Los Angeles Property Blog

Sarah Palin - The FACTS

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:56:40 -0500

The November Elections are crucially important to the future direction of our Country. It's time for us to "move-on" from the disastrous incompetence displayed by the Bush Administration over the last 8 years - but before we can, we need to know the facts surrounding the candidates.

My biggest concern is John McCain's choice for Vice President - Sarah Palin. Not only have I blogged about how I think this choice indicates a lack of sound judgement on McCain's part, but as I learn more about the actual candidate, I discover that things are definately not what they were presented to be and some of her views are fanatical.

Sarah Palin got her first Passport in 2006.

What kind of interest or curiousity did the woman have about other countries, other cultures, and International Society if she never travelled overseas before 2006? This is indicative of a small-minded person with an indifference to the rest of the world. The governor's spokeswoman was quoted as saying Palin had traveled to Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, and Ireland - however, when researching the facts, it is evident that the "visit" to Ireland was only a refueling stop on a trip in July 2007 to visit Alaskan National Guard troops in Kuwait and Iraq.

Sarah Palin has not ordered the Alska National Guard to do anything

McCain has emphasized Palin's role as the Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard - but when CNN's Campbell Brown asked McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds: "Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard? - Just one?" - Bounds couldn't, because Palin has never personally ordered the state guard to do anything.

Sarah Palin supported the "bridge to nowhere" (Pork Spending)

During her first speech after being named as McCain's running mate, Palin said she had told Congress "thanks but no thanks' on that bridge to nowhere. The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them "nowhere." They're still feeling pain today in Ketchikan, over Palin's subsequent decision to use the bridge funds ($223 Million) for other projects. So in fact she accepted the money but decided how she would have it spent.

Sarah Palin requested "earmarks" that McCain had criticized

Three times in recent years, McCain's lists of 'objectionable' pork spending have included earmarks requested by Sarah Palin. She claims to be a "reformer", when in fact she spends the same way as the "old-boys-club" she so often refers to. "She was hungry for earmarks just like everybody else," said Larry Persily, who worked at the Alaska state office in Washington, D.C., until earlier this year.

Sarah Palin does not believe Global Warming is man-made.

In an interview for the September issue of the conservative magazine Newsmax.com, Sarah Palin said she does not believe climate change is caused by human behavior. "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made," Palin said.

Comme Ca - Recommended Restaurant in the trendy Melrose area

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:18:14 -0500

Comme Ca is a trendy, sleek and chic restaurant located on the cool & hip Merose Avenue in West Hollywood. Unless you know the location, you could well pass it by.

Their house cocktails are superb and I suggest "The Penicillin" - tasty concoction of scotch, lemon, honey and ginger.

I like the Roasted Beet Salad to start - a light salad with warm goat cheese encrusted with pistachios and horseraddish cream. For the main course I highly recommend their Paleron of Beef Bourguignon, served with carrots, and pommes puree. The macaroni and cheese is a great side dish and big enough for two or three people to share. For dessert I enjoy their Profiteroles, served with ice cream instead of cream. The wine list is fair, and pretty reasonable too - with something for every palate.

If you're in the area you should make reservations for dinner - You're definately assured of a delicious and satisfying meal.

Comme Sa - 8479 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069.

Sarah Palin lied, and John McCain perpetuated her lie at the Republican Covention

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:40:48 -0500

Sarah Palin lied, and John McCain perpetuated her lie at the Republican Convention.

Fact ... Sarah Palin did list the jet on ebay four times, unsuccessfully. "The eBay thing didn't work out very well", said Dan Spencer, director of administrative services for the Department of Public Safety.

Fact ... An Anchorage aircraft broker landed up negotiating the sale of the jet to an Alaskan businessman - Larry Reynolds.

Fact ... The $2.7 Million jet was sold for $2.1 Million - for a loss. McCain and Palin claimed the jet was sold for a profit.

Is this a "CHANGE" from George Bush? I don't think so. More lies, more exaggerations, more spin.

