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Table of Contents
Click on any of the above links to skip to a section, or simply scroll down. Table of Contents / Local Links South Bay City Web Sites -El Segundo -Hermosa Beach -Manhattan Beach -Palos Verdes Estates -Rancho Palos Verdes -Redondo Beach -Rolling Hills -Rolling Hills Estates -Torrance Arts & Entertainment -Art Galleries and Museums -Movielink Showtimes & Tickets -Ticketmaster - Event Guide -The Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay -L.A. Onstage - At the Beach -The Norris Theater for the Performing Arts -Palos Verdes Art Center -Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Chambers of Commerce -Hermosa Beach Chamber Commerce -Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce -Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce -Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce -Torrance Chamber of Commerce of Commerce Community Services -Beach Cities Health District -Manhattan Beach Community Resources -Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy -Redondo Beach Public Library -Redondo Beach Community Services Food & Dining -Beach-Web Restaurant Locator -CuisineNet Restaurant Central: Los Angeles -The Daily Web Restaurant Reviews -Redondo Beach Dining Guide Local Government Resources -Your Elected Officials -State Assembly & Senate Online Publications -L.A. Times South Bay Weekly -South Bay Magazine Parks & Recreation -Redondo Beach Local Attractions -L.A. Times Beach Guide Table of Contents / Favorites -Jensen
Relocation - Agent for Allied Van Lines Table of Contents / Buying a Home -Are You Ready to Buy a Home?" Test What do you ask yourself when deciding if you are ready to buy a home? The four questions explored here are among the most important when determining if you should now consider a home purchase. -Benefits of Homeownership Owning a home can bring financial rewards as well as a personal satisfaction that comes with knowing that you have a piece of the American dream. This article explores the many benefits and rewards of owning your own home. -How a REALTOR¨Can Help The enormity of the financial transaction aside, finding the right home to fit our particular needs and wants is no easy undertaking. Though some people may think of using the services of a REALTOR¨ only when selling their homes, a REALTOR¨ can be invaluable when buying one as well. -The Home Inspection and You What is a home inspection? Why do you need one? How do you find a qualified inspector? These answers and more are addressed by The American Society of Home Inspectors¨, the oldest and leading non-profit professional association for independent home inspectors. -Foreclosures: How to Buy a Fannie Mae Owned Home As a prospective home buyer, you have many options in your search to find an affordable home. One of those options today is the purchase of a home that has been foreclosed and is currently owned by Fannie Mae. Click here to search for Fannie Mae-owned homes for sale. -Avoiding the Pitfalls Unfortunately, even the best planning can fail to protect you from the many surprises and obstacles that can materialize in the course of the home buying process. These tips will help guide you to a more comfortable and painless purchase process. -Preparing the Offer You finally found the home of your dreams - now what? Here are the answers to your questions about this exciting and often nerve- wracking experience. -Why Title Insurance? When purchasing a home or other real estate, what you acquire is title to the property, which may be limited by rights and claims asserted by others. Problems with title can limit your use and enjoyment of real estate, as well as bring financial loss. Here's the facts about what could well be the least understood part of the home buying process. Table of Contents / Selling a Home -Choosing a Realtor to Sell Your Home Can a real estate agent really help me in buying and selling property? The answer is YES! Answers the most commonly asked questions about selecting the right Realtor to help you sell your home. -Setting Your List Price Setting the list price for your home involves evaluating various market conditions and financial factors. Learn the methods professional REALTORS¨ use to help determine a home's list price. -Avoid the Urgent Sale To sell your home at the best possible price, avoid urgency whenever possible. Your home is a valuable and quite marketable asset. You can depend on receiving a "fair market value" price for it if you allow enough time for a sale to occur. -What is Market Value? The meaning of "market value" confuses many people. Noted real estate investor and author J.P. Vaughan’s clear and informative article does a good job of defining this often misinterpreted term and the many factors that ultimately determine a homes sale price. -How To Read Sales Comparables Sales comparables are a vital tool to help you determine a price to list your home. Here is a helpful article from DataQuick to help you make sense of this important information. -Improving Your Selling Time How soon will it sell? Ten days? Eighty-six days? Three hundred thirty days? What factors can influence the time it takes to produce a serious buyer? -Preparing Your Home For Sale The process of readying your house for sale requires a critical eye, an impersonal attitude, and in some cases nominal money. Do it right, and you will be