Make Web Not War. That is what is going on with my partners in the internet today. Many of us have gone black today. We believe that the web should be open and free. We still have no idea of the power of the web at this point. How good is all of this. The picture is of Matt Mullenweg the founder of Wordpress and I at our developers conference. Matt controls about 24% of all websites on the internet at this point and is great to get ideas from. Here is a link to his site. http://ma.tt/about/ That is what free and open is about. Where else can you sit down with some of the smartest and most powerful people on the planet for coffee and chat about the little things that we are all doing to create change. The little things do add up.                                                                                 

 Here is a link to an article I did regarding the European Union and what they are already doing to utilize this free enterprise. http://healdsburg.patch.com/blog_posts/solar-power-will-lead-our-economy-in-three-years

At the end of the Webinar I was in yesterday My coach and I led a discussion regarding this open source and open mind environment that we hold so dear.
The choice is simple. Do you want to have the mind set of a life of scarcity or a life of abundance. We believe that you do all you can to share all of your information in today's business environment. We share information hence the information age. If you are doing it right then nobody can keep up anyway so why lead a life of scarcity where you have to horde what you know. That knowledge will be stale in a couple of days anyway.
Make Web Not War. It is so much cheaper and the results will change the world!

 With this great weather it is still real estate season. In a rainy year we usually see a drop off in real estate business from about Thanksgiving until the Super Bowl. This year I am seeing the best winter real estate season in years. Healdsburg Real Estate.com has positioned themselves to be your greatest ally this year.

There is a lot of optimism and it does not appear to be tied to the recent good jobs reports. It is coming from the fact that prices of un-distressed homes have been stable for almost a year. I have heard from about a half dozen people that prices are continuing to spiral down. WRONG!  It is true that distressed properties are coming on the market at lower prices than non-distressed but please be clear that these are two distinctly different categories of real estate.  If those good jobs reports continue until the Super Bowl we will see a real estate surge in the spring.

Every economic recovery has one thing in common. They have been bigger and faster than ANY analyst had predicted. I am seeing a lot of evidence that the same may be ahead for us. Unemployment numbers are down and the analysts did not see that coming. It is winter and those numbers should be down, not up. Interest rates are still at record lows. There are new rules in place as of December 1^st that force the banks to do more for us in regards to home loan modifications. If anything creates a sense of urgency in the market we will see an even bigger surge in spring. I believe that we are camped just outside the Promised Land!

The number one thing that I can suggest for anyone involved in real estate, either consumers or professionals is to have a success plan and to embrace it. Here are some tips that will help you.

 If your home is currently on the market for ninety days or more take it off the market as soon as the rains begin. Keep it off the market for 45 to 60 days. Get a fresh start in the spring time.

While it is off the market prepare the home to sell it this time. Hire a professional home stager to help you prepare the home.  I know there is a lot of resistance to doing this. I know because I felt the same way. Boy was I wrong. Stagers do a great job. Would you like your home to look like the homes in the fancy magazines? Those are staged homes.

Take a lot of pictures and do so every month. The pictures should be professional quality not just a point and shoot type of photo. A picture really is “worth a thousand words”. For fun try night photography.  You absolutely have to have a minimum of twenty five pictures on the MLS at all times.  I will not go into why but trust me it is the biggest mistake I see in real estate marketing.

Video is now mandatory to get good ranking results on the internet. See below. You do not even need a video camera to do this. There are free tools on the internet that produce great video from photos and Google loves video. The video has to be uploaded to You Tube and have a unique name to get results. The name should match the name of the website for your home.

Have an individual website for your home. It has to have a unique and hyper local name to it. An individual property website that uses the address of the home as the name is just about worthless. Do the research and come up with a good name. The property website has to have a lot of local information on it. School information, walk scores, weather, local links and local history have to be there. Google can see the planet but they cannot see your neighborhood. They are relying on you for that and in return they will give you priceless internet ranking.

PRINT ADVERTISING IS NOT DEAD! We still run a full page ad in the Press Democrat every Sunday and the phone does ring from it.

Do open houses and market the heck out of them. Every week I receive about a half dozen thank you emails from my fellow Realtors because of the traffic that they get at their open houses due this column. It is free and just takes a little effort but is well worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HealdsburgRealEstate?feature=guide#p/a/u/0/T-WwItkwOfg

 The price is right, if it sells quickly

All of the housing reports that I have seen indicate that the price of housing in Sonoma County has hit bottom. This is great news but why are some homes selling while others are languishing on the market. It is truly a buyers’ market and the competition is fierce. Buyers are looking for bargains at this point.

So how do you price a home in this market? In the past your Realtor would do a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA of all of the sold homes in your area. The Realtor would compare the amenities of your home verses those sold and develop a price based off those sold homes. They would take that price and add about ten percent to that price so as to leave room for negotiations. The home would be placed on the market.  A buyer would make an offer. It was usually about three or four percent lower than what the seller was willing to tolerate or fourteen percent off of the asking price. There would be a round or two of negotiating and the final sale price was usually within one or two percent up or down of what the seller had initially wanted before padding the price. Boy, those were the good old days. It ran like clockwork.

In the past four years we have seen many different types of pricing cycle strategies. They fluctuate based on the current market conditions such as inventory and competing homes that could be bank owned or short sales. Also keep in mind that the subject property will be getting an independent appraisal. If the appraised value is lower than the offer the lender will only loan to amount of the appraisal.

The same is true for vineyards and equestrian properties. Those types of properties are revenue generating and the cash flow of the business will be a major component in the appraised value. In other words vineyards are taking a huge hit in appraised value. Not because they are not great vineyards but rather that they have seen back to back years with lower tonnage yields caused by weather that effect the cash flow and the appraised value. Almost ALL the sellers feel as though they are being robbed.

Right now the best way to sell your home is to HAVE YOUR REALTOR SET THE PRICE. Have the Realtor tell you what the projected sale price will be. If it is lower than what you can tolerate then you may as well just wait until spring to sell your home. Keep in mind that the true projected sale price will not be higher then. The only changed is that there may be more buyers shopping then. What you paid for the house and what you have into the house does not affect the price of the house in any way.

To set the best sale price of the home take the price those was generated in the CMA and take five percent off of that. I can guarantee that you will end up with the highest possible sale price of the home. If you do this and leave no room for negotiation you will end up with an offer that is close to that price. You will still have to negotiate a tiny bit but not much. It seems as though for every one percent that you are too high in the asking price then you have to take an equal amount off of the final sale price. So the higher the asking price the less they will offer.

If your home has been languishing on the market it may be a good idea to take it off the market and give it a rest for thirty or sixty days this winter but have your Realtor make it available by appointment only. When I take a home off the market for rest I generate a QR Code for the property and post it at the street. Passer byers can scan the QR Code with their smart phone and receive the property information that way. I have generated an example of the QR Code and it is one of the photos that are attached to this article. Good luck and happy holiday season from www.HealdsburgRealEstate.com

Country Property

Here are some things to consider when purchasing country property. One of the first things to do is to go to the County of Sonoma office and check on the history of the property. Does what is on record match with what is actually at the subject property. Is the number of buildings and size a match to what is being sold.  Are all of the permits there and executed. Make copies of all the information that you can such as building permits, well information and septic system information.

Boundaries, One big difference between country property and residential is clarity of property lines. In residential it is fairly clear where the property lines are at . In country property it is much more difficult and if there are any disputes now is the time to remedy them. Some of these properties may not have been sold for decades. There may have been some good neighbor deals over the years  that you do not like. You may even find that a neighbor built a barn that is right on the property line and the line needs to be adjusted.

Wells, If you are in the country you will probably rely on a well as your source of water. Have it tested for volume and purity. In Sonoma County there four types of water zones. Area one is in the valley’s and is the most abundant. Area four is the water scarce zone and can be found anywhere. Your local well company will know these areas and can tell you exactly what you need to be assured that you will not have water issues in the future. If you really love a place and it is in an area four zone now is the time to decide if you want to endure he joys of living with very little water.

Septic, If you are going to live in the then you will be on a private waste system AKA a septic tank. Part of the purchase process will be to have the septic tank pumped and inspected. The sanitation specialist will do a visual inspection of the leach field as well. The leach field is the part of the system that distributes the treated waste evenly underground. It is a great idea to have enough room adjacent to the leach field that is equal to the size of the existing leach field for expansion. This may be mandated by the County of Sonoma anyway.

Insurance, It is a great idea to check with your insurance agent early on in the process. Some country property may have greater risks than residential properties. The property may be in a high fire danger area or a flood area. There are areas that are prone to slides that need to be identified. A good insurance agent will be able to mitigate any of these issues.

Zoning, Zoning can affect your future uses for the property. If you are planning on developing a horse property now is the time to make sure that the zoning will allow it. What if there is a granny unit on the property and you want to use it as a vacation rental. Now is the time to discover what you can or cannot do with the property.

I was looking at Activerain this AM and the first thing that I saw was a post from a Realtor that has the same pet peave as I do. Out of area internet Realtors that leverage the internet to gain clients from across the country then refer them to a local agent. This is a huge business and leaves the clients exposed to a rickety transaction.

What is local? Well I think that it is dependent on what type of transaction that you are going to have. If it is residentail then an agent that is more than an hour away that does not attend local MLS meetings can perform well. It is when you get into ranches and vineyards that you better pick a Realtor that lives right in the area. Local knowledge is key.

A lot of Realtors have left the market and the ones that are left have a pretty good grip on this business. I would imagine that those of us that are still here have over the years developed some pretty good relationships with our copetitors. There is a lot of power in using a Realtor that is willing to drop their ego and go to any other Realtor for help so they get THE VERY BEST HELP for their clients.

I feel the same about lenders. Lenders can and do perform well for out of the area transactions. If you have a lender that you like and have a relationship use them for out of the area investment transactions. A perfect example is like my friend Dan Stevens at Wells Fargo Home Loans. Dan was a CPA and has been with Wells now for ages. He is as good on the east coast as the west coast but Dan always leaves his ego at the door and reaches out to his team for help.

When you are hiring a Realtor. Hire someone that is local. That commission that we EARN is spent where we live and helps support local causes.

While I am at it SHOP LOCAL. I am not one of those anti corporate nuts. It is just that by the time you drive to Costco do you really save that much, no! The same with Wal-Mart. If you do your research you can save a lot of money shopping local and feel good about it.

 I am not sure that any of you ever get in a funk or not. I rarely do and when I do I know that it will pass. I just work through it. I was a bit frustrated because I was having a hard time pinpointing some information for a client which is rare for me.

I went down and got some advice from one of my competitors Dave Roberts of Healdsburg Sotheby’s. Dave is a hell of a guy and the leader in real estate technology in Healdsburg. Dave always teases me and says I am number two. That is an honor to me because both of us work our tails off at this stuff to provide great service and information to our clients and Dave is really good! Dave pinpointed the problem that I was having. It was a third party vendor that posts listings that may or may not be real in hopes of having you contact them for a switch and bait.

Dave and I shared a lot of information about where we are at with our practices and what we are working on. That is how we stay at the top. That is the best part of this business for me sometimes. To be able to work with my competitors openly to provide the best customer service experience available. We do keep some secrets but for the most part we believe in the information age and we believe in ourselves. Dave and I have different personalities so you can choose which matches you.

My hat is off to Dave and thanks for the help this morning. To reach us go to Activerain Healdsburg and there we are. Ready to help. Thanks Dave!

I total up how many hours a week I work these days and when I see the total it can be tiring. I am immersed in Healdsburg Real Estate and Sonoma County Real Estate. If I am not showing property at the end of Mill Creek I am working on marketing or networking with my Facebook Healdsburg Real Estate site.

Because of my work load I have to make sure I get lots of rest, go to the gym for 2 hours daily, eat right and stay grateful. My daughter helps a lot with that last part. I am now aware that I have been putting something bad in the mix.

We all know that we only get out of something what we put into it. Nothing could be truer when it comes to “local news”. I had developed a morning ritual of watching the local morning news on KTVU or CBS. I know better than that. Do I really care how much traffic is on the 580 or for that part do I need to know “how bad things are”.

My dear old friend Bernie Carpenter had taught me better than that. Bernie had a mantra when he did his public speaking and he did a lot of it. He had a great message of spirituality. He always tied his powerful message down at the end. If you did not get the message at least you walked away with this. “And by the way turn off that news at night, if you have to read the newspaper, then just stick with the funnies. And for god’s sake do not listen to that country western music”.

You know Bernie was right. I am cleansing from watching the national news for about two weeks now and I do feel better. For local news there are much better “Hyper Local” sources like Patch.com or The Healdsburg Tribune. Try fasting away from all of that negativity. I promise you will feel a lot better in no time.

A BIT ABOUT BERNIE                                                                                                                                Bernie Carpenter was a great guy with a wonderful wit. A spiritual man with a Boston accent. Bernie had some great stories. He had bought a motorcycle when he turned fifty “because that is what you do when you are as young as me”. Bernie was scared to death of that thing so he would sit on it in the garage and pretend to ride it and even make noises with his mouth . He would let you know where he ridden in his mind the night before in great detail. He was hysterical.  We should all be so lucky as to have an Eskimo like Bernie in our lives!

Healdsburg’s High School Football Schedule

For as long as there has been economic ups and downs our country has always found alternative ways to entertain themselves without draining their wallet.  High school football is one of those great values and we have one of the best venues in Northern California.

HEALDSBURG FOOTBALL 2011 SCHEDULE

DAY          DATE        OPPONENT     LOCATION      TIME

Friday,   Aug 26,  (scrimmage) Petaluma,  5:00/7/00

Friday,   Sept 2,    Piedmont     Piedmont   5:00/7:30

Friday,   Sept 9     Fortuna        Rec Park    5:00/7:30

Friday,   Sept 16   Terra Linda  Rec Park    5:00/7:30

Friday,   Sept 23   Alcalanes     Acalanes   5:00/7:30

Friday,   Sept 30   Petaluma      Petaluma   5:00/7:30

Friday,   Oct 7       Analy            Rec Park    5:00/7:30

Friday,   Oct 14     Sonoma       Sonoma      5:00/7:30

Friday,   Oct 21    Windsor        Rec Park     5:00/7:30

Friday,   Oct 28    Bye

Friday,   Nov 4     El Molino      El Molino     5:00/7:30

Friday,   Nov 11   Casa Grande Rec Park    5:00/7:30

If you have not been to a Healdsburg High School football game it is one of the most thrilling things to be a part of and you have no idea of what you are missing. Every game is a blast and you never know what is going to happen. The long bomb for a touchdown, the quarterback sneak and even the statue of liberty play. These kids play their hearts out and the feeling that you are supporting something so good just kind of makes the world seem right.

So let’s do a quick comparison of the SF Giants game verses Healdsburg Hounds. I calculated this quickly.

I came up with eighty six dollars and fifty cents for the SF Giants game that included 1 view reserved seat, 1 hot dog, two beers, gas, parking, bridge toll and no souvenirs.

Healdsburg Hounds Football came in at Fifteen dollars and that includes 50 yard line seats, 3 hot dogs, 2 sodas, gas, parking and for another ten dollars you can join the Healdsburg High School Boosters Club which is great thing to be a part of.

I encourage everyone to come out and support these kid’s. I absolutely guarantee that you will become a fan just like me. By joining the boosters you are saying that sports are important to all of us and in our district with the help of this boosters club we have a deeper and better sports program than most schools in our county.

Please visit www.HealdsburgRealEstate.com for more infomation on local events