Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1472864
outdoor living. Each home at Twin Oaks fea- tures a spacious family room, gourmet kitchen with a generous cen- ter island, a beautiful master bedroom with bath suite and smart features to make your life easier. Twin Oaks is also offering a free solar option with the pur- chase of select quick- move-in homes while supplies last. (See sales associate for details.) Homes are priced from the high $700,000s. The Cannery Club at Twin Oaks is a gathering place at the heart of the commu- nity. The amenity-rich private club is where neighbors can come together for weekly new and engaging so- cial, educational, and wellness activities. Twin Oaks features an ongoing variety of programming in part- nership with BlueStar Resort & Golf, the leading provider of community manage- ment services in active lifestyle communities. Twin Oaks is conve- niently located in Hol- lister, less than an hour from San Jose and 30 miles from Monterey Bay. Enjoy walkable, small-town living in- cluding a charming downtown, restaurants, shopping and top-notch medical facilities. Twin Oaks is less than a mile to Hazel Hawkins Hos- pital and a large shop- ping center with Target, eateries and more. Hol- lister hometown events include a farmers mar- ket, downtown parades and a summer concert series. The San Benito County Wine Trail also surrounds the beauti- ful rolling hills around Hollister. Twin Oaks is the vision of local home- builder Marty Miller, the patriarch of the local family-owned company based in the Bay Area. An engineer by trade, Marty began in real estate develop- ment in the early 1990s. For more than two de- cades, he has worked hard to bring this com- munity to life. New homes are available and selling now. Visit the beau- tiful model homes at Twin Oaks, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except closed on Wednesdays) at 2071 Red Oak Drive in Hollister. For more information, call (831) 800-2334 or visit the website at TwinOaks Hollister.com. Content provided by Twin Oaks Hollister Twin Oaks from page 2 that deliver the simpli- fied luxury lifestyle. Whether it's an inti- mate or grand-scale gathering, the con- temporary chef and entertainer kitchens offer sophisticated liv- ing. High-end finishes and large living spaces open up to a private terrace. Included in all of our residences is a tranquil escape to your terrace or shared residence courtyard for lounging. 210 Lafayette offers five unique open floor plans with unpar- alleled access to world- class dining, shopping, walking trails and the Lafayette BART Sta- tion. Features include two to three bedrooms, two bathrooms, den/of- fice and two-car park- ing. The draw to down- town is the proximity to chic boutiques, bistros, services and farmers markets. Attractions include the Lafayette BART Station, the public library, hiking and biking trails, play- grounds, creeks, excel- lent schools, and great grocery store options such as Whole Foods and Diablo Foods. If you enjoy the out- doors, we recommend frequently visiting the Lafayette Reservoir with 550 acres of oak woodland. Lafayette manages to combine the best aspects of the Bay Area, from elevated farm-to-table dining to easy access to the outdoors and a less fre- netic energy. Now scheduling private tours, the new- construction boutique residences are half sold out. Please contact your Lenox Homes sales representative for more information about 210 Lafayette Circle by emailing concierge@ livelenox.com or visit- ing livelenox.com. Content provided by Lenox Homes Lenox Homes from page 3 Robson Homes from page 1 many reasons. Some are looking for a home for their in-laws or for their older children after college. Others are looking for rental income." The popularity of ADUs continues to rise as people look to make the most of their real estate investments. These independent dwelling units, built on the same property as the main home, offer a wide variety of uses that make them extremely sought after in resale, but they are rarely available with new homes. An ADU is a great way for extended families to live together while maintaining privacy, and the extra space is extremely flexible, of- fering different uses over time for the same owners. There are two Rose homes available at Oak Tree Circle, both priced in the $3.2 millions. The homes are under construction, but avail- able for touring on the weekends. "These are really well-designed homes," Baldwin says. "You really need to experi- ence them for yourself to understand all of the special features and incredible use of space." Oak Tree Circle is located off of East Mo- zart Avenue, tucked away behind a grove of heritage oak trees, which were painstak- ingly preserved by the builder. It's just a few miles from the quaint shops and eateries in downtown Los Gatos, and just a stroll from the Los Gatos Creek Trail entrance on East Mozart Avenue. The neighborhood is served by excellent Cambrian and Camp- bell schools. Oak Tree Circle's 25 new homes showcase a blend of Cottage, Craftsman and Farm- house architectural styles. Between the five floor plans and the numerous exterior styles, it truly feels like a neighborhood of cus- tom homes. The Oak Tree Circle sales office and model home are open Thurs- days through Mondays (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Floor plans, features, a site map and more infor- mation are available at www.robsonhomes. com/neighborhood/ oak-tree-circle. Con- tact