I am hearing all over, and from lenders I speak with on daily basis that rates are inching upward and its best to lock in NOW if you are buying a home this summer. Not sure exactly what is causing this, but if you want to find out, I can refer you to some of the best mortgage minds in Santa Clarita!Here is a snap shot of this weeks average mortgage rates for the Santa Clarita Valley and entire Southland area as a whole. Weekly survey of 60 Southland lenders as of May 30, 2007Rates for loans up to $416,999 Latest weekOne week previousSix months previous30-year fixed5.98%/1.58 pt5.93%/1.48 pt5.79%/1.54 pt30-year ARM start rate3.48%/0.73 pt3.46%/0.78 pt3.51%/0.83 pt15-year fixed5.71%/1.49 pt5.67%/1.45 pt5.50%/1.51 ptRates for loans of $417,000 and above 30-year fixed6.29%/1.40 pt6.25%/1.41... 06/08/2007

I know that ActiveRain is primarily for realtors but many people are able to register using the title of Real Estate - Other. Well, what exactly is Real Estate - Other? I take it to mean any services or even products related to real estate. But that can include a wide range of occupations and industries.I have recommended a handyman and an insurance agent, in addition to realtors. My reasoning is that insurance is part of the process of homeownership. The handyman seemed like a reasonable referral because he works with realtors to get properties ready to be listed or he does work on homes that have been recently purchased and need some repairs or other changes.But now it has been a couple of months and I don't see any other handymen coming on to AR. Is Claes Green the only one? Should h... 06/08/2007

Apparently its okay in the city of Santa Clarita to allow 15 people to live under one 1,500 square foot roof! What the heck? The formula is something like 2 people to each 100 square foot bedroom, and 3 to the living room of 120 square feet or more. Wow - wouldn't you hate to be the neighbor who lived across the street from that house and had to fight for a parking space curb side. Well this issue of overcrowding is now becoming an important agenda item for the city council and the city of Santa Clarita. They are saying that their main focus are the areas of Newhall and Canyon Country. One problem exists though, the city doesn't have much in the way of where-with-all to enforce any restrictions on homes living in this sort of a condition on the sole basis of overcrowding, a condition th... 06/08/2007

So what are your favorite condos & townhomes in Valencia? This part of the Santa Clarita real estate market is just busting at the seams with nice condos. Seeing as how I look at the inventory and product just about every day, I thought it would be great to share my favorites with you. THE LIST:1) Stratford Collection - located in the Valencia Summit, I don't believe there is another set of town-homes anywhere in Santa Clarita with better views and nicer lots than these. Say goodbye to small patios, say hello to gorgeous backyards with nature like views!2) Cabot Bay - these remind me of New England architecture, with a mix of colonial, and a spice of those Chicago neighborhoods where you walk up the steps to your front door from the sidewalk. Just love the look and feel of these town-ho... 06/07/2007

The Santa Clarita Valley market is definitly in a down market. You may not want to believe it, but the numbers don't lie.  We entered 2007 with a lot of activity in the lower end housing.  But when the large sub prime lenders started going bankrupt the low end activites dried up. I was hoping that first time buyers would still qualify with 3-5% down, but very few buyers are qualifying for new loans at all.  According to my research March 2007 the SCV had 300 homes close escrow, in April 225 closings and May only had 236 closings.  In May we had 724 new homes on the market, putting our inventory up to over 2200 properties.  At this rate we have a present standing inventory of 10-11 months.  How does this affect our clients?The GOOD news is for buyers! There are some really good deals to ... 06/07/2007

I have some clients who are concerned about losing their insurance if they file a claim or even inquire about certain situations, such as water damage to their home. It doesn't seem right that someone would risk having their insurance cancelled if they have a small claim. Insurance is meant to benefit the policy owner and to be there to protect him from loss. 06/06/2007

