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Noozhawk Talks: Leslie Dinaberg Sits Down With Suzanne Farwell

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Suzanne Farwell, LaraCooper / Noozhawk photo

Suzanne Farwell, LaraCooper / Noozhawk photo

As Director of Communications, Suzanne Farwell is often the voice for the Santa Barbara Foundation, connecting all of us with information about the good work the foundation is doing in the community. Farwell connects with Leslie Dinaberg
to reflect on her work and her life, as she prepares to retire later this month.

Leslie Dinaberg: What will you miss the most about your job at the Santa Barbara
Foundation?

Suzanne Farwell: The people I work with. One of the reasons I like working there is because I
work with people who are passionate about what they do and helping people.

…The other thing I really like about my job is it has so many facets where I’m
gathering information, so I’m learning about many different things every day. …
I’m learning about different philanthropic groups that pop up through us. It’s the
whole canvas of interesting wonderful things that are positive. …

LD: That’s great. In many ways I think Santa Barbara Foundation seems like an
ideal nonprofit job in that you would never get bored because you’re dealing with
so many different types of things.

SF: And now there’s the added component of a new boss who is coming in (Ron
Gallo replaced Chuck Slosser as CEO this year) with fresh ideas and that’s also
very exciting.

LD: So what made you decide to retire now?

SF: Well a couple of things. The major reason is my daughter has a little boy who
is 14 months old and he is a sweetheart and I don’t get to see him much. And my
son is getting married and in every family there needs to be someone at the
center who doesn’t necessarily actually need to do anything but who is that
center and there’s much I can’t do with this job. … I hope to do some projects for
the foundation that I am intensely interested in, and I’m still young enough to be
able to open my mind to lots of other things and who knows. I’m trying to have a
fertile ground and so as things pop up they take root. But I can’t open it up
without cutting back on the work. But it seems like a good time. I’m also looking
forward to spending more time with my husband at home.

LD: I would imagine that’s its very demanding work.

SF: It is, but that’s what good about it is I use every brain cell.

LD: I know you worked on a lot of great programs while you were at the Santa
Barbara Foundation, but are there any that are particularly near and dear to your
heart?

SF: The first year I was there we were about to celebrate the Foundation’s 75th
anniversary. So there was a book, a history book for the anniversary project to
coordinate and then there was a gala performing arts presentation at the Lobero.
That was fantastic. Then there was a symposium about the future of
philanthropy. That was all in one year. That was really something. …

I think one of my favorites was a book about the blind doctor, Dr. Pearlman. … A
little old lady comes to us and she wants to leave us a million dollars part of the
deal is that we publish her manuscript. Well, you can imagine a little old lady’s
manuscript. What will we do with that? Well, you read it and it turned out to be a
really compelling human story so we shepherded that project, we got a local
publisher; the whole thing was really heartwarming. And it’s always nice to have
tangible evidence of what you’ve done because most of mine is ephemeral.

LD: I’ve seen that project and it’s very, very cool.

SF: Yes, and the idea that we would be following through on the donor’s wishes
which is always very important. And it’s a book that opens people’s eyes to what
it is like to be blind as a society, as a world society we could all that to
understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

… It’s fascinating. I get something out of every single project. I know the
foundation’s history better than anybody.

LD: Do you have any trips planned or any immediate plans as soon as you’re
done?

SF: Everybody asks me that. … My husband and I have traveled a lot and I just
plan to stay home for a while and just be there. I live in a wonderful place. I want
to just sit on the porch, watch the birds and just still the mind a little bit because
I’m always thinking about philanthropy and this and that and it’s going to take a
while for that to go away because I’m always going at 60 miles an hour.

LD: What else do you do like to do with your spare time?

SF: Well I love to read. I’ve also been a professional dancer for 30 years and I
still do it two or three times a month. I’ve been with Chef Karim since he
started.

LD: I didn’t know that.

SF: So that’s in my blood. And I love to move, so it would be fun to explore
different forms of dance. I don’t know it’s mainly a stilling of the mind to allow
other things to come up. It sounds like I’m not going to do anything.

LD: You need a break, that’s what it sounds like to me.

SF: So I’m opening doors and letting things in.

LD: How did you get started with belly dancing?

