHA limit increases strongly backed and lobbied by NAR. The increased GSE loan limits means borrowers will see immediate relief with new liquidity in the mortgage market and the nation will see an additional 300,000 home sales. The increased FHA loan limits means an additional 138,000 Americans will purchase homes, and with the needed FHA reforms means 200,000 families can refinance their homes safely and affordably. This package which will increase Fannie, Freddie, and FHA limits in ‘HIGH COST AREA’S” (125% of HUD median area price) up to a maximum of $729,750 until the end of 2008.Today, rates are below 6%………………so it is an EXCELLENT time to buy with so many well-priced homes on the market today. Don’t wait for rates to rise and prices to rise which they will as inventory depletes.

The president is expected to sign the bill next week.

Have a great week!

Brought to you by Your Favorite Realtor,

Nancy Hankin

www.PalmSpringsHomesandEstates.com 

 

Oh, By the way…if you know someone who would appreciate the services I provide in buying or selling homes, please call or email me with their name and number and I’ll be happy to follow-up with them. The highest compliment I can receive from you is a referral. While my business is good and is always growing it is important for you to know that I am never too busy to help those you refer to me: your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

It’s my pleasure to provide quality service to anyone you know who’s considering buying or selling a home. I can also help you find a great agent in other cities as well! A great deal of the work I do is with REFERRALS from folks just like you, and it’s greatly appreciated.

Nancy Hankin: Broker Associate

SRES,CRS & e-PRO
“Old Fashioned Service Using
New Fashioned Technology”
Remax Real Estate Consultants
74-199 El Paseo Suite 101
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(866) 227-2205 Toll Free
(760) 861-5118 Direct
(760) 779-8196 Fax

Access all Desert MLS Properties for Sale via my Website 
mailto:Nancy@NancyHankin.com

Fed Rate Cuts Do Not Equal Lower Mortgage Rates

I found this article and I thought you would enjoy it.  He explains the current status of the mortgage rates.  It a great informative article.  Enjoy!

Brought to you by Your Favorite Realtor,

Nancy Hankin 

Create Yourself a Wonderful Day! 

In the People Business Since 1965,”

Offering “Old Fashioned Service with New Fashioned Technology.”

www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

By Barry Habib, Contributing Editor to CNBC.com

So the Federal Reserve cut rates again. Many mortgage applicants are calling their mortgage representative and expecting a lower interest rate. Others who have been waiting to refinance are puzzled as to why mortgage rates have not moved lower during recent 5 Fed rate cuts. In fact mortgage rates are now higher than they were before the Fed began cutting rates by in January. This is difficult to explain to many consumers who have watched a 2.5% reduction by the Fed with no benefit in mortgage rates.

Is a Fed rate cut really good news for mortgage rates? The facts may be surprising. The Fed can only control the Discount Rate and the Fed Funds Rate. This is very different from mortgage rates. A mortgage rate can be in effect for 30-years, a rate that is set by the Fed can change from one day to another.

Another common mistake is in thinking that 30-year Treasury bonds or 10-year Treasury notes are directly pegged to mortgage rates.

Those are government securities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and have no direct effect on mortgage rates.

So what are mortgage rates based on? As it turns out the answer is mortgage-backed bonds known as Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS). Bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (MBS) and the trading performance of those bonds will determine the direction of mortgage rates. Finding the catalyst that causes mortgage bonds to move will give you the keys to finding out what makes mortgage rates rise or fall.

We know that inflation will always be a negative for any long-term bond because it eats away at the future returns. Since the bond will pay a set amount over a long period of time, that amount will be less valuable if inflation is high. Over the past several years, one catalyst that seems to be working in the opposite direction of MBS prices is the Nasdaq and broader stock market.

As bond prices rise, interest rates fall. As bond prices fall, interest rates rise. The charts accompanying this article show the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Fannie Mae 6.5% mortgage bond tend to follow paths that are almost mirror images of each other. The consistency of this behavior is astounding.

As the Nasdaq moves higher, bond prices move lower causing interest rates to rise. As the Nasdaq declines, mortgage bonds benefit, causing mortgage rates to fall. Additionally, and unlike common opinion, Fed rate cuts have had virtually no direct effect on mortgage rates. Moreover, it appears that since Fed rate cuts act to stimulate the Nasdaq, they have a negative effect on mortgage rates.

