What do you do with your dogs when you go out of town? If you are like me I don't feel comfortable leaving my dogs home alone for extended stays. Sometimes getting friends, neighbors, or family to drop by and check on the dogs can be a hassle. So when you have to go out of town at the last minute... What the heck do you do? What about booking them a room at the local dog hotel?  The what? Yep that is right... I guess you did not know that Elk Grove has brand new dog hotel! I remember when the first McDonald's was built on Elk Grove Blvd... now we have a Pet Hotel...I have seen it all! Franklin Ranch is a brand new facility that has everything a Elk Grove dog lover would need! Not only do they offer a full service hotel with grooming, training, and luxury accommodations... they have a fu... 08/09/2009

By the time I speak with many upside-down sellers in Sacramento, they have already been turned down by their banks for a loan modification. In fact, in a few situations, the banks offered loan modifications that would ultimately increase the homeowners' mortgage payments, not reduce them. Other banks asked sellers to make reduced payments for a few months to demonstrate the sellers' ability to pay and then filed a notice of default anyway. Yesterday a seller asked me to list his home in Elk Grove as a short sale. But when I arrived at the home, he told me he was undecided between attempting a short sale or pushing for the loan modification and asked which option he should choose. The home was already vacant. He and his wife had moved to another city. He figured if he could do a loan mod... 08/09/2009

Every day I drive by this man on Elk Grove Blvd... right smack in the middle of town. His timing is precise and at every signal he turns to great you with a wave. He marches in place on that corner for hours! For some reason this just makes me smile every time I drive by. I swore one day I would pull over and take a picture of him so I could share this story. Meet Mr. Cheese Steak! So if you are in the mood for a Cheese steak sandwich or salad... please make sure your drop by and support Mr.Cheese Steak! Elk Grove Cheesesteak Shophttp://www.cheesesteakshop.com 8555 Elk Grove Blvd(916) 686-7454   This blog by:Team NewingtonSacramento Mortgage PlannersFirst Priority Financial(916) 687-6868 Subscribe to our Blog Feed! >> Follow us on Twitter.com! >> Visit Our Website! >> 08/06/2009

In the Elk Grove area, we are experiencing the lowest inventory in the past 4 years!  The market is crazy with buyers right now,, who are getting a bit frustrated with not being able to find a home to purchase.  They are writing offer after offer on homes just to be told that they didn't get it.  They are going over list price by sometimes 5% - 10% and still it's not enough!  This includes both first time home buyers and investors - move up buyers are non existant right now. Consider this.... In the $250,000 price range and below -                                            Today, July 19th...we have 190 active single family homes on the market in Elk Grove.  Ths includes the 95624, 95757, and 95758 zip code areas. Last month, we closed 182 single family homes in the Elk Grove area (the... 07/19/2009

I've been seeing a lot of new orders for BPO's over the last few weeks here in the Sacramento area. Looks like the banks are getting ready to release some much needed inventory. Yeah!      07/16/2009

Want to have a good time and meet other local real estate investors in the Elk Grove and Sacramento area? We are changing up Elk Grove REIA's meeting up a bit this month! We decided we should all get out and enjoy the sunshine! Come on down to Elk Grove Park and enjoy great food, conversation, and test your skills against other area Real Estate Investors by entering our 1st Cash Flow Tournament! First off what is Elk Grove REIA?Elk Grove REI is a Sacramento investment club that brings together local investors for networking and educational meetings.  Whether you need a partner, help funding for a deal, or just the security of knowing what is working in our current foreclosure market.... Elk Grove REI is a great resource for Sacramento investors.Find out more about our Sacramento investm... 07/07/2009

Our clients gave us a Mikuni's gift card yesterday for helping explain their options for a home equity line a credit. After discussing their options, it made more sense for the client to go direct to their Bank! So we made sure they understood why it was a better direction to go, how the loan product worked, and sent them on their way... never thinking they owed us a thing! They were so grateful for the the time Todd spent with them... they sent us this gift!  How cool is that? Sometimes in our business folks don't understand that only get paid IF we close a loan with a client. It was nice that a client had acknowledged the time Todd spent with them... even though they did not have to! It really made our day! We had a very special lunch at the Mikuni's in Elk Grove... YUM! What a treat... 07/01/2009

