2) Upload a photo of your home decorated for Halloween to our Facebook page
3) Give your home a creative name. . . for example "The Smith's Spooky Sarcophagus"
4) Send an email to: Deanna@ItzSold.com with your contact information and the title of your house, so we can reach you if you WIN!
Contest is open to any who can make the game if they win! Entries need to be submitted by 10/30/2009. The winner will be selected by our expert panel of children. The winning home will be announced on 10/31/2009. One entry per family. The house entered must be your residence to qualify.
Breaking Real Estate News. . . NO MORE New Homes??
HERMOSA BEACH, CA (Sept. 14, 2009) - Recent market analysis points to the face that this may be your last chance in a long while to buy a brand new townhome in Hermosa Beach. Construction starts are down and the tell-tale bulldozers sitting in front of old beach "tear downs" are nowhere to be seen. Why? Developers can no longer buy land locally, build a new property and make a profit. Until that changes, new home inventory is going to disappear. Builders with nothing to build have become remodelers, custom home builders for homeowners, or have been forced into an extra long vacation or early retirement.
Those buyers who waited for the market to decline, sacrificed and saved their money, maintained their credit rating, and kept their job and/or their business will find it difficult to satisfy their urge for that "New Home Smell". Hermosa Pointe Homes offers those buyers possibly the last chance to own a brand new home at today's discounted prices. The developer's early projections on prices for these townhomes were close to $1,500,000. Starting at just $1,099,000, Hermosa Pointe offers today's buyers an incredible opportunity that will truly disappear before you know it. It is possible that if you call our offices in 3 or 6 months and say: "Ed, I would like to look at new homes this weekend, could you show me some?", the answer may be: " I am sorry, there are currently no brand new homes on the market. I can gladly show you homes that are 5 or 10 years old. Would that be OK?".
Urban Pointe Development, the builder of these beautiful, 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom townhomes stated, "Although we are financially strong, unlike some of the other local developers, we are going to remain cautious on land acquisitions for the time being." One thing for sure is that buyers can buy with confidence knowing that the developer of their home is standing strong and will be around tomorrow for any warranty work required. Not something you can count on with some projects that have been either taken over by bankers, or have put some developers out of business.
What makes these homes special besides being one of the only brand new homes left? The low density site plan is one reason. Most lots in Hermosa Beach allow developers to cover 65% of the land with "building coverage". This site only allows 35% lot coverage, creating a tremendous sense of space and distance from neighbors. View ... probably one of the best views off of the Hermosa Beach strand. You can see from Malibu to Catalina with little to no chance of view blockage from future construction. Location ... located in prime North Hermosa, near the border of Manhattan Beach and West of P.C.H. Quality ... unsurpassed quality of construction in every detail of these outstanding homes, no expense was spared and traditional "upgrades" come standard. Green ... the first certified, Green Rated multi-home project built in the south bay offers today's buyers two of the greatest components of Green Construction: Saving Money and Saving the Earth.
2 homes are freestanding with no common walls. 2 homes feature yard areas. Each 2,000+ sq.ft. home features a panoramic ocean view roofdeck and interior ocean views, as well as on site guest parking. High end stainless appliances, including the refrigerator, come standard with each home.
If you haven't seen these homes, come visit them this weekend, they will be open from 1 to 4 pm on Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Call 800-352-6250 x 211 for 24 hr. Recorded information
When I listed Hermosa Pointe Homes, the beach cities' 1st certified Green townhomes, I admit I was aware of the buzz about Green building and my interest was peaked, but I never expected to take away from this project a new committment to being green personally.
I have literally learned so much about green living and green building these past weeks. I often ask myself why we never adopted these practices decades ago. It would have been so easy. Regardless, I am really taken with what the builder has accomplished at Hermosa Pointe. They have really incorporated traditional design elements with hundreds of green building items. These are the 1st I have seen that have such a warm, welcoming feel to them. Admittedly, when I thought "green" before, a picture would form in my mind of a concrete, glass and steel structure with giant rain barrels in the yard. What Urban Pointe has brought to the table is a product that has the look and feel of a more mainstream, custom home, yet everything you touch or see has some kind of green element to it. It's amazing.
