1. real estate
2. buying and selling homes

May 2013
How to Stage Your Home in Any Market
by Bill Cary
it can be,” Sanders says. “Clean is what matters, so edit, edit, edit.”
Or maybe it’s time for an old-fashioned
yard sale.
f you have notions of putting your
home on the market, now is the time to
begin preparing for a sale.
And, frankly, even if you’re not selling, a
serious spring spruce-up may be just the thing
for your tired-looking castle. The trick is to
make your home stand out.
Just remember — it’s always a good idea to
check with the Better Business Bureau, calling
a few references before hiring anyone to do
work in your home.
I
Freshen Up
Nancy August, an interior designer in
Piermont, N.Y., says she’ll sometimes just
swap out all the hardware in clients’ homes for
a fresh, bright look.
New hinges, doorknobs, drawer pulls and
people buy a house before even going inside
—or they decide not to. Like painting, new light switches will dress up every room, as will a
landscaping can really transform a property few new lamps and light fixtures. A touch of new
hardware can really perk up a tired bathroom.
from dreary to really exciting.”
Consider a Full Re-Staging
If you’re not good at this sort of home
improvement and decorating, maybe it’s time
to hire a professional stager to give your
house a once-over.
“People don’t see their own house after living
there a while and sometimes need a stranger to
help them see what’s really there,” Sanders says.
You probably have your home arranged in a
way that’s functional to you. But think decorative, not functional.
Home stagers can help cull your furniture
and other possessions for a clean, spare look that
will make your house seem bigger and brighter.
Pack it Up
And they may have a couch and a club chair
Why should potential buyers have to
that look worlds better than yours. ■
wade through your clutter?
“In good times or bad, the key is to eliminate clutter, making the house as appealing as ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
Pick Up the Trash
This is one of the easiest and most overlooked ways that people can make their
properties look so much better, according to
Jon Feldman of G. Biloba Gardens in
Nyack, N.Y.
Consider hiring a guy with a truck to haul
away all those little piles of leftover materials,
such as wood from the deck you built three
years ago, old swings from the swing set, anything you’ve tucked behind the garage or have
piled in the backyard, and so on.
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Put on a Pretty Face
If the outside of your house looks worn
down, no one will want to see the inside.
So paint the front door and pick a handsome new color for the exterior trim. Fix the
old shutter and make sure the path from the
driveway to the front door is clear.
“You don’t want people walking into your
Get an honest friend to stand in the street house and have the doorknobs fall off,” says
with you to give you a frank appraisal of how Steve White, the owner of Handyman
the outside of your house looks from the curb. Connection in Elmsford, N.Y. “If the little
things are not done, people will think, ‘what
Hire an Agent
else is not done?’”
Now’s not the time to try to sell your house
on your own.
Paint It
More than ever, you need a real estate profes“Paint is the greatest single thing you can
sional to help you price your house, to host do, and it’s the most cost effective,” says David
open houses, to hire a professional photographer Sanders of Sanders Properties in Nyack, N.Y.
for brochures — to basically get the word out. “Use light, cheery colors. People don’t want to
Also, having an agent is extremely convenient walk into a dark, dreary room.”
when someone wants a showing at a moment’s
This is probably not a weekend job for
notice while you’re stuck at the office.
your husband and your teenagers. Spend the
money — hire a pro.
Fix It
And by “It,” we mean everything.
Plant It
Repair any broken joints or cracks in walls
Get rid of leggy, overgrown foundation
or foundations. If you have stiff windows or plantings. Replace them with low-growing
doors, take care of them, too. Does the tub shrubs and perennials.
in the bathroom need to be re-caulked?
“Landscaping is a very cost-effective way of
Now’s the time.
sprucing up a property,” Sanders says. “Some
Ditch Family Photos
You’ve heard it from your real-estate agent,
but we’ll say it again: Buyers don’t want to see
three generations of family photos on the baby
grand in the livingroom. They want to imagine their family in your house.
Get rid of little Johnny’s artwork and
Grandma’s needlepoint, too. You can break it
out again in your new home.
S P O RTS
PAG E B R E A K
Angels Complete
The Romance Reader:
Trade of Wells to Yankees
by Jeff Fletcher
heir
names
are
Exicardo Cayones and
Kramer Sneed, but
you can just call them
by their number: 13.9 million.
Two days after the framework of the deal was reached,
the Angels recently completed
their trade of Vernon Wells
and cash to the New York
Yankees in exchange for
Cayones and Sneed, a couple
of low-level minor leaguers.
From the Angels’ standpoint, the deal was not so
much about what they got,
but what they got rid of,
namely an outfielder they had
no use for and $13.9 million
worth of his contract.
The Angels gained flexibility, with their roster and their
payroll. General Manager
Jerry Dipoto addressed only
the former, saying the Wells
move helped avoid having
“too crowded a house.”
Dipoto said the Angels didn’t envision Wells getting
many at-bats behind a starting
outfield of Mike Trout, Josh
Hamilton, and Peter Bourjos,
with DH Mark Trumbo also
able to play outfield.
“We felt there was a role for
Vernon, but a limited role,”
Dipoto said. “He was a fourth
T
outfielder, but with at-bats
closer to what you’d expect for
a fifth outfielder based on the
presence of Trumbo.”
In the meantime, the Angels
have a less-experienced bench.
Kole Calhoun likely moves up
to become the No. 4 outfielder.
A backup shortstop (likely
Andrew Romine) and a backup
catcher (likely Chris Snyder)
will take two of the spots, leaving infielders Brendan Harris,
Luis Jimenez, Efren Navarro
and Luis Rodriguez and outfielder J.B. Shuck in the mix for
Yankees are absorbing. With
Wells on the roster, the
Angels’ payroll would have
been right around the $178
million threshold. The luxury
tax payroll is calculated using
average annual values, so it’s
higher than the actual payroll.
Any money the Angels spent
over that threshold—on
bonuses or players acquired by
trade—would have been taxed
at 17.5 percent. Also, the rate
would have increased for each
subsequent year the Angels
were over the threshold.
As for the players the Angels
got back, both are low-level
players and neither is considered a top prospect.
Sneed was a 32nd-round
draft pick in 2010. Dipoto
likes his career average of more
than one strikeout per inning,
and said Sneed has a chance to
be a part of a major league
bullpen. Sneed, 24, has a
career 4.39 ERA in the
minors, but he’s averaged more
than a strikeout per inning.
Cayones, 21, is a career .261
hitter who has never played
above Class-A. The left-handed swinging Venezuelan outfielder was traded to the
Yankees in the A.J. Burnett
deal last year. the last spot.
Roster composition aside,
the payroll flexibility was
obviously the most significant
reason for the deal.
Yankees are paying $11.5
million of Wells’ contract in
2013, and $2.4 million next
year, with the Angels picking
up the rest of Wells’ $21 million annual salary. That lowers the Angels 2013 payroll to
around $148 million.
The Angels are likely to save
even more than the $13.9 ©2013 Distributed by
million of Wells’ salary the Tribune Media Services, Inc.
As You Wish
by Lezlie Patterson
As You Wish by Eloisa James; Avon (2013), 358 pages,
$5.99 (paperback)
Avon and Eloisa James have spectacularly embraced new
reading technology, and embarked on a cutting edge and
trendy way to bring readers one of James’ new ageless historical stories.
Kudos to the publisher and author for not only finding a
way to adopt e-reading but for delivering a splendid story
with ties to former characters (always a gift) as well.
Colin, the young son from “Seduced By a Pirate,” and
Grace, the daughter who hadn’t been born yet in “The
Ugly Duchess,” are the protagonists in “As You Wish,” a
story doled to readers electronically in three parts during
the past few weeks.
Digitally, the stories are titled “With This Kiss.” Part One
was released as an e-book on March 12, Part Two on March
19, and Part Three on March 26—also the release day for the
limited edition paperback As You Wish, which contains all
three parts of “With This Kiss” and “Seduced By A Pirate.”
