October 2019

Florence's...

Service For Life !

Insider Tips for Healthy, Wealthy and Happy Living

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Florence Gadbois, Realtor CA BRE#01040021 (805) 701-8410 E-mail: Florence@BchRealEstate.com

How Much Money Are You Spending On “Hidden” Fees?

They’re hidden for a reason, those pesky fees in everything from cable bills to event tickets to car rental companies hope you won’t notice them and just pay up. In today’s Service For Life ! ® Free consumer newsletter, you’ll learn about some of the more common “hidden” fees out there and how you can avoid them. You’ll also learn about a few steps to recover from a bad first impression, how to use apps to track your spending and stick to a budget, and some tips for de-cluttering your kitchen - plus fun facts, a trivia challenge, and lots more. Here’s what’s happening in your neighborhood. Here are the sales statistics for Mandalay shores, Hollywood Beach, Silverstrand Beach, Mandalay Bay, Seabridge, Westport, The Colony, HarborWalk, HarborsWest, C.I. Waterfront Homes, and Harbour Island . Note: Inventory less than 6 months is considered a seller’s market; more than 6 months, a buyer’s.

Closed Escrows

Active Listings

Inventory (months)

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 11 17 21 21 14 16 14 18 12 15 25 18 34 28 14 19 17 18 19 20 29 23 20 31 18 24 21 44 22 11 28 24 22 15 24 28 22 30 32 29

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 50 62 75 70 67 2.48 2.7 4.02 2.13 4.49 53 63 84 53 91 2.78 3.03 3.95 2.59 3.37 72 70 84 63 69 3.03 3.69 3.9 2.51 4.5 87 80 88 60 87 4.33 3.58 4.72 2.42 5.46 95 74 107 54 108 4.22 3.8 4.99 2.82 6.98 96 83 112 70 128 4.35 4.73 4.19 4.2 7.04 99 102 102 97 122 4.3 5.27 4.26 4.1 6.88 95 112 103 92 125 4.13 5.11 3.82 4.21 7.04 91 106 95 95 126 3.83 5.18 3.83 3.67

January February

March

April May June

July

August

September 27 26 29 23

9 thru 9/16

October

25 24 28 16

87 107 96 81 75 93 61 87 64 83 63 79

3.33 4.52 2.4 4.13 2.8 4.06 2.45 3.81 2.81 3.64 2.54 3.32

November 21 19 23 19 December 20 22 11 12

Finally, I want you to know, that you may call me for any reason. And please let me know if a friend, family member or neighbor needs a caring, competent real estate professional to help in buying or selling. I truly appreciate your friendship and referrals. Enjoy your issue!

Warmest regards, Florence

Florence Gadbois CA DRE#01040021 RE/MAX Gold Coast

Get Free money-saving home tips at my web site: BchRealEstate.com

Florence’s…

Service For Life ! “Insider Tips For Healthy, Wealthy & Happy Living…”



Selling Your Home Soon? You’ll need my Free Consumer Guide titled, “6 Steps For Selling Your Home For TOP DOLLAR.” Call me right now at 805-701-8410 to get a copy…

