Matt Cabrera

In an effort to raise the necessary funds to complete the long-planned La Pata/Vista Hermosa Community Park, the City Council of San Clemente has approved the sale of 14.8 acres of land adjacent to the development's site to Target. According to this article in the San Clemente Times, the sale will be for $13.8 million, with all proceeds from the sale contributing to the construction of the park. If the deal is finalized, this will bring the total alloted amount of money set aside by the city for the park to $32.8 million, which covers the $32 million cost estimate of constructing this new park.

Obviously this is fantastic news for San Clemente residents and visitors. The corner of Avenida La Pata and Avenida Vista Hermosa has long displayed signs of this proposed project, but like the long-delayed Marblehead Coastal development, the money has not been there to begin and finish construction. Now that the City Council has approved the land sale to Target, not only will residents and visitors be able to enjoy the various sports' fields and state-of-the-art aquatic's center, but San Clemente will be gaining a great store in Target. This will add more jobs to the area, both in construction and running the new Target, which can only be a good thing in these tough times. The park will be a fantastic addition to the city of San Clemente, and a new Target is just icing on the cake.

To learn more about the La Pata/Vista Hermosa Community Park, including the proposed layout and features of the park, please visit this website.

To combat a large budget shortfall in the parks department after the new California state budget was recently adopted, state parks have decided to increase their fees to raise money in an effort to prevent closures of up to 100 parks. In yesterday's Orange County Register, this article highlighted the increases pertaining to San Clemente State Beach. Day use camping has increased by $5 per day, and tent camping sites have increased by $10 per day. RV camping saw the largest increase, going from $34 to $60 per day.

While price increases in a bad economy are never a good thing, in this case the ends definitely justify the means. One of the great things about being a California resident is our access to a variety of campsites and recreational areas throughout the state. From the mountains to beach camping, this is a relaxing and affordable way to take a vacation and makes California such a great places for residents and visitors alike. With California in a budget crisis, the state legislature had to make cuts to a variety of areas, including $14.2 million from the parks department. Facing potential closures of up to 1/3 of the total state parks and recreation areas in California, the department was left with no choice but to increase fees. To risk the closing of 100 of these natural treasures is something this state should avoid at all cost. I for one would be very disheartened if my wife and I would lose the ability to take our yearly camping trip to San Clemente State Beach. Even though we now have to pay a little more to enjoy this fantastic place, the thought of losing the ability to go there at all makes the extra cost an easy decision and investment into our struggling parks department.

For more information on California state park fee increases and potential closures, please visit the parks department's official website.

According to the San Clemente Times, NY Firm D.E. Shaw has bid $195 million to buyout some of SunCal Properties, including Marblehead Coastal, after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Marblehead Coastal real estate will be one of the last new developments along the Orange County coastline and encompasses 247 acres on the western side of Interstate 5 between Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida Pico. The hearing regarding this bid is expected to occur in October. Hopefully this will bring back life to this fanastic development to come offering custom lots with ocean views, villa style homes, and new upscale dining and shopping.

For more information about Marblehead Coastal, please visit our page exclusively dedicated to this new development or give your exclusive San Clemente realtors a call at (949) 281-5444

According to the San Clemente Times, a group of San Clemente residents are planning legal action against the City of San Clemente if they do not resolve the increased level of train noise due to the pedestrian crossings along the Beach Trail from North Beach to Calafia. There are currently five beach crossings along the path and as mandated by Federal Law in 2006, trains are required to sound the horns no matter the time of day when crossing over these pedestrian crossings. The group QUIET - Quit Using Intense Ear-Splitting Train noise) is not after money, but rather is after the peace and quiet so they can get a good night sleep along this beautiful stretch of ocean front San Clemente real estate. The head of the group claims the city of San Clemente knew about the issues and failed to take any action. The solution is to underground the pedestrian passes so the trains would no longer have to sound their horns along the coastal corridor, each of which would cost around $500,000 or $2.5 million in total.

For more information, please visit the City of San Clemente website.

If you own San Clemente real estate, including Talega real estate, and are deliquent on your payments, you may qualify for a mortgage modification under the Obama administration's housing stabilization plan. According to the article on CNN "Mortgage modifications are happening. Get Yours", the following five simple steps are all you need to complete in order to stay in your San Clemente home or condo:

1. Visit the website MakingHomeAffordable.gov where everything you need to get started is located
2. Take the quiz to find out if you are eligible, meaning you bought your house before January 1, 2009, it is your primary residence, you owe less than $729,750, your payments are more than 31% of your monthly gross income, and you are deliquent on payments. If you qualify based on these requirements, an eight item checklist of paperwork will need to be completed.
3. Complete all the required paperwork
4. Call your lender or the company you write your monthly mortgage check to and find out if they are participating in the plan, and if they are, you will be required to fill out an application and submit your documents
5. Wait for approval. During this stage the lender will decide how to reduce your debt by either lowing your interest rate, extending the term of the loan, or reducing the amount you owe. The lender will first bring your debt balance down to 38% of gross income and then the government will cover the rest by bringing it down to 31%. Your loan will now be rewritten, you will sign new paperwork, and the new payment will go into effect on the next bill. This can take several weeks to a month.

For more information on this program or about San Clemente real estate, please do not hesitate to contact us!