CJ's Blog

Even Rabbit Holes Experience Shift: DOI Code 12404.1

2009-07-08T07:11:00Z

By now, most California real estate agents have probably received an email from the California Association of Realtors, and numerous emails from title company reps.

At least for now, title companies may return to providing property profile information as they were prior to the June 12 letter; meaning comparable sales, lender information, phone numbers, tax information, community information, and document copies will be included in a property profile.

For the record:

Infamous June 12 letter from State of California Department of Insurance: http://www.clta.org/for-members/legislation/2008/doiLetter_06-12-09.pdf

California Association of Realtors July 2 letter to State of California DOI: http://www.car.org/media/pdf/DOI_letter.pdf

The July 6 clarification letter from State of California Department of Insurance: http://www.car.org/media/pdf/CDI_Letter_on_Prop_Profiles1.pdf

AND ON THE OTHER HAND:

Any person with a credit card can purchase a "Market Forecast" from the Cyperhomes FaceBook business page http://www.facebook.com/Cyberhomes?v=app_7146470109&viewas=558811755

And Cyberhomes is part of Fidelity National Title http://www.cyberhomes.com/content/allabout/about.aspx

Abandoned Dog at my office

2009-07-07T18:00:02Z

These are photos of the poor pit bull that someone tied to the fence at my office and abandoned this morning.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=123405&id=558811755&ref=mf

It broke my heart to phone North Central Animal Shelter to pick him up, but what else can you do?

If anyone knows of a local rescuer that might have room, please let me know!!!

Facebook Question

2009-07-07T08:59:23Z

Here's a question for Facebook users.

You have a personal profile and you have a business fan page. Let's say you want to publicize a property you have listed for sale.

Would you post it to ~both~ your personal newsfeed and your fan page?

I'm thinking if your friends have both your personal newsfeed and your fan page in their main newsfeed list, then they will see duplicate posts. And that would be kind of tacky.

On the other hand, I'm thinking if I post the property on the business fan page only, I'm missing some eyeballs. If I post it to my personal newsfeed only, I'm kind of defeating the purpose of having the business fan page.

I suppose the only good solution is to obtain more fans than friends...... :-)

Thoughts, anyone?

Old L A Farmers Market, in Highland Park Every Tuesday

2009-07-07T07:51:03Z

Friend, we hope to see you today at the Old L.A. Farmers Market-Highland Park's local farmers market. We're open every Tuesday, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Support your local economy by coming to the farmers market, talking to the farmers, talking to the craftspeople, and meeting your neighbors.

Be sure to come and bring the whole family and all your neighbors. We're located on Ave. 58 between Figueroa and Marmion Way, every Tuesday, year-round.

Have a seat, enjoy a tamale, chat with your neighbors, and get your fresh produce for the week. You'll also find used books, and lots of crafts.

Are these hard times worrying you? What better way to work our way through this than to network with neighbors, and find ways to cooperate to do things. Come meet your neighbors at the market!

(Parking is readily available in the city lot to the west, and elsewhere.) All the farmers are located on Avenue 58.

I Hate Getting Sales Calls

2009-07-06T18:40:35Z

I Hate Getting Sales Calls

If you are a vendor trolling Active Rain prospects to call. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME. I AM NOT INTERESTED.

If you are a vendor trolling Active Rain prospects to call. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME. I AM NOT INTERESTED

If you are a vendor trolling Active Rain prospects to call. PLEASE DO NOT CALL ME. I AM NOT INTERESTED.

(Let's see if any of these bozos actually read member's blogs before phoning!!!!!!)

Reflections: New Year's Eve is Comming Soon

2009-07-05T08:07:27Z

Reflections: In a few short months it will be New Year's Eve. December 31, 2009.

Unless you are a mathematical purist, 12/31/2009 will signal the close of the first decade of the new millenium.

And what a decade it's been. In our industry, we witnessed an incredible skyrocketing of home prices, followed by an equally incredible plummet back to earth.

Did you blog in 1999? Did you tweet? Facebook did not exist. Neither did Active Rain.

