House-flipping has become a staple in the realm of reality TV entertainment—and why not? One of the deep pleasures of that actual Costa Mesa house-flippers experience is the feeling of accomplishment that goes with turning a fixer into an eager buyer’s dream house. Another is the financial accomplishment that accompanies the quick sale of a fixed-and-flipped property. Cable-tv shows like ‘Fixer Upper,’ ‘Flip or Flop,’ ‘Double Down’ (the “property brothers’” show), and ‘Flip this House’ invite legions of couch potatoes to share the fun without the risk (or the sometimes back-breaking work) that goes with the real thing.

Last week’s Wall Street Journal sounded a real-world note about how the current fixer-upper industry is viewed from the financiers’…

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It’s a saying that doesn’t make much literal sense, but everyone in Costa Mesa knows what it means:

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

Literal or not, the message is dead-on: some truisms are as valid in 2021 as they were in grandma’s day. For Costa Mesa real estate, one of those observations is about the undeniable importance that curb appeal has for selling your Costa Mesa home. Like “first impressions are lasting” and “you only get one chance to make a first impression,” it’s simply true that human beings seem to be hard-wired to tend to stick to initial reactions. Undoing them can require an inordinate degree of persuasive information and experience.

Without challenging the validity of the “the more things change,…

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Regardless of folks’ wider views on climate change, there is universal agreement when it comes to one change in Costa Mesa’s climate: it’s going to get hotter. It’s one climate change that happens every summer.

For the moment, the experts who monitor patterns of energy usage aren’t making predictions about whether this summer will see local energy prices rising or falling (the Department of Energy will only venture that “prices change rapidly”). But the DoE is more enlightening about the cost of cooling. It’s bound to add significantly to most Costa Mesa homeowners’ utility bills. If prices do, in fact, “change rapidly” in the wrong direction, the DoE’s tips for simple ways to cut energy usage will be timely. Here are their Top Four:

  1. Deal…

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Like all fashion trends, Costa Mesa home décor styles come and go—something that can prove troublesome when it comes time to sell your home. Dealing with the master bath’s wallpaper (the one with a motivational saying whose stylish font had such a modern feel 15 years ago) may be an easy fix—but abandoning a formerly trendy rolling barn door room separator can involve a good deal of architectural reengineering.

One recent piece by commentator Lauren Wellbank, a freelance writer with a decade’s experience in the mortgage industry, pointed out some emerging trends in buyers’ preferences when it comes to outdoor spaces. In the same way that interior designers can glance at a listing’s photos and immediately pinpoint when the property’s signature style…

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The-L3-Real-Estate-Spring-Cleaning-Tips

If you are a homeowner who’s planning on selling your Costa Mesa house, this year’s spring cleaning efforts can merit some extra attention. For most of us, the past year meant a lot more time spent indoors. With potential buyers soon to be among the visitors, the regular airing-out and straightening-up procedures might not be sufficient.

It’s useful to examine the difference in the ways that professionals approach spring cleaning— something the American Cleaning Institute makes possible via its industry-sponsored website. In addition to the expected Quick Spring Cleaning Tips and the less seasonal ABC’s of Cleaning, the ACI offers a section that promotes stepping back and organizing an overall operational approach—especially useful for Costa Mesa…

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Last week, area homeowners who plan on selling their Costa Mesa homes might have discovered some promising ideas for making the most of today’s pandemic-spawned health concerns. The ideas came in a video presented by realtor.com, which introduced some newly popular renovations aimed at helping “Coronavirus-Proof” homes. Since they are designed to reduce the transmission of germs of all kinds, the tips could also spur the interest of homeowners who won’t be selling their Costa Mesa homes anytime soon. The five ideas:

  1. Replace bathroom faucets and soap dispensers with new touchless models. If you’ve ever puzzled about how to turn on a faucet to do your 20-second hand-washing without contaminating the handle with your unwashed fingers—worry no…

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As it relates to Costa Mesa residential properties, the “location, location, location” homily is usually thought of as referring to neighborhoods. Homes in superior Costa Mesa neighborhoods are visibly well cared for, usually have larger footprints, appealing architecture, etc. Their higher resale values are self-sustaining because their buyers can afford attentive maintenance.

But the locationX3 adage can also be valid for how a property is sited. Costa Mesa listings that read like absolute steals online can sometimes prove the point (one that remote buyers without local representation can learn to regret).

A fabulous home situated in the wrong place can be a mistake waiting to happen.
Examples:

  1. An otherwise exceptional Costa Mesa home…

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The U.S. News & World Report weighed in last week with a quite useful list: housewarming gift ideas that are both thoughtful and practical. The entire list ran to 15 entries—some less appropriate than others (right now, the “hummingbird feeder” might be more appreciated come springtime)—but for most Costa Mesa readers, on the whole, it presented a very useful compendium.

It spurred a wider search for other lists that have appeared in recent years. Here, in addition to some of the U.S. News ideas, are ten good ones:

  1. Customized return address stamp or stickers.
  2. Personalized doormat.
  3. A choice item from a favorite local Costa Mesa business.
  4. Cooking herb planter.
  5. Step stool.
  6. Keyholder (a tray, bowl, or set of hooks).
  7. Personalized…

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One pandemic side-effect affecting Costa Mesa residential properties got Wall Street’s attention last week. The second-quarter sales numbers were scheduled for release, and the home improvement industry was expecting strong results. Sure enough, come Tuesday, Home Depot weighed in with what MarketWatch hailed as “stellar business performance”—domestic sales growth of 25%.

The following morning, Lowe’s announced “very strong” second-quarter results. They weren’t kidding. With “sales for the home improvement business increasing 35.1%,” modesty would have been inappropriate.

In fact, the big-box giants’ record-breaking flood of commerce reflects the circumstances many Costa Mesa homeowners have been dealing with themselves. Because of the…

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They’re yet to become a major presence in the mainstream of housing technology, but that could be in for a change. Increasingly, advances in “clean” technology—innovations aimed at sanitizing household living spaces—seem likely to become commonplace in the coming years.

Along with many other accommodations spawned by the coronavirus pandemic, Costa Mesa homeowners have grown much more conscious of the presence of germs of all kinds on household surfaces. That’s sent many on a mission to eradicate them as much as practical—a frustrating campaign, since the targets are, for all practical purposes, invisible.

Last week, CNBC reported on a number of technological developments that innovative-minded Costa Mesa contractors and Costa Mesa…

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