Mary MacGregor La Quinta Country Club Homes

Whenever a bank-owned home appears on the market in one of La Quinta's luxury country club communities, you can usually count the days until it's snapped up by savvy buyers.

If you are intrigued with La Quinta's luxurious Andalusia at Coral Mountain, here's an opportunity to pounce. This Baena floorplan—the second largest of the six floorplans offered—boasts 3059 square feet, three bedrooms and four baths.

The rectangular great room incorporates a sumptuous granite-slabbed kitchen with high-end appliances (the fridge is still there, rare for an REO) and 15' ceilings with clerestory windows. The formal dining room—with double-sided fireplace—has been wired if you wish to turn it into a media room or office.

A cobblestoned driveway hints at the high-end touches within. Separated garages offer both double-car and golf-cart storage.

Upon entry into the impressive foyer, your eye is immediately drawn through the home to the sweeping vista peeking beyond the floor-to-ceiling stacking sliders.

Once outside on the grand deck—punctuated by flagstone-accented Pebble Tec pool and raised spa—there's a 180° southwest vista encompassing lake, fairway and Santa Rosa Mountains. It's truly breathtaking.

The spacious master suite is accorded the same stellar views and the bath offers up a jetted oval tub mirrored by an oval paned window.

This grand home was originally on the market in 2007 for $2M. It is now bank-owned and priced to sell quickly at $849K ($27/sf). That's a cool 58% reduction in value in just four years.

HOAs at Andalusia are $636 and include clubhouse/fitness/dining amenities. There's no social initiation fee either.

Here's the 180° view from the backyard from left to right:

Read my description of Andalusia at Coral Mountain and let me know if you'd like to explore the possibility of owning a home in this amazing La Quinta country club.

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If you're interested in finding a bank-owned foreclosure in one of La Quinta's country clubs, take a look at these REO bargains in the luxury community of Andalusia at Coral Mountain.

The first, a brand new listing here in the final days of October, is a former model home—the Cordoba floorplan—now priced to sell quickly at $984,800 ($277/sf). The 3710 sq. ft. home originally boasted a Moroccan-themed interior with faux wall treatments and rich colors (seen in these original listing photos).

The old world influence is still evinced in the arched doorways, brick walls, ironwork, distressed wood cabinetry, carved wood columns, and grotto. The master bath boasts an incredible wall mosaic framing the bathtub.

The never-lived-in home features a capacious kitchen with butler's pantry, formal dining room, 24" travertine flooring, custom built-ins, coffered ceilings, and stone counters. There are dual master suites and a separate 2-room casita for indulging guests.

Huge glass sliders open up to a 700 sq. ft. covered veranda for the vaunted Palm Springs indoor/outdoor lifestyle. The home boasts one of the most impressive pools of all six former model homes, and includes in-pool stools and a submerged kitchen area.
The southfacing home has unimpeded views of the golf course, lake and encircling Santa Rosa Mountains.

The original owners paid $2.070M for the home in 2006 and it was on the market earlier this year for $1.7M. It is now lender owned and aggressively priced under $1M for a quick sale to a savvy buyer. That's a cool 52% reduction in price.
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The second bank-owned bargain is down the street and also happens to be a former model home. The Almeria —smallest of the six at 2898 sq. ft.—features a wonderfully livable great room floorplan and sumptuous master bath with prominent tub and dual-entry shower.

There's incredible floor-to-wall stonework in the living space, and lots of curved doorways for architectural interest.

The 3B/3b home includes a detached office, a private courtyard entry space, and split 3-car garages.

It, too, has a stellar southfacing orientation overlooking course, lake and mountains.

On the market a few months back at $950M, the home was just reduced this week to $799,900 ($275/sf) and should be snapped up quickly. The original owners paid $1.75M in 2006, a 55% drop in price.

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Andalusia at Coral Mountain debuted in 2006 at the height of the market and was naturally affected by the ensuing downturn. Of the 700 homes planned, about 160 have been built; construction and sales continue. According to the sales manager, three homes priced near $2M sold in the past 90 days, and the high season officially begins next month.

The first of the two Rees Jones-designed courses is in full swing, as is the clubhouse with restaurant, social and fitness fare. This is a truly spectacular development in a unique mountain-embraced setting deep in the La Quinta heartland.

If you're desirous of snagging a home bargain in one of La Quinta's premier gated communities, I'm your gal. I can also find you the perfect home, second home, or investment property in any of the Coachella Valley desert cities—Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells or Rancho Mirage.

The man who dent the universe has died. From the ubiquitous tribulations flooding the news, it's clear that Steve Jobs did make a difference in people's lives. That somewhat sententious sentiment befits this man who essentially changed the way we view technology.

Earlier this year, I finally bought my first iPhone—joining millions of users who queued up since the market-changing mobile device first debuted in 2007—and was immediately smitten with its sleek design and tactile interface. With browser, phone and email capabilities, I am no longer tethered to my desktop computer, and have also figured out how to download podcasts of my favorite shows. That's me laughing on the elliptical at the gym, listening to CarTalk through the telltale white earbuds.

