I sold a Carmichael home for around $1M last year. Last week, my seller got a $665K appraisal for his refinance. Ouch! Did his home really drop that much in value? No. No. No. In fact, homes over $700K in Carmichael have retained their value over the past two years. (look at the chart below) So w
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04/28/2011
Last year our new Fair Oaks neighbor moved an elephant into his front yard. I almost crashed the first time I saw it. WWHHUUUTTTTT! Who IS this BOZO? I snarkily commented. Where's his pink flamingo? Heh, heh, heh. This guys dudn't have enough to do, quite obviously! Fourth of July he had a little
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04/28/2011
The Vernal Pools at Phoenix Field in Fair Oaks are starting to come alive. Not quite in their full glory, they are getting there. Here they are in April 2011. You can still see the pooled water which is the key to the amazing proliferation of wildflowers to come as the water evaporates. Then sc
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04/28/2011
Want to buy a Fair Oaks home? What should your Realtor do for you? After 30 years of working on it, here's the best of what I do for you. First of all, I don't freak out. I just work on solving problems. Well, most of the time anyway. Occasionally I blow a fuse, but I work hard to keep your h
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04/26/2011
Crosswoods is Citrus Heights best planned development. Technically a PUD, it's generally referred to as a condo association. Whatever you call it, what you have a a delightful community of condo-like homes in a wooded wonderland. Most people who currently live in Crosswoods, discovered it by v
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04/24/2011
What is the difference between a condo, a PUD, and a townhome? Good question. But, first, what the heck is a PUD? A PUD, is a “Planned Unit Development”. Which is a fancy schmantzy term for a neighborhood with a master plan. The homes may be attached (which we think of as condos), or detached ho
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04/23/2011
I've been selling homes since the dawn of time - or at least it feels like it. And like death and taxes, I have found there is one guarantee in selling or buying a home. PROBLEMS. You will always have problems. The escrow process has it's own set of problems, and your life will be a lot easier
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04/23/2011
I have a tough time sticking to anything. Blogging, and why I do it, is no exception. I began to get business. But I have continued for a myriad of reasons. Some completely unexpected. At times, I blog for SEO. I'm learning from Katerina Gasset... analyze your keywords, include keywords in your
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04/23/2011
Every week, at least once, I’ll get a long face from someone asking me if I’m OK. After all, I'm a realtor, and must be depressed about this market. Right? WRONG. Sellers may be depressed, but for every sad seller, there is an ecstatic buyer. And many of the buyers are buying foreclosures - and w
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04/23/2011
I sold a home to a safety engineer once. He amazed me with his comments about safety violations in the Fair Oaks homes we viewed. Most were things I had thought of. Hand rails?? Check. Uncovered electrical sockets? Got it. Uneven walkways? Know about that one. Yeah, baby... I got it. But t
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04/23/2011