SEPTEMBER -- FALL AND FOOTBALL!

MORTGAGE UPDATE:

My last update in May signaled the end of our record low interest rates. Rates jumped up rather rapidly by 1% and have drifted higher since, with a few minor ups and downs. When clients complain about rates that aren’t in the 3’s I remind them that we are still very near the bottom of the rate cycle over the last 30 years +.

Currently we are looking at rates in the mid-4’s to low 5’s for 30 year fixed programs, depending on various factors. You can still get a rate in the 3’s if you are interested in an ARM. The spectre of inflation, coupled with expectations of the end of Quantitative Easing, was the signal to the market to move, and it did!

We’ve seen property prices rise this year along with rising rates. The good news is, your property is worth a lot more than last year. However, the seller’s market has slowed in the last month, and is transitioning toward a buyer’s market today.

SUMMER:

Maybe it’s my age, but it passed so quickly!

I went on the Rock Creek Pack Station Horse Drive in June. It is an endurance event as always! This time I was accompanied by four friends, and they weren’t quite prepared for what was to come. Luckily, they all rallied and had a great time. For the uninitiated, it involves moving stock (horses and mules) up the Owens River Valley from Independence to Rock Creek Lake above Bishop over four days and covering around 100 miles. It is hot, dusty, hard work, hot, dusty, long, and dusty. Did I say it is HOT and DUSTY? It is also a lot of fun. This year, for the first time, I was assigned to ride a mule and I was unsure whether it was a prize or punishment. Actually, the mule was great! The other “guests” were from all over the US, and mostly expert riders. I highly recommend it if you want to try something different! www.rockcreekpackstation.com I have known the station owner Craig London my entire life and have ridden with them often over the years. My first time on a horse-- at age 3, was with Craig-- and our mothers. Here I am:

WEDDING SEASON:

July saw us travelling to two weddings. We visited friends in Calistoga for the 4th, and then drove over to Nevada City for the first wedding. While in Napa, we drove over the hill to Aetna Springs (Pope Valley) www.aetnasprings.com/#/home/ and went swimming in their swimming hole, which was a treat. By way of explanation the Pope Valley is adjacent to Napa Valley to the east, and grapes grown there carry the appellation of Napa which is worth a lot of status and $$. We had dinner one night at the SolBar at the Solage, always a favorite. www.solagecalistoga.com/solbar

Later in the month we spent a long weekend in Santa Barbara for Steve’s niece’s wedding, which was quite an extravaganza, at a private estate in Montecito. For his trip we rented a home (www.VRBO.com) in the Mesa area of Santa Barbara with an ocean view. Nice! Both weddings were beautiful and memorable events. Here is Steve’s niece Emily and her husband, Justin. Beautiful couple!

My daughter announced her engagement to her beau Paul in July, making it even more exciting! I had an early hint during their visit with us in June.

August was relatively quiet with only one vacation to Mammoth with Steve’s boys. We fished, hiked and generally relaxed. I LOVE Mammoth in the summertime. We hiked up the Rock Creek Canyon, and one day we rented a pontoon boat on June lake and lazed around, trying to catch fish without success. However we drank a lot of beer!
We had a quick family get-together in August, for my mother’s party, and here is a pic of my me, my sis, my daughter and my niece Page together:

CATALINA:

We just returned from a weekend jaunt to Catalina at Two Harbors. We went over on a 44’ sailboat Friday morning (motoring) and returned Sunday.

The highlights were: snorkeling at Emerald Bay, running out of quarters at the pay showers on-shore (hmmm mid-shower) dancing at the Harbor Reef Saloon Saturday night, www.visitcatalinaisland.com/twoHarbors/Dining.php and attempting to sail in what felt like gale force winds for about fifteen minutes, during which time I was sure we were all going to perish. Luckily we didn’t. Figuring out which lines went where was complicated!

Oh, and did I forget to mention we fouled our mooring line (actually the sand line got tangled in our engine prop the last night) and we had to have the Harbor Patrol, a boat diver AND Vessel Assist all help us to remove ourselves from the harbor. What can I say, it was an adventure! Can’t wait to go again!

I also had a visit to Dallas squeezed in there… fun as always. I still swear by Stampede 66, the Stephan Pyle restaurant. www.stampede66.com This time we took the building’s driver for a tour of McKinney before getting dropped at the restaurant. Very stylish! I could get used to it! The walk home was only a few blocks through the new Klyde Warren Park. The Park offers exercise classes most weeknights (Yoga, Zumba, Cross-training) and has free concerts too!