First time home buyers!  The City of Elk Grove is offering first time home buyers down payment assistance to purchase Bank Owned homes.  The City is providing low interest loans of $30,000 to $60,000 to income eligible buyers for down payment and closing costs. Eligible home buyers -                                     Owner occupant First Time Home buyer Moderate income Eligible properties - Single family detached, semi detached or approved condominiums or halfplexes Within the City of Elk Grove City inspection required Must be a vacant REO For more information, contact Lori Mode of Keller Williams Realty, (916) 405-5766 or go to www.AllElkGroveHomes.com.   To check the value of your  Elk Grove home, go to www.AllElkGroveHomes.com. If you are a first time homebuyer, ask your agent abou... 06/30/2009

I attended a forum put on by the City of Elk Grove regarding a proposal for a Vacant Housing Registry on June 22nd.  The City of Elk Grove currently has no method to quickly contact owners of vacant property, so they are considering a registry.  This contact might need to be made to address police and code enforcement matters as well as notify the owner about problems with the property. We have all seen vacant homes throughout the Elk Grove area...some neighborhoods have more than others.  Foreclosures, short sales, vacant rental homes all can get to be a problem for the police, fire department and utility companies when they cannot find the owners to contact.  We have all seen the dead lawns, but what happens when the home is vandalized?  Maybe windows are broken, appliances stolen, po... 06/26/2009

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the Elk Grove real estate market.  As of this morning there are 807 total homes for sale in Elk Grove (zip codes 95624, 95757 and 95758), plus 32 condos.  The median list price of these homes is $245,000.  Of the 807 homes for sale, only 85 are REO's or bank owned homes, while 602 are short sales.  In the past 30 days, there have been 242 single family homes close escrow in Elk Grove, leaving us with a 3.3 month supply of inventory.  These homes sold for 98.40% of list price and the median sales price was $231,375. Our current inventory in Elk Grove is low, but we have some great homes coming soon! Currently listed - 9141 Shire Oaks Lane, Elk Grove - 2 acre vacant lot is gated executive community.  Going to REDC auction on July 11.  Call us for ... 06/23/2009

Short Sales are selling, getting approved by the banks and closing!  We just closed escrow on another Elk Grove Short Sale - 10128 Schuler Ranch Road, Elk Grove 95757.   Spacious 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom 2 story home.  formal living and dining; huge family room with upgraded tile flooring & fireplace, bonus room at front of home could be office, spacious kitchen, window coverings throughout are upgraded, covered stamped concrete patio, 3 car tandem garage & more! We listed this home on January 4th for $249,900...had multiple offers on it within 30 days and then went to work with Wachovia  for approval of the short sale.  We received approval from Wachovia on April 17th.  Unfortunately, our buyer at that time had moved on to another home.  With an approved short sale from Wachovia, we recei... 06/22/2009

Please join us at the Elk Grove Real Estate Investors Group (Elk Grove REIA) TONIGHT! "SUPERCHARGE" your IRA or 401(k)!   As everyone knows, most retirement plans have taken huge "hits" from the stock market's volatility. Because of this, a growing number of people are interested in putting their money in tangible assets such as Real Estate, rather than the traditional stocks, bonds and mutual funds that Financial Planners promote.  Self Directed retirement accounts are a growing source of funding for Real Estate at a time when funding is becoming increasingly hard to get. Come discover one of the best kept secrets of the financial world! We will show you how to "SUPERCHARGE" your IRA or 401(k). Learn how to use a Roth IRA and or Roth 401(K) and invest tax free for life.   Topics to be... 06/16/2009

As summer starts to heat up, so does the Elk Grove Real Estate Market!  With incredible interest rates, affordability at a 40 year low and tax credits available, buyers are out there! Here's the latest Statistical Summary for the Elk Grove, CA Real Estate market, based on data pulled on May 31st 2009 from California Metrolist Active Listings: There are currently 784 single family homes for sale in the Elk Grove area - this includes 95624, 95757 and 95758 zip code areas) .  This active listing count is down by approximately 30% from 1 year ago. Price Range - $106,000 to $4,999,000 2 bedroom, 1 bathroo.m, 917 square feet - 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom, 10,350 square feet Average - 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2277 square feet with an average price of $284,643 Of these 784 single family homes for sale,... 06/08/2009