SF: My husband and I were living at Married Student Housing at UCSB because
we were both graduate students. I was getting my masters in French and he was
getting a PhD in counseling psych and a woman moved in who was a belly
dancer, new to town. He was dabbling in photography at the time, she needed
photos, so they made a deal. He said I’ll take photos of you and why don’t you
give Suzanne some lessons. I was very annoyed. I was not consulted. I was
almost insulted.

So I went and I took a couple of lessons and said this is really weird. But then my
teacher put on a show with three other dancers and I went and I was hit in the
head by a bat. That proverbial light bulb was like, ah, that’s what I want. Yes. I
want to be that person on the stage. Because it’s so alluring and beautiful and
that was it I set on a path and my poor husband never imagined that this would
happen. And it became overwhelming. It changed my life because I learned to
relate to people in a different way. I was very British at the time, very shy and I
learned to handle myself. I did Belly Grams for years where I would go to offices,
homes, wherever and do a ten minute dance and congratulate the birthday
person and whatever it was and so I was in mansions in Montecito, barbecues on
Milpas, offices all over, it was fantastic, so I got a look at America that I never
would have had, and it was for me about Americans. A great education… It’s
added a spark to my life.

LD: Keeps you in shape too.

SF: It does. And like anybody else I’ve had experiences and I’ve taken from them
and learned and it’s made me who I am today, and I hope to have many more of
them…

LD: How did you go from getting your masters in French and becoming a belly
dancer to working in the nonprofit world?

SF: I was a stay at home mom and I took that very seriously. I spent a lot of time
with my kids educating them in every way that I could. When our daughter, the
younger of the two, went to high school, my husband said, “well you know, this is
a good time to get a job.” I was panicked because I had not ever really, really had
a job.

I’d worked as a caterer for many years and I worked at Jane Fonda’s ranch. … I
applied for a job at the museum and they hired me and then I thought to myself
as I sat at the desk the first day, what am I doing. This could be the shortest job
in history. Then I calmed down and I just applied the idea that what would I want
to know being Jill Six Pack on the street, because I didn’t know that much about
the museum and I went on from there and it all worked out very nicely.

Vital Stats: Suzanne Farwell

Born: January 30, in London, England to a French mother and a British
father

Family: Husband Larry Farwell; two grown children, Nick, who lives in Seattle,
and Lara, who lives in Palo Alto; and a grandson, Bennett, 14 months.

Professional Accomplishments: Masters Degree in French; Chef/Caterer at Jane
Fonda’s Ranch; Worked in communications for Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History; Voiceover Artist, now voices the calendar on KDB radio station;
Professional Belly Dancer; Director of Communications for the Santa Barbara
Foundation.

Best Book You’ve Read Recently: Kate Wilhelm’s “Barbara Holloway” series of
mysteries and Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” series.

Little-Known Fact: “I think I’ve exposed all of the little known facts. The dancing, I
don’t bring that out that much. They are really two separate things. When they
intersect it’s interesting, but it’s not the first thing out of my mouth.”

Originally published in Noozhawk on June 7, 2009. To read it there click here.

Mixed Messages

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Television by Salvatore Vuono (freedigitalphotos.net)

Television by Salvatore Vuono (freedigitalphotos.net)

Be careful — what your kids watch may be hazardous to their health and your wallet.

If TV is “chewing gum for the eyes,” as Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said, it may be causing more than tooth decay in children — TV may also be making them fat, according to two new studies.

“The more than 1,000 hours that the average school child will spend in front of the television this year will harm him or her far more than the one second of Janet Jackson’s breast,” said TV-Turnoff Network Executive Director Frank Vespe.

The typical child sees about 40,000 ads a year on TV and the majority of ads targeted to kids are for candy, cereal, soda and fast food, a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found. In addition, many of the ad campaigns enlist children’s favorite TV and movie characters — Spongebob Cheez-Its, Scooby-Doo Cereal, Teletubbies Happy Meals, to name a few — to pitch products.

Apparently the $12 billion per year spent on advertising to youth works. “Commercials make people want to buy things, like Cox high speed internet,” said 4-year-old Sophia Bordofsky.

Indeed, a series of studies examining product choices found that children recalled content from ads they’d seen, and their preference for a product occurred with as little as a single commercial exposure and grew stronger with repeated exposures, found a recent report by the American Psychological Association. The Kaiser study also found that exposure to food advertising affects children’s food choices and requests for products in the supermarket.

