The Low Down on Temecula Valley: Recent Episodes
Mitchell Jones - Coldwell Banker
What is my Home Worth During Covid-19?
Hi, everyone. Well, I hope for you you can say this is thriving Thursday. I wanted to share some information with you today, you might be asking yourself, what is my home worth during COVID-19 pandemic? It's a great question. I'd like to share some compelling statistics with you. Today in Temecula and Murrieta markets combined, we have 532 active listings on the market. Today in that same market, we have 531 homes in escrow looking to close in the next several days and weeks ahead. Here's a really strong number 451 homes have successfully closed escrow in the last 45 days in the same market. So what that's telling us is homes are selling buyers are out there, and the interest rates are still really strong. So is it a good time? to list your home Well, if you're comfortable, absolutely. Here's a strongest figure I want to share with you that just came out from the California Association of Realtors. In April of 2019. The median time or days on market was 37 days today, April of 2020. Results report 24 days, that tells us we don't have enough inventory to satisfy the buyers market at least today under current market conditions. So how do you sell your home during COVID-19 pandemic and conditions? Well, first of all, you make sure your home is in good condition. It's in a good location. It's priced appropriately, and you hire the right agent who has the right marketing plan. Most importantly, you want to be comfortable with an agent who is going to make sure that they are taking all the precautions necessary to protect you and protect the folks who would tour your home. We have new agreements in place. And as listing agents, we are actually taking extra steps to make sure only qualified buyers come into that home, they have to have a pre approval letter before they can even enter the home from their lender. So, if you have any questions about the market, please keep them coming. I love hearing from you. As market conditions change. I hope that we can find you reporting that you're healthy, you're happy and you're thriving, so be safe, be Well, bye for now.
What is my Home Worth During Covid-19?
Temecula Valley Buyer or Seller Market
Hi everyone, Michel Jones with Coldwell Banker. I'm coming to you today from my office at home with my incompetent office assistant ginger Jones. Ginger is oftentimes the feature of my weenie Wednesday segment on Facebook. Hey, I wanted to in all seriousness, share some information with you. I am so grateful for the calls the text that emails from friends, past clients, neighbors, current clients, future clients, asking about what the market is doing. And the questions are wonderful. Please keep them coming. I love to talk about real estate. But what I'm going to start doing is on a weekly basis, share with you some type of statistic or market information so that we're all best informed during these challenging times. Late last week, the National Association of Realtors released a statistic that stated 76% of all agents are reporting that sellers are not reducing their prices. They don't have to They have equity in their homes. But most importantly, it is a great time to list your home. And the reason for that is we don't have enough inventory. So we have less inventory than we've had in a long time. We have low interest rates. And most importantly, we have some sellers who have been a little hesitant to list because they're concerned about their safety absolutely understandable. But what we know is our buyers are more serious right now, under current conditions. We know that the buyers are required to sign what's called a paid form a property entry advisory form, indicating that they will take all precautions necessary to make sure that they're protecting everyone's safety when they're in that home on a home tour. Also, not all agents are doing this but I am doing this to protect myself. I am requiring a lenders pre approval letter upfront before that buyer's agent can show that property that ensure ensures everyone that we also have qualified Serious buyers. Case in point I was able to put two homes rather quickly into escrow just this week alone. So is it a good time to sell? I would say absolutely yes. If you're comfortable having showings, and if you're comfortable selling your home right now, if your home is vacant, and it's a rental property or investment property, it's even easier to show under current conditions. And while unemployment rates have soared, we did find through this most recent statistic statistic report from the National Association of Realtors, we did find that actually four out of five Americans are still employed. So we have buyers in our current market. Please stay well. Please stay safe. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime if you'd like to talk about the market. And I hope you continue to take good care of yourself. Have a wonderful week ahead. Bye for now.
Temecula Valley Buyer or Seller Market?
https://youtu.be/HRXpvN2urz8 Temecula Valley Divorce Financial Analyst
Hi, everyone. Well, you know what we're past the holiday season. But that doesn't mean that the new year is bringing joy for everyone. Sadly, there's a very, very high divorce rate in America right now. And I'm pleased to have the expertise and support here today from a dear friend of mine, Kimberly Surber she serves as a divorce financial planner. And Kim has helped a number of my friends out during these tough times and can offer up some great advice. First of all, Kim, tell me what, what you do as a divorce financial planner.
