Only 5 days until our fabulously FREE seminar explaining President Obama's stimulus bailout money for first-time homebuyers. Each day until the seminar, starting riiiiight now, I'll try to add something new, informative and pertinent to our plight of financial chaos.

Today I bring GREAT news to those who have already filed their 2008 tax returns, but really want all that free stimulus money now. Well, if you're able to close in the next couple months, you can actually have H&R Block file an amendment for you for $99.00 (sounds like our incredibly low HOA dues) and you'll receive the money in 4-6 weeks...so I'm told!

Rosemary will bring coupons to the seminar so you can cash in- literally. She will also explain the whole process and cover all the NEW benefits of homeownership, so you really don't want to miss this event.

Who's Rosemary? See below...

When: Saturday, March 28th from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Where: THE WORKLOUNGE, located at 6600 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood 90028, at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Seward St., upstairs through the metal doors (Inside the 2-story Spanish Building on the SW corner).

Map it!

Plenty of free parking on the west side of the building in the empty lot.

Seating is limited, please RSVP with Stephanie Perales at 323-962-1000 ext. 220 or email us here.

After taking a break during the country's financial fiasco, I'm glad to say I'm back blogging- and things are better than ever here at The Hudson. To help our first-time homebuyers really understand how President Obama's stimulus package benfits you, we have schedule another Salon Seminar with Rosemary Clubb, financial advisor, licensed tax preparer and an expert on how to get your mitties on YOUR bailout. She'll be joined by a panel of special guests from H.R. Block.

Hey, you deserve this. AND IT'S FREE!

It's become the perfect storm, interest rates so low it boggles the mind, and free money for first-time homebuyers who close in 2009. Lots of it. Throw in the everyday tax benefits of homeownership (writing off interest and property taxes) and owning at the Hudson becomes way cheaper than renting.

If you want YOUR bailout money too, then you cannot afford to miss this free, informative event!

When: Saturday, March 28th from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Where: THE WORKLOUNGE, located at 6600 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood 90028, at the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Seward St., upstairs through the metal doors (Inside the 2-story Spanish Building on the SW corner).

Map it!

Plenty of free parking on the west side of the building in the empty lot.

Seating is limited, please RSVP with Stephanie Perales at 323-962-1000 ext. 220 or email us here.

Pop quiz. Where can you find more celebrities in one place at any given time, a place where over 60,000 people have been married (including Ronald Reagan), watch white swans glide across a lake, and attracts over a million tourists a year?

With Halloween lurking just around the corner, I thought now would be the appropriate time to mention all the celebrities near Adams Hill- at Forest lawn Mortuary. Or as I like to say, "our quiet neighbors on the other side of the hill."

To mention a few of the dearly departed: ClarkGable, CaroleLombard, JimmyStewart, JeanHarlow, HumphreyBogart, MaryPickford, ErrolFlynn, SpencerTracy, George Burns & Gracie Allen, W.C. Fields, Tom Mix, SammyDavis Jr., Walt Disney, Red Skelton, Robert Young, Lon Chaney, Ethel Waters, and Alan Ladd. The list goes on and on.

This place is over 300 acres, so finding these guys might not be that easy, but there are other things to do inside the iron gates...the rumor mill sez they have a great art gallery and a killer flower shop (are we having fun yet?).

I found a great website that will fill you in on all the greatest and the "late- est." OK, I'll stop now.

Go here if you dare! wooOOOOooo

 Mary Pickford living large even in death!

And that was just in one week! We actually had 4 new escrows this past month, and we are seeing more and more people discovering the value, quality and great neighborhood we're in. With interest rates still low, there is no better time to own real estate on Adams Hill.

So who's buying over here? The Hudson is steadily becoming an amazing eclectic community of industry people, folks in the health and medical profession and everything in between (hope that was vague enough). Point is, we are located near all the major film and TV studios, and just a short 20 minute drive to downtown- without ever getting onto a freeway! With Glendale Memorial Hospital just down the street and other major hospitals just up the road off Sunset, choosing The Hudson's a no-brainer....a short commute to work and easy living.

The gods did me right and lined everything up perfectly- our server went down, the internet connection crashed and the phones lines at the office went dead. I’m sure LADWP ripping up the street in front of our office had nothing to do with this (ahem). This was my perfect storm, something only a mighty Greek god could conjure up. (Could it be that giant, golden Poseidon the middle of the park?)Regardless, I did the only sensible thing left to do- I blew off work and went to TAAB.

First the broad strokes-

A) The good news is that The Hudson is only about 5 minutes from this gargantuan Mecca for food, fun and entertainment.

B) The better news is that we are about 5 minutes AWAY from this gargantuan Mecca for food, fun and entertainment.

Okay, let’s first visit item A. It’s great being this close to shops, restaurants and theatres. Now onto item B. Would you really want to live in all the density? The key here is the word “away.” Hanging at The Hudson is serene, peaceful, uber low density. Lost on the hill, in the middle of a great neighborhood. Away from it all.

Right now, it’s kind of like Disneyland- all that magic mixed with all that traffic and congestion. In fact they seem to be replacing the grass constantly from the daily stampede that treks through. But I digress…

This place brings an amazing vibe and sense of place to downtown Glendale. This is definitely the better downtown. 

First, the parking. Normally, my parking philosophy is all about the escape. I like to park far away and walk, so I can get out quick and easy. But for this excursion, I drove into the belly of the beast, and spiraled my way to the top of the parking lot. By the way, I like parking on the top level- easy as pie and the walk to the elevator is still the same distance as it is on the lower levels. Think about that next time you block all the traffic on level 2, waiting for someone to pull out of a space.

Each level tells you how many spaces are left at that givenlevel, so those days of guessing while aimlessly driving around is history. I’m not sure how they actually keep count; maybe they recycled those flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.? Hey, in Caruso-land (the developer), anything is possible. Again, I digress…

So what exactly is the Americana? It’s a park, fountains, a crazy gold god, and an outdoor shopping and dining experience. It’s also a condominium project where there smallest unit starts at more than twice the price of a townhome at The Hudson. Granted, no one brings your car around for you here, but a small price to pay for living with less than 10 times the density.

I took the elevator down, complete with a real live elevator butler (is that what they’re called?) who looked like he could be Vin Diesel’s uncle. He was actually entertaining, even sounded like him. I'll bet he has his SAG card.

So, after a little exploration, I hit Katsuya for some sushi. An excellent place. Designed by internationally known maestro Philippe Starck, this place has the vibe to match the food. I highly recommend those little ice cream puff balls for dessert- or whatever they're called.

They also have those shops we all know and love- The Coffee Bean, Jamba Juice, and what’s a Caruso project (The same developer who brought us The Grove) without a Cheesecake Factory? The park in the middle of the mall has events all summer- you can visit their website and click on the Entertainment link.