Luxury properties and lifestyles are of interest for many of us, but there are times when necessities are the greatest and most compelling luxury of all.

Help for Afghan Schools

And the kids in Afghanistan desperately need our help.

Many schools throughout the country have been destroyed and teachers have been executed–resulting in a literacy rate that is one of the lowest in the world. Some American soldiers, cooperating with locals, are assisting in trying to reopen some of these schools and our assistance is required.

Desperately needed are pencils, pens, sharpeners, world maps, notebooks, colored pencils (no melting crayons!), chalk, chalkboards,  all kinds of paper, rulers, stickers, backpacks and anything else you would normally provide for school children. Free boxes can be picked up at US Post Offices and measuring 12×12x5.5 that can hold a substantial number of supplies. Postage should run $12.50 or less regardless of weight.

My first box is already packed–and marked “school supplies.”

Here is the plea (and mailing address) from Chaplain Capt. Joseph DuWors:

Some have asked about possibly supporting local schools or children. If you are still interested, the time to begin collecting is now. Due to the challenges of this area, many timess, if there is a school building, there may not be a teacher. Or, if there is a school and teacher, there may not be supplies. Many of the schools have been damaged and teachers driven off by the Taliban more than four years ago.

Our presence and influence here is aimed at providing security for the legitimate government of Afghanistan. We hope that security will enable schools to once again reappear. Our long-term plan for regional stability includes schooling for Afghani children.

We do have some resources locally to obtain the necessary supplies. However, we could really use some help. So, if anyone is interested in sending care packages of humanitarian aid for schools, below I am listing basic school supply items that would be helpful.

I will be consolidating all school supplies for distribution, and, if my boss allows, I will go with the soldiers to distribute it so I can send you pictures and video or your school supplies reaching the children.

The mailing address remains the same as regular care packages. Thanks again for not just thinking of us, but of those whom we are here to support as well.

Writing Materials is the primary need:
Pens
Pencils & Sharpeners
Erasers
Paper pads
Notebooks
(Any kind of paper is useful)
Please no crayons (they will melt)
If you want to send markers for drawing that is okay
chalk and erasers
rulers

You may also consider:
school backpacks
chalkboards
floor matts for sitting on
world maps
soccer balls

Again, Thanks!!

CH (CPT) J. Joseph DuWors
HHT, 4/2 SCR
FOB SPIN BOLDAK
APO AE 09355

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by Roberta Murphy

It’s interesting to study living costs in the most expensive cities in the world–at least as tabulated for 2009. According to Mercers, who tabulate these statistics for expatriate living, the 10 most expensive cities (based on housing, food, entertainment, clothing and transportation) are:

1. Tokyo

2. Osaka

3. Moscow

4. Geneva

5. Hong Kong

6. Zurich

7. Copenhagen

8. New York

9. Beijing

10. Singapore

Mercer’s, in their studies for expatriate cost of living, tabulates these costs for 143 cities in 65 continents and published their results each year. New York is used ars the base city and is given a score of 100. Using that base, Tokyo, for example, scores 143.7 and is almost three times as expensive as Johannesburg, which has an index of 49.6 and is one of the most reasonable places to live.

The top 5 most expensive cities in the Americas are New York City (8), Caracas, Venezuela (15), Los Angeles (23) White Plains (31) and San Francisco (34), while Asia and Europe dominate the worldly top ten list.

Now, we await the Mercer;s Most Expensive Cities list for 2010–especially in light of volatile currency swings.

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by Roberta Murphy

Tech Stock Speculation

We rarely write about stocks or the stock market, but this week ends with me wishing we had bought a boatload of shares in Sybase (SY) a week or so ago. With German software behometh SAP buying them out, the value of SY shares spiked about 60 percent.

Now, rumor mills in the tech world seem to be abuzz with likely takeover targets by the likes of IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and other huge, hungry and cash-rich companies–leaving us to wonder: Who’s next?

David Benoit with Dow Jones New Wire discussed this very issue in his well-written Speculation On Next Tech Buyout Kicks Into High Gear. In the article, he points out that big firms like IBM, Oracle (ORCL), Hewlett Packart (HPQ), Microsoft (MS), EMC and Cisco (CSCO) are all on the hunt for complementary takeovers. Potential targets and rising stars, Benoit says, might include Teradata (TDC), Netezza Corp (NZ) and Informatica Corp (INFA).

All have risen 2.6 to 5.1 percent in the last week.

My personal favorite target for a big company seeking to dominate the database market might be ANTS Software, with its ANTS Compatibility Server (ACS)–which allows businesses to consolidate and migrate varied and costly databases over to one vendor (say from SAP to Oracle) without having to reprogram costly applications.It’s disruptive and patented technology just might facilitate businesses merging and consolidating database information from the likes of Oracle to IBM–or SAP to Oracle–or MS to IBM.