I want to get in a plug for my favorite new restaurant in Dana Point, the Wine Bistro Dana Point. www.winebistrodp.com The Wine Bistro is next door to Hennessey’s and is owned by Paul Hennessey. I had the pleasure of meeting him at their First Anniversary Party this summer. I try to visit every Monday night for their special $20 three-course food and wine tasting. A great deal, and always fun and interesting food. Chef Nael does a great job.

After all this, I am tired and I just want to stay home for a while. I hope your summer was fun and eventful too!
Now I’m glad it’s football season and we can watch TV on Saturdays…

Almost Spring...Can't Wait!

RATE AND PROGRAM UPDATES

We’ve seen many changes to the markets since the election, not the least of which is the stock market has been improving….and bond prices are down, which means interest rates are rising. We all agree that the bottom of the rate cycle has passed. That said, rates are still very attractive, and there are lots of people out there who haven’t taken advantage of a refinance.

Rates for most 30-year loans remain in the range of the mid 3’s to low 4’s, and there are lower rates for some products (15 years, ARMS and FHA/VA loans). Speaking of FHA financing, there are many changes coming up in the short term. Mortgage insurance charges are increasing.
On the bright side, new programs for conventional loans are making it easier to purchase homes with lower down payments...if you can find a property! It is definitely a seller’s market with little inventory, and rising home prices.

SHORT SALES, BK’s and FORECLOSURES: When are you eligible for a new loan?

Short Sale/Deed in lieu:
2 years with 20% down; 4 years with 10% down –conventional loans
3 years FHA financing (unless no late payments prior to transfer)
Foreclosure:
3 years FHA, 7 years conventional
Bankruptcy:
2 years FHA, 4 years conventional

Updates to MY WORLD

CHRISTMAS

The holidays were especially wonderful for me since I had all my children together for Christmas, INLCUDING my brand new grandson, Theo, who wasn’t yet a week old.


Katie and her beau Paul flew in from Michigan, Kenny was home (for GOOD!) from Berlin, and Drew and MaryGrace arrived from San Diego with baby Theo in tow. Mom was with us, along with all three of Steve’s boys, so it was a real family affair. The hit of the evening –other than Theo--were two battery-powered Shark balloons ready for battle.


We celebrated New Years at a local restaurant, the Dana Point Wine Bistro, and had a fabulous meal with best friends while dancing the night away! www.winebistrodp.com

DALLAS

I was in Dallas in February for a grand opening party for Museum Tower. I was able to tour the building for the first time, and view the model homes, which were beautiful. The party hosted over 500 who were served food and beverages at a number of stations throughout the building. We were treated to music in three separate locations, and one location had a dance floor!

The biggest hit with the party-goers was the 38th floor – for its expansive views of Dallas and environs—but my favorite locale was the pool deck , which was quite frankly luxury defined, at least for me. Great views, beautiful pool, two separate fireplace seating areas, bocce ball court, Jacuzzi, interior bar seating area….all with the backdrop of downtown Dallas. I inquired as to whether they allowed camping on the pool area lawn, but was politely declined. Darn! I told them I’d just shower in the gym, which is on the same level, but no go! Check it out at www.museumtowerdallas.com

As sales activity has been picking up, so has Steve’s time spent in Dallas. The weather there is pretty strange and changeable, but the people are really friendly and fun. My favorite dance class ever is at the T. Boone Pickens YMCA—downtown—on Thursdays. I always try to make the class when I am visiting. Great combination of hip hop and Zumba, with the emphasis on hip hop. Meals at Truluck’s and Stephan Pyles were great as usual, but my favorite was Stampede 66, a NEW Stephan Pyles restaurant. www.stampede66.com Fun, casual atmosphere and CRAZY Fried green tomatoes.

CATALYST NEWS

We ended 2012 with a tad over $600 million in loans funded, and I was the #3 Loan Officer. I’ve been officially initiated into the “Chairman’s Club” with the Top Four, and am waiting to receive my gold-embossed business cards. Nice! Keep the loans coming!

NEXT UP

Scuba diving in the Turks and Caicos Islands in March….

Fall Mortgage News

Fall has finally arrived…after a long,hot summer which I thoroughly enjoyed!