So a divorce financial planner. Again, we're kind of looking You know, your entire financial life, but we're looking at it through the lens of the whole divorce process. So what are your assets and debts? What are up for division? You know, what are your income expenses? You know, how is the support going to be calculated Child Support spousal support in the different settlement options? How does that look for somebody? Is it successful for one year, but in three years, you're in trouble? Because if that's the case, then you know, I'm going to send them back and go, this is not a good settlement for you. Is it you know, what are the tax ramifications of the different things that are happening in the divorce process? So these are all things that I'm going to be looking at for people.
I can't even imagine the line of work, you're in it. It's got to be tough. I do know that you've been doing some workshops to help people tell us a A little bit about these workshops.
So it's called the second Saturday divorce workshop. And the one I run is for women only. There are a number of others in the community that are for men and women. So there are definitely these workshops around for everyone. But we have, it's just great to provide information and for women to come and learn. There's an attorney who speaks a mediator, because if your divorce can be mediated, it's, it's a nicer process, and it's cost a lot less money. So, Nikki Baker is our mediator. She's great. And then there's a grief counselor, and there's me as the financial planner, and we even have a real estate agent and a mortgage lender, there to answer questions because frequently people have to buy and sell homes in the divorce process, right? So you know, just being able to come And ask any question, you know, of the of these people who are the core people you're probably going to be using in your divorce.
Right, right. But that's what I said there's a whole team there with multiple resources that someone would need. What's, how's this different from a regular financial advisor? Who would say, Well, you know, I can help with your divorce what, what differentiates you with what you provide,
number one, a regular financial advisor of which I am, but what when I am working as a divorce financial planner, it really is different. I'm not looking at it as a regular financial planning process. I actually have legal software that I use. And so it really is all from the angle of the divorce process. You know, I have completely different reports that I'm doing for people when I'm doing divorce, financial planning. We're doing division of community property reports. There's a budget report showing support payments and, you know, what are all your expenses? Maybe now and after the divorce, you know, we're looking both because frequently, things will change. And, you know, mid process in the settlements, what's it look like, you know, with your income and your support and what have you, less all your expenses, less taxes, what's your bottom line? Are you going to be okay? I mean, because we need to know that, you know, there are lots of different ways to to come to a settlement. And we just need to figure out a way that works for both parties.
Well, I think in the role you're in, someone has to have a heart to serve. And definitely, you know,
Temecula Valley Financial Planner
As your neighborhood real estate professional, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is The Low Down on Temecula Valley. Hi, everyone. I'm here today with Kim Serber. Kim is the president and partner with Leeward Wealth Management. It's a mouthful. She's a financial planner, a fixture in our community. I have leaned on Kim for financial advice before but before we go any further Kim, I would like to really understand what exactly is a financial planner.
So a financial planner is someone who is not going to just look at you know a section of your financial life but your whole entire life like comprehensively, you know your your investments and your insurance and your retirement planning and Tax strategies and we're looking at the whole thing to how can we efficiently help you to achieve your goal?
Okay. So let's say I have a number in mind that I need to retire with. And I call you and I say, Hey, Kim, I need this amount of money. Where, what do we do? Where do we go from here? Okay. Do you want it to be about a number? No, I want a lifestyle. That's a great question. Yeah. Yes.
So that's kind of how I I'm a little different. It's not about a number. It's about your vision. What are you trying to create? So I would ask you, what do you want? What do you envision your entire your retirement to look like? So is it I want a mountain retreat in Colorado? Do I want a home here Do I want to travel so I can see my grandbabies and my family and friends and and wherever you know, just you know, General Traveling, I mean, whatever whatever it is you want, then will, you know create that vision and then backtrack, you know, what does it cost and figure out then what you need to save every month to create that vision for yourself. Okay,
I love that. Now, what about so you're a financial planner? My goodness, we get approached by financial planners all the time in this community. There are a lot of them. Yeah, there are a couple without said, what, what sets you apart what distinguishes you from other financial planners?
So, I would say number one, it's not about a number. It's about a vision. I think that's a little bit different approach than many people take. I am a Certified Financial Planner. I think that's a big distinction. Not everybody has that designation. I've been in the industry since 1998. And I work as a fiduciary. So I am always going to put my clients interest first.
I love it. When you say fiduciary that was actually a key question on the real estate exam about we have a fiduciary responsibility for the clients we serve. And with that said, Sometimes there are people out there just for the sake of chasing a paycheck, they may not necessarily make the right decisions or give the best advice. But when you step back, and your gut tells you, this needs to be about them, not about us and our paycheck, the business just comes it really does. And that's why you're very successful in this business.
And it just makes your job so much more enjoyable. Because you're really helping your clients. Yeah.
And I it's, it's so evident, you love what you're doing. So let me ask you this just personally, when you're not at work, which you work a lot of long hours, which I know firsthand. What else do you enjoy? What do you do?
So I play oboe and English horn with the corona Symphony. I have a lot of fun with that. I like to read I like to wine taste with friends. Not that we've never done that. And I like spending time with my awesome daughter Christy, who just became a lifeguard. We're so proud of her.
Well, this truly has been a pleasure. And I hope you don't mind at the end of this. We're going to flash on your contact information, so that anyone who might be interested in meeting with a financial planner,
Temecula Valley Professional Photography
I am pleased today I have Tom Barnett with Thomas Barnett photography. He's a professional photographer serving our community and we have done a lot of photo shoots together for real estate. Truly a joy to work with. Drama free he gets the job done. And it truly is my honor to interview you today. I'd love to hear your story. Tom, I know you haven't been a photographer all your life. Like me, we reinvented ourselves and a new career. Tell us your why. Thank you for having me. I love doing this and I love that you asked me. So my why I worked in manufacturing For almost all my life until about four or five years ago when I got into this, and I hated every moment of my job working for corporations, you know, I was a printer for 25 years and, and worked in medical devices, here in Temecula locally. And so I discovered that I love photography and even so when I was back in printing, I was I used to work in the darkroom. And I thought it would be great to take wonderful photos like this. And I started going out and photographing various things. We live in a wonderful area where we're close to the mountains to the ocean to the desert, and I would go every I would look forward to every weekend, and then you know, with digital coming in, you know, so that meant Photoshop and Lightroom and I went online and I took classes online. Learning how to edit my photos, so that they weren't just flat photos and, and, and, you know, I never planned on using it I just did it for myself. And then the company I talked about in in Temecula laid me off, and I had to find something quickly. But I thought, Well, what I have to do something and what do I know how to do his photography? By then I was decent. And so I thought, well, I can do portraits, and who needs portraits? I thought realtors, and they're all their information is public. So I started going online and I got I started sending out emails to realtors following up with a phone call in a couple of days. And eventually Somebody said, Well, I don't need my portrait done, but can you shoot a house for me? And I said, I'd never done this before, but I just I need I studied all I could about you know, shooting houses and, and I was horrible, but I got better and I kept improving and I, I have some wonderful realtors in those early days who stuck with me, you know, and, you know, and I would I used to bend over backwards for, for the people I work with my realtors and I, I I still do. And I think, you know, my my goal was to just keep improving, and I still have that goal today. So a lot of people say they're going to sell their home at some point. We know 95% of all home searches begin on the internet. With that said, What can our home sellers do to make sure their home photographs at its best. I send out a list to everybody, all my realtors have before I work with them. And hopefully they retain that list and they and they're passing it on to their sellers. But it has all kinds of details that that will help each seller you know, get their house ready, it's a call to photo ready list. But the the main thing, less is more means go through and if you have any questions about this item, yeah, it probably needs to go go hide it in a closet or in your garage or something like that. You know, and that is the key thing that I think I would like to pass on to your sellers. After I get done editing all the photos professionally, I upload them to a platform called HD photo hub calm, and I love this, this group there they always help me with that. With issues that, you know, I hadn't thought of that might come up while I don't do video, I they take all my my photos, my still photos, and they put them into a slideshow with music and you can replace the music to your tastes and, and you can. It also offers ready made brochures which you can drag and drop your favorite photos into. And then your branding is really important as you know.
How Old are you Santa?
I gotta ask, you know, you're all gray. How old are you? As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is a low down on Temecula Valley.
Talk about bringing joy into our day. We have Santa Claus. Oh, Santa. Have you here? Tell us how was your trip in?
phenomenal I ran into some rain and but the Rangers were disappointed. They wanted to see some snow. When I told them we were coming here. We're going to stop it big bear on the way back. Oh, you are Oh, they can play in the snow a little bit down here. It's just different snow lately.
Yeah. Well, we're happy knowing that. Your trip in was good. Seeing that. I gotta ask. You know you're all gray. How old are you? 316 Wow, my goodness. You look What's your secret?
Hot buttered rum is always good cookies and, and carrots for the reindeer.
Yeah, gotta make sure there won't bed as well. Yeah. Well, we know this time of year is just so special for families and you see a lot of different things when when people come to see you some kids are really happy summer scare. Their families are going to have photos. What advice can you offer up for families to make sure that their visit with Santa Claus this year is most successful?
Well, I think it's good to prepare them that you're going to go see instead of surprising them, okay. Some of them are shocked and surprised and cry. That's why I don't do hohoho right away. I wait till they come in and get it get a feel for him. Yeah, you know, so the big thing is, you know, just kind of prepare them and, you know, just get them ready to see Santa. Let them know they're going to do that. I mean, some might want to surprise them. And that's up to the individuals. They know their kids better than I do. Yeah. So but I recommend just getting them prepared. Okay. Okay.
That's a good idea. Yeah. What What is maybe one of the funniest experiences that you've had with a family when
I've had I've had just a number of ones with the one that comes to mind is was posing for some pictures with the two young girls. One of them was just just the biggest smile she couldn't stop smiling. She was just like, ah, and the other one didn't stop crying. Oh, I had both experiences the same time and you know that's that's some kids will be scared of Santa because it's something and that's why I recommend showing pictures and being getting them kind of prepared. Yeah,
yeah. Sounds like you have one extreme to the diamond sisters. From the same Mr. Oh my gosh, well, we know your spreads so very thinly this year and we know poor Mrs. Claus she
she's time with you. She's She's working furiously in the kitchen.
In the sun. Yeah, boy, that's that's got to be stressful. What advice could you offer? This time of year with the holiday season for stress management.
Well, I, I've always felt that stress management is you know, you got to calm yourself down and just enjoy the time. Yeah, don't stress out over it. Don't worry about the little things. I find the little things or the funny things you remember later. Yeah, you know, so just have it flow with it and have fun and don't let things bother you. because nothing's that important.
Yeah. Is there anything you'd like to add? I know that our community could benefit from a visit with you. And I hope you don't mind at the end of this interview. I'm going to put your contact information and I know your schedule is jam packed, but we'd love to hear anything else you'd like to share with us about your role as Santa Claus.
Well, a couple things that we you know, we talked about a little bit before was that to keep the magic of Santa alive, I recommend if you're going to give presents to your kids to wrap the Santa presents in separate paper, different kind of paper,
Temecula Valley STEM Patent
As your neighborhood real estate professional, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and Mrs. A low down on Temecula Valley. The first time that Jim and I met to interview for the first episode, it went so well that I asked Jim Richardson to come back. He just is a wealth of knowledge. He is a servant in our community. He is truly someone who just has vast experience that I it's hard to even capitalize everything that he's done. But the last time that we met, you shared everything that you've done here on a local level. Today I want to talk more about the engineering background side of it. There were students exploring this career path, Jim, we're honored to have you here. And we'd like to know in our Valley, who could benefit from your advice, as an in
Well, I think anybody who is looking at a career in engineering, could, you know, I, I'd be happy to, you know, give them a little insight. You know, my career has taken a very interesting path. And I think there are a lot of different paths, you know, the one thing, I think you get an engineering degree, you still don't know exactly the direction your career is going to take. So that's part of the fun of it. I don't do the same thing every day. So if you're a person who who couldn't stand doing the same thing every day, then being an engineer and a problem solver is something that, you know, it really appeals to me.
Tell me about this. What What got you started and what led you down this road?
So when I was young, I thought I wanted to be an architect. But when I went to Cal Poly Pomona, I ended up selecting the major of aerospace engineering and I always had always loved airplanes. And so I went down that road and got an aerospace engineering degree and went to work initially as a systems engineer soon transitioned over and started writing my own software and worked many years as a software engineer. But systems engineering has always been my passion. And in the last few years of my career, I've really gone back more to a core of systems engineering.
Okay. Okay. I would doubt that many engineers can ever say that they have nine us patents under their belts. I mean, that, to me sounds very impressive.
Well, I work with people who who have more and it's kind of, you know, you can say it's being in the right place at the right time. You know, and actually, I started my, my innovation work. So patents come out of innovation. And the first innovation opportunity I had at work came when Toyota approached my company Raytheon about doing a joint project. And that opportunity in that multi year project working with Toyota on a pedestrian warning system led to a series of patents and really kind of got me into the traffic safety technology area. And so I pursued that and worked research and development in that field for, you know, close to a decade after that.
With the Temecula Valley STEM Patent project. I've heard of this. I'm like, What
is this? So the stem patent project came out of my coaching high jumpers. That's turned into coaching and 22 years later, I've been coaching highjump for 22 years. So, but recently, I had a young lady who was interested in technology, you know, we were looking at measuring devices with infrared beams. And could you measure how high above the crossbar you were when you pass over? So I looked into it a little bit, there was already a patent for that. I said, Well, we can still try to build one and maybe use it so starting to build some parts. And when I showed him to her, she said said something about well, does it know where you are? And can it tell you when to kick up your legs? And I said, No, that's so not what it does. It just measures how high but the next day I was driving my car and I realized her question contained a vision that I didn't grasp.
Temecula Valley Transition Specialist
As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is the lowdown on Temecula Valley. Well, I'm here today with a dear friend of mine, Celeste Ducharme. I'm so honored to have her here. She has been a resident of the Temecula Valley for over 17 years. She serves in so many capacities and which probably we should do multiple interviews. But today we're going to talk about she is a transition specialist. Whoo. at Ranch RV and self storage. And well first of all, let's talk about what what is a transition specialist?
Celeste Ducharme - Temecula Valley Transition Specialist So I'm so glad you asked. And I first of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for for who you are, and for how you're wanting to spotlight me and how I get to help people as they transition in life. So it's incredible, but just being able to help people as they transition sometimes through death, divorce dislocation downsizing, people need a place for short term or long teams, long term storage and at ranch RV and self storage, we get to do that for people.
Mitchell Jones So describe for us who your greatest customers are, the type of clients you're serving.
Celeste Ducharme So typically our customers are about 80% women in the industry. So whether it's just the women are taking care of when there's a death in the family or divorce. It's both sides and dislocating relocating. You know, the women are typically shopping and our customer who we deal with the most. So it's a great industry, you know, nobody window shop storage, you definitely have a need if you're looking for it. So it's a very specialty industry to be in and we love it. I have an amazing staff. And we get to encourage and love and embrace them while they're there. Short term or long term.
Mitchell Jones That is neat. So when someone is looking for self storage, what what should We look forward what questions should we ask?
Celeste Ducharme That's a great question.
Celeste Ducharme If you were I were looking for storage or you know, even within our house, we want peace of mind, right? We want to know where secure, so nothing is different within storage, you definitely want peace of mind. So how many surveillance cameras do you have? Are your units individually alarmed? Does someone live on site? A site manager is not as common anymore because the technology is so brilliant. We can access our cameras I can from my house from anywhere. And so that's the peace of mind you're wanting friendliness? How is the staff? how responsive? Are they? So very important to have someone who's going to meet your needs with friendliness and then cleanliness? Is it maintained? Do they have pest control? How is the facility or is it being cleaned daily? Is it being cleaned monthly? So friendliness, calmness and peace of mind the three biggest things you want to look at? And then is it short term? Is it long term? What happens if I move out mid month do I get a refund? Why don't make no refund. So some great questions to ask. Do I only They get the movement special. If I'm there for the full three months, right? Can I rent for a weekend?
Mitchell Jones Okay, so are you suggesting you have short term rentals available?
Celeste Ducharme I'm so glad you asked.
Celeste Ducharme We do we specialize in short term. We ask for 10 days notice I had somebody walk in the office yesterday who gave me a two day notice and that's okay. We want you to be there as short or long as you need it. We actually have a great specialty special for realtors whose escrow doesn't close and you need a weekend right? You need a weekend transition. And we do that free for you. So we give your client two days of free storage. If it's longer than that we give them three months of half of...
Temecula Valley Home Loans and Refinancing.
As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is the Low Down on Temecula Valley
Mitchell Jones Well, I'm here today with Jeanette Hartman with American Pacific mortgage. She's a loan officer who is a resident of Temecula Valley for over 30 years. She has served our community through Mariana rotary for over 20 years. She also holds a board position for Habitat for Humanity. I could go on and on with everything that Jeanette has done in serving our community. But today we're going to talk about alone and especially for first time homebuyers. So Jeanette, tell us a little bit as a loan officer, what you do,
Jeanette Hartmann One of the things that I do or the primary thing that I do is I help people get into a home loan, whether that's for a purchase or refinance, were purchased centric. So most of our business is based on purchases and I love to meet with my clients and help them figure out what their needs are and what the right loan is for them.
Mitchell Jones Okay? No, that makes a lot of sense. I oftentimes as a real estate agent, I receive calls from folks who are wanting to buy their first home. How would you define a first time homebuyer?