Hidden Fees You Didn’t Know You Were Paying It’s no fun to read the fine print. But, increasingly, not doing so means losing more and more money in “hidden” fees. Here are some common “hidden” fees you probably don’t realize you’re paying:  Cable Bills: Special cable TV networks like regional sports channels cost extra, so if you’re not watching those channels be sure to negotiate a package that doesn’t include them (or their fees). Also, compare the rental price of your cable internet modem with one you could buy to replace it. Chances are very good you could save money by owning rather than renting.  Banking: Even so-called “free” checking accounts often have a monthly fee if you go below a certain balance. In addition to “out of network” fees your bank attaches to using certain ATMs, you may get dinged with a second fee—one from your bank and one from the bank that owns the ATM you’re using. Bank machines will inform you of the charges on their end before you proceed, so pay attention.  Event tickets: Buying tickets to concerts or sporting events online usually means paying a hefty fee per ticket. Even tickets you print at home often have a “delivery fee” charge. Buy directly from venue box offices when possible.  Resort fees: Extra hotel fees are incredibly common. Not only will you pay for anything you take from the minibar, you may also get charged extra for additional towels or on-site parking. You may not be able to avoid the fees, but be sure to ask in advance so you’re informed before you book.  Car rentals: If you’re flying in to a city and renting a car, there may be hidden fees (look for ‘facility charges or ‘concession recovery’ fees) when you rent a car at the airport. See if you can rent a vehicle without those fees somewhere else in town, and take a taxi or rideshare service to get there. Check the Consumer Reports “What the fee?” site for more information about hidden fees and how to avoid them, including success stories from Consumer Reports users: action.consumerreports.org/whatthefee/ Thinking Of Buying A Home Soon? If you’re planning to buy a home in the next 6 months, you’ll want a copy of my Free consumer guide, “ 7 Secrets For Saving Thousands When Financing Your Next Home .” My report will help you avoid frustrations and costly pitfalls when buying a home. Simply call me to get a free copy: 805-701-8410

October 2019 Oxnard, California

Inside This Issue…

Hidden Fees (And How To Avoid Them)…Page 1

Recover From An Awkward First Impression…Page 2

3 Apps To Help Track Spending…Page 3

Steps To De-clutter Your Kitchen…Page 3

Answer This Trivia Question and You Could Win $75 Gift Card from Lure Restaurant...Page 4

How Can I Secure A Low Mortgage Interest Rate?...Page 4

Get Free money-saving home tips at my web site: BchRealEstate.com

Word of the Month… Studies have shown your income and wealth are directly related to the size and depth of your vocabulary. Here is this month’s word, so you can impress your friends (and maybe even fatten your wallet!)… Meaning: The familiar word “hack” has gained new meanings in recent years. Today, it can also mean changing a computer program or it can be a clever solution to a problem. Sample Sentences: “She hacked the software so each employee could see their remaining vacation time.” and “A simple recipe hack updated an old family favorite to accommodate food allergy issues.” Moody Front Door? What feelings does your front door’s color inspire? Here are a few color families and the emotions they’re associated with.  Red: Bold, exciting  Yellow: Energetic, happy  Green: Safe, calming  Blue: Relaxing, trustworthy  White: Balanced, clean Easy pH Testing for Soil Want to find out if your soil is alkaline or acidic? You only need two ingredients. Mix some soil with vinegar, and some with baking soda. If the vinegar sample bubbles your soil is alkaline . If the baking soda sample bubbles, your soil is acidic . Quotes To Live By… “Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.” hack (hak) verb and noun

How To Recover After A Bad First Impression

While first impressions are no doubt important, if you feel like you didn’t put your best foot forward when you first met someone all is not lost. Here are some steps to remedy what you think might have been a bad first impression. 1. Stop and think about what went wrong. If you can pinpoint the issue, then you stand a better chance of fixing it. Were you unprepared for a business meeting? Were you quite late? Did you make a joke before knowing the other person’s sense of humor? You won’t always know what made a meeting so awkward, but it’s always a good idea to try to figure it out. 2. Apologize and ask for another chance. We all make mistakes, and the sooner you own yours and apologize for it, the better. Don’t let things fester until the next time you happen to see the person—seek them out and offer an apology that acknowledges what you believe went wrong and how you’ll do things differently in the future. 3. Work on gaining trust. This part may take awhile, but if this is a relationship that’s important to you it’s a critical step. You might be able to rectify the situation with a sincere apology, but it’s more likely you’ll need to redouble your efforts—such as being even more prepared than usual, arriving a little early, and spending a lot of time listening to understand a sense of humor before interjecting your own. Of course, not everyone can be won over after a bad first impression. If you’re doing everything you can and still not getting anywhere, it may be time to evaluate whether the relationship is as important as you originally thought.

–George Eliot

“Less is more only where more is no good.”