MARKET UPDATE

We watched rates continue to drop throughout the year, and they hit bottom right around October 1st. Currently rates have moved just off their lows, but realistically are still extremely attractive whether you are buying or refinancing. As I write this the election is tomorrow, so we are unsure what effect the result may have on rates… only time will tell. They have to start marching up at some point though.

Loan approval is certainly attainable for most borrowers, as long as your credit is relatively good (no FICO scores in the 500’s please and over 680 is better, 740 is considered perfect) AND if you can document adequate income to qualify for a loan within standard debt-to-income ratios which are still running around 45%. There are some exceptions to this figure (HARP loans, or FHA loans will both go higher in the debt ratios) You just need to have the constitution to survive the process of handing over lots more paperwork than in the past, including divorce documents, trust documents, explanations for deposits to your accounts, etc….

I have handled more than a few transactions recently for clients who started out working with their bank or current lender, only to find out more than 60 days into the process that it was going to take another 30 to 60 days. I closed a purchase for a client who was told by the BofA that they could not close in less than 45 days. I had the loan approved in 14 days from the date of application. Whatever you do, don’t work with a big bank, use a mortgage banker or broker. The banks are too big to be efficient and are overwhelmed. My average refinance closes in 30 days depending on how responsive the client is to requests for documentation.

Boys & Girls Club of Tustin

As some of you may know, I was a member of the Board for the B&G Club in Tustin, and had the privilege of serving as President. I am deeply committed to these clubs that provide such a valuable service to children all over the US. I have heard more than one alum state that the club “saved my life.” Here in Tustin, our club provide free transportation to schools for homeless children among many other programs. Yes, they pick up children from shelters and hotels, and taxi them to school programs. I have made a commitment to donate $100 for every loan I close in the community served by our Tustin club and invite any refinance or purchase loans to that end. Plus, Catalyst is underwriting their newsletters!

NOW, FOR THE FUN STUFF and BABIES

MEXICO

In September I visited San Jose del Cabo for a quick trip with two girlfriends, for R&R. We stayed at the Hilton in a timeshare (2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms) which was a lovely top-notch property with fabulous service.

Highlights were:

A visit to Mango Deck on El Medano, buying “stuff” from the beach vendors;

Dinner at Agua, the fine dining restaurant at the One and Only Palmilla… I hadn’t been there since 1978! Service and food were both outrageously good;

Dinner at my new favorite farm-to-table restaurant in San Jose, Flora Farms. Check out their website www.flora-farms.com/ or you can find them on Facebook.

DALLAS

I’ve had a couple of quick weekend trips to Dallas with Steve. I was luckily able to locate a Trojan Club there for game watching on Saturdays.

The new NYLO Dallas South Side hotel www.facebook.com/NYLODallasSouthSide?fref=ts just opened less than a block from Steve’s loft. It offers a fun bar and dining scene on the building roof- top complete with swimming pool , great views of downtown (the same as from Steve’s balcony) and great music. My last visit they had a fabulous jazz trio playing in the lobby bar and we danced.

Favorite eats this trip: Trulucks http://trulucks.com/pages/dallas-texas for seafood, and The Cedars Social, for down home eclectic cooking and marvelous cocktails. www.thecedarssocial.com/index.php

We attended opening events at the new Klyde Warren Park, which is built over a freeway, and bridges the Dallas Arts District to Uptown. The park is a true community gathering place offering a playground for children, a dog park, a reading area complete with periodicals and books, a game area, and a stage for productions and events. They have yoga classes, Zumba and more. Opening night had a free concert with great music including Trombone Shorty from New Orleans.

The weather was pretty strange, it went from 85 high to a 35 low over my four day visit. That’s Dallas!

THE BIG HOUSE

Steve and I visited my daughter Katie in Ann Arbor in October. We were able to watch a football game – for Homecoming-- in The Big House. The weather was a bit on the cold side and it rained most of the day! We were pretty bundled up, so we kept warm but maybe a little wet.

Best eats: Vinology on Main Street, with great wine selections www.vinowinebars.net/vinology/index.html and Pacific Rim for the Asian influence. http://pacificrimbykana.com/

Katie introduced me to her newest exercise class: Pure Barre, which was extremely difficult and left me hobbling around for a week or so afterwards. Yikes!

She is coaching water polo at a local high school and planning to begin a Master’s in Education program in the spring.

