Anne's Land

Local Resource List for Homeowners in HPOZs

If you own a home in a historical preservation overlay zone (HPOZ) and are looking for resources that might useful, the following are from my Melrose Hill HPOZ Preservation Plan.  Please let me know if you have additional ones to include.  Negative experiences are also welcome so that I can modify the list accordingly.

A great web site with other tips is www.preservation.lacity.org

Download hpoz_rehabilitation_guide.pdf

Download HPOZLivingPamphlet.pdf

Architectural Lighting

Engineered Lighting Products
10768 Lower Azusa Rd.
El Monte, CA 91731
(626) 579-0943

Historic Lighting
114 East Lemon Ave.
Monrovia, CA 91016
(626) 303-4899
www.historiclighting.com

John Levy Lighting Productions
727 W. 7th Street
Los Angeles, CA  90017
(213) 629-9949

Rejuvenation Lamps & Fixture
2550 N W Nicolai St.
Portland, OR 97210
(888) 401-1900
www.rejuvenation.com

Custom Cabinets

Steve’s Custom Cabinets
Steve Mauch
(661) 268-1527

Casting

Moonlight Molds
17110 S. Main St.
Gardena, CA 90248
Tom Takahashi
(310) 538-9142

Hardware

Crown City Hardware Co.
1047 N. Allen Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104

Liz’s Antique Hardware
453 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA  90036
(323) 939-4403

Iron Work

National S.O.S. Iron Work
2023 West Gage Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Chon Eastburn
(323) 778-3896

Fire Repair

V&M Restoration
4985 E. Landon Dr.
Anaheim, CA 92807
(800) 451-5380

Flooring

M.F. Bolster Flooring Co.
5020 Bleeker St.
Baldwin Park, CA 91706
Merrill Bolster
(818) 960-0661

Maurico Vallejo (wood flooring)
1848 E. Walnut Creek Pk
West Covina, CA 91791
(626) 332-6848

Furniture Refinisher / Wood Restoration & Repair

Daniel LaShone
(323) 725-0550
Cell (626) 755-682

Painters

Mimi Feldman (decorative)
(213) 760-0271

Plaster / Masonry

Spectra
(800) 375-1771

Stained Glass

Artistic Designs
650 Rose Ranch Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92069
(800) 339-6259

Judson Studios Stained Glass
200 S. Avenue 66
Los Angeles, CA  90042
(323) 255-0131

Lighthouse Stained Glass
5155 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA  90038
(323) 465-4475

Stairs

Taylor Brothers Stair Co.
1305 W. 132nd St.
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 324-4973

Tile Restoration

Mercury Tile Company
845 Meridian St.
Irwindale, CA 91706
Joe Sepe
(626) 932-1261

Malibu Ceramic Works
PO Box 1406
Topanga, CA 90290
Bob Harris
(310) 455-2485

Mission Tile West
wwww.missiontilewest.com

Tin

Classic Ceilings
902 E. Commonwealth Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92831
(800) 992-8700

Windows & Doors

Fox Studios
10201 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Staff Shop (310) 369-2712
Mill/Molding (310) 369-7873

Hammond Sash & Door Co.
1649 S Central Ave.
Glendale, CA 91204
Bob Maestas
(818) 507-1308

Paramount Pictures
Wood Molding Department
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Mark Lecompte
(323) 956-4242

Stock Window and Door
Steven Kahlenberg, Mgr.
Sash & Door Department
(818) 502-1859

Wood Window Repair

Taylor Brothers Architectural Products
2934 Riverside Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Steve Donovan
(323) 805-0200

Vent Vue Window Product
2424 Glover Place
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 225-2288

*Note:  No endorsement is implied by inclusion on this list and no disapproval is suggested by omission from it.

10 Ways to Save Money

With the current economic changes, a small shift in our behavior can make a big difference.  Today I went shopping for a "new" outfit in my own closet. I pulled out an old skirt and top I had not worn in years and I'm feeling as sassy!  I forgot how much I liked this polka dot number.  Last week I painted my own nails and saved $35!    So, when a friend sent this list to me today I was excited and wanted to share it with you.

