California’s abundant natural beauty can turn deadly when combined with warm, dry, windy weather. Now that Spring is here with Summer quickly approaching, it is important to take preemptive measures against wildfire.

As a homeowner, there are several actions you can take to protect your home from wildfires:

• Create a defensible zone around your home. Your local fire department can help.
• Using roofing resistant materials that are rated Class A. Common Class A roof covering includes asphalt fiberglass composition shingles, concrete or clay tiles, and steel or copper tiles. Screen all openings created by vents and roof materials. Keep roof and gutters free of debris.
• Landscape with fire-resistant plants.
• Make sure firefighters can see your address.
• Have an evacuation plan family members can follow, and don’t just talk about it, practice it.

If you’re ready to start the hunt in earnest, your next step is to get pre-approved for a loan. Most sellers, including all REO and short sale sellers, will not review an offer without a loan pre-approval, and many real estate brokerages require pre-approval in order to work with you. There are two ways to go—quick, or in-depth. You can get a quick pre-approval from your regular bank or credit union if you’re not sure which lender or mortgage plan you’ll be using. If you do know your specific lender and mortgage, go with the in-depth. With either process, you’ll need to fill out a loan application and submit it along with the following information: Work History, Credit Rating and History, Total Debt, Down Payment amount available, Investments and Other Assets and Residence History for Previous two Years. The amount of documentation will vary by Lender, this is just a general rule of thumb.

Let’s assume your application passes muster, and you’ve been pre-approved—congratulations! Don’t go too crazy celebrating though: If you make major changes to your credit, debt, or assets after pre-approval, but before you secure a loan, you could jeopardize your chances of getting any mortgage at all. Lenders commonly re-check your credit within five days of your home purchase closing, and any significant changes to your score may put the kibosh on your loan.

With more Homeowners leasing their homes, the Rent Rite Directory might be a useful tool. First launched in Dallas by real estate entrepreneurs in July of 2010, this growing database is now available nationwide. RRD provides comprehensive, detailed background checks on prospective tenants, including incident reporting, credit history, and criminal background checks.

The free incident-reporting system tracks a tenant’s previous dwelling history, including skips, evictions, on-property criminal activity and proxy-renters (those who sign leases on behalf of tenants otherwise unqualified to rent). The more comprehensive check runs $16 for a standard package and $36.50 for a premium package.

For more information visit www.therrd.com or call 855.733.2290.

Until recently, if you had a complaint, you had to take your chances appealing to the credit card company itself. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has opened a one-stop complaint center for all credit card related issues.

To register your complaint, go to CFPB’s home page. There you’ll find a simple form that asks you to describe what happened and to categorize your complaint from a menu of about 30 items, such as “billing disputes” and “credit line increase/decrease.” You’ll also be asked how much money you lost (if any), when the incident occurred and what you have already done to resolve the problem.

Next, you’ll be asked to describe the outcome for your problem that you think would be fair, and for your contact information. Expect written confirmation from the CFPB, which will forward your complaint to the card issuer.

Once you have registered your complaint, you can check its status online. If the issuer does not respond in a timely manner and resolve the complaint satisfactorily, and the CFPB receives a number of similar complaints, it will likely launch an investigation. It’s too soon to tell how well this complaint process will work, but seems like a step in the right direction.

By: Dana Olmes

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) recently passed a program titled, “Mow No Mow” that will give incentives for local home owners to re-landscape their property. Residents in Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills and Westlake are all able to receive a rebate of up to $2,500 for participating in the program. In order to qualify, residents must be living in a single family home and pre-apply to the program. The LVMWD sees this as beneficial for both the homeowner and environment because it saves money and water.

Full details of the program are listed on the LVMWD website: http://www.lvmwd.com/index.aspx . Along with the details, there is also a landscaping guide of “California Friendly” plants that are aesthetically pleasant and help reduce water use. Ideas for water conservation within the home such as checking for leaky faucets or purchasing water efficient laundry machines are also listed on the site.