The Hypocrisy of the Republican "spin-machine"

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:23:19 -0500

This clip from the "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart must be watched .....

John McCain has been promising to put country before party ... and the needs of all Americans before party politics ... and yet he never paid a real trubite to the brave rescue workers during hurricane Katrina.
Instead, there was a totally inappropriate and graphic segment about the horror of 911. While I appreciate the crucial importance of protecting out country against attack, I believe that the Republican "spin-machine" is trying to instill fear amongst voters ahead of the election. The hypocrisy continues!

The Emperors New Clothes - and saying what needs to be said

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:36:20 -0500

I recently posted a series of Blogs about politics and the candidates running in the National Elections in November this year.

A fellow ActiveRainer commented, saying "No more politics".

On the one hand, we're all exhausted by the constant barrage of political news, advertisements, arguements and debates - and we want to take a few steps back and close out eyes and ears to all the dissent and animosity.

But unless we, "the people", stay involved with what is going on, we do not deserve the right to participate and comment about what is happening to our country. It's the responsibility of each and every citizen to stand up for what they believe is fair and just.

I don't believe in remaining silent to simply maintain the status quo. People need to say what needs to be said and stand up for the truth - even if it means upsetting some people along the way.

I keep thinking of the little boy in the Hans Christain Andersen fable, who in his simple truth proclaimed that the reverred emperor was actually naked, while all others - including the emperor - were too embarressed to say the truth for what it was.

West Hollywood Condo Report - AUGUST 2008 - Market Update

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:13:53 -0500

AUGUST 2008 - Total Condos Sold: $14,828,500 ($10,997,500)

CONDOS: () Previous Month Figures

Median Price: $544,500 ($421,000)

Average Selling Price: $617,854 ($508,928)

Average List Price: $644,579 ($533,604)

Therefore, Average Sales Price was 95.9% (95.3%) of List Price

Lowest Price Condo Sold: $370,000($270,000)

Highest Price Condo Sold: $1,525,000 ($905,000)

Number of Listings Sold: 24 (21)

MEDIAN SALES PRICES:

August 2008: $544,500

July 2008: $421,000

June 2008: $585,000

May 2008 - $519,000

April 2008 - $516,500

March 2008 - $615,000

February 2008 - $618,250

January 2008 - $620,000

For further information, please contact:

Stewart Penn - Realtor/Broker - " West Hollywood Condo Specialist"

State Ethics Probe into Sarah Palin - Is this how McCain vetted her?

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:36:49 -0500

In the final weeks leading up to the National Election, John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate and candidate for VP, stating: "I found someone with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies; someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past.''

But early in August this year, an independent investigator appointed by a panel of State legislators launched a probe into the actions of Palin. Specifically, they are investigating whether she dismissed Alska's public safety commissioner (Walt Monegan) because of personal motives - namely that he failed to fire a state trooper (Mike Wooten) who went through a messy divorce with her sister. The question is - Was there an abuse of power on Palin's part?

Why in fact, did she really fire Walt Monegan? (It is rumored that Palin fired him over budget battles, but I cannot find any confirmation of this).

Researching online, the story begins to sound like a soap-opera ... where Palin's ex-brother-in-law allegedly threatened to shoot Palin's father sometime in 2005. Sarah Palin's husband - Todd Palin, apparently became involved and started making calls about Mike Wooten to his superiors.

The History - (Reading newspaper articles online, I'm summarizing the alleged events as folows):

In the fall of 2004, Trooper Mike Wooten wanted to divorce his wife of 4 years - Molly Heath, the younger sister of Sarah Palin (Heath). The beginning of the divorce proceedings set off a chain of curious events.

Begining in 2005 and over the next 10 months, over 25 formal complaints were filed by the Palin and Heath family against Trooper Mike Wooten. These complaints included drinking while driving his patrol car and shooting a moose without a permit. According to Trooper records, Sarah Palin said that in January and February of 2005, Wooten was drinking while driving. After investigating the complaint, the investigator found that Palin never actually saw what she reported.

