Michael A. Caruso ~ Orange County Real Estate

I think most of us would agree that something needs to be done to shore up the financial markets. But let's look at the core of the problem. It seems to me that the root cause of the economic slowdown is sliding home values. I know there is a lot of blame to go around: People who took out loans they shouldn't have; loan officers pushing exotic loans. But come on, let's stop assigning blame and just fix the problem.

Maybe the federal government could infuse money into the banking system for the sole purpose of refinancing loans at a rate that is realistic to today's home market. I know that seems radical to some. But not anymore radical than giving Wall Street people $700 billion with little oversight.

This solution doesn't help Wall Street, but it does help America and the homeowners that work hard to keep our economy going.

For once I'd like to see our "Average Joes" be the winners.

What do you think? Comments are welcome.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.

Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI

2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

Cities nearly everywhere have some concerns about construction of cellular towers to carry signals to all of us hopelessly addicted cell phone users. Irvine California has now extended its ban on cellular towers, recently extending the moratorium on cellular towers for yet another year by unanimous vote of the city council.

Obvious opposition comes from wireless companies but what about the citizens? More and more citizens are foregoing land lines in their home and running all calls through their cell phones...now that is a concept I can understand. As a business owner I receive 70% of my daily phone calls on my cell phone...even when I'm sitting in my office, which has numerous land lines! You know why? Because people think "I can always find him on his cell phone".

So, it may be time for creativity with cell phone towers. How about camouflage to make them look like tree? You know... that artificial Christmas tree look?! I think it could work. Then...everyone wins! More towers, not unsightly to look at, and better cell phone reception.

We've got a lot of creative people out there...how about a few ideas?

Your comments are welcome.

And thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.

Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI

2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

Huntington Beach hopes to use Talbert Lake (now an 8 acre dry bed) as an opportunity to gather run-off water before it hits our ocean. The plan would creatively capture about 1 million gallons of urban polluted run-off water per day and the natural filtration system of the lake would cleanse the water and make it viable for possible irrigation use.

Ideally, mother nature helps this process as debris is screened at the channel diversion, shallow water areas allow UV rays to kill bacteria, microbes help turn heavy metals into insoluble deposit that gets trapped into peat and then... clean water flows into the lake.

I'm sure the plan will be checked carefully, especially because it can cost about $5.5 million to take on this project, but the benefits include 1 million gallons of less than desirable water not flowing into our ocean every day...and that is a big deal!

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.

Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI

2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

I love having plants at my office and in my home. I'll admit that I have a few silk ones too. And silk plants require some work...cleaning them. They look real and they add a nice touch but the real plants are cool...and they are a living thing. But, we're all busy people and I like indoor plants that look great but don't require too much maintenance.

Here are a couple of ideas for your plant selections...

Rather than just pick something that catches your eye, think about the location where the plant will be placed, how much nurturing the plant will require, how regularly it will need water. Then think...do you have the time to address all those things, so that the plant will not die.

When you figure out the location for the plant, you will also then know how much sunlight it receives and that will help you understand how frequently the plant will require water and vitamins.

When at the plant store or nursery look for the healthy plants, read a little about that plant and ask questions while you are there. Make sure the plant has a good drainage pot. When you get that plant back to the office or home, don't overwater, because that can kill the plant. And to create a larger impact, consider plant groupings.

Thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.

Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI

2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors

A recent Martha Stewart article had a light go for me and I wanted to share several tips...

One topic discussed coffee grounds going down a sink drain and the advice was never to do this. Coffee grounds are course and gritty (no matter how fine they've been ground down) and can get stuck in the drain trap, where they can lead to a drain back-up. Even if those grounds made it through the drain safely, they can cause damage further down the line. Advice is don't do it! Well, I also thought it is OK to place some coffee grounds in plant soil. Strike 2 for me. The best alternative for coffee grounds going into the drain or into your plant soil is to include them into a compost pile which can later serve as an excellent soil additive.

Another topic was electrical lamp cords under carpets. Walking over the carpet can create wear on the electrical cord leading to the cord fraying after time and this creates a fire hazard.

Just a couple of ideas which I hope you'll find helpful. For more info you can visit marthastewart.com

And thank you for making me Your Orange County Real Estate Connection.

Best regards.

Michael Caruso, broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GRI

2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors