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 who cares if those bank/sellers are sad!
So here’s a look at the homes I sold in 2010, to give you an idea of who sells or buys Fair Oaks and Carmichael homes in this market. Some will surprise you.
*Mark and Debbie almost got me as a live-in border! They lived on a boat in Sausalito, but wanted a home in our area to be able to visit Debbie’s parents, who lived in a senior care facility. We found them a slice of heaven – a gated Carmichael home on a half acre, complete with a pond and a mini vineyard. Mmmmmm… true heaven.
*Rebecca was a first time homebuyer who bought with the FHA 203K Streamline “fix-it” loan. She got a great price on her fixer, then ended up with a new kitchen and bathroom plus hardwood floors wrapped into her loan. Her new home is beautiful in a very family-friendly Carmichael neighborhood. Happy? You betcha. Especially after the $8K rebate arrived from Uncle Sam.
*Lou, another first time buyer working at Lowes, also bought with an FHA fix-it loan, and got a great deal on a fixer in a good Orangevale neighborhood. The house looked dynamite when she finished, with a new roof, new appliances, and exterior paint. She was doubly excited a few weeks ago when the registered sex offender that lived next door got evicted. She figures that’s why she bought so cheap. Everyone else shyed away – but then he moved! WooHoo. Permanent benefit to a temporary problem!
*Marni felt it was time to get out from under the maintenance from her big family home in Carmichael, then move into a rental. Her followup, is that just last week, we got approval of her purchase of a Fair Oaks condo short sale in a darling development. She’s a happy gal, and has cut her payments considerably. She is giddy with excitement.
*I had an amazing sale to Rudy and Claire. After unsuccessfully looking at a number of Fair Oaks best homes, one of my favorites came on the market as a short sale. In fact, I had even included this home a few years ago in my Fair Oaks video! We jumped on it, and they bought it for a full $600K less than it had previously sold for! It’s an amazing home.
*Bruce’s story wasn’t as happy. Some families don’t stay together, and when they split, the family home is sold. But new life was breathed into his home when two doctors moved in with their young children.
*Bryan was upside down in his home’s mortgage, and was in business for himself, which was in the dumps. To prevent the sting of a foreclosure, we listed his Granite Bay home, and sold it as a short sale. He is now renting.
*Joan had amazing borrowing ability as a new Pathologist, but didn’t have much down payment saved. She was able to buy a $600K Fair Oaks home using an FHA loan, which only required 3.5% down payment! Ordinarily I wouldn’t recommend stretching like that, but in her case, she had the income to support the purchase. Now, she can ride her bike to the hospital, and swims daily in her own pool. She seems to be cleaning out the nurseries of their fruit trees as well. You go, girl!
*Milo and Joan had purchased their new Fair Oaks home 3 years ago, and had converted their old Carmichael home into a rental. In order to claim the $500K tax exemption for selling their primary residence, they had to have lived in the home for two of the last 5 years. That meant we were under the gun to get their rental sold. Their tenants were amazing, and even baked me cookies for an open house. Wow!
*David, was another divorce situation. While it’s always hard to deal with the emotions of a divorcing couple, this one was doubly hard when we discovered dry wood termites and his Carmichael home had to be tented. No fun.
*John and Debbie wanted a Fair Oaks home closer to Debbie’s work, yet still private enough to feel like they were in the country. We lucked upon a home on a half acre in the Bird Tract, hidden deep within the block. It was missing a kitchen, yet was a few hundred thousand less than their targeted price. Currently the kitchen designer is busy with plans, and they will have a paradise when they are finished.
*Danielle was a first time buyer working at Kaiser, who bought a home under $100K, did a “fix-it” FHA loan, ended up with a new roof, new stucco, and new flooring PLUS got $8K back from Uncle Sam. What a deal.
*David had never owned a home, but felt a duplex would be a good investment. He bought one that needed a little fixing, but in a good Carmichael neighborhood. He moved into one side, then rented out the other side, substantially reducing his monthly expenses.
*Tom and Cynthia had looked forever – well, at least two years - for the perfect home with a separate master suite for Cynthia's mom, plus room for tom's boat and toys. A tough assignment, but we finally found it in a beautiful Roseville neighborhood. How can life go on without my weekly visits with Tom to see homes?
*Margaret and Gene found the perfect ground level Carmichael condo for their handicapped daughter, enabling independence and protection from rising rents.
*Single mom, Desiree, found a darling Natomas condo for her and her tiny son. It’s close to Mom and Dad and had a workout room right on site. I'm so proud of her.
*Darryl commuted daily to the Bay Area for work, which was killing his home life. So I sold their beautiful Carmichael home in a gated development, and they now live closer to work.
*Gerry and Debbie felt the market was just too good to not jump in as landlords. So they bought two Fair Oaks rentals, one at a time. They've got great cash flow.
*Mike was my neighbor who I watched grow up from a guppy. Trust me, it’s amazing to see him grown up and buying his first home – a darling Land Park bungalow. Escrow closed and he jumped right in to homwownership, ripping, tearing, and trimming, making it his own.
*Ray and Jeanne were moving from Boise, to be closer to their son in the Bay Area. We found them a short sale in Crosswoods, and they are deep in the middle of a remodel as I write this.
*Merilee was ready to retire, and had me sell her Sun City Lincoln home so she could move in with a friend. It made total financial sense for her to sell when she did, and she now has a financially comfortable reitrement - with no weeding!
So you can see there are many reasons why people buy and sell homes in Fair Oaks, Carmichael and the Sacramento area.
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