Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - Samarkand - 10/27/10 05:46 PM
Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - Samarkand

Samarkand, a quaint neighborhood of custom homes is located in a corner of Santa Barbara bounded by State Street to the North, De La Vina on the East, Las Positas on the West and the 101 freeway on the South.  Like other neighborhoods in this part of town, including San Roque, Samarkand is located in a very desirable climate zone with plenty of sunshine and just far enough from the coast to avoid getting socked in with fog during the Summer months. Many homes in this neighborhood enjoy beautiful mountain views and some have ocean views.  … (2 comments)

Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - Mission Canyon - 10/26/10 03:13 PM
Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - Mission Canyon

Since Santa Barbara's earliest days as a city, it's residents have enjoyed Mission Canyon's sunny climate and natural beauty for their weekend outings. During the 19th century many Santa Barbara families enjoyed picnics along scenic Mission Creek near a series of waterfalls named Seven Falls.  Since 1911 when a tunnel was bored through the mountain to capture water for Santa Barbara's growing population, the creek has been seasonal.  Today, Mission Canyon and it's hiking trails are still a very popular place for outdoor enthusiasts. The Historic Santa Barbara Mission, is the crown jewel of this neighborhood and one of Santa Barbara's most popular tourist attractions.   
Mission Canyon home building surged after statehood in … (1 comments)

Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - San Roque - 10/24/10 12:05 AM
Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - San Roque


San Roque is one of Santa Barbara's most popular neighborhoods for families.  Winding tree lined streets with mountain views, an excellent school district, close to downtown, easy shopping and excellent weather, describe the San Roque neighborhood in Santa Barbara. San Roque's development as a residential neighborhood began around 1925 and saw a post WWII building boom fill almost all the remaining lots during the 1950's.  The idyllic San Roque neighborhood of today has custom homes built in an assortment of classic architectural styles including English Tudor, Spanish, California bungalow, craftsman and more. This neighborhoods topography is flat to rolling, and … (1 comments)

Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - The Eastside - 10/22/10 01:13 AM
Santa Barbara Neighborhoods - The Eastside

Santa Barbara's Eastside neighborhood includes the area East of State Street to the base of the Riviera.  This neighborhood consists of both the Upper Eastside and Eastside.  The Upper Eastside is known for it's old and distinguished residences.  This neighborhood was popular with the wealthy residents of Santa Barbara around the turn of the century who built beautiful homes designed in the popular architectural styles of the early 20th century.  Many of these victorian, craftsman, colonial and Spanish colonial revival homes remain and are as popular today as they were over 100 years ago.  A well known landmark and culturally significant structure on the Upper Eastside is the … (4 comments)

Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - The Westside - 10/21/10 10:56 PM
Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - The Westside


The Westside, Santa Barbara's oldest established neighborhood has a rich cultural history that is evident today in many of the areas classic old homes and cottages.  The early 20th century saw Santa Barbara's Westside neighborhood transition from lemon, lime, avocado and olive orchards to the most densely populated area in the city.  Most of the homes in the Westside were built prior to 1940.  Many of these old homes were well built and exhibit a variety of architectural styles including, craftsman, Victorian, Spanish and adobe. 
Santa Barbara's Westside covers an area roughly from State Street to the back side of the Mesa. This neighborhoods proximity to downtown … (0 comments)

Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - The Mesa - 10/20/10 02:48 PM

Santa Barbara, CA Neighborhoods - The Mesa
The Mesa is one of Santa Barbara's most popular and unique neighborhoods for a number of reasons. The first being the micro climate found on Santa Barbara's Mesa.  Just about everyone moving to Santa Barbara knows the weather is beautiful year round.  What most new residents of Santa Barbara do not realize when they are looking for a place to live, is that Santa Barbara has many micro climates.   Santa Barbara's topography with 4,000 foot mountains to the North, coastal foothills to the East and West, mesa's and canyons, combined with it's Southern facing coastline, creates many diverse climate zones.  It can be 65 degrees and foggy at West Beach … (1 comments)

