Todd's Real Estate Blog

Brooklyn Girl Eatery will be Mission Hills newest addition to a great list of fabuous restaurants located in the middle of the business district.  They are schedule to open in the fall of this year.  They are touting a "Casual neighborhood American eatery with a sustainable farm-to-table attitude". This will be another welcome eatery within a short walk from my home so I'm excited to see what they have to offer. 

Additionally, their website states, "We will be open breakfast + lunch + dinner + late night with an
extensive menu of seasonal and locally sourced organic products at very attractive price points. 
Full "artisanal" bar with a great selection of locally produced craft beers on tap and an extensive and affordable wine list.  In addition we will have a "chef's pantry" offering daily selection of
salads, pasta, sandwiches, pastries and pre-prepared entrees to go." Their website is http://brooklyngirleatery.com/

They will be located  at 4033 Goldfinch Street at the corner of Goldfinch and Ft. Stockton at the bottom of the 1Mission luxury condo building.

For more information about Mission Hills San Diego, Contact Todd Armstrong or visit his website at www.ArmstrongEstates.com.

I finally decided to create a Facebook page devoted to my favorite topic, Modern Home Design!  My passion for cool new architecture and mod design resulted in MODERN HOMES SAN DIEGOas my new Facebook Page.  After getting so many, "Where did you get that?" inquiries about furniture, artwork or knick-knacks in my own home, now I have a place to share it.

I have photo galleries open on Modern Homes exterior, Modern Homes Interior, Modern Furniture, Modern Art and Modern Landscaping.  Fans can upload their own pictures, favorite homes or just browse the wall posts for the newest products, new stores or my favorite artists. 

Check it out now by Clicking on MODERN HOMES SAN DIEGO or search Facebook for the same terms. 

Todd Armstrong & Associates specializes in modern homes in Mission Hills San Diego, Hillcrest and the rest of San Diego County. See more about his team at www.ArmstrongEstates.com

Just launched my new home search portal. 

FULLY INTERACTIVE LIFESTYLE AND REAL ESTATE SEARCH PORTAL presented by Todd Armstrong & Associates!

This is much more than the normal MLS / IDX feature you see on every other website.  My search allows you to tailor your lifestyle with your home search.  Need to live near your favorite school or church?  Find out what homes are for sale around that school or church.  Have a favorite restaurant, micro neighborhood or favorite watering hole, just type that in and you will see what property is for sale within the distances you specify. 

This has to be the coolest MLS search tool I've ever seen.  Its a real-time interactive geo-spatial search platform that delivers a totally new way to search for real estate online. Every aspect of the search process is conducted on the map, creating a fluid and entertaining user experience.  Through our innovative Lifestyle Search System, users can visually see the relational perspective between all things important in their real estate decision making process. Looking for a home within a quarter mile of a high school, a half mile of a coffee shop, and 2 miles from a grocery store? SpatialMatch can find you those homes.

The platform is built on deep levels of data, including for-sale homes, historic ‘sold' data, 60+ million not-for-sale houses, 130,000+ schools and universities, 12+ million businesses, demographics and statistical data, and much more. We even have features like local news as well as free Home Value Reports (AVM's), enabling deeper levels of search. 

START YOUR SEARCH NOW:  http://www.armstrongestates.com/spatial-match-c28815.html

Come on out to enjoy Mission Hills Alive in San Diego California.  Meet many local artists, tour local gardens, enjoy outstanding food and more.

People who claimed the first-time homebuyer credit on their federal income tax return in 2008 will need to begin repaying that tax credit on their 2010 tax return. The homebuyer credit is still available until April 2011 for military personnel.

Repaying the First-Time Homebuyer Credit

The 2008 version of the homebuyer credit needs to be repaid in equal installments over 15 years. Unlike any other tax credit, the homebuyer credit must be repaid over 15 years. This pay-back feature applies only to homes purchased in 2008.

The homebuyer credit is repaid as an additional tax on your federal tax return for fifteen years, starting with your 2010 tax return. If you received the maximum $7,500 credit, this works out to annual repayments of $500 per year. You could think of this tax credit as an interest-free 15-year loan. The credit will also need to be repaid in full if the taxpayer sells the house within the fifteen-year repayment period.

The credit also needs to be repaid in full if within 36 months of buying the property, the home is no longer the taxpayer's primary residence. This provision applies to all versions of the homebuyer credit. The credit will be disallowed if a taxpayer sells the house before the end of the same year in which the house was purchased.

You will utilize Form 5405 to calculate your repayment of the homebuyer credit. The IRS advises, "If you are required to repay the credit, complete Parts III and IV of Form 5405. Attach the form to your Form 1040. Include the repayment on Form 1040, line 59, and check box c." (Publication 17, chapter 37.)

