Rose Osman

I took this photo this morning, initially because it caught my attention on my drive to the office. I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious, but the sign made me think. As self-employed people, we like to believe we have good judgement but so often we are our own worst enemy and often don't take the right path in our decisions. So, not be be facetious or disrespectful, how would God do real estate?

Bell Canyon equestrian community is a guard gated neighborhood offering custom built homes on minimum half acre lots, with property prices starting from $649,000. The scenery is breathtaking and there are miles of beautiful trails for the hiking and trail riding enthusiast, and a baseball diamond and playground located in the park close to the creek. The HOA dues for Bell Canyon equestrian community are surprisingly reasonable and the community is located within the Las Virgenes school district.

If you want to live close to nature, but within easy driving distance of Los Angeles, Bell Canyon equestrian community is a wonderful place to reside. It's not unusual to spot deer, rabbits, coyotes or hawks and although you don't have to be a horse enthusiast to live here, the opportunity to ride is certainly available to you. Bell Canyon offers a full service equestrian center with professional riding instructors and horse trainers, and can accommodate up to 120 horses. The center offers a jumping arena, a dressage court, a round pen, a large turnout arena and smaller sun pens. For more info, visit www.Bellcanyonstables.com.

Bell Canyon is located approx five miles from the 101 freeway and close to The Commons in Calabasas, an outdoor plaza offering restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques and other stores. There is also a farmers' market each Saturday morning in Calabasas, so living at Bell Canyon provides every convenience possible.

For more info on Bell Canyon real estate or any other equestrian real estate, please contact me and I'll be happy to help you with your real estate needs!

Browsing through my closet lately I noticed I had many business outfits I no longer wear, mainly because they don't fit me any more! A search online brought me to www.dressforsuccess.org, which is an international non-profit organization committed to fulfilling the Dress for Success mission of promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women, through career development and employment retention. Dress for Success solves the catch-22 that confronts disadvantaged women trying to enter the workforce: without a job, how can you afford a suit? But without a suit, how can you get a job?

That's where we come in: this organization accepts donations of new or gently worn professional clothing, shoes, jewelry, scarves and other accessories appropriate for the office. The closest location for me is at 1680 N. Vine, Suite 900, Hollywood, CA and they are open for donations on the second Saturday of each month from 9:30am-12pm, so that's where I'll be headed next week. I'll also let my John Aaroe Group colleagues know about this organization so that I can collect more clothing donations.

For more information, visit their website at www.dressforsuccess.org

Is it odd that I often feel sad at the end of an escrow? Yes, there are some clients that you never want to hear from again, the ones that were so unpleasant to work with that you'd like to change your cell phone # and e-mail address so that they can't find you after the escrow closes. But I'm talking about the buyers and sellers that you become friends with, the ones you go to bat for, that really trust you and have 100% confidence in your abilities to guide them through the often stressful process of buying or selling a home, the ones that actually listen to you! A 30 day escrow can consist of 17 days of roller coaster nerves with inspections, negotiations, etc, followed by a few quiet days if you're lucky, followed by a week or so tying up loose ends, signing loan documents, and final walkthroughs, leading up to the final realization that this has really happened for them, and this is when the excitement kicks in - it's a house and its theirs! I always meet them at the property as soon as the close is official, and I hand the keys over, and then I drive away leaving them with their new home. Oh I know, I'll be checking in with them within a day or so to see how everything is going, but there's always that feeling of sadness that I'm no longer needed! Does anyone else feel this way?!

On my way to a home inspection in Northridge this afternoon, I passed this sign and couldn't resist doubling back to take a photo! Any questions? No, I didn't think so!