–Frank Lloyd Wright

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.” –Reba McEntire

Get Free money-saving home tips at my web site: BchRealEstate.com

Track Spending With An App Making and sticking to a budget is simpler with the abundance of online and mobile tools currently available. Some of these apps track how much you’re spending vs. how much you make and some even show you ways to allocate your money to pay off debt or earn more from investments.  Mint ( free; iOS and Android ) by Intuit (makers of QuickBooks and TurboTax) provides a superb real-time overview of your entire financial picture—every bank account, credit card, investment, bill, and property—in one place. Users also get free credit scores. mint.com  Wally ( free; iOS; Wally+ on Android ) is app-only (there’s no browser version yet) and specifically designed to help track expenses. Take photos of receipts to skip typing all the information, and Wally will even geo-locate the expense for you. wally.me  YNAB ( $83.99/year; iOS and Android ) stands for “You Need a Budget,” and the app teaches users to spend no more than they earn and pay off debt more quickly. YNAB says average users save $600 by the second month using the app. youneedabudget.com In addition to these powerful tools, you may also want to add a money sharing app like Venmo ( venmo.com ) or Square’s Cash App ( cash.app ) to your mobile arsenal. They make sending money to other people quick and easy—especially handy when splitting things like cab fare or dinner. Decluttering Your Kitchen Decluttering is all the rage these days, but the kitchen can be a tricky room to clear out—cabinet doors hide a multitude of sins, and so much of what’s in our kitchens is necessary (even if not often used). These tips will help you get started to create your ideal clutter-free kitchen space.  Eliminate redundancies. Make an inventory of everything in your kitchen and clear out as many multiples as you can—think graters, pitchers, can openers, and even small appliances.  Favor multi-taskers. When your kitchen is full of items with multiple uses that means less clutter. Metal measuring spoons can act as melon ballers and halved pear or apple corers, for instance, while the mesh strainer you use to drain pasta can replace your flour sifter.  Sort out that mess of food containers. Every kitchen has that one cabinet of plastic tubs that’s an avalanche waiting to happen. Match every container with a lid and get rid of anything missing its other half.  Be thoughtful about storage. Anything you use daily warrants precious counter space. Store heavy items on lower shelves for easy access. Stuff you use rarely—holiday cookie cutters, huge roasting pans—can go in those cabinets that are less accessible. Stay tuned, because next month in this series you’ll learn all about how to declutter your bathroom! Would You Like To Know How Much Your Neighbor’s Home Listed Or Sold For? Maybe you’re just curious. Or maybe you want to know how much your home is worth. Either way, I can help…with no “sales pitches” or run- arounds. Call me at 805-701-8410 and I’ll give you all the facts.

Brain Teaser… What’s the difference between a student who’s studying and a farmer who’s watching the herd? (Hint: mind)

(See page 4 for the answer.)

What’s My Home Worth? If you want to know your home’s current value, I will gladly conduct a Maximum Value Home Audit . Request this “no charge” in-depth home value analysis by calling me at: 805-701- 8410 . 4 Reasons to Use Vinegar in the Washing Machine A little white vinegar in the rinse cycle of your wash can do wonders! And with the small amount used, your clothes won’t smell like salad dressing. Here are only a few great benefits. 1. It’s a natural fabric softener. Skip the chemicals. 2. It helps colors stay vibrant. Vinegar sets dyes, so it’ll keep your colorful duds brighter longer. It helps keep the washing machine clean while it’s washing your clothes. 3. Photo Editing Websites These free sites make it easy—and fun!—to enhance images like a pro. picmonkey.com – Not only does the free version offer plenty of photo filters and editing tools, there are also lots of templates to use those photos to create everything from website banners to flyers or cards you can print. pixlr.com – The free version of Pixlr includes some pretty powerful editing tools and there are great tutorials to walk you through anything that might be a little more complex. photoshop.com/products/photoshopex press – From the makers of Photoshop, this free photo editor is an add-on to your preferred browser and allows you to edit any JPG image easily and quickly. 4. It helps dissolve powdered detergents, especially if you’re washing with cold water. Note: Never use vinegar in combination with bleach; the mix creates a toxic gas.