You get the idea–and why ANTS might make such a strategic buy for IBM, MS, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, SAP or other big database vendor. And that speculation might also explain why shares in this little company have gone from .80 per share a month ago to $2.40 as of this writing.

And by way of disclosure, we DO own shares of ANTS and had once speculated the company would be a stand alone utility in the world of database management. More recently, though, we are beginning to wonder if ANTS might instead become a red-hot takeover target–and follow CEO Joe Kozak’s blog closely.

That is the luxury of speculation mixed with just a little knowledge.

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Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills

Bloomberg reports that Louis Vuitton, with its monogrammed bags and luggage, handily outranks its luxury brand competitors for the fifth straight year. With a reported value of $19.8 billion, Vuitton ranks 29th worldwide for all industries–and more than twice the combined value of Hermes and Gucci combined.

Even though the luxury sector of the market has experienced an overall decline of 3 percent in value, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Tiffany managed to grow their businesses by focusing on craftsmanship, heritage, and pricing maintenance said Bloomberg. Included in the Brandz 2010 study cited in the story are other brands in the top 10 luxury ranking. They include Chanel, Henessey, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Cartier and Fendi.

Prada, regrettably, was dropped from the top 10 rankings.

The most valuable brand in the world, though, would have to be Google, with its estimated value of $114.3 billion according to the Millard Brown Optimor’s 2010 Brands raking of the most valuable luxury labels.

In our closets and chests, though, most of us would prefer to have labels such as Vuitoon, Hermes, Gucci, Tiffany, Rolex, Cartier or Fendi.

In our stock accounts? A thousand shares of Google would do quite nicely!

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Oh Dear…

Sacramento Luxury Real Estate

Yesterday, good friend and Sacramento real estate broker Gena Riede declined to take a $2 million listing in Whitney Oaks–located in Rocklin, just outside Sacramento. The home has magnificent views, is in a fine golf course neighborhood, and offers over 7000 square feet of potential living area.

This was a listing appointment that Gena had prepared for in detail. She had reserved space here for an article about the property, had made arrangements for us to leave information about the home with top luxury brokers in Northern Europe when there later this month, and had a professional photographer on stand-by.

Gena leaves little to chance.

The floor plan, unfortunately, turned out to be a bit illogical with unspecified rooms at the entry level and an enormous living room and foyer upstairs.  The master bedroom was surprisingly small with an adjoining bath that was surprisingly large with sink perched on black-lacquered 2×4’s. There were gaps in drywall around electrical outlets and cracks at drywall joints. The general impression was one of an unfinished home.

This, in short, is NOT a luxury home. It is a project-in-process that demands to either be either professionally finished–or sold to someone who can see it to completion. And given that other smaller and finished homes have sold in this fine Sacramento neighborhood for less than $1 million, it is an improbability that this unfinished property will sell at a luxury home price.

Gena Riede is Sacramento’s premier luxury real estate broker–and is willing to professionally represent true luxury homes in the Sacramento real estate market. She can be reached at 916-417-2699 or at gena@genasell.com

Advice to luxury home sellers: Make sure that your home and it finishes match luxury home standards in your community and neighborhood. Don’t expect the potential buyer of your home to finish it for you.

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Jeff and Racquel Turner are two favorite people of mine.

Not because Racquel has a heart as wide and deep as the Mississippi River --or because Jeff so unselfishly shares his technological expertise with so many. Rather, they both hold out a helping hand to people and causes that can use a lift.

A few years ago, Rocky realized that orphaned girls in Africa were missing precious days of school because they had no underwear. Something as simple as a pair of undies could hold a pad that could carry a girl through a day of her period and a day of school. That became one of the initial causes for Mothers Fighting for Others.

Dresses and other items of clothing might be purchased second-hand at open air markets. Second-hand underwear, though, are forbidden by the government--likely because of sexually-transmitted disease fears.

Rocky started a campaign for new underwear for African orphans and met with overwhelming response. It was a niche charity that touched the hearts of so many and Rocky took it upon herself to lug hundreds of pounds of underwear on subsequent trips to Africa.

These days, she is working hard to get these orphaned girls into boarding schools to help prepare them for productive lives.

Jeff and Rocky (in particular) have opened their hearts and voices to their causes--and the world is a finer place because of these two.

Turner is making us aware, once again, of the tragedy surrounding human slavery:

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by Roberta Murphy

When first entering this newer San Diego luxury home, we were amazed by its wall and ceiling finishes. Walking slowly from room to room, one can run fingers over the cool burnished walls and the gray stone door arches. The touch is smooth and cool. Even the ceilings and dome gave the impression that we had indeed been transported to a Venetian villa.

