City of Burbank Water and Power is sponsoring the Solar Support Program.If you are thinking about installing a solar panel system in your home or business, Burbank is the place to do it!  You can receive up to $10,000 for residents and $25,500 for businesses in rebates! This is an amazing way to help cut down our reliance on conventional energy sources.  If you are interested in more information, please check out   Solar Photovoltaic Power and BWP's Solar Support Program!   06/03/2007

  Be Eco-friendly and promote green energy! Become part of the Green Energy Champion program through Burbank Water and Power!This program is open to all City of Burbank residents and businesses.  Here's how it works:You agree to commit that a percentage of your monthly power usage, anywhere from 3% to 60%, will come from green energy sources.  Your rate will  would be billed at two cents above the existing rate, for each green kilowatt-hour signed up for....... Two cents is simply Burbank Water and Power’s additional cost to provide renewable energy. Overall it costs a minimal amount per month and the green energy used in this program is above and beyond the green energy  growth plans that BWP already has in place.Make a difference and join the plan!   06/01/2007

   City of Burbank Water and Power  is offering free shade trees!                     Qualifying residents can receive up to three trees and businesses can get up to 20 trees!  By providing shade and blocking out the sun's heat you cut down on air conditioning usage and  help save on energy consumption.An arborist will meet with you at your home or business to discuss how and where these trees may be planted for maximum benefit to you! This is a great opportunity for those wishing to take part in the program!  05/30/2007

 A 1031 Exchange can be a very useful tool for the property owner who wants to defer capital gains on the sale of a real estate property.  Recently the Wall Street Journal and today Realtor Magazine  had a great article about investors running into trouble with the IRS because of misappropriation of funds by the qualified intermediary or QI the investors used to manage the 1031 exchange funds!If you know of any clients who utilize this tool, you may want to alert them to this situation!  In the last year two QI's have misappropriated client funds and the IRS is looking at the investors as well as the QI's.  It is unclear, other than losing the tax deferral, if the investors will face any other penalties.Your thoughts and comments are welcome!   05/30/2007

Come one, come all to the Verdugo Street Fair on Saturday, June 2nd. City of Burbank will sponsor this great event filled with entertainment, prizes, giveaways, drawings, balloons and much more! This event provides for a fun filled time for both you and your kids!                                                                                                Admission is FREE!   05/29/2007

Burbank has announced that it will not have a 4th of July fireworks show this year due to the high fire danger.  Good idea!  There have been hillside fires after the Starlight bowl show even in wet years. 05/28/2007

 Monday 28 All U.S. Banks and markets are closed for Memorial Day!  Tuesday 29 The Conference Board, a private consumer group, releases its consumer confidence index for May. Wednesday 30 The Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC), the policy making arm of the Federal Reserve, releases May 9th meeting minutes.Mortgage Bankers Association releases weekly refinance index.Condoleeza Rice, US Secretary of State, attends G8 meeting of foreign ministers in Germany Read More.... 05/27/2007

Starlight Bowl Summer Series is just around the corner!    This venue offers fun and entertainment for the entire family!  It includes stadium seating and a grassy area for picnic style fun for you and your children.  Musical programming includes rock, classical and shows for the kids.  The Starlight Bowl is located in the mountains above Burbank and makes for a great outing!   05/26/2007

Are you thinking about doing some new landscaping? Perhaps putting in a new garden?  A good friend recently decided he wanted to put an uncoventional but fun garden in his backyard.  However, he had an overabundance of plants, shrubs and trees which were remnants from the previous owners.   The task was a bit daunting and he was concerned with how much it would cost him to get all of the refuse hauled away.  That soon turned to relief because the city of Burbank is very accomodating when it comes to removing green waste for you.  First thing to do is visit your neighbors and ask them if you can borrow all 3 of their trash bins for a day or two.  Second, fill all of the bins up and then call the garbage removal department to inform them what type of trash it is and schedule a special pic... 05/22/2007

Good news for sellers: inventory in the Burbank, Toluca Lake, Studio City and Hollywood Hills areas seems to be thinning out and properties are selling faster.  And even going in multiple offers.  Of course, the properties selling quickly are the ones that are in great shape, updated and priced right to begin with.  Will this stop or slow down again?  Prediction: yes, after July, as it usually does. 05/21/2007

Wednesday, May 23rdMortgage Applications for the week ended May 18th are released. Thursday, May 24th  New home sales for April-economists consensus is that it increased slightly to 860,000 annual rate.  This report talks about new private homes and usually lags changing mortgage rates.  New home sales tend to be stronger early in the business cycle as there is more demand.  This report tends to be more volatile and subject to large revisions and as far as I’m concerned making it somewhat unreliable.  Friday, May 25th  Existing home sales for April-Economists are predicting a drop to 6.10 million from 6.12 million homes.  This is a more reliable indicator of housing activity.  These numbers tend to be more dependent on mortgage rates.  Two worthy components of this report include the m... 05/20/2007

