My Company, LaRocca Inspections, had a team of walkers and runners at the annual Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic 5K/10K Race. I wanted to share the info with Active Rain about the cause www.Saynotodrugsrace.org Here are some photos of "TEAM LAROCCA" this past Sunday after the race! GROUP SHOT (Not pictured: Stan Tabor, Pam Glazier, Sara Ambrose) Me & our Marketing Director (and race coordinator) April Kass What a great looking family! (Left to right: Amy Richeson & boyfried Rory Foley, Chris Richeson & girlfriend Cheryl Kinnard, Amy and Chris's parents Sue & Mark Phillips) We had a great time at the race, it happens every December at Griffith Park in Hollywood, CA Maybe we'll see some more Active Rainer's there next year! John LaRocca - President LaRocca Inspections www.LaRoccaInspect.c... 12/18/2008

12/17/2008

Did you know that in the United States, over 75% of carbon dioxide emissions result from gasoline consumption for personal cars? Join go green environment being a part to help save the environment by purchasing a new or used fuel-efficient hybrid car or any car that is considered environmentally friendly rating by the Environmental Protection Agency and get rewarded on green auto loan!"AutoLoan123.net is pleased to announce a new offer called Go Green Auto Loan for new and used auto loans to help you do your part in preserving the environment." Go green auto loan rewards citizens who drive Eco Friendly and environmentally friendly vehicles by reducing their auto loan interest rates up to 0.50% APR. Interest rates on green auto loans are determined according to how green your vehicle is.... 12/16/2008

Another cold day in the Los Angeles area. Fortunately, not a cloud in sight. Here are the forecasts for today: Santa Monica, CA 41°F Current:CloudyWind: N at 0 mphHumidity: 95% Today56° | 43° Wed54° | 41° Thu56° | 43° Fri58° | 45° Beverly Hills, CA 43°F Current:CloudyWind: N at 1 mphHumidity: 84% Today56° | 43° Wed54° | 40° Thu56° | 43° Fri58° | 43° Los Angeles, CA 41°F Current:CloudyWind: N at 0 mphHumidity: 95% Today56° | 43° Wed54° | 40° Thu56° | 43° Fri58° | 43° Malibu, CA 43°F Current:CloudyWind: N at 0 mphHumidity: 83% Today50° | 40° Wed47° | 36° Thu52° | 41° Fri61° | 43° Los Angeles, CA 45°F Current:Mostly CloudyWind: N at 0 mphHumidity: 82% Today58° | 43° Wed58° | 40° Thu59° | 43° Fri61° | 43° Hotsheet New Listing Updates: Playa Del Rey - 1 condominium Westchester - 2 houses Pac... 12/16/2008

As the land buying and selling community knows, I am one of the Top Land Listing & Selling Realtors in the greater Los Angeles area. Not trying brag, just stating facts. I have sold more vacant land from Mt. Washington to Malibu then any other Realtor in the past twelve year's period.  Selling Land in today's Real Estate Market has its own challenges. There are fewer buyers and there are fewer lenders willing to lend on vacant land and the inventory is confusing. Too many agents are not familiar with how to properly price land, and then add to that, they know even less on how to price land in a Soft Real Estate market.  With that said, I would like to let Sellers of vacant lots know:  If you receive an offer, (in California that consists of approximately thirty pages including disclosur... 12/14/2008

Loans that you get for buying a car are called auto loans. There are two parties involved in auto loans usually, those being the lender and of course the borrower. The lender and the borrower then enter into an agreement where the lender agrees to give a certain amount of money to the borrower for buying a car of their dreams. The borrower has to then return the money with interest after an agreed upon period of time.Apply For No Credit Check Auto Loan....!!If you do not happen to have enough money to buy a vehicle, auto loans are an easy option for helping you buy the car without having to pay from money directly out of your pocket. It's simply just a form of credit by lending party of a banking institution.You will of course need to pay back the easy or new auto loan on completion of ... 12/14/2008

Lupe Soto Realtor & Loan Expert FHA & Conventional loans, First time buyers and savvy investors. Burbank Real Estate & Homes for Sale.  San Fernando Valley Real Estate & Homes for Sale, Antelope Valley Real Estate. Buyers First Step to Homeownership is to be pre-approved       Buyers first step to homeownership is to be pre-approved   1: You will save much time, effort and heartbreak by knowing exactly how much home or condo you can afford and can concentrate on your price range. If all that the buyer can afford is a $280,000 home, the time that the buyer wastes on looking at homes in $300,000-$350,000 range can be utilized better by looking at properties in his/her price range. 2: In the current realestate market condition, the chances are great that the buyer will end up buying a fore... 12/14/2008

Shop Smart: Eco Gift Festival An environmentally conscious consumer gift show with live entertainment, an organic food court and on-site eco gift-wrapping and shipping. Or go downtown: Buy cool stuff from 200 independent local designers at Unique Los Angeles. Fri-Sun 10a-8p. Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica (310-390-2930). Enter promo code "rundown" for $5 off $20 ticket price here. Parking $8. Nearby: Cora’s Coffee Shoppe; Capo; Anisette Brasserie Mickey Rourke's Return: The Wrestler sneak preview The actor gets high marks for his portrayal of a washed-up pro wrestler in Darren Aronofsky's latest, which won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. Q&A: The director and his star will be on hand for a discussion following the screening. Sun 7p. Billy Wilder Theater, Hamme... 12/12/2008

What do Studio 54, Area 51 and Hanger 25 have in common? Why they are all cool places to hang out with space age innovations!! Most of you know Studio 54 was the hip happening disco and party ground zero in New York in the 70's. Area 51 is/was the secret space station where aliens were supposedly studied and a secret alien aircraft was stored. Hanger 25 you ask, why that is the cool new "green" airport hanger in Los Angles!                                   Hanger 25 reportedly cost about $17 million dollars and has the latest space age"green" technology! This is the new 60,000SF hanger at the Bob Hope Airport. It has green features; rooftop solar panels which provide enough energy to run all the buildings lights and recharge various ground equipment. It can also fully power a plane whi... 12/11/2008

Used Auto LoanThe following guide will take you through the various aspects that go with purchasing the right used auto financing. After buying yourself a home, buying a automobile is the second most expensive purchase that most people are ever likely to make in our lifetime so it's very important we get it right. Variety is indeed the spice of life.The number of cars that are available today can easily add the spice one needs for their daily travels. There are literally thousands of different cars available, but how do you know which is the best one for you? To be able to better determine the car that will meet your needs, be sure to first take the time to carefully identify your current and future driving needs, then be fully aware of the many available vehicles at your disposal, and ... 12/10/2008

As I was reading the LA time Sunday Business Section/Real Estate Section. One question was raised in the Ask the Inspector section C (Dec 7th,'08) as to what are the qualification to find a Superior Home Inspector?  Overall the "answer man" gave a ‘poor' response. Not a "great answer".  He went on to turn on Realtors, by saying that "good" inspectors are referred to by RE Agents as "deal killers" or "deal breakers"  I find this ludicrous.  There are many good reputable inspectors that will take offense to this.   I look at the inspectors' job is to identify the problems and report it. If the buyer has questions to answer it in a factual manner, such as how do you correct it, how long will it be OK in this condition etc? The job is not to be dramatic; if they want to be dramatic they sho... 12/08/2008

The housing slump hurts more than just people.  Animals suffer from the housing market downturn and current economic times too. If you happened to read the LA Times on Saturday, December 6, 2008, the Home Section (Section F) was entitled The Pet Issue.  On the front page of Section F was a picture of Baldwin, a black, 1-year old Chihuahua mix currently awaiting adoption (the plight of black dogs and black cats is also addressed in this Section).  Animal shelters across the nation, sadly, are filled to overcapacity, due largely in part to pet owners losing their jobs and their homes.  Many animals that were once part of a loving home environment now they find themselves bewildered and scared on concrete floors in over-crowded shelter kennel runs. Many of these animals will face euthanasi... 12/06/2008

 I have been talking to many prospective buyers in the past few months. There is a common question that keeps appearing:  Is it a Great Time to buy a home? The hidden question is "when". The Answer is easy: Now is a Great Time to buy a home.  The way the current real estate market is, i.e.:  large inventory, anxious sellers, low interest rates, motivated listing agents, it all leads back to the economy. Since sellers need to liquidate or move, to be able to make life changes, here is a great opportunity for a qualified buyer to take advantage of this opportunity in buying a home.  The buyer can negotiate even a better price now, since it is December. This time of year Real Estate is traditionally slow, but sellers still want to sell, hence here is a golden opportunity to be in the marke... 12/05/2008

Many of agents face the market difficulties... even you have a lot of listings..they are not moving .. it is a time to re-think about paying monthly virtual tour providers.. My tour is not monthly basis.. NO SET UP FEE...NO MONTHLY FEE.. sounds interesting.. $9.99  Simple Tour when you send me upto 20 pics, I can create a slide show with music please click the following: http://www.showinghouse.com/MiniHome/2008101076/ the fee of this tour is Only $9.99 why do you pay monthly provider?  if you don't make 3 new listings every month, your money is leaking !! NO SET UP FEE !!  NO MONTHLY FEE !!! www.showinghouse.com 12/04/2008

