So Cal Real Estate Journal

Just Listed in Temecula

This upgraded end-unit 2 bedroom, 3 bath town home is located in a quiet complex reminiscent of a rural mountain resort village. Newer features include an extra-large capacity water heater, 2-inch horizontal blinds throughout and fresh neutral-colored paint. All 3 baths have been upgraded, and Italian tile has been installed in the bathrooms and master bedroom walk-in closet. Additional features include vaulted ceilings (no popcorn), Ethernet hardwiring both upstairs and down, a rare, landscaped backyard retreat, and an attached 2-car garage with cabinets and workbench. Enjoy an ultra-convenient location near Rancho California Road. The local elementary school and high school are close, the I-15 is just 2 blocks away, and within walking distance you'll find the duck pond, grocery store, gym, restaurants, a movie theater and shopping center.

View more photos and details of this Temecula home!

Just Listed in Carmel Mountain Ranch

Enjoy entertaining in this absolutely beautiful 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with panoramic views. Located on the golf course in Carmel Mountain Ranch's gated community of Heritage Hills. This home is located on a cul-de-sac and enjoys a kid-friendly setting and proximity to shopping, the library and Highland Ranch Elementary School. Features include a kitchen with beautiful custom cabinets and granite countertops, a huge master bedroom suite with a library, two large bedrooms, a 2-car garage with custom cabinets, central air conditioning and heating and a large living room with a fireplace. There is a great community pool, spa and club house. The piece de resistance of this home is its gorgeous backyard where you'll find two patios covered by beautiful trellises, a built-in BBQ, a grassy area for the kids to play and expansive views of the golf course.

View more photos and details of this Carmel Mountain Ranch home!

A Way to Research Area Schools When Moving with Children

Anyone who has children will tell you - one of the primary factors when moving to a new neighborhood is the area's school district. Now if your children are already enrolled in a private school, you can skip this post. But if not, read on...

My website has a tool to help you find out more about the local schools.

Let's say, for example, that you're thinking about moving to Carlsbad. On my homepage, you'll see a table with information divided up between Buyers, Sellers, Investors and Information. Under the Information column, select School Information.

From this page you can choose to search by district name, school name, or county. Since Carlsbad is in San Diego County, select San Diego.

Once you're on the San Diego County page, select Carlsbad Unified School District from the list of "School Districts in San Diego County." You will reach a page that looks like this:

 

You can now view the beginning and end dates for school sessions, the educational climate index and other information. When applicable, you will also be given the district website address, which you can copy and paste into a new browser window.

Another interesting feature is the "Schools to Compare" box. Select 2 to 5 schools and you'll get a screen with more information about each of the schools you've selected - such as the amount of full-time teachers employed, or what the school's technology measure is.

Have fun researching Southern California school information!

My Work Takes Me All Over Southern California

Hi. I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Brad Butner, and I am a REALTOR®. Welcome to my Southern California real estate blog.

As a Broker Associate, my work takes me all over Southern California, and I enjoy handling transactions in a broad cross-section of communities. I guess you could say there's never a dull moment in my line of work.

With this blog I hope to keep you informed on real estate issues in the various Southern California markets, and of helpful tools that I come across.

I have a website, if you'd like to find out more about me. It's called Southern California Homes Online, and you can use it to search for homes in San Diego County, Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County.

I hope you'll feel welcome to contact me if you ever have any questions about anything that's going on in these communities. Whether you're considering buying or selling a home for the first time, or you're an experienced investor, I'd love to help you as I've helped many others.