The bottom line is that it appears mortgage rates will get better if the Nasdaq sells off and will get worse if the Nasdaq rallies. So it is not necessarily what the Fed does that affects mortgage rates, it’s how the Nasdaq and broader stock market interprets the Fed’s action that will ultimately influence the direction of mortgage rates. This is because money managers and mutual fund companies typically keep funds in either stocks or bonds with very little in cash. If stocks are in favor, money is pulled from bonds, causing bond prices to drop and interest rates to rise. When stocks are being sold off, the money is then parked into bonds, which improves bond prices and causes interest rates to decline.

On the chart of the Nasdaq Composite Index above, notice how the price movement higher on the Nasdaq seems to correlate to mortgage bond price deterioration (shown below) and vice versa. Once again, lower bond prices translate to higher mortgage rates and higher mortgage bond prices mean lower mortgage rates.

The chart below shows how the Fannie Mae 6.5% mortgage bond has performed during the same time period. The green circles indicate Fed rate cuts and the area circled in red shows when the Fed hiked rates.

A closer look at the 5 rate cuts by the Fed this year (see chart below) shows that mortgage bond prices deteriorated after each Fed rate cut. This means that mortgage rates rose after the Fed had cut rates while many consumers were expecting their mortgage rates to decline. Worse yet are the consumers who missed the opportunity to obtain a lower rate because they mistakenly waited for the anticipated Fed action to cut short-term rates, thinking that longer-term mortgage rates would decline as a result.

Predicting the future is tough, so nothing is written in stone. Keep an eye on the Nasdaq, and keep in mind that the best rates may be behind us. But, mortgage rates are still low and could have some quick dips so make the most of them while they last.

Inexpensive International Calling Rates

  Now here’s something I heard about, so I looked it up and was pleasantly surprised to see how low the International telephone calling rates are. You might want to check this out for yourself.Just go to:
http://www.pennytalk.com/internationalaccess.asp

If you are currently using Penny Talk, I’d love to hear from you. If you know of other plans similar to Penny Talk that you are using, please let me know so I can “pass the information on” to others.

Another helpful bit of information brought to you by

Your Favorite Palm Springs California Desert Realtor,

Nancy Hankin

You can read this, and much more at:
www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Look Up Your Home Town From Years Ago!

Here is something you will enjoy!

What did your town look like according to Penny Postcards?

Check out your old stomping grounds during the times of the penny postcard. See all the changes that have taken place since then. It will amaze you! Click on the state and then on the county to see old penny postcards from that area…pretty neat!

Just go to and click on:   Penny Postcards  

Brought to you by Your Favorite Realtor,

Nancy Hankin 

Create Yourself a Wonderful Day! 

In the People Business Since 1965,”

Offering “Old Fashioned Service with New Fashioned Technology.”

www.PalmSpringsHomesAndEstates.com

Music From 60’s, 70’s, 80’s etc!

When you think of the “good old days in Hollywood,” you often think of Palm Springs, California the playground for many of the movie stars. Palm Springs is where the stars “hung out” when they weren’t working. This is where Elvis and Pricilla Presley shared a honeymoon home in the hills of Palm Springs. Desi and Lucy Arnas often entertained in their home at Thunderbird Country Club. Many Hollywood movie stars and thse in the industry played tennis at Charlie Farrell’s Racquet Club in Plam Springs.

If you enjoyed some of the music in the 50’s, 60’s 70’s, etc, you’ll enjoy clicking onto this link below.

THIS IS INCREDIBLY COOL…YOU CAN GET LYRICS, RINGTONES, http://www.tropicalglen.com/This a Jukebox; but it is no ordinary jukebox. It will play all of your favorite songs from 1952 through 1982. Each year has a scroll or drop down box that shows all the great songs for that year. Most years have over 40 songs.There is even a section at the bottom that allows you to listen to show tunes, TV show themes, Doo Wop and several others. This is pretty neat….and it is free. Read the rest of this and then click on the site at the bottom.Once you click on a song it will play and when it finishes it automatically plays the next song in the list and continues until it has played all the songs. This is really cool!!!It has a volume control which you should use in conjunction with your computers volume control. One of the best features is that it will play in the background. That means you can be doing other computer work on a different screen.Pick and play any popular song from 1952 through 1982 or go to the specialty areas. You can’t miss them. They are listed in very bright colors. That is for older eyes!!!

Enjoy

Brought to you from Your Favorite Realtor, Nancy Hankin with Remax Real Estate Consultants. For more interesting information about Palm Springs or Palm Springs Real Estate, visit: Palm Springs Homes and Estate

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