San Diego - Recent Rainfall Does Not Relieve Need for Conservation.
December 2nd, 2008 categories: Local San Diego News You Can Use, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News
San Diego Water Supply
Finally San Diego got some rain. Over 2 inches of it in most places last week. But don’t let this lull you into thinking that the need for water conservation has somehow ended. It hasn’t.
The reservoirs are very low, there are going to be cutbacks in the supply of water we purchase, the water rates are going up again and we will not be able to fill the need for water.
So what does all this mean to you the consumer here in San Diego? It spells the greater possibility of M-A-D-A-T-O-R-Y water restrictions.
For a lot of years running, San Diego, in fact all of California’s population has been exploding. Developments of every sort are filling up the land. People have been migrating in large numbers to California. Meanwhile, we have not added one sustainable drop of water to the supply.
It has to strike you ( sooner if not later ) that with our droughts and no other means for water, at some point there won’t be enough to spread around. Thinking you might need to shower with bottled water from Costco. Not going to happen.
There must be ways to cut back on consumption voluntarily or the alternative way, if there is any hope of stretching supplies. So it’s either we do it voluntarily or it will be mandated. The former would be preferable to having your water supplies cut off or greatly curtailed.
Here are some ideas to help you -there are a lot of other ways to cut down your water usage.
- When running water to get to the hot water – don’t let that water go down the drain. Capture it in buckets for use on your plans for your landscaping.
- Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.
- Fix leaking faucets or toilets that continue to run.
- Take shorter showers.
- In all flow restrictors on all faucets and showers.
- Replace the old toilets with new low flow toilets.
- Cut your yard watering down by one half.
- Use a car washing service that recycles their water use.
- Use the dishwasher only when full – same with the clothes washer.
- Replace a portion on the lawn with drought resistant plants and use mulch around trees and shrubs to keep the moisture from elaborating.
We must all take this seriously if we are going to affect the outcome anytime soon. It is not going to easier by delaying this. We either cut back or they will cut out. You get to choose. I hope you will choose wisely.
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San Diego Home Foreclosures to take a Holiday Break !
November 30th, 2008 categories: Local San Diego News You Can Use, San Diego Mortgage Banks and Loans Info, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News
From now until January 9th, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they are suspending foreclosures, pending the full implementation of a streamlined loan modification program. Loan mods as they are known, is the process by which a homeowner can “workout” a mortgage that better suites their income and ability to pay.
The new streamlined loan modification process is scheduled to begin around the middle of December and they are expected to ultimately prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures over time. But during this holiday period, Fannie Mae estimates 10,000 homeowners and Freddie Mac estimates another 6,000 homeowners will be helped by this suspension of foreclosures. This temporary suspension will give Fannie, Freddie and programs like New Hope along with approximately 27 other mortgage services ,time to get the streamlines process guidelines fully worked out and then to quickly begin implementation. More »
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Money for Mortgages is Available
October 22nd, 2008 categories: Buying San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Mortgage Banks and Loans Info, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News, Selling San Diego Real Estate
Kenneth Harney a syndicated columnist for the Washington Post wrote an article that appeared recently in our Union Tribune and condensed all the known information about mortgage money and loan availability for todays Buyers of residential real estate.
The essence of the article was about the lack of shortage of money and the credit available to buy homes. He makes a very strong point that it is because the government has backed these loans and there is much less risk, at least for now.
Now, it is acknowledged that attaining credit today is certainly not as easy as it once was but if you have a good credit score and at least some money to put down, you stand a very good chance of getting your loan request approved.
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“Let Me Take You There” to The Oldest Winery in Southern California, Rancho Bernardo Winery
October 19th, 2008 categories: William's Life in San Diego Musings
The oldest winery in Southern California was built right here in Rancho Bernardo in 1889 and it was the host today of a local Arts and Crafts Festival. The winery is still producing wine here but most all the grapes are brought in from other parts of California.
I was impressed with the amount of antique machinery and the old wine presses used at the turn of the century. The extensive grounds are much like a graveyard for rusted out old farm equipment and tools that is so very interesting. Everywhere you look are old antiquities.
There are even a couple old antique Olive presses resting comfortably from their glory days tucked into the shade of the remaining olive trees.
Today most of the grounds where grapes were once grown are covered with quaint shops, restaurants and they still do wine tastings of both their wines and others that are on sale from other wineries in the state of California. One of the newer buildings is clad in wood siding made from the end of old wine boxes. You will see a close up photo from Robert Mondavi wines as one of the wood shingles.
The Rancho Bernardo Historical Society is building a new museum facility on the grounds with a $300,000 fund it has raised for construction. Remnants from the Old Historical Society’s Building that was torn down have been salvaged for inclusion in the new museum to be built here. I have included a picture here of the temporary quarters of the Ranch Bernardo Historical Society.
What a delightful experience visiting there today. I have lived in the Rancho Bernardo area for over eight years and I had never visited the winery before. I love the surroundings, the old antique machinery and the quaint village type of atmosphere and I plan to return again and learn more about the history of this wonderful little treasure in Rancho Bernardo.