While there’s no doubt that advertisers are selling to children, not everyone is buying. Many parents restrict their children’s viewing. “They do have to do their homework first and they have to take turns picking a show,” said Misty Bordofsky, Santa Barbara mother of four children aged 4 to 13. “Usually they’ll leave the room and go do something else if it’s the show another kid picked,” she said.

Numerous parents may limit their children to watching videos and commercial-free television and a rare few don’t let their kids watch TV at all.

“I am appalled by marketing that targets children with ads for junk food and toys. Young children are not able to understand the inherent bias of an advertisement. They are easy targets,” said Charla Bregante, a Goleta mother of two who is in that 2 percent demographic that does not own a television.

“Most of the advertising during children’s programming is for junk food such as candy, chips, and sugared cereals. Kids are given the message that these foods are desirable and nag their parents to buy them. In addition, children tend to snack more while they are watching TV. Turning off the TV is one of the best ways to fight obesity in children. Almost any other activity will use more energy than sitting in front of a television,” said Bregante.

“While older children and adults understand the inherent bias of advertising, younger children do not, and therefore tend to interpret commercial claims and appeals as accurate and truthful information,” said psychologist Dale Kunkel, a professor of communication at UCSB and senior author of the APA report, which recommends restricting ads targeting children under the age of 8.

“I can tell you that my children rarely nag me for a specific toy or food item. I believe this is because they are not exposed to television advertising and the consumer culture promoted in television programming,” said Bregante, who encouraged families to participate in TV-Turnoff Week, April 19-25 (www.tvturnoff.org).

Is there anything positive for kids on television? Yes, according to Professor Kunkel: “There are lots of positive influences that may result from children’s viewing of certain pro-social or educational programs. The problem is that parents have to mine the media landscape pretty hard to find those occasional nuggets.”

Television is an (almost) inescapable part of modern culture. “With the recent explosion in satellite and digital specialty channels, we now have access to a plethora of both good quality and inappropriate TV content. In this crowded television environment, the key for parents is to search out high quality TV programs for their kids, and whenever possible, enjoy them together as a family,” recommends the Media Awareness Network, a nonprofit organization that focuses on media literacy.

For parents who don’t want to opt out completely, David Kleeman, Director of the American Center for Children and Media, recommends that parents ask the following questions to select viewing that is good for children:

Does the program actively engage my child, physically or intellectually? Television watching doesn’t have to be passive. It can prompt questions, kindle curiosity, or teach activities to pursue when the set is off.

Does my child see others like himself or herself on television? Young children believe that television reflects the real world. To not see people like themselves — in race, ethnicity, or physical ability, for example — may diminish their self-worth. A lack of role models should spark discussion about how TV portrays different types of people.

Do I respect this program? Parents don’t have to like every show their children choose — in fact, young people need their own district culture. But parents should trust that a program’s creators understand and respect how children grow and learn.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

Making their presence felt

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Women's Fund of Santa BarbaraWomen’s Fund getting more bang for bucks

Looking for a low-key, high-impact way to tap into the power of collective philanthropy, Carol Palladini was inspired when she read a Los Angeles Times article about the Everychild Foundation. The idea is simple. Take the time, energy, and money spent on mounting and attending elaborate fund raisers and write a single check once a year.

The appeal was also simple: “Many women in the Santa Barbara area feel not only a need, but an obligation to be a powerful force for good in our community,” Palladini wrote in the invitation letter to the inaugural members of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara.

A few short months after that initial request, the Women’s Fund awarded its first donations on Jan. 31, giving $105,000 to the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinic’s Eastside Family Dental Clinic and $35,000 to two St. Vincent’s programs, PATHS (Program of Affordable Transitional Housing and Services) and Casa Alegria, an infant and toddler care facility.

“A group of women had been meeting at the Santa Barbara Foundation to talk about women and philanthropy,” explained Palladini. That group eventually evolved into a founding committee that included Palladini, Peri Harcourt, Shirley Ann Hurley, Jean Kaplan, Dale Kern, Joanne Rapp, Elna Scheinfeld, Meredith Scott, Anne Smith, Kay Stern, Marsha Wayne and Fritzie Yamin, as well as Raynette Cornejo, the Santa Barbara Foundation liaison.

Their intention was to take a year to develop the plan for the Women’s Fund, “but people started calling and saying ‘when can we write checks?’ which is amazing because usually you have to cajole and pull money out of people,” said Palladini.

“All it took was a letter of invitation to 500 women and the money started coming in,” said Palladini.

