Maureen Megowan's Blog

Jumbo Interest Rates quoted by Ron Goodkin of Coast Capital Group at ron@coastcapitalgroup.com  followi: 

 Options for loan amounts from $729,750-$5,000,000:

 Option #1   5/1 ARM fixed at 4.625% (4.862% APR), or 3/1 ARM fixed at 3.875% (4.124% APR)These rates are available for .875 point plus closing costs and can be interest only!

Option #2   7/1 ARM fixed at 5.0% (5.19% APR), or 10/1 ARM fixed at 5.375% (5.54% APR) for .875 point plus closing costs. These loans are also available as interest only!    

Option #3  30 year fixed rate for loan amounts to $2,000,000! 5.75% (5.95% APR) for 1 point plus closing costs. 5.25% (5.39% APR) for 1.625 points plus closing costs.   

Option #4 30yr fixed loans from $417,000-$729,750 5.125% (5.29% APR) for 1 point plus closing costs.

For more information about Financing your purchase of a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

Palos Verdes Estates residents are invited to join the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department and Neighborhood Watch from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 4 for the 2009 National Night Out.  I will be hosting my own local block party for this event.

The safety and community event includes a police caravan, fire trucks, and crime-fighting Officer McGruff.

For more information about the block parties, contact Community Relations Officer Laurie Slawson by calling 310-378-4211 or by e-mailing lslawson@pvestates.org.

For more nformation about Palos Verdes Real Estate and buying and selling a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com . I try to make this the best real estate web blog in the South Bay Los Angeles and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I would love to hear your comments or suggestions. 

Plans for the 228 acre development project slated for the Chandler Palos Verdes Sand and Gravel pit in Rolling Hills Estates continue to move forward. Plans for development on the site include the construction of a new golf course for the Rolling Hills Country Club as well as 114 luxury homes. The city recently released a state-required environmental report on the project, which has been in the planning stages for about six years.

Part of the property is in Torrance, which has agreed to swap 32 acres with Rolling Hills Estates so that the residential portion of the project can remain in the latter city. A portion of the golf course would be in Torrance, as will nearly 4 acres of open space. Total cost of the project has been estimated at approx. $300 million. The new homes to be developed are expected to range from 2,700 to 6,500 square feet of space, and would feature a red-tile-roofed Mediterranean style. Billed as "Tuscan Farmhouse," "Rural Italian" and "Rustic Italian,"  Expected sales prices are also expected to be well over $1 million ranging up to the high $3 million range.

For years, plans have been in the mix to convert the Chandler Sand and Gravel pit into a new Rolling Hills Country Club with 114 homes. (Scott Varley Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

Some critics of the proposed project dispute the developer's plans to be removed from Rolling Hills Estates' horse overlay zone, which allows horses on lots greater than 10,000 square feet.  These neighbors feel that although the area currently does not provide for equestrian uses, that the new project should be planned to accommodate horses including additional horse trails.

For more nformation about Palos Verdes Real Estate and buying and selling a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com . I try to make this the best real estate web blog in the South Bay Los Angeles and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I would love to hear your comments or suggestions. 

The El Segundo Rotary Club will hold its 12th annual Movies in the Park event next Saturday August 1st at Chevron Park. The park is located at the corner of Sepulveda and Rosecrans Boulevards and gates will open at 4:00 pm.

Tickets are $4, and children ages 2 and younger are free. Kung Fu Panda will be the featured movie. More than 3,000 spectators are expected to enjoy games, activities, food vendors, and a raffle before the movie. Parking is available in the parking structure at El Segundo Blvd and Illinois Steet. For additional information, go to www.movieinthepark.info .

I recently completed training to become a Certified Distressed Property Expert. The Certified Distressed Property Expert designation demonstrates that I have the specialized knowledge to advise homeowners on how best to deal with home loan delinquency issues, foreclosures, and short sales. 

If you are dealing with a mortgage loan delinquency issue , please feel free to call me to discuss your various options such as renegotiation, short sale, deed-in-lieu or foreclosure and the pros and cons of each option.

For nformation about Foreclosures & Short Sales  visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

Mrs. Elin Vanderlip, a living icon and the grand dame of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, died yesterday at the age of 90. She embodied the living history of Rancho de los Palos Verdes and will be greatly missed.The following is an excerpt of an article published today in the South Bay Daily Breeze:

Elin Vanderlip at the entrance to her home Villa Narcissa in 2008. (Brad Graverson/Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

"Elin Brekke Vanderlip - widow of Kelvin Vanderlip and daughter-in-law of Frank A. Vanderlip Sr., the man who assembled the syndicate that in 1913 bought the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula - has died.

Barely six weeks after her 90th birthday party, the woman whom daughter Narcissa Vanderlip called "a force of nature" succumbed Monday morning to heart failure at her walled Villa Narcissa estate above Portuguese Bend in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Left behind are sons Kelvin Jr. and Henrik, daughters Katrina and Narcissa and five grandchildren."