Jeanette Hartmann The definition for first time buyer from a program standpoint is that you haven't owned a home in the last three years. So not truly a first first home but you haven't owned it in the last three years. So what steps
Mitchell Jones Should a first time home buyer take in trying to get approval for a loan or a purchase?
Jeanette Hartmann We like to meet with our clients in person, especially my first time buyers because they haven't been through the process before. And they don't know what they're expected to do. So when I meet with them, it's usually a one hour consultation. we sit down and we talk about cash, credit and income. The three main things that you need to purchase a home most people think that they need more money than they actually do, especially if they meet the requirements for our first time homebuyer program. I've had people get into their first home for me, technically, you could get in with nothing down. But that's not realistic. In this area with our price points, people need to have five to $10,000 available, and then they're able to get into that first home.
Mitchell Jones So we hear a lot about credit scores. And what if someone has a low credit score or a credit score that would prevent them from getting a first time home? What steps could they take to get to that place?
Jeanette Hartmann So that's one of the things we review when we talk with them is we do pull credit, I will tell you that the credit score that we use is different than Credit Karma or what they see on what they're pulling from their own credit. So we have to go off a mortgage psycho score, we go off the middle of the three scores, and for my first time homebuyer program, we need a 645. So when we pull credit, our credit report tells us Hey, you don't you have the potential to get to this psycho. And it's not a credit repair program, but it will look at their accounts that they can pay down balances that they could pay down. Sometimes it'll ask them to get deleted from an authorized user account. Sometimes it'll tell them, hey, go charge $10 on this account, but we don't do credit repair. So if they need more help than that, we would refer them to somebody who does do credit repair.
Mitchell Jones Okay? Well, what I really like about your model is the fact that your local, and they're not working with those, those big companies over the internet and they really don't have any personalized service, they can actually come in and meet with you. I've heard about through the years and in our relationship,
As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is The Low Down on Temecula Valley Teaching.
I'm pleased to introduce my friend, Laura Walker. Laura is actually a new neighbor of mine to the Central Park community as well. Laura is a retired school teacher. And she also does a lot of work serving our community. How long have you been a resident in the Temecula Valley?
Mitchell Jones 28 years? Oh, my goodness. So you've seen a lot of a lot of changes? Yes, population growth way before the mall?
Mitchell Jones Well, during your career as a teacher, what subjects did you teach? And what did you enjoy the most?
Laura Walker I taught my multitude of subjects throughout my years, but the ones I did the most were Language Arts and Social Studies.
Laura Walker And for a very short stint about five years I taught cooking.
Mitchell Jones Oh, really? Oh, tell me a little bit more about that.
Laura Walker I really enjoyed that. Because it was from six seventh and eighth graders that I I taught. And I really enjoyed it because I got the kids who sometimes weren't successful in other areas. So I got kids who were special needs. In my class, I got kids who were here from other countries, they could all do things that maybe they couldn't do in the academic areas, they could cook, they could measure things, they could work collaboratively with other kids. And so it was really great, because I could surface a lot of different kids. And I really, really enjoyed seeing them all be successful.
Mitchell Jones Well, if someone were considering going into the teaching field, Laura, what what advice could you offer up for, for them to get started? Well
Laura Walker go into teaching for different reasons. And I think some people go in for the money. I mean, it's not the best paying job on Earth. But you know, it's, it's good money, it's good benefits, and you get the summers off. So some people go into it for that reason. But as far as I'm concerned, if you're not going into teaching, because you love it, you love imparting knowledge, you love seeing children grow because of something that you've done and you've made a difference in a life, then you shouldn't be going into that profession at all. Going to college is something that, you know, is not that difficult to do to get a teaching credential. But if you don't love it, don't do it. Don't do it. If it's a job that's moving you toward doing something else, and it's a filler, because children know that they can tell when a teacher's heart isn't into it.
Mitchell Jones If you had to do it all over again, is there something that you would have done differently?
Laura Walker I don't think so. pick the right profession. I love what I did the entire 33 years. And it's not to say I didn't have difficult kids and moments when it was tough. But it didn't matter. I loved what I did right up until the very last day that I did it. And you know, they say when you get older and you look back on your life, you look back with regret, or you look back with you know, happiness, that you did the right things. And I can say that I can look back and see that I touched a lot of lives. And I'm going to go into my older years knowing that I made a difference in people's lives and and I'll have contentment.
Mitchell Jones Wow, that is such a great response. You know, I my wishes that everyone in Temecula Valley could experience that and feel that passion about what they've done for their career. Well, you know what, you also are involved in our community. You do some volunteer work, and it involves horses. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?
