San Marcos - A Well Rounded Community

Save the date and visit the Museum and Heritage Park

Sunday May 1st, 2011

Last year the San Marcos Historical Society was the lucky recipient of an Arts & Culture Grant sponsored by the City of San Marcos.

The grant funded a  28 picture photo history exhibit entitled “San Marcos – A Well Rounded Community” and is located in the newly completed Welcome Cetner at Heritage Park. 

The Open House will take place on Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm, in the Welcome Center at Heritage Park, which is located in Walnut Grove Park.  The Mary Y. Connors Hall, Cox and Bidwell Houses will also be open for tours that afternoon.  Please feel free to print the flyer below and spread the word.

For more information and to become a member of the San Marcos Historical Society contact them by email or phone.

760-744-9025
sanmarcoshistory@att.net
www.smhistory.org

FHA increase to borrowers

Last week FHA mortgage insurance premiums increased for all loans processed after April 18th

  

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FHA loan borrowers who are putting less than 5% down will have a monthly mortgage insurance premium of 1.15%

  

FHA borrowers who are putting 5% or more down will have a 1.10% factor for mortgage insurance.

  

Calculated for less than 5% :

Purchase Price  $200,000 - Down Payment $7,000 (3.5%) = Base Loan Amount $193,000

Up front Mortgage Insurance Premium $1930.00 ( 1.00% - Which is ffinanced) Total Loan Amount $194930.

Monthly Mortgage Insurance = $193000 x 1.15% = $2220 divided by 12 = $184.96 per month

    

 

Calculated for 5% down payment:

 

Purchase Price $200,000 - Down Payment $10,000(5%) = Base Loan Amount $190,000

Up front Mortgage Insurance Premium $1900.00 ( 1.00% - Which is financed) Total Loan Amount $191900.

Monthly Mortgage Insurance = $190,000 x 1.10% = $2090.00 divided by 12 = $174.17 per month
  

Even though many condo projects in the San Diego area are not approved for FHA financing due to delinquency rates and owner occupancy rates, there are still many properties out there that can be FHA financed. 

"Green"scaping

Here in Southern California there are many, many (too many) green lawns that require a very high volume of water.  It's nice to see that there are some homeowners out there changing their yard landscapes to include drought tolerant plants.  I snapped this photo early this morning of a California Native, Agave Shawii.  The Agave Shawii is found only on the coast of Southern California and Baja California.  This particular plant is located a little further inland and could have possibly come from a local nursery.  I've noticed that our nurseries have a wide variety of Native California Flora in stock and with water prices rising, I am sure that they will continue to sell more and more.



The 1910 Bell is back in San Marcos

The 1910 School House still stands in San Marcos but the bell has not been here for many years.  That is until last week!!  The 19010 School House bell returned last week and is housed at the San Marcos Historical Museum on Sycamore in Walnut Grove Park. The Youtube video is a bit long but watch it all the way through so you can enjoy the ringing of the old bell.  The San Marcos Historical Society is always looking for volunteers and members so if you have an interest in history, please join us.

Mission San Lius Rey and the Young Adventurers

A visit to the Mission San Luis Rey "King of  the Missions" with the Young Adventurers

Founded in 1798 and named after St. Louis IX, King of France, the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA was the 18th of 21 missions built from 1769 to 1823. 

In January of 2011 the Young Adventurers visited the Mission San Luis Rey and learned a bit of California history.




The Church was not completed until 1815, several years after the Mission was founded.

 


The Barracks.  Our volunteer and Mission San Luis Rey docent speaking to our group of Young Adventurers. The barracks, now fenced off to protect what is left of the old buildings, housed between 5 and eleven Spanish Soldiers and is located in the front of the mission.

 





The Young Adventurers and volunteers gathered in the front of the oldest pepper tree in California. The seeds for this tree were brought from Peru my a sailor in 1830.  There were others but this is the only original still standing.