Each member contributes a minimum of $2,500 per year, which is then deposited in Donor Advised Fund administered by the Santa Barbara Foundation. At the end of the year, 90 percent of the funds collected are donated to one or more local nonprofit organizations.

“Our umbrella for giving is meeting unmet needs for women, children and families in the greater Santa Barbara area,” said Palladini. “The main goal is not to divvy it up in little tidbits, so that the impact of collective women’s giving is really felt.”

Granting is decided by a simple majority vote of members. Women who wish to ease the cost of dues may form a donor group, which then shares one vote in how the money is spent.

To join, send a check payable to Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, c/o Santa Barbara Foundation, 15 E. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara 93101. For more information, contact Palladini at 565.0342 or e-mail her at carolpall@earthlink.net.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon in 2007.

The gift of charity

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anankkml, freedigitalphotos.net

anankkml, freedigitalphotos.net

It’s hard to avoid the symptoms. “I want that.” “Mommy/Daddy/Grandma, buy me this and this and this…”

Here are some ways to help prevent your child from coming down with an annual case of “the gimmes,” and maybe even provide a little bit of instruction about the true spirit of the holiday season.

Start in your coat closets. Pull out all the old coats your children have outgrown or you don’t wear anymore and take them to Casa Esperanza (816 Cacique St., 884.8481), Transition House (425 E. Cota St., 966.9668) or the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (535 E. Yanonoli St., 966.1316).

Or better yet, get your friends in on the act and host a coat party. Have guests bring coats that are used but still in good condition. Put younger kids to work cleaning out pockets and using masking tape to mark areas that need to be mended or buttons that are missing. Help older kids sew buttons and do simple mending. Other kids can decide which coats might need dry cleaning and which are ready to go. It’ll be a celebration sure to give everyone a warm feeling.

Another variation of this is to have a food party. Ask your guests for canned food and have children help pack it up for the FoodBank of Santa Barbara County (4554 Hollister Ave., 967.5741). You also can host toy or book parties along the same lines.

Sponsor a needy child or family. Transition House has more than 130 children to be “adopted” this Christmas, said volunteer coordinator Xochitl Ortiz. Interested sponsors can call her directly at 966.9668 x115 to receive a wish list from a child or visit the shelter at 425 E. Cota St. and pick someone to sponsor from the “Giving Tree,” where ornaments list a child’s name, age, and wish for something he or she would like for the holidays.

“We can definitely use all the Secret Santas that we can get,” Ortiz said. “We have almost twice as many people as we did last year or the year before.”

For those unable to make two trips to Transition House and want to just buy a toy, Ortiz said popular requests this year are Bionicles, Hot Wheels, My Little Pony, Video Now Players and Cabbage Patch kids. Wrapping paper, tape and ribbon are also needed.

You can also sponsor an adult, “by maybe donating a gift card to like Macy’s so that they can get work clothes after the holiday sale,” said Ortiz. “We’re hoping to get everything in by Dec. 20, only because if someone doesn’t get adopted, it gives staff enough time to go out and shop for that family or that individual.”

The Salvation Army (4849 Hollister Ave., 964.3230 x13) also has a similar program, with about 120 more families waiting to be “adopted” for Christmas. Working from a “wish list,” sponsors buy each child in the family a new, wrapped gift, one clothing item for each member of the family and a food or grocery voucher for Christmas dinner.

“You can even request a certain age group of children and we’ll try and match it as closely as possible,” said Lt. Stacy Cross, who asked that all items be brought to the Salvation Army by Dec. 17. There are also “Angel Trees” (similar to the “Giving Trees” described above) at most of the Santa Barbara Bank & Trust branches, La Cumbre Plaza and toy drives at seven of the local Longs Drugs locations.

Another way to give to the Salvation Army is making cash donations to bell ringers. Young children enjoy putting coins in the kettle and it’s a good chance to explain to them that the money goes to help people who are less fortunate.

Laurie Jewell Evans suggested this is also a good opportunity to teach children about budgets. Decide how much money you will donate this year, then put that money into an envelope in small bills and coins and keep it in your purse.

“Then, every time my daughter and I pass a bell-ringer, she can take a coin or bill from the envelope and donate it, until all the money is gone,” she said.

Another way to donate your spare change is through San Marcos High’s annual Penny Drive to benefit Unity Shoppe. Canisters are located at most of the local schools. You can also drop off your dollars and cents at the South Coast Beacon, 15 W. Figueroa St.

