First-time home buyers are often reluctant to call a real estate agent until they are absolutely, positively confident they will buy a home. And even then, many get cold feet during the process, so don't ever worry about needing to be 100% committed to buying a home. It's completely normal to feel uneasy and unsure. I've known home buyers who weren't certain they would move in to a home until the day it closed escrow! However, calling an agent before you are ready to begin the home buying process can be advantageous to you. As a first-time home buyer, you might not know exactly which neighborhood you want; is it also unlikely that you have narrowed down your needs and wants list. An experienced real estate agent can offer you invaluable counseling. An agent can also send you listings di... 11/20/2007

Sometimes buyers get caught up in cycles. It may seem that all their friends are buying homes, so they think it might be a good idea for them to follow suit. But there are better, more rational reasons to buy a home. From pride of ownership to appreciation to preferential tax treatments, the benefits of home ownership are astounding. However, the down side is not everybody should rush out to buy a home. The sensible, logical approach is to weigh the benefits of home buying against the benefits of renting or even just waiting. Buyers often want to know when is the best time to buy a home. The best time is when a buyer is ready. To help prepare, read the eight reasons to buy a home. If the benefits move you from thinking about home buying to action, then call your real estate agent and st... 11/19/2007

I met with a prospective seller over the weekend who must sell...and he asked me if now was really that great of a time to be listing property.  Luckily it seems that inventory is decreasing slightly, and sellers who are simply testing the waters are letting their listings expire and not re-listing them right now.  However, contrary to popular belief, the holiday season is not a bad time to list your home.   Let's face it; serious buyers are in the market during the holidays.  I can not even tell you how many ready, willing, and able buyers I have had pre-qualify in the last 3 weeks.  While I think the media has done Sacramento (and many other areas) a total injustice by blowing certain market conditions out of proportion, buyers are now realizing that now is the time to jump into the m... 11/19/2007

If you own a home in the Sacramento area, you need to pay attention to this article.Real Estate fraud has reached such portions that the Sacramento County District Attorney's office is now issuing letters to every homeowner and investor where there has been any change in the Deed of Trust currently recorded with Sacramento County.What does this mean? 1. You have Sold your property2. You have refinance your property3. You have changed the owner's name on the propertyWhy is Sacramento County District Attorney sending these letters and copies of the change in the Deed of Trust?Because of Real Estate Fraud. There are unscrupulous lenders, agents, notaries and consumers out there that are constantly thinking of ways to get money without working honestly for it. These people are tapping into ... 11/19/2007

For those of you who have not heard of or actually attended a "Second Saturday" in Sacramento, ya'll are missing out on a great time!  On the second Saturday of each month, galleries in Sacramento stay open late into the evening for a Sacramento Art Walk, allowing people to walk from gallery to gallery, viewing, experiencing and discovering local art galleries and meeting artists.  Not only are the galleries open late, but many local businesses who generally close early are also open...there are bands playing live music, great places to eat, hundreds of people lining the streets. People usually start around 18th & L in midtown...There are  roughly 20 galleries & venues plus dozens of restaurants within easy walking distance there...To learn more, visit:http://www.sacramento-second-satur... 11/18/2007

Good Morning Sacramento! As promised, here is the second part of my Real Estate showing of the Land Park neighborhood in Sacramento with one of the very best neighborhood parks around. This is Sacramento real estate at its best!As you saw in the previous article about Land Park in Sacramento, the Towers is a landmark on Broadway and not to be missed before traveling into Land Park Drive. Recently, the 3rd Annual Cowtown Marathon was held at William Land Park along with the 16th Annual Sacramento 5K Heart Walk, HopeWalksfor children with HIV/AIDS and the 2008 Arthritis Walk & Dog Walk.  Land Park is an active place with great hopes and beautiful surroundings.Sacramento's oldest golf course is located right here in William Land Park offering a 9 hole course surrounded in pure beauty and p... 11/16/2007

