HOMES&LIVING

Friday, August 19, 2011

B

FEATURES EDITOR: Katharine Ball PHONE: 754-4282 FAX: 754-4293 E-MAIL: living@thecalifornian.comwww.thecalifornian.com

MELLOW YELLOW:A BOLD ACCENT BRIGHTENS A

HOME’S INTERIORSunny yellow brings a note of color inside even

on the grayest days. Liven up your decor with afew small punches of cheer.» KitchenAid KSM150PS five-quart stand mixer,KitchenAid KSM150PS five-quart stand mixer,KitchenAid KSM150PS five-quart stand mixer

$299.99 at Macy’s. REAL ESTATELISTINGS INSIDE

MARK YOURCALENDAR

COMING SATURDAYIN LIVINGAuto show idolizes classic lemons.

HOTPROPERTY

Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

This photo courtesy of Holly Lepere Photography shows an outdoor space designed by Grace Designs. There are many creative fencingand landscape options that can help create a zone of privacy in your yard. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY KIM COOKFor The Associated Press

Your house may have a beau-tiful outdoor living space, per-fect for quiet morning coffeeor fun evening get-togethers.

But if adjacent homes loomlarge, or your home backs upon public land, you can’t trulyrelax until your “al fresco”space becomes a little moreprivate.It’s a particular problem for

homeowners in close-in sub-urbs, where backyards abutand youmay as well invitethe neighbors to everythingyou do outside since they’repretty much right there withyou anyway. But even spacious

yards can feel exposed, withneighboring lots impinging onpersonal space.There are many creative

fencing and landscape options

See GARDEN, 5B

GANNETT

BY BRODERICK PERKINSFor The Salinas Californian

When you decide to quit mak-ing mortgage payments and walkaway from home ownership, youare taking a walk down a slipperypath.It’s a path to a “strategic

default,” which occurs whena homeowner who can affordto make mortgage paymentsdecides not to in order to induceforeclosure.The questionable strategy is

often used by homeowners whoare “underwater” with a mort-gage that’s larger than the home’s

value. The approach is morelikely if the homeowner believesthe home will take too long torecover sufficient equity and thehomeowner also can rent a homefor less than the mortgage pay-ment.Other homeowners are duped

into strategic defaults by fraudu-

lent services offering faultyadvice. Crooked mortgage reliefservices often tell homeowners tostop making payments to get thelender’s attention for mortgageassistance, say, a mortgage modi-fication or other loan workout.

See PERKINS, 6B

Eco-savvy students recog-nize the recycle symbolas a sign of intelligence,

and wear reuse like school pride.Good news for parents, who canenjoy serious cost savings underthe guise of being eco-cool.For things like backpacks and

outerwear, back-to-school bud-gets go further when you shop

reused. Check thrift stores orgarage sales, or search “schoolsupplies” or “backpacks” onCraigslist.org.Kids often outgrow clothes

faster than they can wear themout, so shopping second hand ordoing neighborhood exchangescan deliver great buys on barelyused items, including uniforms.

From gently worn to extremerock ‘n’ roll edge, some cloth-ing is more fashionable showingwear, such as denim jeans andjackets.To reap savings throughout the

school year, invest in reuse forlunch and afterschool snack

See STYLES, 6B

Legacy Players planpoetry performanceThe Legacy Players of The

Western Stage is a group of12 veteran senior actors fromMonterey County, who combinedhave more than five centuries oftheater experience and who offerunique performances with theaim of illuminating and enrichingthe community. The group plans apoetry performance for Saturdayand Sunday.» What: “PoemsWe Love; andSomeWe Just Kind Of Like,” aperformance by the Legacy Play-ers.» When: 2 p.m. Saturday andSunday» Where: Choral Room of Per-forming Arts Facility at HartnellCollege, 411 Central Ave., Salinas.» Admission: Free

Expect fallout from a strategic default

ALAN STYLESRecycling

Eco-nomics: Easy lessons in reuse for back-to-school

Two very quick bitesTwo very quick bitesTwSummer is traditionally a slow

season in real estate, but youwouldn’t know it based on twosuper-quick deals of note.One sale in the works involves

the former Sunset Strip-areahome of legendary film directorOrson Welles. The gated com-pound came on the market at$1,285,000 late last month, and inless than two weeks a sale waspending.With its crown molding and

wainscoting, the 1921 mainhouse is the picture of SouthernColonial style. The property,Colonial style. The property,Colonial style. The propertyone third of an acre, also hasa guesthouse and a swimmingpool.Welles, who died at 70 in 1985,

gained recognition in 1938 withhis panic-inducing “The War ofthe Worlds” radio drama abouta Martian invasion. His filmmasterpiece, “Citizen Kane,” wasreleased 70 years ago.Meanwhile, the Hancock Park

home of “Parks and Recreation”co-creator Michael Schur andhis wife, TV producer and writerJennifer Philbin, went intoescrow eight days after com-ing on the market earlier thissummer. It sold for $1,775,000— $26,000 above their askingprice.The Spanish-style contempo-

rary was built in 2007, the OldWorld ambience given up-to-datefeatures including pre-wiring formedia, built-in speakers, auto-mated lighting and a

