Attention holiday shoppers!  You do not want to miss the Sierra Oaks Annual Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 17th from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Sierra Oaks Elementary School - 171 Mills Road, Sacramento 95864 in the multi-purpose room.  The boutique includes seasonal and holiday home decor;  handmade unique and beautiful jewelry; vintage hand sewn bags, aprons, and pillows; custom crystal apparel and gifts; handmade cards and gift tags; custom picture charms and belt buckles; women's boutique shoes, accessories and girls holiday flats; "American Girl" collection of dolls, clothing, and accessories; 100% cotton baby blankets, burp cloths, and bags; handmade adorable hair bows for girls; hand knit scarves, felted wool purses, and shawls; and homemade jams, pepper jellies and chutneys... 11/08/2007

Ever wondered what some of the secret neighborhoods are in Sacramento? I'm about to tell you about a community that many have no idea about. It is located off of H Street ... here's a map to give you the exact pin point of where River Park is by Google Maps.As you can see the American River is quite an asset to this community and is accessible by the residents of River Point. When you drive into River Point it is easy to see why people like it here. The homes are all different, no tract homes here. Neighbors are out walking their dogs, having a glass of wine and chit chatting, exercising, playing tennis, and even racking those gorgeous leaves that are falling right now. I parked my car and took a short walk to the ridge at River Park to take in the American River. That 's where I ran in... 11/07/2007

In Sacramento we have what is called the Sacramento Rail yards which is located on the Northern most side of Downtown Sacramento on 39 acres from Front and K Street where the Central Pacific/Southern Pacific Railroad started their history back in 1863. This is prime real estate.This 240 acre parcel is one of the largest undeveloped areas in the country and one that has a tremendous amount of history.  The redevelopment of this land has been discussed for many years and looks as though it may come to fruition sooner than later.The proposal for this piece of Sacramento real estate would have street-front retail, office space and 3, 000 residential units, 500 hotel rooms and civic facilities. A percentage of affordable housing is one of the stipulations in the redevelopment of the Sacramen... 11/07/2007

Tahoe Park lies just southeast of Downtown Sacramento - a "V" shaped area generally bordered by Stockton Blvd to the west, 65th Street to the east, 14th Avenue South, and Broadway to the North. This vintage neighborhood features homes built primarily from the 1920's to 1950's, and is well known for its shady, tree-lined streets, and close proximity to Hwy 50, California State University, Sacramento, UC Davis Medical Center, Shriner's Hospital, and more.    At the center of this community sits Tahoe Park, featuring soccer fields, softball fields, public swimming pools, picnic areas, a playground, a perimeter jogging trail, and more.  There are several schools located within a close proximity of the neighborhood.   The homes are generally 2 or 3 bedrooms and for the most part are ranch or... 11/07/2007

Sacramento home sales report for October shows quite a few homes for sale with very few sold.However, there are some extremely happy home buyerswho have taken advantage of the best real estate market a home buyer could ask for.Over all for Sacramento County in the month ending for October 2007 there were:9, 799 residential homes for sale1, 276 homes were in contract747 homes sold at an average price of $335,178 with 1,769 square feet.It would appear that Sacramento County has about 13.1 months worth of inventory at this time.  Does this mean that it is a good time for home buyers to buy? Why yes, it certainly does. There are some great home buys and eager sellers waiting to negotiate the best price. This is a home buyer's real estate market. Why wait for interest to go up or for sellers... 11/07/2007

Boo for the Hornets...California State University, Sacramento was shut out by the University of California, Davis Aggies in the annual "Causeway Classic" football game...When I attended CSUS, I always went to the Causeway Classic. I had lots of friends who went to UCD and it was always a fun event to attend with everyone. I think CSUS won only once out of the 5 years I went. ;-(Link to the article:http://media.www.statehornet.com/media/storage/paper1146/news/2001/10/30/Sports/Lost-Causeway.Football.Team.Shoots.Blanks.Vs.Uc.Davis.In.Causeway.Classic-2419911.shtml 11/06/2007

Finally! My alma mater, Casa Roble High School in Orangevale, is up for the local KCRA Channel 3 High School Playbook game of the week! They are playing football on the night of Friday, November 9th against Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks. Click the link below to vote for their football game to be profiled on the news on KCRA Friday night!!Go Rams!!http://sacramento.highschoolplaybook.com/GameDay.do?gameId=2088&sportId=1 11/06/2007

