Maureen Megowan's Blog

Spectacular Ocean View Montemalaga Palos Verdes Estates
Luxury Home for Lease - $8,000 per month
1537 Via Zurita

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For more information about Palos Verdes Estates Real Estate  visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The new Stimulus Bill recently signed by President Obama in 2009 includes an expansion of the Federal Energy Credits for certain home improvements that are made that meet certain energy savings criteria.  Highlights of the changes include:

A detailed chart with the amount and qualification criteria for taking the energy credit may be found at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

The information contained above is for educational purposes only and is not intended for any particular person or circumstance. A competent tax professional should always be consulted before utilizing any of the information contained above. For more information about Income Tax Issues  affecting real estate, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The City of Rolling Hills was incorporated in 1957. The Rolling Hills City Hall was constructed in 1967. It is a gated community designed to preserve the equestrian lifestyle. Most of the homes in the city consist primarily of luxury ranch style homes, and many have been built to accommodate the boarding of horses. The city maintains an extensive system of riding trails throughout the community.

The person most responsible for the character and planning of Rolling Hills was A.E. Hanson, who was the General Manager of the Palos Verdes Corporation beginning in March 1931. In 1931, Crest road was completed, which gave access to one of the few structures then in existence in Rolling Hills, a run-down abandoned ranch house on the north side of Crest road, which had been originally built in the mid-1880's. Mr. Hanson renovated and expanded this ranch house in the early 1930's for his family, and named it "Rancho Elastico". The only other structure in Rolling Hills was the old Harry Phillips ranch headquarters, which was near the present day Empty Saddle Club (which was formed in 1941). Mr. Phillips had been the Rancho de los Palos Verdes ranch manager, appointed by George Bixby in 1894.

Harry Phillips Sr. and wife Mary Ann in front of Phillips Ranch - 1913

Mr. Hanson, shortly after he became manager of the Palos Verdes Corporation, in 1931, laid out the boundaries of a development he would later name "Rolling Hills", which boundaries extended from Palos Verdes Drive North (which was constructed from 1933 to 1935) to Crest Road, and from Georgeff Canyon on the east and Agua Negra canyon on the west. Palos Verdes Corporation's main investor was Frank Vanderlip and owned the balance of the 13,000 acres of the Palos Verdes Peninsula which was not part of the Palos Verdes Project (which would later become the City of Palos Verdes Estates and also consisted of the Miraleste area of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes). The Rolling Hills development consisted of approx. 600 acres and 100 home sites.

Aerial shot of the entrance to Rolling Hills looking up Portuguese Bend Road, about 1935 (Dicalite mine in left foreground).

The first gatehouse for Rolling Hills was constructed in 1935 just off of Palos Verdes Drive North. Mr. Hanson dictated that all homes in Rolling Hills would be painted white, and that the lots would be fenced in by a 3-rail white fence. At this time, there were almost no trees in Rolling Hills, and to promote their planting, Mr. Hanson gave away 5 olive trees to each purchaser of a home site in excess of 5 acres.

In 1939, Mr. Hanson developed the first homes to be sold in Rolling Hills (all previous sales consisting only of land for homes), a development called "Williamsburg Lane", which he named after Williamsburg, Virginia. Mr. Hanson had the homes designed in the manner that he had seen in Williamsburg, Virginia. This development consisted of 14 homes, and were 1.5 acres and 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and were offered for $8,750. In December 1940, at the depths of the Depression, the Palos Verdes Corporation was deep in debt for unpaid property taxes, and  Frank A. Vanderlip, Frank Vanderlip's eldest son who controlled the Palos Verdes Corporation after the elder Mr. Vanderlip's death in 1937, told Mr. Hanson to do whatever was necessary to raise money to pay these taxes. At that time, Mr. Hanson advertised one acre sites, near the Los Verdes Country Club, for sale for $185, however received no takers!.

To this day, the vision of Mr. Hanson for Rolling Hills has been maintained.

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For more information about the HISTORY OF ROLLING HILLS AND ROLLING HILLS ESTATES visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

This week, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council approved an ordinance requiring that all catering trucks within the Ciity limits must park within 200 feet of a restroom  that employees and customers have written permission to use. The problem with catering trucks in the City was made worse by the recent passage of a similar ordinance by the City of Palos Verdes Estates, which simply caused most of the catering trucks to move into Rancho Palos Verdes.

Owners of the catering trucks are outraged over the ordinance claiming that the City is trying to put them out of business. Many residents, however, have complained about trash being left in their yards as well as damage to their property caused by lunch wagon customers.  Opponents of the ordinance say that workers at construction projects should have an ability to get something hot to eat for lunch.

What do you think?

For more information about Rancho Palos Verdes, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The California State Legislature passed a new budget yesterday that included a tax credit of up to $10,000 for the purchase of a newly constructed home. Unfortunately, this tax credit is not available for the purchase of an existing previously owned home. The following are the features of the new tax credit, but additional details must still be worked out:

1) The credit is equal to 5% of the homes purchase price, up to a maximum of $10,000

2) The credit is available from March 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010. The maximum budgeted for this credit is $100 million.  It is not clear if the effective date is when the contract is signed or when escrow closes

3) It appears that the tax credit will be spread over 3 years. Details of this have not been released

4) The new home buyer must live in the fome for at least 2 years. There is no repayment requirement unless the owner sells or ents the home within 2 years of purchase.

5) There are no income limitations for qualifying for the tax credit

6) There is no "first time buyer" restrictions.

7) The home must be a newly constructed home and never previously occupied.

8) If the home is purchased by more than one buyer, the credit may be allocated among them proportionately as to their ownership interest.