We always said "Information Wants To Be Free", little did we know that once Information was freed from its constraints that it would run us over like a herd of stampeding buffalo.

Anyway, it seems like I ought to start thinking about how I want to celebrate the upcoming New Year.

And I think I want to party like its 1999.

Prince - 1999
Uploaded by djarnaldo. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Here's cheat sheet of the lyrics.

Avenue 50 Studio: Reception July 5

2009-07-04T07:09:52Z

Closing reception for the 3rd Zone Exhibit at Avenue 50 Studio and 100 Faces at the Annex: Sunday, July 5, 2009 from 2-4 pm

The 3rd Zone is a space and place corralled by the Tijuana-San Diego border - the busiest and most utilized land crossing in the world. In 2005 over 18 million vehicles and 50 million people entered the 3rd Zone. The occupants of the Zone are a mix of people living in Tijuana, San Diego County and Los Angeles County.

Please join us, along with the artists of the 3rd Zone for a closing discussion, with poetry from Beverly LaFontaine and Actress Beebe Smith

Refreshments will be served

Special Thanks to: Chris & James Cook; Luis Ituarte, artist; Carolyn Williams; Alex & Jaylene Moseley; Rebecca S. Rojas, Ph.D; and COFAC

Avenue 50 Studio, Inc.
a 501(c)(3) non-profit art gallery
131 North Avenue 50
Highland Park, CA 90042
323-258-1435

http://www.avenue50studio.com

Friends of Southwest Museum: A Victory June 30

2009-07-04T06:37:23Z

As he walked across the country from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in 1884 and 1885 Charles Lummis, learned of the plight of Native Americans, and he became determined to raise the public's awareness of Native American life and culture.

In 1907 he began planning the Southwest Museum, which opened seven years later, in 1914.

In recent years, however, the museum struggled financially. Its directors agreed in 2003 to merge with the Autry Museum in Griffith Park, an agreement that was to include the Autry making needed repairs to the Southwest Museum structures and the Autry underwriting the smaller museum's operating costs of more than $100,000 a month.

But as local activists watched, concern grew that the Autry's long term plan was to remove the priceless collection of artifacts out of the Southwest Museum, and into a newly expanded Griffith Park location, reducing the Southwest to nothing more than meeting rooms.

On June 30, both sides: Local activists, and Autry supporters met at Los Angeles City Hall for a showdown.

In a surprising development, City Councilman Jose Huizar said it was time for the Autry to reaffirm its commitment to the Southwest by agreeing to attach a legally binding document to a lease agreement the Autry is seeking in order to expand its Griffith Park Autry Museum.

Thus making the preservation of the Southwest collection at the Southwest Museum a condition of the city's approval of the Autry's expansion plans in Griffith Park.

Good move, Mr. Huizar, thank you.

Follow the links below to read more:

http://www.scottrubel.com/foswm_win_090630.html#

http://egpnews.com/?p=10844

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-autry-southwest2-2009jul02,0,2958556.story

http://egpnews.com/?p=11061

http://www.friendsofthesouthwestmuseum.com/

The petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/SWM/petition.html

Your pets and fireworks!! Beware!

2009-07-03T06:25:28Z

Via Molly Chase (Bob Taylor Properties, Inc.):

Every year the skies light up with beautiful fireworks displays, which we love to watch. To dogs and cats, these bright light bursts and bangs are terrifying and completely stressful. And it's not just the big fireworks display events on the 4th of July, but the weeks before and after when individuals love to have
their own backyard fireworks parties. Dogs can become irrational when frightened. The instinct to run sets in and the need to escape kicks in so hard they will chew a door or window frame to pieces or even break out a window! Too many dogs can be seen running in a blind panic down the streets, and stepping out into the streets. Our local shelters get filled to capacity with stray, un-identifiable dogs and cats. Dogs have super-sensitive ears and can hear sounds up to 4 times the distance as humans can. Loud noises can actually cause pain to their ears!