Sometimes all it takes is just a reminder of just how fortunate we are to put the holidays into perspective for all of us. Ortiz shared this story from Transition House.

“It’s not an over the top Christmas … when it’s a family as a unit that’s homeless, it can become quite a hard time for them to have to spend at a shelter. The parents get depressed because they feel like they’ve failed. The kids feel discouraged because they have to go back to school and tell their friends what they got for Christmas and they’re worried they might not get anything. And a lot of them don’t tell their friends they are staying at a shelter.

“It’s a really tough time for them, so we try to alleviate that … we surprise them on Christmas morning with all of the gifts. … We can’t do it without the help from the community … as soon as they find out what we need, everyone’s so wonderful as far as being able to provide.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

First Time Home Buyers: Vintage Charm

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Google maps image

Google maps image

Entering the threshold of their new life together, couple opts for classic over contemporary

There are two kinds of first-time homebuyers: those that go for the modern amenities and those that go for the charm. Susan Bosse and Erik Vasquez definitely went for the charm, or at least the potential charm of their new home on 1242 W. Valerio St.

The house was built in 1925 and suffered from what Vasquez generously called “deferred maintenance.” Still, the character of the house, which still had many of its original built-ins and fixtures, attracted them.

The bones were good, the potential was there, but the old girl definitely needed a face-lift and some new internal organs.

“The thing that I think scared most people were the termites. But it was funny, the termite guys were the ones all bidding on the house so they weren’t too worried,” said Vasquez.

The inspection package was thick, said Bosse. Besides the termite damage and some water damage, the house needed to be brought up to code with a new roof and modern wiring, including new electrical and heating systems. There were also a few walls the couple decided to remove to improve the floor plan.

“We gave Susan a sledgehammer last week. I can show you the little video,” laughed Vasquez.

“It was pretty fun. I mean when else am I going to get a chance to hit a wall and knock it down,” said Bosse. It was also a good stress reliever for Bosse, who was planning her May 30 wedding to Vasquez at the time.

While some of original hardwood floors were in good shape, some needed to be redone, along with the bathroom and kitchen. “There was still food in the refrigerator,” said Bosse.

Despite the extensive improvements, Vasquez was pleased by the speedy progress his crew was making and prepared for the expense. They got estimates for the repairs up front, before deciding they could afford the house.

“The thing is we found is the cost is the people, the labor, it’s not the materials,” said Vasquez. “The materials are nothing, so if they’re in here (working), might as well make it exactly how you want because it’s not any more expensive to make it boring as it is to make it more interesting.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

Got an hour? Get up and go to …

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num_skyman, freedigitalphotos.net

num_skyman, freedigitalphotos.net

We all agree the South Coast is paradise, but sometimes it’s nice to get away for the day. Here are a few favorite destinations for when you’re looking to get the heck out of Dodge, and the best part is, they’re all less than an hour’s drive away — weather permitting.

Just off Highway 154 north are Painted Cave, with its stunning rock art, and Knapp Castle, which can be reached from a path off East Camino Cielo. The “castle” is actually a ghostly scattering of rock ruins of a mountain lodge that burned in a 1940 wildfire, overlooking incredible views of the Santa Ynez Valley.

Further north is Lake Cachuma, which is not only our primary water source, it’s also a great place for fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding and camping. From November to February, hundreds of bald eagles winter here and you often can see them on a two-hour guided boat ride aboard the Osprey. From March through October, the cruise takes a look at area wildlife, wildflowers and resident birds along the shore. The cost is $15 for adults and $7 for children. Call 686.5050 for reservations.

A little further north the charms of Los Olivos beckon, with wonderful shopping, galleries and wine tasting just a short drive away. Stop by the always delightful boutique Persnickety (2900 Grand Ave.; 686.8955) for a fabulous selection of gift items, including vintage linens, birdhouses, ladies’ dresses and more. The Arthur Earl tasting room (2921 Grand Ave.; 693.1771) is also highly recommended.

Also nearby is the Chumash Casino (3400 E. Highway 246), with free live music every Friday and Saturday night, as well as a new resort hotel and spa (call 1.877.248.6274 for reservations).

Don’t forget Solvang, “the Danish capital of America,” where no visit is complete without an aebleskiver, available at any of the many bakeries in town. For theater fans, the PCPA features a wonderful outdoor venue. Call 922.8313 for ticket information and showtimes.

