County of Castles: Orange County Real Estate Blog

By
Real Estate Agent - no current broker affiliation
orange county real estate, lake forest, first-time homebuyers, condos, homes in orange county, affordable homes

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2007 

I just heard a rumor through an email that one of the homes lost in the fire down in San Diego was that of none other than Brian Buffini and his wife Beverly.  The quote attributed to him in the email was, "Thankfully, all of our staff is safe and well; sadly, though, Beverly and I lost our home....
10/29/2007
Thank you to everyone who expressed their well-wishes for us here in Southern California over the past few days.The fire has moved away from my little corner of Orange County and is now back in the canyons, nearing the Angeles National Forest.  I'm hoping our fire crews are able to get it under c...
10/26/2007
Folks from out of the area have shown some interest in my first-person account of the fire still burning in the hills above Lake Forest, so since I have some new photos from yesterday, I thought I would share these as well.It was very smoky yesterday.  Very.  It was actually much worse today, pro...
10/25/2007
I'm often critical of "news" articles which purport to tell consumers, well, anything, about real estate transactions.  They are often incorrect or convey information so general that it must apply somewhere, but only with certain details in place that don't apply to transactions people are likely...
10/25/2007
The City of Lake Forest website has a great feature on it, showing you not only all the parks in the area, but detailing what amenities they have as well.Click here for information on parks in Lake Forest.Also, the city offers some great recreation programs for everyone in the family, from kids' ...
10/24/2007
The latest Market Time Report is out. My company produces a Market Time Report every other week to help keep our agents on top of the latest activity in our local markets, as well as to provide our clients with tips and strategies for how to buy and sell under current market conditions. Enjoy! Ma...
10/24/2007
With so many larger/worse/more destructive fires going on in Southern California right now, it's been fairly difficult to get updated information on the Santiago Fire on the web or tv.  I'm thankful that "our" fire is not as bad as the others, but as a Lake Forest resident, I know how frustrating...
10/23/2007
(cross-posted from http://www.countyofcastles.com/)Back on June 5th, I wrote a post about buying a home in South Orange County for under $300,000.  Of course there were 1- and some 2-bedroom condos under that price, and today there is an even greater selection.  But the REAL surprise for me, and ...
10/18/2007
Did you know there can be tax consequences for losing your home in foreclosure or having part of your debt forgiven in a short sale?  Did you know that there are some exeptions?Even if your home is not in foreclosure, or in danger of foreclosure, I recommend reading the following Foreclosure Q & ...
10/18/2007
One of the leading indicators for the real estate market (shall we say, the "resale homes" market - the sale of homes not being sold by their builder), is to watch what happens in the new home market.  Housing starts, then, provides a great leading indicator of what direction the market is moving...
10/17/2007
Rainer
18,036

Cindy Kalionzes

smartphone(949) 468-8405
Contact The Author
Market updates, tips for first-time home buyers, neighborhood information, and more!