rewarded by a timely sale! -Common Q&A About Selling Your Home What are home sellers obligated to disclose? What is the best time to sell a house? Who determines what furnishings of a house stay with the home when it is sold? These are just a sampling of the many questions answered in this resource presented by Inman News Features. -A Pre-Inspection Guide For the Home Seller A normal part of the home sale process involves the inspection of a home by an inspection professional. Such inspections are routinely performed on homes of all ages and quality. Here is the information every home seller needs to know about home inspectors and their services. Table of Contents / Relocation -Moving With Kids Moving is as hard for kids as it is for adults. By considering a move in three stages - before, during, and after - and thinking about your children's needs during each stage, you can make a big difference in how your kids feel about the move and how they adjust afterwards. -Six-Week Checklist For A Smooth Move Moving is ranked among life's most stressful events. However, with the proper planning and preparation, you can make your next move a smooth one. This calendar prepared by Mayflower Transit will serve as your "countdown" to moving day. -Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations protect consumers on interstate moves. This electronic pamphlet provides information about your rights and responsibilities as a shipper of household goods. -Packing Your Stuff A-Z From air conditioners and artwork to big screen televisions and washing machines, learn from the experts how to get everything ready for the movan ving -Official Change of Address Form This section allows you to enter your change of address info and then print your completed Change of Address form. Additionally, you can use the entered information to print Address Change Notification Letters and mail them to family, friends, and business associates to let them know of your move. -The 10 Most Forgotten Items In A Move Even the most organized person will probably not be able to remember every detail of the move - or every item. This useful article from Mayflower Transit suggests adding these 10 points to the top of your moving preparation list. -Moving With Your Pets If pets are a part of your family, remember that moving, whether down the block or across the country, is just as stressful for them as it is for you. But this stress can be greatly reduced with good planning and the tips that you'll find here. -After Your Move Congratulations - you survived the big move! Now what? Here's a list of the most important items to attend to during the first week after your move. Table of Contents / Home Improvement -Free Expert Advice for Your Home Don Vandervort, a regular on HGTV's "The Fix," offers free advice, buying guides, ideas and do-it-yourself help, in this one-stop source for home repair, remodeling, home-improvement and home decorating information. -Hiring a Contractor Your home may be your most valuable financial asset. That’s why it’s important to be cautious when you hire someone to work on it. Finding a competent and reliable contractor is the first step to a successful and satisfying home improvement project. -ImproveNet Through it's exclusive comprehensive network of over 600,000 prescreened contractors and designers, ImproveNet helps its users make good decisions about home improvement projects. As a completely independent authority, ImproveNet maintains its integrity, objectivity, and credibility. -Popular Remodeling Projects: Cost vs. Value Updating and remodeling kitchens and baths will add the most value to your home. In some instances, these projects could possibly return more than 100% of the cost if the home is sold within a year. Here are the highlights from Remodeling Magazine's special report. -HomeIdeas Applet Area Here you will find applications that will help you with home projects including a paint estimator, wallpaper calculator, fencing estimator and more. -Energy Savers A practical guide on how to reduce your home energy use, with tips on insulation, heating and cooling, lighting, landscaping, and much more. -Better Homes & Gardens Home Improvement Encyclopedia Whether you're fixing a clogged drain, building a deck, wiring that new addition, or adding landscape to your yard--we've got the site for you. Search from more than 1,000 home improvement tips that can save you time and money. -Kitchen & Bath Consumer Resources Excellent online resource from the National Kitchen and Bath Association includes helpful planning checklists, a guide to understanding the remodeling process, and tips from the pros. -Popular Mechanics Homeowner's Clinic You'll find the kind of concise, illustrated how-to pieces you've come to expect from Popular Mechanics. There are sections on solving household problems, how to make your house a safer, more comfortable place to live, appliance care tips and woodworking projects. -Toiletology 101 Everything you ever wanted to know about . . . you guessed it, your toilet! Stop by this unique site and you will probably discover some things you probably never knew you needed to know about saving money and water. Table of Contents / Consumer Center -Consumer's Resource Handbook Published by the Consumer Information Center, this site features valuable information that no consumer should be without. Also included is the Consumer Assistance