Recently, the Leonis Adobe Museum in Calabasas began an initiative to encourage members of the community to visit local museums. The museum has created a “passport” that visitors can fill by going to selected museums in the area. The amount of stamps earned correlate to a certain prize. At 25 stamps, the passport holder receives one, get one free lunch or dinner at the Sagebrush Cantina and at 40 stamps, a free Sunday brunch for two at the Cantina. As of now, the prize for the full 50 stamps has yet to be announced.

A representative from Leonis Adobe stated, “this is a wonderful way for families and all residents to journey through California’s rich history.” Other employees at the museum expressed that the true prize for visiting the museums is learning more about the history of California. This initiative is a great activity for Calabasas residents to partake in while also enriching their cultural knowledge of the state. To see the full list of museums visit the official “Passport2History” website and pick up your passport at the Leonis Adobe Museum.

By: Denise Zago

This weekend on March 31, there will be a healthy living expo held at the Agoura Hills and Calabasas Community Center from 9am to 3pm. All residents of the local community are invited to come for an array of fun and health oriented activities. The rock climbing wall will be open, organic food will be sold and exercise classes are being offered free of charge. The Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation is putting on this expo for the second time after the success of the event last year.

The executive director, Karen Malatesta describes the event as something that can cater to each age group. Along with the activities being offered, The Rotary Club of Calabasas is sponsoring a blood drive during the event. The following link www.calabasasrotary.org is to sign up for donations but walk-ins are also welcome. The Expo will be featuring some of the most popular exhibitions from last year as well as new additions so it should be another big success.

On April 1 at 11am, Sweet XO will have its grand opening in Agoura Hills at the Twin Oaks Shopping Center. The shop blends an array of dessert choices into one bright and colorful location. Customers may choose from products such as baked goods, a yogurt bar, or candy as well as a variety of gifts including Zipz Shoes. Sweet XO also advertises itself as a party venue with a private room and exclusive event planner Eric Welch from The Amazing Kid .

The developer, Scott Ehrlich from Woodland Hills stated “Our goal was to create a place where everyone would want to explore, taste, hang out, and connect”. The team behind Sweet XO includes retail merchandiser, Michelle Craig who has worked with Anthropologie and Fred Segal in the past.  Ehrilich and Craig are very passionate and energetic, which is reflected in the store’s slogan, “Life in Full Flavor, Full Color and Full Fun!” There are not many things that the whole family can agree on, but a love for Sweet XO will definitely be one of them.

Yesterday, the Calabasas Library revealed a mural in the Children’s Reading Room. Councilman, Fred Gaines once served on the Library Commission and was there for the Library opening in 2008. After the opening, he as well as other council members wanted to add something unique to the library. So in January, the City commissioned artist, Ricky Alvarez to paint a mural in order to add a “wow factor” to the Children’s Reading Room. Alvarez took a little over one month to create the awe inspiring art work.

The finished product has four tiers, each of which represents a different theme. The first layer depicts ocean and is filled with sea creatures and swimmers. The second layer’s theme is land accompanied by a painting of City Hall. The third tier is sky themed with a few birds and the last is of outer space featuring an astronaut. A mother from Agoura Hills said, “I think the depiction of City Hall and surrounding land is beautiful and amazing. My daughter loves it.” If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out for yourself.

By: Dana Olmes

Apple stores across the world today have been bombarded by excited fans in anticipation of the iPad 3, which was released at 8am this morning. Despite some controversy regarding Apple’s practices, the iPad 3 is expected to break sales records. Apple predicts that by the end of 2012, they will have sold 55 million of the new product which will add up to 100 million iPad sales in total.

Sales though, won’t be attributed to the average consumer only. Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak waited in line at a Los Angeles store for the iPad 3 with his wife. He stated, “I wanna be one of the real people, who line up and wait all night…Apple’s just that important to us.” Others around the world seem to share the same sentiment. Stores near you, such as Sherman Oaks and Thousand Oaks are selling the new iPad on a first come, first serve basis so if you haven’t purchased one yet, hurry over!