The saga goes on .... and I imagine that when the mainstream media follow up on this story, a huge number of questions about "integrity" and "ethics" will be asked about Sarah Palin - and ultimately by association, negatively impact John McCain's presidential campaign.

Judgement & Decision Making - The Flaws of John McCain

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:00:26 -0500

It has been reported that McCain has only ever met Sarah Palin twice before nominating her as his running mate and candidate for the office of Vice President.

TWICE ... and on that basis he made her eligible to become one of the most powerful leaders in the world?

Where does the insanity end?

I think Mccain has shown how inadequate his judgement really is and how totally inept he is to assume the responsibility of the position of President of the United States of America.

Did McCain believe that he could placate woman voters with this nomination? Does he believe voters are so stupid? I think McCain has insulted all Americans and undermined his own credibility.

In an earlier post I stated that thus far, I know very little about Sarah Palin ... and now it appears that John McCain didn't know much about her either.

McCain picks Sarah Palin (Miss Congeniality) for Vice President

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:02:37 -0500

Who is Sarah Palin and what does she stand for?

This morning the news broke that John McCain has picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. The 44-year old Governor of Alaska is not a well know public figure - so America needs to learn what her qualifications are to be Vice President - the person to step into the role of President of the United States of America should anything happen to the 72-year old Republican Presidential nominee.

My first reaction was this was a ploy to get the Hillary Clinton supporters - a move to get the female vote. But researching online it became clear that Sarah Palin is a Christian Conservative who does not support a woman's right to choose and blongs to Feminists for Life, and that in itself must alienate most of the Clinton supporters. She also supported Alaska's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Her relative inexperience in International Politics is another important consideration that the Republicans need to address since this is one of the most relevant considerations for the position.

Disclose, Disclose, Disclose

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:49:16 -0500

Disclosures are extremely important in Real Estate. So as a Selling Agent in a deal where the Listing Agent fails to provide the required Disclosures one is placed in an awkward situtaion, which could have legal repercussions later on.

I'm representing a client in a REO transaction and the Agent represetning the bank sent me all the standard Disclosure documents provided by C.A.R. (California Association of Realtors), but wherever the Seller's signature should be is a bold rubber stamp claiming "Seller Exempt".This is not necessarily true.

In terms of the REO ADVISORY Disclosure that C.A.R. has prepared, the Seller in not exempt from the following: Natural Hazard Zone Disclosure; Smoke Detector Disclosure; Water Heater Strapping Disclosure; Lead Based Paint Disclosure; Tax Withholding Disclosure; and Agency Disclosure.

I checked with an attorney from the C.A.R. Legal Desk who advised that even without these Disclosures an escrow can close - but recommended that I confirm in writing to both the Buyer and the Listing Agent that notwithstanding the requirement, the Seller failed to provide these Disclosures.

By agreeing to close escrow without these Disclosures the buyer does not waive his rights to recourse against the Seller should he discover and be able to prove that the Seller should have made disclosures in terms of the required Disclosure documents.

Agents need to go the extra mile to protect their clients as well as themselves against potential problems that may surface after the deal closes.

Sprinkles - Decadent and Delicious - "Designer Cupcakes"

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:30:19 -0500

Sprinkles Cupcakes - If you have a sweet tooth, then you'll love Sprinkles - located at 9635 Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, 90210 (Adjacent to West Hollywood).

These are fantastically delicious cupcakes freshly baked throughout the day and made with sweet cream butter.

Adults, teenagers and children can be seen lining up on the sidewalk outside the small store in Beverly Hills, waiting to get their "fix" of this extremely indulgent treat. They have a great selection of flavors, including chocolate, ginger lemon, mocha, chai latte, orange, pumpkin and red velvet. At $3.25 each ($36 for a dozen) the're not cheap - but they are definately delicious and I highly recommend them!

I took a box of these goodies to a sit down dinner party(something different), and they were the hit of the evening.

They have stores in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix and are planning on opening additional stores in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Washington and various other cities.

