I was out and about in Woodland Hills today and noticed a billowing cloud to the north. It had the faintest amber hue to it. The air felt murkier. And I’ve seen snippets of ash fly across the sky.

So I checked around the news for local fires and as of 10 a.m. this morning, the fires have been burning out by Porter Ranch. Porter Ranch is located in the northwestern part of the San Fernando Valley, a little over 10 miles north of my residence. The area is characterized by hilly terrain, winding streets, and tile roofed-homes circa the 1970′s. And if you’re living in Porter Ranch, your family is likely in the six-figure income bracket.

I hope the homes in the area are safe from the fires. If you’re just curious, take a look at the real estate below.

11487  Twin Hills Ave./4bd, 3bth/2,861 sq. ft./$680,000

11690 Seminole Circle/4bd, 3bth/2,552 sq. ft./$749,000

11743 Doral Ave./4bd, 3bth/2,276 sq. ft./$925,000

About two weeks ago, I got a pamphlet in the mail. It was the information guide for Measure R. Measure R adds a half cent sales tax increase to LA County and will pay for lots of goodies, like street repair, light rail transit expansion, and bus line improvements. According to the LA County Metro, the average increase in expense per year to the average Joe Commuter or Jane Driver is $25. Measure R comes on the ballot in November.

Are you kidding me? Twenty-five bucks? I’m sold! I’d pay twenty-five bucks a year to reduce traffic, cut down on smog, improve the streets, and make an efficient public transportation system available to the masses.

Think about it this way. If you buy $5,000 a year in taxable stuff, you’ll currently pay $412.50 in sales tax (8.25%). If you pay the tax hike of half-a-cent for measure R, you’ll pay $437.50 in sales tax. Take a look at the proposed rail expansion projects (Click map below). It would be much easier to travel from parts of the San Fernando Valley to the rest of Los Angeles.

Curbed LA has a mention in their blog about the proposed measure. LA Times says “Yes” on R, while a few naysayers say “No“. What do you say?

When all is said and done, how does your monthly budget look? Do you have money left over to save or are you living beyond your means every month?

I’ve been keeping track of what I spend money on and it’s a real eye-opener to see where all the cash goes. I use the Monthly Home Budget chart that’s part of my Microsoft Office programs. But I’m sure there are plenty of other software choices out there that can help keep track of monthly spending habits.

One family in Granada Hills spends beyond their means every month. Kim Shekerlian and Stan Monterrosa have a combined take-home pay of $4,600. Their mortgage is $1,850. And judging by their budget list, they really don’t spend extravagantly.

Click the chart below and take a look at how they spend their money.

The couple’s story comes out of an article from the Daily News.

Just for kicks, I thought I’d check out what types of homes you could afford in Granada Hills for the same mortgage that Kim and Stan are paying. I’m assuming 20% down ($75,000) on a $375,000 house with a 6.25% interest rate for a monthly payment of $1,847 and some odd change.

15946 Lahey St./4bd, 2bth/1,383 sq. ft./$345,000

11219 Gaynor Ave./4bd, 2bth/1,399 sq. ft./$369,950

11130 Whitman Ave./3bd, 2bth/1,537 sq. ft./$390,000

By the way, the above listed homes are all part of best-ranked elementary school in the area (according to GreatSchools.net) – Danube Avenue Elementary School.

So you all know that they signed the bailout bill last Friday, right? The provisions in the bill include measures that are supposed to help owners avoid foreclosure. But the bill isn’t exactly what I wanted to write about today.

Instead, I wanted to share this with you.

I went back to one of my favorite real estate blogs, BusinessWeeks’s Hot Property, and found an interesting little post. Peter Coy, who wrote JPMorgan’s “Cheats & Tricks”, uncovered an older article that speaks volumes about the mentality that got us into this mortgage mess. There was a memo that got sent through JPMorgan Chase’s email system. The memo details how loan representatives can get Zippy (the Chase loan underwriting system) to approve loans that otherwise would be denied to applicants.  Well, the alleged author did get fired (she maintains her innocence in the article) and JPMorgan did issue a statement that the memo was not representative of corporate policy. However, it’s easy to see why so many homeowners are in such a financial mess with friendly mortgage brokers to help along in the process of spending beyond their means.

OK. Just go ahead and read the memo. Feel free to let me know what you think.

ZiPPY Cheats & Tricks…

If you get a “refer” or if you DO NOT get Stated Income / Stated Asset findings…. Never Fear!! ZiPPY can be adjusted (just ever so slightly)

Try these steps next time you use Zippy! You just might get the findings you need!!