Barefoot Luxury Vacation Rental in Kailua-Kona, HI with Spectacular Views! - 10/17/10 02:51 PM
Hawaiian Barefoot Luxury Vacation Rental in Kona, HI with Spectacular Views!
Luxury 3 bedroom 3 bath private Hawaiian vacation home for rent in Kailua-Kona, HI $350/nt special!
Formula For Achieving The Ultimate State of Relaxation:
Take a direct flight from LAX to KOA Kailua- Kona, HI (American Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines)
Rent a car, (Priceline.com gives great deals, name your own price, I usually get $15 day for mid or compact), drive 12 miles to this private Kona villa vacation home with swimming pool, spectacular ocean views and tropical park like setting.
Remove your shoes and the front door key from the lock box and enter the 8' double entry doors, if you … (3 comments)

Santa Barbara Neighborhoods- The Riviera - 10/16/10 06:35 PM
Santa Barbara Neighborhoods- The Riviera
On the Eastern side of Santa Barbara are foothills that rise up about 300' and provide 180 degree sweeping views of the Santa Ynez Mountains on the North, to the Pacific Ocean and Santa Barbara Harbor to the South.  The neighborhood that occupies this highly desirable hillside and foothills is known as The Riviera.  Windy roads, upscale hillside homes with spectacular views and sunny weather are terms that describe The Riviera.  
Homes in this neighborhood are priced from around $900,000 to $3,000,000.  Panoramic Riviera view homes start at about 1.3 million and can go much higher.  The Riviera is not the best walking neighborhood due to the hilly … (2 comments)

Breaking Down The Latest Mortgage Mess - 10/15/10 02:53 PM
With the recent announcement that many banks are putting a freeze on new forclosures, there has been a lot of finger pointing.  The latest morsel of information to surface is that the large investment banks that were purchasing these mortgages (ie. Lehman Brothers, AIG and others)  from the mortgage banks (ie. Bank of America, Countrywide etc.) hired rating companies to go sift through these large pools of loans to determine how many of the loans conformed to the underwriting guidelines that were agreed upon when the mortgage banks approved the loans.  Anyone who has worked for a mortgage bank, as I have … (0 comments)

Channel Islands Trip- Things to Do in Santa Barbara - 10/12/10 03:11 PM
Cannel Islands Trip- Things to Do in Santa Barbara
On a clear day in Santa Barbara the Southern horizon is dominated by the sight of Santa Cruz Island 26 miles across the channel.  This beautiful Island influences Santa Barbara in ways unknown to most Santa Barbara residents.  Sunbathers wading in the calm ocean waters or kayakers enjoying the glassy conditions on a fall day may not realize that Santa Cruz Island is blocking the Summer/Fall ocean swells that are sent our way from storms in the Southern hemisphere.  So, Santa Barbara ocean lovers have this wonderful landmark to thank for our calm ocean conditions.  … (0 comments)

Summerland, CA - Living in Summerland, CA - 10/10/10 01:58 PM
Summerland, CA- Living in Summerland, CA
Summerland, CA is a small beach town just East of Santa Barbara. The town started back in the late 1800's as a spiritual retreat and has maintained what some would consider an eclectic charm to this day.  Many of the homes in Summerland are built upon the hillside overlooking the ocean and Santa Cruz Island 26 miles offshore.  The beach in Summerland is very popular with walkers, dog owners and their dogs who get to run all over the place, horses during the specific times they are allowed and swimmers because the water is usually very calm.  … (0 comments)

What Does a Million Dollars Buy in Santa Barbara? - 10/03/10 09:29 PM
What Does a Million Dollars Buy in Santa Barbara?
If you live in California, you are probably aware that Santa Barbara has some of the priciest real estate in the country.  If you live in Santa Barbara, you understand why.  Santa Barbara is to many people the best place in the world to live.  It has to have the best weather in a state known for it's great weather.  Santa Barbara has one of the most beautiful settings anywhere, with the Santa Ynez Mountains towering over the city to the North and the Pacific Ocean to the South.  It also has beautiful Spanish architecture throughout the … (5 comments)

Carpinteria Avocado Festival- A Fun Time For All! - 10/01/10 02:58 PM
Thanks Sylvia Miller, for posting this great information on Carpinteria's 2010 Avocado Festival.  This is one of Santa Barbara's best free festivals.  I re-blogging this on my Santa Barbara real estate blog.
Via Sylvia E. Miller (Coastal Properties):
Now that the beautiful summer weather has hit the central coast, there are lots of great activities to participate in on the weekends. For the first weekend of October, the fine people of Carpinteria (of which I am one) will host the 24th annual Avocado Festival, the largest free festival in Santa Barbara’s South Coast. Carpinteria, a charming little beach town, is just 10 miles south of … (0 comments)