The Hotel Solamar in San Diego is now certified to the industry-recognized Green Seal standard, having earned a Silver ranking. This is extremely exciting for hotel visitors to San Diego! This Gaslamp downtown hotel has passed rigorous testing ~ from the kitchen, to your guest bathroom, from the care and attention to towels and sheets, to the recycling for guests, to the waste water, to the plants.  Even the housekeeping cleaning products used throughout the hotel are green.  They're thinking "green" when it comes to your hotel stay, although you may not had considered it yet.  The environment thanks the Hotel Solamar. Even if you Google around for discounted rates, the Green...

A great American has died. Robbins Barstow died at 91 years of age in Hartsford, CT on November 7th of congestive heart failure. Don't know him? That's too bad.  I didn't know him personally either.  Although employed throughout his career as the director of professional development of the Connecticut Education Association (the teacher's union), his passion was as a home movie maker, documenting every aspect of his family's life for decades.  Thankfully, home movies are cool again, and old home movies have a special place in this country. Not just for their cringe-factor, but for showing us ordinary people doing everyday things in American history. Mr. Barstow rises above the ranks of...

How long have I been reading blogs by real estate agents and brokers now? Maybe two or three years.  As a new Wordpress real estate broker blogger myself, it's often helpful and educational to read the writings and work of others.  It makes me wonder how many deals they close in a month or year. Maybe a lot! Maybe not many! I don't know.  But reading these other blogs from real estate professionals is grand.  My first real estate website was built long before Wordpress was invented (with a lot cash as I recall), in 1998. And I bought that domain in 1996! "Oh, Lord!" we thought then as we were buying up all kinds of domain names at Register.com: "We'll be set for life!" And here we still...

There is a lot of talk about the iPad and I haven't purchased one for a single reason: AT&T.  I was a customer of AT&T long before it was called that ~ back when it was PacBell, and before that when it was Cingular. Never have I had worse phone service, but because I resist change when it comes to my phone, I hung in there. For like 8 years. My experience consisted of routinely losing important calls and being unable to make a mobile call from inside my house. Finally I joined my husband's Sprint account, kicking and screaming as I recall. And WOW, instant change. Terrific network coverage, great call service, great everything. Then the invention the iPhone caused a great buzz in my...

  On the occasion of October 9, 2010, and what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday,  I thought I would highlight the first house John and his wife Cynthia purchased.  After all, this IS a real estate blog that happens to be written by a real music fanatic.  Beatles money was just rolling in when John purchased the enormous estate called Kenwood, located in an area of St. George's Hill Estate in the countryside area of Weybridge, Surrey in England.  John, Cynthia and Julian lived in the home from 1964 until 1968, when it was sold at the time of their divorce. It was located about two miles from George's house and four miles from Ringo's house. Also estates. Paul still lived in...

The city of San Diego has purchased the old Woolworth's building on University in North Park for $1,950,000. The property was built in 1949 and like all good F.W. Woolworth Company stores, it had a basement with prominent stairs leading down. Over the years the building has been a lot of things, but nothing significant. In my opinion the best development opportunity in the city of San Diego right now is with this property. The city is not selling the building but seeking proposals from developers to repurpose it, bearing in mind historical preservation of its appearance will be required.  My guess is that some creative uses will be submitted and probably he/she with the deepest...

As a completely devoted fan of Mad Men, I am particularly consumed with the real estate of the show. Most of the housing shots are incredible stage interiors. There are literally no exterior shots, except occasionally a glimpse of the front of Don and Betty's Connecticut come (Colonial house, red front door). Or should I say Betty and Henry Francis' home (that Don still pays for)?  Betty and her new husband Henry Francis live in the Connecticut home, post Betty's divorce from Don, and it seems they live rent free. Don pays the mortgage for the sake of home stability for the children.  It's starting to bug him. This simply can't go on! Digression. In San Diego we have a lot of those...

Over the years I have completed a large number of real estate transactions. Both residential and commercial, and they are vastly different. In commercial, you need to remember one phrase: Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). There are no disclosures. Nadda.  Nope. It's on you, Buyer. You figure out everything about this property on your own and decide if you want to buy. And if you do, the Seller will sell it to you at the agreed upon price. Deal done.  Pretty much the same applies for commercial leases. Residential, on the other hand, is wild. We in California disclose everything and anything and back it up with paperwork and signatures.  Thank goodness for the digital world,...