Before hiring a real estate agent, smart consumers interview the agent first. They ask how many homes in the buyer's target neighborhood has that agent sold. They find out if the agent lives in that target neighborhood and for how long. Because if a seller or a buyer has not hired a neighborhood specialist, they stand to lose. Sellers can lose because the listing lingers on the market. In Land Park several years, a home had been listed by out-of-area agents (several of them) between $900,000 and $1.3 million. Area agents called me when they saw my listing sign go up to say, "Thank goodness a local agent has this listing now."  Sometimes, even though it's not supposed to be this way, local buying agents pass up overpriced listings by out-of-area agents. After I listed the Land Park home,... 11/16/2007

Trying to slap a price tag on a home is one of the hardest things an agent can do. Well, sometimes it’s a no-brainer, but in non-conforming neighborhoods where the home next door can be worth $500,000 more or $500,000 less, it takes a special guess, coupled with stats and a touch of art. Ultimately, it’s the buyer who determines the price, regardless of what a seller wants or an agent’s opinion of value. Contrary to popular belief, an agent does not pick the price nor influence a buyer on the asking price. An agent has very little to do with the pricing, except to try to market it for the value the seller has determined is market. If the agent and the seller are too far apart in pricing, somebody is wrong, and I hate to say this, but it’s probably the seller. If you’re wondering How Muc... 11/15/2007

Take a tour of Land Park which is just a smidgen south of Downtown Sacramento right off Broadway and the historic Tower Theatre. Don't miss eating at the Tower Cafe before heading into Land Park.   Land Park is known for its tree-lined streets and homes of character and charm.  This is an area that is a testament to why Sacramento is called the "City of Trees."Because I have so much to say about Land Park and what it has to offer I will break this article into a two part series. Last week, I showed a home buyer relocating from Georgia, homes in Land Park. For those considering moving to the Sacramento area, Land Park has a lot to offer. Real estate in Land Park is sought after and after seeing the area, you too will agree that this is one of Sacramento's BEST. I have tried to condense w... 11/14/2007

Located just blocks south of Sacramento City College near William Land Park, is a neighborhood called Hollywood Park. Sacramento Magazine named Hollywood Park one of the top ten "Best Kept Secret" neighborhoods.  Hollywood Park is bordered by Sutterville Road to the north, Fruitridge Road to the south, 24th Street to the east, and Freeport Blvd to the west.    While there is no official "park" in this neighborhood as its name would suggest, there are three schools with playgrounds / yards that all form a large parklike centerpiece of the neighborhood.  The area has a classic neighborhood feel with tree lined streets, and is close in proximity to local shopping centers, and Hollywood Hardware!     Homes were generally built in the 1940's and 1950's, and are 2 and 3 bedroom ranch homes.  ... 11/14/2007

If you have never participated in the self-guided tour of 5 homes decorated for the holidays, in East Sacramento - wow are you missing out on something really cool.  I remember going with my parents as a kid, and the homes were truly spectacular.  The homes, generally in the Fabulous 40's area, have been decorated for the holidays by some of Sacramento's top interior designers and florists. This tour has been going on each December for 34 years, and they expect roughly 7,000 people to attend this year!  The tour begins on 45th Street between H and J Streets and winds its way through East Sacramento ending on 39th Street between Folsom & P Streets.  Tickets are $20 online at http://www.holidayhometour.com/store until November 29th and $30 beginning November 30th. Children over the age of... 11/13/2007

For those of you who don't frequent the Town & Country Village (at Fulton & Marconi), there have been lots of cosmetic changes there lately.  The center has received a bit of a facelift - new exterior paint, new signage, several new stores, etc.  There is going to be a series of "Grand Opening" events coming up this week...I live really close to the Town & Country Village, and I have watched its transformation over the last 4 months or so.  It looks fantastic, and the new shops there really add to its charm.      For a complete list of the events, visit:   http://www.shoptownandcountry.com/events/index.php   Most notably, the celebration kicks off with a fundraising benefit for The Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento on Thursday, November 15th.  The actual grand opening takes place ... 11/13/2007

The Theatre Department at Christian Brothers High School will present George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion."  The show will run from 8 p.m. Nov. 15-17 and 1 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 18.  Christian Brothers High School is located at 4315 Martin Luther King Blvd.  Admission is $8 for adults, or $4 for students and seniors, and can be purchased in advance or at the theatre main office. Contact telephone number is 916-733-3600.Link:http://www.cbhs-sacramento.org/home  11/12/2007