Investors it is important for you to know what is going on in the market you are investing in! Just want to give you a quick update on the real estate market in the Elk Grove area (zip codes - 95624, 95757 and 95758).  Currently, we seem to be down to about a 3 month supply of inventory.  But is that true? Here are the numbers - Today there are                                   851          Active Listings last month we had                               258           Closed Sales Today we have                                    566           Pending Sales So right there it appears we might be down to about a 1.5 month supply of inventory.  Then take in to account - Of the 851 active listings, there are       377         that are listed as Short Sale Contingent - meaning these listings h... 05/30/2009

Many Elk Grove residents may assume because they have owned a home at some point in their life, they can't qualify for First Time Home Buyers tax credit. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified First Time Home Buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.  I wanted to post you this definition of a First Time Home Buyer according to the IRS...  The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse. For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has ... 05/21/2009

I have clients tell me that some of my competitors wouldn’t return their calls.  Some went so far as to take the client’s application but seemed to fall off the planet after that.  Heard similar stories from your buyers?   It doesn’t seem logical that someone wanting to make money wouldn’t respond to potential customers.  But often, making money is exactly the problem.  Some mortgage folks are in the business to make a quick commission on as many loans as they can.  If a customer is not quite ready to move forward, has a loan scenario that will be time-consuming to do or has credit issues, the loan person simply pushes them aside to make time for the easy deals.  Yes, that’s bad PR but they’re not interested in building relationships or getting future customer referrals.   A mortgage br... 05/15/2009

Join us for our next First Time Home Buyer Boot Camp in Elk Grove and learn what it takes to buy a home in this foreclosure market. Get the tools you need to buy your first home in our current Sacramento foreclosure market. It can be intimidating buying your first home. There is a lot of information and tools you will need in order to get the best deals in our current Sacramento and Elk Grove foreclosure market .   Your Boot Camp is sponsored by Lori Mode and Bruce Durham of Keller Williams Realty-Elk Grove and Todd & Erin Newington of First Priority Financial     You will learn: Why you want to buy instead of rent! What mortgage payment you can afford! What you should expect when buying from a bank! How to write a solid offer that will get noticed! About loan programs that allow you to... 05/13/2009

RED DAY: Renew-Energize-Donate                                         5-14-2009 RED (Renew, Energize and Donate) Day is a new Keller Williams Realty service initiative dedicated to improving our local communities. We are asking all Keller Williams Realty associates in the US and Canada to donate their time on May 14, 2009 to renewing and energizing aspects of their local communities. Because of her constant commitment to the culture of our company, this day has been dedicated in honor of our Vice Chairman, Mo Anderson. WE NEED YOUR HELP. We will be supporting Union House Elementary School of the Elk Grove Unified School District. We will be running two awareness campaigns It's about giving back! Help Our Kids Get "Packed For Success" With A Back Pack   Our Goal: To provide EVERY studen... 05/01/2009

Proper maintenance on all appliances is essential for keeping them operating efficiently and safely   Sacramento, CA - Gina Fazil, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard franchise in Sacramento, California, recently attended a meeting with small business owners and consumers who were thinking of going into business for themselves.  Gina was there to speak to the group about franchising, one of several paths to business ownership.  "Dryer Vent Wizard has over 50 franchises across the US; we are looking to open more in many major market areas."   Some members of the group were very interested in hearing about Gina's services, so she spoke a little about what she does.  "Dryer Vent Wizard specializes in dryer vent cleaning, repair and installation, while educating consumers about dryer fire prevention... 04/29/2009

Proper maintenance on all appliances extends their life and reduces the need for repair bill.  Anything we can do in today's troubled economy helps.    Your dryer doesn't require much; it really just needs proper air-flow to work efficiently.  Where do you think the heat and moisture are going when clothes are drying?  It sure isn't staying in the dryer drum...or is it?   Have you noticed your dryer taking more than one cycle to dry your clothes? Are your clothes very hot when you remove them from the dryer? Have you noticed a moldy smell in your laundry when you remove it from the dryer?   If you have answered yes to any of these questions, have you considered replacing your dryer?  I hope not!  Your dryer is functioning fine it just isn't getting the ventilation it needs to give you t... 04/29/2009