Christina Cruz at ccruz@vestareco.com or at (408) 761-9219 with questions or to book a tour. Walk-ins are also welcome. Content provided by Robson Homes Preparing for a potential recession MarketWatch Q: There are many stories in the news which suggest that we may soon have a recession, either this year or next. Because of rising prices, we now have a huge amount of real estate equity. Does it make sense to increase our mortgage balance in the face of a pos- sible recession? A: A lot of econo- mists believe that we will see a recession in the next six to 18 months. For example, Fannie Mae said in April that it expects "a modest recession in the latter half of 2023" as a result of the Federal Reserve's efforts to control inflation. A "recession" has traditionally been de- fined as two consecu- tive quarters during which real gross domes- tic production (GDP) declines. However, in 2021 the National Bu- reau of Economic Re- search (NBER) revised its definition because of COVID-19. It said the powerful and quick decline that took place in early 2020 was, in fact, a two-month re- cession because of "the unprecedented magni- tude of the decline in employment and pro- duction, and its broad reach across the entire economy." The reality is that most of us don't care how a recession is de- fined, we care about how it might impact our personal finances. We worry that jobs will be lost, and incomes will decline. We understand that much of the econ- omy will be impacted, directly or indirectly, including perhaps our household budgets. Given the huge price run-up seen during the past few years, many homeowners have large amounts of equity. Ac- cording to the Federal Reserve, homeowner equity grew from $19.5 trillion in 2019 to $25.3 trillion in the third quarter of 2021. That's an additional $5.8 trillion in residen- tial equity. So much equity cre- ates a temptation to grab equity, buy a car or boat, and increase mortgage balances. However, with a pos- sible recession ahead, homeowners are largely choosing to be frugal and hold tight. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York re- ports that home equity lines of credit (HE- LOCs) in the fourth quarter were reduced nearly 10% from a year earlier and that the delinquency rate was cut in half, down to a minuscule 0.3%. What about refi- nancing existing mort- gages to extract equity? Interest rates have risen substantially dur- ing the past year, and the combination of more debt and a higher rate will mean larger monthly payments for most property owners, something many will want to avoid. Relatively few people are refinanc- ing. The Refinance Index maintained by the Mortgage Bankers Asso- ciation was 68% lower for the week of April 20 when compared with a year earlier. According to His- tory.com, since World War II the typical recession lasted 10 months. The good news is that many households have set aside strong reserves for tough times. Amer- ican bank deposits topped $18 trillion at the start of 2022, up from $12.5 trillion just three years ago. With any luck, their finan- cial stability will help ease any troubled wa- ters that lie ahead. Email your real estate questions to Peter Miller at peter@ ctwfeatures.com. By Peter G. Miller MarketWatch By Marilyn Kennedy Melia CTW FEATURES Dust, delays, cost overruns. Remodeling is trying under the best of circumstances. Now, with record remodeling projects un- derway and continued supply difficulties, it's particularly vexing. Homeowners can benefit if they em- ploy strategies for this unique remodeling environment, shares Kurt Clason, owner of New Hampshire-based Clason Remodeling and current chair of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). He suggests those em- barking on a remodeling project do the following to avoid unwanted road- blocks: Make the most of the queue: "Many remodel- ers are so busy they can't start a project for at least 18 months," Clason says. But owners can have an initial discussion with a contractor on his project and what materials will be needed. Owners can then begin shopping for tile, fixtures, flooring and the like, selecting a couple of options for each. In some instances, owners can order prod- ucts to arrive as the proj- ect starts. "We (contractors) don't know when delays will come. We can order (items) and be told it will come in within two months. But then we're told, no six months." Consider wants and needs: Maybe a new deck is an essential, but a homeowner would really love to have it screened in if he had the funds. Or you need a kitchen overhaul but adding an adja- cent washer and dryer would be nice. A con- tractor can sometimes make accommodations during the initial proj- ect, making it easier and cheaper to achieve wants later. Competency counts, but so does compatibil- ity: Given the increased likelihood that owners will be having conversa- tions about unexpected shipment delays or new, higher prices on mate- rials, it's imperative to have trust and confi- dence with contractors. Of course, positive reviews from clients and admiring the workman- ship of previous projects are priorities. But when selecting a remodeler, "consider it like dating," Clason says. You want someone you believe is honest, and who you can easily communicate with, since in today's environment, some conversations are likely to center on a dis- tressing development. Fixes for today's remodeling frustrations H8 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 001 Homes | Advertising Section