Here is a list of stress and anxiety behaviors your dog may exhibit:
trembling
restlessness
pacing
whining, barking
panting
hiding
attention seeking behaviors
loss of appetite
loss of house training
escape behaviors
destructiveness

What you don't ever want to do:
-Don't take your dog to a fireworks display.
-Don't punish your dog for being frightened -Don't try to comfort or reassure
your dog with petting or telling them its OK when frightened as this just
re-enforces nervous behavior. Only reward calm behavior.
-Don't leave your dog outside.
If your dog lives outside, now would be the time to bring them indoors.
-Don't leave your dog alone if possible.

What you can do:
-Now is a great time to make sure they have an ID tag on their collar.
This should contain a current phone # and address.
-Is your dogs license current?
Do you know where your local city shelter is?
-Are they micro-chipped?
-Bring your dog inside and if possible, don't leave them home alone.
If you have to leave them alone for a few hours, how about in an enclosed room
with the curtains drawn and a fan and/or radio, TV on to block out the noise?
-Have a safe place or den for them to hide-like a crate or covering a table with
a blanket, or placing their beds behind a sofa so they can feel safe, secure and
comfortable.
-Give them food filled toys or special toys to try and occupy them.
-Vets do dispense dog downers(sedatives) if you have a highly upset pet.
There are many holistic calming products on the market now too.
-If necessary, there are vets, dog day care centers, kennels, and dog sitters to
safely, care for your animals.
If you lose your dog or find one:
-Make sure you have a current photo to make a flyer. Post flyers!
-Go to your local city shelter.

For the Northeast area it is North Central Animal Shelter located on 26th St.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.laanimal services. com.
They are open 24 hours/7 days a week if you want to bring a found dog or cat
there.

In the event of a medical emergency,do you know where your local 24 hour
emergency hospitals are?

With all that being said, good luck and have fun!
Prepare now so you can have a safe and happy 4th of July.

If you need further help for you and your dog, or have any questions please feel
free to contact me.
--------------------

Posted by:

lezle stein

Dog Training & Behavior Specialist
Handle With Care Dog Training
L.A. City Council Spay & Neuter Advisory Committee
Director of Animal Welfare/Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council
Co-President/ Hermon Dog Park
Downtown Dog Rescue
323.225.6700 http://www.handlewoofcare.com

SB133: A Quick Trip Down The Rabbit Hole

2009-07-02T20:30:20Z

Under California Senate Bill, SB133, which took effect January 1, 2009 a title company can no longer provide real estate agents with comparable sales, lender information, phone numbers, tax information, community information, or mapping.

Fidelity National Title Insurance, one of the nation'a largest title insurers, announces on the access page of their online profile system that AVM Reports have been removed.

Okayfine. Hold that thought.

Fidelity also owns and operates Cyberhomes.com which is a free real estate information site providing the general public with ~guess what~ comparable sales, tax information, community information, mapping, and AVM reports.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in the State of California making it illegal for real estate professionals to receive the very same information that is available to the general public on a freely accessed website??

Or maybe its just me being a snarky old woman.

We Don't Do Old School Meetings

2009-07-02T09:06:32Z

We Don't Do Old School Meetings .... everyone is always going ten different directions at once, and no body ever really likes them anyway,,,,

Has anyone here built a VIRTUAL meeting site? I have been thinking about using Yahoo Groups; set up as a private moderated group .... it is simple to use, and most folks here are pretty familiar with it since a number of community groups around here use Yahoo Groups to distribute information.

Google Wave would be ideal, but it doesn't exist yet. :-)

Anyway, associates could post info about their new listings, reductions, pendings, solds .... we could post industry information, stuff about new regulations and requirements .... You know, the stuff real estate office meetings are made of :-)

Anyone else doing this? What platform are you using? Comments? Thoughts?

Buy a Dinner, Get a Dollar

2009-07-01T17:55:47Z

Felipe's Restaurant at 6101 York Blvd. is offering a limited time special. Starting today each dinner guest at Felipe's will receive a genuine United States Presidential $1 Coin as a token of appreciation.

Please stop in and give Felipe's a try. The mega-Margaritas are back. Menu prices have been reduced. The staff is very attentive, accommodating, and conversational.