Get Free money-saving home tips at my web site: BchRealEstate.com

“Who Else Wants To Win $75 Gift Card for Lure Restaurant?”

Thanks For Thinking of Me!

Did you know I can help you or any of your friends or family save time and money when buying or selling a home? Thanks for keeping me in mind with your referrals…and spreading the word about my services.

Guess who won last month’s Trivia Question? I’m pleased to announce the lucky winner of last month’s quiz. And the winner is…drum roll please: Ron Rowen of The Colony was the lucky winner of the drawing. To enter the drawing, email me with your answer to this month’s Trivia Question. Last Month’s Trivia: Which of these facts about pearls is NOT correct? a) Only male oysters create pearls. b) Most pearls commercially produced are freshwater. c) The shells and meat of pearl oysters are also used. d) La Peregrina is one of the most famous pearls in the world. The answer is a) Only male oysters create pearls. In fact, most oysters are born male, and then they become female. So let’s move on to this month’s trivia question. This Month’s Trivia: What Southeast Asian capital went by the name “Batavia” for more than 300 years before the name was changed to its current moniker? a) Manila b) Bangkok c) Jakarta d) Kuala Lumpur

Brain Teaser Answer:

The student is stocking the mind while the farmer is minding the stock!

Scrub-Free Baking Pan Cleaning

It’s easy to remove those old stains from your cookie sheets and make them look like new with two ingredients you probably already have at home. The mix of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is a powerful stain-absorbing concoction. 1. Sprinkle baking soda on the stained surface. 2. Spray lightly with hydrogen peroxide. 3. Sprinkle another layer of baking soda. 4. Let sit for 1-2 hours (depending on the severity of the stains). 5. Wipe mixture off the surface and clean with soap and water as normal. THANK YOU for reading my Service For Life ! ® personal newsletter. I wanted to produce a newsletter that has great content and is fun and valuable to you. Your constructive feedback is always welcome. AND… whether you’re thinking of buying, selling or financing real estate, or just want to stop by and say “Hi,” I’d love to hear from you… Florence Gadbois CA DRE#01040021 RE/MAX Gold Coast 805-701-8410 Florence@BchRealEstate.com BchRealEstate.com Disclaimer: The information contained in this letter is intended for informational purposes. It should not substitute as legal, accounting, investment, medical or other professional services advice. Always seek a competent professional for answers to your specific questions. This letter is not intended to solicit real estate properties currently for sale.

Call Me At 805-701-8410 OR Email Me At Florence@BchRealEstate.com And You Could Be One Of My Next Winners!

Real Estate Corner…

Q. How can I secure a low mortgage interest rate?

A. Securing a low mortgage interest rate helps make your monthly payment more affordable and saves money over the life of your loan. Besides using a larger down payment, here are three things to do to secure a low mortgage interest rate: 1. Compare multiple lenders and meet with your top three. Review the application process and your credit report to start working on any issues you may have. The higher your credit score, the better prospect for a lender you will become. Lenders will review the various loan programs with you. 2. Your debt-to-income ratio should be below 36 percent before you apply for a mortgage. The lower it is, the greater your eligibility for a higher loan amount. 3. Don’t make any drastic changes such as changing jobs or making large purchases on credit cards. You want lenders to see you have a stable job history and ability to make the payments.

To learn more, call me to request my Free Consumer Report called “7 Secrets For Saving Thousands When Financing.”

Do you have a real estate question you want answered? Feel free to call me at 805-701-8410. Perhaps I’ll feature it in my next issue!

Get Free money-saving home tips at my web site: BchRealEstate.com

Florence’s….

MarketWatch ™ “ Here’s Neighborhood Home Information For The Colony To Help You Evaluate The Value Of Your Investment. ”

Homes Currently Active …

Address

Bdrms

Baths

Sq. Ft.

Floor Plan

Asking Price

2382 Vina del Mar

2

2

1113

Martinique (phase I)

$499,000 $539,888 $578,900 $685,000 $874,000

Majorca Antigua

2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2

1217 1368 1627 1550

Martinique

Madeira

Martinique

Capri

San Sebastian

Antigua (Ambassador)

$635,358

Market Average

Active Taking Back Up Offers… Address

Bdrms

Baths

Sq. Ft.