Laura Walker Well, I don't ride them, but my husband does. And so I got involved in Rancho California horsemen's Association, a few years back,
As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones, and this is The Low Down on Temecula Valley Medicare Insurance.
Mitchell Jones Today, I have the pleasure of meeting with Alexandra Abadie. She is a Central Park resident. And I'm honored and pleased to have her here today because she truly is our resident expert on Medicare insurance. She's approaching her ninth year in this field, and she has a lot to share with our community to ensure that we get the best medical coverage that we possibly can get. On a side note, Alexandra and her husband are expecting their first child, she's just entered into her third trimester. I'm so happy to have you here today, Alexandra.
Mitchell Jones Oh, gosh.
Mitchell Jones Oh, good. Well, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. How long have you been a resident in the area?
Alexandra Abadie My husband and I moved to Central Park in January of 2018, I believe. It was like right before our wedding. So it was a little bit of a time crunch. And maybe a little stressful. But it was honestly one of the best moves that we've made. But we've been in the Temecula Valley since January of 2017.
Mitchell Jones So we have a lot of baby boomers coming of age in the Temecula Valley. And they'll soon be candidates, obviously, for Medicare. What can they do now to start preparing for that transition.
Alexandra Abadie Um, you don't want to start necessarily looking too early. Because plans can change from year to year. There's different policies and things that change within Medicare from from one year to the next. So I usually say about six to eight months before your 65th birthday is going to be the best time to start researching, kind of connecting with a professional, somebody who's going to help you get you through that process and answer your question Jones.
Mitchell Jones So when we turn 65, do we automatically just have Medicare coverage?
Alexandra Abadie We get asked that a lot. So it's going to depend on your situation. If you are currently collecting Social Security before you turn 65, you will actually automatically be issued your Medicare card with Original Medicare Part A and Part B. If you are not collecting social security at the time, let's say you're still working or you are retired, but you're waiting until full retirement age to collect, you will actually need to apply. And there's three ways you can apply. You can go online and create an account on my Medicare or Medicare. Gov. You can call into Medicare to apply over the phone or you can go into your local social security office, which for our Valley here in Marietta and Temecula would be in Hemet.
Mitchell Jones Well, I hear a lot about Medicare Advantage. Can you see share a little bit more on that
Alexandra Abadie The first step is getting your original Medicare, which is that card that you receive. That's your insurance through the federal government. Part A and Part B on top of Original Medicare because they only cover about 80% of your expenses, not including the deductibles that Part A and Part B have, you're going to want to add some sort of secondary coverage. So there's two options there's medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is a very popular plan, I would say probably about 75% or more of my client base is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Those are going to be your HMO and PPO options. The PPO options are very limited. For instance, in 2019, there's only one PPO option available through Medicare Advantage in Riverside County. So most of the plans available are going to be those HMO options. And what Medicare Advantage does is it actually ended operates Original Medicare Parts A and part B, all into one plan combined. And that plan is your primary insurance.
The Low Down on Temecula Valley Education Leadership. I am so pleased today to have a very dear friend of nearly 20 years who is a leader in education and a leader in leadership in our Valley Dr. July Hill Wilkinson. July I just want to first of all say thank you for joining us today tell us how long have you been in the valley. I moved here in 1986 so quite a while and actually from the East Coast so grew up in Massachusetts but the weather out here is much nicer. We came out in 1996 so I've been in Temecula almost that whole time. I left for two years went down to the San Diego area but then moved back up so I've been here for quite a while. You know oftentimes I have families coming in and they're asking about the school district here and what could you say for people who are looking to come to this community that would set our school districts apart from others? Say they're coming from Orange County or LA County or San Diego County, what would set us apart? I can say all of the Temecula schools are great for sure. There's a wide variety there we do between Temecula and Murrieta we have six comprehensive high schools. A lot to choose from. You've got schools that really really push weight we have the ivy program high academics really rigorous we have schools that are very doing a great job with career technical and helping students find what they want to be as they go through school and beyond. We have schools with a ton of school spirit and they really are great for athletics, all of our schools have parts of that.
