California's Central Coast - Part 1 - Harmony Ca.We recently took a trip to California's Central Coast for a couple of days.  We were experiencing our first real heat wave here in the Central Valley and decided a trip to the much cooler coast would be a good idea.  The day time temperatures were going to break 100° for several days in a row.  It's not unusual for us to head over to the coast when that happens.  While it's over 100° here in the Central Valley it's usually in the 60's on the coast.California's Central Coast stretches roughly from Santa Cruz in the north to Santa Barbara in the south.  This particular trip we visited the area around Morrow Bay in San Luis Obispo county.  Our first stop is in Harmony Ca.  Harmony is a TINY one block 2.5 acre town with a population of 18.  (... 07/03/2022

Would you believe that being BROKE can motivate you to work harder, generate more, serve better?  It can fuel your fire.  Daymond John from the Shark Tank (also Fubu clothing line) interviewed the world's top successful entrepreneurs and business owners who started from NOTHING and created something amazing.I’ve always been told that “it takes money to make money” and many times business owners fail due to lack of capitalization.  Although there are many cases to prove that entrepreneurs need funds to start their venture, passionate people can begin on a shoestring budget.Without a big bank account, you must be creative and resourceful, pull in people with a track record of success, and find new ways to accomplish the objective.  I am constantly asking myself, “What DO I have?” rather t... 03/21/2016

A few great ways to thank your REALTOR® and other team partners are: Refer your friends and family members Write a good recommendation on LinkedIn Have a housewarming party and introduce your REALTOR® to your friends Be sure to refer your friends and family members.  Because the greatest compliment that you can give your agent would be a referral.  Small business owners and independent contractors depend on word-of-mouth referrals to feed their livelihood.  Team partners who served you in an awesome way would appreciate your recommendations and referrals to new clients.A great review on LinkedIn is always appropriate.Read more in our book, "Buy Your First Home", http://tinyurl.com/dy2wjx4.Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net 02/03/2016

Since you went to the home inspection and met the home inspector, you already know what to expect on the report.  If you could not attend the home inspection, your REALTOR® can give you a summary of what the inspector found.  Most home inspection reports are completed within 2 days after the inspection, and the report will be emailed to you.When you receive the report, read it, and write down your concerns.  Your home inspector should have given thorough explanations and taken plenty of pictures so you can easily understand the report.  Ask your real estate advisor or the home inspector to answer your questions. Together, you and your REALTOR® will identify the items you want the seller to fix.  Your agent will prepare a repair request form and send it to the seller’s agent.  Note that ... 07/05/2014

Buying a foreclosure sounds like a great way to get a bargain priced home, doesn’t it? And if you could buy a first-rate home at a low-end price, wouldn’t everyone do that! Buying an REO (bank-owned property) is not as easy as you may think. There are not many bank-owned houses available for sale. The good ones get scooped up immediately, and the houses left on the market often have problems: overpriced, poor condition, bad neighborhood, uncooperative agent, or uncooperative seller. I believe it’s important to work with a seller who cares about the quality of the home and about your family. Big banks are corporations. They do not care about you or your situation. Therefore, I advise you to look for a house with a cooperative seller, and steer away from REO properties until you are more ... 05/29/2014

Some buyers are able to get the seller to finance their home purchase, but most sellers are not in a position to do that.  Perhaps you’re thinking about asking the seller to finance your home by taking back a loan for part of the purchase price.  Seller financing is called “seller carry back” and it used to be a common type of “creative financing”.  Today this “creative financing” technique isn’t utilized very often.  If the seller does help you, make sure you get the loan prepared by a qualified attorney, and get the note properly recorded at close of escrow. But most likely, you will need to get a mortgage loan.  Sources of mortgage lender include big banks, small local banks, credit unions, mortgage brokerages, and non-profit organizations.  So how do you interview and select a good ... 03/31/2014

According to National Association of Realtors® Report, first home buyers were driven by many forces, both internal and external.  Their reasons for purchase included: Desire to own a home of my own Desire for larger home Job-related relocation or move Change in family situation Affordability of homes Desire to be closer to family/friends/relatives Desire for a home in a better area Retirement Desire for smaller home Desire to be closer to job/school/transit Establish household Greater number of homes on the market for sale/better choice Financial security Desire for a newly built or custom-built home Purchased home for family member or relative Tax benefits Read more in our book, http://tinyurl.com/dy2wjx4. What is great about America? It is the American Dream, of course. It is the idea... 07/10/2013

Question from Pondering Owners:  The tax record shows that our house is 1,800 square feet, but when we bought it there was an upstairs addition with a bonus room that was not included in the square footage.  We estimate that it’s 2,400 total square feet.  We want to list our house for sale soon, and we want to include the total square feet.  How do we go about doing this?Dear Pondering Owners:  Most likely a previous owner built an addition without getting building permits from the correct government agency.  That is a very common situation, especially in California where homes are smaller.Sellers (and real estate agents) may or may not be aware of the permit status.  We often see these houses listed on the MLS with disclaimers such as: “1,800 square feet + 600 additional unpermitted sq... 03/11/2013

Create your own custom designed Facebook page for free! Pagemodo is a FREE service to create custom Facebook pages.  Of course, the free version is limited to only 1 page and it has pagemodo ads at the bottom.  You can pay to upgrade to better plans.  But to try out the service, or if you're on a zero budget, this is a great professional-looking page! Check out how our page turned out at http://www.facebook.com/#!/CalCoastCountry?sk=app_106171216118819  Go to www.pagemodo.com to make your own page design today! 02/19/2012

Each time when I travel north out of my hometown of Cayucos on Highway One, towards Cambria, I would pass by this sign,                                  Population: 18 per 2000 Census.  That must be the smallest town in our County ~ the San Luis Obispo County, CA.  Harmony bears the zip code, "93435" and is situated off Highway One, a few miles south of Highway 46. I told myself that I should visit the town. I heard about the fabulous blown glass and beautiful pottery. Since I have tasted the wine from Harmony Cellars, why not?  In April this year, I read that the post office had been closed; the same post office that was open back in early 1800's.  I felt sad for the post office and the townsfolk.  Sometime in August, Cal-Trans started working on the highway.  Vehicular traffic would h... 09/08/2008