• Always select “ALTERNATE DOCS” in the documentation drop down.
• Borrower(s) MUST have a mid credit score of 700.
• First time homebuyers require a 720 credit score.
• NO! BK’s OR Foreclosures, EVER!! Regardless of time!
• Salaried borrowers must have 2 years time on job with current employer .
• Self employed must be in existence for 2 years. (verified with biz license)
• NO non-occupant co borrowers.
• Max LTV/CLTV is 100%

Try these handy steps to get SISA findings . . .

1) In the income section of your 1003, make sure you input all income in base income. DO NOT break it down by overtime, commissions or bonus.

2) NO GIFT FUNDS! If your borrower is getting a gift, add it to a bank account along with the rest of the assets. Be sure to remove any mention of gift funds on the rest of your 1003.

3) If you do not get Stated/Stated, try resubmitting with slightly higher income.
Inch it up $500 to see if you can get the findings you want. Do the same for assets.

It’s super easy! Give it a try!
If you get stuck, call me . . . I am happy to help!

Tammy Lish
(503) 307-7079
tammy.d.lish@chase.com

Do you remember being 19? At the time I was 19, I made enough money from my part-time job to cover the expenses of my clothing needs. I had a roof over my head. (Thanks, Mom and Dad.) And I was happy with that.

But if you’re 19 and a starlet in Hollywood, you make enough money to buy much, much more. In the case of High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens, her job buys her a $2,750,000 house in Studio City. How’s that for a first house purchase?

Here’s an excerpt from the LA Times Hot Property Article.

The house, old-world Tuscan style, has a city lights view. There are six bedrooms and 6 1/2 bathrooms in 5,200 square feet. The property has a Pebble Tec pool and spa, waterfalls, cabana and a barbecue island. The kitchen has Thermador appliances and copper sinks. There is a wine cellar with glass doors and Mexican wrought iron.

Apparently, even Miss Hudgens got a deal on her new home – if you can call it that. The home was on the market for nearly a year and was most recently listed at $3,299,000. If you break it down, the home comes out to $529 a square foot.

There are a handful of properties in Studio City that you can get in the same price range (if you’re curious or are just loaded.) Here are a few I wouldn’t mind owning.

3297 Wrightwood Dr./4bd, 3.5bth/4,082 sq. ft./$2,699,000

3725 Goodland Ave./6bd, 5bth/5,473 sq. ft./$2,995,000

11540 Kelsey St./5bd, 6bth/5,870 sq. ft./$3,349,500

I was checking my inbox recently and found the latest info on foreclosures from Property Shark. Last time I wrote about foreclosures back in September, I noted that parts of the San Fernando Valley topped the charts for number of foreclosures in the Southern California area. Here is a brief list, so you can see which areas have the most foreclosed homes for the third quarter of 2008:

Taking the #3 spot for the second time in a row is Sylmar with 301 trustee sales.

Pacoima keeps the #4 spot with 290 trustee sales.

Reseda is new to the list, taking the  #11 spot with 225 trustee sales.

If you’re interested in the chart, click on it to enlarge.

I also combed the report for other areas I thought some of our readers might be interested in. These are all Q3 foreclosure numbers.

Encino (91316): 68

Encino (91436): 15

Sherman Oaks (91403): 33

Sherman Oaks (91423): 33

Woodland Hills (91367): 63

Woodland Hills (91364): 57

West Hills (91307): 45

West Hills (91304): 110

Back in September, a reader asked if I thought the stats indicated a firming market in West Hills (91307). Given this latest foreclosure report, the fact that the number of houses for sale is only declining slightly (perhaps due to seasonal influences), and the fact that the charts still show the sold price per square foot to decline, I would have to say we’re not at the bottom yet. (Some of you might be saying, “duh!”)

What are your thoughts?  Are any of you actually finding bargains in the foreclosure market? Please share.

In today’s news, it’s all too common to see features about green (environmentally friendly) housing, green products, and green ways of living. But what I really like to see is ways folks can go green and save money, too. After all, with the high cost of home ownership, every little bit helps. And if you’re saving for a down payment, changing a few things in your lifestyle that can save you thousands over the next few years is a good thing.

I spotted this article on Yahoo! recently. It’s got some good tips in there. And most of them are things that we can easily do. I’ll give a recap of four of my favorite tips and just how much you can save in five years. But do take a look at the original list for the full story.

1. What you can do: Keep up with your regular car maintenance.

How much it costs: $130 for every 15,000 miles

How much you’ll save in five years: $1,186.52

2. What you can do: Keep your foot off the accelerator. (Speeds over 60 mph and frequent braking and accelerating blow your gas mileage.)

How much it costs: Not a cent

How much you’ll save in five years: $2,236

3. What you can do: Keep the hot water at 120 degrees F.

How much it costs: Nothing

How much you’ll save in five years: $2,242

4. What you can do: Keep the thermostat low during wintertime and high during summertime.

How much it costs: Nothing

How much you’ll save in five years: $1,200

Anyone ever travel out to Toluca Lake? An old college friend of mine lived there years ago and I went to go visit her home once or twice. Toluca Lake sits on the southeastern part of the San Fernando Valley. Other than visiting my friend, I never really had much reason to go there. But Toluca Lake is central to some great places of exploration like Warner Brothers Studios, Universal Studios, and Griffith Park.

Recently, the LA Times Hot Property Blog reported that Producer/Director David Barrett bought a traditional two-story home there for 1.2 mil. The home comes with 2, 530 square feet, four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a small saltwater pool. The home was formerly owned by Toluca Lake Tennis Club owner, Randy Landsberger. Barrett’s credits include “Cold Case”, “The Bionic Woman”, and “Smallville”.

Homes can range from $223,950 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo to 7.8 million for a six-bedroom, nine-bathroom sprawling resort of a mansion (13,000 square feet) on an acre of land. Single-family homes average $509 a square foot with a median price of $949,000. Condos average $342 a square foot with a median price of $494,900.

Now, I’ll leave you with my Toluca Lake real estate picks for this week.

More For Your Money: 10757 Hortense St., #107/3bd, 3bth/1,141 square feet/$245 a square foot/$280,000

Price Drop Alert: 4944 Ledge Ave./4bth, 2bth/2,407 sq. ft./$875,000 to $849,900

New Market Listing: 10635 Landale St./2bd, 3bth/1,758 sq. ft./$509,000

One of my favorite resources for what’s going on in the market (beside Redfin) is DataQuick. It’s where I go to see the monthly reports on how many properties sold in a month, for how much, and whether the market is up or down from last year.

So now, the results for August are in. So I thought it would be a good time to look at how the various markets in the Valley were doing overall. Here’s the snapshot of single-family homes that sold.

Calabasas home prices are down 28.8% year-over-year for the month of August. Seven homes sold with a median price of $1,155,000. The median price per square foot came out to be $320.

In Encino, there’s a huge disparity between the 91316 and the 91436 zip codes. In the 91316 zip code, where the homes tend to be north of the Boulevard, 21 homes sold with a median price of $627,000. Prices dropped 7.5% from last year, bringing the median price per square foot to $394. The pricier 91436 zip code came down 16% from last year with a median price of $1,050,000. There were 14 homes that sold with a median price per square foot of $372.

Moving east in the Valley, we get to Sherman Oaks. The 91403 zip code, which lies mostly just east of the 405, dropped 23.8% from 2007. There were 11 homes that sold at a median price of $738,000 and a median of $470 a square foot. Moving still further east to the 91423 zip code, the median price goes up to $968,000. And the year-over-year actually went up 8.2% while the median cost per square foot was $385.

Studio City budged very slightly from last year. The median price moved up .5% to $1,025,000. There were 20 homes that sold at a median cost per square foot of $473.

Want a little more value for your dollar? Then head back west over to Woodland Hills. The overall price difference between zip codes north and south of the Boulevard have become less so. Interestingly enough, there were 20 homes that sold in the 91364 zip code (south of the Boulevard) and the median price ended up at $593,000. August prices dropped 23.4% from last year with a median price per square foot of $324. The 91367 zip code (north of the Boulevard) dropped 21.4% to a median price of $570,000. There were 23 homes that sold with a median price per square foot of $302.

Back on September 11th, I wrote about a fixer property that sold on Callicott in Woodland Hills. Well, it looks as though that fixer that was off the market is now back on the market. And at more than a $10,000 reduction. What happened? It appears as if the deal fell through.

According to my real estate source, the buyers wanted a $12,000 credit to upgrade the plumbing. The folks who put down the offer apparently felt it was a buyer’s market and that they should have been able to get what they wanted. The seller did offer up some cash, but ultimately, it appeared that the buyers were still going to haggle over more repairs on the house. In the end, the deal went kaput. Well, that’s the way it goes every once in a while in real estate.

If you’re in the market for fixers in nearby West Hills, here’s a few around the Callicott home you might want to consider.

7410 Sale Ave./3bd, 2bth/1,153 sq. ft./$370,000

23740 Welby Way/3bd, 2bth/1,570 sq. ft./$450,000

8031 Jason Ave./4bd, 3bth/2,450 sq. ft./$515,000

The one on Sale Ave. is a short sale. Although short sales can be a bargain, more often than not, the wait to hear back on an offer can be pretty long. And that’s if you even get an accepted offer. Anyone who has dealt with a short sale want to share? Good experiences or bad?