Blogging...

Anyone that knows me would think this Blogging business is right up my alley.I get to have a one sided conversation where I can share random thoughts, express ideas or concepts about the world, business or the weather. Sounds like just my cup of tea. The difficult part comes when I have to think of something somewhat meaningful and then attempt to express that thought in a way that I hope will attract some attention.

There is one person I know who regularly shares his "blogging" via You Tube. I think this is a fun, easy quick idea where you do not have to concern yourself with correct(sorta) grammar or punctuation. The thought of a "live" video feed freaks me out. I would be concerned with my hair, what shirt to wear and earrings. I would end up spending so much time getting ready that when it came time to share my ideas there would not be much left.

Then we have Facebook, this may be the place for people like me. You get to pick a photo to be your "face" to the world, and share ideas in short quick little bursts, and with any luck you actually get a response from your "friends" who usually like you and offer a level of support and "atta boys"

Forget Tweeting, that concept just confuses me. I am pretty sure no one care that I am wearing a purple T shirt with my orange hoodie.

Now I must stop rambling and get on with the topic of Real Estate in Santa Cruz, Home buying, Home Selling, all the wonderful areas within out Santa Cruz County communities, Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Felton, Watsonville and more. We can talk about Real Estate Market conditions, market analysis. There is always the topic of home values, what your home is worth. I can tell you there is a large amount of cash hitting our area with all cash offers on some higher priced Santa Cruz Homes.

Bottom line, we are very luck to live in such a wonderful place such as Santa Cruz. Yes, I wish we had more sunny days, and maybe a white sand beach. But a thought occurs if we had those things where would I go on vacation?


Santa Cruz real estate is RED hot right now, do not miss this opportunity. Contact Me and I will be happy let you know what the value of your home is, and what else is out there for the ready buyer.

Looks Like Everyone in Santa Cruz is Selling

Have you noticed recently that there seems to be an increase in the amount of real estate for sales signs in your Santa Cruz County neighborhood? I thought I would share the reason for this.

Normally, there is a slight bump in the for sale inventory as soon as we feel that winter has passed. Given the horrid weather in Santa Cruz last weekend particularly in Capitola, along with the glorious days we have had recently I would expect to see a few more signs pop up.

The overall increase though has more to due with the economy. As more signs pop up fewer signs are coming down. The average days a property is for sale in Santa Cruz has doubled in the last two years.

This increase in days on the market, along with a one third increase in overall listings creates a glut on the market. There are a few different ways to analyze these local Santa Cruz real estate statics.

The first is to understand and acknowledge that a traditional real estate sale will take between 30 and 45 days to close escrow once the buyers and sellers have agreed to price and terms of the transaction. However, a short sale could take upwards of 9 months or more from start to finish. The very nature of this type of transaction adds months to the bottom line.

Currently the average days a property is on the market for sale is 138 days in Santa Cruz county. Some for a few as 7 days, others upwards of 2+ years. What does all this mean if you are considering the possibility of selling your home in Santa Cruz?

Take the time to meet and speak with at least three Santa Cruz Realtors. You should ask your friends and neighbors who they know and have worked with that they would recommend. Visit a few open houses that seem to be like yours in size, condition and location. Ask the Santa Cruz Realtor at the open house how long the property has been for sale, see if you can find out what the average number of days the Realtors your are interviewing take to sell a home.

The good news is that if you are buying a home in Santa Cruz, there are many options and opportunities for you. If you are selling, take a deep breath and relax. You need to trust that your Realtor is working diligently to market and expose your home to buyers looking to own a home in Santa Cruz you will know that is true based on your agents communication.

In short do your homework, there are a number of ways to prepare your Santa Cruz home for sale, but that is another blog.

Do you need help in deciding if now is the time to sell, feel free to email me at Contact Me and I will be happy to run the numbers for your home and area.

FACEBOOK/KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY

I had, what I think is an interesting thought today.I actually think all my thoughts are interesting, but that is another blog post.

When reading the paper this morning, there was a rather lengthy article about how Facebook grows its locations. This article referred specifically to a tactical team that moves to the desired location-in this case Austin Texas and beings the process of recruiting and hiring teams to staff the new location.

A large part of their goal is to duplicate success, safeguard the culture of Facebook and to instill a sense of sameness to each location even down to the manner their office is set up.

While there may be a coincidence that the article mentioned Austin Texas, home base of Gary Keller and Keller Williams International headquarters, I found the similarities rather interesting.

First and foremost was the culture of the company. I realize that every business has its own culture, the difference is how that culture is embraced, explained and defined in day to day activities. The key to the KW success in this arena is education, sharing,growing. The KW business model touts "faith, family and then business". Call it whatever you want but to me it means doing the right thing, period end of story.

The next item is what Facebook calls Hackathon. Hackathon is a regular event in which for that day there is one rule, you can not do your "normal" job that day. It is the day that you are to explore and expand. I am pretty sure KW, does not have a hackathon day..but I can imagine the possibilities. When I figure out a way to make that day happen, you can count on it taking place.

We have had a rough few weeks here in Santa Cruz, the weather has created havoc, but there is still real estate to sell, places to buy and the sun is just around the corner I am pretty sure.

For a FREE no obligation Market Analysis email me at Contact Me

Equity Tap or Reverse Mortgage??