We get so many comments from visitors to our open houses when they walk in about how shocked they are that Hermosa Pointe doesn't "look" green. When we take them through the homes and start deconstructing every green element, room to room, they are truly amazed. We hear that they love the light and air in the homes, the natural flooring, and the fact that the homes don't "smell" new.
Top it all off with the jaw-dropping ocean views from every home, the low density site plan, the bonues parking on site and the great North Hermosa, West of PCH location, and these homes are sure winners starting at $1,099,000.
Ok, so after being inside these homes, feeling them, talking about them, selling them--I found myself feeling a little guilty for not examining my personal "green" practices more closely and seeing what I coudl do to improve them.
My office is green. I rent in a building that has been recognized as a "Green" corporate building. I have adopted their practices and suggestions for operating inside my own office space. I decided to really get aggressive with it all.
We have installed motion sensors on all of our office lights; we recycle not only at our desks, but also in our kitchen. We use plates, napkins & paper towels made of recycled materials. We all started bringing in our own coffee mugs and silverware to wash and reuse, rather than use disposable ones. Our printer/copier & computers are set to "sleep" when not in use. We don't use the A/C on weekends (which can really get warm sometimes!) We recycle our toner cartridges & shipping materials. We have implemented a new e-fax system so that we can "wean" off of our traditional, paper fax machine. We use recycled paper for our printer & re-use our file folders regularly. And recently, we converted to the new, Department of Real Estate endorsed, "RELAY" system, which is set up to eventually take our entire transaction process paperless.
To continue our efforts and to take it one step further, we are converting our entire flyer system over to a new "waste not" flyer format. We found that every year, our office was using over 260,000 pieces of paper to print flyers for outside flyer boxes. Most curious passersby will take a flyer, get the basic information they want from it, then toss it in the back seat of their car, which eventually makes its way to the trash.
Our "Waste not" flyers not only help us reduce consumption of paper, energy, toxic inks & fuel used in the printing, production & stocking of flyers; they also make our sales team that much more effective in securing interested parties and converting them to buyers for your property! Plus, our flyers never run out!
Our new format, a "permanent" flyer affixed to the sign post, will feature multiple photos, and appropriate bullet points of information about the home. People will be instructed to call our 800# which offers 24 hr, pre-recorded information about the property, and allows them to leave a request for a flyer to be emailed to them if desired. What is great about call capture is that my entire team is simultaneously & instantly notified that an inquiry just came in, and the sales staff to call back within moments of a buyer being in front of a property to have a LIVE conversation with them and go for the appointment/conversion; much more effective than tossing a flyer in the back seat! The "waste not" flyer also gives directions on where to go online to view a virtual tour and additional photos of our properties.
We are the first in the area to take this monumentental step away from the tradtional & very wasteful method of marketing with flyers. We are very excited to br bringing this change to our local marketplace.
I learn something new everyday in this business. Marketing a "green" project has personally touched me and I hope to move forward as an example to my Real Estate community with ideas and innovations to continue to reduce waste in our industry.
Congratulations to KAREN DUNBAR who won our 1st e-Raffle!!
She received a FREE home cleaning service from Maid Brigade, the South Bay's ONLY Green Clean Certified home cleaning service!
As part of our ongoing commitment to providing excellent rescources, information & services to our friends and clients, Ed will continue to introduce you to a great new service provider in the area, and share his special "Ed Said" discount, exclusive to those who know Ed and mention his name at time of service!
It Pays to Know Ed!
The "Ed Said" service spotlight is:
Participate in our special "e-Raffle" for your chance to WIN a FREE
"Ice Cream Dream" Manicure/Pedicure service from Color Me Green
(a $53.00 value!)
TO ENTER: e-mail your name, address and phone number by August 21st, 2009 to Deanna@ItzSold.com*. You will be entered into a drawing to receive a FREE "Ice Cream Dream" manicure/pedicure service (worth $53.00) from
Color Me Green Eco-Friendly & Organic Nail Boutique in Manhattan Beach!
Forward this email to friends & family so they can have a chance to win
or just to learn about a great new GREEN service in the area!
ED SAID: "My staff discovered Color Me Green when organizing our Green EXPO at Hermosa Pointe Homes in July. After a first visit, they were raving about the comfort of the salon and the outstanding hand and foot massages! Color Me Green takes pride in using only organic oils, fruit extracts, herbs and botanicals for stress relief. They also offer Vegan, DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde free polishes as well as a soy based and Vegan Acetone Free nail polish remover. Enjoy a warm and cozy home environment while a special air filtration removes many harmful fumes. They even treat you with home baked cookies! A special " BE BOLD" package is offered for men, so everyone can indulge!"