The full story may be read at http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_12892502?source=rss_viewed

Elin's father-in-law Frank Vanderlip planned to develop the area above Point Vicente lighthouse as an Italian hillside village, to be occupied by craftsmen who would live, work, and sell their wares. Marble was imported from Italy for the first building in 1928, but the project was never completed. Vanderlip constructed his first residence on the Peninsula in 1916 in the Portuguese Bend area, the "Old Ranch Cottage", now known as the "Cottage". (See The History of Portuguese Bend for an excellent detailed history of the Portuguese Bend area) Other buildings were added to the estate in the 1920's including a small guest house and garage called "La Casetta" and a larger guesthouse known as the "Villetta", now known as "Villa Narcissa".Behind the Villetta, a beautiful stairway of 268 steps, lined by cypress trees,soared to a spectacular lookout point where a white marble temple was built. The Villa Narcissai s located at 100 Vanderlip Drive, at the end of Vanderlip Drive, near the end of Narcissa Drive, the road through a private gated community just south of the Wayfarers' chapel at the beginning of the Portuguese Bend area, and public access to visit the property is not available. You can see the original gatehouse to the property at the gated entrance of Narcissa Drive just off of Palos Verdes Drive South.


Villa Narcissa (Picture Courtesy of Palos Verdes Peninsula Library District)

The Cottage is still owned by Suzanne Vanderlip, the widow of John Vanderlip, the youngest son of Frank Vanderlip, Sr., and Villa Narcissa is still owned by Elin Vanderlip, the widow ofFrank Vanderlip Sr.'s second son, Kelvin. A third structure, a barn and stables called the "Farmstead" later became the Portuguese Bend Riding Club. For the most part during the 1920's, Vanderlip lived in New York at his Carborough-on-Hudson estate "Beechwood". Frank Vanderlip's wife, Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, was one of the founders of the League of Women Voters, and was a leading suffragist in New York. She was also a good friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, and was instrumental in her involvement in politics. She and Frank had 6 children (Narcissa, Charlotte, Frank Jr., Virginia, Kelvin, and John).


"The Cottage"


Frank Vanderlip at "The Cottage" (Photos LA Public Library)

During the 1940's, Villa Narcissa, then occupied by Kelvin Vanderlip, hosted many Hollywood celebrities. Myrna Low, had lived there before World War II, and Paulette Goddard and Burgess Meredith had honeymooned there. In 1946, Kelvin hosted his good friend Ted Geisel (a.k.a "Dr. Seuss", the famous childrens book author) during the summer. In 1946, Kelvin married Elin Regine Brekke, of Norwegian descent. Dr. Seuss, in 1949, dedicated his book "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" to his godson, Kelvin, Jr., the son of Kelvin and Elin Vanderlip.

The Eastview area of Rancho Palos Verdes ( area 177 in map below) had the following real estate market activity during the 2nd Quarter of 2009 :

Properties Sold: 7

Address                   Sales Price BR BA  Sq.ft.$/Sq.ft Yr.Blt. MLS#  Sold Date  Days on Mkt.

1947 W Macarthur ST   $615,000 4 2.00 1,409 $436 1955 S09011852 6/16/09     89

2026 Mendon DR         $675,000 3 2.00 1,627 $415 1955 S08134789 4/8/09     144

2007 Avenida Aprenda  $675,000 4 2.00 2,084 $324 1964 S09035544 5/26/09    22

1837 Redondela DR      $700,000 4 2.00 1,790 $391 1960 N08128728 6/2/09    131

27945 Pontevedra DR   $710,000 4 2.00 2,032 $349 1959 S09008152 4/29/09    82

1849 Avenida Aprenda  $785,000 4 2.00 1,790 $439 1960 V09008033 4/29/09    56

2144 Van Karajan DR    $860,000 4 3.00 2,637 $326 1963 S09041228 6/10/09    60

Properties for Sale as of 6/30/09:  8

Average List Price at 6/30/09:  $ ,8 million

Average Sales Price of homes sold during 2nd quarter: $ .7 million

Average Price per Sq. Ft. for Properties Sold during 2nd Qtr:   $ 383 per sq. ft.

Properties sold at an average of 97% of List Price

Students in this area generallyattend school at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (located in Rolling Hills Estates) , Ridgecrest Intermediate School and Miraleste Intermediate School, and several local elementary schools, all part of the Palos Verdes Unified School System. There is an additional high school located in Palos Verdes Estates, Palos Verdes High, and both high schools are California Distinquished Schools, with open enrollment to students on the Peninsula (they do not have enrollment boundaries). Palos Verdes High has a unique class scheduling structure, called block scheduling, where students attend three extended periods each day, alternating with their other three classes each day. Peninsula High has a more traditional structure of the same periods for all classes each day. Palos Verdes Unified School District has some of the highest test scores in the state. Click Here for elementary and intermediate school attendance boundaries. For local school test scores, Click Here.  There are also a number of excellent private schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Taxes
Property Taxes: The property tax rate for the fiscal year 2008-2009 is 1.053393% (computed by the standard 1.0% of the property's assessed valuation (in accordance with Proposition 13, a property's assessed valuation is the original purchase price, plus the cost of improvements, based on the value of permits pulled, plus an increase in valuation of 2% per year) plus additional tax rates for voted bonded indebtedness) plus direct assessments of approx. $700-$800 per parcel for such items as school parcel taxes, etc. and a storm drain user fee which is based on the amount of runoff to the sewer system that a property generates, that for an average size lot is approx. $86 per year.

