Stanislaus County Home Sales for March 2012 - MODESTO   The sales figures for Modesto California for March 2012 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.     Total Sales - 245   (238 sold in March 2011)   Bank owned Sales - 97  which was 40% of all sales.   Short Sales - 69 which was 28% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 68% of all sales.   The lowest price home sold in Modesto during March 2012 was $32,000.      The highest price home sold in Modesto during March 2012 was $525,500   The median home price in Modesto during March 2012 was $115,000   The average days on the market was 61.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in March 2012 was slightly higher than last year.  Distressed sales are still... 04/11/2012

Modesto Home Inspection - How to Caulk    Everyone thinks caulking is easy. Just squeeze the trigger and go, right? Actually, there are a few things people do consistantly wrong. Most people are under the impression that pulling while squeezing is the only way, but considering the surface you're caulking there is a better way. Pushing your caulking gun while squeezing provides a much better bead because the shape of the tube creates a smooth bead all by itself, without having to run your finger down the joint. I think everyone has ran out of "clean fingers" a time or two when caulking.     *drawn by Andy E. Lee using corelDraw      Notice the small triangular area in the bottom left of the picture. That is the result of a perfect glazing bead. This practice is best for glass or smooth t... 03/27/2012

Stanislaus County Home Sales for February 2012 - MODESTO   The sales figures for Modesto California for February 2012 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.     Total Sales - 191   (229 sold in February 2011)   Bank owned Sales - 71  which was 37% of all sales.   Short Sales - 52 which was 27% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 64% of all sales.   The lowest price home sold in Modesto during February 2012 was $32,000.      The highest price home sold in Modesto during February 2012 was $328,000   The median home price in Modesto during February 2012 was $115,000   The average days on the market was 61.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in February 2012 was lower than last year.  Distressed sale... 03/05/2012

Door Repair Modesto, CA    My dad was born in 1927 in an old farming town back in Minnesota. He had a lot of old sayings and one of them seemed to follow me everywhere I went. "Were you born in a barn?" I never closed the doors behind me, I was a kid and didn't really think about anything behind me very much. Now that I'm older and have energy bills, I think more about what dad meant when he asked if I was born in a barn. Drafty?  Being born in a barn means, Close the door behind you! The draft is what dad was referring too. It takes about 30 minutes to cool a house and about 10 to heat it back up if you leave the door open. (actual figures vary) That means if you leave the door 30% ajar, your not heating or cooling anything!  When I am doing a door repair, Modesto CA is not a very draf... 02/17/2012

Modesto CA Weather      When you look at a roof top and see frost you might think it is chilly inside but on the contrary, it's just the opposite!     Modesto CA weather can't make up it's mind, neither can most of San Joaquin County. We're not sure if we should turn on the A/C or the HEATER. At any rate, this time of the year is great for determining whether or not your attic is sufficiently insulated. In an attic with poor insulation, heat rises in the home and penetrates up into the attic and out the roof, melting any ice accumulation. If the attic is insulated properly, the heat will remain in the home longer and have a difficult time breaking through the barrier of insulation in the attic. This reduces your energy bill significantly!  A keener eye will show you the cold spots on a ... 02/11/2012

Stanislaus County Home Sales for January 2012 - MODESTO   The sales figures for Modesto California for January 2012 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.     Total Sales - 171   (209 sold in January 2011)   Bank owned Sales - 64  which was 37% of all sales.   Short Sales - 47 which was 27% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 64% of all sales.   The lowest price home sold in Modesto during January 2012 was $35,000.     The highest price home sold in Modesto during January 2012 was $525,000   The median home price in Modesto during January 2012 was $120,000   The average days on the market was 60.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in January 2012 was lower than last year.  Distressed sales are st... 02/06/2012

Stanislaus County Home Sales for December 2011 - MODESTO     The sales figures for Modesto California for December 2011 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.       Total Sales - 229  (287 sold in December 2010)   Bank owned Sales - 92  which was 40% of all sales.   Short Sales - 63 which was 28% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 68% of all sales. The lowest price home sold in Modesto during December 2011 was $30,000.     The highest price home sold in Modesto during December 2011 was $870,000   The median home price in Modesto during December 2011 was $125,000   The average days on the market was 61.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in December was lower than last year.  Distressed sales are... 01/09/2012