I was on my way to Central Park in Saugus for the Rotary Club's pancake breakfast. I stopped to pick up sausage and butter at Smart and Final over on Lyon's Avenue and had just got back into the car when another Rotarian called me. I answered my cell phone, didn't buckle up, and the next thing I saw was the flashing red lights behind me.The officer ticketed me and then told me that the ticket would not count on my insurance record as a moving violation. I am an insurance agent here in Santa Clarita and it is my job to know about these things. I had to inform him that he was mistaken and that this ticket would give me points on my driving record. They changed the law in California awhile back and that is the law now.What about you? Do you always wear a seat belt? Should not wearing one r... 06/06/2007

Several weeks ago Dr. Kelly Herta of Aligned Health Chiropractic approached our local BNI chapter (Team Gold) and recommended that we participate as a group in our city's Relay for Life.  With Dr. Kelly at the forefront our group began to learn about the Amercian Cancer Society's grass roots effort, which is an event that started in the mid 80's when Dr. Gordy Klatt of Seattle, WA decided to run for 24 hours in an effort to raise funds for his local chapter of the American Cancer Society.  In just a few short weeks our BNI Chapter began to raise funds, coordinate schedules for the 24 hour event, and helped to raise awareness about this great opportunity to contribute to the ongoing efforts to find a cure for cancer.The event was an amazing experience that brought the community of Santa ... 06/05/2007

I started out my day at 6 am in Central Park. I am in the Rotary Club and we prepared pancakes, saugage and orange juice for several hundred people this morning. The event was the Relay for Life for cancer survivors. I am a survivor and it was meaningful to be there to serve the people who had came out to walk and run for the previous 24 hours.Later in the day I was at Hart High School for their annual harmony music show. There were several groups of singers, including the Harmony Hills Barbershop Chorus. This group has two Rotary Club members, Harry Bell and Jim Thompson. They are also in the Fraternal Harmony Quartet. Last night I was at the College of the Canyons Hart High Musical Tribute which featured Chuck Negron, formerly with the band Three Dog Night. This event is a fundraiser ... 06/03/2007

Santa Clarita has many hidden gems to explore, and one of them is the Gentle Barn Foundation. The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita uses innovative approaches to teaching kindness to youths who have been abused, kids recovering from substance abuse, kids on probation, foster kids and children and adults with mental, emotional and physical challenges. The Gentle Barn has a mission statement of: "Teaching people kindness and compassion to animals, each other and our planet."Featuring 60 rescued farm animals who were previously abused, the Gentle Barn offers programs for at risk youth, people with special needs, and a school and education program. The At Risk program works by bringing inner city kids and at-risk youth to the Gentle Barn facility to build self-esteem, learn positive values, heal... 06/02/2007

I am a volunteer at the Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons in Valencia. Tonight we had the Sheriff's Graduation and 72 new recruits became deputies and police officers. Los Angeles County Sheriiff Lee Baca precided over the ceremony and Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean spoke to the new recruits. It was a touching ceremony and the families of the graduates were there to support and congratulate the young men and women who have worked so hard to have this career in law enforcement. 05/31/2007

Short sales are popping up quite a bit lately in Santa Clarita. Often a tool to avoid a foreclosure, a short sale takes place when a home owner needs/wants to sell their home, but owes more than they can sell for. In this instance, they list it with a Realtor as normal and place it in the MLS. So what's the difference? Well, the lender who the seller owes money to is in the driver seat. See, if the Santa Clarita home owner owes more money than he can sell it for, that means the bank will have to agree to forgive the debt. In recent years, banks were reluctant to approve a short sale and there were very few of them, because we had a wide spread appreciating market, it was very few and far between that you had a seller who couldn't turn a profit on a home they owned. But if you bought in ... 05/31/2007

The California Retail Survey recently announced the rankings of the top 100 city retail markets in California, based on 2006 retail sales.Santa Clarita came in at number 24, outranking the nearby cities of Glendale, Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Santa Monica.The California Retail Survey is considered to be a respected source of market intelligence for corporate and government executives because its analysis and rankings are based on actual sales results from each of the 490,000 retailers in the state. Visit http://californiaretailsurvey.netfirms.com/pr01.htm for the full list of 100 top ranked cities.Linda Slocum, Santa Clarita Realtorhttp://HoneyStartPacking.comhttp://SantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com 05/31/2007