The three-part story introduces readers to Colin and
Grace as children, explaining that the families of the heroes
from “The Ugly Duchess” and “Seduced By a Pirate” had
remained close through the years. Readers watch, perhaps
tearfully, as Grace falls hopelessly in love with kind-hearted
Colin, who seems to insist on treating her with sisterly
affection. Until he doesn’t.
It’s truly one story, split into three parts. James’ knack for
writing brilliant historical romance is once again apparent,
as she brings new and old characters to life. She stirs the
reader’s emotions, making it impossible to forget the story
until the characters find their happily-ever-after.
Overall rating: 5 of 5 hearts. Aside from the fact that it’s
just a cool and innovative way to deliver a story, and it’s just
fun and satisfying to have the characters be the children of
previous couples, the story is full of emotional moments.
James produces another well-written story that is gripping,
fun and satisfying.
Happily-Ever-After: Very good. Colin makes amends
brilliantly, and a cute epilogue ties it all together.
Hopefully, readers will be treated to some more stories
chronicling the loves of Colin and Grace’s siblings. ©2013 Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
A RTS & E N T E RTA I N M E N T
From Burt Wonderstone to Anchorman,
Carell Will Have a Busy 2013
by Mark Caro
L
ooking trim in a black
windbreaker over a gray
crew neck sweatshirt, Steve
Carell walked into the diner near
the Warner Bros. lot just like a regular guy. OK, most actors/celebrities walk into diners like regular
folk; it’s not like they’re transported
in on pillows. So with Carell, let’s
emphasize the regularness.
Carell, whose breakthrough
movie, The 40 Year Old Virgin
(2005), sprung from a sketch he
developed while at The Second City,
draws you in subtly, his hazel eyes
projecting earnestness, his shortcropped pepper-with-salt hair augmenting the image of someone who
would seem right at home in a
bureaucratic office—a trick that,
come to think of it, he has pulled
off. He’s stealth-normal.
When you watch him on screen,
you never know whether things will
remain calm, as they do in his dramatic roles in Hope Springs (where
he plays counselor to Meryl Streep
and Tommy Lee Jones’ passionseeking married couple) and in
Little Miss Sunshine (his suicidal, gay
Proust expert anchoring some dysfunctional family comedy), or go
kablooey, as they do when he’s a
newscaster suddenly spouting gib2
berish (Bruce Almighty, from 2003)
or an office manager who can’t help
doing or saying the absolute wrong
thing at the worst time (NBC’s The
Office, which he left in 2011).
His new comedy, The Incredible
Burt Wonderstone, finds Carell exercising his funny bones as an obnoxious star magician whose act has
grown stale amid the shock antics of
an up-and-coming rival played by
Jim Carrey (his nemesis in Bruce
Almighty). But other sides of Carell
will be on display soon given that he
has five—count ‘em, five—movies
coming out in 2013.
The Way, Way Back, directed by
The Descendants co-writers Nat
Faxon and Jim Rash, is a coming-ofage tale about a 14-year-old boy
whose mom’s new jerky boyfriend is
played by Carell. That’s scheduled
to open in early July, as is Despicable
Me 2, the animated sequel in which
Carell reprises his character of Gru,
a not-so-evil villain who adopts
three girls.
Late this year will come his heaviest role yet,—as a mentally ill multimillionaire, John du Pont, who
kills an Olympic wrestler—in
Foxcatcher, from Moneyball and
Capote director Bennett Miller. At
the other end of the spectrum is
Second
City
veteran
and
writer-director Adam McKay’s
Anchorman: The Legend Continues
(due out December 20), in which
Carell returns as dunderheaded
meteorologist Brick Tamland.
On Anchorman: The Legend
Continues: “It’s going to be so
ridiculous. Just before I came over, I
got a link for some music that we’re
going to be prerecording down
there. It’s already beyond absurd,
what we’re doing. I’m excited. You
know, the first one was so much fun
to do. I think that’s why everyone’s
doing this one. I don’t think anyone
had any thoughts of making art. Just
rampant silliness. We were just trying to make each other laugh. I
don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder
in my life than when doing that.”
On why he wanted to play a longhaired, bare-chested magician: “It
just seemed silly and ridiculous, and
it’s a world that I’d never seen in a
movie before. I thought it would be
fun to split the difference between
very broad comedy but positioned
within an actual story. . . . I just
thought it was funny. I just thought
the character was funny. He was
(lowers voice to a whisper) kind of a
(jerk), which I don’t generally get to
play. I tend to get offered parts of
more likable people.” ©2013 Distributed by McClatchyTribune Information Services
H O M E I M P ROV E M E N T
Sliding Doors
Are Smart Home Design Details
by Allen Norwood
vintage doors. Familiar door makers
such as Marvin and Jeld-Wen make
quality exterior sliding doors, Pursley
said. They’re a good choice, because
the barn door style can be hard to
seal tightly.
Whatever the style, a sliding door
needs to operate smoothly. It’s going
to invite attention—and tempt people
to give it a try. “It’s very important, if
you’re going to use one of these doors,
that you use good hardware,”
Bourgeois said.
Stanley makes sliding door hardware
that’s widely available. At the upper
end, the German company Hafele
makes sliding door hardware that’s
both sculptural and sophisticated.
Bourgeois and Pursley prefer hardware
from Crown Industrial, a California
company.
Crown Sales Manager Beverly
Morgan said residential sales have
been growing the past few years.
The familiar barn door look is especially popular. In that system, the door
is hung by rollers from an exposed bar
across the top of the door. The
exposed hardware—like the hardware
on Bourgeois’ award-winning doors—
is an important part of the look.
There might be a visible track at the
bottom of a sliding door, or there
might be a pin on the floor that fits
into a slot on the bottom of the door.
It’s important to keep heavy sliding
doors from swinging and banging to
the wall or door frame.
Black hardware for a 3-foot-wide
door would be $312; in stainless steel,
the cost would be $776. sliding door—say, a door of
planks hanging from exposed
hardware—transforms
a
room. It’s so eye-catching, so unexpected, that it invites closer looks. It
brings smiles.
There are also practical reasons for
choosing sliding doors. They can be
larger—taller, wider and heavier—
than hinged doors. They don’t require
open floor space like swinging doors.
But mostly, architects and designers
love them for their looks.
A sliding door softens a formal
room, said Charlotte, NC, designer
Emily Bourgeois, who used sliding
pantry doors in an award-winning
kitchen she created for a Charlotte
townhouse. The doors were painted
a vivid blue and featured exposed
hardware.
Any door delivers a message about
the space, she said. “So what’s it saying? Let’s all sit up straight? Or please
feel free to put your feet on the table?”
Architect Ken Pursley of Pursley
Dixon Architecture says a large sliding
door doesn’t just create an opening in
a wall—when opened, it removes the
wall. And, like Bourgeois, he appreciates the look: “There is a charm to it.
It ‘de-suburbanizes’ the door.”
For all those reasons and more,
interest in sliding doors is growing.
You’ll find sliding doors at Lowe’s
and Ikea, and the California-based
Sliding Door Company hopes to
expand along the East Coast. What
are the basics?
For interiors, architects and designers typically use custom sliding doors ©2013 Distributed by
built by local craftsmen or, perhaps, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
A
Sliding doors bring a unique look to a room and can be larger and heavier than
swinging doors without the space factor. When opened this version removes a whole wall
and is from Marvin’s Ultimate Lift and Slide Door
O N T H E H O M E F RO N T
Real Estate Market Has Undergone
Sea Change in Past 20 Years
by Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
For 20 years, we have been chronicling the developments in the real
estate industry in this weekly column. Boy, have times changed!
Twenty years ago, the Internet
was unknown to most people. Ilyce
signed up for an AOL account (she
was within the first 500,000 users
or so) just so she could put it in the
introduction to the first edition of
her first book, 100 Questions Every
First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask.
Most people didn’t even know what
a browser was. (Just remember how
poor and oversized (at least by
today’s standards) cell phones were
back in the early 1990s.)
If you wanted to know what
homes were on the market, you
still had to go to a Realtor’s office
to look at a listing book (and you
weren’t allowed to take it anywhere). Realtors held sway over all
listing information. If you were a
buyer, it was tough to get information from anywhere except a local
real estate agent.
