Sharron Thomas & Nancy Borecky

We all want to decorate, but this year we may all be a little strapped for both money and ideas. Here’s a seasonal tip from American Home Shield Inc:
Hoping to get your front lawn into the holiday spirit? It’s all about simplicity and natural elegance

Turning your front lawn into a wonderful winter landscape doesn’t have to be a major undertaking. Just a few choice accents and holiday-inspired ideas can do the trick: here are a few ideas to get into the spirit. No need to tackle them all – any one of the following tips can be used to create a tasteful touch of holiday cheer.

Dress your windows by filling window boxes with cedar and boxwood boughs and sticking baby’s breath sprigs into blocks of florist’s foam. Your cut greens will typically survive through the winter if you ensure that the boxes are not in direct sunlight and brought indoors if the temperature drops significantly. Winter-hardy evergreens, like dwarf conifers, are available in a variety of textures and colors. For deeper boxes, plant evergreen shrubs or small cypresses and garnish them with small white birch branches or pinecones.
A vintage sled is the perfect rustic touch perched near your front door. Lean it up against an adjacent wall and decorate it with pinecones, red bows, wire stars or a string of tiny white lights for added holiday spirit.
No antique sleds lying around? Simple wire baskets placed on the porch or near the front door (filled with winter greenery and pinecones) can create a simple yet festive holiday welcome with a natural appeal.
Garland is a winter holiday must-have. If you’re fortunate enough to have either an old-fashioned lantern post or a white picket fence (or both; a picturesque base for any winter scene), wrap rolls of garland around or through them and they’ll really pop against a fresh snowfall.
On your porch, echo the green garland theme from your fence but use even more detail. With thin wire, weave in an assortment of pinecones, durable outdoor ornaments (save the delicate ones for indoor decoration), magnolia leaves and red winterberries. Ornamental kale can add a colorful burst of natural beauty as well.
Retrieve your wheelbarrow from the shed and use it as a holiday prop on the lawn by filling it with some potted plants (like evergreen). Even better: adorn them with mini-strings of white lights.
A wreath is a classic visual element at this time of year. Put a modern spin on the holly wreath by using tiny green apples. Weave bunches of leaves onto a wire ring, push florist’s picks through the apples and stick them into the wreath. Add the requisite huge red ribbon to finish the look.
If you do have bigger landscape plans, or you feel your front lawn could use an overhaul, now is the perfect time of year to launch your project. According to landscape designer Joel Loblaw from Earth Inc., planting new bushes and trees at this time of year is a great idea but, like puppies, they aren’t just for Christmas. “Think about shape, size and structure prior to planting,” says Loblaw. “Don’t overpower the surroundings with a tree that will destroy your garden in 20 years. Plant material like Serviceberry bushes are ideal to plant right now and the impact is immediately delightful. But you have to think about how what you plant now will fare next year and in the seasons to come.”

According to the California Association of Realtors webline Fannie Mae last week launched a Spanish version of its HomePath.com Web site designed to help more potential homeowners who speak Spanish purchase Fannie Mae-owned properties.
The new Spanish Web site mirrors the English version of HomePath.com, featuring an interactive search tool of Fannie Mae-owned properties nationwide, details about HomePath® financing, a mortgage payment calculator, property alerts, and information on foreclosure prevention and the Making Home Affordable program.
For more information about HomePath, visit www.HomePath.com and click “En Español”, or for direct access to the Web site in Spanish, visit www.es.HomePath.com.

The following was published in our weekly “C.A.R.’s Market Matters”  in which they quoted the New York Times:

KEEP THIS IN MIND

• Earlier reports show that sales of existing homes nationwide rose last month for the third consecutive month, while sales of new homes increased in June by the largest percentage in eight years, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) and the U.S. Commerce Dept., respectively.

• Although some skeptics believe the market is pausing before home prices decline further, the median price in California’s housing market appears to be stabilizing. June marked the fourth consecutive month of rising home prices and the second largest gain on record for the month of June, based on statistics dating back to 1979. The year-to-year decline in June also was the smallest in the past 16 months.

• The S&P/Case-Shiller price index for 20 cities showed a half-percent gain when May was compared with April. It was the first month-over-month increase in the index in 34 months. “It is very possible that years from now we will say that April 2009 was the trough in home prices,” said Maureen Maitland, vice president for index services at Standard & Poor’s.

• One explanation for the increase in median prices is the rise in demand from buyers, especially first timers taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit, which expires in December. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) is lobbying for the tax credit to be extended and to be replaced with a $15,000 credit for all buyers.

• Another factor in the market’s resurgence is the prevalence of foreclosures, which make up about a third of all existing home sales. “Although another surge of foreclosures is expected later this year, demand remains strong, so the market may be able to absorb more distressed properties without significantly impacting the median price,” said C.A.R.’s Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

Welcome to your new blog website! This is your first post. Login to the admin and edit or delete it, then start blogging!