Archive for November, 2008
How to Finance BOTH the Purchase AND Repairs of Your Next Fixer-Upper
Monday, November 24th, 2008If you are considering buying a foreclosed fixer home as (a) your primary residence, (b) a second home, or (c) an investment property, there may be some new financing alternatives now available to you. I just learned about this from a mortgage broker associate with whom I work on HUD homes. He tells me that [...]
Tired of cold weather already?
Friday, November 21st, 2008“Are you ready for cold weather?” and ”What to do before snow” – These are two headlines on my AOL news feed yesterday afternoon.
We have an easy answer – move to Palm Springs! Here we enjoy well over 300 days of sunshine annually. Right now the temperatures are just fabulous with daytime averages in the low eighties and nighttime ones [...]
Foreclosures Temporarily Halted by Fannie Mae
Friday, November 21st, 2008Yesterday, Fannie Mae announced that it was temporarily suspending foreclosures and evictions which have been scheduled to take place from November 26, 2008 until January 9, 2009. This temporary halt is designed to allow time for positive actions to reduce the growing number of foreclosures presently taking place in the U.S. It will allow affected [...]
What’s to do this weekend? Keith McCormick’s Car Auctions!
Thursday, November 20th, 2008Palm Springs Exotic Car Auctions return again this year on Friday and run three days from November 21-23, 2008. Begun by Keith McCormick in 1985, the Auctions have grown over the years to “become a world famous Palm Springs tradition”. The auctions are held in November and February each year on the grounds of Spa Resort Casino [...]
Desert residents will soon have more shopping options
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008Long awaited here in the Desert, Nordstrom is now slated to open at Westfield Palm Desert in the spring of 2011. A “dazzling renovation”of Westfield was announced by mall officials reently, which will include Nordstrom as one of two new luxury department stores, the other not yet announced. Westfield also hopes to include new entryways, new restaurants in a [...]
Update on Real Estate Sales in the Valley
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008A recent article in our local newspaper reminded me that I hadn’t updated this blog recently on the state of the housing market here in the valley. Well, guess what? Sales are up and prices are down. No real surprise! BUT in fact, sales are WAY up and prices are WAY down.
We and our associates [...]
For All Film Lovers – The 20th Palm Springs International Film Festival
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008Excitement is building for the 20th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival which will run this year from January 6-19, 2009. We recently received in the mail our “Festival Lover” ticket order form. The Festival last year offered more than 230 films from over 65 countries, and according to their official press release, Palm Springs hosted 122,000 filmgoers for [...]
A Palm Springs Landmark Reborn
Saturday, November 15th, 2008After a major renovation, the famed Riviera Resort and Spa has reopened to wow locals and visitors alike, so we decided to go explore it for ourselves.
Originally opened in 1959 in the style of Las Vegas hotels such as the Sands, Flamingo, and Stardust, the Riviera was frequented by a host of the rich and [...]