Agents still faxed each other the
“hot sheet” and advertised in local
newspapers. So did mortgage
lenders. It was difficult to know
where to get good information.
Google’s founders wouldn’t even
start working on what became the
behemoth until 1996, and the
company was incorporated in
1998. Then, search was born.
It seems appropriate, on the 20th
anniversary of this column, to look
back at how the real estate industry
has changed, for better and for
worse. Surely, in the past six years it
has been for worse—at least that’s
how builders, real estate agents,
home sellers, homeowners and mortgage lenders have experienced it.
Here’s a quick look at how the
world has changed in the past 20
years for home buyers and sellers:
BUYING A HOME
Where would we be without the
Internet? Back to a paperback
book of listings with one black and
white photo of the front of the
house or building that was published twice a month, viewable
only under lock and key in a
Realtor’s office.
If you went out shopping for a
home, you’d certainly see signage in
front of a house, but no website, no
color photos (let alone digital), no
video, no floor plans and no way to
search other comparable homes in
the neighborhood. There was no
easy way to search school districts,
real estate taxes, or the nearest gourmet coffee shop. And there was no
way to tell online whether the local
municipality had approved a fourlane highway cutting through the
backyard of the home on which
you were making an offer.
In short, it’s a wonder anyone
ever bought anything, which leads
us to . . .
through a local multiple listing service. Twenty years ago, there might
have been a half-dozen local MLS
services, each servicing a different
portion of a metro area. Typically,
the MLSs didn’t share listing information, which made it difficult for
a buyer from the west side of town
to buy a home on the east side of
town, unless he or she used several
different agents. (New York City
still sort of works like this, if you’re
feeling nostalgic for any reason.)
Without listings on the Web, sellers were only able to attract attention through newspaper advertising, the Realtor listing book or
signs. Buyers would often drive
around neighborhoods, looking for
signs that property was for sale.
No question, 20 years ago, real
estate was a far less efficient marketplace. You couldn’t really check
up on prices, neighborhoods or
the reputation of a salesperson
before you hired them. In fact, it’s
hard to imagine how anything got
sold at all. SELLING A HOME
Twenty years ago, most homes
were sold through a full-service
agent. Agents typically represented
the seller, even though they carted
buyers around to showings—and
the buyer thought the agent was
working on his or her behalf.
Nope. It was only during the mid1990s that the concept of buyer
agency was more fully developed.
Sellers had a tough time listing ©2013 Distributed by Tribune
their home for sale other than Media Services Inc.
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3
S E L L E R ’ S CO R N E R
Homeowners Associations
Find Short Sales an Option to
Recoup Losses
by Kerry Singe
ome homeowners and
condominium owners
associations, struggling
after the foreclosure crisis, are
increasingly turning to short
sales or rental agreements to
stanch losses and prevent
future damage to their neighborhoods, real estate brokers
and association managers say.
When the real estate market
crashed at the end of the last
decade, homeowners associations found themselves dealing with unprecedented numbers of homeowners either
unable or unwilling to pay
association dues.
Associations in the past simply filed liens and started foreclosures when homeowners
failed to pay assessments or
dues, a costly and time-consuming process. But the associations rarely recovered money
they were due.
As the foreclosure crisis
lingers, however, boards are trying new tactics when homeowners don’t pay dues, people
in real estate say. Some associations are choosing to foreclose
on delinquent dues-payers, taking title and renting out the
home while they wait for the
lender to foreclose and take
ownership. Sometimes, a
homeowners association will
end up renting to the original
homeowner who had stopped
paying, said Andy Pressley with
Charlotte, NC-based MECA
Properties, which manages
about 20 associations representing 2,000 condominium units.
Banks can sometimes take
years to foreclose on a property.
“(Dealing with nonpayment)
has taken a little more involvement, management and over-
S
sight” on the part of boards,
Pressley said. “They’ve had to
be a little more attentive to the
issue. They don’t want to foreclose, but they have to make
decisions for the best of the
community.”
In another trend, some real
estate agents and property
managers say they are starting
to encourage delinquent homeowners to instead do a short
sale, where the property is sold
for less than the outstanding
mortgage. They say more associations are warming up to the
idea of a short sale and postponing foreclosure auctions. “A
lot are really open to the
process,” said Frances More
with Charlotte’s Carolinas
Metro Realty, which has been
working with homeowners
groups for years.
A short sale doesn’t guarantee
a homeowners association will
recoup unpaid dues. But it
takes the property out of the
lender’s hands and can get a
new, dues-paying homeowner
in more quickly.
Short sales nationwide accel-
postponed, delaying the purchase and hurting the condominium owners’ association.
“It’s just so easy now for people to walk away, and the HOA
is left in trouble,” Goodman
said. “It can surely be a complete mess.”
Associations rely on homeowners to pay for items such as
capital improvements and
neighborhood maintenance.
Condominium projects are particularly vulnerable when owners
stop paying their dues because
condo projects can require more
extensive upkeep than a singlefamily neighborhood.
With lenders taking so long to
foreclose, homes may sit vacant
without yard maintenance or
property upkeep for months.
Unpaid dues can pile up.
If an association’s finances
become too strained or unstable, it can scare buyers from the
neighborhood or cause banks to
tighten their lending requirements, making it harder for
potential buyers to get loans.
When a homeowner falls
behind on association dues, the
association files a lien. The
association may also start foreclosure proceedings. But the
lien is secondary to the mortgage, meaning the lender will
be the first to get paid if
any money is recovered.
Homeowners associations usually recover nothing but still
pay legal costs, which can reach
upward of $2,000.
When a homeowners group
forecloses, it takes title but
doesn’t pay on the loan. It is
then responsible for property
upkeep until the lender forecloses. erated throughout 2012,
increasing 4% from the year
before, according to the
RealtyTrac research firm. More
people are becoming familiar
with the idea, brokers say.
Lenders also have streamlined
the process considerably, making short sales more accessible.
Lind Goodman, broker and
sales division manager with
Henderson Properties, is working on a short sale involving a
Charlotte condominium. The
condo owner stopped paying
the mortgage and association
dues and moved out, Goodman
said. The lender is foreclosing
on the home but the process is
dragging on, and the condominium association has lost out
on thousands of dollars in
unpaid dues.
Goodman is working with a
potential buyer and is talking
with the owner about doing a
short sale. The buyer could try
to purchase the unit at foreclosure auction, but the lender
would likely get less than a
short sale, statistics suggest. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune
The foreclosure also may be Media Services Inc.
Real Estate Q&A:
Check
Contract
Before
Trying
to Change
Short Sale
Terms
by Gary M. Singer
Q: I am in the middle of a short sale. Our lender
approved it, but only if I contribute $75,000, paid
back over 20 years. That’s unacceptable, and I
want to decline it and try again. How will this
affect me? —Matthew
A: I can certainly understand why you don’t
want to drag out this process with payments for
the next 20 years. But you can’t make the decision
until you have all the information.
You will need to look at your contract with your
real estate agent. Many of these agreements state
that if your agent finds you a willing buyer, and
you choose not to close, you still need to pay the
agent a commission. You also will need to check
the sales agreement that you signed with your
buyer and see what your obligations are.
Remember, your buyer has spent time and money,
and you might be contractually responsible to
reimburse him or her—or even be forced to go forward with the closing.
I hope that when you signed your contracts with
the agent and buyer, you specified that you did not
have to close if the terms of the short sale were not
acceptable to you. That’s something I recommend
all sellers include. Finally, you need to think about
what the consequences will be with the lender. For
example, if you have been sued for foreclosure and
are facing the possibility of a $300,000 deficiency
judgment, $75,000 might not be such a bad deal.
I would check again with your lender to see if it
will renegotiate how much you owe. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
For Those Who Haven’t Refinanced in Years,
15-Year Loans Look Especially Good
by Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Q: I caught a portion of a response you made via on
your radio show about comparing a 30-year loan to a 15year loan. If I understood you correctly, the difference
between these loans might be only $35 to $40 per
month. Information I’ve gotten from other sources says
it would be considerably more. Am I correct in what I
thought you said? Thanks.
cent, the monthly payment would be about $690. (You
get a little break because the interest rate on a shorterterm loan will be less than on a longer-term loan.)
