So yesterday we got up and went to the Redding Farmer's Market at City Hall. It was a great morning...all the fruit and vegetables you could imagine in one location, waiting for you to bring them home to eat! So we walked around, selecting our produce like we were professional buyers for a posh restaurant when it hit me that we really DO have a choice as to the legacy we leave our kids. It must have hit Clint as well because as we left (with my fresh lemongrass in hand...what do you use it for anyway????) he informed me that we were going to really start recycling. He and Austin went to go get a 2nd garbage can and we began!
Well here it is 24 hours later and what is in the cans? A full recycle bin (needs to be emptied) and a garbage can the same size that is only 1/4 full! WOW...I am totally amazed. The items that are in the garbage can are mostly food scraps which makes me wonder...should we try worm casting or a compost pile? Maybe that is going too far but it is amazing how BIG our footprint is on the earth and how easy it is to shrink it with just being aware!
I challenge all of you to try this...set up a can for recycling inside the home and see which fills first! I bet if you are avidly recycling you will see just how much we do waste on containers, storage and packaging that will be pulled out of our landfills if we just watch!
One major area we focus on when representing buyers is the home inspection. If you are thinking of buying a home you should be familiar with what a home inspector is and why you would hire one. First, a home inspector does just that-inspects the home. Generally a licensed home inspector will help you to determine the major problem areas (if any) and help guide you to get further inspections if necessary. In our area home inspections generally cost under $350 and provide a level of comfort to the buyer (who generally pays for the inspection if they so desire).
The five areas that you want to ensure your home inspector inspects are: roof, electrical, foundation, plumbing and inspect the attic. The inspector will review the electrical panel and outlets to ensure they are grounded, crawl under home if possible to check foundation, run dishwasher, sinks and toilets for leaks, look in the attic for insulation and/or pests. Not all home inspectors are created equal so ensure you are hiring a reputable inspector and that they are licensed! Also, a good home inspector will refer you to other inspectors (ie a roof inspector) as needed.
This is a small price for some great peace of mind for one of the largest investments you'll ever make!
On Sunday, Federal officials unveiled the elaborate plans to takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giants in mortgage lending backers in the United States. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently back over $5 trillion in home loans, not directly lending the money but backing the money that is lent by mortgage lenders.
Well this week has been the rush to get all of our buyers that have been working under the Nehemiah program (a grant program given by sellers to buyers of FHA loan homes) into escrow before the program goes away permanently. I think we were successful and learned a lot along the way. Although we were skeptical about how it worked (seller made a grant to the Nehemiah foundation who in turn granted the money to buyers) it did help a lot of first-time buyers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to gather a down payment. Okay..here's today's real estate market update:
Residential Listings: There are currently 1877 active listings and another 368 listings that are pending (in escrow). Last week there were 1893 active listings with another 376 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 3 months ago!
To read the entire post about the local Redding Real Estate Market click here
The Redding, California real estate market has seemed to pick up over the last 3 weeks. After viewing a home 2 times for one client the day we went back for the 3rd visit the home went into escrow after being on the market only a month. Another client has seen a couple of homes recently go into escrow that they were considering which is a sign that buyers are trying to actually get into a home before interest rates rise due to uncertain economy.
Residential Listings: There are currently 1893 active listings and another 376 listings that are pending (in escrow). Last week there were 1886 active listings with another 393 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 3 months ago!
To read the entire post about the local Redding Real Estate Market click here
So...how many people out there actively market their listings via email? Up until about 6 months ago we didn't spend much time actually sending "emails" out to market our listings, knowing that we had basically plastered them all over the web with the usual places (Trulia, Yahoo, Google, Craigslist, etc.).
One day I decided to locate the list of email addresses for agents in our board of Realtors so that I could directly mail them outside of the MLS system to get our properties "noticed". I utilized a program which allowed me to send hundreds of emails at once (sending that many from your normal account would get it marked as "spam" and your account temporarily blocked).
What I realized was that there are SO MANY more agents that will read an email like this over the traditional email through the MLS system as they are inundated with those all day long. I sent one out a bit ago and already got 5 responses from it...that is about a 400% increase from my normal MLS emails!
I also turn around and send the same email to a database of website visitors (yes, they can ALL opt out at any time) and we always get responses from those. Just be sure to include links to your website, blog, listings and whatever else you want to get out there...someone will follow the links straight to you!
Well for many of us up here in Northern California this is a joyous weekend. For us in particular, trying to juggle kids that are out of school for the summer, keeping them from getting bored but also trying to ensure that we still focus on work...is a never-ending battle. School shopping is done, last years clothes have been pulled from the closet and we are ready to go! Yippee!
I have talked with so many agents that do the same thing we do during the summer. Since Clint and I are both in the business it makes it doubly hard for us to try to get work accomplished with kids underfoot. This being said, my job as of late has been to stay up late to get MY work accomplished so that I could still focus on the kids and not my computer all day. This has been a good compromise but I will be very happy to get back to bedtime before 1am. I am definately not a late night person and one can only watch so many movies while working on the computer to keep them awake and sane. I do give kudos to Blockbuster though...we did previously subscribe to Netflix but changed over to Blockbuster so we can exchange watched movies in the store and always have something new to watch.
When selling your home, remember that the outside is the first thing that the potential buyers sees first. It has to look as good as the inside does.