One of the biggest differences honestly at the bell schedule so to make those schools are on a very traditional schedule whereas Murrieta schools have moved to a block schedule. So block schedule the classes are longer, but you have fewer each day, so some people really like that, some students flourish under that, and some students really struggle with that, so really knowing your child, knowing what their interests are and kind of knowing how they go through their school day would help you sort of decide on a school. You're an adjunct professor what what does that mean what does that role entail? So I'm an adjunct professor with a master's and teacher credential program, so I get to work with teachers or college students that are trying to get their teacher credential right now introducing them to what it's really like to be a teacher. I'm also the coordinator for student teachers at my sites and I really appreciate the opportunity to to talk to them about what this is really like and what they can expect and how much fun they can have. It's hard but it can be a lot of fun when you do it correctly and have fun with it and you just kind of relax a little bit and have fun with it yourself and don't stress out too much. We obviously have a lot of youth in our community and what advice could you give to someone who is exploring the education field and considering pursuing that degree? At this point up until now historically teachers have been very I am the keeper of the information and I went to school and I have this content and and I am going to plan lessons and plan my day to give this information to you and that's what teaching has been historically well with the advent of the internet we no longer are the holder of the knowledge we now have to design our days and our lessons to have students evaluate and use information which is very different than getting them to have information we now have to be facilitators and teach them how to use it and how to evaluate it.
That's very different and I would argue that a lot of teachers are struggling with that shift and students and parents and teachers all sort of have to understand that we're moving through this together and what's the best way to do that. You know as we've just started a new school year July I am sure that parents feel challenged getting the schedule back on track getting the kids back on track what advice could you offer up to the s...
The Lowdown on Temecula Valley Traffic. Welcome to Episode 1 of the Low Down on Temecula Valley featuring our community leader, Jim Richardson! Thanks for all you do, Jim, to make TV an even better place. We appreciate you!
As your neighborhood real estate professionals, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing professionals. Today I will introduce you to another local expert to provide meaningful information. I'm Mitchell Jones. And this is the lowdown on Temecula Valley.
I am so honored today to have Jim Richardson here with us for an interview. Thanks for your time today. Well, we're just happy to have you, Jim, how long have you been a resident of the Temecula Valley?
Jim Richardson So Janice, and I moved here in April of 1993. So we've we've been here quite a while and we've really seen it changed over the years. It's just been amazing. You know, we moved here because it was really quiet and not so much anymore. But still beautiful, wonderful place to live.
Mitchell Jones Yeah, yeah, it really is.
Mitchell Jones Well, since you've been in this valley, and you serve as our traffic safety, Commissioner. And I know I'm sure I'm botching up that title. But what changes have you seen in the past few years?
Jim Richardson Well, I'm one of five public traffic and safety commissioners. So I serve with four other very capable people. But I've been on the commission since 2013, so about six years now. And I think the main change, I saw more changes earlier, when the mall went in. That was, of course, an enormous change for the city. Something people may not know is that Caltrans controls the interstate 15 corridor and all lights within a quarter mile. So if they change the timing, and we don't know, then all of a sudden, everything's out of whack. So we're able to more quickly adjust now with new equipment going in. The city of Temecula is amazing at winning federal grants to submit projects in the city and just keep us really on the cutting edge of traffic technology and keeping our community moving.
Mitchell Jones Tell me what we can do as citizens to maybe improve our safety or be better citizens because of a direct result of increased traffic.
Jim Richardson Yeah, well, you you stated it, right. They're you know, we need to just plan better and take that extra time. Be aware of there's you know, so many kids walk into school and those crosswalks and, you know, relax and safety first. So, yeah,
Mitchell Jones your wife, Janice, and you what, what brought this about and and why did you decide to form the Temecula Valley Dachshund Club?
Unknown Speaker Yeah, so in the, I guess, the spring of 2007, we were driving to Costco. And on the way, you know, we said, hey, there's someone walking the docks, and hey, there's another one. Hey, there's another one. So on this trip, just a couple of miles driving to Costco, we saw six or seven people walking their dogs, to put our names in a spreadsheet as the club roster. And, you know, we put an ad in the local newspaper at the time saying we're going to have a meetup in June of 2007. There were 75 toxins, and the club was started in Grand fashion. And over the years, it's just grown and been just just wonderful. You know, we've, we've marched most years in the Christmas parade and tried to make it a community involvement club.
Mitchell Jones Why that is neat. That is neat. Let's talk about some of the outreach that this club has has led to and thanks to yours and Janet. commitment and club members commitment.
Jim Richardson Yeah, it's kind of funny, because, you know, we started the club and it's just a social club. We're going to hang out with our docs ease and have potlucks and do fun stuff. So well as our events. You know, we put on events. Yeah, as you know. So we've been doing two events a year now recently in the in the spring, we do the wine country winter fest.