As you can see, the monthly payment is significantly
more on the 15-year loan. But if you have not refinanced
in the last seven or so years and your interest rate on your
original 30-year loan was 7 percent, your monthly payment would have been around $650. In this case, refinancing from a 30-year into a 15-year loan might make
sense. Your payment would go up about $40 per month,
but you’d end up paying off your loan in 15 years rather
than 23 years (as on the original loan) or 30 years (if that
was the term you chose for a new loan).
As some people approach retirement age, they might
prefer to own their homes outright, without loans. For
these people, today’s low interest rates give them an
opportunity to take advantage of 15-year mortgages and
approach retirement debt free.
Which is always a good idea. A: You only caught a portion of the question. In that
question, the caller had a 30-year loan and was refinancing from a much higher interest rate. If she refinanced
from her existing 30-year loan at a high interest rate, she
could get a new 15-year loan and pay about what she was
paying before plus about $30 more per month.
When you compare a new 30-year loan against a new
15-year loan, the monthly payments on the 15-year loan
will be significantly higher. For example, on a $100,000
loan, the monthly payment on a 30-year loan at 3.5 percent would be about $450; on a 15-year loan at 3 per- ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
4
B U Y E R ’ S CO R N E R
Where Are
Mortgage Rates
Heading in 2013?
by Tom Reddin
House-Hunting
Gets Handheld Convenience Via App
by Jeff Collins
Donna Chapman wouldn’t have found
her new one-story house if she hadn’t been
searching for homes day and night on her
Apple iPhone. The retired systems manager was determined to return from the
Boston area to move near her children and
grandchildren in Orange County, CA. But
competition among homebuyers was
fierce. Chapman, who is 60, made three
offers on homes, only to get outbid.
She began her search more than a year
before she moved to Southern California
in October, flagging homes she liked on
the Redfin and Zillow mobile applications, then sending her daughter, Sarah,
and real estate agent Alexia Rusinek to
check them out. Sarah Chapman used a
free iPhone app called Tango to beam
live video of the homes to Chapman during walkthroughs.
After she moved, Donna Chapman
would open Zillow’s app to learn more
about cute houses, pulling up data on
prior sales, property taxes and neighboring home values. She relied on Redfin to
find new listings so she could jump as
soon as properties hit the market.
That’s what happened when her dream
home popped up on Redfin. Chapman
drove by and fell in love. The next day, she
and her agent toured the Corona, CA,
home, and she decided to make an offer.
But the seller’s agent already had several
offers and was about to meet with the
owner. She gave Chapman one hour to submit her proposal. Using Dropbox,
Chapman signed the paperwork from home
and shipped off the documents electronically to Rusinek at her office. Chapman’s
offer—$5,000 over the $319,900 asking
price—proved to be the winning bid.
“Without the mobile apps, I wouldn’t
be able to see what was on the market,”
Chapman said. “I would not have been
able to find this house.”
Here are some of the top apps for
house hunters. They are all free:
ZILLOW (Zillow.com)
• Devices: Apple, Google Android,
BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Amazon
Kindle Fire
• Features: Search results show sale and
tax histories, estimated values, rent estimates and data on nearby homes.
Information also is available for homes not
on the market and homes for sale by own-
ers. App also includes mortgage rates with ries, property tax data, and directions to
links to lenders and a mortgage calculator. the home. App also provides notifications
of new listings and price changes.
• Limitations: Value “Zestimates” can
• Limitations: Data for limited geobe sketchy, and listings aren’t always up
to date. Links are provided to agents who graphic areas. Links are provided to
advertise, but not to listing agents, Redfin agents only, although names of
though agent names or numbers some- listing agents are provided. The map
doesn’t automatically update when you
times are provided.
drag it to a new area.
REALTOR.COM (Realtor.com)
ZIPREALTY (ZipRealty.com)
• Devices: Apple, Android
• Devices: Apple, Android
• Features: Offers comprehensive list• Features: The iPhone app includes an
ing data, with searches that include open
houses and links to listing agents, as well “augmented reality” feature that displays
as rentals. Shoppers can draw a circle on listings and recent sales for homes viewed
a map with their fingertips to see all list- through the phone’s camera. But that feature isn’t available on Android versions.
ings in an area.
The app offers “walk scores,” which grade
• Limitations: Doesn’t include tax or a property’s walking-friendly features,
sale histories.
along with “transit scores” that measuring
access to public transportation.
TRULIA (Trulia.com)
• Limitations: No price or sales histo• Devices: Apple, Android, Kindle
ries. Listing agent information is limited
Fire, Windows tablet
to their names and license number.
• Features: Searches inc-lude rentals
and open houses, with links to listing CENTURY21 (Century 21.com)
agents, homes with price reductions and
• Devices: Apple, Android, BlackBerry
homes in the foreclosure process. You’ll
• Features: Searches include rentals,
also find links to nearby restaurants,
and
results include comparable sales for
shopping, banks, and schools. The
iPhone app has price history data. The each listing. The app also lets you
Android has a cool mortgage calculator explore an area’s history, climate, and
with sliders to adjust factors such as demographic information. And it lets
price, interest rate, and down payment. you add an open house to your calendar
with the touch of a button.
• Limitations: Sometimes incomplete or
• Limitations: App can be slow, with
out of date. Does not include sales histories.
loading screens appearing between
searches. Android version requires either
REDFIN (Redfin.com)
a phone number or email address to
• Devices: Apple, Android
enroll. • Features: Searches incl-ude open houses. Results include sales and listing histo- ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
As we head into the spring home-buying season, the
housing market is picking up steam, and mortgage rates
are still near historic lows. Many homebuyers are wondering where mortgage rates are heading this year as
they consider purchasing a home.
Mortgage rates have ticked up a bit since the historic
low recorded in November. According to Freddie Mac,
rates in November hit 3.31% for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage with 0.7 points paid at closing. As of
February 28, the average rate was 3.51% with 0.8
points paid. So rates have gradually risen since
November, but are still near record lows and down from
3.90% at this time last year.
First, let’s look at the housing market. It’s clearly recovering from the financial crisis of 2008. Home prices have
been steadily increasing over the past few years and
inventory of homes for sale continues to decline. These
are signs of a strengthening housing market.
At the core of this housing rebound is a slow and
modest recovery in the overall U.S. economy. We have
experienced one of the weakest economic recoveries
since World War II, but our gross domestic product is
growing at a modest rate of approximately 2% over the
past few years. Economists would normally expect a
rebound of 3 to 5% growth in GDP after such a severe
recession, but at least the U.S. is experiencing some
level of growth, while other countries are still in a recession. This slow-but-steady growth in the economy is
gradually absorbing the housing inventory for sale, leading to a strengthening housing market.
According to the National Association of Realtors,
existing home sales are on the rise, with the number of
homes sold in January up 9.1% over the same period
one year ago. And the inventory of homes available for
sale in the U.S. is decreasing, with 4.2 months of supply on the market, the lowest level since April 2005. As
a result, home prices continue to rise with the national
median home price increasing in January to $173,600,
up 12.3% from January 2012.
Builders are also ramping up their construction of
new homes. According to the U.S. Department of
Commerce, homebuilders started construction on
780,000 new homes in 2012, up 28% over 2011. This
is the highest level of construction since 2008.
So it’s clear that the housing market is recovering, and
confidence is building among homebuyers and builders.
But how will mortgage rates respond during this recovery?
One of the major factors driving our record low mortgage rates is the U.S. government’s bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing or QE3. QE3 is an
intentional program to increase the price of mortgagebacked bonds, which in turn decreases the interest rate
on these bonds. The government is purchasing approximately $40 billion of mortgage-backed bonds each
month and has stated that they will continue to do so
for the foreseeable future to maintain low interest rates.