Simple upgrades can be:
Stain or paint the front steps/deck, repair any broken steps or railings
Paint the front door (a complementary color to the siding/stucco)
Weed the flowerbeds
Mow the grass/shovel the snow
Remove all the garbage and clutter
Move any vechicles from the driveway, especially if it is a car that doesn't run or an RV
Wash windows
Ensure that the front door opens easily, change locks if necessary (if the realtor struggles to get inside, it's not a good sign)!
Make sure your house numbers are clearly visible from the street
Add potted flowers or flowering shrubs to front steps/beds
Stand across the street and view your home. Make sure it looks clean and maintained. If it doesn't, potential buyers probably won't want to stop by. Remember, how it looks from the outside reflects how it has been cared for on the inside.
The benefit that home staging offers is all over the news, internet and television. Savvy real estate agents are enlisting home stagers in the sale of their listings and home sellers are seeking out home stager to get their home into tip top shape before even calling a listing agent.
A common misconception is that staging is expensive - that it costs too much - without taking the very real benefits into account. A home staged by a Professional Home Stager has distinct advantages from both the homeowner's and the Listing Agent's point of view. For the homeowner, staging can result in a faster sale, thereby saving them money on the carrying costs (mortgage, maintentance, insurance, etc.) and allowing them to move on to their next home that much sooner. Staging can help generate a higher sales price, by allowing buyers to see the home's potential instead of seeing it only as someone else's home. Also, the longer a home sits on the market, the more likely a price reduction will be necessary in order to get the home sold.
For the listing agent, that faster sale translates into less money outlay for marketing, hosting open houses, etc., and less time spent showing the house. A staged home shows better on the MLS and in collateral marketing materials and gives prospective buyers a sense that the home is move in ready. Buyer's agents are more likely to show a properly prepared home beacuse they know it is more likely to be attractive to their clients.
At the very least, before you put your home on the market, start with a Comprehensive Home Staging Consultation. For less than $500, depending upon where you live, a professional home stager will do a thorough assessment of your home making note of any items that need to be repaired or cleaned, gauging the level of clutter and making recommendations regarding furniture placement. They will also discuss paint colors that can give new life to a room and make your home warm and inviting. An experienced home stager will have a rolodex full of handymen/women, painters, landscapers, cleaning services, moving and storage companies, etc. to help in preparing your home for sale, if you need them. You will then be presented with a written report of the consultation which you can use as a road map to do the work yourself, hire subcontractors to do some of the work, or hire the home stager to complete you project and make your home picture perfect.
If your home will be occupied during the time it is on the market, a home stager can help you arrange your existing furniture and accessories so that the architectural highlights of your home are featured. They will also arrange your furniture to make the rooms feel larger and give improperly furnished rooms purpose. Many home stagers have an inventory of accessories they can stage in your home to further enhance your home's appearance.
Before and after photos of an occupied home staging in Arcadia, CA.
If your home will be vacant, a home stager can bring in rental furniture from their own inventory or from a furniture rental company. They will over see proper placement of the furniture along with accessories and artwork. The finished product will look like a model home,charming and full of suggestions about what life could be like if they lived there.
Before and after photos of a vacant home staging in San Marino, CA
As a value added bonus, many home stagers will also provide the listing agent with professional quality photos of the home after staging for use on the MLS and in other marketing materials. Posting photos of your home after staging is one sure way to get more potential buyers through the front door. Photos of staged homes look move in ready and more appealing than other homes on the MLS that have not been staged.
Yes, home staging costs money. All valuable services do. But if a home seller or listing agent wants the best possible outcome, they should consider the cost of home staging as an investment in a faster sale and a better price.
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging is a full service home staging company serving Los Angeles, Pasadena, Arcadia, San Marino, South Pasadena, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz and Silverlake. We were recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section in an article about the benefits of staging a home. Call the Los Angeles home staging company with the experience and track record to get your home sold faster and for the best price. Call us at (626)441-8975 or visit our Los Angeles home staging web site.
Copyright 2008 Moving Mountains Design Home Staging and Michelle Minch. All rights reserved.
Residential Listings: There are currently 1886 active listings and another 393 listings that are pending (in escrow). Last week there were 1915 active listings with another 402 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 2.5 months ago!
Historical Data for Closed (Sold) MLS Listings in Shasta County
163 closed escrows in April 2008
182 closed escrows in May 2008
151 closed escrows in June 2008
169 closed escrows in July 2008
So far in August 2008 there have been 47 closed escrows.
Overall statistic for the year 2007: there were 2,140 listings that sold (closed escrow) and were recorded in the MLS database.
So far in 2008 we have had 1108 listings that have closed escrow.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
So yesterday we got up and went to the Redding Farmer's Market at City Hall. It was a great morning...all the fruit and vegetables you could imagine in one location, waiting for you to bring them home to eat! So we walked around, selecting our produce like we were professional buyers for a posh restaurant when it hit me that we really DO have a choice as to the legacy we leave our kids. It must have hit Clint as well because as we left (with my fresh lemongrass in hand...what do you use it for anyway????) he informed me that we were going to really start recycling. He and Austin went to go get a 2nd garbage can and we began!
Residential Listings: There are currently 1877 active listings and another 368 listings that are pending (in escrow). Last week there were 1893 active listings with another 376 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 3 months ago! 
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