See PROPERTY, 7B

Tips for creating backyard privacy

SECRET GARDEN

SELLING MONTEREY COUNTY FOR OVER 30 YEARS.

FEATURED PROPERTIES

LISTINGS

FFFEEEAAATTTUUURRREEEDDDDDDDDD PPRROOOPPEERRTTIIEESSSFFFFEEEEAAAATTTTUUUURRRREEEEDDDDFFFEEEAAATTTUUURRREEEDDD PPPRRROOOPPPEEERRRTTTIIIEEESSSDDDD PPRROOPPEERRTTIIEESSDDD PPPRRROOOPPPEEERRRTTTIIIEEESSS

35 Maple St. • Salinas831-424-0001

www.tncrealestate.com

FEATURED PROPERTIES

SCOTT CRAIG 214-2651

27155 PRESTANCIA WAYLAS PALMAS$649,000

DALE HANDLEY 595-0237

214 MARYA214 MARYA214 MAR L DRIVENORTH SALINAS

$195,000

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DALE HANDLEY 595-0237

20412 FRANCISCAN WAYTORO PARK$629,500

22 Santa Ana Dr., South Salinas $549,000...................................... (Dale Handley 595-0237)

22329 Berry Dr., Pine Canyon $711,000............................................ (Jim Poulton 595-1826)

1493 River Rd, Salinas RANCH LAND ..................................................... (Jeff Pluta 214-0042)

22600 Veronica Drive, Toro Park $595,000 ......................................... (Scott Craig 214-2651)

704 Garner Avenue, #28, East Salinas $92,650 .........................(Samantha Liptak 214-2359)

486 Carr Ave., Aromas $239,900......................................................(Mike Handley 262-2400)

364 West St., Soledad $149,900 PENDING ......................................(Mike Handley 262-2400)

HOMES & LIVINGFriday, August 19, 20116B

NORTH SALINAS— 93907473 Brighton St.; $224,000;

US Bank to Castillo,Sagrario

10803 Assisi Way; $277,000;Draeger, Benjamin R andPaula Marie to Estrada,Rosa M and Acuna, Daniel

9670 Pollock Road; $280,000;Goldenbrick InvestmentInc to Dickey, Neal andYvette L

17881 Berta Canyon Road;$525,000; Stallings, GalenD and Barbara A toMinafo, Michael

1339 San Miguel CanyonRoad, No. C; $400,000;Horwath, Anthony toClary, Michelle L

SOUTH SALINAS— 9390817 Paseo De Vaqueros;

$535,000; Swenson,Gregory W and Sandra Cto Thornton, Kristi

17650 Winding Creek Road;$470,000; Marinko,Joseph G Jr and Sheryl Fto Dimitrov, Bisser

22615 Oak Canyon Road;$490,000; Nutting, Larry Land Jeanine M Ellinwoodto Trebino, Nicholes T

Paseo De Vaqueros;$150,000; Cronin, June Kto Johnson, Scott Lewisand Michele Dawn

SEASIDE— 939552045 Waring St.; $349,000;

Estate of Lawrence J.and Helen L. Erlston toGomez, Francisco J andPatricia

1213 Elm Ave.; $135,000;Crozier, Thomas H andJanet L to Quezada, IsacSr and Karina

1294 Hamilton Ave.;$183,000; Kim, Tae Ho to

Kwon, Sun Nam1200 Vallejo St.; $224,900;

Wells Fargo Bank toO’Hair, William John andIrene Miryam

1246 Amador Ave.; $420,000;Wells Fargo Bank toKeefer, Neil H Jr andMiriam B

1276 Laguna St.; $179,900;Federal National MortgageAssoc. to Gonzalez, Deliaand Ayala Jose C

1336 Waring St.; $318,000;OSBT Investments toSchwener, Joseph Gerardand Fadel, Shahla

1915 Yosemite St.; $335,000;Federal NationalMortgage Assoc. toZoccali, Anthony andWhittle, Jennifer

SOLEDAD— 939601012 Barcelona St.; $150,000;