A second factor is the U.S. economy, which has
grown at roughly 2% in the past few years. Investors
have gradually gained confidence that the economy is in
recovery, albeit a relatively weak one. The continued
progress in the economy has caused investors to become
more bullish on the stock market. This bull market for
stocks has been under way for several months now with
the Dow Jones industrial average near its record high.
Putting aside any major crises such as a new war, a
further collapse of the European economy, or a major
shock to the financial system, it is reasonable to expect
a gradual increase in mortgage rates for the rest of 2013.
The bottom line: I expect mortgage rates to remain
under 4% for most of the year, but to tick up during the
year by 0.25 percentage point to 0.5 percentage point as
the economy continues its modest but gradual ascent.
If the economy starts to take off, expect mortgage
rates to spike even higher as the bond markets anticipate
higher levels of inflation. If we have a political or economic crisis, such as a severe impact from the budget
“sequester,” expect mortgage rates to return to their historic lows.
We are in a very unique period of super-low mortgage
rates. Even if rates move up a bit this year, as I’m predicting, we are experiencing such a low interest-rate
environment that we will look back on this period,
down the road, with pure amazement. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
5
H O M E S PAC E
Living
Smart:
Home Automation
by Angie Hicks
e live in a world of gadgets. From our smartphones, to our tablets, to our audio/video components, electronic components are—for many
of us—a major part of our daily lives. For the average consumer, integrating these subsystems so they work together—
and when, where and how you want them to work—can be
a challenge.
“You have all these different pieces coming in at all different angles into the home, but it’s really difficult to tie it all
together and make it one seamless application; and it’s getting worse,” said Jeff Janson, owner of Hook-It-Up in
Charlotte, NC. “The average customer is being bombarded
by all these cool little gadgets and it’s difficult to make them
all work together.”
Janson’s solution is to integrate those various subsystems
into a home automation system. With home automation,
homeowners can control everything from the temperature
and lighting levels in their homes, to their home theater components or their security systems. The systems can be managed within the home, or offsite, all via a simple-to-use interface from their smartphone, computer or a remote control.
Kevin Renfroe with Centex Audio, Inc. in Round Rock,
Texas, said he can set up a system that, “basically runs everything from audio and video to the drapes and lighting.”
Renfroe said the most common requests he sees is to integrate home theater systems, so homeowners can, for example, have all of their music accessible from anywhere inside
or outside the home.
“You don’t need a music server sitting in the house anymore,” Renfroe said. “You can go somewhere, have it with
you and play it pretty much anywhere. You’re not just stuck
playing it at home anymore. If you know how to work your
phone, you can work your audio. It’s not hard anymore. You
don’t have to find the remote and hit five buttons just to
make it work.”
Though the convenience home automation systems offer
makes them attractive to busy homeowners, added security
might be their biggest benefit. Through remote access, you
can check if you’ve set your security alarm. You can turn on
exterior lights if you’re away from home overnight, or are
driving home late and don’t want to pull into a dark driveway. The systems are only limited by how they are programmed. If, for example, a homeowner wanted one event to
trigger another event—say if the security alarm goes off, all
the lights in the house automatically come on—they can
have it programmed to do just that.
“Once the programming is done, it can be transferred to
any device, like an iPhone or iPad, and they can use that
device to (control all of those components),” Janson said.
Because there are a variety of options, homeowners can pay
anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars for
home automation integration. Both Janson and Renfroe said
that they can get homeowners into a basic automation system
for around $1,500. Because most of the technology relies on
software programming, home automation systems can be
updated to account for changes in technology.
As home automation has grown in popularity, more and
more companies are offering it as a service, including home
security, TV, Internet, and phone service providers, so it’s
important consumers shop around for a qualified installer
who has a good history and stands behind his or her work.
“There’s a lot of turnover in this industry,” Janson said.
“It’s important to find an established company. Find somebody in it for the long haul.” Check that the company is
insured, in the event someone is injured or damage is done
to your home.
“I’ve had customers that have been burned before (by
another company) because someone put their foot through
the attic or put holes in the walls and didn’t repair them,”
Renfroe said. “Ask to see a copy of (the insurance policy).
Get multiple quotes and ask questions about the quote. Is
the quote itemized? Do you know what you’re getting? If you
get a one-line quote with just a total, you may want to move
on. You don’t know what you’re going to get.”
W
Organize
Closets
to Make Room for Spring Must-Haves
by Sofia Wacksman, VP of Trend at Kohl’s
hile many women dream of
having the spacious closet
of a Hollywood starlet, the
truth is that most are working with
pretty compact spaces. As new musthaves are added each season, small closets can start to look cramped and
messy. To help maximize closet space
and make way for new spring musthaves, below are a few simple and
affordable tips and tricks:
W
OUT WITH THE OLD,
IN WITH THE NEW:
As the weather starts to warm up,
pack away everyday winter-wear to
make room for spring staples. Fold and
store heavy cold-weather sweaters and
accessories, such as scarves and gloves,
in storage boxes and stack them on
high shelves.
EDIT SESSION:
After room has been cleared in the
closet, it’s time to get spring apparel
and accessories in check. Go through
each item to decide to keep it, toss it or
donate it. Once the “keep” items are
ready, categorize them by type—dresses, pants, sweaters, skirts—and then
color-code each category. Having a system like this will make it easier to find
every item in the closet quickly.
MAKE A LIST:
This is the fun part! Once the
wardrobe has been sorted, make a list
of essentials for the season, such as a
lightweight trench coat, printed
denim, bold blazers or basic ballet flats.
And don’t forget to add a few of
6
spring’s must-have pieces to the list,
such as a ‘60s-inspired shift dress, a
striped sweater, colored lace tops or a
metallic clutch, to stay on-trend and
stylish for the season.
HANG IN THERE:
While it may not seem like a big
deal, investing in the right kind of
hangers is important for keeping
clothes looking their best. Satinpadded hangers are perfect for items
like delicate blouses and sundresses,
while sturdy wood hangers keep the
shape of blazers and jackets, which are
necessities for transitional layering in
the springtime.
IF THE SHOE FITS:
Everyone is guilty of carelessly tossing shoes into the closet at the end of
the day, only to have them eventually
end up in a cluttered pile on the floor.
However, when shoes are kept off the
floor and neatly organized on a tiered
shoe rack, it will clear up essential
space at the bottom of the closet. This
will also keep shoes in full view, making it easier to pick out the perfect pair
to complement any outfit.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS:
Maximizing closet space means utilizing every square inch, even the
doors. Use over-the-door organizers
and hooks to store and display favorite
spring accessories like brightly colored
handbags, statement jewelry, oversized
hats and printed scarves.
Even the smallest closet will seem
more spacious when properly organized. With these simple solutions, it’s
easy to make the most of any space for
a more functional and fashionable
closet. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc
Angie Hicks is the founder of Angie’s List, the nation’s most
trusted resource for local consumer reviews on everything from
home repair to healthcare. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc
H O M E S PAC E
Try These Fresh Ways to Set
a Beautiful Table
by Kathryn Weber
hether you’re throwing a bridal shower, hosting a holiday
party, or just want to make an evening meal more special,
adding a little something extra to your table set-up will
make the occasion more memorable. Using some simple swaps and
changes, you can take your table from dull to dazzling.
W
PLACE SETTING RULES
Although there are no hard-and-fast rules about how to set a beautiful table, there is a prescribed pattern for how plates, silverware and
glasses are arranged. For the basics, visit EmilyPost.com. There you’ll
find the precise way to lay out your table, with simple tips, such as the
fact that knife blades should always point toward the plate. Under
“Table Setting Guides,” you’ll find the correct way to arrange a formal
place setting, an informal one, and a basic table setting. Once this is
established, your creativity can take over.
PULL IT ALL TOGETHER
Today’s homeowners often have several sets of china, but there’s no
reason these can’t be combined. China can be mixed with porcelain or
crystal. In fact, it’s the mix that makes it interesting. Look for commonalities in your serving ware, such as color, and work with table
linens or flowers to pull out a specific shade—or a contrasting one—
to make the place settings more interesting.
