Suzie Durant Real Estate Agent

Every day is Earth Day. So begin your family’s stewardship adventure Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Help Protect the Earth Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Cut down on what you throw away. Follow the three "R's" to conserve natural resources and landfill space. Volunteer. Volunteer for cleanups in your community. You can get involved in protecting your watershed, too.... Educate. When you further your own education, you can help others understand the importance and value of our natural resources. Conserve water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that eventually end up in the ocean. Choose sustainable. Learn how to make smart seafood choices at www.fishwatch.gov. Shop wisely. Buy less plastic and bring a reusable shopping bag. Use long-lasting light bulbs. Energy efficient light bulbs reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also flip the light switch off when you leave the room! Plant a tree. Trees provide food and oxygen. They help save energy, clean the air, and help combat climate change. Don't send chemicals into our waterways. Choose non-toxic chemicals in the home and office. Bike more. . Use alternative transportation. Walk, bike or use public transportation to reach a destination you would normally drive to. Decorate reusable canvas tote bags. Kids can personalize their own bags using fabric markers and fabric paint. Use them all year long fora shopping, library books and sleepovers, or give them as one-of-a-kind gifts. Plan, prepare and plant a garden. Set aside a portion of the garden for your children. Find tips about patio gardening with kids here. Volunteer for a neighborhood or beach clean-up. Find opportunities at I Love a Clean San Diego. Use only eco-friendly and reusable products all day. Help your children notice things they can reuse. Don’t forget those cloth napkins! Clear the clutter. Search the house for items you no longer use and have the kids do the same. Finding a new home for these items keeps them out of a landfill. It saves manufacturing, transportation and packaging costs required when buying new items. Put unused items back into circulation by donating them to charity or holding a yard sale. Sell items online or leave them by the curb with a free sign for a few days. Go hiking at a local park or nature reserve. Torrey Pines and Mission Trails Regional Park offer great hiking trails. Find more of San Diego’s best hiking trails here. Plant a tree. Arbor Day is officially the last Friday of April, the same week as Earth Day. Celebrate both days by joining a group tree-planting project or by planting a tree on your own property.

What to do with a Stimulus Check 101: GOVERNMENT STIMULUS CHECK INFORMATION BE WISE MY FRIENDS...BE WISE.......... So here’s what’s up: 1. To Tenants: If the government says you don’t have to pay your rent and there’s a ban on evictions, you better do whatever you can to pay your rent. There will be major repercussions when eviction bans are lifted. Don’t think you’ll get a free ride out of this. PAY YOUR RENT! Your landlord has bills to pay too. 2. To Homeowners: If the government tells banks to stop mortgage payments, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO PAY YOUR MORTGAGE!. Some lenders are saying you don’t have to pay for 3 months, but on the 4th month, all four payments are due in full. Do not take a chance and not pay. Major foreclosures will come from all this. The banks didn’t help homeowners in 2008-2009 and in 2020, it’s still the same. Pay your mortgage. 3. If the utility company suspends payments, you better pay any amount you can! They are like banks, they will want their money eventually and when all this clears up, you’ll owe an exuberant bill and still won’t have any utilities. Pay whatever you can. 4. If you get a government stimulus check, this check is to help pay your bills. That means you pay your rent, your mortgage, your utilities, your insurance, your car payment, your bills. This is not for frivolous spending, but we all know SOMEONE who’s gonna say oh I have 4 months before I have to pay another bill and spend it on something else. 5. The real problem is, many who will get the stimulus check....won’t pay their bills then will be crying and wailing saying They evicted me. They cut off my power, they repossessed my car... All while you’re broke and carrying that empty purse you bought with your stimulus check. 6. This money can also help keep the economy going, so buy a gift card from your hair lady, nail lady, favorite restaurant or buy some Togo food, but just overall be smart about it! Its not a free for all people think wisely! PAY YOUR BILLS!!!! There’s always FREE cheese in a mouse trap!

ADU / GRANNY FLAT Can my clients put an ADU (granny flat) on their property? Most single-family homeowners can build ADUs. In general, State law allows homeowners in single-family neighborhoods to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) as long as there's room for it on their property. ... In San Diego County, the ADU laws and process have become very streamlined. Is a building permit required for an ADU? Yes, you will be required to obtain Building Permits to ensure that the new house meets all zoning, building, health and safety codes. This process has been streamlined. San Diego County has Pre-Approved County Standard plans with a quick and easy process. What size ADU is allowed? How big? An ADU is intended to be secondary in size to the single-family residence. If attached to a primary dwelling may be up to 50% of the size of the single-family residence, up to a maximum of 1,200 square feet. An ADU detached from the single family residence may be up to 1,200 square feet, regardless to the size of the main residence. The official term for a "granny flat" is an "Accessory Dwelling Unit." This is commonly known in the industry as an ADU. Size matters when it comes to ADUs.

Not making a mortgage payment? What is the potential harm? With information coming out that you can "skip" a mortgage payment and you will not be foreclosed on is not as simple as it seems. It could impact future credit requests for loans, even if the creditors do not report it late on your credit report. With everything happing so fast, the long term lending guidelines have not been set.... IF you are in a situation where you cannot make your mortgage payment, make sure to get the terms from your loan servicer. Some of them might add the amount not paid onto the end of your loan and SOME may require the total amount that you did not pay due at the time your next payment is due. For example, if you "skip" 3 months of mortgage payments at $2,000 per month, on the 4th month some servicers will require the three months that was not paid plus your 4th month that you are scheduled to pay. That could be $8,000 on month 4. Please, Please, Please get ALL the information from your servicer before you make your decision I have heard from a lot of people "I get to skip my mortgage payment"-----Nothing is free-------, it is temporary support for people that "affirm" they have been impacted by Covid19 and unfortunately I hear many people that think it is free money. Questions to ask your servicer: --Will the payments be added to my loan balance or due in a lump sum? If due in a lump sum, when? --Will there be any additional charges to me for not making the payment? --Do I have any penalties for not making the payment? ---Will this impact my credit by not making the payment? Please note even if your servicer does not report it on your credit, it has not yet been determined what the guidelines will be if you are purchasing or refinancing a house in the near future if you did not make your mortgage payments. Currently lenders look at a 12 month housing payment history in most cases. Bottom line, just know what you are getting into. I will let you know when there is further information on this topic.