Lakewood Real Estate Blog

The Hurt Locker Synopsis.

Jim — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:57:26 +0000

In the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge of Bravo Company are at the volatile center of the war, part of a small counterforce specifically trained to handle the homemade bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that account for more than half of American hostile deaths and have killed thousands of Iraqis. A high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, the job leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a mission. When Staff Sergeant William James takes over the team, Sanborn and Eldridge are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in the fog of war, appearances are never reliable for long. Is James really a swaggering cowboy who lives for peak experiences and the moments when the margin of error is zero – or is he a consummate professional who has honed his esoteric craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad swirls around them, the men struggle to understand and contain their new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour of Iraq, but with each new mission comes another deadly encounter, and as James blurs the line between bravery and bravado, it seems only a matter of time before disaster will strike.

Long Beach HHW/E-Waste Collection Event

Jim — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:20:18 +0000

Long Beach HHW/E-Waste Collection Event
Date: 3/27/2010

Location: Long Beach Veteran`s Stadium, Clark Avenue and Conant Street, Long Beach 90808 In order to improve our service to the public, we ask participants to complete a short survey form at the event. To expedite the process, please print and take the completed form with you to the collection event. You may print the survey forms in English or Spanish. Events are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted). There is a transportation limit of 15 gallons or 125 pounds of hazardous waste per trip. Rain or shine, collection events will be held as scheduled.

Buyers Who Wait May Lose a Lot

Jim — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:43:47 +0000

Potential home buyers who delay have a lot to lose.

First-time home buyer and move-up tax credits worth $8,000 and $6,500, respectively, expire April 30. Buyers who qualify get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes or a cash payment if they don’t pay enough taxes to cover the credit.

Other factors that should spur buyers:

Low mortgage rates. If the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of March, 30-year rates will almost certainly rise to more than 6 percent.

Rising prices. About 30 percent of markets are already experiencing price increases. Prices are falling in 12 percent of markets, says Fiserv (but that only helps if you want to live there).

Source: Money Magazine, Beth Braverman (03/02/2010)

Real Estate Search App for iphone and itouch

Jim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:57:19 +0000

Log on to itunes and get a free copy of REALTOR.com search app.

Enter REALTOR in the search box and look for the Real Estate search.ipa

Lakewood Brief History

Jim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:48:33 +0000

Lakewood is a city ten miles southeast of Los Angeles that in 1950 broke new ground-literally and figuratively-when the Lakewood Park Company started building what would become the nation’s first post-war planned housing development, consisting of 17,500 houses on about 3,500 acres. Lakewood emerged from a former sugar beet field to become a model planned community, complete with street lighting and underground wires, assembly-line construction of about 50 houses a day, berms between residential streets and the highway, and a car-friendly prototype shopping area called Lakewood Center. The community’s size also eclipsed that of many long-established cities such as Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Santa Ana, California. Promoted with slogans such as “Lakewood-My Home Town” and “Lakewood, Tomorrow’s City Today,” the community was built just in time for war veterans and their families to buy their first homes with the help of the G.I. Bill of Rights, which let buyers put little or no money down and pay for their mortgages with low-interest 30-year loans.
As the unincorporated Lakewood grew from a small village in 1950 to a community of more than 70,000 residents in less than three years, so grew its municipal needs. Lakewood thus had three choices: become annexed to nearby Long Beach, remain unincorporated and continue to receive county services, or incorporate as a city. In 1954, residents chose the latter option and voted to incorporate as a city, the largest community in the country ever to do so and the first city in Los Angeles County to incorporate since 1939. However, the incorporation had a twist: while the new City Council would set policy and budgets at the local level, members would continue to contract with Los Angeles County to receive a wide range of county services such as road repair, water and sewer services, and fire protection. This novel arrangement-which let the city retain local control of its government while tapping efficiently into existing services-was spelled out in a document called the Lakewood Plan, that was adopted and modified by many other communities in California and the United States that wanted to incorporate as well.
Today Lakewood-with 26,000 housing units, most of them single-family detached homes-remains known for its community services and quality of life as a bedroom community. The community is studied by historians and city planners because of its distinction as a ground-breaking type of suburb and because of the Lakewood Plan’s visionary combination of local and county services. Among other things, Lakewood introduced a number of innovations into suburban development-such as assembly-line house construction-and is often compared to Levittown, New York.