We also visited new friends we met in the Cayman Islands at their lovely home on a lake in West Bloomfield, and enjoyed a sunset cocktail cruise on their pontoon boat. It was a blast!

BABIES!

My grand niece Kentyn was born a few weeks ago in Fresno to my nephew John and his wife Paige. I can’t wait to see her at Thanksgiving. My son Drew and his wife MaryGrace are expecting to welcome baby Theodore, my very own grandson, on or about December 4th, and she is looking Very Ready! Finally, I got to hold my new 2nd cousin Benjamin at the shower for MaryGrace. He is beautiful, and it provided me a little early practice.

GREENHOUSE

Kenny's greenhouse has been completed, which he'd begun building at Marlboro College before he left for Germany. He spent many months and a lot of hard work to obtain permits, funding, donations, pouring the foundation etc. before he left for Germany. The building is beautiful and the College held a grand opening ceremony in October. He was present from Berlin via Skype. Here is a photo of the completed Greenhouse. Beautiful!

The holidays are quickly going to be upon us. Early Happy Thanksgiving to all!

HOT TIME, SUMMER IN THE CITY…MARKET AND TRAVEL UPDATES

RATES...FIRST AND FOREMOST

Interest rates have moved off their record lows of the summer (and ever, for that matter) and are hovering slightly higher after news of stabilizing events in the EU as well as improved economic indicators here in the US.

Rates are subsequently up around .25% which brings them back to the levels of late June. I will not predict whether they will rise or fall in the near future since I, along with almost everyone else, thought we’d seen the bottom much earlier this year.

As I am fond of telling my clients, I threw away my crystal ball some time ago….there are just too many factors affecting rates today in our global economy.
Home values appear to be rising slightly in some markets, and there is no clear indication of the legendary “shadow inventory” of properties either owned by banks or not yet foreclosed…so your guess is as good as mine on the future of home prices!

VACATIONS AND FUN STUFF

In mid-June –Fathers’ Day weekend-- we went to our favorite camping spot on the bluff over the ocean in El Capitan where Steve painted some nice landscapes while I read. We kayaked in the ocean (alas no dolphin sightings except from shore) and took some bike rides.

One day we drove from our campsite, where it was at around 60 degrees, inland to the Los Padres National Forest (on the way to the San Ynez Valley) for a bike ride. When we arrived there, the temp was almost 100. No kidding! To cool off we went swimming in the river which was a hoot (yes we brought our swimsuits!)
Favorite eats were lunch at Brophy Brothers, dinner at Beachside Bar & Café in Goleta and Holdren’s Steakhouse.

Next up – In early July we drove to Napa Valley for some wine tasting and to visit close friends who live in Calistoga. We were accompanied by my daughter Katie and her boyfriend Paul, who had both flown out from Ann Arbor.

Favorite wineries were Rombauer, Frank Family, Clos Pegase and Cuvaison. We had a wonderful dinner out on our last night with our friends (including a local chef, and a winemaker) at the SolBar in the Solage resort.

http://www.solagecalistoga.com/solbar

Amazing food, accompanied by special bottles we brought in, plus a magnum of Zinfandel. I’ve become a Zin lover since I first tasted the Rombauer Zins. WOW! We partied on the 4th at our friends’ home… with an expansive view of the Valley from the hill above Calistoga, where we watched the fireworks at the State Fairgrounds below us. All in all a great time!

On the 6th we drove through San Francisco down to Carmel for a wedding. We had the great fortune to stay at the Mission Ranch in Carmel overlooking a vast meadow and Carmel Bay. http://www.missionranchcarmel.com/ The wedding party had booked about half the rooms at the Ranch where the rehearsal dinner was held, and I had the honor of creating the playlist and “dj-ing” the event. It was a blast and I’ve found my next calling for the future, after I become a professional dancer/Zumba instructor! HA!

The morning of the wedding Steve, Katie, Paul and I rode our bikes from our hotel through Carmel to 17 mile drive. It was beautiful and might I say somewhat strenuous (I’d forgotten how many hills there are). We returned just in time to grab a bite at the Rio Grill. http://www.riogrill.com I was super impressed with the menu and beer and wine list, and wished we’d had more time but we had to do a quick change to make it to the wedding, which was a full mass at the Mission Basilica. The artwork inside was impressive…and OLD! The wedding was awesome…afterwards we had a great party in Carmel Valley.

