I have seen posts on Active Rain that are actively hostile to energy efficiency. I can understand why a new requirement for appraisers (SAVE act) might appear to slow up a sale. I can understand why requirements to improve the energy efficiency of homes at the time of sale is a bad idea from a tr
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10/31/2011
Every one in a while I like to post a mystery photo of a plant for people to try to identify. It's a recent photo, so the image represents an October form of the plant. I left a few leaves in the picture as hints, but it's really all about the berries. It was taken in Santa Rosa, California, so
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10/30/2011
Hi, I'm Dave Roberts. I'd like you to trust me. I will patiently walk you through the process of finding and owning your dream property in Sonoma County wine country. I listen to your goals and experiences with real estate. That helps me deliver the kind of service you have always wanted from pr
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10/29/2011
We've all seen this detail on period homes. A long series of small rectangular blocks projecting like teeth from a molding or beneath a cornice. Thanks are owed to the Romans. This molding is named for the Latin root word "dentil" that has given us dentistry. The next time you see these regular
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10/26/2011
Larkfield-Wikiup is an unincorporated area of Sonoma County between Santa Rosa and Windsor. It is sometimes referred to as the Mark West area as well. It's big enough to form a small town, but a street-light district is about as close as the residents have come to collective political activity. T
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10/25/2011
There's a new plan scheduled to be announced by President Obama in Las Vegas today. It's the latest in a long line of Federal proposals to aid housing. Today's announcement is for changes to the HARP program that would make it possible for people with Fannie or Freddie loans to refinance even if
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10/24/2011
Half the secret to gardening success is understanding where to put plants so the light is just right. It takes at least three of four experimental growing seasons to match available light to plants that will thrive there. Once you know what works, just keep doing it. Begonias love the east side
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10/23/2011
The communities of Forestville, Guerneville (including Rio Nido), Cazadero, and Monte Rio are collectively referred to as the "Russian River" area in our local MLS. There are differences among the towns, but they share the river, magnificent redwoods, and a big base of summer cabins that have bee
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10/21/2011
Healdsburg residential real estate includes everything from humble bungalows smaller than 1000 square feet to sprawling vineyard estate compounds with multiple houses, pools, stables, and vineyards worth more than $100,000 per acre. It's hard to look at any short period of time and try to pull us
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10/20/2011
I promised Dick a post about our local REO market where savvy listing agents are getting the banks to fund improvments to bring the homes to turnkey status. In most regions of the country an REO property is a pure AS-IS transaction with banks being unwilling to spend additional money on propertie
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10/19/2011