November 2011 Sales - Modesto California - Stanislaus County   The sales figures for Modesto California for November 2011 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.       Total Sales - 230  (232 sold in November 2010)   Bank owned Sales - 79  which was 34% of all sales.   Short Sales - 62 which was 27% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 61% of all sales.   The lowest price home sold in Modesto during November 2011 was $19,500.     The highest price home sold in Modesto during November 2011 was $850,000   The median home price in Modesto during November 2011 was $129,115   The average days on the market was 57.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in November was the same as last year.  Distressed sale... 12/12/2011

Tis the Season to be Jolly...Fa La La La La La La La La (in my Mariah Carey voice). Home sells tend to decrease around the Holiday Season, however, it is a great time to search and buy a home.  Here are some reasons on why you shouldn’t put your home search on hold during the holidays.    LESS COMPETITION: I find that the most serious homebuyers are the ones that search during the holiday season. During the seasons, a lot of purchasers, who were looking or interested in looking for homes take a break during the holidays, making it less competitive for the serious buyers to gain the attention of the seller.  SELLERS ARE VERY MOTIVATED: Especially if their home has been on the market for a while. Sellers that have their home and keep their home on the during the holiday season are serious... 12/11/2011

October 2011 Sales - Modesto California - Stanislaus County   The sales figures for Modesto California for October 2011 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.       Total Sales - 245  (an increase of 5% over October 2010)   Bank owned Sales - 92  which was 37% of all sales.   Short Sales - 63 which was 26% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 63% of all sales.   The lowest price home sold in Modesto during October 2011 was $18,500.     The highest price home sold in Modesto during October 2011 was $335,000   The median home price in Modesto during October 2011 was $125,000   The average days on the market was 61.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in September increased slightly over last year.  D... 11/09/2011

September 2011 Sales - Stanislaus County - Modesto California   The sales figures for Modesto California for September 2011 are in.  The totals below are for single family homes sold in Modesto.       Total Sales - 236  (an decrease of 9% over September 2010)   Bank owned Sales - 102  which was 43% of all sales.   Short Sales - 52 which was 22% of all sales   Overall, distressed sales (Bank owned and short sales) made up 65% of all sales.     The lowest price home sold in Modesto during September 2011 was $34,000.     The highest price home sold in Modesto during September 2011 was $385,000   The median home price in Modesto during September 2011 was $120,000   The average days on the market was 54.   As you can see the volume of home sales in Modesto in September declined over last yea... 10/06/2011

One of the most important aspects to buying a home is to ensure that you purchase for a fair price. Since there are certain key steps that you must follow in order to make a sound decision, it pays to have a knowledgeable Realtor on your side who will be able to help obtain the best and most realistic asking price for a property. Determining Market Comparables For example, one of the first ways that your agent will discover the price of a home is by researching local market comparables. In most cases, they will be able to bring up a list of properties sold over the last 6 months within a 1 mile radius. Properties should also not be bigger than 20% of the subject size. Additional features to consider would be the neighborhood each home resides in, structural differences, bedrooms and bat... 09/30/2011