1. Check your insurance policies for ways to lower premiums by raising deductions
2. Switch to generic brands where possible
3. Reduce your dining out habits
4. Join retailers' free rewards or loyalty programs
5. Replace one monthly movie date with one "at home" video evening
6. Redirect a portion of any pay increase to a savings account
7. When paying bills, make a "payment" to yourself and deposit this money into a savings account
8. Eliminate two trips to your favorite coffee shop each week
9. Review your phone and cable plans, looking for ways to get less expensive packages.  We recently did this for our business and lowered the bill over $300/month!
10. Call your credit card companies and inquire about a lower interest rate

More tips at www.YourMoneyCounts.com. Or, for tips on how to both save and become more "green" at www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html.

Please share your "frugalicious" story with me!

Why do mortgage rates seem kind of high?

I read this explanation in a newsletter from one of our partners and I thought it might be useful to you in real estate or other business endeavors involving interest payments.

"One perspective is in order to fund the rescue and the new government guarantees, our Treasury must sell more new Treasury securities to raise money. And the Treasury has to offer higher interest rates to sell them. On top of that, mortgage related bonds always trade at a slightly higher yield due to the prepayment and delinquency risk. Lastly, the cost of financing mortgages has increased for Freddie and Fannie due to the plan for the FDIC to back the newly issued, unsecured debt of some banks. Obviously by guaranteeing bank debt, the government is making that debt more attractive for investors, and consequently creating more competition for Fannie and Freddie when they look to sell their own securities. To compete for buyers, the mortgage giants will have to raise their own yields - and to pay for that they'll have to charge borrowers higher interest."

Yes, the rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages are inching up. But keep this in mind… they are coming up from historical lows. In fact today’s rates are some of the lowest ever.  The chart below shows the rate of a 30 year fixed mortgage since 1971. Note where we are today compared to 1979-1990 in particular.
                   

                    Source:  freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm                     

Thanks for reading! I value your thoughts and opinions, so please feel free to leave a comment.  Or, contact me if you have any questions or need help.  If I do not have an answer, I can likely find someone on our team who does.

Some thoughts on markets

One of the most turbulent weeks in financial history has come to a close. The Dow was off 20% for the week and Friday marked the most volatile day in the stock market's 112-year history when the market swung over 1,000 points.  Throughout last week and weekend I am sure everyone was fixated to the markets and watching their investments decline. I know I was glued to the news and could not help but think back to Stuart Gabriel's Macro Economics during my first year as an MBA student at the Marshall School of Business at USC.  Gabriel, who has since left to be the Director of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, was among the most clear-headed professors I ever had.  Even though he has traded his cardinal and gold for Bruin blue, I still appreciate his wisdom and perspective in these times of turbulence.

I thought it might be helpful to share some of his wisdom from yesteryear which still has meaning for me and hopefully will help you too.  One of his most memorable lessons was about markets, how they stalled and how intervention restored their functioning.

In the 1970's, the US experienced a stagflation crisis.  Paul Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve under Carter, ended the crises by limiting growth of the money supply, abandoning the previous policy of targeting interest rates.  He was hugely unpopular at the time because the change contributed to the recession in the early 1980's and the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression.  He suffered strong political attacks and the most wide spread protests in the history of the Fed.  Yet, under his leadership, inflation, which peaked at 13.5% in 1981, was successfully lowered to 3.2% by 1983.  Volcker restricted the dollars in circulation which was tough medicine for the market and hard to swallow for the country, but ultimately was effective for the ailment.

Our financial markets seem to have stalled due to a lack of liquidity and the government is beginning to intervene to try and get buyers and sellers back to trading.  During these times, I have found stepping back and reviewing fundamentals has helped me better understand what is happening and what it could mean for the future. I thought it might helpful to review fundamentals including some definitions of markets.

What is a market?

A market is a structure that allows for one thing traded against something else.  It can vary in size, organization, geography, etc.   Modern life revolves around markets when we go to work, the grocery store, fill up our gas tanks or trade on E-bay.  Buyers and sellers are the participants and play distinct roles with the ultimate goal of consummating a transaction.

How does a market work?

All buyers and sellers of a good or service come together to evaluate it and influence its price. This presumes of course that there is transparency and a reasonable assurance that the value of the good or service will be the same or better after the trade.   In economics, a "free" market is one in which the government makes no attempt to intervene through taxes, subsidies, minimum wages or price ceilings etc.

When does a market not work & why?

