If you are having trouble turning loose of the remote control for your
 tv, your missing out on a spectacular store located right here in
Paradise, California.  Paradise Hobbies and Raceway.   Races are
held outdoors on the track every second and fourth Saturdays of
each month.  For those remote control junkies, step into the
hobbie shop to find remote control cars, airplanes, boats and
other controlled toys.  This shop carries a wide variety of items
for your special hobby.  Drop by at 491 Pearson Road and
tell them you read an article about them online.   I love to
watch the races when I am not busy assisting home buyers.
 
 

A much needed traffic signal will begin testing Wednesday morning August 6, 2008, the testing sequence will begin for the traffic signal controller and components. Upon completion of all functional testing, the traffic signal will be activated.  While minor traffic delay are expected, local business will be open and motorist should be ready to stop if the lights are flashing. 

For further information regarding this project please visit www.townofparadise.com for more information. 

If you are looking for local information regarding Paradise Real Estate, Call Suzi at (530) 873-6146 or visit ParadiseRealEstate.us. 

One of the favorite things to do is to enjoy concerts in the part in Chico, Ca.   Music fills the City plaza on selected summer evenings.  Every type of music from jazz to swingcounty even raggae will keep your toes tapping or bring about the mood for a little dance.  

Another very entertaining activiity is Movies in the Park at the One Mile Recreation Area in Chico's Bidwell Park.  Come and enjoy a variety of childrens favorites including "The Great Muppet Caper", "The Never Ending Story" and "The Bee Movie".  These will delight!
For times, dates and showings, visit www.chicoer.com.    

Throughout the spring and summertime season Butte county offers some local venues of interest.  Like the farmers markets which offer the freshest produce around year round Saturdays from 7:30am until around 1:00 in the second street parking lot at wall and second street in Chico.  
Or if you prefer mornings, try wednesday morning at the North Valley Mall at Pillsbury and East avenue in Chico.  Local Paradise residence can find their local farmers market at the Paradise Alliance church located at 6491 Clark Rd. in Paradise.  

Thursday Nigh market is Chico's very popular street market is sponsored by the downtown Chico Business Association and includes free entertainment along with fresh produce and other goods for sale.  The street faire runs from 6-9 PM through the last Thursday of September.

Remember to go out there and enjoy some of butte countys finest spring and summertime fun!

Moving from one house to another is always a challenge, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare.  Here are some simple tips on how to get it done with minimal stress and strain.

•·        Look at all the alternatives: hiring a moving company, for example, versus renting a truck and doing it yourself.  Whichever alternative makes most sense for you, get bids from more than one vendor.

•·        A few days before the moving company is scheduled to arrive or you're supposed to pick up your rental truck, call to confirm that everything is on track to happen when it's supposed to .

•·        Prepare your change of address cards in advance and send them out as soon as it's appropriate to do so.  The post office, utilities, companies and people you do business with, city hall, friends, relatives - all should be notified of your move.

•·        Get an early start on packing by concentrating on seldom-used items first.  Each box should have its contents and the room those contents belong in written on it clearly. 

•·        Take a hard look at things you seldom or never use and throw away as many of them as you can.  The more you throw away, the less you'll have to move.  Every item you throw away is one less item to clutter up you new home.

•·        Use your extra towels and linens to protect breakables.  When your supply of these things is exhausted, crumpled newspaper makes an excellent substitute.  Write "Fragile" on all appropriate boxes.

•·        Put your valuables (such as jewelry) and important documents (birth certificates, car titles, etc.) aside in some safe place where they won't be misplaced.

•·        When the house is empty, go back for a thorough final inspection.  Check closets, crawl spaces, basement, attic, out-of-the-way nooks and crannies of all kinds.  Have a second person make the same inspection separately.

•·        Clean your new home thoroughly before moving in.  It's infinitely easier that way.

•·        Decide in advance where you want the heavy furniture.  Changing your mind after the movers have departed is no fun - especially for your back!

•·        Locate all fuses, circuit breakers, and water/gas and electrical valves.  Record the meter readings and check the smoke detectors.

•·        List the phone numbers of the local police and fire stations, doctors, nearby hospitals, etc.  Put a copy of your list near each phone.

Above all, plan, plan, plan and plan some more. Make a schedule you can live with, and then stick to it.  Preparation and forethought will help you to keep everything under control and finish the move with your sanity and your nervous system intact.

So, WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?

Styles of houses vary across the country.  From the New England Cape Cod to the Victorians of San Francisco, the choices are almost endless.  Knowing which style you prefer is one of the basic elements in your hunt for the perfect home.

          Following is a quick guide to help you recognize and use the professional terms for many of the most prevalent house styles:

•·        Ranch:  these long, low houses rank among the most popular types in the country.  The ranch, which developed from early homes in the West and Southwest, is one-story with a low pitched room.  The raised ranch, which is also common is the U.S.. has two levels, each accessible from the home's entry foyer, which features staircases to both upper and lower levels.

•·        Cape Cod:  this compact story-and-a-half house is small and symmetrical with a central entrance and a step, gable roof.  Brick, wood or aluminum siding are the materials most commonly seen.

•·        Georgian:  Popular in New England, the Georgian has a very formal appearance with tow or three stories and classic lines. Usually built of red brick, the rectangular house has thin columns alongside the entry, and multi-paned windows above the door and throughout the house.  Two large chimneys rise high above the roof at each end.

•·        Tudor:   modeled after the English country cottage.  Tudor styling features trademark dark-wood timbering set against light-colored stucco that highlights the top half of the house and frames the numerous windows.  The bottom half of the house is often made of brick.

•·        Queen Anne/Victorian:  Developed from styles originated in Great Britain, these homes are usually two-story frame with large rooms, high ceilings and porches along the front and sometimes sides of the house.  Peaked roofs and ornamental wood trim, many times referred to as "gingerbread," decorate these elaborate homes.

•·        Pueblo/Santa Fe Style - Popular in the Southwest, these homes are either frame or adobe brick with a stucco exterior.  The flat rood has protruding, rounded beams called vigas.  One or two story, the homes feature covered/enclosed patios and an abundance of tile.

•·        Dutch Colonial - the Dutch Colonial has two or tow-and-one-half stories covered by a gambrel roof (having two lopes on each side, with the lower slope steeper than the upper, flatter slope) and eaves that flare outward.  This style is traditionally make of brick or shingles.

•·        New England Colonial - This two-and-one-half story early American style is box like with a gable roof.  The traditional material is narrow clapboard siding and a shingle roof.  The small-pane, double-hung windows usually have working wood shutters.

•·        Southern Colonial -this large, two-to-three-story frame house is world famous for its large front columns and wide porches.

•·        Split-levels: Split-level houses have one living level about half a floor above the other living level.  When this type of home is built on three different levels, it is called a tri-level.

These are just a few of the many styles of homes available across the country - some are more prominent in different areas than others.  Knowing home style terms will help you zero in on the type of house that will fill your needs and suit your taste.  Good luck finding your style!

What home improvements really pay off when the time comes to sell your house?

That's an important question for any homeowner contemplating moving or remodeling.   And the only possible answer is a somewhat complicated one.

          That answer starts with the fact that really major improvements - room additions, total replacements of kitchens and baths, etc., -- rarely pay off fully in the near term.  It ends with the fact that small and relatively inexpensive changes can pay off in a big way in making your home attractive to buyers if your decision is to move now.

It's a simple fact, consistently confirmed across America over a very long period of time, that even the most appropriate major improvements are unlikely to return their full cost if a house is sold within two or three years.

Does that mean that major home improvements are always a bad idea?  Absolutely not.  It does mean, though, that if your present house falls seriously short of meeting your family's needs you need to think twice - and think carefully - before deciding to undertake a major renovation.   Viewed strictly in investment terms, major improvements rarely make as much sense as selling your present home and buying one that's carefully selected to provide you with what you want.

          Even if you have a special and strong attachment to the house you're in and feel certain that you could be happy in it for a long time if only it had more bedrooms and baths, for example, there are a few basic rules that you ought to keep in mind.

Probably the most basic rule of all, in this regard, is the one that says you should never -unless you absolutely don't care at all about eventual resale value - improve a house to the point where its desired sales price would be more than 20 percent higher than the most expensive of the other houses in the immediate neighborhood.

          Try to raise the value of your house too high, that is, and surrounding properties will pull it down.

Here are some other rules worth remembering:

A.  Never rearrange the interior of your house in a way that reduces the number of bedrooms to less than three.
B.  Never add a third bathroom to a two-bath house unless you don't care about ever recouping your investment.
C.  Swimming pools rarely return what you spend to install them.  Ditto for sun rooms - and finished basements.

          If you decide to do what's usually the smart thing and move rather than improve, it's often the smaller, relatively inexpensive improvements that turn out to be most worth doing.

          The cost of replacing a discolored toilet bow, making sure all the windows work or getting rid of dead trees and shrubs in trivial compared with adding a bathroom, but such things can have a big and very positive impact on prospective buyers.  A good broker can help you decide which expenditures make sense and which don't, and can save you a lot of money in the process.

            Today's real estate consumer has a lot to consider during the purchase of a home in Paradise, CA.   Be it waiting for the right seller, mortgage rates, or the moving truck, the experience can take a bit of patience on the part of the Paradise California home buying consumer.  With this in mind, it is incumbent upon real estate professionals like Suzi Enders, who have instituted services that will turn the buying process hassle-free.

            "Realizing this trend is not going away, Suzi Enders and the CENTURY 21 System has worked to improve the experience of buying a home.  The program offers consumers strategic alliances with various links to home-related value added products and services.  Making the process easier and much more convenient," said  Suzi Enders, Century 21.

            Among the products and services offered through these alliances are ADT Home Security Systems, CENTURY 21 Home Protection Plans and Budget Truck Rentals, just to name a few. The programs are offered at preferred pricing for all CENTURY 21 clients of Suzi Enders. Therefore, the programs involved focus heavily on the immediate, yet long-term value of the service for the consumer.  For example, homeowners will have their lawn equipment, home warranties, and home security systems for many years of use.  All of which come as a result of their purchase through the CENTURY 21.

"Today's consumer demands that a real estate firm provide more service than just the sale and the purchase aspect of the transaction.  With that in mind, our Preferred Alliance Program has been well received and very popular as a result.  Customer satisfaction rates are soaring, post-transaction surveys have been very positive which has bolstered the overall success of the program among consumers," said Dan Jacuzzi, Century 21 Select. 

            Century 21 Real Estate Corporation (www.century21.com), based in Parsippany, New Jersey, is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate organization, providing comprehensive marketing programs, training, management, and administrative support to more than 6,300 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in more than 25 countries and territories worldwide.   By: Suzi Enders, Realtor

Are you ready when wildfires strikes. 

You too can make a difference for your family, home and community.  Attend a meeting to learn how to be ready.  During the seminar a photo presentation and video will be presented.  Hosted by the Paradise and Butte County Fire Safe Council and the Town and Paradise.

Come learn the recipe for successfully living with wildfires from the local experts in this community wide event to be held August 7th from 6:30- 9:00 PM.  

Location:    CMA Church, 6491 Clark Road, Paradise

Get information about:
*Family and personal preparedness tips*Animal wildfire preparedness
*Ordering reflective address signs
*Find out how to keep brush from growing back
*Community wildfire safety projects
*Removal of invasive Scotch Broom and
*Forest Stewardship       

(ARA) - From football games to Oktoberfest,
there's still plenty of outdoor fun to be had                   
when the weather turns cooler. However, these
events can generate substantial amounts of
waste. Bottles, cans, and other materials from
public events are often thrown away, but they
present a great opportunity to help the
environment through recycling.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has created the Recycle on the Go initiative to promote recycling at public events. Recycle on the Go provides information and resources to businesses, government agencies, and citizens interested in creating recycling programs in public spaces such as parks, stadiums, transportation hubs, shopping centers, and special events. Tools that can be found on the Recycle on the Go Web site (www.epa.gov/recycleonthego) include guidance for starting a recycling program, success stories, and tips for including concessionaires and other vendors in the process.

Recycling can yield huge energy savings and climate change benefits. Manufacturing goods from recycled material typically requires less energy than producing an item from virgin material, thus reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced. The energy savings from recycling can be substantial: the 82 million tons that Americans recycled in 2006 saved enough energy to power nearly 7 million U.S. homes for a year. Make environmental stewardship a tradition by promoting recycling at your outdoor event.

To learn how you can incorporate recycling into your Butte county event, visit www.epa.gov/recycleonthego.

Content provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency