Why are these listings still here? This a question I have asked myself lately. We are priced at market value for the most part and no grabs. You might think it would be condition because today's buyers want remodeled, turnkey properties, with all the modern bells and whistles. None of this oak cabinet stuff, white appliances or icky carpeting. Yet remodeled homes are not jumping out the door, either.I felt the twinge in the air last May when every single listing I had needed a price adjustment. Because back then one could push the prices. My method was to establish a maximum market value for the home and then bump it up to knock out some of the lower multiple offers. Those types of listings went on the market Thursday at midnight and by the following week we were in escrowBut not today ... 11/06/2018

In talking with a woman in Kona last week, it made me ponder what people do with the title to their homes. This woman has been taking care of an elderly couple, and one of them died. The other might not be around for much longer, either. As payment for services this woman has rendered over the years, the couple told her they will give her their house after they die. It's been paid off. She asked the best way to go about doing this.Well, I am not a lawer, but I do play one on TV. If I were in her shoes, I'd have the remaining spouse hire a lawyer to draw a trust and name her successor trustee, and then deed the house to the trust and record the deed. But so many people download forms from the internet, especially quitclaim deeds. When they fill them out in correctly, as many do, it messe... 11/04/2018

All Sacramento Realtors are not the same just like all Sacramento sellers are not the same. Every seller has a different agenda and method that she or he uses to go about picking an agent. Sometimes a seller will say, I am only interviewing one other agent. And when I ask who it is, the seller might refuse to release that information. See, that is a red flag. Sometimes those situations involve a family member who happens to hold a license (one in 50 people in California have a real estate license), and the seller, rightfully so, is worried about inexperience. So, the plan is to extract free advice from a real professional.Or, a seller might say: I want you to come over to my house and tell me what I need to fix, but clearly understand this is not a commitment to hire you. See, another r... 11/03/2018

Apart from my thumb throbbing this morning -- I have iPhone thumb from pushing my home button too much, if you can  believe that; it is really sore -- the other nagging pain is the fact our purchase contracts tuck data on page 4 that should be on the front page. That data is whether the buyer will occupy the home as a resident or will be a non-owner occupant, which is most likely an investor.Whether the buyer is an investor or a person who will move into the house can make a big difference to sellers in buyer's markets. I discussed this yesterday with a team member who wrote an offer in a situation that involved 3 successor trustees. Most likely these people are related to the deceased. As such, there could be emotions involved, and I suggested ways my team member could promote her offe... 10/31/2018

Ductless AC or mini-split systems have been around for a while but I haven't really heard much about them until recently. Which is odd given the fact I live in a city like Sacramento where temperatures climb to 115 in the summer. Homeowners in some lower-income neighborhoods don't even have a window AC unit, and I don't know how they do it. Well, older homes with plaster walls offer some insulation from the sun, but still. It must get really hot.But the thing I have discovered while investigating mini split systems is there are many configuations and styles. You can set it up in every room or just a few, depending on layout. It's efficient, quiet, dependable and inexpensive.You can read more about and see the photos of installation in my personal blog today at this link: Should You Buy ... 10/30/2018

Sometimes, you just can't win by trying, but it does help to keep your priorities in focus. I do this by looking at the big picture and reassessing situations, especially when encountering out of area agents. It can be tough when that agent is representing the buyer because the agent does not know our local customs, might not know how to refer the best inspectors and, worse, has no MLS access to the house.Not to mention, a little tidbit not every agent knows is our Sacramento MLS requires commission payment only to other members. So technically, we aren't even required to pay them, but we tend to allow it anyway. It's where priorities are set. The sellers. My priorities are the sellers.Further, imagine for a moment how an agent buyer can have a fool for a client. However, even given tho... 10/29/2018

1130 Brownwyk Drive, Sacramento, CA Get Directions Click Here   Description Photos Maps & Local Schools Walk Score   Click for current price 3 BEDROOMS 2 BATHROOMS (2 full) 2205 Square Feet   PRICED TO SELL! South Land Park huge corner lot!! This Ranch style home sits on a 1/4 acre, filled with mature fruit trees. Living room with brick fp with built in's, hard wood floors in beds! Master bath has double sinks and soaking tub! Large kitchen with newer vinyl flooring. Large family room off huge kitchen, and extra room that could be additional bedroom, office, game room, home gym! Classic ranch style picture window for the window in the living room! Quiet street with manicured yards!   Sacramento Homes for Sale Free Guide For Sellers Home Equity Check-Up Free Home Values The Mode & Durha... 10/27/2018

Being a Sacramento Realtor, I cannot stop looking at houses. Which is a good thing given my profession. Doesn't matter where I am in the world, I can't walk past a real estate brokerage without stopping to look at homes in the window. It's kind of like an obsession. Even while I am in Hawaii and in the midst of remodeling my house there, I look at other homes in Hawaii online. That's because I get the paper, West Hawaii Today, and Friday's edition contains a real estate section . . .I find when I'm looking at the homes, I become highly critical, even though I am not in the market for a home. Suppose that could be one of the signs that I am not really a home buyer. My opinions run from that bath is too small, to the back yard is not big enough or the view is not quite spectacular to I ha... 10/27/2018

One of the drawbacks for me with the way Zillow imports data from MLS is my name needs to be first on the listing. I really prefer my team member's name to be first so he or she can directly manage the buyer calls. However, with my name first in MLS, I get hit with all the drama, spammers, can-I-rent-this-house types of calls, texts and emails; just comes with the territory and is the trade-off.What tends to throw me off is how so many buyer's agents could benefit from guidance and supervision from their brokers. It is eye opening.Some agents simply access lockboxes and walk into occupied homes without permission and without looking up the house in MLS to read showing instructions. Because they are out with "clients" maybe their cousin, who knows, and that cousin says, "Hey, look over t... 10/22/2018

One of the perks of being a frequent flyer between Sacramento and Kona is the opportunity to watch movies. Only because there is no WIFI on Hawaiian Airlines. Heck, this trip, Hawaiian Airlines didn't even send me an email to check in for my flight in Sacramento. Halfway through my day yesterday I realized, whoa, I have not obtained a boarding pass nor checked in because I did not get an email. This is the strategy Hawaiian Airlines employs on return trips but not originating. I mean, who forgets to GO to Hawaii? (Besides me.) Because the corporate suits in charge of profit are probably hoping people have so much fun in Hawaii, they will forget to leave. If you don't think that is true, I have news for ya. And when that happens, that $200 change fee doesn't work in Hawaii for next-day f... 10/19/2018

This is a bird I rarely see in Sacramento. Maybe because they don't much hang out in Land Park. Or maybe just not my yard. But yesterday I was very excited to have discovered a Northern Flicker prancing around my back yard. I could not get a better photo than the one I'm showing you here because I was on the phone, like usual.Ha, like a client asked me today where is my office. I told him it's in the sky. He wanted to know physically which office do I frequent or do I simply work out of my house. Yes, like any other agent, I work out of my house. It became apparent I was facing a struggle dealing with an important phone conversation and my urge to shoot a photo of this bird, both happening simulataneously.You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Spotted a Red Shafted No... 10/18/2018

You can just hear how it must have happened. Dude, look, we can go over to Zillow and scrape off their list of agents. These agents are like gold, man, because they pay Zillow. We'll put them all together on a list for each metropolitan city, and then create a separate web page for each city listing those agents . . . They make it sound like you'll get enhanced SEO, like there are no places to get a list of top agents in every city. And not all of these are necessarily as they appear, either. That data is not verified. But if they manage to put together a list of 100 cities and tap the top 15 agents in each, they could earn a nice annual income of $375,000. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Noted on List of Top 15 Agents in Sacramento. 10/17/2018

Sometime back in February I recall asking my husband if he felt like checking out the spot where the old Rubicon Brewing Company used to occupy for many decades in Midtown. It's on Capitol Avenue by 20th Street. Nice location for walking around Midtown Sacramento. But they weren't quite ready, and we had another trip to make out-of-town, so we didn't get around to it, even this last June when we received an invitation to Alaro.So, here we are, now in October and it takes a story in the Sacramento Bee to get my husband off his duff to go there. The lure of Spanish tapas was too great. Not to mention, we can easily pack in 3 to 4 miles walking Midtown. Which we desperately need to supplement our non-working-out exercise program that doesn't exist. I laugh when my Apple Watch notices I am ... 10/16/2018

Don't get me wrong, there are times when a lowball is called for. Like, when the property is grossly overpriced. I recall maybe 15 years ago writing an offer for a buyer on a home in Land Park. It was listed around a million and my buyers got the place for about $600K. Today it is easily worth more than a million bucks. Thing was it wasn't worth it then. Those buyers didn't get a stupendous deal. They got a fair deal. The listing agent said to me, "How come no other Land Park agents told me it was overpriced?" I don't know, can only surmise agents just don't want to stick their nose in where they don't feel it belongs. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: How to Say No to Lowball Offers from Home Buyers. 10/15/2018

In Sacramento, our hot seller's market has existed for almost 7 years. That has been a long stretch. And during that stretch of time, interest rates have been historically low. They've been low for at least 10 years now, so of course buyers want to know when they will go lower.Usually, those who feel a direct impact of rising rates as a measuring stick are stretching it some to buy a home. For those home buyers, a normal reduction in rates, like, say, 1/2 of a percent, would be welcome news. That would let a $300,000 buyer, for example, buy a $325,000 home for the same payment. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: When Will Mortgage Interest Rates Go Down? 10/14/2018

A month or so back, I recall reading something in the Sacramento Bee about the Oriental fruit fly invasion into Sacramento. Apparently, over by Stockton and Elder Creek, authorities found a handful of Oriental fruit flies. They put up 600-some bait stations to kill off the males and stop breeding. What I did not realize was this quarantine affects almost everybody. You can't even give away your own fruit. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Sacramento Fruit Trees Under Quarantine for Oriental Fruit Fly. 10/13/2018

Everybody holds the power to be truly authentic in their work, family and personal relationships. Yet, I am continually amazed at all of the excuses I hear for not employing that power. In fact, some real estate agents go so far as to hide their own personality behind a mask. A mask that they think others want to see.They study scripts and memorize words, trying to become a "salesperson." Because as agents we continually show up for a new job every single day, some fear competition. Agents can spend endless hours watching what other people do and they try to emulate those agents, when the best thing they could possibly ever do is be themselves. Still, they refuse. They are holding that winning ticket and they want to burn it. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Aut... 10/12/2018

The unsung tale in the September housing report in Sacramento is the bulk of inventory in the upper end range. Looking at August numbers, in the $800+ range, we had 5 to 7 months of inventory, which is not reflected in this chart. Our September inventory overall, in the chart above, shows 2.4 months of residential homes for sale in the county, which is twice the number from January.I like to think we could have used that inventory in March when buyers were clamoring for more choices. But it might have turned out the same way anyhow. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Sacramento Housing Trends for September 2018: Twice the Homes. 10/10/2018

Yesterday an email came through targeting 50 agents in Sacramento. They seem to all be top producers but hard to say how that list was pulled. The agent who created the list did not even take the time to group all the names into one contact list, so he exposed every recipient's email address.The email started like this:After 28 years of working with RE/MAX Gold I came over to Better Homes and Garden. They were able to show me a value added proposition that would grow my business, if you are looking to increase your business, we would like to show you how we can help.A few ways we can help you grow your business.And, then he listed a whole bunch of bullet points, one of which included cookbooks. Not sure from the way it was worded as to whether the Better Homes and Garden cookbooks were ... 10/09/2018

How many neighborhood associations throw you a free BBQ picnic? In addition to offering volunteer opportunities for residents to become involved in the neighborhood, the Land Park Community Association holds fundraisers like a Taste of Land Park as well. The LPCA keeps us informed about community projects and when we might be able to expect that long-awaited bridge over Broadway to cross the river from West Sacramento. You can read more and view more photos in my personal blog today at this link: Land Park Community Association Membership BBQ a Real Sunday Treat. 10/08/2018