A short distance down Solvang’s Alisal Road is Nojoqui Falls where Upper Nojoqui Creek falls about 80 feet over a sandstone cliff and into a mossy haven, surrounded by Venus maidenhair ferns. The falls end in a shallow pool that’s fun to wade in or just watch the water insect show.

You could also head into the wine country. Try the Foxen Canyon Trail where you will encounter a series of excellent wineries including Firestone Vineyard, Curtis Winery, Fess Parker Winery, Zaca Mesa Winery, Bedford Thompson Winery, Foxen Winery, Rancho Sisquoc, Cambria Winery and Cottonwood Canyon Vineyard.

Heading west, Jalama Beach lies at the end of Jalama Road that turns off Highway 1 south of Lompoc. The beachside park offers camping, a playground, windsurfing and a snack bar serving the famous Jalamaburger. Just remember to get a lot of napkins: these puppies are messy.

You could also head south from Santa Barbara to Ojai, located inland between Santa Barbara and Ventura. Nestled in a scenic deep valley, Ojai is surrounded by steep mountains that soar to 6,000 feet. Ojai is known as an artist’s community, which is reflected by a number of unique galleries and shops.

Going further south, Old Town Ventura is quite charming, with a wealth of shops and restaurants. Also worth checking out is Mission San Buenaventura, (211 E. Main St., 643.4318) the ninth and last California mission founded by Father Junipero Serra. There are also several yacht harbors in Ventura, which offer seafood restaurants, shops, boating, fishing and bay cruises.

Of course, you could always head home and be a tourist in your own town. Not many locals have done the self-guided Red-Tile Walking Tour, which begins at the Courthouse. And when was the last time you went to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Santa Barbara Mission, the Courthouse, the Botanic Garden, Stearns Wharf or the zoo? Sometimes the best getaway can be found right in your own backyard.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

First Time Home Buyers: There’s Nothing Like the First Time

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Image by phanlop88 freedigitalimages.net

Image by phanlop88 freedigitalimages.net

Here on the South Coast — where multiple bidders compete to buy $1 million generic tract houses that “need work” — first time homebuyers are definitely in the minority. But a surprising number of working professionals are getting into the market via some very creative configurations, both in terms of financing and sometimes even living situations.

“It’s a lot more complicated than just finding a property,” said Nicole Dinkelacker, a realtor with RE/MAX’s Goleta office who’s been in the business for 20 years. “Anybody with less than ten percent down, it’s very competitive and difficult.”

Difficult, but not impossible.

“You can get 100 percent financing. You have to have beautiful credit, of course, but it isn’t like you have to come up with a huge amount of money, or at least you should talk to a realtor before you decide that,” said Rebekah Mulder, a realtor with Prudential California Realty in Santa Barbara.

A former teacher and principal at Cold Springs School, who got out of education to become a financial planner and real estate agent, Mulder said she still finds a lot of her job involves educating her clients about the tax advantages of investing in real estate, as well as the many creative ways to make buying a house possible in the Santa Barbara market.

One of the unique financing methods she often teaches first-time buyers about is equity sharing, where a parent, an employer or a third party will invest in buying a house in partnership with the person who will live there.

Recently, Steen Hudson (the Director of the Rescue Mission) and his wife Trina entered into an equity share agreement with his employers, said Mulder. “The mission is realizing money on its investment and if the Hudson’s so choose they can steadily buy the mission out. It’s a great way for employers to help out their employees and make an investment as well.”

“Equity sharing is a great investment. You pair up older people who really don’t want to go out and buy an apartment house or something. Most people are unaware that if you own a residential income property, you can depreciate that property. Even if its actually appreciating, the tax code allows you depreciate it, which then shelters that much of your earned income from any taxes at all,” said Mulder. The IRS allows you to treat one physical property as both a residential property and a residential income property (divided proportionately), she explained.

Rather than asking parents or others to “help” with a down payment, Mulder advises approaching it like a business opportunity and will often make the presentation to parents as a neutral party. “We have (37-page) contracts where you negotiate every horrible thing that could happen.”

“Another thing that piggybacks on that is that buying a property with a rental on it is really good option, especially for someone that’s maybe got high income but maybe no money down, said Sharol Mulder, Rebekah’s daughter and business partner.

