Anyone who calls me about inexpensive property in our county usually needs a geography lesson before going into details.

I find it interesting that people see California as a location and then get really excited about being able to buy 1-2 acres of land for under $10,000. 

Bottom line, we are in a very remote area of California.  Prices, although they have gone up in the triple digits percentage wise, have not gone up much in actual dollar value compared to other areas of California.

So, why buy in Modoc County. 

1.  You are tired of the overpopulated rat race and want a quite lifestyle.  Be sure you have a trade/profession that can support you if you need to work.  If you're retired, well, you should find it easy to relocate here once you find the right property.

2.  You want a vacation home.

3.  You want to own land but can't afford to buy it in other markets.

4.  Just because.

As with any investment, do your research beforehand.  If you'd like to know more about buying or selling property in Modoc County, please give me a call.

Driving into my office this morning I thought that maybe I was dreaming. 

It couldn't possibly be true.  But there it was.  In great BIG signage.

The price of gas in Modoc County has dropped to $2.84 a gallon for regular.  YIPPEE !

I can finally fill up my Trailblazer for less than $40 !

The Pastor and the Kitten

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.  The kitty would not come down.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little
further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.

So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.

This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?' She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.


Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Lesson learned:  Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor

Modoc County, being a very remote area with limited job opportunities, has now reached an 8.3% jobless rate.  The same time last year our jobless rate was 6.5%.  In September 2007 we had a labor pool of 4,110 with 270 unemployed.  This year we had a labor pool of 4020 with 330 unemployed.

So, if you're moving to Modoc County, where are the job opportunities?  Major employers are city and county government, Bureau of Land Management, Forestry Service, and schools. 

You could also do what many other have done here -- find a need and fill it.  Become an entrepreneur.  I've found that drive and determination can outdo any jobless rate data. 

It has been quite a week.  Between trainings and other activities, topping off my Friday with a mediation hearing on one of my contracts.

Now, I can't tell you anything about the specific mediation (what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas -- same is true for mediation), but I've never been through the process and felt a bit uncertain and uneasy prior to going in yesterday.

Well, it wasn't bad at all.  The mediator was not at all intimidating and mediation truly is a process by which the 2 sides try to resolve their differences -- some give and take by the two disputing parties with an independent party go between goes a long way to making process at an impasse.  This seems far less confrontational than a court process -- the softer side of resolving ones differences.

Regardless of the outcome of mediation, the mediator cannot be called to testify to anything if the process goes on to arbitration, is not a legal advisor to either side and anything presented or said in the mediation process cannot be used if proceeding to arbitration.  And, my part of the mediation fee was quite low -- far less than I would have paid for legal counsel and ultimately in court costs had mediation not been a part of the contract in question.

So, if you've been on the fence either as a buyer, seller or realtor about accepting mediation as part of your contract, don't be afraid of it.  It's a much nicer path to resolving your differences than meeting up in court (cheaper too !)

Well, the price of gas has dropped to $3.54 a gallon for regular.  So, I'm going to go out of town on Thursday and Friday (no, not because the price of gas dropped -- but it's nice that it isn't $4.64 any more.)

Being in a small, remote market has positives and negatives --

Positives:

1. Only one stop light in town
2. No traffic jams
3. Low crime rate
4. Clean Air
5. Quiet
6. Beautiful Country
7. Bountiful Wildlife
8. Elbow Room - Uncrowded

Negatives:

1. High cost of gasoline, groceries, etc.
2. No local educational opportunities for real estate

I'm glad the negatives is a short list.

On Thursday and Friday I'll be attending events sponsored by the Shasta Association of Realtor in Redding, California.  I haven't been to an event for some time, so I'm really looking forward to it.  Because Modoc County doesn't have a Board of Realtors, I felt the need to become a member in an association in another market.  I consider it an important investment in my professional development.

On Thursday it will be all about education -- focusing on distressed properties.  Amazingly, Modoc County has not had a lot of foreclosed or short sale properties (only 3 foreclosures that I know of) so I haven't focused any attention in this area.  But, I'm anxious to learn more anyway.

On Friday it will be all about a motivational speaker -- I don't know about anyone else, but I sure could use some positive messages.

It's that time of year again.  The ranchers bring their cattle down from the high country for the winter.

This annual tradition happens down Pencil Road in Modoc Recreational Estates.  Now, if I still lived in San Jose, California, I would have been extraordinarily annoyed by this process.  But I noticed that I simply didn't mind.  I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.

I enjoyed the pretty, sunny day and while moving at about 3 miles per hour down that stretch of road -- about 3 miles distant ahead of us yet -- I marveled at the herding dogs that kept the cattle moving -- any how they aggressively worked the ones that didn't want to go in the right direction.  I wondered what the riders were talking about.  I thought how pleasant it would be to be out riding at a leisurely pace this morning.

Of course, ranching isn't always this idyllic.  I suspect that the work is pretty hard at times.  But this morning, it looked like a very good life.

One of the challenges in moving to Alturas is making sure that you have all of your necessary services set up -- and who in the world do you call.  Here are some numbers that should help you:

Utilities:

Electric Power -

There are 2 service providers in Modoc County for electricity.

1. Pacific Power and Light (an Oregon company) serves Alturas and other in town locations. 800-715-9238, 877-548-3768 or 888-221-7070
2. Surprise Valley Electric (an energy coop) serves the areas that PP&L does not serve.  866-843-2667

Propane:  Contact Bethel's  530-233-2134

Kerosene:  Ed Staub & Sons  530-233-2610

Telephone Service:  Frontier  800-921-8101

Internet:  you have several choices

1. Frontier (dial-up and DSL) - both services available in most areas  800-921-8101
2. Hughes Net (satellite) - anywhere you've got reception  866-293-8945
3. HDO - High Desert Online (dial-up and wireless): wireless in city of Alturas  530-233-4000
4. Charter Communications (cable) in town only  866-731-5420

Television:

1. DirecTV -- Phillips Appliance in Alturas can set up your service.  Call 530-233-5705
2. Dish Network -- www.dishnetwork.com
3. Charter Communications  866-731-5420

Water/Sewer Service in Alturas  530-233-2052

Trash Collection in Alturas and surrounding areas Alturas Disposal  530-233-2373

Modoc Joint Unified School District:  530-233-7201

Real Estate Services:  Of course you'll call Property Connections Realty Inc. at 530-640-2411