Markets function properly when both parties are rational and have sufficient information to arrive at a price for the good or service that is mutually acceptable.  The buyer must have confidence to part with something of value in exchange for something else.  The level of negotiating power held by the buyers affects the function of the market.  For example, when there are many buyers (demand) and limited supply of a commodity, a single buyer has less leverage and prices rise.   When supply outpaces demand then prices generally fall.

Market can become volatile and even freeze when fear, anxiety, vengeance or other emotions come into play.  If a buyer looses confidence he may withdraw from the market or become irrational in his behavior.  Sellers on the other hand may still need to sell or chose to because they do not think that the picture will improve.  In these instances, prices drop.   When many buyers and sellers behave in a similar fashion,  a herd mentality can occur and once the selling wave starts, it can be really hard to stop.   Yet opportunities abound in all markets.  Warren Buffet has long said "Be greedy when others are fearful" and "Be fearful when others are greedy".

Investor Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffet's personal mentor, published "Should Rich but Losing Corporations Be Liquidated?" following the Great Depression. Graham calculated that more than 1 out of every 12 companies on the New York Stock Exchange, were selling for less than the value of the cash and marketable securities on their balance sheets. An investor could theoretically take over, empty out the cash registers and the bank accounts, and own the remaining business for free.  Today, nearly 1/3 of all stocks tracked by Standard & Poor's Compustat are now trading at less than eight times their earnings over the past year -- or at levels less than half the long-term average valuation of the stock market as a whole. Nearly 1 in 10 stocks trade below the value of their per-share holdings of cash -- an even greater proportion than Graham found in 1932. This appears to be a great buying opportunity if you have the cash.  After sitting on the sidelines with ample cash, Warren Buffet has recently invested $3 billion in Goldman Sachs and another $3 billion in General Electric in spite of market trends.

There could be similar opportunities in the residential real estate market. In the short run, qualified buyers are better positioned that they have been in nearly 10 years to acquire a home where they want at the price they want. Plus with interest rates remaining low, the long-term cost will not be as great either.  Another potential long-term advantage, is that home prices tend to rise with commodity prices.   Prices of commodities like copper, steel and cement are commanding sky-high prices and the Producer Price Index is up 39% over the last 5 years. Using this logic, one could conclude that the increasing costs of raw materials will eventually push home prices higher. As housing is the ultimate commodity made up of materials like steel, wood and copper that combined with the cost of land and labor become a store of value for every commodity that has gone into a home's construction.  This tangible quality makes it a fundamentally different kind of investment than a stock or a bond.  It is a great way for you to stay ahead of inflation, plus you have the enjoyment of living in the home and creating lasting memories with your loved ones!

Wishing you all the best during these trying times. Hope this makes some of what is happening a little clearer.   Please let me know what you think.

PS - The stock market was up over 900 points today (+11%)

If you need more space in your home here's an innovative way to take care of it

Conventional water heaters use storage tanks to store hot water until it is needed. Tankless units use gas to heat cold water as you use it rather than warming it up and then storing it.  There is no pilot light constantly burning.  Therefore, tankless heaters reduce energy consumption.  According to the US Department of Energy, the average home that uses approximately 40 gallons of water a day can become 24-34% more energy efficient with a tankless water heater saving, on average, $200 a year.

Tankless units are smaller and easier to handle and hang on the wall to free up floor space. Most are the size of a medicine cabinet and can be installed on the exterior of your property.   Some places that friends have saved spaces include basements, pantries and laundry rooms.  I love mine and now have space for a recycling container in my laundry room.

The typical cost to purchase and install a tankless systems ranges between $1,200-$1,600, which can nearly be twice as much as a traditional tank.  Note that prices have been coming down.  The typical payback is 6-8 years if you assume a $200 energy savings per year. 

A few other points to consider:
•    Ask your plumber to verify that your current gas line, size, and length can provide sufficient gas flow to the unit.
•    Think about the size of your household and your usage needs to determine whether tankless will best meet your needs. 
•    Some systems do require a recirculation pump depending on how far the water must travel from the unit.

Additional Resources:
•    Energy Solutions Center www.energysolutionscenter.org/
•    U.S. Department of Energy www.eere.energy.gov/
•    Green Home Guide www.greenhomeguide.com/
•    Rebates from So. California Gas www.socalgas.com/residential/savemoney/

I'd love to hear from you if you have any experiences that would help others!