1). Front Yard femces: Most people dont know any fence in the front yard requires location and design review by the city of Sunnyvale planning Division and may also need a permit. The city has the design guidelines for front yeard fencing that encourage residential style and strongly discourage industrial plain cement blocks.      

2). Good Neighbor fences: The fence that separate properties along the side and rear.  A very popular and attractive good neighbor fence design is a six foot solid fence with a foot of attice along the top for total of seven feet. Any fence more than 6 feet high requires planning division review, a building permit and agreements signed by all affected neighbors. A cpy of the agreement os available at the planning division.

3). A few other tips: Fences taller than 7 feet will require consideration at a public hearing. If you live on a corner lot, there will be special fence setback provisions for your property. Aslo, fence codes change over time, and it cannot be assumed that any fence that has been in place for year, don’t need the permit. If you need more information, you may email to planning@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us

From the web site of www.saveourh2o.org you will find the water saving tips for both business and home owners.

In the home:

• Only wash cloth when it is full loaded - sae 16 fallons per load
• Run the dishwasher only when it is full - save 3-8 gallons per load
• Take shorter showers - use 5 min shower rather 10 min shower

In the office:

• Fix leaks - faulty faucets and tooilets waste a lot of water every year.
• Upgrde toilets and urinals - toilets and urinals account for more than 1/3 of the water consumed in the office buildings.

It is a difficult task to save money any time but if you determine to buy a home why don’t you follow my money saving tips:

1. Create a budget : You start writing down your monthly living budget such as rent, food, gas, insurance etc.  Put down your monthly income as next page. Figure out how much extra money do you have each month.  From the real number you create a realisic budget goal and maintain the budget as it goes. If you click the link of “create a budget” then you can find a budge builder tool from www.thebeehive.org to create a budget.

2. Put the extra income to an interest bearing account. You can set aside 10% of gross income in that account. In this way you wrould never know you have this money. You put the extra income like birth gife or raise to the saving also.

3. Cut down your living expense: Cut down the buying need can save money. Find ways to cut down expense: I remember my parent used to say:” A penny saved is a penny earned.”. Skip reading the “On Sale” advertising from the newspaper will be a good way to avoid the temptation. Have you heard about the “Latte effect”?  If the latte cost $3.00 a day then one month will be $90 and 10 years will be $18,559 based on the USA today. You will be amazed that how much money you can save.
4. Stick to your budget plan: the saving goal could $1,000 monthly or 10% of your monthly income. You have to keep on saving month after month.
5. Increase your income: Do you have extra time and energy to find a part time job?or sell your stuff that you don’t need on www.ebay.com

Tips

• Tell your friends and family member that you are going to buy home and you are cut down the unnecessary expense.
• Put your budget near computer screen so you will see it daily.
• Ask help from your family members or spouse to save together.

Nowadays I’m being more mindful of the water I use in my home, because I recently learned that we are in a drought. I no longer let the water run when brushing my teeth, and fill my vases and cups a little less these days. The Board of Santa Clara Valley Water District voted unanimously to implement a mandatory 15% in water use for its customers as the state enters spring in the midst of a drought. California is facing water shortage due to 2 successive dry years. The city of Sunnyvale has asked its residents to reduce their intake by 10% and have discussed ways to make sure that residents stay with this required rationing. There could be letters of warning sent to people who water their lawns and gardens between 8am and 5pm during the daylight savings time. Also people could get tickets for washing their cars without a shut off nozzle on the hose, and people who hose down their sidewalks instead of sweeping. This is the time where using extra water and being wasteful will not pay!

To help residents learn how to conserve water in the home, yard and inspect their homes for leaks and potential leaks, they can get a surveyor to come into their home and perform a free audit by contacting San Jose Water Co. 408-279-7900. They also will teach residents how to be more efficient with watering their gardens and yards like switching to a more efficient irrigation system and using a special hose attachment. You don’t have to be a homeowner to learn about all these water saving methods. You may learn more tips from the following link http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Water_conservation/Water_conservation_tips.shtm

There are thousands and thousands of foreclosures in Silicon Valley. The San Jose city official  announced that city has the funds to offer help for the troubled homeowners in

A “Foreclosure Help” workshop will be held April 23 at the Santa Clara County Fairground from noon to 5 p.m. It will feature city, county, non-profit groups, and the real estate and financial industries, offering information and resources on how to avoid foreclosure.“Foreclosure Help” will be a four-pronged approach that targets prevention, intervention, family stabilization and neighborhood stabilization, said San Jose City Mayor Chuck Reed.

Please check into the SJlibrary web page for the other information regarding foreclosure help.

Happy Valentine’s Day! The Valentine day will be a perfect day to find a romantic home. 

She managed to change a 1000 sf in  Campbell 4 plex apartment to be a beautiful French villa. Cindy Kihn-Santiago  is not a professional interior decorator by all means. She is a 48-year-old single mother of two kids who loves gardening, decorating, knitting, cooking and drawing. She shares her passion at the blogs of  my romantic home  .    After posting a photo on the network’s Rate My Space, the HGTV has found her also.   Cindy’s apartment was used as an HGTV inspiration for a couple who wanted a romantic bedroom. JCPenney handed her a $500 shopping spree for the home decor.Earlier this week she told her audience that she is hoping to land a spot on a new HGTV show, “HGTV Designer for a Day,” to work along with a host to make over a room.

The www.lookiloos.com did a story of her. If you look this web site you can find our local Silicon Valley realtors pay $75.00 to buy a spot to advertising a listing as long as the listing is alive. The aboved photo is Cindy’s kitchen window which is the courtesy from today’s  San Jose Mercury News .

First time home buyers who purchase a home on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 are to receive a tax credit of 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,500 from the federal government. Check on http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ for more detail

Who Qualifies for The First Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit.· Home was purchased between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.

· Single taxpayers with the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI defined by IRS) up to $75,000 and married taxpayers with incomes of $150,000.

· The home you have purchased or plan to purchase has to be your principal residence supportLists

· You have not owned a home in the past 3 years.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

· The tax credit is available for first-time home buyers only.

· The maximum credit amount is $7,500.

· The credit is available for homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009.

Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be repaid over a 15-year period. The $7,500 is a one time credit and is applied to the year in which the home purchase was made. However, this Tax Credit has to be repaid, interest free over the next 15 years back to Uncle Sam, starting 2 years after the home was purchased. Hence this government credit functions more as an interest-free loan. After receiving the Tax Credit if you decide to sell your home, the balance of what is not paid back to the Federal Government becomes due at the time of sale. If you are interested in receiving this tax credit, You can simply claim this $7,500 tax credit on your Federal Income Tax Return.If you have more question, regarding this please check with your tax consultant.

Grace Keng, CRS, Silicon Valley

Fall is here now. It is important to prepare for the winder months. Below a fall home maintenance checklist for all the homeowners:

Outside of the house:

*Roof, Gutters and Downspouts:

1). Check for any sign of leaking of roof and downspouts then reapair it as soon as possible.

2). Check for any possible leaking of the flashing on vents, chimneys, and sklights.

*Walls and windows

1). Check for any cracks and holes out side wall and repair it as needed it.

2). Inspect around the windows and doors to repair any broken frames.

*Landscapes

1). Trim trees and shrubs. Keep away from the power line.

2). Fertilize and reseed your lawn. *Chimney and Fireplace1). Call a professional to inspect and clean the chimney. 2). Test the fireplace flue to a tight seal when it is closed.

Interior of the house:

Alarm System

1). Test the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detectors.

2). Change the batteriers.

Heating Systems:

1). Replace the filter of your furnace. Have a heating system serviced.

2). Check the heating vents are not blocked by any furnature.

Plumbing Systems:

1). Check of all the faucets in the house to see the possible leaking.

2). Replace the washers if it they are needed.

Reducing water use is easier then you thing. Let me give you some water save tips that I use in my home.

1). Install low flow shower heads and faucet aeratiors. It can save 16 gallons per day.

2). Turn the faucet off while you brush you teeth that save 2 gallons per minute.

3). Fix leaky faucets; save 15-20 gallons per day.

4). Put a new water saving washer or toliet and get the money saving rebate. The new toilets flush at 1.28 gallons per flush or less, it will save water and money.

5). Adjust your landscape water supply. You don’t need to waste water to clean the street.

If you want to save water and money you may call to ask a free water-wise house call 408 265 2607 ext 2554 or more tips can be found at www.valleywater.org