Buyer Tips: Where is the best place to search for homes? - 08/26/10 06:44 PM
Let's face it. Times have changed.  Most buyers are sitting in their jammies searching for their perfect home online.  But where is the best place to look?
You want to look to a source that is directly connected to the Realtor's MLS, or Multiple Listing Service. Otherwise you may not have factual information. But which site should you use?
First, understand the actual MLS is the "Mother Ship" of all home listing information.  When a home is listed through a Realtor, the MLS formats and controls the listing so there are no violations (such as fair housing violations). Trust me, we are tightly regulated, … (5 comments)

Buyer Tips: What happens to my Deposit Check - When will it be cashed? - 08/26/10 02:12 PM
I can't speak for the rest of the country, but here in Fair Oaks and the Sacramento Area, you write a deposit check at the point you write an offer.  But what happens to your deposit next?  It depends on the type of home we write the offer on.
A. Regular Sale with a real owner - a Mom and Pop sale - In this scenario you typically write your deposit check for 1% of the purchase price, made out to the Escrow Company. (so $2,000 on a $200,000 offer price).  This is your "Good Faith Deposit" to show you are … (4 comments)

Does HUD owe you a refund for an old FHA loan? Here's how to find out. - 08/25/10 08:39 PM
If you have ever had an FHA loan, Uncle Sam may owe you a refund.  HUD has been stepping up efforts lately to identify people who have a refund due, but have not collected.  "Could that be me", you ask?  Let's find out.
Go to HUD's website at www.HUD.gov  and look for the FHA LOAN REFUND program. (You guessed it, my link will take you right there!) Enter either your name or your FHA case number, and you'll find out.
"How could this happen", you ask?  Maybe there was money due from an impound account, but after your escrow closed, you moved. This … (35 comments)

Zosh - An iPhone app for signing documents right on your iPhone. Totally awesome. - 08/24/10 11:43 PM
Zosh is a pretty cool app for your iPhone, enabling you to email yourself a pdf document, then open it on your iPhone. You or your client can then sign it using your finger on the screen. Or even add text if you like. Then rotate and resize the text.


I have saved a copy of my walk through form, then if I am at a walkthrough and forgot to bring the hard copy, I can have the buyer sign a blank form on my iPhone. Voila - I'm done.  I'm thinking of saving a blank of all the … (7 comments)

Check Out the New Farmer's Market in Fair Oaks, Promoting Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship in Teens - 08/24/10 10:30 AM
Fair Oaks has its own Farmer's Market, and it's a special one, with a very special twist.  I stopped by Sunday as they were closing up, but managed to snag some organic peaches, nectarines, a melon, onions, Chinese long beans, Thai basil, and Mom bought some flowers. They were all grown locally by Certified Farmers. Awesome!
But the best part is who is sponsoring it.  I chatted with Don and Marie Hall, founders of BeMoneySmartUSA, a nonprofit which teaches financial literacy to teens and develops entrepreneurship skills in our emerging adults (any kid who learns to spell e-n-t-r-e-p-r-e-n-e-u-r-s-h-i-p is already one … (4 comments)

Does the Escrow Officer Make a Difference? My Shout-Out to Cindy Paul - 08/21/10 11:15 AM
Yesterday, someone Released the Kracken.... all over my escrow. All Hell broke loose.  The seller's moving truck was primed to move 3700 feet of stuff to another county. The buyer was nipping at their heels, ready to move in before the dust settled.  Color coded packing tape detailed the order of box unveiling.  Pets were packed. Keys at 2.  Pool table at 3.   There was no room for error.
"Hello, this is Brand X escrow... we're not quite ready to record this refinance. You won't get this money today... probably tomorrow... blah,blah,blah..."
"WHAAAAAATTTTTT!!!!!!! You HAVE to record RIGHT NOW!!!!!  We are … (10 comments)

Things to do in Fair Oaks... Mom to the Music Circus. - 08/17/10 01:44 PM
 I learned all the classic Broadway show tunes at the Music Circus as a kid, and still remember belting them out at the top of our lungs on long drives to Seattle to see the family. 
"oooooooOOOOOOOOAK-la-ho-ma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...."
"Pigs and ducks and gees better scurry, when I take you out in my surrey..."
"Oh my man, I love him so.... He'll never know...."
My Mom was quite the crooner - she actually HAD a voice.  I pretended, and threw caution to the wind, wailing at the top of my lungs as we drove through … (2 comments)

Things To Do in Fair Oaks.... Capture a Zebra! - 08/15/10 04:01 PM
Last night some poor guy was quietly shopping in Big Five when a zebra trotted by.  "WWHHHAaaaa....!!"
"Guess who?", said my hubby at the breakfast table, peering over his Dean Adell bifocals, paper in hand. "It's gotta be Michael." In deed it was.
Michael is a mule trainer, mule trader,  horse trainer, zorse breeder (zebra/horse - get it?), zebra breeder, who is trying to raise a baby zebra to be gentle. (Yeah... try to fit THAT on a business card!  His just says Michael Mastagni Mules... MMM for short.) He's also been known to have a few camels... but I digress. … (10 comments)

Things to do in Fair Oaks... Bike the American River Bike Trail - 08/15/10 02:15 PM
My daughter left my home in Fair Oaks a few minutes ago for a bike ride.  20 minutes later, I'm looking at this incredible photo on Facebook, taken from her iPhone.
How lucky am I to live in Fair Oaks, on the banks of the American River, just minutes from the stupendous 32 mile American River Bike Trail, where you can witness a sight like this within minutes?
Does life get any better?
 
(PS, as a side note, how 'bout them iPhones for capturing life as it happens....)
Photo courtesy of my incredibly wonderful, talented and kick-ass-bike-riding daughter, Roxy Dunbar
… (4 comments)

Fair Oaks Concert in the Park - How I made an old geezer sublimely happy. - 08/14/10 11:26 AM

In his youth, my Dad was a drummer. During the Big Band era, he played drums in bars and dives where the band members were the only white faces in the joint.  He was a fan of Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and Duke Ellington, but has forgotten most of it.  He is now 88, and content to sit in his barcalounger watching Wheel of Fortune all day. He's become slightly forgetful, and has lost interest in most things outside of his next bowl of ice cream and who won on Wheel.
"Dad, do you remember drumming?"  "Did I?... Hmmm..."  When … (6 comments)

More options for the underwater homeowner: FHA Short Refinance to responsible homeowners - 08/11/10 10:37 AM
 
With so many homeowners "underwater" on their loans these days, we have seen a number of programs that might help. The problem remains that each program carves the qualifications down so a minority of homeowners actually will qualify.  But if you are one of the lucky ones with the perfect fit, there is help.
Check out this new program beginning September 7th, 2010 and see if you will qualify.
 
Via Anna Banana - AZ Top Banana! Phoenix Broker CRS 602-380-4886 (Phoenix Property Shoppe):
More options for the underwater homeowner: FHA Short Refinance to homeowners
Owe more on your home than … (2 comments)

 
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Sally Dunbar, Fair Oaks Realtor - Fair Oaks Homes for Sale

Fair Oaks, CA

More about me…

Lyon Real Estate, Fair Oaks CA (Sacramento Area)

Address: 8814 Madison Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA, 95628

Office Phone: (916) 535-0356

Cell Phone: (916) 524-1548

Email Me

Fair Oaks homes for sale by Realtor Sally Dunbar, who's been hoofin' it through the homes of Fair Oaks and the surrounding areas, matching up eager buyers with ready-to-move sellers, since 1979.

While I sell homes in Fair Oaks, I venture in Sacramento, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Gold River, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Roseville, Rocklin and Granite Bay...(and Chevron loves me!)

How have I survived for so long?... By always doing what's right for my people.... Always!

Now check out my video about why I love Fair Oaks...



Short Sale, REO, foresclosures??? ... find out the difference below...



How do you pick a listing price? See below...



What price should you offer when you've found the home of your dreams??? Find out below...



Prepping your home for sale??? Don't miss the video below...



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