For those of you who use my blog to search for San Diego houses and condos, thank you and keep doing that! In July, I will be switching to a new vendor to provide the nice, framed-in look of that feature. Later on, click "Property Search' above to see what I mean. My new vendor is Spatial Match and coincidentally this company is based in San Diego. You will be able to search for a San Diego, La Jolla or countywide home in the traditional ways on my website with this new service, such as by bedroom and bath count and by ZIP code. The reason I chose this vendor is because you can also search by "lifestyle" needs and wants.  That's the fun part! Want to live within 5 minutes of a San...

One of the questions I get asked most often is: "Can I put a fence around my yard?" In San Diego that's a big question. We have a lot of rules about a lot of things and generally the answer revolves around city permits which generate city fees. You can add a fence to your San Diego property. Typically the rule is that a chain link, wood or masonry fence up to 6 feet tall does not need a permit. But there are parts of San Diego and La Jolla (which is part of San Diego) that have exceptions to this rule. So please call the city permit desk to share your address and get an answer that is best for you. That number is (619) 446-5000. More than likely you will not need a permit up to...

The website greatschools.org ranks every single elementary, middle and high school in the country, which in my business is the most important thing parent-clients consider when shopping for a home to buy. Even the price of the home seems to fall to a secondary priority position behind the quality of the schools.  They are often tied but those schools are so important that parents will stretch to make the right school work. Not every single San Diegan can afford the most expensive homes in San Diego which by no coincidence also tend to have extremely well scoring schools. I decided to do an experiment. Pick three ZIP codes, find the best elementary school in each according to...

What started in 2004 as complete absolution to remove carpet from the house, came to a conclusion in 2010 to remove all tile as well. When all carpet was torn out and replaced with carbonized thick bamboo boards in 2004, using the best materials the marketplace sells, the love affair with bamboo began. But hey, don't drop stuff on it! Bamboo is hard but dents. I never put bamboo in the kitchen. Why? I did both baths and there's potentially more water sloshing on floors in there (it never happens).  Kitchens just seem to need tile, right? Or so I thought. That was tradition. But then, newsflash, I am not a traditionalist at all.  And then sadly I began to hate my beautiful porcelain...

To all Team in Training participants: Green Box Homes is a long time friend of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in San Diego and has participated with LLS for many years on many levels. Now we will be helping Team in Training athletes with fund raising.  For any real estate client you're responsible for sending to us, we are donating 15% of our side's commission upon close of escrow to your campaign.  At closing, will mail a check to the director of LLS in San Diego for your fund raising, who is aware of our program and ready to see it implemented!  If your current program is completed, we can send it to LLS on behalf of a future campaign for you. Returning as an alumni...

The epic mobster movie, The Godfather, was filmed at a 1930s 8-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath  Tudor-style mansion in Staten Island, New York.  The property was prominently featured throughout the movie with multiple interior and exterior shots, including the gardens for Marlon Brando's tomato patch heart attack scene.  Today the property is owned by the son of the then-owner, and his asking price is $2,900,000. That's pricey ~ even by "offers not to be refused" standards. The cost paid by Paramount Pictures to the owner to use the property? The studio installed a new roof as compensation. Maybe not too bad, considering the house is 6,248 SF and that's a lot of roof.  Today the house needs some...

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...

Without a doubt, any book I would choose to read more than once has to be by James Ellroy. And it better be one of his best, since I don't typically read anything twice. In this case, it is his very best: My Dark Places. I have recommended this book to many people and don't hesitate to recommend it to strangers. It's dark but very powerful. James Ellroy is a great, brilliant but slightly whack-a-doo contemporary crime writer who sets his stories in yesteryear: typically the 1950s and 1960s Los Angeles. Every underbelly dark character your mind could fabricate is present and accounted for. And no good crime goes unpunished.  James has a language all his own.  His fans know what "hush...