MIX IT UP
Don’t be afraid to mix patterns, either. Even if your china patterns
are different, you might be surprised how well they work with a plain
white plate between them or simply stacked on one another. Have a
lot of white plates? Break up the monotony by adding a colorful or
patterned napkin between a dinner and salad plate. Or spread table
runners across the table to work as two placemats. For drinks, try mixing different glassware types. Mix colored glasses with clear for a fun,
funky look. Mix up your cutlery, too.
ADD HEIGHT
If you’re looking for a way to add instant impact, go for height. A
tall centerpiece can look fabulous. Instead of flowers and candlesticks,
why not use a figurine flanked with fruit and flowers? Try a large
porcelain bowl filled with blossoms or a sculpture to draw the eye to
the center of the table. No time to shop for just the right piece?
Simply use your wine glasses filled with napkins in an interesting fold
(napkinfoldingguide.com) to create visual interest quickly and easily.
GET CRAFTY
To add a touch of fun, cut a piece of luan plywood to the size of your
table and paint with chalkboard paint. Using colored chalk, draw outlines for placemats, napkins and silverware. Write everyone’s name on
the table to help guests find their seats. Leave extra chalk for doodling.
Create your own napkin rings by hot-gluing bobbles to ponytail
holders. For something more substantial, buy lengths of copper tubing to wrap into spirals. Finish the end with a crystal or bead and the
top with an artificial flower for a one-of-a-kind napkin ring. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc
Real Estate Q&A:
House “Flipping” Is Risky, Difficult
by Gary M. Singer
Q: With home prices increasing lately, I am
hearing more about people “flipping” properties again. How do I get in on the action?
so many seminars.
Be leery of the potential pitfalls. Selling the
property may not be as easy as you think. A
prospective buyer’s lender may have requirements that the investor (you) own the property for a certain period of time or that the
increase in the resale price not exceed a certain
ratio. For these reasons, most flips involve an
end buyer paying cash. And cash buyers usually are experienced, so you could be stuck with
the home for a long time if you don’t purchase
it at the right price.
The best way to become a successful
investor is by learning the marketplace—
maybe as a real estate agent, contractor, or
appraiser. That will give you experience you
need in identifying undervalued properties
with profit potential. ■
A: Flipping refers to buying a home at a discount with the intention of quickly selling for
a profit. During the housing boom, investors
flipped properties in a matter of days, taking
advantage of the huge run-up in prices. Today’s
investors are more likely to buy and fix up the
homes before selling a few months later.
Flipping is a perfectly legitimate business—
as long as you aren’t lying to a lender about
your intentions or otherwise scamming the
system.
Despite what those infomercials and radio
spots may lead you to believe, investing in real
estate is risky. If it were as easy as the gurus say ©2013 Distributed by
it is, they would be too busy investing to teach Tribune Media Services Inc.
7
T R AV E L
Argentina
Mixes Olives and Wine, Keeps Travelers Happy
by Anne Z. Cooke
and Steve Haggerty
en minutes in the
orchard and already my
hands felt raw. How do
they do this all day without
gloves, I wondered, shuffling
my feet for a better foothold in
Argentina’s sandy clay.
It was Thursday, the day
we’d expected to be tasting
wine at the Zuccardi family’s
finca (ranch) and winery, in
Maipu, Mendoza Province.
Instead, we were clawing
through a tangle of branches,
trying to pick enough olives
to feed Zuccardi’s state-ofthe-art olive oil press.
It looked so easy when
Torey Novak, Zuccardi’s tour
guide, gave a demonstration.
You hang a cone-shaped canvas sack around your neck and
pick a tree loaded with ripe
fruit. Reaching up into a
branch, you grab it with both
hands and yank down hard,
stripping the olives off and
into the sack. When your
neck cries uncle, you empty
the sack into the 40-pound
crate handily stacked nearby.
Then you fill the second crate,
and the third, all day every
day until the harvest ends or
your hands scream uncle.
“Nah, most good pickers
don’t wear gloves,” said
Novak, amused. He could see
I was hopelessly awkward. “I
couldn’t do it either,” he
admitted. “Not for long, anyway. But our best picker can
T
fill 45 crates in a day.”
Mercifully, my career as a field
hand died before it was born.
But why in blazes were we
fooling with olives when we’d
left Buenos Aires three days
earlier on a mission: to smell,
savor, taste and compare
Malbec, Argentina’s signature
red wine, at the source? And
why was “La Familia
Zuccardi,” a family-owned,
three-generation-old winery
and leading Malbec producer,
growing olives?
As it happens, a number of
long-established wineries here
in the Cuyo area, scrubby
desert land on the sunny east
slope of the Andes Mountains,
grow multiple crops. The soil,
irrigated for centuries before
Europeans explored the region,
is ideal for growing both grapes
and olives; more than 6,000
olive growers and 1,200 wineries are scattered through the
two adjacent provinces of
Mendoza and San Juan.
The region’s newer wineries
stick mostly to grapes, concentrating their efforts on building sales. But for visitors to the
region, the complete farm-tobodega tour adds another
dimension altogether. When
you’ve mucked around in the
man’s orchards and harvested
his olives, you feel invested.
After picking the fruit,
clumping through the mud
and riding back to the processing plant with the crates
stacked on the golf cart, we
watched our olives macerated
into mush. Tasting the newly
pressed oil, we proudly pasted
labels on our take-home bottles. Then we knocked the dirt
off our shoes and headed for
the bodega itself.
Here, in the Casa Del
Visitante, sepia-toned photos
serve a slice of late 19th century history, capturing tiredlooking Italian immigrants
toting luggage, working the
fields, picking grapes and vegetables and building railroads.
Framed photos of Zaccardi’s
founding ancestors, frozen in
ankle-length dresses and high
collars, highlight the exhibits.
Then it was on to the fermentation vats and eventually to
the tasting room. The tour
ended not with a “we’re done,
let’s go,” but with a traditional
Argentine meal prepared by
Chef Ana Rodriguez at the
winery’s casual café and food
shop, the Pan Y Oliva.
For wine aficionados,
Mendoza is a destination in its
own right. One way to get
there is by flying through
Miami to Santiago, Chile,
and east over the Andes (a
short flight or drive) into
Argentina. But for us, the
winery visits were an add-on,
a last minute addition to a
family reunion in Buenos
Aires. Our third cousins in
Buenos Aires (newly-discovered on Facebook) had invited
us to visit more than once.
When they proposed a trip to
Mendoza, heart of the world’s
fifth largest wine industry, we
couldn’t say no.
What we’d forgotten is that
Argentina is nearly as large as
the United States (four times
the size of Texas); Mendoza,
646 miles west of Buenos
Aires, is hardly a weekend
getaway. And with limited
vacation time, flying was the
only option. We’d rent a car
at the airport, we assumed,
and explore the wine country
on a relaxed schedule, just as
we’ve done in California’s
Napa and Sonoma, in
Oregon, in Washington state,
even in France.
But that isn’t the way they
do it in Mendoza. Because the
wineries are scattered far apart
and road signs are poor, dropin guests are non-existent.
Instead, you call or email and
make a reservation for a specific time. On the appointed day,
the bodega schedules a staff
member to conduct the tasting, chooses sample wines and
polishes the wine glasses.
Anyone can make a reservation for a visit and tasting. But
there are advantages to signing
up for a one- to five-day tour
with a wine tour company,
someone who knows the
industry, the wineries, and
Argentine culture. It’s akin to
renting an audio guide when
you visit an art museum. You
come away better informed
and certainly more entertained.
A typical tour—you choose
the length—generally visits
three wineries each day and
includes daily lunch (with
wine), hotels and transportation by van. If you have specific wine labels or vintages in
mind, they’ll customize your
route. Our cousins, who knew
the drill, handled it for the
four of us, arranging a threeday guided tour with a guide
they’d used before.