The next day, while in recovery, we rested and took a walk down to the beach below us. For dinner Steve and I browsed around Carmel Village and found ourselves at a restaurant named Grasings which was absolutely the best food we’d had in days (hmmm since the SolBar?) I highly recommend dining there next time you are in Carmel. http://www.grasings.com/ The bartender entertained us with stories of deep sea fishing and free diving off the Santa Cruz, Monterey and Marin Coasts. Fun and fabulous food!

Katie and Paul flew home Sunday, we drove home the following day, and I found I’d gained five pounds which I have had to work very hard to take off. AHHHHH! The joys of aging!

FINALLY Steve and I took his boys to Mammoth for a family vacation in August for a week where we stayed in a condo at Snow Creek. It was very lovely, beautiful views, wonderful warm weather, great biking, hiking and fishing. We ate our own freshly caught trout (from June Lake) and were skunked at both Lake Mary and Lake George. The hike up above Lake George to Crystal Lake offered wonderful views of the valley down past Mammoth to the Owens River Gorge.

One day we rented a pontoon boat on June Lake and lazed around, swimming, fishing and just chatting. These pontoon boats have apparently become very popular in the mountain lakes as well as SUP’s (Stand Up Paddle boards for the uninitiated.)

Home at last….until the next trip. I hope your summer has been an enjoyable and eventful as mine! Please call me if I can help out with your home financing needs.

Karen

Interest Rate Update...Marathons and Calistoga!

Rates have hit record lows again! I feel like a broken record saying the same thing, over and over… Suffice it to say rates have hovered at or near record lows the last few months and at this point it appears only an economic recovery to spur inflation will cause them to rise. Here goes:

For 30-yr fixed-rate loans:
3.875% (under $417,000)
4.125% (over $417,000 up to $625,000)
4.75% (jumbo over $625,000)
For 5-yr ARM loans:
2.75% (under $417,000)
3.25% (over $417,000 including jumbo)

Rates vary depending on Loan-to-value, FICO scores, loan purpose , occupancy, and points.

MARATHONS and NORCAL

I flew to the Bay Area to root for my daughter Katie as she ran a marathon in Santa Rosa the last weekend of August. She finished in a very respectable time under 4 hours, but missed her goal time to qualify for Boston. She’d experienced a quad pull earlier in the week, so was happy with her race.

We enjoyed exploring downtown Santa Rosa, but left for the drive over the hill to Calistoga after she recovered --for a little wine tasting.
Calistoga is one of our favorite places to relax and walk. Monday we visited Rombauer for chardonnay and zinfandel tastings, and then drove to the Frank Family Vineyards’ for a picnic and more tastings. Frank Family offers fine chardonnays, as well as champagnes. Both are family-owned and operated with some of the best wines in the valley.

Our dinner Monday was at Jolē, the farm-to-table restaurant located in the lobby of the historic Mt. View Hotel. www.jolerestaurant.com The food was outrageous! We brought in our leftover wines to enjoy with dinner (you can’t take them with you) and they were gracious about letting us drink our wines with their food. Their heirloom tomato salad was fabulous.
We also recommend Brannen’s Grill, named for the founder of Calistoga. www.brannensgrill.com

Although we’ve stayed at the Mt. View in the past, we elected to stay at the recently renovated Stephenson Manor, a Best Western, which was more economical and offered larger and more comfortable accommodations.

SEPTEMBER

The end of the summer has brought us thunderstorms, hailstorms, The Dana Pt. Tall Ships Festival, football…and weddings!
My eldest son Drew is marrying the lovely and talented MaryGrace this Saturday, so I will tell more about that event next time. I will see all three of my children together for the first time in almost two years this weekend. Kenny (best man) flies in from Spain, and Katie (bridesmaid) from Ann Arbor. Never a dull moment!

First of Summer Update

Rates are moving south again! We’ve officially hit the lows of the 2011 on poor economic and employment reports. If you’ve been putting off a refinance, don’t wait. And, it is better than ever for home buyers with home values at a five-year low.

3% down, no Mortgage Insurance

Fannie Mae has a program for home buyers called Homepath, offering minimum down payments of 3% with no mortgage insurance, and no appraisal! This is for a new primary residence only, but they also allow 15% down for a rental property purchase. The program only applies to homes owned by Fannie Mae. Find out more at www.homepath.com

Reverse Mortgage News

Reverse loans aren’t only for refinancing…they are becoming a more popular way for seniors to buy a “retirement” home or new primary residence. I actually closed a reverse mortgage purchase loan for a client a few years ago, and I was told it was the first in California.

