Normally, I can make up my mind about something pretty quick. Yes, no, now, later, red wine or white. Making timely decisions allows me to focus on the future rather than ponder what it might or might not be. Recently, I have been frustrated by my procrastination. I have spent too much mental energy (something [...]

At 26 I made my first property flip. Another agent had listed an old vacant three-story Victorian house in a neighborhood that was transitioning from single-family to multi-family. The house was in OK but dated condition. The expensive components, like the roof, siding, HVAC system, electrical and plumbing were all in serviceable condition. An investor [...]

It’s sometimes better to be lucky than good. There are a number of things I have accomplished in my life because I studied, worked hard, saved for a rainy day, heeded the advice of others with greater wisdom and made a good decision. But there are a number of successes I have had simply because [...]

After a few weeks of looking at nearly every home in her price range, she told me, “I’m not finding the type of home I’m looking for. Maybe I will hold off buying something until there are more homes to choose from.” That’s a valid complaint I frequently hear from folks shopping for a home. [...]

The most frequently asked question of me when I meet folks who are readers of my weekly column is “How do you come up with all those different topics about real estate?” Writing a weekly column can be a little challenging. For instance, newspapers have hard deadlines. In my business, if I am running a [...]

Last week my column offered a few suggestions for sellers looking to take advantage of the best seller’s market in six years. Record low interest rates and a shortage of available homes for sale have contributed to a mini price bubble. About half of all listings are selling at or above the listed price. July’s [...]

It was love at first sight. While showing homes, some will be OK, most will be discounted from consideration and eventually my clients find one that they really like enough to write an offer. It’s always a pleasant surprise when my clients discover a home that matches their personalities, expectations and price. But this time [...]

My clients had finally settled on a house. They had been previewing homes on the Internet for four months and in the last three weeks we previewed 30-plus homes scattered from El Dorado Hills to Camino. During this time we had seen some very nice homes and homes that met every specification my clients had [...]

Homebuyers who have been patiently waiting on the sidelines for the real estate market to hit bottom so that they could jump in precisely at the absolute lowest price have likely missed the opportunity. It’s still a great time to buy with prices and mortgage rates at unprecedented lows but county home values have been [...]

Whenever folks hear about my living situation they either respond with envy: “Where do I sign up?” Or horror: “You mean you have to make your bed every day?” Although being a live-in home stager has its perks — no mortgage, no binding lease, and the chance to live in a cool house for considerably [...]

Whenever a seller or their agent open up their home to prospective buyers there is always a chance of unintended consequences. Stuff happens when strangers go wandering around an unfamiliar home or property that’s listed for sale. I was reminded of how freak incidents occur while reviewing a decision by the United States District Court [...]

Our Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is a rising Democrat star. She is no stranger to politics, as the former girlfriend of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and one of President Obama’s top surrogates in California. Harris recently introduced a package of legislative bills she calls the Homeowners Bill of Rights which, according to her [...]

This is the time of the year when I feel my 10 acres is nine too many. While my friends are playing golf, boating around Folsom Lake or taking the family on a picnic, I’m up to my elbows clearing grass, weeds and brush. My sole recreational activity over the next few weeks will be [...]

My clients told me about the home they wanted to buy before it was listed for sale. A friend of theirs knew the owners who needed to sell and relocate out of the area. When I received the information, I called the owners to inquire if they were indeed planning on selling and needed an [...]

It was six years ago last month that the median selling price of a county home reached the highest point ever recorded at $521,000. It’s been downhill from there. Last month the county’s median selling price was $256,000. Looking back six years ago, most of us in the housing industry knew we were long overdue [...]

He was reviewing the terms of his offer, initialing each page of the purchase contract when he abruptly stopped, shoved aside the papers, looked me in the eye and asked, “If we pay the listing price do you expect this home to be worth more five years from now?” What I wanted to say was [...]

Ask any actively engaged real estate professional and they will confirm the county’s real estate market continues to improve. March sales were 20 percent better than March of 2011 and the most active March since 2006. The county’s median selling price of $252,000 was down slightly from a year ago but was higher than both [...]

“Where’s mom going to live?” Asked my wife Vicki one evening during dinner. “What do you mean? She’s getting along just fine where she is,” I said. “Besides she loves that old house. She would never want to move.” “She can’t take care of that place. She has health issues and forgets to take her [...]