To all the Sacramento Natives: Please make a presence at the art walk in the heart of Midtown this Saturday.  It is a great way to promote the city and all the business owners that keep this metropolitan a float.  Prudential CA Realty, at 18th and K Street, displays art from 6pm-9pm every 2nd Saturday serving light refreshments.  If we are out of maps we have agents and a wonderful staff familiar with the businesses you can visit.  Please do not hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions or any special stops you can recommend.This is a great place to bring out of town guest or a good reason to invite them to visit.  Events like this help us move up on the charts every day.  Have a great week! 11/05/2007

An area bound by J Street and Folsom Boulevard from approximately 38th to 47th Streets, this historic neighborhood boasts wide avenues, sweeping green lawns and large, prewar (pre-WWI and pre-WWII) homes that have housed many of the city's most prominent residents (including Ronald Reagan when he was governor).  It is a quick drive to downtown Sacramento, close to award-winning schools, close to fine dining, several parks, California State University Sacramento (CSUS), and just to name a few.The neighborhood features grand old houses that were custom built in the early decades of the 20th century, when architects were looking to Europe for design inspiration. As a result, the Fabulous Forties is renowned for its eclectic "Revival" style architecture. Here you find a variety of dwellings... 11/04/2007

 I have heard all of my life in the real estate business from other agents and trainers that open houses are a passive way to do business.  It takes 100 buyers to go through a home in order to get one to buy.  I have to agree it can be a passive way to do business, but I think it can be a tremendous tool to enlarge your business and to help our sellers.  Here is why I say that.1) If you do enough open houses and get enough people through, you will find one who will buy it.2) It is a great source for finding buyers who might be interested in your other homes listed in your area.3) You might be able to bring the buyers to other agent's listing in the MLS and sell them the home.4) The open house signs, if it has your name and/or company name are a great source of marketing and branding.5) ... 11/03/2007

Supporting Can Tree and The Salvation Army giving food to the needy in Sacramento, CA,  Prudential CA Realty Midtown office held it's 3rd Annual Bowl-A-Thon at Capitol Bowl in West Sacramento.  We would like to thank all our supporters who showed.  Those supporters are Fidelity Title (our affiliates), Placer Title (Freeport & Natomas), Countrywide Homeloans (Freeport office), First American Title, Moneywell Mortgage, and KMG Mortgage.  A special thanks to all the local Prudential offices that came to bowl and showed their support.We would like to also thank Old Spaghetti Factory in Midtown and Capitol City Catering for assisting us with the great food.   Please do not forget to show the love this year.  Natural Disasters across the nation are making it prevalant that we are all human. 11/02/2007

If you have out of town clients and aren't sure where to put them up, I have a recommendation.  Try the Inn at Parkside across the street from the wonderful Southside Park in Sacramento, CA.  It is a comfortable, stylish Bed and Breakfast with a full day spa.  The main building is a Historic Sacramento home.  Visit my links for their web site.  Take a night for yourself to see what I mean.  Just another perk in Downtown Sacramento. 11/02/2007

Country Club Estates is the neighborhood directly behind Del Paso Country Club, bordered by Marconi Avenue to the south, Watt Avenue to the East, Fulton Avenue to the West, and Pope Avenue to the north, but also includes Club Lane, Country Club Lane, E Country Club Lane, and W Country Club Lane. Directly to the west of the club, the homes on Morse Avenue are spectacular architectural masterpieces, built in the 1920's.Homes in this community were generally built in from the 1920's through the 1950's. Aside from Morse Avenue, these older homes range in size from small 800 square foot cottages, to 3500 square feet, and sit on parcels ranging from a quarter acre to just over an acre in size. While many of these homes were built as "cookie cutters", meaning that only a handful of individual ... 10/31/2007

Are you looking for some frightening places to go for Halloween? Some haunted real estate to scare you? Let's see what we can find that is happening in and around the Sacramento scary area for Halloween nite...Tale off and attend the Fright Planet in Roseville where you can be frightened to death until  midnight going through the mazes with hidden surprises.In Sacramento, for all those needing a bit more of a scare, take off to Gyro's 3-D Factory at the Westfield Downtown Sacramento Plaza and enter the hunted fun-house and maze which will be sure to scare the weeper jeepers out of you. Anyone staying after midnight is doomed.In Woodland Field of Screams is waiting for you around each and every turn. Come prepared to walk through the maze and be frightened to death.Rocklinis Trick or Tre... 10/30/2007

Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin and Auburn have sent fire trucks and teams to help our Southern California neighbors with the horrendous fires they are enduring. The National Guard sent 1,500 today with another 1500 soon to be sent from the Sacramento area. Police teams have also been sent to help relieve and keep Real Estate in check and looters away. Some of our finest will be assisting other departments with all emergency and relief help.Rancho Cordova is where the emergency command center is and they are organizing teams of emergency help to Southern California.We all wish our Southern CA neighbors well and will continue to offer assistance in anyway possible. Just yesterday, on Highway 5 I witnessed a caravan of emergency help on its way down to Southern CA to rel... 10/24/2007

Curtis Park was subdivided from the Curtis Ranch Homestead by William Curtis in the late 1800's and early 1900's. There are several different subdivisions within Curtis Park, including Curtis Oaks, West Curtis Oaks, Highland Park, Heilbron Oaks, and many others. William Curtis died on January 27, 1907, shortly after the Curtis Oaks subdivision map was filed. After Curtis' death, a man named J.C. Carly picked up where Curtis left off and continued the development of Curtis Park. In 1919, J.C. Carly and the Hickman Investment Company proposed a conditional gift of land for a park to the City of Sacramento. The land was a strip 2740 feet long and 300 feet wide. Curtis Park is predominantly a residential neighborhood of approximately 2,500 homes, comprised almost entirely of single family h... 10/23/2007

Debbie Baldes | Executive Properties | 916-960-0612 4201 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA Close to schools, shopping and more! Bring your tools for some easysweat equity! 2 Bdrm Single Family House offered at $225,000   Year Built 1947 Sq Footage 1,064   Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial   Floors Unspecified Parking Unspecified   Lot Size 8,296 sqft   HOA/Maint $0 per month     DESCRIPTION JUST REDUCED! Bank Approved Short Sale! Bring your tools for some sweat equity. Excellent curb appeal.  Converted one car garage use for 3rd bedroom, office, or??  Can be converted back easily. HUGE yard to play or plant a garden, quiet cul-de-sac, boat & possible RV parking.  Close to schools, the Country Club Mall and easy freeway access.   see additional photos below      PROPERTY FEATURES Fire... 10/22/2007

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTING   Part #1 by: Ernie Cabrera from REA Commercial How do you find out how much you will get as a return on your real estate investment?How do you know what a property should be valued at?How much income will an investment produce?I am asked these question all the time from new investorswho are just getting into the commercial real estate business.  I think it is good to know some of the basic calculations that will help you evaluate investments.  There is much more to a properties value and it is more complicated to compare investments, but here are the basics.           Capitilization Rate - It is used to evaluate what a property's income and to compare values.   Cap Rate = Net Operating Income (NOI) / Sales Price (Value) The capitalization rate (cap rate... 10/20/2007

News 10 Buying a Short Sale Home Buyers who can find a short-sale can get a good deal. The advantages of buying a property through a short sale include buying at a discounted price and buying a house where the sellers are still motivated to sell the home and may take care of it until it is sold. Some buyers think they can get a better deal by waiting to buy a house when it goes into foreclosure, but buying a house through foreclosure is risky business and not for first-time buyers or inexperienced real estate investors. You should get advice from an experienced professional. Hire a lawyer to help you with the eviction process if the home is occupied. Sometimes, tenants who are sued for eviction can retaliate. When sellers realize they will lose their home to foreclosure, they often stop... 10/18/2007

Home Buyers, are asking the question... When is the Best Time to Buy a House?When is the Best Time to Buy a Condo?Do you feel like this donkey?Are you confused and wondering if you will buy a house or condo at the wrong time?Do you think you will get stuck and pay too much for a home or condo? Do you think the Real Estate market will go down more?These are just a few of the many questions that Home Buyers today in the Sacramento area are asking and wondering. The big question is, "when is the BOTTOM of the Real Estate market?"Think of donkey tails. One side is going down   and one side is going up. No one REALLY knows when the bottom is the REAL bottom until real estate prices change and start going up. That's when everyone will be an expert and say, "the Real Estate Market has changed ... 10/18/2007