Campos, Irma and Manuelto Serrano, Marcelino

214 Blueridge St.; $285,000;US Distressed MortgageFund to Mora, Faustino Mand Maria Beatriz

947 Prado Drive; $155,000;US Distressed MortgageFund to Pensco Trust Co.,custodian FBO DavidKaupp, Ira

411 San Diego Place;$55,000; Federal NationalMortgage Assoc. toHerrera, Juan Jose

438 Sage Court; $151,000;Bianco, Doris L to Trejo,Ramon Hernandez

1218 Carmelo St.; $200,000;Castellanos, Maria Lepeand Jose A to Murillo,Rafael Monroy andMartinez, Teresa Garcia

SPRECKELS— 93962108 Spreckles Blvd.;

$377,000; StandardPacific Corp to Truesdell,Michelle

111 Fifth St.; $499,000;Standard Pacific Corp toMerrill, Jonathan Steven

SalesContinued from page 4B

Experian says in the secondquarter this year, on average,17 percent of mortgages with pay-ments 60 days more or past duewere those held by calculating hom-eowners bent on a strategic default.For homeowners with loan origina-tion balances of more than $1 mil-lion, 33 percent of those 60 days ormore late were strategic defaulters,Experian says.For whatever reason, strategic

default is a risky proposition.“Not paying your mortgage will

have a far-reaching, long-lastingimpact on your ability to securefuture credit, regardless of the rea-son for your default,” said CharlesChung, Experian’s president of deci-sion analytics.If you strategically default on your

mortgage, you’ll certainly be rid of abig mortgage payment, but the bur-dens you’ll carry for years may not

be worth the savings.» Only bankruptcy is more damag-ing to your credit than a foreclosure.Even if you continue to pay yourother bills, the foreclosure remainson your credit report for sevenyears. Bankruptcy’s black markremains for 10 years.» After a foreclosure, your creditscore can drop 150 points or more,according to the leading credit-scoring system architect, Fair IsaacCorp. (FICO).A credit score is a numerical rendi-

tion of information on your creditreport. The FICO score ranges fromabout 350 to 850 — the higher thenumber, the better your credit scoreand the better shot you have at thebest credit rates and terms.» After a foreclosure, any credit andinsurance available to you will costmore and you could find it tough torent a home. Employers can’t get yourscore, but they can have a look at yourcredit report in some states, undercertain circumstances, but alwaysonly with your written consent.

» You could experience a tax hit ifthe lender forgives the differenceresulting from a foreclosure saleprice that’s less than the mortgagebalance.» You also could face legal costs ifthe lender comes after you for thedifference.» Finally, last year, Fannie Maeimplemented a policy that prohibitsstrategic defaulters from getting anew Fannie Mae-backed mortgagefor seven years from the date offoreclosure.“Some may see strategic default

as a way to get out of paying a baddebt,” Chung says. “But its associ-ated costs, like a lower credit score,higher interest rates and less abilityto secure future credits, can wipeout the financial benefit of no longerhaving a mortgage payment.”

» Broderick Perkins operates adigital real estate news service, theDeadlineNews Group. Contact him atbroderickperkins@deadlinenews.comor visit www.deadlinenews.com.

PerkinsContinued from page 1B

containers. Reusable lunchboxes or insulated sacks,washable wraps or airtightcontainers for sandwiches,water bottles, snack-sizedreusable containers andcloth napkins complete theideal reusable lunch kit.Consider the long-termcost savings and conve-nience of no longer buyingand transporting dispos-able items such as papernapkins and sacks, plasticutensils and sandwichbags.The appeal of saving a

few minutes with single-serving snack-sized foodsis understandable, butthe cost of convenienceis extremely high on ourlocal environment and

your food budget. In pack-aged and processed foods,at least 10 cents of everygrocery dollar pays forwrapping destined forthe trash or recycling.Conservative estimatesfrom the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture indicate itcosts $800 a month to feeda family of four, whichmeans potentially discard-ing $80 every month ($960a year!) in packaging.The solution is buying

family-sized portions withminimal packaging, pack-ing snack-sized portions inreusable containers, andnatural food that comesin its own wrap, like mostfruits. Weekly prepara-tion saves time and stressthroughout the week, andcan be fun when everyoneshares the duty and reapsthe rewards, including

parents setting an examplewith healthier lunches andsnacks.Juice boxes are enemy

No. 1 because they are notrecyclable, and have extranon-recyclable pieces,such as straws, wrapped inmore plastic. That’s wherereusable beverage contain-ers come in. Freezing juiceor water in a hard plasticcontainer serves a dualpurpose of keeping perish-ables cold and providing a

chilled drink.Want more ideas? Check

svswa.org. Like us onFacebook and share yourgreen ideas for back toschool!