We have seen lot of homes went from foreclosure stage to short sale since end of 2009. Their has been surge of short sale properties in market, where 65% of all properties are for short sale specifically in Central Valley, CA. Are these propeties are making better the market or worse?   If we can see from sellers's side then the short sales have helped sellers to save them from big hands of banks where in past couple of years sellers were crushed by banks by foreclosures mostly. Now the sellers got something to imporve their credit or life on sooner. Also the incentives with HAFA program has also helped to moving costs, so seller don't have to take all burden in this hard times. But on other side through short sales, buyers and their agents are somewhat frustrated by the slow moving pro... 09/27/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sale Agent Goes Nuts The regular season for the local minor league baseball team, the Modesto Nuts, has come to an end.  The Nuts are the second half North Division Champions!   We were there Saturday night when they clinched a playoff spot by coming back with 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.  The  following day Sunday (9/4/11) they clinched the championship.  The Modesto Nuts play in the single A California League and are an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.  The Nuts also set an attendance record for the fifth year in a row with 180,785 fans this year.  The Modesto Nuts started playing in Modesto in 2005 after the Modesto A's moved to the new park in Stockton and became the Stockton Ports.   The Ports are still the Oakland A's single A affili... 09/07/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sale Agent And A DUI Check Point On Saturday night while driving in Modesto Ca I noticed a sign warning of a DUI check point.  The check point was not on the street that I was driving down so I didn't go through it.  Not that I would have had any problem with that.  Here in Stanislaus county DUI Check points are common especially on long holiday weekends.  So on Monday night, the last day of the three day weekend I am again driving in Modesto and see that familiar sign warning of a DUI check point ahead.  This time it is on the street that I am driving.  There is no way that someone driving westbound on this particular street is going to avoid the check point.  I was driving westbound.  No problem.  I noticed about a quarter of a mile before the check point parke... 09/06/2011

Their parents served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice that we might be Free to have choices. Choices like which school our children should and can go to. What about them? What about the children that are now in a single parent home due to the terror of war since 9/11? Freedom is never free....it comes with a severely high price.   This is not about any political party discussion. This is simply coming together and taking care of those that have sacrificed so much for you and I. This is not a political discussion about whether we should have armed forces in the Middle East or not. This is not about the cost of oil. Again, this is about children, around 11,000 children that are now in a single parent family home. Sure, there is help by our government. Unfortunately, it is not e... 08/11/2011

Stanislaus County Short Sales - Recomends A Great Place To Shop Or Dine Being a Stanislaus County Short Sale Specialist I am on the road a lot.  One of my favorite places to stop into for a quick bite to eat while in Modesto is at Greens Market.  Not only does Greens specialize in local organic and seasonal produce, but they have some great fresh baked goodies too.  They also have a selection of hot foods to eat there or take with you. One of my favorites for a quick breakfast is the Onion Frittata Breakfast Wrap.  According to their website this wrap consists of: Ham, eggs, heavy cream, carmelized onions, leeks, red onion, scallions, parmesan, oregano, sundried tomato, salt, pepper.  VERY TASTY! One of my favorites from the bakery is their Salted Caramel Brownie.  Pair that with a moch... 08/04/2011

Boundary fences are arguably the most common source of disagreement and dispute between neighboring property owners. California Civil Code §841.2 requires that “coterminous owners are mutually bound equally to maintain the fences between them”, and according to Nolo Press’ Fences and Neighbors FAQ, “Unless the property owners agree otherwise, fences on a boundary line belong to both owners when both are using the fence. Both owners are responsible for keeping the fence in good repair, and neither may remove it without the other’s permission.” Not every fence separating two properties is a boundary fence however it is typical for neighboring property owners to assume a boundary fence exists and to mutually agree to a shared responsibility for maintaining the fence. If any doubt exists, c... 06/03/2011

  Many people want to buy a home in Modesto, but have you ever thought about why? Really… Anybody can throw out a few reasons here and there and then fail to really explain the benefits behind them. Here’s the real question… Are there really any good reasons? What reasons are there that convince you to buy a home in Modesto? I could go through a long exhaustive list of different reasons of why you should buy a home. In fact, I could probably come up with hundreds of reasons if I really drill it down to specifics. The truth is that a list like that would suck to read. So, I’ve pounded it down to 6 main reasons to buy a home. Three logical reasons for you analytical types, and three emotional reasons for those of you with your heart on your sleeve. Logical Reasons There are three main rea... 06/02/2011

Senate Bill 183 in California requires Carbon Monoxide Alarms for dwelling units intended for human occupancy with a fuel burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage. Effective date of this law is January 1, 2011 for new construction, July 1, 2011 for existing single family dwellings and January 1, 2013 for all other. 06/01/2011