Green Real Estate Appraiser

San Diego: Mandatory Water Restrictions start Nov 1.

Posted on October 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

Relevant to most residents under the Drought Alert stage are the restrictions that mandate assigned watering days, which are dependent on your address. There are also restrictions on what time of day residents can water and how long they can water:

Assigned watering days

Residences with odd-numbered addresses: Water only on Sundays, Tuesdays & Thursdays Residences with even-numbered addresses: Water only on Saturdays, Mondays & Wednesdays Apartments, condos & businesses: Water only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays Time of day and time limits

From Nov. 1 through May 31, water only between 4 pm and 10 am for only 7 minutes at each station when using a standard sprinkler system.

From June 1 through Oct. 31, water only between 6 pm and 10 am for only 10 minutes at each station when using a standard sprinkler system.

Other water use restrictions : Use a hand-held hose equipped with a positive shut-off nozzle or timed sprinkler system to water landscaped areas. • Stop operation of ornamental fountains, except to the extent needed for maintenance purposes.

The washing of automobiles, trucks, trailers, airplanes and other types of transportation equipment is only allowed during the following times: – Between 4 pm and 10 am from Nov. 1 to May 31. – Between 6 pm and 10 am from June 1 through Oct. 31. • Washing is permitted at any time at a commercial car wash. •

No irrigation is allowed during rain events. Potted plants, non-commercial vegetable gardens and fruit trees may be irrigated on any day during the following times: – Between 4 pm and 10 am from Nov. 1 through May 31 – Between 6 pm and 10 am from June 1 through Oct. 31.

Irrigation is permitted any day at any time as follows: – As required by a landscape permit. – For erosion control. – For establishment, repair or renovation of public use fields for schools and parks. – For landscape establishment following a disaster.

Read more at: http://www.sdcwa.org/drought-response

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FHA: End of House Flipping Waiver December 31, 2014

Posted on October 19, 2014 | Leave a comment

In an effort to stimulate repairs and sales in neighborhoods hard hit by the mortgage crisis and recession, the agency waived its standard prohibition against financing short-term house flips. Before the policy change, if you were an investor or property rehab specialist, you had to own a house for at least 90 days before reselling — flipping it — to a new buyer at a higher price using FHA financing. Under the waiver of the rule, you could buy a house, fix it up and resell it as quickly as possible to a purchaser using an FHA mortgage — provided you followed guidelines designed to protect consumers from being ripped off with hyperinflated prices and shoddy construction.

Since then, according to FHA estimates, approximately 102,000 homes have been renovated and resold using the waiver. The reason for the upcoming termination: The program has done its job, stimulated billions of dollars of investments, stabilized prices and provided homes for families who were often newcomers to ownership.

However, even though the FHA waiver program has functioned well, officials say, inherent dangers exist when there are no minimum ownership periods for flippers. In the 1990s, FHA witnessed this first hand when teams of con artists began buying run-down houses, slapped a little paint on the exterior, and resold them within days — using fraudulent appraisals — for hyperinflated prices and profits. Their buyers, who obtained FHA-backed mortgages, often couldn’t afford the payments and defaulted. Sometimes the buyers were themselves part of the con and never made any payments on their loans — leaving FHA, a government-owned insurer, with steep losses.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only