The Fed Did Not Raise Your Mortgage Rate This Week. Here Is What Did. Jen Kleist, REALTOR® | Coldwell Banker West | DRE #02228818 Rate figures current as of Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Mortgage rates have been climbing, and this week they hit their highest level since January 2025. On Wednesday t

Why "Fire Wife" Is a Thing By Jen Kleist | REALTOR®, Coldwell Banker West | Descanso, CA Somebody asked me once why fire wives make such a point of it. The shirts, the groups, the hashtag. Like it's a club we invented to feel special. I get why it looks that way from the outside. But that's not what

That Extra Room Might Not Exist on Paper: Unpermitted Additions and What Happens When You Sell Living in the Mountains series Last time we talked about what it actually takes to add an ADU to a rural property: the well, the septic, the power, the county, the fire authority. This post is about the ot

Zone 0 Is Getting Closer: What the August 2026 Draft Means for Homeowners If you own a home in Descanso, Alpine, Pine Valley, Guatay, or anywhere else in our backcountry, you have probably heard the phrase "Zone 0" by now. The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection released its latest draf

What "ADU Potential" Really Means Out Here Living in the Mountains series Every so often I see a listing out here in the backcountry with a line about ADU potential. Big lot, plenty of open space, room to build. And I understand the appeal, because the state has made it easier than it used to be to

What Actually Shows Up When a Fire Starts I get some version of this question on almost every showing in the backcountry. A buyer stands on a deck, looks out at the oaks and the chaparral running up the ridge, and asks what happens if a fire starts. It is a fair question, and the honest answer is a

Home Base: Real Estate for First Responder Families Part 3: Running the House When You're the Only Adult Home Half the Time This series is written for firefighters, law enforcement, EMS, nurses, military families, and everyone whose work doesn't fit a nine to five. Part 1 was the questions people as

Home Base: Real Estate for First Responder Families Part 2: Overtime and Your Home Loan. What Counts, and What Shouldn't. This is the second post in a series written for firefighters, law enforcement, EMS, nurses, military families, and everyone else whose work doesn't fit a nine to five. Part one w

Home Base: Real Estate for First Responder Families Part 1: Tales from a Fire Wife & Mom (of Over 20 Years) This is the first post in a new series written for firefighters, law enforcement, EMS, nurses, military families, and everyone whose work doesn't fit a nine to five. Buying and owning a home l

Ever Feel Like Finding the Right Home Loan Is Like Fitting a Square Peg in a Round Hole? First things first. I am not just a Realtor who read a blog post about loans last night. I hold an NMLS license and spent over 20 years in banking and lending before I ever handed anyone a set of house keys. So

Property Taxes in California, Explained: What Every San Diego County Homeowner Should Know If you own a home anywhere in San Diego County, from the coast to the mountains, you get a property tax bill every year. Most of us pay it (or our lender pays it through an impound account) without thinking mu

Ten Hikes East of Cowles Mountain That Are Worth the Drive (Plus Two Rides for the Mountain Bikers) Everyone in San Diego has hiked Cowles Mountain. It is basically a rite of passage, a conga line with a view. But if you keep driving east on the 8, past the point where the strip malls give up, you h

Solar Panels and Home Value: Asset or Headache When You Sell? Drive through Alpine, Descanso, or Pine Valley and you will see solar on rooftops everywhere. It makes sense. We get the sun, our summers are warm, and SDG&E rates are some of the highest in the country. So a lot of folks made the move to

Fire Insurance, Explained: What Your Policy Covers and Why the FAIR Plan Keeps Coming Up If you live in a high wildfire risk zone here in San Diego, you've probably had at least one conversation about fire insurance that left you more confused than when you started. This isn't only a mountain issue.

  Living Ready in the Mountains Zone Zero: The First Five Feet That Decide Your Home's Odds A plain-English guide to ember-resistant landscaping, home hardening, and fire access for East County homeowners. I have lived in these mountain communities for the better part of my adult life, and I come fr

Living Ready in the Mountains: A Descanso Homeowner's Guide to Wildfire Preparedness There is a reason so many of us choose the mountains. The oaks, the quiet, the clean air off the ridgelines, the sense of space you just cannot find down the hill. Living in Descanso and the surrounding communities

Don't Get "Welled": What I Learned About Wells and Septic the Hard Way Let me tell you about a cold January evening in 2025 that I'll never forget. I went to the sink to wash my face, turned on the faucet, and… nothing. Not a sputter, not a drip. Now, when you're on a private well, "no water" doesn'

A lot of sellers think pricing high gives them “room to negotiate.” And sometimes that sounds good in theory. But in San Diego County, overpricing can actually cost you more than people realize. I see it happen all the time. A home hits the market above where buyers see the value. At first there’s s

Seller credits can be a great tool in a real estate transaction, especially when buyers are trying to manage upfront costs like closing expenses or rate buy-downs. But there’s a side to this strategy that doesn’t always get talked about… and it can make a big difference in how your deal plays out. L

Not All Manufactured Homes Are the Same (Even in the Same Park) Manufactured homes can be such a great option for getting into homeownership, especially around here. But they're definitely not as straightforward as they seem on the surface. Let me tell you about a recent transaction that proves the