The Lavanderia complex where they washed clothes and bathed was fed by diverting water from the, nearby San Luis Rey River. The Entire Lavanderia complex was surrounded by and adobe wall to keep wildlife out.

 




Shower facility on the grounds of the Lavanderia.  Notice the two small terracotta pipes above the rock retaining wall. 

 

At the end of the day, the docent gave the students a quiz, which was a group effort and they did quite well.  The had fun and learned a bit, GREAT DAY!!





Baja Garden at San Diego Safari Park

Baja Garden at San Diego Wild Animal Park Safari Park

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For your Real Estate needs in North San Diego or Southwest Riverside County........
Make the Call to Hankins and Hall
Lela 760-591-0020 DRE#01407710
Steve 760-809-1637 DRE#01764446

Lela Hankins and Steve Hall are full time real estate professionals providing full service in real estate to Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, San Elijo Hills, Escondido,Fallbrook, Bonsall, Rancho Bernardo, Valley Center, Temecula, Red Hawk, and Murrieta


If you are in the market for a great lender that understands all loan types including FHA and VA, contact Brian Skaar at Brian Skaar.com

Hiking in San Diego - Lake Hodges and the Piedras Pintadas Trail

Piedras Pintadas (painted rocks)

There are several trails within the San Dieguito River Park that are well traveled by hikers, bikers and runners.  For a short hike that provides spectacular views in addition to many markers along the trail that identify plants and their uses, visit the Piedras Pintadas trail at Lake Hodges in Rancho Bernardo.  The interpretive trail markers indicate what the plant was used for by the local Kumeyaay Indians and the Kumeyaay name for the specific plant. 

Although not visible in any of the photos below, there are pictographs on the larger boulders drawn by the Kumeyaay several hundred years ago. Anyone planning on taking this hike should being a set of binoculars in order to view the Native American rock art since the site is now off limits due to vandalism.

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List of questions to ask "Buyer's Agent" for the potential home buyer

Consumer help...Finding the right Realtor

     

It is extremely important to know and trust the real estate professional that will be representing a client in a real estate transaction. When a potential buyer does locate a buyer's specialist in the area where they are interested in purchasing a home, it is important to spend time with and interview them to ensure a good fit.   Listed below are a few interview questions to help determine if this is the right agent:

• What designations have you earned and why?
• Are you a Realtor?
• Can you explain the terms REO, Short Sale, Escrow, and Title Insurance?
• What inspections are required and why? 
• How do I find a home inspector?
• How well do you know area xyz?
• Are you familiar with tax rates and special assessments in this particular area?  
• Do I need to be pre-approved for a loan?
•  How do I find a lender?
• What are the different types of loans?
• How will you generally communicate with me?
• What if I can’t reach you?
• When are you available to work with me?
• How will you help me determine what is the right price to offer?
• How to help me get my offer accepted?

Spectacular view of Temecula

We all meet great people in the real estate industry and often forge lifelong friendships with our clients.  One of awesome clients recently emailed a few photos from their hot air balloon ride with California Dreamin' in Temecula, where they also purchased some property.  One picture really stood out from all the rest so I decided to share with everyone.             Make it a great day!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *







For your Real Estate needs in North San Diego or Southwest Riverside County........
Make the Call to Hankins and Hall
Lela 760-591-0020 DRE#01407710
Steve 760-809-1637 DRE#01764446

Lela Hankins and Steve Hall are full time real estate professionals providing full service in real estate to Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, San Elijo Hills, Escondido,Fallbrook, Bonsall, Rancho Bernardo, Valley Center, Temecula, Red Hawk, and Murrieta


If you are in the market for a great lender that understands all loan types including FHA and VA, contact Brian Skaar at Brian Skaar.com

Lake Hodges

Sikes Adobe and Lake Hodges

This Saturday we chaperoned a trip for the Young Adventurers to the 1870 Sikes Adobe Farmhouse and hike at Lake Hodges.  The Original home was recently restored after being completely destroyed in the 2007 San Diego Wild Fires.  Of course the adobe walls resisted the fire storm and still stood, waiting to be repaired.