Depending on the buyers’ ages (and they must be 62) these loans will provide anywhere from 60% to 75% of the purchase price in a reverse loan. The buyer must provide the balance of purchase price in cash, typically from the sale of their existing residence. Assuming they own their home outright, or have a low-balance mortgage, this frees up cash for investment/liquidity, and eliminates the need to “qualify” for the payments associated with a new mortgage.
Best of all, the rates are as low as 4% fixed.

Bezerkeley

I visited my son Kenny in early May in Berkeley. He was there to present a paper at a conference in the School of Architecture. We had only a few days together, but we had a great time, and glorious weather. I’d forgotten how beautiful the UC Berkeley campus is, with the creek running through it, rolling lawns, huge old trees, and expansive views down to the Bay and beyond, to the skyline of downtown San Francisco.

Our first stop Sunday was the outdoor deck of the Paragon Café at the Claremont Resort for an afternoon cocktail and a view of San Francisco in the distance. Afterwards, we took a stroll at the Cesar Chavez State Park on the Bay. During our time Monday, Kenny preferred to hang out in coffee houses, studying and talking to students.



We had dinner Monday evening at an old favorite, ẦCộté, a charming tapas restaurant in the Oakland Rockridge district, on College Avenue. It felt a little like old home week for me, since I had visited Berkeley so often while Katie was in school there.

This was my first sighting of Kenny since last September, when he left for Europe for his graduate program. So far, he’s been to Cottbus and Berlin, Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; Lisbon, Portugal; Wroclaw, Poland, and London in-between. He’s been in each location for at least six weeks studying architecture at various universities participating in his program. He won’t be home until this September for his brother Drew’s wedding! Best Man...

Claremont Colleges

I’ve seen my daughter Katie, who lives in Ann Arbor, a number of times this spring around her visits here to Cali, most notably on her 27th birthday in April while she was out here with her team for water polo games in San Diego and Claremont. The Claremont campuses were wonderful to visit on a warm April Sunday. You sort of feel like you’re back East on an Ivy campus. Katie’s also been out to visit for Mothers’ Day and Memorial weekend. What a treat!

Local News


Sunset’s is still our favorite local haunt in Capo Beach. As the name implies, it has great sunset views and offers music and dancing every Thursday through Sunday. Walking distance from our home, we frequent it for happy hour, or after dinner and almost always run into friends there! They are hosting a special event this Saturday with music and dancing all day, a live band starting at 6:00 p.m. and a caribbean themed buffet with mojito and sangria bar. Join us! www.sunsetsbar.com

The California Wine festival at Doheny State Beach, held the end of April, was a great time as usual. They hosted even more wineries than last year’s event, more breweries, and the food selections were fantastic! We found a new local restaurant that was serving a killer salmon ceviche…the Next Door. Steve and I visited the restaurant last week and sampled the ceviche, and bacon wrapped dates stuffed with blue cheese. Yummy!

Steve continues to commute to Dallas regularly for consulting on Museum Tower, a high-rise luxury residential development. I’m planning to visit again soon, but in the meantime we have a camping trip planned to our favorite Beach campsite at El Capitan overlooking the Pacific with panoramic views. We take our kayak and bikes, and fill our days with exercise, reading, relaxing…and Steve paints. We are hoping for warm weather!

Hope your Memorial holiday weekend was wonderful! Happy June!

Interest Rates, Napa Valley and Private Planes

Quick Rate Update:

Not much change, but the markets didn’t react favorably to the State of the Union so rates were slightly worse yesterday, with slight improvement today.
30 Yr fixed rates range from 4.75% to 5% depending on loan size; 15 year rates are slightly lower, and 5-yr arms still hovering in the 3.25% to 3.5% range. All rates and programs are sensitive to FICO score, loan-to-value, reason for financing (purchase, refinance, cash-out) and occupancy type. Underwriting guidelines continue to contract and become more conservative. (!)

Napa Valley Report

We flew to the Bay area for a weekend of wine tasting with Steve’s sisters and their spouses over the Martin Luther King Holiday, which happens to coincide with Steve’s birthday. The most exciting part was flying up and back in a private plane owned by Steve’s younger sister and her husband, who is a pilot. Our “ride” was a four seater and my first comment upon seeing it was “we’re flying in that?” Everyone laughed. Although I’d flown in private planes in the past, nothing quite this small. They all assured me size doesn’t matter! The flight from Carlsbad took two and ½ hours, and was pretty amazing. The weather was clear and we could see forever. We hit a couple of bumpy sports over the grapevine but nothing major.

We took off in a van the next morning for Napa. First stop was Clos Pegase, where we tasted and bought a few bottles for our picnic on their lovely grounds. They have an amazing art collection, and offer tours twice a day. I heartily recommend visiting them. Next stop: Cuvaison, home of a favorite chardonnay. We then headed up into the hills for a private tour and tasting at the O’Shaughnessy Winery, which was a real treat. They offer really “big” reds and an enormous cave build into the hill, including a private dining room and private wine collection to boot.

Afterwards we drove up to our friends’ home on the hill above Calistoga for a glimpse of sunset accompanied by more wine and cheese before heading off to dinner at Brannan’s Grill downtown Calistoga. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed listening to live jazz. I found out the restaurant is named for the founder of Calistoga, who named the city for its springs, e.g. the “Saratoga Springs” of California, hence Calistoga! www.brannansgrill.com

Sunday morning we visited Rombauer – our favorite Chardonnay – and then lunched at Frank Family Vineyards. Our final stop of the day was a tour and tasting at Schramsburg. Their sparkling wines are the best! www.schramsberg.com



Back in Palo Alto, we dined at Trader Vic’s, which is an institution there. Our return Monday was delayed due to heavy fog, and we finally took off after 2:00 in the afternoon. Luckily our pilot Chuck is instrument-rated, so we could have left earlier-- but we waited for better viz. Our flight home was entirely beautiful and uneventful and we arrived to witness a fabulous sunset just behind Catalina before landing. What Fun!

Rate Update and Remedies for Post-Holiday Blues

Rates improved nicely by the end of last week. A new 30 year fixed rate loan, up to $729,000, is going to be somewhere south of 5%, down to 4.75% if your loan amount is below $417,000.

Five year fixed rates are still at or below 4% for loans up to $729,000. The CPI figures that came out at the end of the week were lower than expected, helping keep interest rates down, and the government spending spree for mortgage backed securities is also providing assistance.

However, keep in mind these rates won’t last since we have repeatedly been reminded that the mortgage-back securities buying program will end by the end of the first quarter this year. In addition, as soon as inflation raises its ugly head it will bode ill for interest rates.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.

My prescription for the end-of-the-holidays blues is great food, wine and music.

On a recent Sunday afternoon we drove to downtown San Clemente and strolled the length of Del Mar for some window shopping. Yes, we bought some touristy gift-cards too! We headed for the San Clemente Wine Company to check it out after reading a few reviews in the local newspaper. This wine shop offers a comfortable tasting area in the back of the store, where for $15 you can taste a flight of 6 wines. We had cheese, crackers and some great reds…Pinot Noirs, Cabs, and Syrahs.

The SC Wine company specializes in moderately-priced wines from California, Australia and New Zealand. The owners are currently visiting in New Zealand to locate new wines for the shop. They regularly host vintners for special tasting events, and are open 7 days a week.

Next on my “fight the blues” list is Iva Lee’s restaurant, on Camino Capistrano in San Clemente. Offering outrageously good food and music, the theme is southern-style N’awlins all the way. Gumbo, catfish, fried green tomatoes, sweet potato fries and the like are all on the menu. Blues is the obvious music of choice, and we were lucky to catch the Blue Machine Band. They play regularly on Thursdays at Iva Lee’s but also appear in other Orange county venues.

If you love Blues and Cajun cooking, you can’t miss Iva Lee’s.
The restaurant was busy for a Thursday night, so call for a reservation. After it cleared out a bit, we took advantage and danced in the dining room near our table, and in the bar. Weekend crowds might make that a bit difficult however.

Last, but not least, we dined with friends at Bistango, an old favorite in Irvine near the airport. We were celebrating three birthdays, and as always the food was outstanding and the dancing was a blast. Bistango has live music every night, with a real live dance floor. We appreciated not only the cuisine, but the art as well, which is inspiring (at least inspiring for artists like the one I live with.) Definitely my special occasion choice!

I think I have beaten the blues. Now if only the hurricane will stop so I can go outside again!