Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California: February 2014

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Cummins Real Estate Appraisals is a 100% "green" organization in Los Angeles, California

Mary Cummins, Cummins Real Estate Appraisals, green, reuse, recycle, reduce

Cummins Real Estate Appraisals has been providing appraisals for AMCs, direct lenders, lawyers and private individuals for over 30 years. We are a 100% "green" organization which follows the three main principles to lessen our impact on the environment and animals. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!

REUSE. We use refurbished computers, digital cameras, phones and office equipment.

REDUCE. We reduce the amount of gas we use by driving a Prius. We also reduce the amount of driving by effectively planning property inspections. We reduce waste with paperless billing, communications and appraisals.

RECYCLE. We are a paperless organization. What products we do use are recyclable and recycled. These are but a few of our many programs to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Cummins Real Estate is also trained in LEED "green" building practices and valuation. We are trained to evaluate and appraise the six elements of green buildings. We are knowledgeable about the various types of solar power, insulation R-Values and window ratings.

The President of Cummins Real Estate Appraisals Mary Cummins is vegan which helps save animals and the environment. A portion of all appraisal fees is donated to non-profit Animal Advocates. Animal Advocates rescues ill, injured and orphaned native wildlife for release back to the wild. They are also a 100% "green" organization.

Mary Cummins
Cummins Real Estate Appraisals
http://www.MaryCummins.com

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser, Los Angeles, Earthquake, Seismic Retrofitting

Mary Cummins, real estate, appraiser, Los Angeles, California

Cities such as Los Angeles and Santa Monica are examining the effects earthquakes can have on cement buildings. Previously they examined brick apartment and commercial buildings and found they can collapse in earthquakes killing the inhabitants. The cities forced the owners to seismic retrofit brick apartment and commercial buildings.

While it's not currently mandatory to seismic retrofit your home, most homes that need retrofitting probably already have it. If you buy your home with a loan, the lender will not give you the loan unless you have seismic retrofit. It's been this way since the 1994 Northridge earthquake at least. Any home that has sold since 1994 with a loan probably already has seismic retrofit. The same goes for commercial, retail and industrial buildings. No bank will give a loan unless it has been retrofitted. Banks lost a lot of money because of the 1994 quake. They don't want to do that again. This is just for California.

Just because your building survived the 1971 Sylmar, 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge quakes doesn't mean it can withstand future quakes. All of these quakes were different types in different areas. You also have to figure in liquefaction zones and other subsurface materials. Some buildings are built over rock, some over sand and some over shale.

Retrofitting will not save your building. It is mainly to prevent it from collapsing and killing people in or directly outside of the building. Your building could still be a total loss and need to be torn down after a quake.

If you take a look at the local earthquake maps, you can tell where a quake is likely to happen. When the flats meet the mountains is most likely a quake zone. That is how the mountains were formed. For example Sunset Blvd runs along a fault line. Sunset winds around the base of the mountain.

I personally have only used Weinstein Construction for seismic retrofit work. They will inspect and give you an estimate for free. They take care of all permits. They retrofitted my 1928 Spanish home in 2000. I had to retrofit it in escrow in order to get a loan. It had a crawl space with cripple walls. A team of about eight guys leveled the piers, bolted the walls, foundation in about six hours for $3,500.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services receives Los Angeles Business Journal Award

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services receives Los Angeles Business Journal Latino Business award for 2014.

Mary Cummins, Cummins Real Estate Services, real estate appraiser, real estate appraisal, award, Los Angeles Business Journal, Latino Business Awards 2014