What is a "Good Realtor?" Is a "Good Realtor" important when buying or selling a house?How do I know that I have a "Good Realtor?"These are important questions when buying or selling a house. You might think that any bloke can sell a house or can represent a home buyer in real estate. But, that would be a wrong assumption.The way to answer this question is to simply give you a few examples of what I do as a Realtor representing a home buyer or seller.Since I love what I do for a living and enjoy the people that I represent it makes my job a lot easier and no matter how much the house is worth, my clients receive the same special care and respect.The first way that I represent a home buyer is to make sure that they have a reputable, honest lender. No matter what the lender has indicated ... 01/04/2008

I get more spirited letters from readers when I write about selling a home where pets live than almost any other topic. You would think I had threatened to tell every kid under the age of five that there's no such thing as Santa Claus. If you still believe in Santa Claus and you're reading this, go talk to your parents, now. Just go. The fact is even pet lovers don't necessarily want to buy a home where other pets are living. And if you'd rather poke your eyes out with a stick than live with a pet, you're probably not going to pay top dollar for a home where pets are in residence. Whether you like it or not, sellers with pets tend to sabotage themselves and sell for less money than those without pets in the home. I'm not suggesting that sellers abandon Snagglepuss or Spike. But for heav... 01/01/2008

Dear Readers,Good news to the real estate/mortgage nightmare that has been bogging down the California housing market. President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Act. In a nutshell, if a family sold a home on a "short sale"- getting the bank to take less money than the borrower owed or a home went into forclosure, the borrowers would have to report on their taxes a "benefit" of the amount forgiven as taxable income. For instance, if I owed $350K on my home and I found a buyer who would pay $300K and I could get the bank to agree to take the $300K. I would get a 1099 saying that the $50K in loan forgiveness was income and I would be required to pay taxes on the $50K at my marginal tax rate, even though I never saw any of that money. For a three year window, borrowers in trou... 12/26/2007

After home buyers preview enough homes to make their heads spin and finally select the home they want to buy, invariably the very next question they ask their REALTOR® is about how much they should offer. Buyers are smart enough to figure out they should offer list price in seller’s markets, but in buyer’s markets, it’s a different story. In buyer’s markets, prices can be all over the map and have little to do with market value. Besides, buyers think they should get a good price in buyer’s markets, and they are right. Buyers look to their real estate agent for advice and many want the agent to name a figure for them. The problem that arises is if the agent throws out a number that is too low and the seller refuses to issue a counter offer, in the buyers’ eyes, the agent is at fault. If ... 12/14/2007

Sometimes bigger isn't better, and I have come to that conclusion in my own life. At one point, I owned a ranch home that was 8,600 square feet. For just two of us and one cat. It was enormous and way too much space for me to handle. Just walking from the kitchen to the bedrooms was a trek. I actually considered installing a moving walkway until I realized how incredibly silly and stupid it would be. It was a pain to clean, the utilities were expensive and the mortgage payments absurd. I struggled with this home for almost two years before I realized that I should sell it and downsize to a smaller home. A smaller home also meant I could get rid of a lot of furniture. Ultimately, smaller quarters meant I spent less time taking care of the home and had more time to spend with friends. It ... 12/14/2007

Few homes are turnkey for most buyers, especially when it comes to move-up buyers. That's because everybody has their own individual tastes. What suits one home owner is excruciatingly disgusting to another. But what many home owners want when they remodel or trade up is a home that makes their pets happy. We pet lovers know who rules the roost. In my case, it's my female cat. Her feline brothers bow down to her desires, yet she's so tiny. That's her in front of the window, the little eggplant, Pia. She and her brother are looking out the sliding-glass floor windows I installed for my ocicats. Overall, though, if our pets aren't pleased, neither are we. Because we want a home environment that is conducive to living in harmony with our pets. Besides, we don't want anybody waking us up at... 12/14/2007

Usually expressed as a percentage, this is the amount of vacant commercial space currently on the market for lease in comparison to the total inventory of existing space.  To calculate the vacancy rate for commercial or industrial real estate, you take the total amount of vacant space and divide it by the total square footage in the market.  Multiply that number by 100 to arrive at the percentage.  Vacancy rates are normally broken down by market or submarket and tracked over a monthly or quarterly period.  To see our current listings available for lease, please check out our website at www.sacvalleyindustrial.com Should you have any questions about the current vacancy rate in your submarket, please feel free to contact Matt Cologna at 916-418-6016 or Bryce MacDonald at 916-418-6017. 12/12/2007

The Sacramento Children's Theatre debuts in February!"The Tale Spinner" Plot summary: One rainy night, when a thunderstorm knocks the power out to both the computer and the television, two bored children go exploring and find a big, beautiful, mysterious book on a shelf. A book they've never seen before, called "The Tale Spinner".  As they open the book, a shower of glitter brings the Tale Spinner, herself, to life and through three tales of inter-planetary comedy, derring-do and long-lost love, she opens the children's eyes to a world beyond electronics, a magical world of imagination found only in books. February 5 to March 7 (Tuesday's & Friday's);  Twice Weekly Performances For reservations, please contact: Pat Boyd at 916-961-0241 or goldens4me@ulink.netPerformances will be at the ... 12/12/2007

What is net absorption?  It is the total amount of commercial space (in square feet) leased during a period of time (e.g. months, quarters, years) minus the amount of space vacated over the same period of time.  Net absorption is usually broken down by market or sub-market. Should you have any questions about commercial real estate, please feel free to contact us.  12/10/2007

