Today I had to give two fellow realtors some harsh feedback on their listings. After the Orangevale Realtors meeting on Tuesday, we toured 10 homes, after which some of the listing agents requested feedback. Most of the homes were very nice and well staged so that they showed very nicely. Unfortunately there were a couple of homes that looked nice inside, but I won't be showing either of them to any of my buyers.

One was obviously the home of smokers. And it didn't just smell bad -- it was the strongest smelling home I had ever been in. It made my eyes water and I could only stay inside for a short time before I had to get some air. The listing agent says she has warned her sellers about it, but they apparently still smoke inside, so they might not be all that motivated to sell.

The other home looked lovely inside, but it was clear looking around the exterior that there are some structural issues that someone had made a half-hearted effort to address, but some of what they had done just called attention to the problems. I wouldn't show this home unless a whole-house inspection indicated that the problems were only cosmetic or if they were professionally corrected.

I like it better when I can give glowing feedback, but honesty is what the listing agents want and need, so that is what a try to give. I wish sellers could understand how important it is to make their house irresistible to buyers instead of thinking they can force buyers to accept their house with all its defects without taking them into consideration in the pricing. A defective or unattractive home simply will not sell unless it is practically given away. And that seller is often the one who will blame their agent when it isn't sold right away. Sigh!

Thanks for the thanks!

Last night and today were very gratifying. I received calls from several realtors who had read my article in the Union and wanted to thank me for writing such a positive piece about real estate instead of the overstated negative view that is constantly spouted from the other newspaper in the area.

I do believe that real estate is, has been, and will always be a great investment, and facts and figures will bear that out, in spite of price and market fluctuations from month to month. It is immature and unsophisticated to whine and predict doom every time there is a price downturn. It will go back up, and the downs are never as much as the ups, so over several years, there is nearly always a gain.

Anyway, I was happy to hear from people who felt encouraged by my article.

Chicken Festival was great!

I had planned to spend just about 3 hours at the Chicken Festival, which was in front of our office, but it was so much fun and I met so many nice people that I wound up staying until after 6pm. It made for a long day since I had gotten there before 8am to set up a table in front of the office with free stuff to hand out: newspapers, open house lists, magazines, maps, candy and other stuff. The music was great too: especially the Knucklehead Band and Mumbo Gumbo. I don't know how many people were there - perhaps 10,000 - but all were well behaved, and even the chickens seemed to have a good time. Mark your calendar to watch for the third annual festival next September!

I write for the Sacramento Union

With the reorganization of the real estate section of the Sacramento Union and a determination by the Union to enlarge the section and present a more positive and realistic picture of the real estate market, I have been invited to write a regular column for the paper.

Because of my schedule, my contributions will not be weekly, as least for now, but I have committed to at least once a month. The September 14 issue has an article by me, and I'm very pleased to be a part of the Sacramento Union family.

Pretty exciting when you think about the fact that Mark Twain started his writing career as a writer for the Sacramento Union!

9/11

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I can't let this day go by without taking a moment to remember those who died on September 11, 2001, as well as those they left behind, all the people injured, and everyone affected, which I think is all of us. I have watched some of the memorial events on TV and the terror of that day came back as if it had been yesterday.
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Chicken Festival

This Saturday September 15 is the 2nd annual Fair Oaks Chicken Festival in Fair Oaks Village, in and around the park. Center of the action will be the intersection of Fair Oaks Blvd and California Ave.

There will be Craft Fair, Food Vendors, Dancing, Beer Tasting, Live Music, Kid's Activities, Chicken Dinner, Cooking Demonstrations & Wine Pairings, and admission is FREE!

The Fair Oaks Chicken Festival is a celebration of our rural history and present village atmosphere. The Village of Fair Oaks, colonized around 1895, was home to orange and citrus groves as well as olive orchards and assorted farm animals—and, without a doubt, chickens were among them.