Pinkberry - Swirly Goodness .... the new Frozen Yoghurt Sensation

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:00:53 -0500

There's a new Frozen Yoghurt sensation that began in a small shop in West Hollywood and has now grown to be an overwhelming success throughout Los Angeles - it's called Pinkberry.

Pinkberry is a simple yet extremely delicious product: basic frozen yoghurt served with toppings of your choice. At first they only served the "original" flavor, a natural slightly sour yoghurt and green tea, but have recently coffee as well.

The choice of toppings include fruits like strawberry, pineapple, and kiwi fruit, and other toppings include chocolate chips, shaved almonds, granola and coco pebbles.

The yoghurt is made with with skim milk and non-fat yoghurt with active and live cultures (that may not sound appealing but apparently it's healthy for you).

Pinkberry is a great concept and there's often lines outside their stores, yet there are already a number of copy-cat stores that have opened and closed without success. It seems like the business plan is to go National and the franchise has now progressed to New York - so it will be interesting to see how the product takes off there. Could this be the next Starbucks?

Honda FXC Clarity - "The Zero-Emission Sedan of the Future - A Reality Today"

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:03:05 -0500

While watching TV this evening I saw a commercial that really grabbed my attention - A new car that only emits water vapor into the air that we breathe.

This sounded like some futuristic car so I went online and discovered that Honda has already started leasing this new vehicle, the Honda FXC Clarity - and a few owners have even taken delivery of their cars.

Vehicles that use hydrogen with fuel cell technology are the cleanest around because they emit only water vapor into the air we breathe. These cars simply do not pollute. They can also use hydrogen from domestic energy sources, reducing our dependence on oil. And driving fuel cell vehicles significantly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, helping to slow the increase in greenhouse gases - Honda Website

How does it work?

A hydrogen fuel cell produces electricity for the vehicle. The fuel cell combines hydrogen, which is stored in a fuel tank onboard the vehicle, with oxygen from the air, to make electricity. The electricity then powers the electric motor, which in turn drives the front wheels. Water vapor and heat are the only byproducts.

The FCX Clarity is reported to have a top speed of 100 mph and is capable of traveling about 280 miles before refueling. Since refueling is the biggest hurdle to overcome and because there are still only a limited number of hydrogen refuelling stations in Southern California, sales of the vehicle is currently limited to Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine areas.

California residents who meet certain qualifying requirements can lease a vehicle for 3 years at a cost of $600 per month, and this includes all service and maintenance for the duration of the lease. Eventually, Home Energy Stations which generates hydrogen from natural gas, is designed to provide heat and electricity for the home through fuel cell cogeneration and to supply fuel for a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle.

A peek into Candy Spelling's $150 Million Mansion - "The Manor"

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:48:16 -0500

$150 Million is a huge price for a house, but then we're talking about the biggest home in Los Angeles - Candy Spelling's Holmby Hills Mansion that she and her late husband, TV mogul Aaron Spelling, completed in 1991 at a cost of $47 Million. The enormous house is over 56,000 large and has 123 rooms.

Take a peek into the house with the CBS News video.

Watch CBS Videos Online

As blogged about a month ago, Candy Spelling is downsizing to a 16,000 sq ft condo in Century City, for which she reportedly paid a record breaking $47 Million.

Ask your Buyers to sleepover

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:56:29 -0500

I read a blog this weekend in which the writer highlighted the possibility of inviting prospective buyers to sleepover and spend the night. This is something I've never thought of ... but something I certainly would NOT recommend.

An article appeared in the July 15 edition of Realtor Magazine (based on an article from the Wall Street Journal) suggesting that Buyers ask for a sleepover if they're interested in a house. This sounds like a Realtor's version of "Goldilocks and Three Bears" which I think could only lead to all sorts of problems.

Imagine the potential legal problems that an owner or agent could expose themselves to.

The article suggests that a legal contract be drawn up prior to confirming such an arangement. I wonder how an agent's Errors and Ommissions insurance would be effected by such a plan, not to mentions the potential insurance liability of the Seller.