Felipe's Restaurant, 6101 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042 -- 323-478-1652

Facebook Pages: I'm a Day Late/Dollar Short

2009-06-29T05:51:44Z

My plan was to spiff up the business page before I went trolling for more fans.

But I didn't quite get to that yet. :-(

So here I am, hours after the carriage turned into a pumpkin, the page in its skivvies, begging for fans to push me over the 100 mark. I need 70 more. Please.

Click here:

http://www.facebook.com/advertising/#/pages/Los-Angeles-CA/Bob-Taylor-Properties-Inc/7694836362

Then click, "Become a Fan".

Thanks. Just ask if you need me to return the favor.

Background info:

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/grab-you-facebook-fan-pages-vanity-urls-tonight/11481/

http://mashable.com/2009/06/28/facebook-url-pages/

VFLyer Gallery into RSS Feed

2009-06-28T07:32:34Z

Here's an idea: If you have a VFlyer account, did you know you can turn your VFlyer gallery into an RSS feed?

From the VFlyer Flyer tab, click View Account Profile

That will take you to screen displaying a gallery view of all your active listings. Select and Copy the URL (web address). (It will look something like this http://www.vflyer.com/home/Listing.jsp?acctId=1077084 --that's the gallery view for Above The Rainbow Jewelry, one of my pro bono** web site clients :-) )

Go to FeedBurner and paste that URL into Feedburner's "Burn a feed right this instant" box.

Click through Feedburner's steps, then copy FeedBurner's newly assigned feed address. It will look something like this: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AbovetherainbowsListings

Using a plugin such as FeedWordPress or WP-o-Matic, you can plug that feed into an existing WordPress blog. Then each time you add a new listing to your VFLyer account, a post with a link to the VFlyer will automatically show up in your WordPress blog.

(P.S. Now that I've updated FeedWordPress to the 2009.0618 version, I've returned to using it over WP-o-Matic. WP-o-Matic wasn't displaying embedded videos...)

** I've been helping Lilian get started with an online presence for her jewelry-making. What I've learned about product photography, building an etsy shop, etc., etc., has been more valuable than charging her money. :-) )

HR3044: 18 month moratorium on HVCC

2009-06-27T19:01:51Z

Representatives Childers (D-MS) and Miller (R-CA) introduced HR 3044 on June 26, which calls for an 18 month moratorium on HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct)

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage_rates/blog/87536.aspx

http://www.mortgagegrapevine.com/thread/?thread=567033

Petition: http://www.hvccpetition.com/

Vintage Basket Sale and Auction at Avenue 50 Studio July 4

2009-06-26T19:36:42Z

Bert Witt and the late Ellen Witt were avid collectors of Native American as well as Indigenous arts and crafts from countries they visited all over the world.

For the first time, more than 100 items from their extensive and distinguished collection will be offered for sale. Among the vintage baskets there are several Inuit, Navajo, Hopi and African baskets. Other collector's items such as clay pots, mortars, figurines and paintings on cloth will also be available.

Proceeds will benefit the Pho Lai kindergarten in Vietnam, a school dedicated to Ellen Witt, as well as help support operations of the Avenue 50 Studio.

Saturday, July 4, 2009 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm

RSVP: 323/258-1435 to Kathy Gallegos

Avenue 50 Studio, Inc.
a 501(c)(3) non-profit art gallery
131 North Avenue 50
Highland Park, CA 90042
http://www.avenue50studio.com

Google Wave

2009-06-26T08:27:52Z

I think I could do a lot with this, from transaction management to an office intranet.

The video is long, about an hour and twenty minutes ... so don't fire it up unless you have some time to spare.

Google explains Wave basics here: http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html

Developers can request a sandbox account here https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignupfordev/

Ordinary folks can enlist to be bug finders here (this is what I did) https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/

I just signed up to play on PyGo's test wave. Will report back.

http://code.google.com/p/pygowave-server/

Internet Slave Labor

2009-06-24T10:53:00Z

Do you get comments from bozos like these on your WordPress blogs?

Since I have a comment captcha plugin installed, I can only imagine these are real live people, locked in a room, chained to a keyboard, paid a few cents per every comments.

