Buyers are Buying from actual Sellers?  What???  Yes, it's true.  There is a definate change in the La Quinta real estate market.  Sellers are actually getting offers that are "in the ball park", not ridiculously low.  Partly because Sellers in the La Quinta area now have enough comparables to get a really good feel for what to price at..if they listen to their Realtors.  The La Quinta area was hit very hard with the huge reductions in home values driven by the over-extension of loans, and over-building of homes all within a few miles of each other.  The newer developments came crashing down over the past 3 years..dropping and dropping until they have now pretty much settled where Buyers are willing to purchase.  I am actually seeing reduced inventory in many developments in La Quinta a... 04/06/2010

Homes at PGA West The luxury of Palm Springs and the peacefulness of LaQuinta can describe PGA West homes. This private, master-planned community is only minutes away from Old Town La Quinta and offers six challenging golf courses. Host to numerous tournaments, PGA West has been referred to as "The Western Home of Golf in America."                                 In total, there are 109 holes of golf throughout PGA West. The six golf courses boast top-name designers like Dye, Weiskopf, Greg Newman, Palmer and Nicklaus. From the newest course designed by Greg Norman to the Scottish-style Weiskopf course, each par-72 course offers unique challenges and highlights. The Pete Dye-designed PGA West TPC Stadium Golf Course has earned awards including Golf Magazine's one of the 100 Greatest Cou... 04/05/2010

Duna La Quinta near the La Quinta Resort is home to sun, tennis and golf lovers! Surrounded by the picturesque fairways of the La Quinta Hotel Mountain and Dunes golf courses  privately owned homes and condominiums provide gracious  accommodations in the luxurious setting of the world famous La Quinta Resort and Club. The La Quinta Hotel originated in 1926, nestled at the foot of the majestic Santa Rosa mountains, with 20 casitas and the Coachella Valley's first golf course. It inspired Frank Capra's film It Happened One Night and immediately became the preferred Shangri-La retreat for Hollywood's Golden Era stars including Greta Garbo, Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, William Powell and Erroll Flynn. In recent decades the reso... 04/04/2010

  The Hideaway Golf Club in La Quinta, California..boasts dramatic vistas of the Santa Rosa Mountains as its backdrop, The Hideaway Community is an unparalleled refuge of understated luxury and privacy. Designed to meet the unique needs of each buyer’s individual lifestyle, The Hideaway’s 446 residences are divided into three main property types: Custom Homes, Bungalows and Villas, and Homesites. A variety of fine finished Custom Residences, already designed and constructed by master builders on Hideaway Homesites, provide the most luxurious entry to embracing the Hideaway lifestyle.   At the heart of Golf Club activity, a limited collection of luxury Bungalows nestle together in an elegant, private shared village environment. Nearby, single-family Villas form another similarly quaint s... 04/04/2010

There are a good number of homes for sale in the La Quinta Cove... and alot of great deals!  The La Quinta Cove has a very diverse mix of architectural styles, fabulous views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, and a wide-range of prices. Many investors are finding the homes for sale in the La Quinta Cove are a terrific opportunity to invest in real estate and either fix-up the homes or lease them out.  I have several clients currently looking in the La Quinta Cove for opportunities to invest and purchase homes in California at the bottom of the market.  Not only are there short-sales, and forclosures-- many regular sales are incredible buys! The home below is a popular "Santa Fe Style" with a pool in the front courtyard.  There are many Santa Fe's  up in the cove that have been built after a ... 04/02/2010

Who's fault is it?  Banks or Homeowners?  This is an interesting article stating the rebuttal to " let them lose their homes and the free market work it's magic."  I bought in 2004 and the loan I was told to use was a piggy back loan.  I didn't understand it very well, but it seemed logical and I had read the articles by Greenspan and listened to my own local Lender explain that I didn't really need to put anything down at all.  I did because I had the money to do so.  I was also encouraged to take out a "pre-approved line of equity" because you never know when you may need it.  The Lenders were willing to "pre-approve $150,000!"  This would have been a HELOC.  This is where so many got into trouble.  THey may not have intended to use that money, but when they saw how much their house w... 04/01/2010

Fairway homes close to Old Town La Quinta are easy to find with help from Kathy Schowe, and the Lori Bowers Group! If you are looking for a fairway home with a great location close to Old Town La Quinta... look no further than La Quinta Country Club, Duna La Quinta, The Citrus, Mountain View Country Club, or The Hideaway.  Each of these fantastic Golf Course communities has their own unique qualities and a huge variety of homes and price ranges.   La Quinta Country Club is a private equity club with a brand new 37,000 square ft Clubhouse and a Championship  18-hole Golf course.  The Bob Hope Classic is played each year at LQCC and you can watch the PGA pros go by from your fairway home here!                                   Duna La Quinta is another wonderful development where you can ... 03/29/2010