Most people will say if a home doesn't sell right away, it's due to the wrong price. Pricing is definitely important, but there's a lot more to strategy than pricing. You can price a home right at market value without it selling because there are other variables. Some of these variables run beyond condition and location as well. A dog of a property will eventually sell if it's in the right location, but the house in the best condition might not sell if it's in the wrong location. If your home has been on the market for 60 to 90 days without an offer, here are other possible reasons why your home isn't selling. 11/12/2007

We are approaching the season when home and house mean family, memories and sharing.The smell of the turkey in the oven, everyone bustling about and the good smell of that hot apple pie.There's nothing better than apple pie right out of the oven to give you that warm feeling of home.  Can you smell it?Many new home owners will be celebrating their first holiday in their new home and this will be the first of many more holidays to come and memories to make. For those new home owners, congratulations, you made a very wise decision. There is nothing like moving into your new home, and sharing a meal with friends and family. And there is still time to find that perfect home and move-in before the holidays so that you too, can enjoy your first holiday in your new house.I'm sure you've heard ... 11/11/2007

In California, real estate agents are required to give sellers and buyers an agency disclosure notice. This notice doesn't specify the type of relationship between the agent and client, it merely points out the various types of agency relationships that are possible. However, it is up to the seller or buyer to determine the type of agency relationship each prefers. Some sellers do not want the agent to represent both the seller and the buyer, especially since it generally will cost the seller the same amount of money either way. Yet, few sellers (and even fewer buyers) realize that they have the legal right to choose whether to accept dual agency vs. single agency.Even fewer realize agency has nothing to do with who pays whom. © Big Stock Photo 11/11/2007

If you ask the average Joe on the street to explain the difference between a REALTOR® and a real estate agent, it's highly unlikely you'll get a sufficient answer. What's even more astonishing if if you ask a REALTOR®, you might not receive the whole answer. It seems everybody knows there is some sort of difference, but few know what it is. On top of that, even when I've explained the differences to agents, some will retort, "Oh, but nobody takes any of that seriously. We don't act any differently being a REALTOR® than we do as a real estate agent." But the truth is agents who are not a REALTOR® are not obligated to perform in the manner required by REALTORS®, which means many of them flat out don't. There are huge differences between REALTORS® and real estate agents. 11/11/2007

The real estate business has been rough on many agents this year. It's been rough since the fall of 2005. Agents who rushed to get a real estate license when the the market was hot -- because it looked like an easy business to get into and sales happened faster than you could stick a for sale post in the ground -- are suffering. I hear managers talk about the number of agents who are facing foreclosure and trying to keep their heads above water because the business isn't beating a path to their doorsteps any more. This made me think about why are some agents relatively unfazed by the market? Why are some thriving while others are losing their homes and wondering how to put groceries in the refrigerator? What makes experienced real estate agents succeed and, furthermore, which would cons... 11/11/2007

The Next Game Will Be Starting Soon! Holly Dolly - Don't Worry, Be Happy! - Full Video   I know that this song can get on your nerves after awhile, but we have to be reminded, don't worry, be happy! The real estate market is still down in many areas in the USA, but it will change. Consumer confidence is the key to the recovery. I am seeing many buyers and investors waiting for the bottom to hit. The news media has been bashing the real estate housing market and especially the sub-prime lenders. The sub-prime lenders have been going out of business. The last numbers I looked up, there were 182 sub-prime lenders out of business. You can check this out yourself on http://ml-implode.com/ to see what is happening with the mortgage lenders. These lender/banks have hurt the real estate market... 11/10/2007

A Sacramento Real Estate Home Buyer recently emailed and asked for an explanation about credit scores and what the numbers mean. The home buyer wanted to know if those numbers really mattered and if anyone really looked at them. Since we have a new generation of home buyers coming up, it's important for you to know that your credit is VERY important and it follows you forever.When you want to:buy a car, the car dealer looks at your credit score get a credit card, the company wants to look at your credit score buy a house, the Lender will look at your credit score When you have a higher credit score, you get better interest rates on what you buy. The person giving you credit decides if you are a good risk or not so good.Credit scores are called FICO scores which was named so by a company... 11/09/2007