Jim's Stanislaus and Merced county Real Estate Blog

Turlock homes are selling !!!

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:19:01 -0500

Yes homes in Turlock are selling. Homes all over the area are selling, not just in Turlock. More and more first time buyers are stepping up and buying.

This home pictured here I listed on Friday June 1, 2008. After being on the MLs for a total of 3 hours I had my first offer. By Monday morning I had 3 very good offers. We are now in escrow and the buyers are thrilled.

The statistics from Metrolist MLS prove that homes in Turlock are selling. In May of 06 48 homes sold and in May of 07 49 homes sold in Turlock. In May of 08 65 homes sold in Turlock. This had been a trend since February.

In May of 07 there were 56 homes under contract (pendings) and in May of 08 there were 98 homes under contract.

In May of 07 the average price of the homes sold in Turlock was $344,418. In May of 08 the average price of the homes sold in Turlock was $242,338. Lots of people that had no chance of buying a home 2 or 3 years ago are now able to qualify to buy a home.

What's driving the current market and makes all of the headlines are the bank owned homes. With the large supply of bank owned homes in Turlock the right home for you might just be out there. Many of the bank owned homes that are priced right and are in good condition are only lasting a few days on the market and are getting multiple offers.

Click on this link to search for homes in Turlock . If you have been thinking about buying your first home or first investment home or any other home in Turlock Ca , now just might be the time for you to do it.

Good luck in your search!

Now here is something that really is for the birds

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:46:17 -0500

Heres an idea for a closing gift or something you may want for yourself. Check out this website www.birdhousebydesign.com to see these custom made birdhouses. You just send in some digital pictures of your home or a home your client just bought and the master craftsman makes a replica birdhouse for you.

House # 1

Birdhouse #1

House #2

Birdhouse #2

Be sure to check out the website so you can see the detail that goes into these works of art. www.birdhousebydesign.com

In the interest of full disclosure the master craftsman is my brother and, no I am not compensated for this promotion of his product. Thanks for looking.

Who said homes aren't selling in Turlock CA??

Fri, 09 May 2008 18:47:33 -0500

Here's probably something you have not read in the paper or saw on the TV news. Homes are selling in Turlock CA! Here are some facts:

Pendings: March 07 - 55 April 07 - 45

Pendings: March 08 - 77 April 08 - 79

Sold: March 07 - 51 April 07 - 48

Sold: March 08 - 77 April 08 - 47

While the sales havent seen a huge increase the number of homes under contract has. These are homes that will probably close in May or even June.

Another big difference is the amount of months supply of homes on the market in Turlock. In April 07 there was a 12 month supply of homes on the market and now in April of 08 it is down to 4.6 months. The homes that are really starting to sell are the ones that first time buyers can now afford, the ones they couldn't qualify for 2 years ago. There are a lot of well priced , clean homes out there now. If you want to search for homes for sale in Turlock go to http://jpattonhomes.com/Turlock_CA_homes_for_sale.shtml .

Unique baseball promotion

Sat, 03 May 2008 14:56:34 -0500

The Oakland A's had a cool promotion on Thursday (May 1,2008) night. The game was in Anaheim against the California, Los Angles, So Cal, Disneyland, Angels of Anaheim. For every hit the A's got that night the ticket price for a select group of seats at Sundays game against the Rangers would drop one dollar.

So what did the A's do? They proceeded to go out and rack up 20 hits. So those $24 dollar second deck tickets were now $4. With ticket prices that low I could probably afford a second beer at the game. So a few minutes after the game ended I got on the A's website and tried to purchase some of those tickets. Well as you might guess it was pretty much impossible to get through to purchase the tickets. I tried for about a half hour and kept getting the server is busy try again later message.

I tried again Friday morning but the seats they were offering by then were way out in center field. On Friday nights broadcast of the game , Ray Fosse talked about what had happened with the tickets. The A's had set aside 2500 seats for the promotion, never thinking in thier wildest dreams in a game against the Angels they would get 20 hits. Those first 2500 seats sold out in 20 minutes. They released two more sections of seats and ended up selling a total of 7300 seats at the $4 price.

I dont know if Oakland is the first team to do this or not, has anyone else heard of a team doing that? If not , I suspect that you may see this promotion coming to a team near you.

Back on the Market - Great price and a Pool !!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:55:47 -0500

Spacious home with a pool!

Location: Patterson, Ca

This spacious home offers up to 6 bedrooms and 3 and a half baths in over 3300 sq ft. This home was built in 2003 in the Walker Ranch subdivion in Patterson CA. This home has seperate living room and family rooms both with a fireplace and a formal dining room. There is a downstairs bonus room that could be your office or the 5th bedroom. The large master suite has a bonus retreat that could be the 6th bedroom. You will love spending time in the master bath with a large tub and seperate shower, 2 vanities and a make up table. There are aslo 2 walk in closets. And with the fast approaching hot days ahead cool off in the pool.

Photo Gallery

Information

Contact Information

Jim Patton

jpatton@c21mm.com

209-633-2839

Pricing

Asking Price: $259,900.00

Additional Pricing Information: This is a bank owned home and must be sold!

Property Location

1423 Nubian St
Patterson, Ca 95363

Links

More information about this home here

Jim Patton's bank owned listings here

Jim Patton's Listings here

Search the MLS

City of Patterson Information

Jim Patton's Website

Features

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3.5

Year Built: 2003

Subdivision: Walker Ranch

Lot Size: .144 acres

Garage Size: 4 car

School District: Patterson

Square Footage: 3312

Agent Name: Jim Patton

Broker: Century 21

MLS #: 80036176

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Dishwasher

Sink Disposal

Microwave

Interior Amenities

Fireplace

Kitchen Island

Vaulted Ceilings

Attic

Exterior Amenities

Patio

Fenced Yard

Swimming Pool

Grass Lawn

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 1616514

Two sides to the foreclosure stories

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:17:41 -0500

Ok this may be somewhat controversial. I realize that some good, honest , hardworking people are losing their homes due to foreclosure. I also realize that some buyers were taken advantage of during the hot real estate market of 2004-2006. And yes even some real estate professionals and lenders may have taken advantage of some people that probably had no business buying a home.

But there is another side to the story and I hear and see it almost daily. I do several Broker Price Opinions (BPO) every month. I pull up the tax records on the properties for information such as sq ft, beds, baths, etc. I can also see the Mortgage activity on the property. Below is a common example:

The home was bought in 1998 for $82000. Even in todays market is it worth almost double that. The problem is that in October of 2005 the home owners borrowed $285,500 against the property. Then in November 2006 they refinanced it for $280,000. So why did they borrow all that money? I do not know, but I have seen this time and time again. Maybe they fixed up the home a bit, but most likely they spent it on something else. Maybe a new car or two, or a boat, or a pool, or vacations. I see that all the time. people using their homes as ATM machines.

Another common scenario I see and hear about is people that bought in the hot real estate market. They bought with nothing down, 100 % financing. Usually they had a very low teaser interest rate. So they make their payment for 6 months or a year or two then the payment goes up. So they have lived there for a year or two paying not much more than they would have paid for rent and they get a little tax break. So now they can't pay their mortgage. Finally after 3 to 6 months or more the home is foreclosed on. So what are they really out? They didn't put any money down, the lived there the last few months for free. I have spoken to people that to them it's no big deal, they just walk away.

A couple weeks ago I met a gentleman at one of my listings. He lived across the street. He wanted to know what the home was listed for. He had a similar home in the neighborhood that he paid about double what we were now asking for my listing. He wanted to know if he could buy one of the brand new homes nearby that are twice as big as what he now owns and cost less than his current home did. He asked if when he bought the new home could he just let the bank have the old home back. I told him I could not advise him to do that and that his credit would be trashed with the foreclosure. He said he wouldn't care about his credit then because he would be in a new home.

These are just a few examples of what is going on with all the foreclosures. The media tells us all about people being thrown out into the streets and being taken advantage of, but there are some people out there that are learning how to take advantage of the situation too.

Is Money Ruining Major League Baseball?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:23:07 -0500

When I started thinking about this subject yesterday I was going to compare money in baseball to Steroids. You hear lots of people talking about how bad steroids have been for the game. You also hear people talking about the uneven playing field created by money. So the question is: Is Money Runing Major League Baseball?

Here are some facts. The New York Yankees have the highest payroll in MLB again this year. The 2008 payroll for the Yankees is $209,081,577. The combined payroll of the 5 lowest teams is $217,250,006. The Yankees have 3 players making over $20,000,000 this season.

Jason Giambi $23,428,571 Derek Jeter $21,600,000 Alex Rodriquez $28,000,000

Those 3 players combined make more than the entire payroll of 11 teams.

The payroll for the Florida Marlins is $21,811,500. Thats for the ENTIRE team! Jason Giambi and A Rod both make more than the entire Florida Marlins team and Derek Jeter is right there too.

So now back to the question of Is Money Ruining Major League Baseball? Of the top ten teams in payroll for 2008:

4 are in first place in their divison

1 is in second place in its division

2 are in third place in their division

2 are in 4th place in their division

1 is in last place in its division

Of the 10 teams with the lowest payroll for 2008:

4 are in last place in their division

1 is in third place in its division

2 are in 2nd place in its division

3 are in first place in their division

The Florida Marlins (30th in payroll) and the Oakland Athletics (28th in payroll) are both currently atop their respective divisions.

So what does all this mean? It seems like there are some teams at the bottom of the payroll list that are competitive every year , such as the A's and the Twins. Then you have teams that are spending a ton of money and are near the bottom. So maybe having great coaching, a good farm system, and making the right personel decisions is more important that how much money you are actually spending.

Thats my 2 cents worth, and I know it's still very early in the season and things will change. But thats what's fun about baseball. A bunch of no name kids just up from the minors with a couple of seasoned veterans thrown in can make things interesting. It's going to be a fun season.

My source for the payroll figures is http://content.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=2008

Buying a bank owned home

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:39:06 -0500

If you are thinking about buying a bank owned home, and lots of people are, here are a few tips.

1. Use an agent that has some experience representing buyers of bank owned homes (REO)

2. Put down at least a 1% earnest deposit.

3. Most of the time the seller (Bank) is going to choose the Title and Escrow company.

4. You will probably not get any repairs paid for by the seller (bank). (If its a safety issue you might)

5. If it is a low priced, good condition, clean REO there may be multiple offers. (We are seeing this happen a lot here in the Central Valley of California)

6. Be aware of the closing date, if you can't close on time it may cost you a lot of money. Some banks will charge you up to $100 or more per day for every day the closing is delayed.

While every state and area is different I think the above tips will help you achive your goal of buying a Bank Owned Home.

I know from my experience of selling Bank Owned Homes what the banks are willing to accept and what they will counter you back on.

Bank Owned Home sales can and should go very smoothly, it just takes a little experience.

If you would like more information on buying a Bank Owned Home or would like me to email you Bank Owned home listings give me a call at 209-633-2839.

Great for the first time buyer or investor - Keyes CA Bank owned home

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:22:56 -0500

Great for the first time buyer or investor

Location: Keyes, CA

This home offers 3 bedrooms and 1 bath in just under 1000 sq ft. This home is located in small town Keyes just around the corner from the elementary school. This home offers easy access to Freeway 99 for your commute or just a trip to the mall. The huge backyard has alley access for your RV or toys.

Photo Gallery

Information

Contact Information

Jim Patton

jpatton@c21mm.com

209-633-2839

Pricing

Asking Price: $89,900

Additional Pricing Information: This is a bank owned home and must be sold!

Property Location

5566 9th St
Keyes, CA 95328

Links

More information on this home here

See Jim Patton's bank owned listings here

See all of Jim Patton's listings here

Search the MLs

Jim Patton's website

Features

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 1

Year Built: 1965

Lot Size: .16 acre

Garage Size: 1 Car

School District: Keyes

Square Footage: 952

Agent Name: Jim Patton

Broker: Century 21 M&M

MLS #: 80036622

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Exterior Amenities

Fenced Yard

Grass Lawn

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 1616561

Patterson CA Bank owned home with pool

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:19:31 -0500

Spacious home with a pool!

Location: Patterson, Ca

Photo Gallery

Information

Contact Information

Jim Patton

jpatton@c21mm.com

209-633-2839

Pricing

Asking Price: $259,900

Additional Pricing Information: This is a bank owned home and must be sold!

Property Location

1423 Nubian St
Patterson, Ca 95363

Links

More information about this home here

Jim Patton's bank owned listings here

Jim Patton's Listings here

Search the MLS

City of Patterson Information

Jim Patton's Website

Features

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 3.5

Year Built: 2003

Subdivision: Walker Ranch

Lot Size: .144 acres

Garage Size: 4 car

School District: Patterson

Square Footage: 3312

Agent Name: Jim Patton

Broker: Century 21

MLS #: 80036176

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Dishwasher

Sink Disposal

Microwave

Interior Amenities

Fireplace

Kitchen Island

Vaulted Ceilings

Attic

Exterior Amenities

Patio

Fenced Yard

Swimming Pool

Grass Lawn

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 1616514

Turlock Sales Trends

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:04:37 -0500

Ok now here is something you probably have not read about in the newspaper or heard on the TV news. Home sales in Turlock are going up! Homes listed for sale are slightly down.

These statistics are for Turlock.

March 07 Listed 713

March 08 Listed 676

March 07 Pending 60

March 08 Pending 108

March 07 Sold 55

March 08 Sold 68

So what is driving the market right now?

Just over half (54%) of the sales in March were Bank Owned (REO) properties. We are starting to see homes get multiple offers now too. If it's a home that is in good shape and well priced there is a good chance it is going to sell fast.

Homes are selling.

Loans are available.

Prices are down.

Call me today if you are thinking about buying or selling real estate anywhere in Stanislaus or Merced county. I can also send you a list of Bank Owned homes , just call or email me.

Nearly new and move in ready!

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:27:06 -0500

Nearly new and move in ready !

Location: Atwater, Ca

This home in Atwater California is nearly new and move in ready. You will love everything from the courtyard entry to the open kitchen to the beautiful master suite. This home features a living room and a family room and a loft. The downstairs bonus room could be the fifth bedroom. There is plenty of room for everyone here! The location is great too, just a couple of blocks from the new Buhach Colony High School. Call me to see this home today!!

Photo Gallery

Information

Contact Information

Jim Patton

jpatton@c21mm.com

209-633-2839

Pricing

Asking Price: $314,900

Additional Pricing Information: This is a bank owned home and MUST be sold!

Property Location

2008 Sola Ct
Atwater, Ca 95301

Links

More information on this home here

Jim Patton's bank owned listings

See all of Jim Pattons Listings here

Search the MLS here

City of Atwater CA

Jim Pattons Website

Features

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 2.5

Year Built: 2006

Subdivision: Las Casas

Lot Size: .14 acres

Garage Size: 3 car

School District: Atwater

Square Footage: 3118

Agent Name: Jim Patton

Broker: Century 21 M&M

MLS #: 80032612

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Dishwasher

Sink Disposal

Microwave

Interior Amenities

Fireplace

Kitchen Island

Vaulted Ceilings

Attic

Exterior Amenities

Grass Lawn

Courtyard

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 1596121

Turlock California Agriculture

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:23:14 -0600

This is my favorite time of the year here in the Turlock area. You can drive in any direction out of town and see the orchards exploding in blooms. We are surrounded here by thousands of acres of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peaches, apricots and more.

Turlock and the surrounding areas of Stanislaus County have always been heavily involved in agriculture. Products raised here are enjoyed all over the country and the world. Learn about Turlock California Agriculture at the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau Website.

Almonds are the number 2 farm product after milk in the northern San Joaquin Valley. Almonds are the number 1 farm export from California, which grows about 80% of the worlds supply. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about almonds here on the Almond Board of California website.

With out the honey bees most of these crops could not be grown. The bees help to pollinate the trees. Honey bees pollinated and estimated $15 billion worth of U.S. Crops in 2005, a third of which was here in California.

If you ever have a chance to visit the area this time of year be sure to take a drive out in the country and see how beautiful this area is.