We started in San Juan
Province, going first to Callia
Winery and then to Graffigna,
where Chief Wine Maker
Gerardo Danitz, eager to
answer even the dumbest
question, fielded a tasting that
could have doubled as Wine
Wisdom 101. His patient
explanations were an ideal
send-off for what would be
three days of tasting, spitting,
tasting, sneaking a swallow
here and there—for the
strength to push on—and
running out of adjectives to
describe the infinite range of
fruity, nutty flavors.
Heading south to Mendoza,
we stopped first at Vistalba
Bodega, wine czar Carlos
Pulenta’s show place, where
most visits include both tasting and lunch at his muchacclaimed five-star restaurant,
La Bourgogne. Then it was on
to Tupungato Winelands to
see recently planted vineyards
and the new golf course; to
Salentein and a culture museum; and finally to Zuccardi.
Which is how we found ourselves in the dirt, discussing
olive cultivation.
Until then I hadn’t given
much thought to immigrant
history and the parallels
between Argentina and the
United States. But in most of
the towns we saw, you could
walk down the street and—
except for the signs in
Spanish—think you were at
home. Both countries were
settled by immigrants from
Europe who brought farming
skills to the New World.
Settling in places like
Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, and
throughout Argentina, they saw
what looked like empty land,
and displacing or killing the
indigenous tribes, claimed it.
Early Spanish explorers and
missionaries had already
introduced grapes and cattle;
with land to spare, beef cattle,
herded by cowboys in the
U.S. and by gauchos in
Argentina, became a staple.
And grapes, initially grown
for the fruit or to make table
wine for home use, became a
commercial success.
Like Argentina’s immigrants, Malbec grapes are also
an import, brought from
France. But it took Mendoza’s
sandy clay to create those
tongue-tingling perfect fruity,
nutty, oaky, you-name-it flavors. A wine bottle, tucked
into my luggage for the
return trip, would have been
nice. But the custom-picked,
personally selected, orchardto-table olive oil made a better souvenir. ©2013 Distributed by
McClatchy-Tribune Media Services
JasonWalgrave.com • 612.419.9425
8
TRENDSETTERS
6 Spring Fashion Trends Designed to
Brighten the Season
by Debra D. Bass
bold strokes from the expected stripes to exaggerated checks. Whether you’re looking for waves or
chevrons, polka dots or giant paisley, you’ll
enjoy how designers played with maximalism in
the minimalist combo.
t’s time to stock up on spring trends and get
excited that one day soon we won’t have four
layers of winter clothing between our skin and
the sun. And we’re very, very lucky that our
spring shopping list has a host of items worth waiting for. Just please, please tell us, we won’t have to
wait much longer.
I
ANKLE PANTS
Not cropped or cuffed but slim ankle-grazing
pants are must-haves this season. Why aren’t
they cropped? This is a little subjective, but
there’s a look that elongates the leg and a look
that chops you off around the calf. It has a lot
to do with how smoothly the pants taper, and
a few extra inches of fabric make a world of
style difference. The pants can be low-waisted and hip hugging or have a high paperbag waist and breathing room, but a stiff
boxy cut will look dated.
GLOBAL PRINTS
Whether you choose to wear prints from the
Middle East or the American Southwest, global flair
is a must, and mixing is strongly encouraged. The
print-averse may only feel comfortable with accessories—bangles and handbags are plentiful. But
color-lovers will revel in lower-priced designer lines
like the Duro Olowu’s global collection of bold patterns at J.C. Penney or Derek Lam’s Brazilian-influenced line at Kohl’s. And anyone looking to invest in
higher-priced statement pieces will seek looks from
Marc by Marc Jacobs’ spring collection of intricate
pattern-blocking that is vaguely tribal and wholly
intriguing. Even J.Crew has jackets that seem
inspired by Aztec prints and the all-American Gap
has cardigans that allude to Guatemalan ikat.
SOLID BRIGHTS
Embracing the true spirit of spring, bright accessories are popping up like garden flowers after a
long, frosty winter. Look for golden yellow watches,
tangerine sneakers, cobalt blue patent leather
sandals or orange leather clutches to strike the proper mood. Choose them as a great dynamic complement to jeans and a T-shirt, a smile-worthy flash to
basic black or a more-is-more pairing with the
season’s look-at-me prints. And don’t forget about
your nails. Gray remains a popular formal hue, but
melons, mangos and magentas are a great way to
lighten up your everyday.
versions of tribal prints or abstract florals are the season’s best wardrobe refresher. Paired with a plain
slim-fitting tunic or a blazer and tank top, printed
jeans are a casual way to be playful but covered. For
spring there’s a host of lightweight denim options
that pair well with sandals and will have you skipping out the door.
FLORAL BLAZER
What better way to welcome spring
than wrapped in a field of flowers.
Choose a print on a soft white base or
a something more vibrant like pink,
green or yellow. There are muted
versions for those who prefer that
their clothes speak softly, but don’t
miss out on adding one of
these to your wardrobe staples to jazz up a ho-hum
sheath or rock out denim
and a collared shirt. Twopiece floral suits won’t be
too hard to find, but
only the fashion daredevils need apply. The
bomber jacket is also
having a moment, if
you’d prefer a seasonal layer
that’s solid and tame, but it’s
not nearly as versatile, and it’s
certainly not as fun. BLACK AND WHITE
Fashion’s go-to hue is bigger and bolder than
ever. Thanks to some spring runway shows that feaDIFFERENT DENIMS
tured larger graphic and mod versions of the two
Global prints and graphic patterns aren’t just for colors, there will be little room for gray. From
dresses. If you’re buying a new pair of jeans this sea- Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs to Chanel and ©2013 Distributed by
son, take advantage of the print variety. The skinny Dolce & Gabbana, black and white was rendered in Tribune Media Services Inc.
WO L F G A N G P U C K ’S K I TC H E N
SPRING VEGETABLE RISOTTO
Directions Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
• 1 pound pencil-thin asparagus, trimmed
• 4 ounces baby spinach, washed, dried,
stemmed, blanched, liquid squeezed out
• 2-1/2 to 3 cups good-quality canned
chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• Salt
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. On a
counter nearby, fill a mixing bowl with ice
cubes and water.
Cut off and reserve the tips of the asparagus spears in 3-inch lengths. Chop the
remaining stalks. Put them in a wire-mesh
strainer and lower them into the boiling
water. As soon as they turn bright green,
about 1 minute, remove them (leaving the
water boiling) and immerse in the ice water.
Next, blanch the spinach, immersing it in
the boiling water just a few seconds until wilted and bright green. Drain, still leaving the
water boiling, and immerse the spinach in the
ice water. Then drain well again, gather up the
spinach, and squeeze tightly between your
hands to extract all excess liquid.
Put the blanched and drained asparagus
and spinach in a blender. Pulse the blender on
and off until the vegetables are pureed. Pour
the puree into a fine-meshed strainer set over
a mixing bowl and press it through with a
rubber spatula. Discard the fibers. Set aside
the puree.
Immerse the asparagus tips in the boiling
water for 1 minute; then, immerse in the ice
water until cooled, and drain thoroughly.
In a small skillet over medium-high heat,
melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive
oil. Add the asparagus tips and saute until
lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Season lightly
to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a
bowl, cover, and keep warm.
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over
high heat. Reduce the heat to very low to keep
the broth hot without simmering.
In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed
saucepan over medium heat, heat 3 more
tablespoons each of the butter and olive oil.
Add the garlic and shallots and saute, stirring
frequently, until tender but not yet browned,
2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and saute, stirring, until thoroughly coated with the butter
and oil, about 1 minute.
Add the wine to the pan and stir and scrape
with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan.
Simmer, stirring, until the wine has almost
completely evaporated.
Using a 4-ounce ladle, add a ladleful of
broth to the rice. Stir the rice continuously
over medium heat until the broth has been
absorbed and the rice looks almost dry.
Add another ladle of broth and repeat the stirring process until it has been absorbed.
Continue the process until you have added a
total of 2-1/2 cups of broth, or just until the rice
is tender but still chewy.
Stir in the reserved vegetable puree.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the
remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the
Parmesan. Continue to stir in a little more hot
broth just until the risotto looks moist and
creamy but not runny. Adjust the seasonings
to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the risotto among 4 heated serving
plates or shallow soup or pasta bowls. Garnish
with the sauteed asparagus tips. Serve immediately. ©2013 Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.