“A lot of times if we have people with a lot of money down, it’s a better bottom line if they buy a more expensive property with a rental on it. So let’s say they could go buy a $600,000 condo, they could probably buy a $900,000 house with a rental on it and actually come out paying less per month,” said Sharol, who recently made this type of deal with buyers Dave and Eliza Reed and Kate Russell (Eliza’s sister). “They bought a neat old turn of the century Craftsman plus an additional duplex on West Sola. … They rent out the main house for maximum income.”

In addition to financing options, first-time homebuyers often need to be educated on the basics about realtors. “There are a lot of people out there who don’t know how realtors get paid. We’re seeing people walk into open houses and work with the realtor who’s there without a recommendation. … As a buyer you’re not going to pay the realtor’s commission but you really need a good realtor, so you need a good recommendation. … It’s a great benefit to you as a buyer that the seller is going to pay your realtor’s commission but it doesn’t take away the responsibility that you have to find someone who’s really good to represent you,” said Sharol.

Having professional, experienced representation is even more important with the current climate of multiple offers being made for any given listing. “Houses are going really quickly,” said Gloria Herrera, one of Dinkelacker’s clients who recently purchased a home in Carpinteria after making an offer on another. “The whole thing has really been a learning experience.”

There’s nothing like the first time … starting next week, our South Coast Homes section will feature case studies of local first time buyers. We’ll go inside their homes to see what they were able to buy and how they were able to do it.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

Neighborhood at odds

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Planning Commission hears concerns on converting St. Francis into Cottage employee housing

Almost 150 people packed the hearing room at City Hall on Thursday, no small feat the week before Christmas. In the hot seat was Cottage Hospital’s plan to develop condominiums on the old St. Francis Medical Center property.

“No one at Cottage Hospital ever imagined that we would have to build houses to fulfill our mission, but we have to do just that,” said Cottage Health Systems‘ CEO Ron Werft, in presenting the project to the Planning Commission. It costs roughly $40,000-$50,000 to recruit and train an employee, said Cottage spokesperson Janet O’Neill, so part of the hospital’s motivation is to retain employees.

Describing the proposal to build 116 units on the site — 70 percent of which will be affordable or “workforce housing” for employees — Marshall Rose, chairman of the nonprofit’s housing task force, anticipated objections from neighbors. “This is not about ruining a neighborhood; it is about replacing a once vital healthcare organization with an even greater need,” he said.

The crowd was split on the project’s merits. Expressing empathy for the difficulty Cottage has recruiting and retaining top talent in this expensive housing market and applauding its efforts to provide housing were top officials from UCSB, Santa Barbara City College and Westmont. One neighbor against the project commented afterward, “They really brought in the suits. But our opinions are just as important.”

Criticism mostly centered on neighborhood compatibility concerns. While Cottage and city officials held two neighborhood meetings, the general consensus among those who live nearby was that their concerns weren’t being accommodated. “The comments have neither given the neighbors much hope or much confidence,” was Steven Doty’s written response to the plan.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of fear, I think it’s a matter of trust. I don’t think it’s been earned,” said Joan Marshall, another neighbor.

“We’re all for workforce housing,” said Dee Duncan, who works closely with Bungalow Haven neighborhood association. “But protecting and preserving is equally important to the people who live here.”

Cheri Rae, also from the Bungalow Haven group, expressed dismay after the hearing. “It sounds like the employees are pitted against the neighbors. That’s not true. We are workforce people. We just don’t want to lose the quality of life that has attracted us to Santa Barbara.”

Several in the audience and on the commission said they thought the concurrent Cottage Hospital remodel project should be planned in parallel and suggested that some of the existing St. Francis Medical Center facility (set to be demolished) could be put to medical use, with workforce housing put in the neighborhood near Cottage. Other concerns were how long the property would remain affordable, the number of market rate units, a lack of green space on the property and that there was too much parking, since Cottage said it plans to run a shuttle to its facilities in Santa Barbara in Goleta.

The meeting was an initial concept review, so the commission took no formal action on the project other than to provide feedback.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

First Time Home Buyers: Lowered Expectations

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Image by phanlop88 freedigitalimages.net

Image by phanlop88 freedigitalimages.net

Like many first time homebuyers, Jennifer Cartwright and Bob Freed had to lower their expectations a bit when they set out to buy something on the South Coast. When they originally saw their condominium at 235 Aspen Way in Santa Barbara, they didn’t like it. “After seeing what was out there and the locations and prices, that’s where everything kind of just clicked that this had pretty much everything we wanted,” said Freed of the two bedroom, one and a half bath condo they recently purchased for $453,000.

Price was definitely part of what influenced the purchase, said Cartwright. In October, the then-engaged couple (who wed in late April) were “just kind of investigating options” with realtor/friend Bob Curtis. “We didn’t care if it was a house or a condo. We didn’t think we would be able to afford anything in the first place,” she said.

“It was all timing. What we basically wanted to do is stop paying the man. It’s just a different way of looking at savings,” said Freed.

The money for their down payment was an inheritance from Cartwright’s grandmother. “We got really lucky,” said Freed, who was sharing a house with roommates at the time, while Cartwright lived in a studio apartment. The condo had been recently painted and carpeted and didn’t need much work.

The couple also gave a lot of credit to their realtor. “Bob is an excellent real estate agent. He really took the time to kind of teach us all there was to learn about,” said Freed.

“And we had a lot of questions. Poor Bob, we were calling him daily almost,” added Cartwright. “Before we even looked at things, he set us up with Metro City Mortgage, which was our mortgage broker and told us all the right things to do. … Then when we went out to go look, we knew what we could afford. We weren’t in the dark,” she said.

The condo they purchased had been on the market for several months, unusual in Santa Barbara. “It was overpriced … It was on the market for 180 days or something like that. People were thinking that it was a lemon because no one had bought it right away, but that was because they listed it way too high,” said Cartwright.

The sellers lowered the price and Cartwright and Freed took the plunge and made an offer — after looking at places for only about a week. “I asked Bob at that time, I said are we moving too fast and what if we wait until the wedding,” said Freed. “Bob said, ‘You know, my gut instinct, if you wait, you’re going to pay $30,000 to $40,000 more.’ And actually condos of this size and this location are going for about 500 now,” said Freed.

While clubhouse amenities weren’t much of an attraction for the couple, who both work for the YMCA, what appealed to them about the condo was its secluded feel and location within the complex. “It’s off the street, further away … with the creek in the back, you’re guaranteed no one’s going to build,” said Cartwright.

“I feel more relaxed when I get home, I don’t know how I’m going to explain this but it’s like you’re really going home,” said Freed. “It’s just a neat feeling.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

First Time Home Buyers: Going Condo

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Image by phanlop88 freedigitalimages.net

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The quest to buy a condominium on the South Coast can be grueling on the nerves. “It was crazy. You’d go out and at every open house … you’d see all the same people all the time,” said Cari Thomas, who recently purchased a San Roque condo with her husband Sam. “They started looking like your competition. Like you didn’t want to smile at anybody.”

“I think our biggest surprise was the amount of demand and the fact that there were multiple offers over the asking price,” said Sam. The Thomases looked at dozens of condos and were outbid on six different places before purchasing their new home at 3663 San Remo Drive for $560,000.

We feel like we lucked out, said Cari.

“Once you get a firm understanding of the market, your standards change a little bit. There were places the first weekend we looked that were significantly less money that were not as nice, but a month and a half later we were wishing we would have made offers on those ones that we saw early on,” said Sam.

As is the case with many first-time homebuyers, the two-bedroom, two-bath place the Thomases purchased was more expensive than what they originally budgeted for. When their realtor, Judith McDermott from Village Properties, urged them to “Just drive by and see what you can get for that amount,” they immediately liked it enough to call their loan broker and make the arrangements to make an offer.

“We put five percent down and are using an interest only loan. Some of the money was from savings, some was from a previous 401K plan, and some was an investment from friends,” said Sam.

Part of what sold them on the condo was its immediate livability. “The paint, it’s amazing what paint and color can do. And it was decorated really nicely and the mountain view was pretty,” said Cari. She also liked the fact that the condo overlooks a pool and the rooms were pretty spacious compared to other condominiums.

“It definitely felt modern and we liked how they redid all the architecture on the outside,” said Sam, noting that the kitchen appliances were upgraded three years ago when the complex was converted from apartments to condominiums.

The fact that the association fees were comparatively low was also a plus for the Thomases. Another advantage was the location, close to downtown and their workplace, Cima Management.

At the time of their purchase, they simply saw the Hope School District location as a plus for the condominium’s resale value. However, the Thomases have since learned they’re expecting their first child in November.

“It (the school district) wasn’t something we were searching for initially, but now it worked out great,” Cari said.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon