The Getty Center and Getty Villa emerged from the 2025 Los Angeles fire disaster as examples of fire hardening best practices. Yes, they had staff to supplement all of the measures the Getty team took to stop fire approaching and stop smoke from penetrating the buildings. But they also meticulously followed best practices for fire hardening…
Imagine opening up your home to show off your remodeled kitchen. That’s what 8-10 Rockridge homeowners do every other year along with their builders, architects, and interior designers. Seeing these renovated and reimagined kitchens with the latest cabinetry, space-saving ideas, and glowing cabinet hardware is the ultimate inspiration to refresh your kitchen — especially if…
If you own rental property — whether an entire rental or you are renting part of your house out or some other type of investment property — you may qualify for a tax-deferred 1031 exchange when you sell. As of this moment, investors can usually exchange one investment for up to three investments of “like…
Thinking of a budget remodel to update or fix things about your house that you don’t like? Join the club! There’s nothing like living in a space for a while to figure out what you would like to change in layout or use of the space. That’s why I give my home buying clients a…
Does your house have the comfortable feel of an old shoe? Are you embarrassed to have people over? Or if you do, are you constantly apologizing and wondering what your guests think? Susie thinks: “check!” “check!” and “check!” A little known technique to re-invent your house is to do what real estate agents do when…
Home improvement website Houzz surveyed released a 2024 survey of home improvements home owners are making this year. #1 on the list is a “return to open spaces.” “Creating separation naturally became more popular during the COVID pandemic, with only 38% of homeowners opening up their kitchens to other interior spaces in 2022 versus 53%…
On a recent trip to Mexico, the sound of the ocean crashed with the sounds of building. Everywhere! Beautiful, modern condos in Puerto Vallarta had caught my eye on Airbnb. So I wondered: Is it really safe to buy a condo pre-construction in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? How do you know the quality and that you’re…
What if you could make not-too-expensive updates to the house you’ve loved for so many years to make it easier for you, and / or your loved ones, to age in place with accessible, safe features? AARP has put together what they call a “HomeFit” Guide to help you do just that. It’s a very…
You’re living your dream life with passive income, minimizing taxes by offsetting income with expenses. Yet you can’t get a home loan! The article Jay Voorhees from JVM Lending wrote about “When the Ultra-Wealthy Don’t Qualify For Mortgages” really hit home. Jay offered to share some options for how affluent borrowers with great credit and…
Ikea kitchen planners can help you design a kitchen in 3D and choose your cabinet, counter, hardware…all the materials for your shiny new modern kitchen. You can also pay for an Ikea kitchen designer to come to your house (now $79) to make sure all of your kitchen measurements are accurate. The Ikea kitchen I…