Taxes are assessed for the fiscal year running from July 1st through June 30th, with property tax bills payable in two installments on December 10th and April 10th. If a property changes ownership during the year,  a supplemental tax bill will be prepared prorating the tax increase due to a change in valuation over the remainder of the fiscal year. If a change in ownership occurs between January 1 and May 31 this will result  in two supplemental assessments and two supplemental tax bills. The first supplemental bill is for the remainder of the fiscal year in which the event occurred. The second supplemental bill is for the subsequent fiscal year.

Utility Tax: The City charges a utility tax on all utility bills (water, gas, electric and telephone bills) of 3%.

Property Transfer Tax: The County of Los Angeles levies a transfer tax upon the sale of a property of $1.10 per thousand dollars of the sale price.

For more information on buying or selling real estate in the Eastview area of Rancho Palos Verdes visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The Silver Spur area of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates (Area 176 in map below) had the following real estate market activity during the 2nd Quarter of 2009 :

Properties Sold: 7

Address                   Sales Price BR BA  Sq.ft.$/Sq.ft Yr.Blt. MLS#  Sold Date  Days on Mkt.

5915 Flambeau RD      $730,000 3 2.00 1,442 $506 1959 S08173752 4/29/09     79

5183 Willow Wood RD  $754,000 3 2.00 1,395 $541 1956 S09046367 5/29/09     24

26941 Basswood AV     $775,000 3 2.00 1,612 $481 1958 P675642 6/21/09        70

5510 Bayridge RD        $790,000 3 2.00 1,312 $602 1956 V08043204 4/30/09   137

6032 Groveoak Place    $810,000 4 2.00 1,670 $485 1960 S09007540 4/2/09      79

27004 Grayslake RD     $840,000 3 2.00 1,442 $583 1960 V08173069 6/19/09   122

26517 Dunwood        $1,100,000 4 5.00 1,950 $564         V09044967  4/24/09      0

Properties for Sale as of 6/30/09:  12

Average List Price at 6/30/09:  $ 1.0 million

Average Sales Price of homes sold during 2nd quarter: $ .8 million

Average Price per Sq. Ft. for Properties Sold during 2nd Qtr:   $ 527 per sq. ft.

Properties sold at an average of 97% of List Price

For more information on buying or selling real estate in the Silver Spur area of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The Los Verdes area of Rancho Palos Verdes (Area 173 in map below) had the following real estate market activity during the 2nd Quarter of 2009 :

Properties Sold: 9

Address                   Sales Price BR BA  Sq.ft.$/Sq.ft Yr.Blt. MLS#  Sold Date  Days on Mkt.

7011 Grovespring DR    $799,000 4 2.00 1,821 $439 1963 S09043002 6/11/09      21

6706 Kings Harbor DR   $800,000 4 2.00 1,539 $520 1972 S08173393 4/21/09    127

7003 Larkvale DR         $819,000 3 2.00 1,434 $571 1962 V09030413 5/5/09       65

28524 Cedarbluff DR     $825,000 3 2.00 1,780 $463 1964 V08165505 4/6/09     112

28304 Lomo DR            $925,000 5 3.00 2,440 $379 1964 V09043269 6/5/09       32

6846 Abbottswood DR    $940,000 4 2.00 1,806 $520 1963 V08129358 5/6/09     232

28081 Ella Road            $990,000 3 2.00 1,684 $588 1962 V09046029 6/2/09       31

6714 Kings Harbor DR $1,060,000 5 3.00 2,265 $468 1972 V09052457 6/26/09      11

6787 Verde Ridge RD  $1,275,000 5 4.00 2,860 $446 1972 V09036956 6/9/09       65

Properties for Sale as of 6/30/09:  13

Los Verdes Street with Ocean View

Average List Price at 6/30/09:  $ 1.1 million

Average Sales Price of homes sold during 2nd quarter: $ .9 million

Average Price per Sq. Ft. for Properties Sold during 2nd Qtr:   $ 488 per sq. ft.

Properties sold at an average of 97% of List Price

For more information on buying or selling real estate in the Los Verdes area of  Rancho Palos Verdes visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com

The latest of the Lunada Bay Summer concert series will be held this Thursday evening from 6 to 8 pm at the Lunada Bay Park. Jazz, Blues, and Funk featuring Marti Harris with special guests Aragorn Wiederhold and Bryon Holley.

Marti Harris (vocals), with special guest Aragorn Wiederhold (guitar) and others. An evening of jazz, blues and funk, you won't want to miss Marti Harris' powerful voice backed by some of the area's best musicians.

Bring a blanket and picnic with your neighbors. The first two concerts this summer were fantastic!!!

For more nformation about Palos Verdes Real Estate and buying and selling a home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, visit my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com . I try to make this the best real estate web blog in the South Bay Los Angeles and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I would love to hear your comments or suggestions.