I am thinking about selling my house and don t know if I should.  Thats a statement that I am hearing alot lately.

  Of course any good realtor would ask you why? 

  Is it to buy a boat and live on it, or is it because you are relocating jobs across the U.S. and you have to sell your home.

  Keep in mind there are lots of homes on the market and that is especially true in Roseville, CA. 

  Good Realtors are going to help you determine if now is the time to put your home on the market. Listen, ask questions and work together.  You should feel comfortable working with your Realtor and feel comfortable about answering questions about your situation

There is lots of homes on the market in Placer County and the last thing you want to do is have an agent that is not putting your interest forward, and is just putting a Real Estate Sign in the front yard. 

Its okay, ask the question.  Should I sell my house?  A Realtor will help you answer.

So you heard its a buyers market, and areas such as Roseville that would be true.  I would like to share a few tips for buyers that might help you get that home.

1.  Ask for the seller to buy down a point on the loan.  That might help lower the monthly payment and make the home more affordable.

2.  Ask the seller to contribute to non reoccurring closing costs.  Non reoccurring closing costs are things like title insurance, notary fees, escrow fees.  This may give you the buyer more money to contribute to your down payment.

3.  You like the  house but think it would be better if it had an extra window in the back room.  Instead of asking for a reduction in the price of the home.  Ask for the seller to have one installed. The seller may have some ties to the community and could get it at a reduced price.

4.  In some cases a seller may be able to finance your down payment.  A good Realtor would be able to help negotiate seller financing in the contract.  This could be a great tool if the seller has a lot of equity in the home.  This allows them to get the home sold, and be able to reinvest some of their equity.

5.  You like the house, its in a great area, but.  Communicate your concerns, let your Realtor help find the solution.  Especially if you think the home is over priced, offer what you and your Realtor feel is a good respectable price.

Happy House Hunting, there is some great deals to be had in Placer County.

  I have discovered a new trend that works well.  An open house sign rider.  I have 2 of them, one thats promotes an open house on Saturday and the other for an open house on Sunday.  I purchased them at the Placer County Association of Realtors in Rocklin, CA.  I am sure they can be purchased at other Assocations as well.  I have recieved more traffic from those sign riders then I have in the past.  Not to say some good weather helps, but I fimly believe the open house riders really made a diffrence.  I also make sure that I put an open house up in Realtor.com. Another thing I think is nice is that the seller gets to see some of my efforts.  Next if permited I would like to get one of those floating ballons to put up over my open houses.

Rich

  I am sure by now a lot of people are starting to hear about short sales and wondering what they are.  To keep things simple a short sale is when a homes market value is worth less then what is owed and the owner asks that the lender accepts less money for pay off of the loan.  Sounds simple.   But there are many stipulations involved. 

  One stipulation is the owner must be able to prove some form of hardship.  An example might be a loss of a job, or the death of a supporting member of the household.  These types of hardships will need to be approved and accepted by the bank.  This is just one example.  There are other requirements, but this is just to give you a quick over view of a short sale.  A Realtor can help answer these questions for you.

   An agent or a seller should never assume a short sale will just happen.  There needs to be good communication between the home owner, lender and agent representing a short sale home.  The buyer and seller will both have to be aware that the lender must approve the short sale. Many short sale homes are very workable and can benefit both a buyer and seller.

As a buyer, don t shy away from a short sale, this could be an opportunity to get a nice home and a nice price.  Think of a short sale as a home just before foreclosure, with a little extra paper work and patients.

If you live in Roseville, CA to Auburn, CA and have any questions concerning a short-sale, feel free to contact me.

Rich

rringer@c21haley.com

Having moved to Auburn 4 years ago, I have never been bored.  There is always something going or something to do. 

On a typical Friday night we might go to Old Town Pizza, which is located in Auburn's Old Town.  A great atmosphere with brick oven pizza, and even a few choice beers on tap.  On some weekends catch an antique fair, black and white ball or a party in the park.  Usually almost every weekend something is going on. 

Don't want to do anything in town? A 90Min's drive will take you out to Reno Lake Tahoe Area, or on a trip to Sacramento which is 40Min's in the other direction.

The options are unlimited: river-rafting, gold panning, mountain bike riding, hiking, camping, boating, hunting, skiing, snowboarding, and on and on. 

If your ever bored in this town something is wrong with you. So if your thinking of moving to Auburn and you like being active this is a place for you.

If you would like more information about Real Estate in Auburn email me.

Rich Ringer

Here you are, a Buyer, looking around on Craigslist looking for a new home to purchase. Better yet you check the Real Estate Services Link to see how much you qualify for first. You notice some super low rates and off you are making that phone call for more info. But, have you thought to check to see if they are licensed?

Recently I was surfing around Craigslist in Sacramento and I decided to check the Department of Real Estate to check the status of some of these lenders, and you would be surprised by the number of Loan Brokers that are not licensed by the DRE.

What prompted me to look was a posting from another individual that has mission to report unlicensed activity.

What can you do? Here are some suggestions to help protect yourself.

1. Check and see if they are licensed. In California you can check there status with the Department of Real Estate.

2. Go to a reputable source, such as your bank or credit union. Referrals from well trusted friends and family.

3. Don t sign blank forms.

4. Don t sign forms that have untruthful information. Some examples include miss quoted income, or length of employment.

5. Hostel or not fully answering questions or even possibly feeling pressured.

Its terrible that certain people don t want to play by the rules, its real bad when there priorities do not include taking care of you.

Rich Ringer

     Hello Everyone.  I recieved my real estate license 10 months ago.  During the last 10 months,  I started Real Estate, then considered stopping.  But I did nt.  Its easy to stop when you already have a job that pays the bills.  Let me explain.  I am on active duty military and plan to retire soon and start a new carreer as a Realtor and maybe one day become a broker and have my own office.  In the mean time I network, hold open houses, farm my neighborhood and grow a business alittle slower then others.

     I am probably not the only one that has spent some money, realized that the money I spent was not in the best intrests of expanding my business.  Lesson Learned. 

     Then there is the buyer I drive around for days to realize, I did nt ask enough questions to make sure I am not wasting my time.  Maybe I should have asked.  "If we find the right house today Mr Buyer are you prepared to put in an offer and have me represent you."  or something remotely close to it.  Again Lesson Learned. 

     Yes.  I am assigned a mentor, but its not my mentors job to hold my hand all day long.  He has a business to run as well.  Besides how I am I going to learn. 

     Then I found this Active Rain and get to learn and share what others have learned. Its been great so far.  Which has lead me to posting my first blog.  I need to decide what could such a new Realtor share with others since I have taken so much information from others. 

     My lesson to you.  Its simple... Why don t you start doing what you don t do?   Here is an example:

                     Productive Agent:  "Rich you know what you should do with those e-mail addresss?"  "I dont do it, but, you should make sure you are consistent and send out a newsletter every month."

                      Rich:  "How come you don t do it?"

                      Productive Agent:  "Well I can started but just did nt finish it, and I don t have time."

     Well everyone. I am still chopping away, a little bite each time and learning to utilze my time to be as productive as I can.  Still don t have a transaction, but I am gettting close.  Thanks to all those lessons.  Thanks.