Visit Color Me Green Eco-Friendly & Organic Nail Boutique today!
Tell them " ED SAID" to get 10% off your first service!
I truly believe the homes at Hermosa Pointe stand above the rest because of their excellent North Hermosa location paired with ocean views that cannot be duplicated unless you are willing to pay $6-10 million to be right on The Strand. It's an exciting project to be involved in as we see the evolution of future green building unfold right before us and suddenly become very available and accessible to new homebuyers in the area.
Join us for the Grand Opening Event & Green Home EXPO at Hermosa Pointe, Saturday, July 18th, 11-5. Visit vendors and businesses such as Whole Foods, GrassFree, Midwest Solar, Reeds Natural Sodas, Color Me Green, Maid Brigade, Westco Smart Homes & more at our Green EXPO. Find out how to get a FREE GEM car!
Here's a little more info on this exciting Build it Green project:
Hermosa Pointe Homes, the first luxury townhome project in the Beach Cities to go Green, will be having it's official Grand Opening event on Saturday, July 18th, from 11 am to 5 pm. The homes are located at 731 21st Street in Hermosa Beach. The public is encouraged to come tour these unique homes and also stop by the Green Home Expo which will be taking place on site at the event, featuring local businesses that have committed to Eco-Friendly services and products for the home.
Urban Pointe Development is a local development firm specializing in building multi-family townhomes and condominiums with the same quality, style and comfort that you would find in a custom single family home. While most of their developments have centered in the beach communities of Los Angeles County, Urban Pointe has also developed properties in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties of Southern California and within the states of Arizona, Illinois and South Carolina.
Urban Pointe understands that every residential or commercial property they build is part of a greater community. That's why they support neighborhood schools and embrace local charities that contribute considerably to the growth and vitality of the communities we share. The spirit of selfless generosity, combined with Urban Pointes' culture of community commitment, has allowed the company to be part of something truly great, which is why they are pleased to present to the community, the area's first certified green multi-family project of its kind to be brought to the beach cities.
Hermosa Pointe Homes is the newest project by Urban Pointe Development. What makes this project unique is that the builders have followed rigorous standards set forth by the Build It Green program to bring the quality and luxury Urban Pointe is recognized for, together with healthy living standards, to offer a product that exceeds expectation.
The Build It Green program is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy-and-resource-efficient building practices in California. Urban Pointe Development is a member of Build It Green and is working within the program to achieve its "Green Point Rated" number. To achieve a Green Point Rating, an independent third party evaluates the homes based on five specific categories: Resource Conservation, Indoor Air Quality, Water Conservation, Community, and Energy Efficiency. Points are awarded for the number of items achieved in each category and a Green Point Rating number, similar to a report card grade, is assigned to the project. Brad Scott, President of Urban Pointe Development, reports "What we realized when we decided to follow the Build It Green program was that we already implemented most of these standards in our company in past projects."
There are eight luxury townhomes at Hermosa Pointe offering superior ocean views from the upper living areas and the large rooftop decks. Two of the homes are completely detached, stand-alone structures that feel very much like a traditional single family home at the beach. In addition, two of the homes offer exclusive use "yard" areas. All of the homes are end units built on an elevated lot that will preserve the upper living area ocean views. In accordance with the Build It Green program, low density of the lot provides for open space not readily found throughout the South Bay beach areas. The homes were built on only 35% of the lot as opposed to 65% as traditionally found throughout Hermosa Beach.
Hermosa Pointe is located in the sought after North Hermosa Beach area, West of Pacific Coast Highway. The project receives a WalkScore (www.WalkScore.com) of 88 points, meaning its location is a prime pedestrian and bicycle friendly site. Hermosa Pointe is located within ½ mile of award winning elementary, Jr. High and High Schools, as well as the library, police and fire stations, public parks, grocery stores and pharmacies, community centers, theater and entertainment venues, convenience stores, banks, and restaurants. Additionally it is located near the beach and pier, public transportation, the community skate park, community jogging path, the marina, cafes, coffee houses, dry cleaners, pet care, yoga centers, gyms & private trainers.
