Modesto CA - The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure. I'll call him Dave to protect his identity. (Foreclosure is embarrassing and I don't want to put his name out there.) Dave asked, "I haven't made a house payment in a while. I'm just wondering how much longer it will be before I have to move out?" Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. Here is the answer to Peter's Question. It all depends on what his plans are and how tight he is on money. Most people in foreclosure are at a disadvantage because they how the process works. Here is the answer to his question. It all depends what on the state he is located in and whether or not his lender has started the foreclos... 11/05/2010

Modesto CA - [caption id="attachment_969" align="alignright" width="327" caption="The only thing certain in life is death and taxes - Benjamin Franklin"][/caption] The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from a homeowner facing foreclosure. I'll call him Peter to protect his identity. (Foreclosure is embarrassing and I don't want to put his name out there.) Peter asked, "I am six months behind on my mortgage payments. I just got the tax bill for 2010 in the mail. Should I pay it?" He continued, "What will happen if I don't pay it? Will my house be auctioned to pay the taxes?" Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. Here is the answer to Peter's Question. It all depends on what his plans are and how ti... 11/04/2010

Salvation Army Kettle Kick-Off in Modesto, Ca.   Did you know - With nearly 7,700 centers in the U.S., the Salvation Army contributes to about 29 million people nationwide through a single calendar year - almost 4.5 million during the holiday season alone.   Download: FLVMP43GP Modesto, Ca. is holding it's 18th Annual Kettle Kick-Off on Thursday November 18th, 2010. Time: Doors open at 11:30 am Location: The Centre Plaza - 10th & K Street Modesto, Ca. This year there will be twenty-nine teams that will be competing to collect the most for their kettle from You. So please come prepared to have fun and give to an organization that has stepped up to the plate to help the community when in need. Tickets are $10 dollars each or a table of 10 for $100.  A full complete Christmas meal is inclu... 11/03/2010

Wordless Wednesday: World Champions!! Congratulations San Francisco!!               REALTOR® Your Real Estate Connector serving the Central Valley of California. Passion for Real Estate Industry combined with Love for Historical area of Hometown Modesto. California Real Estate Mart, Inc. Graceada Park Neighborhood Homes For Sale 209-604-5028 11/03/2010

Modesto CA - Wall Street Fat Cats say homeowners shouldn't walk away from upside down homes. Why? "If you do it, then everyone will start doing it", they say. "It isn't moral. People should own up to their commitments. People should be responsible. This is more than just a contract. It's what holds the entire economy together." However, those same rules don't seem to apply to the Wall Street Bankers. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. Turns out Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley strategically defaulted on their upside down properties. Here is the article from Bloomberg: Morgan Stanley to Give Up 5 San Francisco Towers Bought at Peak. Here is what the article says: "Morgan Stanley, the securities firm that spent more th... 11/03/2010

Modesto CA - Should you walk away or should you stay? Here is how to determine whether or not you should walk away from your home. Because of the decline in the nationwide housing market, I doubt that your home is worth what you paid for it. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. First, determine the current market value of your home. Talk to a realtor. They will give you a market analysis, based on what other homes similar to yours are selling for. For example, we recently helped a home seller who had paid around $700,000 for his home. We thought the home was worth about $400,000. His mortgage payment was a little over $4500 a month. When you add in the property taxes and insurance his total monthly payment was around ... 11/02/2010

  Yosemite National Park is the Backyard of Modesto, Ca "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will fall off like autumn leaves." - John Muir   Modesto is perfectly located in the middle of  Central Valley. Being so centrally located gives the residents of Modesto quite the diverse cultural experience within a short distance. In our 'front yard' directly to the west 80 miles is San Francisco. Directly to the east 112 miles in our 'Backyard' is Yosemite National Park. Okay, so maybe not directly in our backyard.   View Larger Map As phenomenal as the videos, photos and painting can be they just can never tell the complete sto... 11/01/2010

  Locate polling places in Modesto - Stanislaus County   Now is the time to do the job that many generations of our relatives fought and died for. VOTE!! We owe this to our Fore Fathers right thru to our Great Grand children. It takes so little time to exercise our rights to vote along with our freedom of speech. If you don't vote you have only yourself to be upset with when you want to complain about something. You don't have to vote, but you will feel so much better about yourself, our country and our freedoms.   http://stanvote.com/         REALTOR® Your Real Estate Connector serving the Central Valley of California. Passion for Real Estate Industry combined with Love for Historical area of Hometown Modesto. California Real Estate Mart, Inc. Graceada Park Neighborhood Homes For Sale ... 11/01/2010

G.F. Handel's Messiah Sing-Along Modesto   If you are a vocalist like myself that loves the acoustics in the shower then you will certainly Love the acoustics at First United Methodist Church. All singers in the Modesto and surrounding communities are welcome to participate in a Sing - Along performance of the Messiah. Those of us that wish to attend are encouraged to bring our own scores. There will be some there to borrow if needed. Modesto being one of the larger communities in California still has the undeniable charm and hospitality of a small town. Modesto has many events that are associated with music that has started early in the history of our town. The City of Modesto has been and is blessed with many outstanding musicians. Date: November 21, 2010 Time: 3 pm to 5 pm Place: Fir... 10/31/2010

Daylight Savings Time Modesto Ca   Falling back and thinking what to do with that extra hour of mine. A little me time sounds perfectly nice. Have a few sips of wine at the wine shop or should I go shoe shopping at Bonnie J's downtown instead? All the antique shops we have here in Modesto can certainly entertain my time for more than just an hour or two.  Stanislaus County Library has their computer classes on Tuesday and Thursday so unfortunately that is out of the equation. An early start on Christmas shopping in McHenry Village possibly? Meeting a few friends down at Minnie's on a Sunday evening is always an option and a fun one at that. However, the best and safest option might be to take my daughter's dog for a walk at Graceada Park or one of the other 75 city owned parks. I would ... 10/30/2010

Modesto CA - I read an interesting book that was written by a former real estate agent. The author, Robert Ringer, talked about persistence and how it helps you be successful. He told a story about phoning a call center. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. The first person he talked to told him that he couldn't buy something in bulk for a certain price. Rather than argue with her, he instead hung up and called back in. The next person he talked to agreed to sell him the product in bulk for the price he wanted. He got what he wanted a lot faster and easier than if he had spent time arguing with the first person. He gave another example of trying to change his account info with a phone company. The first person tells h... 10/27/2010

Modesto CA - Many people ask if they should do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and give their house back to their lender. A deed-in-lieu does have its benefits. Lenders like them because they speed up the foreclosure. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. A deed-in-lieu is the equivalent to a "No Contest" plea in a criminal trial. You just give up on the foreclosure. If there is a foreclosure court case, the judge will still have to schedule a foreclosure sale. Contrary to popular opinion, a deed-in-lieu does not automatically release you from the debt. This means that your lender could be pursuing you five years later, after you get back on your feet. There is an application process. You will have to spend between 5 and... 10/26/2010

Modesto CA - We recently talked to another agent about her short sale listing. (Some of the details have been changed to hide their identity) She had been working on this short sale for 6-8 months with no success. The original buyer offered 265k for the house. Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and request a free consultation by clicking here. The short sale lenders rejected the offer. The house ended up selling eight months later for 220k. Why did the short sale lenders reject the 265k offer, only to later on accept an offer for 45k less? Because the person negotiating with the short sale lenders didn't know what they were doing. Here's what happened. The first mortgage was owed $289,000. The 2nd was Bank of America, owed 60k. She submitted the 265k short sale of... 10/25/2010