We always enjoy attending LA Philharmonic Orchestra program events at the beautiful Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.  Christi and I had the opportunity to experience such a great concert on Friday evening, November 27, 2008. Conductor Gustavo Dudamel (and future artistic director) and the LA Phil seemed to be at their best. The LA Phil is one of the great orchestra ensembles in the US and the world.  They proved that once again at the Disney Hall in Los Angeles this time.     Performances included Legeti's  "Atmospheres"  -   symphony music without form or rythym, and only 9 minutes in length. You would recognize this wall of sound from soundtrack of the film "2001 A Space Odyssey" ...  which the composer apparently didn't like.   Richard Strauss's  "Four Last Songs" - with Christine... 11/29/2008

With the timing of the foreclosure crisis resulting into Loan Modifications as the solution to resolve the crisis homeowners are experiencing, the results were paltry at best and coincidentally criss-crossed with the now infamous discussion of Bailouts. Now we're really in a jam!!!!! Paulson intimated using a "Bailout" to help homeowners as a ploy to game the politicians in approving the plan, when in fact that was never the intention as how could you possible justify starting the game with AIG's boost? Months later the very homeowners who were the topic of discussion in getting the bailout approved have been left stranded, and in fact many have lost their homes as the clock simply ran out. Anyway, now that Bailoutmania has started you might as well heal all those in need, otherwise you... 11/28/2008

Since we started................when should we end it?? or who gets what????and how much???? Is this socialism? Is socialism a bad thing?  The bottom line is WE THE PEOPLE own the treasury and can bail out whoever we wish.  It was pretty refreshing to see President-elect Obama roll out his economic team and bring this issue to the forefront - EVERYONE NEEDS BAILING OUT!!!!!!!!!   Anyway, however you define it......most of us on Activerain are business owners or tied to providing services to consumers, so unless the consumers have the means to purchase what we are selling - we will continue to die on the vine.  In addition the the much pronounced "Jobs Workout" program which is desparately needed as our infrastruture could use some improvement, we need to create incentives for people to ... 11/26/2008

The Govenor of the State, has said that California has budgetary problems.  I think that's an understatement.  What California need to be asking specifically is the budget broken down.  According to the budget proposal for 2008/2009  fiscal year we are spending 41.3% on education 25.3% on Health and Human Services  and a whooping 7.3% of the Departmet of Cooreections.  We spend more on Prisons that houses only 173,000 inmates which 70% return to the system. Something is wrong.  I think we need to have an overhall of the of all these depts.  Thats 73.9% of the budget.  If you don't have enough coming in, some belt tightening must be done.  We borrow from Peter to Pay Paul.  That is a prescription for disaster.  We need to find ways to reduce expenses, but also find ways to generate more ... 11/23/2008

97% FHA, 3% CHDAP, NO ENGANCHE,NO PAPELEO. Consulta gratis con Lupe Soto, agente de casas en venta, Realtor en Espanol en Burbank & San Fernando Valley incluyendo: Arleta, Burbank, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino, Glendale, Granada Hills, Hidden Hills, Lake Balboa, Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Northridge, Panorama City, Pacoima, Porter Ranch, San Fernando, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sylmar, Sun Valley, Sunland, Toluca Lake, Topanga Canyon, Tujunga, Valley Village, Valley Glen, Van Nuys, Universal City, West Hills, Winnetka, Woodland Hills REGISTRESE GRATIS, haga click aquiPara un mejor servicio y debido al alto volumen de llamadas, le recomendamosregistrarse con su nombre, # de telefono y su mensaje y lo llamaremos el mismo dia de 10am-5pm  LIS... 11/19/2008

Playa Vista real estate stats as of Monday, November 17, 2008: active Single Family Home listings = 7 ranging from $1,429,000 to $1,700,000 average list price = $1,558,143 average square footage = 3,434 average price per square foot = $453.74 average days on the market = 160 active Condo / Townhome listings = 39 ranging from $479,000 to $1,180,000 average list price = $682,187 average square footage = 1,702 average price per square foot = $400.76 average days on the market = 78 To view current listings, please click on the links below: Houses in Playa Vista, CA 90094 Condos and Townhomes in Playa Vista, CA 90094 Note: Stats do not include properties in escrow with "looking for back-up" status on CLAW. 11/18/2008