Snake season has officially begun in the Santa Clarita area, with one snake bite victim already recovering from a bite from a venomous Mojave green rattlesnake.According to The Signal, Chris Bolewski of Saugus was clearing brush for mountain biking in the Haskell Canyon area when he was bitten on the leg by this highly venomous snake. He was rushed to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital for treatment, and then was helicoptered to Loma Linda University Medical Center to be cared for by a snake bite specialist there.New Leash on Life Animal Rescue held a rattlesnake awareness program recently, where Rattlesnake wrangler Hugo Heerman warned that the recent dry weather could bring a very busy rattlesnake season. Heerman says that rattlesnakes typically enter residents' yards in search of f... 05/31/2007

Six Flags Magic Mountain is going to kick off its summer concert series with a Radio Disney concert on June 2.Six Flags invites you to jam out with today's hotter than hot musical acts at the Radio Disney Concert! Featured will be a full day of fun and music with performances by Jonas Brothers, T-Squad, Everlife and J. McCoy at the Golden Bear Theatre. Here's the concert schedule:Everlife & J. McCoy - 2:00pmJonas Brothers & T-Squad - 6:00pmA concert seating pass is required for each show. Get your concert seating pass from the Theatre Staff after 11:00 a.m.For more Six Flags Magic Mountain concerts and summer events, check out http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/events/CalendarEvents.aspx.Sending your teens to Magic Mountain this summer? Check out their new prepaid meal vouchers that ... 05/30/2007

Santa Clarita Transit riders will see a fare increase as of July 1, 2007 for the METRO Buses and METRO Rail system. This increase is part of an overall increase in the fares for the EZ Transit Pass Program.The EZ Transit Pass Program is a zone-based regional monthly pass that allows for a free transfer between 25 other participating bus operators in the Los Angeles County, including METRO.For Zones 4 and 5 (Santa Clarita's zones), the incrases will be from $118 to $142 for Zone 4 and from $133 to $160 for Zone 5 for regular riders. For seniors and the disabled, the fares will move from $59 to $73 in Zone 4 and from $66.50 to $82.50 in Zone 5. Seniors are defined as 62 and older for purposes of this program.For more information, see http://SantaClaritaTransit.com.Linda Slocum, Santa Clar... 05/29/2007

Just wanted to give you quick update on what the rental market is doing here in Santa Clarita, CA. The rental market in the Santa Clarita Valley continues to remain strong. This is in direct response to the continuing struggles in the resale sector. With resale still remaining difficult to buy, and home prices on a steady decline, the rental market is flourishing. One of the "unexpected consquences" is the new pool of applicants we are seeing for our rentals. Here is a quick breakdown of who is currently applying to rent, ranked by application quality:Homesellers. These are the people who just sold, most of the time are in escrow on their home. They come in with 1) High credit scores 2) Good Income 3) Strong assets. Downside? Most have pets. I don't personally consider this a downside, ... 05/29/2007

I have purchased materials at both Home Depot and Lowe's and really have no preference. However, I have found that the workers at Lowe's on Bouquet Canyon are quite knowledgable and helpful. I usually send my clients to the Home Depot on Newhall Ranch Road because it is larger and cleaner. When I am working for women they tend to prefer Home Depot so I go wherever they prefer, as it is their choice. It is a good idea to compare prices. Usually both stores will honor the sale price of the other, if you speak with the manager or someone up front. I like to save my clients as much money as possible. Newhall Hardware Store on San Fernando Road also has many good items. 05/28/2007

The networking here on Active Rain has been incredible. I have only been here for one month and I have already met so many of you online and now a few of you in person as well. My Space now has an average age of about 40 years old and has been great for networking, but AR is better because it is real estate related so I have more in common with all of you. This site has also boosted my Google and Yahoo rankings tremendously in the past couple of weeks even more so than MySpace. Thanks for making me feel so welcome. 05/28/2007

We just moved here to Santa Clarita last year after living in Chatsworth previously. Santa Clarita has been so good for both of us and I am very fortunate to have many new clients who are so kind. Please feel free to contact me if you have any small jobs. I have been so busy recently that I don't advertise in The Signal any longer. I am available every day and evenings also. 05/28/2007