NOTE: The information contained above is for educational purposes only and is not intended for any particular person or circumstance. A competent tax professional should always be consulted before utilizing any of the information contained above. For more information about Income Tax Issues  affecting real estate, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The following are general levels of interest rates for various loan terms for both conforming and Jumbo loans as provided by Michael Cordova: michaelc@milestonemtg.com

For more informati on about buying and selling homes on the Palos vVerdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The following are some details about the $8,000 first time home buyers credit included in the Stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday:

1) The credit is 10% of the homes purchase price, limited to $8,000, and does not have to be paid back (unless the property is sold within 3 years - See #7 below).

2) The credit is limited to first time home buyers and principal residences

3) The definition of first time home buyer is someone who did not own a principal residence within 3 years of the date of closing of the new purchase.

4) The credit is only for a limited time. The closing date of the sale must be between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009

5) To receive the full credit, single taxpayers must have earned (modified adjusted goss income)  less than $75,000 and married taxpayers must have earned less than $150,000. The tax credit is phased out proportionally for taxpayers who exceed these income limits. The credit is zero at an income level of $95,000 for single taxpagyers, and $170,000 for married taxpayers.To determine modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), add to AGI certain amounts such as foreign income, foreign-housing deductions, student-loan deductions, IRA-contribution deductions and deductions for higher-education costs.

6)  The credit is a "refundable credit", which means the credit is deducted from the taxes owed, and if the net result is less than zero, the amount is refunded to the taxpayer. Therefor, even if you pay no taxes, you will receive the credit which will be paid to you.

7) The buyer must hold the property for at least 3 years or the tax credit wil have to be returned (exceptions are for sale due to death or divorce ).

8) Those people who took advantage of the $7,500 first time home buyers credit last year, must still pay the credit back over a 15 year period.

9) Two unmarried individuals buying a principal residence may allocate the credit "in any reasonable manner"

10) Tax payers who purchase a home in 2009 can claim the tax credit on their 2008 tax return (the purchase is treated as if purchased on 12/31/08). If the tax return has already been filed, the tax payer can file an amended return for 2008.

NOTE: The information contained above is for educational purposes only and is not intended for any particular person or circumstance. A competent tax professional should always be consulted before utilizing any of the information contained above. For more information about Income Tax Issues  affecting real estate, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

I have recently read two articles trying to explain why gasoline prices are going up while the reported prices for a barrel of oil conntinues to go down. There are two explanations being given for this:

1)  In California, gasoline prices are going up due to the fact that California uses a different blend of gasoline than other parts of the country due to State of California environmental regulations. Because of this, consumers in California are prone to short term disruptions in gasoline production. Recently, it has been reported that production of gasoline for California has been reduced due to planned refinery shut downs for maintenance. In addition, it has been reported that California refineries have been increasing production of cheaper grades of gasoline that do not meet California's strict emission standards and could be sold out of state, according to weekly statistics tracked by the California Energy Commission. The refineries were also producing less California-grade gasoline.

2) The price of gasoline nationwide has also been going up because of a disconnect between the price of West Texas Intermediate oil, which is a high quality oil pumped from Texas oil fields and which has served for years as the reported benchmark for oil prices as reported by the media, and the price of lower quality oil from other oil producing nations such as oil from the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America.

Because of a recent increase in oil inventory of West Texas Crude oil, the price of a barrel of oil of this oil is up to $7 a barrel cheaper than the cheaper grade of oil from other foreign sources, which is used to make gasoline for most of the eastern part of the country. Usually, West Texas crude oil is more expensive due to its higher quality.  Therefor, even though the reported price of a barrel of oil has gone down, the actual price per barrel of oil used to make gasoline for most of the country, has actually gone up. The problem is that there are no pipelines to transport the now cheaper West Texas crude to other refineries across the U.S.

In addition to the above, other pundits believe that the oil companies have lowered the production of gasoline in anticipation of further decreases in consumer demand for gasoline, which have lowered inventories of refined oil products and led to price increases at the pump.

What is clear, is that no one really seems to be able to understand what is really happening.

Want information about buying or selling real estate in the South Bay of Los Angeles or the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

There is an article from the Los Angeles times today warning of significant new loan fees and higher interest rates for conventional loans to be made through Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac beginning April 1st. GNMA, which purchases VA loans and FHA insured mortgages has also announced that they will be making similar adjustments in pricing.  

These new fees and increased interest rates could have a significant effect for many buyers with FICO scores of less than 740. Buyers of a condo with less than a 25% down payment will pay a 3/4 of a percent higher interest rate on their loan regardless of their credit score.  

For those of you who have been considering buying a property to take advantage of the significant price reductions and the historically low interest rates today, I would strongly encourage you to consider looking at properties right now before these new fees and increase in interest rates take effect.   Please call me and I would be happy to discuss this with you or to help you find that perfect home.

For more information about buying a home in the South Bay of Los Angeles or the Ppalos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Valentines Day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The History of Valentines Day is very interesting. St. Valentine lived in the 3rd century. One legend had it that Claudius II, the Roman Emperor, had outlawed marriage for all young men under a certain age because he felt that young single men made better solders for the Roman Empire than married men or men with children.  St. Valentine, a Catholic priest, according to the legend, continued to secretly marry young men to their lovers in defiance of the Emperor. and was put to death in approx. 270 AD.

Some people believe that the Catholic Church began to celebrate the feast of St. Valentines in mid-February to commemorate the anniversary of his death in order to "christianize" a pagan celebration which occured at the same time to celebrate the start of spring, which in the ancient Roman calendar began in February. The Lupercalia Festival was a fertility festival held in mid February dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D

Valentines greetings began sometime after the 1400's in Europe. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, the first mass-produced valentines in America were sold.  It is estimated that approx. 85% of all valentines day cards are purchased by women.

For more interesting information, please visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com