Melrose Place Farmers Market (West Hollywood Area)

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:26:39 -0500

The Melrose Place Farmer's Market (on Melrose Place, between La Cienega Blvd and Orlando Ave) is open every Sunday from 10am-2pm.

The small and unhurried open-air market is situated in a trendy area surrounded by designer stores like Marc Jacobs, Diesel, and antique stores. Shoppers can buy California Certified Produce and also find local artisans, crafters and food vendors.

Their Mission Statement sums it up best: " We strive to create opportunities to educate the general public on the many social, health and economic benefits of eating locally grown food. We work to create an atmosphere that enables social connections and community bonds between farmer and urban dweller".

Seeing the wood for the trees

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:15:21 -0500

While reading through The Huffington Post today, I saw something that I hadn't heard about before: Sustainable wooden keycards for hotel rooms. What a brilliantly simple idea.

"Sustainable Cards LLC of Boulder has donated more than 70,000 wood hotel key cards to use at hotels throughout the Denver area" - Denver Business Journal.

I checked their website and I love their ideas: sustainable gift cards, membership cards, and hotel key cards.

This reminds me to "never overlook the obvious" .... and "not seeing the wood for the trees".

Make any house brighter and street-noise disappear too

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:58:28 -0500

A few years ago I was showing a condo to a buyer (an older gentleman) who seemed to like the place. He asked how much it was listed for and I replied $315,000.

The buyer scratched his head and mumbled that for $350,000 he wasn't interested ... besides, the place was too dark.

I realized he hadn't heard me correctly and repeated that the price was only $315,000 and not $350,000. Suddenly his attitude changed, and he took another careful look. He bought the condo. Apparently at the lower price the condo looked a lot lighter and brighter.

Similarly when I showed a $740,00 house to a prospective buyer, he wasn't interested because he could hear freeway noice in the background. When I finally reduced the price to $675,000, the freeway noise disappeared and the house became quiet and peaceful. He bought the house.

My point is that it's all about price ... which can overcome all objections.

Why McCain should not be President - and it's not just about houses

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:41:18 -0500

On 6/17/08 I blogged that "John McCain cannot use a PC or a MAC - should he be President?". I received a lot of feedback from fellow ActiveRainers, some of whom did not however, see the broader picture intended by my blog.

Obviously McCain has many staffers who would handle any aspect requiring the use of a computer - rather, I was intending to demonstrate just how out-of-touch the man really is. I would have imagined that anyone running for one of the most powerful and influential positions in the world, would at least have had the curiosity to explore the internet. Not the case with McCain.

This week McCain was asked how many homes he and wife owned, and his reply was astounding: "I think - I'll have my staff get to you ... It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."

Did he really not know the answer or was he too embarrassed to give it?

The fact that the family's 7 homes aren't in his name, is not a genuine explanation in my opinion. They're all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control. (a common financial planning practice employed by "the rich").

Obama told voters, "I guess if you think being rich means you've got to make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have, it's not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong."

However, the McCain campaign responded by asking about Obama - "Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?"

Mortgage business declines, so what do they banks do next?

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:05:44 -0500

As banks have tightened their lending criteria for homebuyers I've noticed a new strategy in their plan to lend money to the public.

My observations are based purely on my own experiences - so I'm curious to hear if fellow ActiveRainers are receiving the same or similar offers that I am from several of the well-known banks.

Over the last few weeks I've started receiving a noticeable increase in the number of offers from a variety of banks (Bank of America, Chase, and Capital One) - but not for credit cards. Instead they're offering $30,000 - $50,000 of unsecured credit for whatever I'd like (debt consolidation, a large purchase, home remodel, or even just extra cash). The ads read I could "use the money for anything".

The offers which are mailed to me (as opposed to questionable email offers), require no collateral and no application fees - and the money could be deposited directly into my checking account.

My question is if they're prepared to lend this kind of money with no security, why are they refusing to offer Home Equity Lines of Credit?