» Alan Styles is recyclingcoordinator for the SalinasValley Solid Waste Author-ity. His column appearsthe third Friday of themonth in Homes & Living.Contact him at alanst@svswa.org.

StylesContinued from page 1B

Darius Livian (Dye-ush)Branch Manager

659 Abrego Street #1BMonterey, CA 93940831.645.1050Cel 831.402.4888Fax 877.739.0209Darius.Livian@academy.cc

Academy Mortgage Corporation is the# 1 Independent Purchase Lender in America

An Integrity-Based Mortgage BankerGreat Rates! Great Service! Raving Customers!

NMLS ID # 255341 • STATE LICENSE #255341 • CORPORATE NMLS #3113 CORPORATE CALIC. #4170013 LICENSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATIONS UNDER THE CALIFORNIARESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDING ACT

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(data source - Corlogic Market Trac - six month period ending June 30,2010)

UncommonCommitment!

AffinityProperties

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ADVANTAGE10 Katherine Ave. • Salinas

Phone: 831.424.0681Fax: 831.424.7156

18038 STONEHAVEN DRIVE18038 STONEHAVEN DRIVESalinas, 93908

3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths1394 square feet

$369,900

18038 STONEHAVEN DRIVE 16TALBOTSTREET16TALBOTSTREETSalinas, 93901

2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths1943 square feet

$349,500

16TALBOTSTREET 257 HARVEST STREETSalinas, 93901

4 bedrooms, 3 baths1983 square feet

COMING SOON

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410 10TH STREET410 10TH STREETPacific Grove, 939502 bedrooms, 1 bath621 square feet

$425,000

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Knowledge – IntegrityKen Slater - Ramon VerdinNMLS# 256653 - NMLS# 229499

831-424-4141

When is the right time to buy a Home?

When you are ready!The answer is…

Are you ready? Call us today and let us help you.

Monterey County Association of REALTORS®

www.mcar.com • Phone 831.393.8660

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Cosigning on the dotted lineTighter lender standards and an unstable job market haveghter lender standards and an unstable job market haveghter lender standards and an unstable job market ha made it tougher for some people, especially those just starting out, to qualify for ahome mortgage on their own. So, some home buyers are turning to family members or close friends with good credit to co-sign a home loan.

While becoming a cosigner may seem like a good solution, money manager and lenders caution against those who are asked to be thecosigner.

A cosigner, even if not living in the house, is really a co-borrower, meaning he or she still is responsible for payments if the occupant isunable to meet his or her obligations. In other words, if the principal party defaults on the loan, the cosigner is on the hook.

One financial planner suggests potential cosigners take a less risky alternative, such as providing a cash gift for the down payment. Undercurrent tax laws, a person can give as much as $13,000 to a person, free of gift taxes, or $26,000 per person, if a married couple filing jointlyis giving the money.

Those considering cosigning a mortgage must conduct due diligence. First, the cosigner must understand why the family member or friendis asking for help. Potential cosigners shouldn’t be afraid to look into the requestor’s personal finances to help determine whether he or shewill be able to repay the loan. Perusing credit reports also will show the track record he or she has for paying off debts.

A discussion about worst-case scenarios also should take place before signing on the dotted line. Working out a written contract containingan agreement about what would happen in the event of a default, also is recommended.

Cosigners also should keep in mind that the mortgage will show up on their credit report, and could affect their own ability to borrow moneyor buy a second home. If the principal borrower makes a late payment, that also will show up on the cosigner’s report.

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28 W. LAMAR ST.Commercial Property /Retail Space, 2200 sf building withpaved yard back on theMarket. Why pay rent to someoneelse?? GREAT OWNER /OPERATOR PROPERTY...many possibilities. 2 Bays, offimany possibilities. 2 Bays, offimany possibilities. 2 Bays, of ces, & covered wash/rack.Fantastic contractor yard! Off busy North Main St.

PRICED TO SELL QUICK!

REDUCED

PRICE 45

0,000

$325,000

UCEDPRIC

E 450,00

050,0

00

Call Norm at Norm Yop, Inc RealtorsDRE # 00407139 206-6310

DRE: #01756509

CELL (831) 809-1458

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TOP PRODUCERfor Month of July 2011

VANCO Real Estate’s Executives, Inc.

would like to congratulate

Monica Figueroa517 S Main Street #201

Salinas, CA 93901

831-809-1458 Cellurrealtormonica@yahoo.com

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