   Old Town La Quinta is the place to place to be in the desert!  There are so many reasons to head to Old Town La Quinta when you visit the southern Califonian desert.  Main Street, lined with restaurants, boutiques, cafes and shops. At Old Town, you can pass the day with friends, run a quick errand or relax at a sidewalk Café,  get a massage, or shop to your hearts content!  Old Town is alive with outdoor concerts, art shows, seasonal activities and a weekly organic Farmers' Market. Located west of Washington  and south of 52nd avenue. Restaurants in  Old Town La Quinta are a reason enough  to come here!   Classic Devane's Cuisine featuring Western American Fare & Timeless Italian Specialities. An extended bar menu offers an enticing array of small plates. The lunch menu features a va... 03/29/2010

Reducing delinquent loans to current market values;  JUST DO IT!  It seemed very apparent to me and many other Realtors slogging the streets every day, meeting with Sellers considering their options as they could not make their mortgage payments, consoling them, truly wishing we could help them, that there is a solution!  Reset their mortgage payments to current market value!  I know that Sellers that have taken Income reduction or that are just re-evaluating the "smartness" of continuing to pay a mortgage on a property that has lost 50% of it's value, would most likely stay in their homes.  Set the loans to current market value plus a small % so the Lenders would feel it was worth their time, and JUST DO IT!  The longer we allow the banks to call the shots, to keep properties on their ... 03/27/2010

La Quinta Country Club homes enjoy the views and vistas of the majestic Santa Rosa Mountains, amazing golf course views and a great location close to Old Town La Quinta!  Nestled between Washington Street and Eisenhower Drive, the neighborhood is filled with a mix of well established and new homes.  With such a beautiful backdrop... who would not want to live here?     The La Quinta Country Club has developed a fine reputation since the Club opened in 1959.  The founders took 130 acres of sand and sagebrush and said, "We are going to create a country club that will be unequaled in the Coahella Valley."  Through the years and efforts of many , the La Quinta Country Club has become a well established and highly regarded private equity Club, boasting on of the fiest golf courses anywhere, ... 03/25/2010

Golf Course properties in La Quinta, California are becoming more and more affordable!   With the multitude of properties on the market in the entire desert area, more and more golf course properties are becoming available and the prices are enticing buyers from L.A. to Canada!  Now is the time to come  to the desert if you have always wanted a fairway view and a home situated on a Golf Course. La Quinta California is home to over 15 Golf Courses and the homes boast powerful views of the Santa Rosa Mountains, lush green grass, and over 325 days of sunshine every year.  Who would not want to live here?  In the winter, a typical day starts with the temperature in the low 60's and rises to the mid 70's or 80's in the afternoon.  The cool desert nights are wonderful for sharing a toast arou... 03/25/2010

Animal Charity Event (K.A.S.E) was a huge success @ Mountain View Country Club in La Quinta,Ca.  For many months The Lori Bowers Group a boutique style Real Estate Brokerage has been working hard to plan, organize and put into action this amazing charity event for animals. The organization that was chosen to be the recipient of honor was K.A.S.E which stands for Keeping Animals Safe Everyday. K.A.S.E.(Keeping Animals Safe Everyday) is a 501 C (3) organization that is dedicated to improving the welfare of injured, lost, abandoned and otherwise homeless animals. They assist with medical treatment, training and rehabilitation of injured, lost and abandoned animals and exert every effort to insure they have full and happy lives in La Quinta, Caas well as the entire Coachella Valley. The Lor... 03/24/2010

Short Sales have their problems, but it appears there is one more..who's taking money to get the Short Sale done!  As a Short Sale agent, I work hard butting heads with Lenders and their negotiators every day.  Trying to convince them that releasing the liens is a better way to go than steamrolling the Sellers into a Foreclosure which benefits NOBODY.  The Senior Lien holder is the only one to get ANY payoff and it is usually the same or less than I can get them if they negotiate a Short Sale!  But..there are always sneaky people.  Some lien holders in 2nd position are trying to "scam the system" by asking for $ outside of Escrow.  I see their point, but too bad..you MUST deal with the Seller and his/her agent and try to figure out how to get a small pay off BEFORE foreclosure.  The fol... 03/23/2010