There were 28 new properties on the Burbank Realtor caravan today.  Two years ago today, there were eight.  However, here's the good news for sellers: many properties are once again selling in days, rather than weeks.  Most of the quick-to-sell properties are in the middle range, of course. 05/17/2007

Folks there are some great pieces of legislation that have been introduced that would provide much needed relief and oversight for the real estate industry and consumer. First we have S.1394, the Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief Act.   This piece of legislation was introduced this week by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).   The goal is to limit or alleviate the tax burden when someone has experienced a true economic loss.  This is a huge issue for many families, especially with today's market conditions and the sub-prime loan mess.  To get more information, please read, NAR-Do Away with the Phantom Tax. We also have a bill, Community Choice in Real Estate Act (H.R. 111) to preserve a separation of banking and real estate, by keeping banks out of real esta... 05/16/2007

I'll be at Burbank's planning board tonight (May 14) at 6:00 pm. A 20-unit apartment complex is planned for Harvard Road, right behind my house, and I have filed an appeal against it. How many more people can we shoehorn into this neighborhood?! I know this is not politically correct for a Realtor to be opposing a developer, and I'll probably lose, but I want to have my say. I think this will be televised on Charter channel 6. 05/14/2007

  Believe it or not there are properties, single family detached homes, to be found for under $500k in Burbank!   These charming houses make great starter homes and provide a more affordable alternative if you are a first time home buyer.  Burbank is a vibrant community that boasts good schools, beautiful neighborhoods and plenty of activities.   If you are looking for a home in the Burbank area, give me a call and I can help you find your starter home!   For your Burbank Real Estate needs please visit my website at anaconnell.com! 05/13/2007

The public is invited to the Burbank Fire Headquarters at Orange Grove Avenue and Third Street from 9 am to 2 pm.   Live demonstrations (rappelling, vehicle extrication); visit with Lil' Squirt!  Get your picture taken with a Special Guest!  Burbank Water and Power will also be holding their Water Festival.  The Burbank Community YMCA will offer a Pancake Breakfast on the site from 7:30 -10:30 amSpecial guests include the Warner Brothers Fire Department, the Walt Disney Fire Department, the Bob Hope Airport Fire Department featuring Airport Crash Units.  The Burbank Water and Power Dunk Tank will be there too!Keith@BeautifulBurbankHomes.com 05/09/2007

May 1st the Daily News business headline reads "Valley Median Home Price Dips".  Guess how much the median price "dipped"?   One thousand dollars.  Can we say, "Wow"?   No, we can't.Let's look at the city of Burbank's results, comparing March to April.  What picture will the numbers paint?I measure the overall market with a Market Index, which is composed of key market variables we can measure.  If the Market Index is greater than 1.20, then it's a seller's market.  If it's between 1.20 and 0.80, it's a balanced market.  Below 0.80, it's a buyer's market.  Burbank's Market Index at the end of March was 0.53.  At the end of April it was 0.38, a fifteen point drop, or 28%.  If the stock market dropped 28% would you be worried?Let's look at what makes up the Market Index and see if we can ... 05/09/2007

For those Burbank and Toluca Lake residents that have not been checking in with Caltrans or the Transportation Department at City of Burbank there’s a 134 Freeway project that may impact your commute.  According to Caltrans, the State Route 134 Ramp Project will construct a new westbound Onramp to Route 134 (Ventura Freeway) at Hollywood Way. This new ramp is needed to reduce congestion at the busy Hollywood Way / Alameda Avenue intersection and improve access to the 134 Freeway from the Media District. The project will begin April 9, 2007 and will last three years. During the construction period, be on the lookout for lane closures and detours for portions of Hollywood Way, Alameda Avenue, and Pass Avenue.   Plan accordingly, as your morning commute will probably be affected during th... 05/02/2007

If you are looking for a slice of suburbia within the confines of a big city, then Magnolia Park might be right for you! Magnolia Park is a quaint and beautiful area of Burbank California.  Blocks from the Media Center District, the community is made up of over 3000 homes and hundreds of businesses.  This neighborhood is located between Hollywood Way, Buena Vista Street, Clark Ave. and Chandler Blvd.  I have spoken to residents, however, that believe the true boundaries go as far east as Pass Ave. and as far south as Verdugo Ave.  However you define the boundaries you are looking at tree lined streets and small town charm.  The area offers homes of all types and is a great place to raise kids.  It is home to a diverse community and literally minutes from hip and trendy restaurants of H... 05/01/2007

Burbank residents and future homeowners... through June 22, 2007, the Burbank Unified School District is enrolling new students for all K-12 grade levels who reside within the Burbank Unified School District boundaries for the 2007-08 school year. Parents/guardians of secondary level students, grades 6-12, should contact their school of residence to verify dates during the summer when those sites will be open for registration. Enrollment forms are available at all school offices during school hours, and they must be completed and returned immediately to the school office because students will be assigned to classes and school sites on a space availability basis. Detailed Procedures available ... http://www.burbank.com/wire/00467.shtml  For more information on my real estate services, pl... 04/30/2007