It is hard to believe that summer is almost over and Labor Day is already here. We arelucky to be able to have so many fun and family friendly events around the our area to enjoy! There is still plenty of summer fun left to enjoy so make your Labor Day plans now and enjoy!
The Oak Mile
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The reality is there are many instances when a homeowner can be held liable, such as if someone slips on your doorstep and is injured, if a tree on your property falls and damages your neighbors property or even if your pet bites a visitor to your home. What most homeowners will find surprising is that that even people who trespasss on your property and then injury themselves actually have legal recourse. The law states that once the owner is aware that there is a trespasser present on the property or can reasonably anticipate that a trespasser may be present, then the owner actually has a duty to exercise ordinary care in order to avoid injuring the trespasser. It is important for homeowners to be aware of where their liability responsibility is and to make sure they have adequate insurance to cover any damages. For many people, the coverage included with their regular homeowners policy is enough. But in some situations, you may want more. Some common reasons to get more coverage include:
As in all home owner insurance matters, take care to read your policy carefully. If you have questions about your premises liability coverage, ask your insurance agent. You might need separate riders to provide all the liability coverage necessary for your situation. |
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Most everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer, or has fought the fight themselves. This weekend in Thousand Oaks, Relay For Life will bring together our community to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer; remember loved ones lost to the disease; and fight back against a disease that takes too much.
Be a part of this amazing event this weekend, Saturday, August 28th and 29th at 10am.
Sat 10am to Sun 10am, Aug 28 - 29, 2010.
Event Schedule is as follows: Opening Ceremony: 10am Saturday
Survivors Lap: 10:30am Saturday, Luminaria Ceremony: 8pm Sat
Fight Back/ Closing Ceremony: 9:30am Sun
The event will be held at Conejo Creek Park , Thousand Oaks. Directions can be located here: Google Map Link
Relay For Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then, Relay has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease.
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If this happens, it means that your mortgage has been sold to another financial institution, and now you will be sending your monthly mortgage payments to a new company. Many times when this happens you may not even notice a difference and the change can seamless. However, there are situations where the homeowner will have problems with the switch and face inconveniences. Either way, it is important that homeowners understand what their rights are when this happens.
In today's real estate world, it is a very good possibility that your mortgage will be sold to a new lender. It is common place nowadays that home loans are bought and sold on the free market like stocks and bonds.
Homeowners should receive a notice from your current mortgage company as to the situation. Federal mandates require both the seller and the buyer of your paper to notify you of the pending sale and the closed sale.
Your current lender must notify you, in writing, at least fifteen days before your next payment is due. The lender is also required to give you complete contact information – company name, physical address, phone number and account manager of the new servicer.
The servicer buying your loan is required to provide this information to you as well. They are required to provide a direct link to a person you can speak to – not just an automated system.
This protects you from mortgage scams directing you to send payments to an unknown entity via P.O. Box or wire and gives you the right to ask questions about the status of your loan and receive prompt answers. In addition, you are protected from any delinquency status for 60 days during the transition.
If you are behind in payments, your loan will likely stay put, as most servicers aren’t interested in purchasing problem loans. If you have an application in for loan modification, your loan will probably not be sold as well. However, if it is sold after you have started the loan modification process, be prepared to provide additional paperwork or even start over with the new lender.
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) has a great consumer site – The Home Loan Learning Center. You can also contact them for more information via phone at (202) 557-2700.
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Being prepared for an earthquake is vital to the safety of you and your family. The cities of Westlake Village and Agoura Hills have teamed up to host “Are You Prepared?”, an event aimed to inform local citizens about steps they can take before, during, and after an earthquake to better protect their homes and families.
Experts from several public agencies and survival product vendors will have information available on their roles in preparedness and emergency response. Tuesday,August 31 atWestlake Village Civic Center 31200 Oak Crest Drive.
Schedule of Events
5:00 - 6:30 PM - Information Booths in the Westlake Village Civic Center Courtyard
6:30 - 7:30 PM - Seminar and Q & A in the Westlake Village City Council Chambers
7:30 PM - Live fire extinguisher training
Signups will be available that evening for an upcoming Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT) class. The CERT program provides training in basic disaster response skills, such as fire
safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
For more information on the event,
Please Contact, Chris Dodd, City of
Agoura Hills, at 818-597-7317 or
Kerry Kallman, City of Westlake
Village, at 818-706-1613be
Unfortunately recent reports state that the housing market still has not yet picked up the speed that everyone had hoped. However, a common misconception that most people have is that it is only home sellers who are finding this market challenging. Current homeowners who are in the market to 'trade up' and purchase a new, larger home at a higher price are also finding these challenging times.
These homeowners are not only facing the value of their homes drop significantly from a few years ago, but they also are in stiff competition from other properties that have been deeply discounted or are foreclosed or distressed properties. According to the National Association of Realtors, this group of potential trade-up buyers is increasing.
The challenge this group of buyers face is that due to this market, they are stuck in homes worth a lot less than what they paid. Although they are able to obtain great financing terms, they are finding that they have little or no equity.
All is not lost however, below are some tips for homebuyers hoping to trade up:
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Bring the whole family and enjoy a fun and FREE movie under the stars. The City of Agoura Hills hosts a free family friendly move every 2nd Saturday at Reyes Adobe Park. The park is located at 30400 Rainbow Crest Drive Agoura Hills, California 91301.
The featured movie this Saturday is the movie 'Hook," Hook is a spin off of the classic tale of Peter Pan, you ever wonder what life would have been like for Peter Pan if he had grown up? This wonderful movie featured big names like Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams.
There will be crafts and hands on activities for the children beginning at 6:30. Movies begin at dusk. Reyes Adobe will be open for tours. Refreshments available for a nominal fee.
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The federally funded Home Buyer Tax Credit incentive offered a credit of $8,000 to first-time home buyers, along with a “long-time resident” credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers. The deadline for the at large credit was April 30th to have a binding contract and June 30, 2010 to close on the home (the closing date deadline has now been extended to September 30th, 2010.)
The National Association of Realtors reported a significant drop in May of existing home sales and the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions showed a large drop in all home buyer traffic in May. Significantly, most of the drop was attributable to first-time homebuyers, who had been playing a major role in home sales since late last fall. The loss of traffic will result in June and July sales and fall closings.
“The decline of first-time homebuyer traffic is undoubtedly related to the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit,” noted Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “Homebuyers had until April 30 to sign a purchase and sale agreement and receive the credit. Once we entered the month of May, the government stimulus disappeared.”
At least one market has responded to loss of the government stimulus. California enacted a new $10,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit just in time to miss the drop cause by the end of the federal Home Buyers credit.
California has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. The bill to enact the tax credit, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in March, provides $200 million for homes purchased between May 1 and Dec. 31 and between Dec. 31 and Aug. 1, 2011.
The City of Agoura Hills 2010 Summer Concerts in the Park series continues this weekend with Rumours: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac."
Come enjoy this free concert this Sunday, August 8th from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at Chumash Park, 5550 Medea Valley Drive, Agoura Hills, California 91301
All summer concerts will have a special addition prior to the beginning and are free to the public.
For more information or park directions, please call the Agoura Hills Recreation Center at (818) 597-7361 or go to their website at www.ci.agoura-hills.ca.us
Homeowners are aware that it is vital and required to obtain