Elaine King's Real Estate Blog

The Date: The first Thanksgiving was on September 8, 1565 near St. Augustine, Florida. Thanksgiving was a traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community and descended from Puritan days of fasting and festive rejoicing. Abraham Lincoln, spurred on by the lobbying efforts of writer Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed an annual national day of thanks in 1863 for the many blessings enjoyed by Americans. 

It wasn’t till later in the 19th century, though, that the popular image of the “First Thanksgiving” took root. Earlier, while the Indian wars were still raging, scenes of settlers and natives engaging in a joint gathering seemed inconceivable.

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt modified Lincoln’s chosen date of the last Thursday of November to the second-to-last Thursday of November in order to extend the post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas shopping season. J Then in 1942 FDR signed a law making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November, a law which is still in effect today.

Why a Turkey?  One story tells of Queen Elizabeth (16th century England eating a roast goose at a harvest festival, and upon hearing that the Spanish Armada had sunk on its way to attack England, the queen ordered up a second goose to celebrate the great news.  Thus, the goose became the favorite bird at harvest time in England. When the Pilgrims arrived in America from England, roasted turkey replaced roasted goose as the main cuisine because wild turkeys were more abundant and easier to find than geese.

Why Pumpkin Pie?   In 1621, at the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they ate pumpkin custard flavored with maple syrup and spices, baked in pumpkin shells.  In 1796, an American cookbook by Amelia Simmons was published. It was the first cook book that developed recipes for foods native to America.  Her pumpkin puddings were baked in a crust and similar to present day pumpkin pies.

Wishing you…  sincere Thanksgiving wishes for a day spent with loving friends and family enjoying great food.  I personally give thanks for my health, the abundance of America, for family & friends, and for the day we set-aside to give gratitude.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Happy Halloween!  Here are some spooky& sweet housing stats….

• 43% of all sales in California are REO’s or Short Sales.  Since these sellers will be credit-challenged, does that mean we lost 43% of these owners to non-ownership? 
• 33% of all loans are in foreclosure; some homeowners have not made a payment in 2 yrs.
• 30% of all mortgages in California are upside down; an additional 5% are very close. 
• Some CA cities have numbers higher (example: Hesperia is 76.9% underwater – WOW) 

How about a sweet-as-candy housing stat?  Real estate is going for half-price or more of 2006 prices and interest rates are 4%  – This is great news, so WHY NOT BUY NOW?

Friday nights at Hannah Nicole winery in Brentwood are a great way to celebrate the start of your Summer weekend.  Starting tonight,  the concert series begins at the winery when Live Wire kicks off the season.  They have over 15 years of performance experience in expert musicianship to the funkiest dance grooves and pop favorites that is sure to get you movin’ on the dance floor. 

The next concert is The Refugees – A Tom Petty Tribute band on Friday, May 27th.  Mark your calendar and come out to Brentwood for some fun evenings.

Below is a link to all Hannah Nicole events.

Happy New Year and New Decade; wishing you all a healthy & Happy 2011!

New Year’s Eve at Summerset in Brentwood was celebrated at three of the four Summerset locations.  Summerset 1 celebrated a New York New Year’s, with a early dinner and celebration of the new year at 9PM.  Summerset 4 had a New Year’s dinner dance, Summerset 2 had a “drop in” casual night of games, dancing, and pot luck munchies.  In addition, the Summerset Singles group had a party.  Enough diversity to fit anyone’s taste!

There are currently 18 homes FOR SALE in Summerset.  These numbers are down, as some sellers took this time to take their home off the market during the holidays.  Here is a link to current homes for sale.  More homes should be coming on the market in the month of January.

December 31st, also was the end of the 4th quarter.  Sales at Summerset were slow as only 13 homes SOLD during the three-month period.  75% of the homes sold were under $400K.  Here is a link to homes SOLD in the 4th quarter!

For those of you interested in RENTALS at SUMMERSET.  Here is a link to what is currently available!

Summerset, an “over 55 age-restricted” community located in Brentwood and made up of 4 communities: Summerset 1, Summerset II (The Palms), Summerset III (Vista), and Summerset IV (The Orchards).  Each community has its own HOA, recreation center, pool/hot tub, work out area, and activity director.  might have what you are seeking.  Homes were built from 1994-2005.  The homes are usually gently used, and should only need some of the items that were not necessary in the 90′s: granite, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, non-brass light fixtures, and canned lighting. Pease give me a call for a personal tour and discover Brentwood’s original active-adult community!

The Date: The first Thanksgiving was on September 8, 1565 near St. Augustine, Florida. Thanksgiving started as a traditional New England holiday that celebrated family and community. It descended from Puritan days of fasting and festive rejoicing. Abraham Lincoln, spurred on by the lobbying efforts of writer Sarah Josepha Hale, and proclaimed an annual national day of thanks in 1863 for the many blessings enjoyed by Americans. 

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt modified Lincoln’s chosen date of the last Thursday of November to the second-to-last Thursday of November in order to extend the post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas shopping season. J Then in 1942 FDR signed a law making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November, a law which is still in effect today.

Why a Turkey?  One story tells of Queen Elizabeth (16th century England eating a roast goose at a harvest festival, and upon hearing that the Spanish Armada had sunk on its way to attack England, the queen ordered up a second goose to celebrate the great news.  Thus, the goose became the favorite bird at harvest time in England. When the Pilgrims arrived in America from England, roasted turkey replaced roasted goose as the main cuisine because wild turkeys were more abundant and easier to find than geese.

Why Pumpkin Pie?   In 1621, at the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, they ate pumpkin custard flavored with maple syrup and spices, baked in pumpkin shells.  The beloved Thanksgiving pumpkin pie may have evolved from this treat.  In 1796, an American cookbook, American cookery, by an American orphan by Amelia Simmons, was published. It was the first American cookbook written and published in America, and the first cook book that developed recipes for foods native to America.  Her pumpkin puddings were baked in a crust and similar to present day pumpkin pies. 

Wishing you…  Sincere Thanksgiving wishes for a day spent with loving friends /family enjoying great food.  I personally give thanks for my health, the abundance of America, for family & friends, and for the day we set-aside to give gratitude.  

For your enjoyment here is a link to an Iroquis prayer of thanks and a fun Thanksgiving Trivia Link.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Halloween is a great time to dress up and be a kid; no matter what your age.   Do you remember the joy of putting on a costume once a year and going out at night and getting all those treats!  WOW!  Now, kids have to be careful on where they go and what they receive as a treat.

To make this time of year more enjoyable, below is some info on events taking place in the East Bay Delta Area to celebrate this Day of the Dead.  ENJOY!

Sanctuary of Evil Maze & Haunted House – Oct  24 -31 7-10PM; A corn maze, coffin ride and more.  For more info call (925)206-3339.  OAKLEY

Antioch Church of the Rock Fall Festival – Oct 30 4-7PM Carnival Games, prizes, face painting, music. For more info call (925)757-4359 ANTIOCH  www.antiochotr.org

Brentwood Trick or Treaters Welcome – Oct 31  1-6PM; Children welcome to receive free Halloween goodies.  Sand Creek & Highway 4 Bypass.  BRENTWOOD

Day of the Spooky Streets – Oct 31 noon-4:30PM  Streets of Brentwood celebrates with crafts, games and a pumpkin patch.  www.shopstreetsofbrentwood.com/events.cfm.  BRENTWOOD

Hoops & Horror – Oct 31 7-9PM A fun night of basketball, candy games and movies at the Delta Valley Athletic Club. $25.  (925)238-8434.  BRENTWOOD

 Last month, the season of giving was in full swing. Each Summerset collected groceries and personal products for 50 needy Brentwood families. Twenty-six (26) quilts were also donated by the quilt club.  In addition, by purchasing gifts or donating money, 175 local children were adopted by Summerset Palms .

New Year’s Eve was full of choices, because each Summerset had an event.  Vista had a party on the San Francisco Bay, Orchards and Palms had parties celebrating at midnight, and an “Eastern time zone” party, over by 9PM was held as SS1.  I laughed at this, but I was visiting friends out of state, and never made it to midnight. Perhaps, I will go to this party next year!

January events have crab feeds, a rock & roll concert, movie nights, a “50’s night”, book club, bingo bus trip, potlucks, happy hours, and local trips.  Each clubhouse also has a workout room, exercise classes and pool tables. Once you are a resident of Summerset, you will receive a monthly activity calendar, and can attend activities at any of the four Summerset locations.

Summerset, and “over 55 age restricted” community might have what you are seeking.  Now is a great time to take advantage of low prices and interest rates at Brentwood’s “original” active-adult community.  I love living in Summerset, please give me a call for a personal tour!

According to a recent report released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the national bank and thrift servicers implemented more than 680,000 home loan modifications and payment plans in the third quarter of 2009.  This is a 69% increase, compared with second quarter 2009.  For those who make think that we are out of the woods, please read on…

Unfortunately, the percentage of current and performing mortgages declined for the sixth consecutive quarter.  Serious delinquencies rose to 6.2% and foreclosures in process surpassed 1 million mortgages!!!  Serious delinquencies at the end of the 3rd quarter increased to 3.6% of prime mortgages; a 20% increase over previous quarter and more than double a year ago.

What I find most interesting is that more than half of all modified loans re-defaulted within six months of modification, with re-default defined as 60 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure.  Is this because they remodify the monthly payment, but not the total amount due?  If the remodified loan is still an amount of $50-250K more than you can sell the home, would that be an incentive for you to keep paying on the loan?  However, what about the ETHICAL obligation?  Comments?

HELLO EVERYONE for a fun review of 2009, click this link to enjoy the “JIB JAB” guys annual video.  As you celebrate this new year, I wish you a very HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR and here is a little history of the New Year celebration:

• New Year’s was celebrated in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago, but it did not start in the Western Nations until some 400 years ago.  
• As for noise makers, the use of noise to welcome in a new year goes back to ancient times when it was felt that noise scared off evil spirits. 
• The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886, when members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers to celebrate the ripening of the orange crop in California. I would highly recommend you visit Pasadena the week before the parade to see the volunteers make the floats; it is incredible to watch. You owe it to yourself to experience the rose bowl floats either before the parade or view the floats after the parade at the stadium where they end.  It is a real treat for the whole family!
• The song, “Auld Lang Syne,” is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700′s, it was first published in 1796 after Burns’ death.. An old Scottish tune, “Auld Lang Syne” literally means “old long ago,” or simply, “the good old days.” Here are the lyrics.

I just found that perfect 2010 calendar in my after-Christmas online shopping.  Just in case you forgot a holiday gift, I recommend the 2010 Hooter’s calendar.  Write me a line and let me know if you find other calendar’s of interest. ENJOY!