Floor Plan

Asking Price

Vina del Mar

2

3

2149

Cannes

$1,175,888 $1,175,888

Market Average

Sold Properties… (01/01/19 Thru 09/16/19) Address List $ Sale $

Sq.Ft. $/sq.ft

Floor Plan

Date Sold

4431 Antigua

$569,888 $539,000

$525,000 $535,000

1549 1113

$338.93 Antigua

08/06/19

2223 Martinique

$480.68 Martinique (Phase I)

02/28/19

2305 Martinique

$539,000

$535,000

1113

$480.68 Martinique (Phase I)

05/15/19

4463 Antigua

$589,000 $579,000 $605,000 $615,000 $729,000 $999,000 $959,000 $1,299,000

$575,000 $579,000 $580,000 $605,000 $709,000 $939,000 $949,000

1368 1450 1627 1459 1550 2360 2360

420.32

Madeira

07/08/19 05/17/19 05/03/19 03/30/19 04/15/19 05/10/19 08/26/19

4446 Antigua 2031 Majorca 2351 Martinique

$373.79 Antigua $356.48 Capri $398.81 Antigua

4711 San Sebastian 2222 Cannes Square 2353 Vina del Mar 2315 Vina del Mar

$457.42 Antigua (Ambassador)

$397.88 Vina del Mar $402.12 Vina del Mar $607.76 San Tropez

$1,300,000 2139

06/07/19

$731,525

$711,909

$428.62

Market Average

Florence represented buyer, seller or both . Properties as of September 17, 2019 and may not be listed by RE/MAX. Information herein has not been verified, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change

TO SEE COLONY FLOOR PLANS Check out my Colony Web Site: http://THECOLONYATMANDALAY.COM

Florence’s

MarketWatch ™ “ Here’s Neighborhood Home Information For HarborWalk To Help You Evaluate The Value Of Your Investment. ”

Homes Currently Active … Address

Bdrms

Baths

Sq. Ft.

Floor Plan

Asking Price

Sunset Harbor Sunset

2 2 3

1 2 3

925

Plan C Plan D

$429,000 $599,000 $775,000 $601,000

1198 1485

Villa

Market Average

Homes Accepting Back Up Offers … Address Bdrms Baths

Sq. Ft.

Floor Plan

Asking Price

Sunset

2 2

1 2

925

Plan C

$479,000

3450 Sunset

1319

T-2

$610,000 $544,500

Market Average

Sold Properties (01/01/19 Thru 09/17/19) Address List $ Sale $

Sq.Ft. $/sq.ft

Floor Plan

Date Sold

3043 Harbor 3061 Harbor 3304 Sunset 3634 Sunset 3444 Sunset 3136 Sunset 3135 Harbor 3131 Harbor 3201 Harbor 3380 Sunset

$425,000 $525,000 $549,900 $595,000 $639,000 $627,000 $729,000 $699,000 $779,000 $795,000 $620,433

$445,000 $495,000 $549,000 $565,000 $611,000 $615,000 $700,000 $701,000 $779,000 $785,000 $607,333

1128 1128 1475 1319 1474 1198 1402 1501 1485 1485

$394.50 $438.83 $372.20 $428.35 $414.52 $513.36 $499.29 $466.71 $524.57 $532.20 $451.11

Plan B Plan B

07/03/19

07/11/19 05/22/19 07/26/19 09/09/19 08/26/19 03/25/19 07/18/19 08/12/19 07/08/19

Villa

T-2

Plan D

Villa (end unit)

Villa Villa Villa

Market Average

Bold: REMAX Represented Buyers, Sellers or Both

The information referenced has been provided by the Ventura County MLS Corporation’s MLS as of Sep.17, 2019. The listings and sales are not exclusive to RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors and may have been represented by others. Display of the MLS data is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed by the MLS and prices are subject to change.