I also bought the white keyboard for my home computer. Its low-slung, perfectly proportioned design is a pleasure to type on. Both of these products were packaged beautifully with succinct instructions and a dearth of distracting ink. I was loath to toss the keyboard box—with its virtual expanse of pristine whiteness—and still can't bring myself to part with the iPhone's cunningly crafted container.

Unwrapping an Apple product is just part of the overall sensory experience which begins with compelling adverts, continues through stunning Apple stores, and concludes with satisfying product interaction. It turns out, unsurprisingly, that Steve Jobs' input figured into every facet of the creative process.

When first unveiling his flagship Apple store in New York, Jobs waxed enthusiastic to the editor of PC World about the exact origin of the Italian Carerra marble. A friend who's directed the construction of each Apple store often speaks about the high-end materials and customized fixtures gathered from around the world to create the sleekly contemporary edifices.

Jobs' aesthetic predilections were evinced early on. I can wrap my creative efforts in a plethora of fonts, all because of Job's early insistence that font choice be an integral part of word processing. His love of fontography serendipitously emanated from a college calligraphy class.

I had lunch today in Palm Springs with "my Dutch guys"—Walther Kloet, an Amsterdam architect, and his partner, Robert, who own a mid-century vacation home here in the desert—and the subject of Jobs naturally arose since the world travelers are sophisticated computer users. They were actually shopping in the Santa Monica Apple store when the sad news broke and Jobs' visage appeared simultaneously on every display. The two had visited the company's Convent Garden venue—a cavernous space replete with customers shopping and sampling. Describing the aura of reverence, Walther noted astutely that "it was almost like a church."

My husband, Kirk, and I have long been Apple afficionados, going back to the original Macintosh with its smiley icon and intuitive interface. I was fortunate to work for the company in their Public Relations department, first in the late '80s and then again in the mid '90s. Unfortunately, Jobs had already left the company during my tenure and the organization plodded along under the earnest, but uninspired, leadership of first Sculley (who had been brought on by Jobs himself) and then Spindler. Amelio—with his post-Apple agologia—followed before Jobs was wisely reinstated.

I remember a co-worker describing her one interaction with the acerbic Jobs before he was ignominiously booted out of his own company. "What the hell do you do here?" he barked upon entering the occupied elevator. As an ex-cop, she was unruffled by his abrasiveness and stood her ground. When I recounted that memory to Kirk today, he remarked that it was a good thing I hadn't personally encountered the founder since I would have been completely unnerved. Too right.

Apple made insanely great computers, revenue-per-employee was huge, users were uniformly smitten, but Apple couldn't seem to gain serious market traction in penetrating the vast swath of corporate America. I have never been able to get my head around that dichotomy. It may have been the Apple name and then the prohibitive pricing that derailed mass conversion.

I admit to being one of the slightly supercilious people who pitied those who couldn't, or wouldn't, buy a Mac. To this day, I am still bemused by the fact that too many PC users still don't grasp basic computer concepts and endure file-littered desktops.

Jobs didn't waste time on such disdain. Once back at the helm in 1997, he looked beyond desktop computing to pursue other promising technologies, starting with his passion for music. He created the digital music delivery model with iTunes and the iPod. All of a sudden, everybody wanted an Apple product. With the advent of the iMac, iPhone and iPad, a global audience has implicitly endorsed the Apple operating system as well.

In paying tribute to Jobs' achievements this week, some commentators—including personal favorites Thom Hartmann and Robert Scheer—noted that Steve hadn't invented Apple's compelling products so much as brilliantly marketed them. I mentioned these belittlements while reminiscing with my girlfriend, Stacy Williams, a whip-smart high-tech consultant for the past 20 years who also did a stint at Apple in the early '90s and still writes for the iconic company.

She vividly recalls hearing a visiting Jobs speak at Apple in 1991. He'd heard such disclaimers for years in the '80s, even from his own employees who fretted about being derivative or copy cats. "Creativity is just connecting things," Stacy remembers him saying. "I found that to be such a freeing statement," she adds, and has tried to incorporate his philosophy into her own creative efforts ever since.

Jobs' pithy expression must have distilled a strong belief since he was expounding years later on it in a Wired magazine piece from 1999. Elaborating on the arcane creative process, he said that creative people often feel guilty because "they didn't really do it; they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people."

Eating dinner alfresco these past few days, Kirk and I listened to music courtesy of Pandora and my iPhone. I'm writing this blog with the assistance of my Apple keyboard and trusted Mac Mini (which graciously allows me to keep one foot in the Windows world). The blog photos of a nascent Apple-store shrine to Jobs at the Palm Desert store on El Paseo were snapped with my iPhone.

I know there are lots of Apple products in my future even if I'll never be as wired as Gen X, Y or Z.