    We had a great time at the first annual TASTE OF LA QUINTA! According to the Desert Sun... the event was extremely popular!  Can't wait for next year!   The La Quinta Chamber of Commerce held its first Taste of La Quinta on Saturday on Main Street in Old Town La Quinta. During the one-day event, attendees could purchase a block of tickets to sample food for $25. The tickets provided 15 food samples per person — and sold out two hours into the event, officials said. The brainchild of Bruce Franklin, chairman of the La Quinta Chamber of Commerce, the Taste of La Quinta attracted people from across the Coachella Valley. Our favorites were the braisesd short ribs over fingerling potatoes, with crispy sweet onions-- provided by Morgan's at the La Quinta Resort... and the ceviche tostada ... 03/21/2010

We were planning a wildflower trek in Joshua Tree National Park but revised our plans when we discovered the springtime flora wasn’t quite ready for her close-up. So, my companions: husband Kirk and Palm Springs friends, Lou and Michael, decided to try our luck out in the Mecca Hills north of the Salton Sea, a destination high on my hiking to-do list.Our back-roads journey there took us through the flip side of the desert’s upscale country-club ambiance deep into the agricultural heart of the Coachella Valley. Lou and Michael were fascinated by the endless acres of produce, date farms, and grapes (table grapes are the number one agricultural product). I jumped out of the car at one point to ascertain a crop of leafy-crowned carrots.After bumping along a 4-mile dirt road, we arrived at t... 03/20/2010

Taste of La QuintaMain Street - Old Town La QuintaSaturday, March 20, 201012 noon to 4 p.m.Plan to attend this new event featuring tapas from 19 La Quinta area restaurants and a selection of more than 50 wines. Tickets for Taste of La Quinta are $10 for wine tasting (5 tastes) and $25 for food tasting (15 tastes). Old Town restaurants participating include:  Devane's, Hog's Breath Inn, Old Town Cellar, Stuft Pizza and Viva! Other restaurants include:  Adobe Grill, Applebee's, Arnold Palmer's, Cafe Posada, Desert Sage, El Ranchito, Harry's Oklahoma BBQ, Jake's Pizza, Louise's Pantry, Morgan's of La Quinta, Rosati's, Souplantation, Surf City Squeeze, The Beer Hunter and Tortilla Express.   Stop by and see us at The Lori Bowers Group on Main Street! Visit livethedesertlife.com for more fun... 03/19/2010

Are you inviting people who have influenced you to join ActiveRain?  Not only is it a great source of points... more importantly--- You can encourage those great mentors and teachers to enhance our AR community.  Share the knowledge and share the experience with all of us! I sent this AR invite to one of my favorite instructors at Desert Cities Real Estate School--   Hi John,I was in your class several years ago-- and now work with the Lori Bowers Group in Old Town La Quinta.  I am working really hard to get established as a Real Estate expert in La Quinta, and at La Quinta Country Club.   I have really found a great community of Agents on this ActiveRain network... and I think you would be such an amazing contributor.  I would love to be able to read your contributions to the AR commun... 03/14/2010

The La Quinta Arts Festival is halfway through its 4-day event March 11-14 so if you're in town for tbe prestigious tennis tournament at the Indian Wells Stadium, make a detour to sample delectable art in a stellar outdoor venue. Food vendors, this year wine from La Quinta's Old Town Cellar Wine Bar, and lots of unusual musicians.   The 28th annual event, ranked 8th among the nation's fine art festivals, is produced by the non-profit La Quinta Arts Foundation to raise money for elementary-school art education as well as college scholarships. Held at La Quinta's Civic Park, the lake-oriented venue showcases art on grassy verdure against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. 230 of the nation's best artists converged this year to display contemporary art spanning the artistic spectrum. I d... 03/12/2010

La Quinta Resort...Prime Time On The Plaza Another great way to start your weekend, this evening at La Quinta Resort... 5 PM - 7 PM, "Prime Time on the Plaza" with Candice Aragon.  And more tickets to give away at 6:30 to the Tennis Tournament now underway in Indian Wells.. And tonight -- another very special treat.  You've heard of the Bryan Brothers -- the number one doubles champions in the world!  Well, they also have a band!  And they'll be playing between 7 and 8 at La Quinta Resort.  It's going to be a big evening -- so please join us.. 03/12/2010

Be sure to mark you calendars for the "Taste of La Quinta on Main Street Old Town La Quinta" event scheduled for March 20, 2010. As one of the founding members and supporters of Old Town Artisan Studio, I would also encourage you to check out their studio while you are enjoying the Taste of La Quinta event. Old Town Artisan Studio is a place where "anyone" curious about working with clay in sculpting or pottery can try their hand at it, or take one of many lessons to see if they enjoy working with clay. They also provide a great charity service to youth, special needs and seniors in the desert valley. You can check them out at www.OldTownArtisanStudio.Org This Taste of La Quinta event will feature tapas and wine tastings provided by La Quinta area restaurants and will be held on Old Tow... 03/12/2010