I saw a sign in one of the shops that made me think of all of you and knew you would like it. Especially Sally Chesseman, Gary Waltol and Julie Neerings. Maybe we should adopt this as the new ActiveRain Mission Statement. Here is a picture of the sign. 
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New Learning Center Opens in Carlsbad Ca.
October 17th, 2008 categories: Local San Diego News You Can Use, San Diego Real Estate News, William's Life in San Diego Musings
The literacy programs directed by the Carlsbad City Library has some new specialized digs in its new space recently opened as part of the Carlsbad City Library System.
Previously, the literacy program was operated out of rented quarters that limited its offerings as well as the number of students and adults it could serve. Now with the new space that the city spent over $6.1 million on, is a testament of the commitment of not only the city of Carlsbad but of its citizens and especially the remarkable library system. More »
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Attention San Diego Homeowners: Santa Ana Winds Creating A Potential For Wildfires Expected this Week in San Diego -It’s Wildfire Season Again!
October 7th, 2008 categories: Local San Diego News You Can Use, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News, William's Life in San Diego Musings
Having endured two major wildfires that struck San Diego in 2003 and last year, it is essential that you as a San Diego homeowner are prepared for wildfires. San Diego Office of Emergency Services mailed out at great expense a booklet recently with suggestions on how to prepare for these potential lethal wildfires. If you didn’t get one or discarded it, I will give you the website information at the bottom of this post to obtain another one by going online and retrieving a copy.
Thousands of acres of land were burned in the last fires and it struck many homes and these homes were not just the ones in the back country. These fires spread by cinders that fly in the air and land on roofs, ignite any dry brush and as demonstrated in the last two fires, the fires are not selective as to neighborhoods. They indiscriminately can touch anyone , anywhere, even if you live right on the coast. More »
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An Original Thought Committed to Writing…
September 28th, 2008 categories: William's Life in San Diego Musings
“We are given a soul for all eternity and a voice for only a measured amount of time. How unfortunate so many in the world won’t allow their souls to be heard for in the world of sounds, when the soul speaks it is music to our ears.
William Johnson
The Voice of San Diego Real Estate
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Seawater to Drinking Water Soon to Be A Realty In San Diego County !
September 17th, 2008 categories: Buying San Diego Real Estate, Local San Diego News You Can Use, San Diego Beach Communities, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News, Selling San Diego Real Estate
Hoping to break ground in 2009, The Poseidon Resources received its final approval from the California State Lands Commission and now has all the permits needed too proceed with construction of its desalination plant on the grounds of the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon in 2009. With it’s final favorable vote by the state Lands Commission, Poseidon may now proceed to co-lease the Encina Power Plant’s intake of seawater.
The Encina Power plant currently uses the seawater for it’s power plant’s cooling system but will be soon be converting to an air cooled system. The Poseidon’s Desalination Proposal of using the seawater intake had stirred opposition from environmentalists and a recent legal opposition by environmentalists was dismissed against one of the permits this past week.
All Systems Go! Poseidon expects to deliver drinking water to nine local San Diego water agencies by 2011 and in a statement by Poseidon Resources, it rightfully claims this is a historic day for California as the desalinated water will now be a measurable component of the State of California’s water resources.
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Home Warranty and What You Could Learn With One
September 16th, 2008 categories: Buying San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate, Selling San Diego Real Estate
As a Buyer of property in San Diego, the California Association of REALTORS Standard form provides that you may seek from the seller an agreement to provide Home Warranty coverage on the basic mechanism of the home you are purchasing . While this home warranty should give you some comfort of the the coverage it provides, it is not a panacea for all that is or may go wrong in home.
With the contract that most Buyers don’t read very carefully, there is specific language for the items and issues that warranty does not cover. Your experience with home maintenance and the breakdowns that naturally occur as systems wear out over time might surprise you that many of these are not covered within the scope of your agreement.
Thinking logically about what is not covered ( which you will find in the contract ) and then the reality of facing some of these repairs, you may question the usefulness of the coverage in the first place. More »
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Taking a More Environmentally Sensitive Approach to Pest Management
September 16th, 2008 categories: Buying San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate, San Diego Real Estate News, Selling San Diego Real Estate, William's Life in San Diego Musings
IPM, Integrated Pest Management takes advantage of the appropriate pest management options by being more judicious in the use of pesticides. By using less risky pest control as a first line of defense, such as microwaving and the use of natural orange oil and other natural resources, they can control pests more effectively, at less cost and with less damage to the environment.
Pesticides produced from natural sources such as the oil from oranges, hasproven to be as effective as other synthetic chemicals with the added advantage that they do not harm the eco-system. Oil of chrysanthemum is a natural pest deterrent.
We have been discovering that the synthetic chemicals which do not break down have found there way into our water supplies as they leach through the soils into the underground water.
Overtime, synthesized chemical treatments become less effective as the pests build a natural defense to them, requiring even more harmful chemical substances to be used. Employing the methods and research of Integrated Pest Management or IPM along with the numerous natural sources of remedies, pest treatment remains effective and assures of us of no further harm to any part of our entire eco-system.
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