For the second year in a row, the Sacramento SPCA is reducing its cat adoption fees from $85 to just $45! Each adoption includes the cat's spay or neuter surgery, vaccinations, microchip, licensing, a certificate for a free veterinary visit and more. Last the SPCA's "Home for the Holidays campaign" resulted in the adoption of more than 775 cats, dogs, rabbits and other small animals.The Sacramento SPCA is located at 6201 Florin Perkins Road in Sacramento, and is open Tuesdays - Sundays (closed on Mondays) from 11am - 6pm.http://www.sspca.org   12/08/2007

My husband and I went on a self-guided driving tour of Christmas lights late last night...too much caffeine for us - darn Starbucks!...here are some great streets ya'll should check out:Pope Avenue in SacramentoRandom Lane in SacramentoLa Sierra Drive in Sacramento Winding Creek Road in Sacramento Cloverdale Lane in CarmichaelShelfield Drive in CarmichaelHuntington Road in SacramentoKadema Drive in Sacramento  12/08/2007

I am getting ready to leave for the 2nd annual "Red Red Holiday Invitational" in Davis...if you have never watched a live Roller Derby bout, you are missing some great fun!!  Tonight at the Davis Indoor Sports Complex (2801 2nd Street, Davis) from 4pm - ? you can come watch...tickets are $23 at the door.  Proceeds will be donated to the Sacramento Childrens Home. The after party will be at Andiamos, 32nd Street and Folsom Blvd in Sacramento, and is included in the price of your ticket. Maybe I will see you there?? 12/08/2007

I just came from Brian Buffini's Turning Point Retreat in Sacramento today and one of the main things that struck me was this statement from the "Declaration of Independence".We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.We live in a great country that promises us the following:LIFELIBERTYAND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS We can be whoever we want to be or dare to be!We have life, liberty, and the pursuit.  Happiness is not guaranteed, just the ability to pursue it!Brain asked a most excellent question:HOW DO YOU RATE YOUR PURSUIT FROM 1 TO 10?That is a great question because it makes you think about how much effort are you really ... 12/07/2007

Home buyers who already own a home often wonder: Should I sell first or buy first? If you ask a real estate agent, many agents will probably say buy. Because then you HAVE to sell. That’s the part they don’t tell you. But I firmly believe that selling before you buy, as a general principle, is best. The reason is you aren’t emotional about it. If your home doesn’t sell or doesn’t sell at the price you want, so what? You can wait. But if you’ve already purchased a home and need to sell, you’re sorta out of options when an offer arrives. You will want to take the offer, no matter how awful it is because, gunnnabit, you’ve gotta sell. It’s preferable to be in the driver’s seat and get a buyer for your home first. Then, at least you know how much you’ll receive from the sale. Otherwise, you... 12/05/2007

Stopping by an open house in Sacramento neighborhoods such as Land Park or East Sacramento is the norm for many passersby. Open houses tend to attract the curious as well as neighbors and home buyers. I mean, haven’t you ever driven by a home and wondered what it looks like inside? So, if I’m holding an open house in an area with high visibility and lots of traffic, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I’ll be shaking hands with a lot of people that day. Now, some of these people are repeat open house guests, but many are attending an open house for the first time. Even veteran open-house goers have questions. Do you open the door and go in without ringing the bell? What is your obligation to the host once you are inside? What do you do if you want to buy the house? Read more about ... 12/04/2007

This is a story about blaming the real estate market for whatever else is wrong. This is also a tale about a bit of ugly sheudenfreude on my part.  The other day I was reading Sacramento News and Review, and there was an article in there about the Sacramento Bee’s stock prices.  While the average Sacramento County home owner’s investment lost 20-30% of its value over the last two years (1st chart, below), the average investor in McClatchy Stock (Sac Bee’s parent company), saw the value of their investment fall 75% (second chart, below).Read the rest of the article 12/04/2007

Free Sacramento Home Buying Seminar December 6 & 11, 2007Free!  For more information:  http://www.CentralCityDigs.com/CustomContent.aspx?ID=11123&fp=2026 12/03/2007

Proprietary Rate Procedure Captures Real Time Rates based on current Bonds Local Mortgage Expert Gary Juels has new proprietary Rate Lock In Procedure that allows the capture of real time interest rates for borrowers. Gary Juels says, "This is a Beta test that allows me to lock in the rate for a borrower in "Real Time" based on current Bond Market conditions.  This is a unique method only offered through G&R Mortgage  a local Mortgage Company in Sacramento.  This is not being done anywhere else and "my clients are ecstatic."  I'm excited that this is being tested through G&R Mortgage. I really can't believe the results I've seen in interest rates vs traditional online methods. I like it because it only allows Fixed Rate Mortgages and were required to  meet people face to face.  Its what... 12/03/2007

Campus Commons is large Planned Unit Development (PUD) located just east of downtown Sacramento, and west of Sierra Oaks - one of the last residential communities before crossing the river into the East Sacramento community.  Prior to development, the Campus Commons property was known as the Horst Hop Ranch, where "hops" used for making beer where cultivated.  The Horst family had other ranches (in Sloughhouse, Wheatland, and Hopland, among others), and sold the tract where Campus Commons sits after Emil Horst's death.  It was planned and constructed by a partnership of many prominent local Sacramentan developers whose names are still recognizable today (such as the Teichert, McClatchy, Powell and others). There are roughly 1,160 single family attached and detached homes.    The 'Villag... 12/03/2007

Fairytale Town at William Land Park is adding a new feature to the park - a new 'Wizard of Oz' themed play set!  In addition to the play set, also being constructed is a Yellow Brick Road...In order to raise funds for the construction of the play set and the road (in addition to other park improvements), Fairy Tale Town is allowing individuals, families, and sponsors a chance to donate funds by purchasing a brick.  They are available for $100, and you can have a personal message imprinted on the brick.  Each brick has enough space for three lines up to 15 characters.For more information, visit http://www.fairytaletown.org.   12/03/2007