One item of interest to our young adventurers was an old Gately Automatic Organ seen, and heard, in the video below.



Preserved adobe wall behind the white plaster



Docent Anne Cooper speaking to the Young Adventurers in front of the Sikes Adobe.



Original exterior wall of the Sikes Adobe Farmhouse.  Much thicker than a typical house wall.



Listening the decent Anne Cooper talk about water usage and agriculture.

It could not have been a more perfect day to get the youngsters out on a hike at Lake Hodges after learning about the old abode farmhouse.

For More information on the Sikes Adobe Farmhouse and surrounding area, visit the San Dieguito River Park website.  Better yet, call me and lets go on a hike.  There are many miles of trails to explore!

Investment opportunity in North San Diego County

There are some great opportunities in North San Diego County at the moment for investors to take advantage of lower valued properties that offer good rental income.
An Oceanside condo complex offers CAP rates of above 8%.
With as little as 25% down these units can return a positive cash flow.
Due to the location, these unit typically rent very quickly so there are often little to no vacancy issues.

Investment opportunity in North San Diego County

Investment opportunity in North San Diego County

There are currently many great opportunities in North San Diego County at for investors to take advantage of lower valued properties that offer nice rental income. Several San Marcos condo complexes have available properties that can be purchased and offer CAP rates of above 8%. Although there are some lenders that have attractive loan programs for investors that only require 20% down, these units will not cash flow without at least 25% down. Due to the location, these units typically rent very quickly so there are often little to no vacancy issues.

Community comes together to help paint San Marcos Middle School

Community comes together to help paint

San Marcos Middle School

Our Kiwanis One Day event this year was a great success.  Our project this year was to help out one of our local middle schools by painting the exterior of their very bland gym with the school colors.  The awesome organizer of this year's Kiwanis One Day was San Marcos Club member Anna Fleming.  Anna made sure that there were coffee and donuts in the morning as well as pizza and water for lunch. The coffee came from Ryan Bros Coffee in San Marcos and the pizza was donated by Rossi's Pizza, also in San Marcos.

There were many people involved with the project including children from age 5 to adults in the 70's.   All had a wonderful time giving back to the community of San Marcos.

Groups in attendance were the Kiwanis Club of San Marcos, the Circle K Club from Cal State University San Marcos, the Key Club from High Tech High in San Marcos and youngsters from The Young Adventurers in San Marcos/Escondido. It was a pleasure to meet three of the board members from the San Marcos Unified School District assisting with the painting job.  The school board members in attandance were Beckie Garrett, Sharon Jenkins and Jay Petrek.  Everyone worked hard and did a GREAT job.

Take a look at the slide show below and see the incredible transformation of the old gray block building.

Used books in San Marcos

Cassidy's Books in San Marcos

With "big box" book stores and digital media, there are VERY few small book stores left.  I know that there are still many people out there that enjoy reading an actual book.  If you are one of those people that enjoys books, new and old, be sure to take some time and visit Cassidy's Books in San Marcos. Cassidy's Books is located at 801 Grand Ave, near Carmela, which is an awesome Italian Restaurant.

Cassidy's Book has new and used books, paper and hard back.  There is nothing like the aroma of a building filled with thousands of used and new books. It is intoxicating.  Cassidy's Books will also take books in trade as long as they are in good condition so they can be enjoyed by another bibliophile.  There are rules of engagement when trading in books but that information can be obtained on site.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cassidy's Books is located at 801 Grand Ave. Ste 3 in San Marcos CA. 92078.  They are open from 9:30 to 5:30 Tuesday thru Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday.

(760)761-4910  email: cbookskt@sbcglobal.net

And, yes they always have a new copy of the Joy of Cooking in stock.