Although it has been some time since I have written an update on this blog, I do frequent green updates on Facebook on Westside Green Living With Wendy, and also have a special “PNW vs. SoCal” with a special page called “Meanwhile Over A Thousand Miles Away“.

I was off to a quick start, finding a ave estate company in Irvine that I thought would be a great fit for me called iNet Realty. It wasn’t until later that my Seattle broker, Linda McFarlane, moved us to The Cascade Team (Issaquah), which also has a presence in San Diego! So my license has been changed to “referral only” status in Washington and I have connected with the San Diego office here. Once I get my license in California I will be building out a team in Orange County. I have already found three people for my time, believe it or not, who I think are going to be great to work with.

Getting licensed here takes months, so I found a part time gig within three weeks of arriving. I was on that job for six weeks and am looking again for work to satisfy the need to pay rent – while trying to get on track with the required clock hours to get my license here. I have given up almost all hope of being able to specialize in “green homes” in Southern California as this area is so far behind when it comes to environmental advances for sustainability in housing it depresses me some days.

There is the beginnings of a green building program here, called Build It Green, which promotes a rating system of “Greenpoint Rated”. It is a recognizable, independent seal of approval that verifies a home has been built or remodeled according to proven green standards. And studies are showing that green labels like GreenPoint Rated can improve property values at time of sale.

Having been a part of the Environmentally Certified housing market in Seattle for years, I KNOW that when a property holds an environmental certification such as Built Green or Greenpoint Rated the homes sells for more money and sooner than a non-certified home. But it helps if the buying public also knows what that is. Orange County, and probably most of Southern California, is years behind the Pacific Northwest in this regard.

So I am here to bring some Green to Orange. Wish me luck! I hope soon to be connected to the green building community here and be able to learn first hand more about how things are going down here.

At the beginning of February I came to Orange County to tour rental property. My husband thought he would be getting a job for a company in Newport Beach, but the company was moving to San Clemente so we started researching what’s called South County. Somehow the job fizzled out, even after two months of being told he was flying down for a final meeting. Well, by this point in the process we kind of had our minds on living in a place where we could be outdoors 9 months out of the year, not just four. We had three months straight of good weather in Seattle this year, and we sort of got used to hiking and biking and not wearing a coat.

In mid February I managed to find a place to stay for a few weeks in San Clemente (on the coast) in advance of an apartment becoming available in Laguna Niguel (a little further north and another mile back from the beach). So on February 26th I got in my stuffed car, with a green cheek conure in the passenger seat (I was delivering the bird to the daughter of my broker who lives in Santa Barbara)), and spent four days on the road to get to San CLemente. I had time to visit friends and family before leaving, and stopped in Vancouver, WA, Portland, and Eugene to see family there before really hitting the road. I got to spend a morning in Santa Barbara before reaching my final destination. I got here March 1st.

I’ve been here almost two weeks. I’ve immersed myself in getting to know the town, finding a real estate home for my California business (iNet Realty in Irvine), have had a couple of interviews, one of which looks to lead to a position managing the new Irvine office of LRS Realty and Management in a few months when it open – including developing a green program for the company for home owners involved in their property management program, and signed up for San Clemente Fitness Bootcamp which kicked my butt the first day but tomorrow is Day 4 and I am feeling better (as in, not as sore). I have tried playing with two handbell groups in town, but one is not a good fit, and the other isn’t either but I will stick it out until June.

I miss my husband and my dog and the cats a lot. They are all still in Seattle. I am the pioneer, here to carve a path in this sunny paradise. Our home in West Seattle is still tied up with the lender so he will be staying as long as that takes. We have an apartment on reserve for April 8th, though, that I don’t want to lose, so he is going to bring down a small truck AND MY DOG for an April 8th move in date. I am excited to see them and have my dog Sophia with me again. And the really awesome part is that the real estate office I am affiliating with is dog-friendly!

So some things i have learned in my time in SoCal:
1. Just put all your stuff on the floor when you first get in the car. They’re going to end up there anyway, so just get ahead of the game and stow your electronics safely and your purse RIGHT SIDE UP on the floor.
2. The melting point of Peanut Creme Pretzels (Whole Foods) is about 80 degrees. But they still taste good, even if they are a little messy.
3. You really have to pay attention on the freeway, well everywhere. Everyone drives so fast, things go wrong that much faster. I had another very close shave today, have no idea where the truck came from, but if I wasn’t a confident driver and have absolute faith in my MINI Cooper, I would have already been in the hospital.

Stay tuned to see how Green Spaces Real Estate can impact Orange County – not a very green place so far!

The 4th quarter of 2012 roared to the end of the year, and I had the best quarter ever, including two sales closing on the same day! I even already have had a closing in 2013, and another sale in the pipe in the Alki area.

We may be potentially relocating to Southern California, which means I will be bringing some green real estate to Orange County. I will keep you posted.

A bit of what I worked on this weekend, making something for my home. This thing operates blazing fast!!