San Diego, CA

Finally, San Diego got some rain. Over 2 inches of it in most places. But don't let this lull you into thinking that the need for water conservation has somehow ended. It hasn't.

The reservoirs are very low, there are going to be cutbacks in the supply of water we purchase, the water rates are going up again and we will not be able to fill the need for water.

So what does all this mean to you the consumer here in San Diego? It spells the greater possibility of M-A-N-D-A-T-O-R-Y water restrictions.

For a lot of years running, San Diego, in fact all of California's population has been exploding. Developments of every sort are filling up the land. People have been migrating in large numbers to California. Meanwhile, we haven't added one sustainable drop of water to the supply.

It has to strike you ( sooner, if not later ) that with our droughts and no other means for water, at some point there won't be enough to spread around. Thinking you might need to shower with bottled water from Costco? Not going to happen. Beside those poly-whatever kind of bottles are piling up in the landfills and they are not biodegradable. But they are made of chemicals aren't they? Disaster looms on that issue but that is another post for another time. Back to the water shortage and the need for conservation.

There are ways to cut back on consumption voluntarily, if there is any hope of stretching supplies. So it's either we do it voluntarily or it will be mandated. The former would be preferable to having your water supplies cut off or greatly curtailed.

Here are 10 easy ways to help you curtail excessive water usage.

• When running water to get to the hot water - don't let that water go down the drain. Capture it in buckets for use on your plans for your landscaping.
• Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.
• Fix leaking faucets or toilets that continue to run.
• Take shorter showers.
• In all flow restrictors on all faucets and showers.
• Replace the old toilets with new low flow toilets.
• Cut your yard watering down by one half.
• Use a car washing service that recycles their water use.
• Use the dishwasher only when full - same with the clothes washer.
• Replace a portion on the lawn with drought resistant plants and use mulch around trees and shrubs to keep the moisture from elaborating.

Be sure to scroll down for titles and quick links to some of my other blog entries.

Inspired by nature? Join the Inspired By Nature Group.

Classical music lover? Join the Classical Music Group.

Want to share a good book? Join the Active Rain Book Club.

Some of Jim's blog entries

1. Wow! Nice underwear
2. Your digital camera can do so much more than just take pictures
3. Holding an open house with fleas
4. Make every Friday "Backup Friday"
5. If you needed to hide from someone, could you do it in today's world?
6. Loose lips don't always sink ships. Sometimes they just make you smile.
7. How much sleep do you get each day?
8. 10 ways to get rich, courtesy of Warren Buffett
9. Home safety for children: Why let them be injured or killed?
10. Is it okay to climb a tree on someone else's property?
11. 22 ways to earn thousands of dollars
12. And the greatest of these is LOVE
13. Are you a food label reader?
14. Experienced vs. Newbie. Yes, there is a debate and, yes, it does continue.
15. Excessive furnishings and storage create fire hazards
16. Please help me identify this type of architecture. Craftsman? Victorian? Modern?
17. Private, gated, fenced, coded subdivisions
18. What's in a name?
19. Did you put that on the disclosure form? "I didn't think I needed to."
20. Are you prepared for an emergency?
21. Tuesday laugh session with the "treadmill kitty cats"

Don't pass up this opportunity! Located on a quite street. Newer exterior paint, covered patio. Hardwood flooring. Nice size lot. Bank Owned. This home is being sold in its current as is condition. No repairs.

Estimated payment $590/mo, based on 20% down, 6.25% interest over a period of 30 years.Potentianl rent $1400 - $1600.

For more information, visit our website http://www.sdmyhome.com/
To schedule a private tour of this home, please e-mail or call today!
Mark Kunce, 619-957-4969, Century 21 Horizon
San Diego My Home Team

From now until January 9^th, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they are suspending foreclosures, pending the full implementation of a streamlined loan modification program. Loan mods as they are known, is the process by which a homeowner can "workout" a mortgage that better suites their income and ability to pay.

The new streamlined loan modification process is scheduled to begin around the middle of December and they are expected to ultimately prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures over time. But during this holiday period, Fannie Mae estimates 10,000 homeowners and Freddie Mac estimates another 6,000 homeowners will be helped by this suspension of foreclosures. This temporary suspension will give Fannie, Freddie and programs like New Hope along with approximately 27 other mortgage services ,time to get the streamlines process guidelines fully worked out and then to quickly begin implementation.

Foreclosure attorneys for both Fannie and Freddie were advised to contact as many homeowners as possible that were scheduled for foreclosure sale between Thanksgiving and Jan9th of this suspension and that no evictions were to take place at all during this period.

The simplified guidelines as we understand them for the modification process will be for those homeowners that are currently occupying their home and that are behind at least 3 months on their mortgage payments and have not already filed for bankruptcy protections. The other details will be announced when ready.

This action to suspend the foreclosures for the 6 week holiday period will give at least some relief for providing an opportunity to many of these homeowners to qualify for a loan modification. Not to mention the emotional relief of being able to remain in their homes over the holidays.

In other related news, it was reported here in San Diego county that Foreclosures in October had dropped 37% from September. According to the research team for Data Quick, the state senate bill that was signed into law in July but became effective in September, requires that lenders do more to try and help homeowners stay in their homes.

Like measures have been passed in many areas around the country and regretfully the results have shown that the slowing in the number of foreclosures is temporary. The loan modifications help with lowering the payments but not with the debt and therein is the problem of why these loan modifications only slow down the process. If the home is worth x and the loan is y, when y exceeds x, most of the long term incentive has disappeared.

Unless property values stop the free fall and begin the slow assent to increasing in value, the longer term issue of these foreclosures will most likely remain with us for some time to come.

The days are still getting shorter, the evenings and nights colder, and rain and snow often blanket the outside world. That means that many young children will have to play inside. Don't let inside play time become tragic during the holidays.

Yet another story in the paper this morning -- this one from Las Vegas -- about a television falling off of a dresser and killing a four-year-old boy.

Please, please, please secure those televisions so that they can't topple or be pulled over. It used to be that televisions were heavy and that the mere weight and fall could injure or kill children. Don't think that these newfangled plasma televisions are any better. Many of them are just as heavy, and with a nice think profile, when it falls, it can literally slice right through the body of a young child.

Please?

Be sure to scroll down for titles and quick links to some of my other blog entries.

Inspired by nature? Join the Inspired By Nature Group.

Classical music lover? Join the Classical Music Group.

Want to share a good book? Join the Active Rain Book Club.

Some of Jim's blog entries

1. Wow! Nice underwear
2. Your digital camera can do so much more than just take pictures
3. Holding an open house with fleas
4. Make every Friday "Backup Friday"
5. If you needed to hide from someone, could you do it in today's world?
6. Loose lips don't always sink ships. Sometimes they just make you smile.
7. How much sleep do you get each day?
8. 10 ways to get rich, courtesy of Warren Buffett
9. Home safety for children: Why let them be injured or killed?
10. Is it okay to climb a tree on someone else's property?
11. 22 ways to earn thousands of dollars
12. And the greatest of these is LOVE
13. Are you a food label reader?
14. Experienced vs. Newbie. Yes, there is a debate and, yes, it does continue.
15. Excessive furnishings and storage create fire hazards
16. Please help me identify this type of architecture. Craftsman? Victorian? Modern?
17. Private, gated, fenced, coded subdivisions
18. What's in a name?
19. Did you put that on the disclosure form? "I didn't think I needed to."
20. Are you prepared for an emergency?
21. Tuesday laugh session with the "treadmill kitty cats"