So, I thank you, Steve Jobs, for your prescience, perspicacity and persistence!

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Fall is clearly marked on the calender as arriving this Friday. Here in the Coachella Valley, however, summer is tenaciously holding on as September contemplates October.

Ignoring the day's forecasted triple digits, my stalwart hiking companions, Sue and Mary Pat, donned poles and backpacks to join me early this morning on the season's very first hike—a two-hour tromp through our favorite patch of desert, the Coachella Valley Preserve. Watching the sun crest the mountains and spill over the prickly terrain reminded us of the incredible beauty and serenity in store for us this season.

The network of trails here commences with a vertical scale up to the top of Bee-Rock Mesa, a long, narrow ridge with stellar canyon views. At the top, we decide to veer off to the south, dropping down off the mountain top toward Hidden Palms, a hidden oasis of California Palms, the only palm native to the Golden State. The difference in temperature from parched path to cool oasis is always startling, and I'm reminded of the native peoples who learned to thrive in the Palm Springs valley by relying on shady oases and natural water wells.

As we wend through the palm grove—with its mysterious rustling sounds—I spy coyote scat. Although I finally met a coyote face-to-face a few weeks ago while playing golf at Escena Golf Club in Palm Springs, I've yet to encounter one while hiking. We did see a fox here last year; that was a thrill I'd like to repeat.

Trudging up a steep incline, Sue spots something small scurry across the path. The tiny creature turns out to be a baby Horned-Toad Lizard, an exquisite reptile who could be a stand-in for a miniature triceratops. The colorfully mottled lizard blends in so well with his native terrain that Mary Pat has a hard time spotting the hunkered-down baby.

We crest the ridge to descend the one man-made part of the trail. I'm taking one final photo before tackling the formidable stairs. All of a sudden, I notice something odd—a whitish coil of serpent tucked to the side of the path. It's a baby rattler, probably waiting for the sunshine to warm him up. Coiled in a tight bundle, he's only about 5" across. I think the snake's lighter color alerted me to his presence since his camouflage wasn't as spot-on as his lizard counterpart.

"Ladies, guess what I see?" Mary Pat and Sue dutifully clamber back up the path to ooh and aah my discovery. The rattlesnake quietly endures the photo session and no doubt wishes we would scoot.

When I return home and peruse last season's hiking notes, I am started to realize that the first, and last, time we spotted a Western Diamondback rattlesnake was on these same steps one year ago. That specimen was fully grown, in the middle of the path, poised and rattling. During that same hike, Mary Pat had also spotted our first baby Horned-Toad Lizard. I just don't get why a snake would want to be anywhere near a well-trod path in the first place. Surely, the thud of hikers' boots would scare off potential prey.

Resolving to query a Coachella Valley Preserve docent later on, we reluctantly part ways with the snake and marvel at the day's amazing animal encounters. It's a good start to the new hiking season!

Ma Kettle's home in Palm Desert is up for grabs. Marjorie Main—the domineering actress with the strident voice who appeared in numerous movies from Meet Me in St Louis to her iconic role in ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies—built her own Hollywood get-away home here in the Coachella Valley back in 1949. The sprawling hacienda-style home is now bank-owned and a veritable bargain to boot.

Located close to Hwy 111, the 8 bedroom/6 bath one-of-a-kind compound could easily slot into the rustic homes found in the Palm Springs Movie Colony, and exudes Spanish flair with Santa Fe touches. It merely needs some TLC to restore its unique charms. Resting on a huge 19,602 square-foot lot, the red-tile-roofed home boasts stellar views and two capacious casitas, each with its own complete kitchen.

From the circular driveway and panoramic window framing the Santa Rosa Mountains, to the saltillo floors, handcarved pillars and wood ceilings in the primary residence, the home features one distinctive room after another.

The previous owners did major renovations, evinced in the travertine-clad kitchen (with twig-slatted cabinets) and luxurious slate-clad master bath.

Five sets of pine French doors open from the huge great room to the veranda-shaded backyard with its additional buildings, pool/spa, and palapas-covered BBQ kitchen. There is an outdoor bathroom to complement the entertaining-ready area.

Steps from one casita lead up to an expansive skydeck with 360° views of Palm Desert. Each of the casitas is approximately 600-700 square feet and feature some remodeling as well.

I explored the property today with a colleague. Mary Pat and I were incredulous as we explored the warren of rooms and expansive yard.

Two of the vintage bathrooms are replete with tilework as pristine and glossy as the day they were laid. The vibrant color schemes are turquoise and black, and yellow and black.

The 5365 square-foot residence was on the market until earlier this year at $799K. It is now a lender-owned foreclosure (REO) and priced at only $500K ($93/sf). It hasn't been marketed correctly and has been overlooked since it came on the market in July.

This property awaits the right person and represents an amazing bargain. If you're intrigued with the possibilities, give me a call to take a closer look.

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