Directory with thousands of names, addresses, telephone numbers, web site and e-mail addresses for national consumer organizations, trade associations, state and local consumer protection offices, state and federal agencies. -Top 10 Scams Billing consumers for optional services that they never ordered, was the number one scam reported to the National Fraud Information Center last year. Discover what other schemes made the list and learn how to avoid them. -JUNKBUSTERS Guide to Reducing Junk It’s about time! This site covers what you can do about unwanted junk mail, telemarketing calls, faxes, and email. It also gives some background on direct marketing and the laws governing it. -The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide Provides a starting point for consumers in the USA and Canada searching the net for recycling information. The goal is to help make recycling so easy and automatic that it blends into the flow of everyday life. -Consumer Line Consumer Line is the online service of the Office of Consumer and Business Education of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. It offers the full text of approximately 150 consumer publications on a wide range of categories. -The Better Business Bureau The Better Business Bureau provides instant access to business and consumer alerts as well as many other helpful resources. You can even file a complaint online and more. This web site is provided by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., and the BBB system of over 150 Bureaus located throughout the United States and Canada. -Cybersmarts The Internet is an exciting tool that puts vast information at your fingertips. With a click of a mouse, it lets you buy an airline ticket, book a hotel, send flowers to a friend, or purchase your favorite stock. Keep in mind the following tips to help ensure that your online shopping experience is a safe one. -Kelly Blue Book Don't buy or sell a car without checking out this invaluable guide. Learn your car's trade-in and resale value, get free new car pricing reports with specs, photos, invoice and more. -CardTrak Evaluate the latest bank credit card surveys including low rate cards, no- fee cards, gold cards, secured cards, rebate cards, affinity cards, credit union cards and other charge cards. CardTrak is the nation's only consumer credit card newsletter, and is widely quoted and endorsed by the news media. -Consumer Alert Consumer Alert is a nationwide, non-profit, nonpartisan membership organization committed to protecting consumer choice and promoting economic growth. Their site features articles and editorials by members and others, as well as consumer tips, and membership information. Table of Contents / Home and Taxes -Homeowners: What You Can and Cannot Deduct This report from the IRS explains what expenses you can deduct as a homeowner. It also points out expenses that are not deductible. This section has two primary discussions: real estate taxes and home mortgage interest. -Moving Expenses Explains the deduction of certain expenses of moving to a new home because you changed job locations or started a new job. Topics include: Who can deduct moving expenses; What moving expenses are deductible and how to report your moving expenses. -Tax Information for First-Time Homeowners Provides tax information for first-time homeowners including how you treat items such as settlement and closing costs, real estate taxes, home mortgage interest, and repairs. -Residential Rental Property This publication discusses rental income and expenses, and explains how to report them on your return. It also covers casualty losses on rental property and the passive activity limits and at-risk rules. This publication is designed for those who only rent out a few residential dwelling units. -Selling Your Home Explains the tax rules that apply when you sell your main home. Also includes worksheets to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the amount of the gain that you can exclude. -2000-2001 Tax Planning Guide Tips and strategies from Deloitte & Touche, one of the leading professional services firms in the nation. Contents include 5 tips for real estate investors, 21 tips for high-income individuals and 19 tips for everyone. Table of Contents / Health and Safety -Is Your Home a Healthy Home For Children? How healthy is your home? Each year, many people - especially children - are injured or become ill due to home conditions that could be prevented or eliminated. Take time to read this important information and make sure that your home is safe and healthy. -Family Safety & Health Magazine Online magazine published by the National Safety Council - a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international public service organization founded in 1913 and dedicated to improving the safety, health and environmental well-being of all people. -Food and Drug Administration Consumer Advice Among the many topics include: What can I do to protect myself from food poisoning? Why shouldn't I taste a sample of cookie dough before baking it? How long can leftover food be left out of the refrigerator? Plus more advice from the FDA. -Indoor Air Quality in Homes There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. Read more about what steps to take both to reduce the risk from existing sources of indoor air pollution and how to prevent new problems from occurring. -Family