9
HOME AND GARDEN
Reward Yourself with
Food from
Your Garden
by Karen Sullivan
N
o matter where she goes, Barbara
Damrosch can find herself talking
with someone about the rewards of
growing fresh, wholesome foods at home and
becoming less dependent on other sources.
It’s a lifestyle that was popular in the
1960s and ‘70s. Today a natural food movement has re-emerged as the nation’s ecology
and health force us to tally things being lost
to convenience.
Nutrients and fuel use can be tradeoffs
when foods travel long distances to reach us.
Pesticides and food waste also take a toll.
As measures of the pros and cons continue,
many people are going off-grid for food.
Others are puttering in the soil for the joy—
and the flavor—of a home-based harvest.
“There is a new awareness of the value of
homegrown food,” said Damrosch, coauthor of the newly released Four Season
Farm Gardener’s Cookbook. “We’re trying to
make it easier for people to get out there and
grow their own food.”
Damrosch’s husband, Eliot Coleman, has
been farming in Maine for more than 45
years. Coleman, 74, started what is now Four
Season Farm in 1968. Today, the operation
occupies less than two acres but provides
enough food for a farm stand that is open in
June through September, a mobile stand for
farmers markets, as well as a year-round
wholesale business.
He shares his expertise at extending the
growing season with home cooks, chefs and
various TV audiences, so they can have access
to local food for more of the year, as he does.
Damrosch, 70, came to the farm in 1991,
the year she married Coleman. She has
emerged as a champion of gardening as a central part of family and community life, even
as big corporate farms grew and overshadowed small, local agriculture such as theirs.
Their family garden is a showcase of the
plant diversity that is considered vital to a
healthy ecosystem but frightfully lacking in
large-scale agriculture. They grow old, heirloom varieties alongside newer hybrids.
The couple’s new book (Workman
Publishing) includes pictures of their gardens, growing tips and recipes that
Damrosch created with produce from their
fields.
“The deep green of the spinach and bluish
cast of the broccoli leaves tell us we’ve fed
these plants well, and that they will feed us
well in return,” the couple write in the book.
In her weekly column for The Washington
Post, called “A Cook’s Garden,” Damrosch
shares pictures of her home-grown vegetables
and fruits with the pride of a parent posting
her babies’ pictures.
At a time when digital automation makes
so many chores seem effortless, the prerequisite of toiling for weeks or months to grow
one’s own food seems too costly for many
people, especially when a supermarket is on
the way home.
Damrosch says that even the smallest plot
can be an abundant source of food for much
of the year. The book includes tips for making gardening manageable and efficient, even
10
for those with limited time.
For Damrosch, the garden is a path to better flavor, better nutrition and perhaps hope
that more of our great-grandchildren will
want to know the magical flavor of food
grown in the backyard.
The transformation of pretty herbs and
tomatoes to food for the table, as illustrated
in the book, is perhaps the best argument
that we are missing something special when
we don’t harvest from our land or at least buy
from a neighboring farm.
“People are looking for stuff that’s real and
not diluted with chemicals,” Damrosch said.
“It doesn’t taste the same.” ©2013 Distributed by
Tribune Media Services Inc.
JUST FOR FUN
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE
ACROSS
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Clips for trailers
Fridge incursion
Triangular sail
Kia model
Dagwood’s pesky kid
neighbor
Japanese salad ingredient
Daffy trying to hit
the pi-ata?
Campfire remains
It originates from the
left ventricle
Pops
“Garfield” waitress
Detective Spade
Survey response
at the farm?
Stows in a hold
x, y or z
Many a Louis
Supplies for Seurat
Sends regrets, perhaps
Entry in a PDA
Maui strings
Waterfall sound
Not at all good at losing?
Tom fooler?
Only reason to watch the
Super Bowl, some say
48 Like a pretentious
museumgoer
49 Plane parking place
52 Mountaintop home
54 Likely result of failing a
Breathalyzer test, briefly
57 Loosey’s cake-making aid?
60 Dedicatee of Lennon's
“Woman”
61 Jazz singer Laine
62 Blanche Dubois’s sister
63 Place with presses
64 It may be a peck
65 “Mustn’t do that!”
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DOWN
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1 Fizz in a gin fizz
PC “brains”
Make quite an impression
Beat back?
Boards at the dock
Strauss opera based on a
Wilde play
Flat bread?
“M*A*S*H” actor
Currency-stabilizing org.
Thingamabobs
Hirsch of “Numb3rs”
Picked from a lineup
Shampoo ad buzzword
Shah’s land, once
New ewe
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Brain freeze cause
Juanita’s half-dozen
Leverage
17-syllable verse
Slugabed
Green Bay legend
Abbr. on food labels
Adrien of cosmetics
Small woods
Bad-check passer
Acuff and Clark
Actor Mineo
With skill
Scapegoat in some
down-home humor
Downs more dogs than,
in an annual contest
“Get Smart” evil org.
Shirts and skirts
Mass leader
Visibly wowed
Chincoteague horse
Sufficient space
Sits in a wine cellar
Inflatable items
Shoulder muscle, for short
Bing info
Writer Dinesen
Bulldog booster
Shatner’s “__War”
© 2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
tÇáãxÜá
P U Z Z L E
created by Crosswords Ltd.
PE T WO R L D
Exercise Class Welcomes Dogs Too
by Mary Macvean
Many people get home from work in need
of a trip to the gym or an exercise class. But
the list of excuses is myriad, starting with that
most precious commodity, time. Factor in a
dog—in my case, a rambunctious terrier mix
named Beanie—and it’s likely that all
thoughts of a workout vanish.
That’s why, on a recent evening, Beanie and
I hit the Zoom Room, a studio on La Brea
Avenue in Hollywood, CA, that offers workout classes (four for $120, 10 for $265) for
dogs and their people. Together.
There were seven dogs in our cross-training
class. Jaime Van Wye, who started the business
and has trained police and bomb squad dogs
as well as dogs that work with autistic children, was our teacher.
The dogs are expected to have basic manners: they need to refrain from barking
through the class and must be able to sit or lie
down on command. Van Wye, whose leggings
were covered in dog hairs, taught Beanie in a
few minutes another basic task: to touch a
palm with her nose when instructed to do so.
The reward for good behavior? Dog treats.
Our class included a loping retriever puppy
that had a mind of its own and several dogs
that did most of what was asked of them.
Dogs were leashed during class to keep them
away from one another.
“Clearly, Buck is our model student,” Van
Wye said jokingly when Buck wouldn’t stop
barking. He eventually ended up taking a
“time out” away from the class.
The owners, meanwhile, did sit-ups, wall
push-ups, steps, lunges and a couple of other
exercises at stations around the room.
(Equipment includes balls, balance beams,
rings and other devices for two- and fourlegged exercisers.) A human could get in 20 or
so sit-ups at a time, but rarely without a break
to get the dog to do its part: sitting still at the
human’s feet.
By the third time through the stations, the
dogs were much better at sitting still for the
sit-ups or running through a tunnel. Van Wye
said it can take a few weeks of classes that
focus on the dog’s efforts before a person can
fully focus on his or her own workout.
Van Wye said she’s frequently reinventing
workshops to suit the dogs, including an
urban herding class (balls stand in for sheep)
and a “shy dog” class that’s mostly for skittish
rescues. For older dogs or those with hip problems, there’s “Pup-lates.”
“I do CrossFit at home, but he”—Paxton
the Jack Russell—”also needs to get fit,” said
Jessie Simon, one of my classmates.
“It’s a bonding experience with the dog,”
said David Essex, holding Windsor, a border
collie-cattle dog mix. “It is more of a workout
for us, more of a patience thing for them.”
Zoom Room has franchises around the
Beanie loved class. If she didn’t always get
the tasks just right, she was game for anything country. that led to a treat. But she was far from bone
tired by the end—our goal when she goes to ©2013 Distributed by
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
the park.
11