Are the banks simply pandering to regulatory authorities or are they genuinely trying to control out-of-control credit use?

Stop receiving snail-mail Junk Mail

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:50:46 -0500

I recently Blogged about snail mail "Junk Mail' and received a great comment from fellow ActiveRainer - Amanda Hendershot - about an online service that can stop catalogues from being mailed to you.

The service is called Catalog Choice and by using this service you can arrange to have unwanted mailings stopped. For those vendors that don't respond to this service, the site supplies you with contact numbers to call to manually arrange to stop mailings.

The bottom line is that Catalog Choice "is an easy, free service that allows you to decline unwanted catalogs, reducing the number of catalogs in your mailbox and the number of trees that get sent to the paper mill".

Negotiating Offers over the Phone - How effective is this?

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:46:19 -0500

I've been negotiating on a bank-owned property with the Listing Agent for over three weeks. It's been an increadibly frustrating time because the Listing Agent never returns any of my calls or emails - using the excuse that their office is "overwhlemed" with business.

Finally, I managed to get an answer from the Listing Agent, who gave me a Counter Offer from the bank, but VERBALLY.

I discussed the verbal counter offer with my buyer, who agreed to up his original offer in writing (although not as high as the verbal counter).

Five days went by before the Listing Agent responded to me, saying she was presenting all offers to the bank. Two days later I called her and was advised the bank had given a second Counter Offer to my client, again VERBALLY.

After lengthy conversations with my buyer, he agreed to meet the second Counter Offer and I prepared an offer in writing. When I called the Listing Agent to confirm that my client would meet the price of the second Counter Offer, she said she would talk to the bank again, and that it wan't necessary that my client submit it in writing at this stage. What does that mean?

Is the bank simply testing my client (and the market)? .... Isn't this a strange way to negotiate?

A waste of paper - Is it worth it?

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:58:08 -0500

With more and more people becoming sensitive to protecting the environment and reducing wastage, I am surprized at the continued use by marketing companies of snail-mail "junk mail".

Each day when I check my mailbox (and I'm referring to my U.S. Postal mailbox), I find it crammed with store catalogues, credit card offers and pages and pages of advertisements. I never read the stuff, but simply trash it.

I asked the mailman if it's a nuisance for him to keep stuffing mailboxes with this junk - but to my surprise he said he's thankful for this mail because it helps to pay his salary (and bonuses) and the staff at the post office.

As part of my comprehensive marketing campaign I used to send mailings to all addresses in my "farm" - but I finally decided that the expense of the postcards & postage, as well as the additional wastage of paper was simply not worth it.

I'm curious to hear comments from fellow ActiveRainers as well as consumers.

Managing a Condo Homeowners Association - A Humorous Approach

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:03:58 -0500

For anyone that has ever served as a Director on the Board of a Homeowowners Association you will know that managing the affairs of an HOA is not an easy task.

Each Director has their own ideas and personal way of approaching matters and often different Directors have their own Agenda for what needs to happen. Individual personalities and experiences don't always make for an easy mix and often there are conflicts in management styles.

While searching the internet I came across this "Management Flowchart" which adds a humurous approach and even in its joking way, does make a few good points - Enjoy!

Your FICO Score - Now more important than ever

Stewart Penn - West Hollywood Condo Specialist (Penn Properties) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:55:44 -0500

As the Credit Crisis continues, banks have significantly tightened their lending criteria.

It makes perfectly good business sense for Lenders to accurately and thoroughly check the credit-worthiness of prospective borrowers (finally) - but it now seems like there is over-kill.

Today I heard of a prospective buyer with respectable credit, verifiable income and a reasonable down-payment who was turned down for a mortgage because his FICO score was 2 points lower than the bank's official acceptable threshold.

We're supposedly dealing with commerical enterprises that makes business decisions on merit - not some automated bureacratic machine - or are we?

Consumers can purchase their own Credit Reports and Scores, but often these scores differ from the scores lenders use.

Isn't it time that consumers became entitled to obtain the same scores used by lenders?