Here is a quote from the Chicken Festival website:

"Today the Fair Oaks chickens enjoy the freedom and hospitality of the village they call home. They, along with their human counterparts, attend the Thursday night summer concerts in the park. They can be found “crowing” their appreciation for a good performance at the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival. They gather in front of the local pub and other village businesses and even “drop in” for a bite with diners on the patio of one of Sacramento County’s better known restaurants. They have been the subject of television and radio stories as well as local newspaper and magazine articles. In short, they are a part of our history and lore—and love ‘em or curse ‘em—they are a very real part of everyday life in the village they call home.
"In 2006, we celebrated our chickens and our village with the First Annual Fair Oaks Chicken Festival and the results were astonishing! How were we to know that our chickens would prove to be so popular?
The Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District estimated that 8,000 people attended this one day event last September!"

For more information, see: http://www.fairoakschickenfestival.com/index.php

30-Year Mortgages Fall to Lowest Rate in 3 Months

I thought this was an interesting article to share - It's a great time to buy:

30-Year Mortgages Fall to Lowest Rate in 3 Months

Borrowing costs on home loans dipped to a three-month low this week, providing much-needed relief to home buyers who are facing a tight lending climate.

Freddie Mac reported a drop in the 30-year fixed rate to 6.45 percent from 6.52 percent a week earlier, while interest on 15-year fixed loans slipped to 6.12 percent from 6.18 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages, however, moved in the opposite direction. The five-year ARM settled at 6.35 percent for the week, up a notch from 6.34 percent a week ago; and interest on one-year ARMs averaged 5.84 percent compared to 5.6 percent.

Source: Baltimore Sun (08/31/07)

My name is Susan Neal and I hope you will enjoy my blog and find it informative. With my many years of experience both as a real estate attorney and a real estate broker and Realtor, I hope that I can present some fun and interesting information. Let me know if you have any real estate questions, and I will try to address them in future posts. Thanks for reading!

Real Estate Remains a Strong Investment

Opportunities to make big, quick profits in residential real estate tend to come and go in cycles. When a local market is hot, families may find it possible to buy a house at an attractive price, fix it up, and watch its value rise in just a few years.

When the same local market is at the low end of the appreciation cycle, reaping a profit on the family home can take a good deal more time but the reward can be just as satisfying if price and location and carefully considered.

Even in uncertain economic times like these, history shows that real estate is one of the soundest investments a family can make. During the Great Depression of the 1930s when the stock market plummeted as much as 89 percent, housing prices dropped only 39 percent. According to most of the research on housing trends, prices continually stay at the same level as, and most often appreciate faster than, the rate of inflation. Housing prices actually rose an average of 10 percent during the recessions of the mid-1970’s and early 1980s.

CENTURY 21 statisticians report that the rate of home appreciation since 1990 has been around five percent nationally, with inflation hovering around four percent. Homeowners, obviously, are still staying ahead in the real estate game on average.

And, with mortgage interest rates the lowest they’ve been in two decades, real estate today is a more attractive investment than it’s been in years.

First-time buyers are the big winners in this environment. Drawing up a budget can help you and your family decide on what you can afford. Once you’ve determined a price and picked your desired community, shop around to find the best house you can buy for your money. This strategy can help you realize greater appreciation two or three years down the road.

This is also a good time to purchase a second or vacation home. A bargain cabin in the woods today might bring an excellent return when housing prices move upward. Affordable second-home prices also allow you to purchase a vacation home that can serve as a stepping-stone to a larger retreat in the future.

But appreciation isn’t the only advantage to buying a home. The federal government thinks home ownership is so important to the future of our country that it allows mortgage interest to remain the last substantial tax shelter for families. Owners can also take deductions on their property taxes. And, the profit on the sale of your home remains tax free as long as you buy a house for a greater or equal price.

So before you decide that this is not a good time to invest in residential property, re-examine the financial benefits of owning your own home and put them to work for you.