Hazardous waste and e-waste collection coming to Vet’s Stadium

Jim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:56:22 +0000

Another Household Hazardous Waste/E-waste Collection Event will be held Saturday, March 27 between 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at nearby Veteran’s Stadium in Long Beach. Residents can safely dispose of household hazardous waste and e-waste. The entire drop-off process only takes a few minutes. Often, participants don’t even have to leave their car.

Long Beach Veteran’s Stadium
5000 E Lew Davis Street
Long Beach, CA 90808Many common household products pose a hazard to the environment if disposed of improperly. Materials such as used motor oil, paint, turpentine, acid or lye-based cleaners, household and car batteries, pesticides and garden herbicides can damage the environment if tossed in the trash or poured down a sink or storm drain.
Things to bring

Household e-waste is consumer electronic equipment near the end of its useful life such as computer monitors and televisions. Unfortunately, electronic waste is a growing problem, although many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled, including items such as VCRs, stereos, fax machines, copiers, computer keyboards, and cellular telephones are winding up in regular trash.

Collection events are a way to dispose of them properly.

Things to bring

Computer monitors
Television sets
TV/VCR combos or anything else with a cathode ray tube
Computers
Keyboards
Printers
Scanners
Computer peripherals
Cell phones
Radios
Alarm clocks
Hair dryers

It’s easy to participate. Leave the products in their original container then place them in a cardboard box and drive to the roundup site. The entire process only takes a few minutes and you never have to leave your car. No explosive or radioactive materials, tires, or waste from businesses will be accepted. Please do not mix products together.

Motor oil, antifreeze, paint, paint thinner
Turpentine, cleaners with acids or lye
Pesticides and herbicides
Household and car batteries
Old computers and television sets
Expired pharmaceuticals and mercury thermometers
Used Needles or Sharps (In a Sharps container or sturdy box labeled “SHARPS”)

Do NOT bring

Explosives, ammunition or radioactive materials
Waste from businesses will not be accepted
Trash or old tires
White goods such as washers, stoves, refrigerators or air conditioners

How to prepare

In general there is a limit of 15 gallons or 125 lbs. per vehicle
Bring items in a sturdy box, preferably in their original labeled containers
Be prepared to leave your containers
Do not mix products together

Home Buyer’s Fair

Jim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:17:21 +0000

DATE: Sat., March 13 and Sun., March 14, 2010

TIME: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sun.

LOCATION: The Los Angeles Convention Center
Concourse Hall
1201 S. Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 741-1151

FOCUS: First-time home buyers

OBJECTIVE: To address and alleviate fears about the current real estate market through educational “how-to” seminars on the home buying process.

COST: Free to attendees

EDUCATION: Approximately 25 sessions in English and Spanish to be repeated over the two-day event; sessions include (subject to change):

     · Your Guide to the Home Buyer Tax Credits
     · Finding a REALTOR®: The First Step to Your First Home
     · Finding a Home Loan in Today’s Market
     · Credit Boot Camp: How to Fix Your Finances
     · How to Negotiate Your Loan Modification
     · How to Plan and Save for Your First Home
     · Your First Home: What to Know Before You Buy
     · Don’t Lose Your Home: How to Avoid Foreclosure
     · Stay Covered: The Basics of Homeowner’s Insurance
     · Assistance Programs for First-time Buyers
     · How to Find and Buy Foreclosures, Short Sales, and REOs
     · Everything You Need to Know About CalVet Programs
     · The California Housing Market Outlook
     · Home Inspection 101
     · Put Your Money to Work: Finding the Right Investment Property
     · Don’t Get Scammed: Tips on Avoiding Mortgage Fraud
     · Loan Tips for First-time Buyers

Please click here to download the full schedule for both days.

The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair will also feature dozens of booths, where attendees can obtain information from industry experts about a vast range of programs pertaining to homeownership and the home buying process. Both seminars and the exhibit hall are free to attend.

For more information visit: http://www.homebuyersfair.com