What makes the most sense, a reverse mortgage or a line of equity? In the last few months I have tackled this question twice. There are a number of different things to consider when evaluating the two choices.

In the first instance, the choice was pretty cut and dry. The home, a cute little two bedroom that sits just above downtown Santa Cruz, was owned outright. No mortgage and very well maintained. The widower wanted some "mad" money in order to do and buy what had been denied him during his marriage. The upside of the reverse mortgage was that there would be no monthly payments, the checks would arrive monthly and upon his death the reverse mortgage would be paid off by his heirs and any proceeds would become part of the trust. While the reverse mortgage is costly, there are no other considerations.

The second situation is quite a bit more complicated, a recent widow living in a home that is burdened with two mortgages, in need of TLC and has no cash flow outside of social security. There is no choice but a reverse mortgage, one of which is going to require costly roof repairs before the reverse mortgage is even in the bank. It is a less than ideal situation no matter how you look at it.

Needless to say, I have my fingers crossed that I never find myself stuck, with no alternative way to make ends meet. It is nice to know that there are ways to use what is yours to keep it together, or to buy that big screen flat T.V. you have wanted for years.

For a FREE no obligation Market Analysis email me at Contact Me

Craving The Human Touch

How many times have you called your bank, credit card company, phone company and ached to talk to an actual human being..someone who would be there to help resolve whatever issue you have, or just to answer a darn question.

There is help, there is a trick for getting through. It is a website called
Get Human that provides the access to the human touch. Gives you the tricks, codes and what not's to reach the person who is going to actually help you.

With over 2,200 access codes listed you will no doubt find the company you are looking for. These numbers and inputs have been checked an verified, however if the company changes their phone number all beats are off.

For instance if you want to reach someone at Mastercard, you just press 0 three times quickly.

For any of your Real Estate needs please feel free to
Contact Me

Auntie Lena

Yesterday I had the honor of spending a hour or so at my great aunts 97th birthday. Most of you must admit that alone is an amazing feat. Auntie Lena is still sharp as a tack, while having slowed physically,which is not a big surprise.

Several years ago she managed through and rallied after heart surgery and recently she had a brief stay hospital fighting pneumonia, but I must say she is always delighted to see friends and family. If asked she can recall what happened many many years ago, as well as what took place yesterday. She is a pretty terrific lady. I think I can safely say that she was my fathers favorite, he always called her "Auntie". As I child I was never sure what her name was, she was just "Auntie"

She comes from a family of sisters with a very long life line, six in all they have each managed to live well into their 80's. My grandmother(Auntie Lena's sister)lived to 100. Lena is the "baby" of the family was there and signing Happy Birthday to herself.

She, along with two of her sisters can be seen on occasion on community TV sharing the story of their childhood, growing up in Davenport. My favorite is how in the summer their whole family rode a covered wagon, from their home to the coast to spend time "camping" for months. The funny part of the story to me was that it took them almost as long to get to the coast, as they spent camping.

I realized yesterday that Lena and I have several things in common, besides being related she also married later in life, has no children and tends to be light of heart at all times. I have often wondered that when I am older, who might be there to help me celebrate such milestones in my life.

I think if I live my life correctly I might be lucky enough to have, like my Auntie Lena, 20 or more friends and family there to mark special times of my life as well.

Our Changing Times

Yesterday another Realtor in our office was feeling very discouraged, and shared the reason with me.

She has been working with a lovely couple who are working towards becoming first time buyers.

They both have solid long term employment, and have been saving every dollar they can in hopes of finding the perfect home in which to start their family. They have spend many miles traveling in the car with their agent looking at every home within their price range. When they have found something they like enough to make an offer on, it is being snatched up by investors with cash, or the price has become so inflated due to multiple offers they end up priced out of the property.

A few weeks ago they made an offer on a lovely 1942 bungalow, and then began to imagine what their lives would be like when they moved in. Amazed that their offer was accepted, they began the inspection period.

A home inspector alerted them to the possibility of MOLD within the classic plaster walls. Additionally the inspector told them the only way to be sure that the property was not MOLD infested was to have a costly MOLD inspection, a cost they were not prepared to pay for.

Their kind, responsible agent knew they loved this house, felt it perfect, but the possibility of MOLD could ruin their dreams. So..the agent called the MOLD inspector and she paid for the inspection out of her pocket.

Afraid that they may not be able to complete the purchase due to a MOLD issue, they began to look at other homes, and found one just across the street. They called their agent and wanted to make an offer on house #2. The agent was reluctant to make a second offer, then the first was still in process-so she explained they would need to cancel escrow #1, and she would be happy to write an offer for house #2.

Their agent contacted the listing agent on house #2, explained that her clients has seen the home at an open house, loved it and could the listing agent send her over the reports, so that she could present him with an offer from them on house #2.

During this time, the agent on house #2, who had interacted with the couple at an open house contacted the buyers explained that he already had several offers, and the ONLY way they would stand a chance of getting the house was for him to write the offer for them, then he would guarantee they would get the house.

The inexperienced buyers went ahead and had the listing agent write an offer for them on his listing (DUAL AGENCY). Of course he could promise them the house, he had access to all the other offers, and he has the seller's ear and trust.

The buyers first agent was having a meeting with them last night, so we will have to see how this all plays out...more to follow.


For a FREE no obligation Market Analysis email me at Contact Me