Forbes outlook: SD in top 5 home markets in '11

BY LILY LEUNG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011

JOHN R. MCCUTCHEN / UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF

A home in Solana Beach, an area that saw an increase in median home price from 2009 to 2010, according to DataQuick Information Systems. The median price for all types of sales in that ZIP code rose from $1,106,250 to $1,175,000, or 6.2 percent, based on 22 sales in 2010. Twenty-seven homes were sold in 2009. Which California city from Forbes' rankings will see the most price gains in '11? San Jose Santa Ana San Diego  

Cities where home values will likely go up: San Jose Santa Ana Bethesda, Md. Pittsburgh San Diego

Cities where home values will likely fall: Daytona Beach, Fla. Lakeland, Fla. Orlando, Fla. Boise, Idaho.

Las Vegas San Diego ranked No. 5 out of 315 housing markets that Forbes.com says are poised for price increases in 2011 and in the coming years. (See The Best And Worst Cities For Home Values In 2011.) The finance publication predicts that the median home price in San Diego will rise 2 percent in the next 12 months and through the next three years, based on findings from Local Market Monitor, a research company that analyzed data from real estate markets throughout the U.S. The company also factored in the areas' unemployment and job growth rates. (Television station NBC San Diego reported the findings on Monday.)

Two other California cities - San Jose and Santa Ana - topped the list of U.S. cities where home values are likely to rise steadily over the next three years. Median home prices in both San Jose and Santa Ana are expected to rise 3 percent in the next 12 months and an average of 2 percent annually over the next three years. While Forbes predicts California to head toward somewhat of a housing recovery, it says Florida shouldn't hold its breath. Cities in the Sunshine State dominated the list of cities in the country that are expected to fare the worst in home values: Daytona Beach, Lakeland and Orlando.  Forbes quotes Ingo Winzer, president of the Local Market Monitor, as saying, "The big difference between Florida and Southern California ... is people are moving into Southern California, but they're not moving to Florida." Five out of eight contributors of the Union-Tribune's Econometer also believe the region will see an increase in home prices.

The San Diego city counsel just put a six month extension on building height limits for Hillcrest area of San Diego.  The current law was set to expire in 4 days. Additionally, it also addresses most building heights in Banker's Hill to 65 feet. 

The new ordinance was slammed by local architects who argued that the restrictions have stifled development in impacted neighborhoods.  They believe the restriction will not allow construction of new buildings to become profitable and drive down property values because of neighborhood decay. 

See more about the Hillcrest San Diego community by clicking HERE. 

Check out this video link. I'm already subscribed but I thought I'd share with you. Take the time to watch the whole thing.  This is Not a business or MLM or anything like that, just good investment strategies and what's going on with our economy and how to capitalize on it. See how the Rich buy homes and other investments. 

www.TheElevationTeam.com

Todd Armstrong

www.ArmstrongEstates.com

This quote from Albert Einstein applies to today’s Real Estate market more than ever.  Over and over again I see sellers listing their homes with agents using ineffective and outdated marketing and overpricing their homes.  Why?  Why would you allow your agent to overprice your home in a down market with outdated advertising techniques and expect the homes to sell?   This is insanity! 

Contact me today so I can sit down with you for a no-nonsense approach to selling your home in Mission Hills in today’s market.   No obligation for you and no pressure from me.  I just ask that you allow me to show you how I differ from the same old agent that’s been around for years and doing the same old tired marketing.  I use all the cutting edge technology to give your home GLOBAL exposure, not just MLS exposure.  The days of putting your home in the MLS and expecting it to sell are long gone.  Send me an email today at tarmstrong68@att.net and visit my website at www.ArmstrongEstates.com.  Let the new year start right and get your home SOLD.

Todd lives and works as a Realtor in the beautiful neighborhood of Mission Hills and Hillcrest. This sought after enclave of historic estate homes is a gem within the city. This metro region is perfectly centered in the middle of San Diego's bustling centers for art, museums, fine restaurants and beautiful parks. He is active in the community, attends dozens of charity events and is a member of the MARYAH group. (Metro Area Real Estate Professionals for Young Adult Housing)

What the heck is a QR-Code?  Not many people are familiar with the smart phone application but it's catching on FIRE worldwide.  Time to get into the game. A QR code is simply a bar code that allows people with smart phones to quickly scan the QR code using a free QR reader app and will be taken to a website with more information about real estate or that agent's personal website.  Works with I-Phones, Blackberrys and Droid phones and many others. 

You can add them to your digital arsenal AND your print ads.  Not only do they work on the internect, but you would missing the boat if you did not include them on your printed ad campaign such as business cards, postcards, magazine or newspaper ads.  Why?  People are connected to the world with their smart phones.  Imagine getting a "Just Listed" postcard in the mail, the prospect could quickly scan the QR Code on the card with their phone and be taken directly to that listing website to get all the information they want.  Or someone at Starbucks reading the newspaper and run across one of your QR-Codes for a new property, they simply scan that code and see all the relevant information you want them to see. 

Time to get with the program. Technology will only improve our business and connections to potential leads.  Generate your QR-Codes today!  I use this website to generate my QR-Codes.  Scan the CODE here now to see how it works.