  Now THAT is FUNNY!! Now THAT is FUNNY!! The man across the table from me explained how he thought the whole Virtual World of Facebook and Twitter is just a fad...."Oh, it will be gone next year!"  His facial expressions told me that he didn't even believe his own statement. Well, that was over a year ago and Social Network sites are still here and growing by the second.                 To the Business Man or Woman, Business owner and or a Parent....what do these sites say about you? What is being said possibly about your business? Another question for you.....What do these sites say about your child or children? It is kind of a GREAT idea to do a little Social Media Monitoring. I have found that Social Mention is a pretty good site for such a thing. Test it out and see what you come u... 10/24/2010

Full Day of Holiday Events in Modesto, Ca, Dressed in Holiday style! One Full day of Events in Modesto, Ca for Everyone! Saturday December 4th, 2010   Breakfast with Santa!!!! Time: 8-11:30 a.m. Will take place at: Senior citizens Center Address: 211 Bodem Street. Tip… for best parking come early! Kids will be able to enjoy the morning with Santa!     ♫ City sidewalks, busy sidewalks Dressed in holiday style In the air there's a feeling Of Christmas Children laughing, people passing Meeting smile after smile And on every street corner you'll hear ♫ ♫ Silver bells ♫ Silver bells It's Christmas time in the city Ring-a-ling ♫ Hear them ring Soon it will be Christmas Day…….     Dickens Faire & Modesto certified Farmers’ Market Presents! Victorian Christmas Market! Time: 9-3:30P.M Will take ... 10/22/2010

Two events planned this week.  Both at RE associations at 8:30 am Wednesday, tomorrow at the Masonic Hall 800 Rose Avenue, Modesto, CA Thursday at the Oakdale Golf Course at 243 North Stearns Road, Oakdale, CA Hope to see you there 08/10/2010

We are talking on July 7th at 8:30 am at the Association of Realtors in Modesto for those who want to get the latest info on the 203k loan and more than that how YOU can use the 203k to get more sales. If you have been having trouble finding available inventory, I'll bring some info and maybe some properties for you to show your clients. There is NO SHORTAGE of properties, there is a shortage of know-how to find them. We'll clear that up for you.  Have a home for sale that is pristine? just too small for most of your clients... then it is "Perfect for a 203k" you can make a room addition and make the size you want it to be and it is a 203k. Have a home that is just in too poor shape to show it? It is "perfect for a 203k". Just drive the neighborhood and find one that look like it that i... 06/28/2010

Dryer Vent Cleaning Modesto, CA to Remove Lint Build-up, Prevent Dryer Fires and Save on Energy Bills Clothes dryers are reported to be the cause of over 15,000 house fires each year. Poor dryer vent maintenance is the number one cause of dryer fires. Professional dryer vent cleaning is recommended each year to prevent dryer fires and to keep your dryer working efficiently. Dryer vent systems remove heat, moisture and lint from your home. The lint that manages to escape the lint screen should end up outdoors, through your dryer vent; but some will get stuck and attract more lint as it continues to build up. Lint build-up restricts air flow required for the dryer to perform its job. As the dryer labors to dry your laundry, it consumes more energy. Poorly maintained dryer vent systems can... 04/07/2010

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 extended many consumer tax incentives originally introduced in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) and amended in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343)   The Energy-Efficiency Tax Credit is available to homeowners who have energy efficiency home improvements done to their existing principal residence for products purchased during the two year period of 2009 and 2010. The maximum tax credit limit is $1,500. The tax credit is available for any amount that is spent up to $5,000 on a single or multiple products (homeowners will receive 30% back as a tax credit). The expiration date is December 31, 2010. NOTE: New Construction and rentals do not qualify.        QUALIFIED ENERGY PRODUCTS (Installation costs may be ... 03/23/2010

   Short Sales (February 2010): For Sale: 188 New Listings: 117 Sold: 39 Pending: 134 Average Active Price: $153,000 Average Sold Price: $145,000 Average Days on the Market: 105 Median Price: $135,000 03/21/2010