Had we not known the artisan responsible for this masterpiece, we would never have guessed an underlying truth: These walls were nothing more than standard drywall that had been transformed by a clever Polish home painter and artist who specializes in exquisite surface finishes.

Greg Sieminski explains that Europeans have been creating beautiful walls for centuries utilizing limestone plasters softly colored with natural elements. He studied these walls in Mediterranean countries, and wondered how the rich, aged patina could be duplicated in fine San Diego homes. It took several years, but Greg was able to perfect his replications of fine Venetian plaster to the delight and amazement of his clients.

So just how is Venetian plaster made? Greg explained that the 1300 year-old process starts with the selection of special limestone from Italian quarries and rivers. The limestone is then fired in a large and very hot kiln, which causes chemical changes within the limestone itself. The result? The super-heated stones turn to putty when placed in water. The painter goes on to describe how this putty is wet-seasoned for up to a year before being processed as a finishing plaster.

The end result, says Greg, is a finely milled limestone putty that is even finer than face powder. This cultivated material can be further embellished with finely-ground marble, which yields an ancient building material that can be burnished to a low sheen or rubbed to a high polish. Additionally, he will occasionally add granular material so that he can recreate stone finishes.

Venetian plaster, he explains, is not œfaux painting, as hobbyists commonly refer to this style of painting. œThe product is not paint. It is an old finishing technique that works well in contemporary homes. He adds that Venetian plaster can be used outdoors as well, with few limitations.

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by Roberta Murphy

At San Diego Previews, we deal with a number of people who are relocating to the San Diego area. They may be from from the East Coast, the desert, Bay area, Midwest or Europe, but all have pretty specific ideas about the lifestyle they anticipate in sunny Southern California.

Many of these seekers are seasoned and affluent home buyers–ones who can be pretty specific about the features they want in their next home. Their demands might very well include:

• A formal and separate entry with natural stone or wood flooring.
• An office off that lovely entry
• Formal dining room with outside patio for al fresco meals.
• In Southern California, a great room with fireplace off the spacious and well-equipped kitchen. Great for wine and cheese soirees, family fun and casual entertaining.
• At least one bedroom with full bath on ground level.
• Spacious master suite with balcony for sunset wine sipping–and spa bath with jetted tub. Huge closet also a plus!
• Outdoor kitchen for year-round entertaining is a must.
• Some want pools and some don’t, but most would like a private rear yard large enough to accommodate one.

We have recently listed a newer 5 bedroom, 4.5-bath home at 7289 Calle Conifera in Carlsbad, which offers all these features and more–including a butler’s pantry, large laundry room, 3 fireplaces, Brazilian cherry and polished travertine flooring, granite surfaces, 3-car garage, 4225 square feet, and numerous other custom upgrades. This La Costa Oaks listing is also in the highly desired San Dieguito school district, has reasonable taxes– and a price tag of just $1,150,000.

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by Scott Murphy

$57 Million as a sales price for a Hong Kong apartment?

That is an amount that most people cannot even imagine. No matter how hard-working or how dedicated to the saving, wise spending and money management encouraged by Forbes.com, lovemoney.com and the like, most people will not accumulate that kind of wealth–even in several lifetimes. It is most definitely the realm of the super rich, being able to purchase such colossally expensive homes–and the ultra-wealthy in Hong Kong are no exception.

What if I had $57 million to buy a luxury home in the U.S.?

I would seriously have to consider a currently-available 10,000 square foot home right on the beach in Del Mar, just north of La Jolla. The climate couldn’t be more perfect, the views are spectacular, while snow-covered mountains and desert golf are just a couple of hours away. But then again, I am a big fan of (and a Realtor in) San Diego!

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by Roberta Murphy

I love the genius behind Dyson engineering and products.

Instead of thinking outside the box, these air gurus study the box very closely and re-engineer it into device that works better than its predecessors.We love the Dyson vacuums and find them intuitively simple to use.  They are also nearly indestructible.  The Dyson wizards have also invented a hand dryer that really works–with air that travels in the neighborhood of 400 mph.

A tip of the top hat to Paul Taylor with the Financial TImes, who released this story whereby inventor James Dyson claims his bladeless fan–or the Dyson Air Multiplier,  works by forcing a jetstrem of air out of a narrow circular slit and then over an aerofoil-shaped blade, and is proving to be at least as efficient as its bladed counterpart, while reportedly being more comfortable and much safer.

The Dyson fan is controlled with a remote slider, which allows for more precise air flor. The cost ranges from a hefty $300 for the 10-inch model and $330 for the more powerful 12-inch air multiplier.

The fan, or air multliplier, is reportedly and currently available at select specialty stores in the US–and will hopefully soon be available on the Dyson site as well as Amazon.

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