Henry Ruggeri, Vice President of Project Management, personally, is very proud of the project saying, "We have always believed in the future of green building and are pleased to be working with the City of Hermosa Beach, which is at the forefront of the green movement in the South Bay." Ruggeri also says, "We thought it necessary to build a home for the individual or family seeking the benefits of an environmentally friendly residence, but who also wanted a more traditional feel to their home. Our aim is to show people that ‘green' doesn't have to be a contemporary or urban styled design. These homes were built with a concern for the global environment while providing a comfortable private environment to enjoy the outstanding ocean views."
Urban Pointe Development has incorporated into Hermosa Pointe, the elements of design and luxury typical of their award winning projects. Besides the health and efficiency benefits incorporated through the green design, the homes boast high quality and designer finishes as standard items, unlike others where these features are only offered as "upgrades". Bonus items featured in the model comes standard in the remaining homes; from the low flow Kohler bath fixtures to the Energy Star rated, Kitchen Aid Architect Series II stainless appliances, the superior grade recycled carpets, and the Milgard Energy Star SunCoat MAX Low-E windows and doors. Each home is complete with fully customized closets in every room and unique hickory/pecan hardwood floors that have been wire brushed, finished with a Low VOC stain and tongue oil rubbed for a durable and sustainable product. A professional design consultant helped select stone and tile choices as well as finishes, and a designer color palate to elevate these homes to luxury home status. Each roofdeck offers jaw dropping panoramic views from Catalina Island to Malibu. The roofdecks are finished with gas, water, electric, cable and Cat5, and have 200 sq.ft. of space ready to receive solar panels.
CNNMoney.com reports that the opportunity to obtain the $10,000 tax credit being offered to Californians for purchasing a new home is quickly closing. The state set $100 million aside to stimulate new home sales and aid failing home builders. The credit was designed to help home buyers purchasing a newly built home. The program started in March 2009 and only about 20% of the initial credit money is left.
What does this mean to buyers in the market right now? Don't wait! To apply, an application for new home credit must be completed by the buyer and seller within one week after the close of escrow and faxed by the escrow person to the FTB at (916) 845-9754. The FTB will continue to report the certificates issued on a weekly basis until the full $100 million has been used up. FTB expects to complete processing all certificates in August. Each applicant will receive a notification indicating the amount of credit allocated or denied.
Hermosa Pointe Homes, the brand new GREEN townhome project in Hermosa Beach is a local South Bay project that qualifies for the tax credit. Don't miss your opportunity to apply for the credit!
Congratulations to all the hard working South Bay teachers, students & parents! The 2008 school API results have been reported and once again, South Bay schools rocked the score!
The Daily Breeze reported on Friday, May 22, 2009 that nearly 40 South Bay schools performed in the top 10th of campuses across California! The top score in all the South Bay, 968, went to Cornerstone at Pedregal Elementary in Rancho Palos Verdes.
As South Bay residents, we must continue to support fundraising efforts and programs in place to protect area students from ill effects of drastic and unprecedented cuts to education funding by the State of California. I applaud all parents who are out there everyday drumming up financial support for our local schools. One of my best vendors for real estate marketing, Peter Yollin(TheListingWidget) and his wife, Mary, teamed up with other local parents and organized a massive rummage sale, which ultimately raised an astounding $35,000 to the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation. Through the many efforts of local parents & teachers, the community of Manhattan Beach has raised enough money to offset the district's $7.8 million budget by a whopping 60%!
Mary Yollin, front, and Eve Towns and Peter Yollin, right, organized a rummage sale at the American Martyr's Church in Manhattan Beach to help raise money in hopes of keeping teachers from being laid off in the Manhattan Beach School District (photo by Steve McCrank/Staff Photographer/The Daily Breeze)
CA Assembly Bill 811 gets owners low interest loans on renewable energy projects & improvements. . .
CA Assembly Bill 811 allows property owners in designated parts of cities or counties to finance renewable energy generation and energy-efficiency improvements through low-interest loans. South Bay Cities Green Task Force meets May 28 @ 1:30 & tour of sustainable luxury townhomes avail.
Tax Credit Provides Outstanding Opportunity for Home Buyers
A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Any home that will be used as a principal residence will qualify for the credit. This includes single-family detached homes, attached homes like townhouses and condominiums, manufactured homes (also known as mobile homes) and houseboats. The definition of principal residence is identical to the one used to determine whether you may qualify for the $250,000 / $500,000 capital gain tax exclusion for principal residences.
Southern California Gas (‘SoCal Gas) offers rebates for qualifying energy efficient upgrades or improvements made to commercial business properties, single family residential homes and multi-family housing. Tankless water heaters may qualify for a $200.00 rebate from The Gas Company.
Edison offers rebates on energy efficient lighting, appliances, heating and cooling, pool equipment and solar installations for single family dwellings and multi-family housing.
Hermosa Pointe Homes is a brand new townhome project being built by Urban Pointe Development, an acclaimed local development firm recognized for its reputation built on the quality and value of the homes they bring to the community. Urban Pointe Development is a member of Build It Green and through this program the project is working to become the first Green Point Rated multi-family project of its kind in the Beach Cities.
Urban Pointe designed the homes to meet rigorous, environmentally-sound standards while also providing a "green" home that has the look and feel of a more traditional home. Henry Ruggeri, Vice President of Project Management says, "We thought it necessary to build a home for the individual or family seeking the benefits of an environmentally friendly residence, but who also wanted a more traditional feel to their home. Our aim is to show people that ‘green' doesn't have to be a contemporary or urban styled design. These homes were built with a concern for the global environment while providing a comfortable private environment to enjoy the outstanding ocean views."
There are eight homes at Hermosa Pointe to choose from. Two homes are stand alone structures, while the others only share one common wall. Two homes also offer a bonus yard area. Each home offers a large roof deck to enjoy the panoramic vistas, while also offering interior views. The homes are detailed with the highest quality craftsmanship with designer fixtures and finishes. They also boast a long list of earth-friendly building elements.
I have spent the last week digesting the latest & greatest Real Estate tool to hit me in all the years I have been doing business. I am so excited about ListingBook. Not only because it is FREE for my clients, but because it has such a comprehensive platform for client and data management. ListingBook is similar to Facebook, but it's all about Real Estate. My clients can now long in any time, day or night, and search the very same information I use as a leading agent to do my job everyday.
What's so great about it, and why it's different than a simple IDX fed based information program, is that it pulls directly from the MLS and updates itself every 30 mins. I can set up a CMA and email it to a client and if that client goes back into that email link of the CMA I sent, the data is all current and up to date because it refreshes every half hour, saving me loads of double work and time. I can watch my buyers and sellers as they broaden and narrow their searches, save favorite properties, and reject properties they do not like. But what's so cool about this is that they can jot me a quick note about a property they are interested in, I can jot one right back and we can literally virtually source a home or work on comparables together in real time. Even better, we can set up showing appointments right through the system and ListingBook will prepare a showing itinerary for the client, complete with photos, detailed descriptions, appointment times & more, which will also remain updated if status were to change right before we head out for a showing.
I am so excited about being able to let my clients take better control of their buying or selling experience. The power of the internet has truly allowed buyers and sellers to quickly become very educated in the Real Estate process and this tool will only help me serve them better. I am such a fan of this system that I already tied it into my website so that buyers and sellers can access it, set up their accounts and get busy right away! I already loaded over 3,500 contacts into the system and within 2 days I had hundreds using it. It also sets up marketing campaigns, prints flyers & emails traffic reports right to my sellers. My sellers can see how many buyers looked at their listing as well as how many agents looked at it, flagged it &/or emailed it to a client. As a team leader, I can work on a buyer or seller lead, help bring along the relationship, then easily assign that lead within ListingBook to the client manager of one of my buyers' agents--tranferring with it contact notes, property search history and more. I am aggressively integrating ListingBook into EVERY marketing system I subscribe to, own, and/or operate. My clients will no longer aimlessly wander around the internet looking for Real Estate info when from now on, it's coming direct from me and we can be eye to eye.
I have been told that Southern California is the ONLY market West of Chicago that has this service for agents. A new agent to my team, Helen Archer, has joined us from Atlanta, Georgia recently and she tells me she had this service (by a different name) in her area and she truly believed it helped set her apart from other agents. I think this is going to change the name of the game as we know it.
What better service can I offer than FREE and accurate information that will keep my clients informed, in touch and in tune with current market conditions. This is that "third arm" I have been needing for 22 years. I'm gearing up for a great summer!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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