“Good fences make good neighbors” was among poet Robert Frost’s most memorable lines. Quoted by rote by his rigid neighbor in Mending Wall, it illustrated an unchallenged notion, handed down for generations. Frost’s point was that, although a fence does show respect for another’s property, where unnecessary, it can also insulate them from each other.

Local homeowners might agree or disagree (or agree with both)—but when it comes to Costa Mesa real estate property boundaries, it’s a pretty good idea for homeowners to know where their own lie. And with precision.

That was the takeaway from last week’s U.S.News feature which sported the promising title, “How Do I Find My Property Lines?”  To make short the answer to that question, the most…

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Baby Boomers

Overall, the U.S. residential market has behaved itself predictably for a couple of years. As a result, there’s been little chance for commentators to point out any new phenomena that might affect our own Costa Mesa listings. In general, price growth has remained moderate while the volume of homes changing hands has been relatively quiet.

That might be headed for a change if CNBC’s Diana Oleck is right. In a brief report last week, she made the case for a new trend that could have an effect on the home-selling picture—including the number of our own Costa Mesa listings.

The trend is an uptick in one choice seniors are making—in this case, the tendency of retirees to stay put in their current home. “Why seniors ‘aging in place’ is affecting home…

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The numbers are in!

If you are among the local homeowners counting the days until Costa Mesa’s hot selling season begins, unless your house is already in perfect showing shape, you might be pondering which—if any—possible remodeling projects would be wise to take on before you list.

The answers aren’t simple. The first consideration is the calculation for whether your property is likely to attract top dollar in its as-is condition. If not, you need a prospect’s-eye take on which areas are most likely to detract from the apparent overall value of the property. Then comes another factor: identifying which of those projects will go furthest in recapturing their cost.

Even if leaving everything as-is doesn’t inspire much confidence, it might…

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Last Saturday investment commentator Rebecca Lake presented the kind of analysis that would warm the heart of Costa Mesa rental property proponents. Her report appeared on the U.S. News website under the title “3 Reasons to Invest in Single-Family Rentals.” The piece was all the more persuasive because of its fresh perspective: according to the author, 2019 looks to be an especially advantageous year for rental property investments.

Since Lake’s article was aimed at the financial community, it occasionally lapsed into FinanceSpeak like “…there tends to be a ‘beta’ between the rental market and the stock market.” Especially for Costa Mesa investors looking for relief from the stock market’s volatility, that translates into English as “daily…

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