Disaster Supplies Kit Disasters happen anytime and anywhere. And when disaster strikes, you may not have much to respond. Would your family be prepared to cope with the emergency until help arrives? This site can help. -U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC is an independent federal regulatory agency that is charged with keeping families safe by reducing the riskof injury or death from consumer products. Visit this site for lifesaving information or to report unsafe products. -Pesticides & Food - What You & Your Family Needs to Know This publication from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discusses the risks and benefits of pesticide use on food and ways in which consumers can reduce their exposure. -Commonly-asked Questions about Poisonings and Prevention This resource can help you prevent accidental drug poisoning and prepare you for a quick response if a poisoning occurs. By following these suggestions you may not only prevent a serious accident, you may save a life. Click here to locate a Poison Control Center near you. -KidsHealth This multi-award winning site boasts hundreds of articles and features on infections, behavior & emotions, food & fitness, and growing up healthy. Table of Contents / Your Garden -Gardening Basics Sometimes even a professional gardener needs a little help now and then. Garden.com's Gardening Basics are designed to help both novice and experienced gardeners with detailed, step-by-step instructions for a wide variety of gardening activities. -Regional Gardening No matter where you live and garden, you will find this great resource packed with plants to start, gifts to give, and great tips for your gardening endeavors. Use their Plant Finder when you're planning a new garden, revamping an old one, or just looking for something new and different to grow. -Calendar of Garden Events This calendar allows you to search its database by date, location and/or keyword. See what's going on in your neck of the woods! And if your gardening group is planning an event, be sure to add it to the calendar. -The Whole Herb Look here to find advice on growing herbs and explore the rich uses of herbs, from cooking to crafts, aromatherapy to natural cosmetics. -Gardening Q & A Here you can tap into the expert knowledge of the National Gardening Association. Search the question and answer library or ask your own question and they will dig up an answer for you within a couple of days. -Time Life Plant Encyclopedia Looking for a plant, houseplant, tree, or shrub? This database contains almost 3,000 species searchable by plant name or attribute to search for plants based on characteristics you decide are important to you. -Rebecca's Garden Rebecca Kolls, host of TV's Rebecca's Garden hosts this site featuring exclusive gardening tips, informative how-to segments and tours of inspirational gardens across the country. -The Rosarian A site devoted to roses and the gardeners who cultivate them. The Rosarian features articles images and forums to discuss with other's this aroma pastime. Table of Contents / Food and Dining -Star Chefs A culinary dream come true for gourmet cooks, foodies and the curious. Secret ingredients, anecdotes, tips, and recipes from famous chefs and cookbook authors. -CheeseNet A cheese lover's paradise! Select a cheese, and you will find its country of origin, a description of its taste, a picture of it, and icons that inform you about its texture and its firmness, whether it's cooked or not, and which animal donated the milk. -CookieRecipe.com One of the "sweetest" sites on the Web, check out today's daily recipe, play recipe roulette, search for a cookie recipe by category or ingredient, and munch, munch more. Sorry, I couldn't resist. -The Creole and Cajun Recipe Page Celebrate the marvelous Creole cuisine of New Orleans, and the hearty cooking of Acadiana (or "Cajun country"). You'll also find some culinary basics -- stocks, sauces, seasonings, and the like -- as well as a few tastes of many other regional and world cuisine. -Epicurious Food: For People Who Eat Access such fine publications as "Gourmet" and "Bon Appetite" or check out their extensive "Drinking" index with over 700 libations. -The Global Gourmet One of the leading and most acclaimed food sites on the net. Each weekday this delicious site presents a new fresh recipe, cooking tips, food news, product reviews and more. -The Cook's Thesaurus Like a word-based thesaurus, this one deals with substitutions -- in this case, which recipe items can be substituted for others based on dietary restrictions, personal preference, or whatever. It will even let you know if the replacement is really as good as the original or just a feeble fix. -Zagat Restaurant Survey The premier guide to America’s top restaurants. Online reviews of dining establishment in 20 U.S. cities. Search by location, name, cuisine, food ranking, or best deals. -CuisineNet - Menus Online This award winning online restaurant guide features menus of hundreds of restaurants in 16 major U.S. cities. Search by city, price, cuisine or amenities. -The Food Network’s CyberKitchen From the cable television network, this sites provides a continuously updated source of recipes, food news and other great features including food and nutrition facts, restaurant information and "Ask the CyberChef" Got to get your hands on a recipe you saw on a recent program on FoodTV? |