It's no secret that inventory is down in Sacramento. That's because home owners who don't have to sell are not putting their homes on the market. Who is selling in Sacramento? People who need to sell. That list includes those who are transferred, some who can no longer afford a mortgage due to j
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05/11/2010
There's a good reason for agents to hang on to old escrow files in paper or digital format. Especially buyer's agents. That's because somewhere along the road the buyer might become a seller, and those inspections -- performed when the seller was a buyer -- could become important seller disclosur
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05/10/2010
The calendar I have hanging over my desk was made by my husband, so the photos for each month do not reflect the holidays. For example, May sports a photo of a giant rooster shot at a tourist spot during our vacation a few years ago at a Redwood National park in Humboldt County. In retrospect, th
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05/09/2010
As a Sacramento short sale agent, the most common question I get asked by other agents when they call is how many loans are secured to the property. If agents would just click on the APN number in MLS, that question would be answered for them. But the underlying assumption in that question is tha
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05/08/2010
People who raise fish in aquariums are going to hate me this morning. In fact, I can't believe I did it. For months, I have been waiting for a lone fish in my aquarium to kick the bucket. Every month, I clean the tank. It's a lot of work. I've been cleaning that fish tank for 20 years, and I'm ti
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05/07/2010
What kind of BPO agent doesn't have a display key to access a lockbox? Every so often I run across these guys. They call to say that Bank of America or some other institution hired them to do a BPO on one of my Sacramento short sale listings and ask how they can gain access to a vacant home. When
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05/06/2010
Location is everything in real estate but buyers sometimes forget that fact. They get caught up in stroking the granite counters and plush carpeting. Oooooo, is that a Jacuzzi tub in the master? Look. A faucet for pasta water over the stove! They don't notice there's a train running through the b
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05/05/2010
How long does it take CitiMortgage to approve a short sale? Sellers in Sacramento routinely ask me that question all the time. I tell them generally 6 to 8 weeks, but it depends on other factors. In fact, I just received another short sale approval letter from CitiMortgage yesterday. I listed thi
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05/04/2010
Lots of strange things happen in the real estate business. That's why it's important to maintain a sense of humor. Otherwise, quite frankly, most real estate agents would all go stark-raving mad. The other day I received an email out of the blue. It was from a person I had never spoken to. This p
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05/03/2010
One of my Land Park home buyers is in escrow right now, buying a bank-owned home with a view of William Land Park. We were at the home inspection yesterday, plucking mushrooms out of the carpeting, when the home inspector drew my attention to the window. I thought he was looking at the joggers. B
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05/02/2010
