Passive Income: 10 Ideas for Building Wealth While Sitting on the Beach
MAKING MONEY WHILE ENJOYING SAND, SUN AND SURF IN SANTA BARBARA Are you interested in creating passive income while sitting on the beach in sunny Santa Barbara? There are several ways to make your money work for you. In order to get there, you have ...
9 Hidden Costs of Buying a Home
THESE ARE THE BIG ONES TO CONSIDER Are you aware of the hidden costs related to buying a house? For the unsuspecting homebuyer -- moving to a new home like the Singular Ocean View Montecito Home pictured on this blog -- these hidden costs can be tru...
How a Fed Rate Cut Could Be Good News for Luxury Homebuyers in Montecito
IS AN INTEREST RATE CUT COMING? The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to announce a Fed rate cut by the end of this month. Cutting federal interest rates, also known as the federal funds rate, could move domestic and global real estate markets in big w...
Housing Market Predictions: Moving Forward in 2019
FORBES ASKS 6 EXPERTS Forbes Magazine recently asked 6 industry experts to share their housing market predictions for the remainder of 2019. According to the article, despite earlier suggestions that a buyer’s market is on the horizon, sellers ar...
$19.1 Billion Disaster Relief Bill
THE BILL WILL HELP CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES AND OTHERS President Trump signed a $19.1 billion disaster relief bill intended to provide assistance to communities grappling with recovery from wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes. That includes those of u...
Is Information on Real Estate TV Shows Believable?
4 MISGUIDED “TRUTHS” PROMOTED BY POPULAR PROGRAMMING The HGTV effect in the real estate industry is real, but don’t kid yourself into believing all of what you see and hear on your favorite real estate TV shows is necessarily valid. Think abou...
Interest Rates: No More Hikes in 2019?
PRIME TIME TO LIST YOUR HOME IN MONTECITO Last week, the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates steady, amending earlier predictions there would be more interest rate hikes in 2019. The news came as a relief to many investors. And it gets...
Montecito Homebuyers: Should You Pay Cash Or Take Out a Mortgage?
WHAT GIVES YOU THE BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK? Montecito homebuyers sometimes ask if they should pay cash or take out a mortgage when investing in real estate. While most of my clients opt for a cash purchase, that might not be the best option for e...
Bye-bye, 2018 Tax Deductions. Hello, Loopholes
5 TAX BREAKS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED (SORT OF) The major overhaul of the U.S. tax code has left many homeowners confused this tax season. But the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) IS not as frightening as you might think with regard to 2018 ta ded...
6 Ways to Build Wealth Without Touching the Stock Market
HERE ARE SOME DIVERSE AND LUCRATIVE INVESTMENT OPTIONS There are so many ways to build wealth without relying on one of the most common wealth-building platforms: the stock market. To some, investing in the stock market might feel a bit risky today ...