The $300 a Day guys seems to show up on all my WP blogs.

Lummis Day 2009: Carlos Guitarlos

2009-06-24T07:33:44Z

Sharing one of my Lummis Day Videos:

Carlos Guitarlos

Almost five thousand people representing the rainbow of cultures in Northeast L.A gathered for Lummis Day 2009, the 4th celebration of the annual multi-cultural festival, presented by the Autry National Center, the Annenberg Foundation and the neighborhood councils of Northeast L.A.

The Lummis Day Festival was created to celebrate the patchwork of cultures that enriches the city. Artists represented Latino, Tagalog, Native American, Anglo and African-American traditions. Music included blues, rock, banda, salsa, jazz and country. Dance troupes represented Philippine, Mexican, Pacific Island and jazz dance traditions. Poets, painters and culinary artists, all with local connections, added to the Festival's collection of cultures.

Lummis Day takes its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, who joined the L.A. Times as the newspaper's first city editor in 1876. A prolific writer and photographer, Lummis was also one of the city's first librarians, founded the Southwest Museum and helped introduce the concept of multi-culturalism to Southern California.

Twitter/Revolution in Iran

2009-06-22T05:45:39Z

If you want to read tweets from the streets of Iran, the Stimulist says these are the hashtags you want:

#iranelection

#gr88

The article's author also suggests:

Help  cover  Iranian  bloggers. Change  your  Twitter  settings  so  that  your  location  is  TEHRAN  and  your  time  zone  is  GMT +3.30.   Security  forces  are  hunting  for  bloggers  using  location  and  timezone  searches.   If  we  all  become  ‘Iranians,'  it  becomes impossible to find them.

Here's a link to the full article: http://thestimulist.com/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-protest-twitterers/

So, for now, my location is Tehran. Hyper-localism can wait.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

2009-06-19T09:54:37Z

While browsing through Google Books the other day, I came across this Real Estate Law Book from the year 1901.

http://books.google.com/books?id=UEU9AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=law+of+real+property&ei=8qQ7Su2UBI_ElQTBmJC6BQ

Here's another from 1910.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AxA9AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=law+of+real+property&ei=BKc7SoDlEIOmkASS4bS6BQ

These are too good not to share.

Browse through the table of contents, and you'll chuckle over how many issues sound familiar.

Google AdWords: Placement Performance Report

2009-06-19T08:59:51Z

Sometimes the simple things are the hardest. :-)

If you run Google AdWords campaigns, you probably want to know where your ads appear.

Google says create a Placement Performance Report, yadayada, "Select Level of Detail", yadayada.

Well, I wasn't seeing the "Level of Detail" drop down menu, and I was banging my head on the monitor for several days, until I realized that I had the "Placement/Keyword Performance" report selected, when I should have selected the "Placement Performance" report. Sheesh.

FaceBook Question

2009-06-15T09:48:46Z

I make FaceBook pages from time to time ..... I recently started making a FaceBook page for each property we list .....

So here's the question... Is there a FaceBook app that will generate a list of all my current pages and display the list on my profile???

Installing WP o'Matic

2009-06-14T09:19:18Z

My installation notes:

1. Download and unzip WP o'Matic. Download and unzip SimplePie Core.

2. FTP to host account and upload both to wp-content/plugins.

3. Open WP o'Matic folder. Create new folder titled "cache". Set CHMOD permissions for cache folder to 777

4. USE FIREFOX: At WordPress admin panel, in plugins activate both WP o'Matic and SimplePie Core

5. Run the WP o'Matic set up function. Uncheck "I'll be using a cron job" (Unless you want to).

6. Add campaign & set up feeds.

GoDaddy Update to PHP5

2009-06-14T07:57:05Z

In the My Products section, select Hosting.

Next to the hosting account you want to modify, click Manage Account.

Click "Content" , then click the "Addon Languages" icon.

Select PHP5

This post is for me. I needed to get PHP5 running on one of my older blogs, and I'd forgotten where to change the setting. So I lost twenty minutes or more searching for the answer. Hopefully I can find it a little easier next time I need it.