7 Mistakes That Cost Homeowners BIG Money During Cold Weather

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  7 Mistakes That Cost Homeowners BIG Money During Cold Weather

  Avoid winter’s nastiest tricks. Read

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Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Get Top Dollar Series: Prepare Your Home For Quick Sale

9 Ways to Save on Your Home That Grandma Never Told You

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  9 Ways to Save on Your Home That Grandma Never Told You

  Classic advice — with a few modern twists for today’s homeowners. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Tuolumne County Residential Absorption Rate (through July 2017)

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Market Absorption Rate

How long it takes the average listing to sell in the MLS. Calculated by the number of active listings in a given month divided by the number of sold listings in a given month.

Absorption Rate By Month:

Jan = 7.84
Feb = 8.25
Mar = 7.30
Apr = 6.59
May = 7.40
June = 6.96
July = 9.37

10 Mistakes People Make with Home Staging (slideshow)

10 Mistakes People Make with Home Staging from Sugar Pine Realty

Zillow Said So

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Kermit the Frog-ism – Agent Out Golfing?

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Home Ownership Expo

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10 Mistakes People Make with Downsizing (plus 1 bonus)

Lightning fast read meant to make you think...

10 Mistakes People Make with Downsizing (plus 1 bonus):

1. Don't know how to cope with the feelings of loss it can bring.
2. Put off downsizing longer than they should.
3. Can't get rid of anything (or very little) because they're a pack rat.
4. Throw out / get rid of something by accident.
5. Overlook that you can give a lot of stuff to the kids.
6. Forget that a garage sale is very helpful in the downsizing process.
7. Are unwilling to admit they need to.
8. Overlook that you don't have to wait until you're older to do it.
9. Forget the simpler life downsizing will bring.
10. Overlook how less stuff means you can afford a smaller home.

BONUS Forget the fixed income as a senior citizen requires a downsizing mindset.

by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: 10 Mistakes People Make When Selling a Home 10 Mistakes People Make with Moving

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4 Aspects of Spring Cleaning in the Fall

Whether you’re planning to move or just want to organize your household, now is a good time to “weed out” unwanted items.

As a rule of thumb, discard anything you haven’t used in 12 months, especially clothing you don’t wear or items your children have outgrown.

1. Throw away broken-down, worn-out items.

2. Get rid of old magazines by offering them to a hospital, school, nursing home or daycare center.

3. Recycle newspapers or use them for lighting fires or covering things while painting or cleaning.

4. Dispose of all expired medications properly. Call a local recycling center if you have paints, chemicals or other toxic materials to dispose.

Items that are in good, clean condition — clothing, furniture, accessories, appliances — can be sold at a garage sale or donated to a charity. Some agencies will even pick up donated materials.

For more household tips, contact Sugar Pine Realty at 209-533-4242.

Prime Real Estate of the Lunar and Earthly Kind

I've got a short video for you below chronicling the Apollo 11 moon landing of 45+ years ago.

It's quite fascinating to think of a human being traveling that many miles in space (approximately 238k miles) and then actually stepping out on to another "world."

You'll see it all here from start to finish.

And I guess what really struck me is the view of earth as it rises above the lunar horizon.

It reminded me of just how much a piece of prime real estate this planet of ours really is (in contrast to the moon).

It's truly a dream home!

I hope you enjoy the video.


(If you can't see this video, click here.)

("Apollo 11 first step" picture above by National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA's Apollo 11 Multimedia webpage. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.)

The Case of the Lady in a Bottle

What's happened to you at the last minute to cause one of your escrows to fall out?

Listen to what happened to Don that almost cancelled one of his:

Once upon a time in the land of Don Pedro when I worked for brand X real estate, I had a listing on a fairly nice maintained manufactured home which was owned by a widower.

He was a man in his late sixties living by himself since his wife had passed away.

He just wanted to sell his home and get on with his life and do some traveling.

When I took the listing he told me that when the house sold, everything that was in it could stay.

All he wanted were some clothes and personal items that would fit into his station wagon along with his two very large dogs.

Now mind you this home had been lived in by him and his wife for some time, so there was a lot of stuff there: two computers, televisions, videos, furniture, sewing machine and a new patio set plus much more.

It wasn't long before I had an offer from some folks in the Bay Area who where looking for a second home and this was perfect for them as they had kids and grand kids.

And besides there was little they had to buy.

There was even food in the refrigerator and pantry.

It was a move-in proposition.

Well, to make a long story short, the offer was accepted and put into escrow.

The heart-stopper came when escrow was a few days from closing and I was talking to the seller.

He said there was something he forgot to mention to me.

At that point my heart stopped because the way he said it I knew it was serious.

"Is what he is about to tell me going to be a concern to the buyers to cause the offer to be withdrawn?"

I gritted my teeth and he told me he had buried his wife on the property and he would not tell me where. I asked if that was legal to bury her casket on private property.

He went on to say his wife was cremated and only her urn was buried on the property.

Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought, but I still felt it was my obligation to disclose this to the buyers.

When I told them, they didn't have a problem with it.

It closed escrow on time and everyone was happy.

by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: The Case of the Missing Seller The Case of the Missing Wife

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The Case of the Missing Seller

Another bizarre real estate story coming at you.

One of our agents had a listing where you had to climb (literally) a hundred rickety wooden stairs to get to the home.

It goes without saying hardly anyone wanted to show this "as is" house. The listing agent hadn't heard from his client in a while. His client didn't have a phone. So he decided to go out to the house to see if he could find him.

Well, up the rickety stairs, of course, he had to climb. And then when he finally got to the top, he discovered the front door was slightly open. He pushed the door and to his surprise he finally found his client. There he was - lying dead on the floor.

(And how fast would you have run back down those rickety stairs? Hm?)

Instead of not leaving the scene (like one shouldn't) and calling the police (like one should), the agent came back to the office. He walked in and said, "I just went up to my client's house and I think he's lying dead on the floor." Of course, all of us in the office were stunned. He went on, "Well, I called out to him and pushed him a little bit and he's just lying there."

Ultimately, the agent called the police. The killer was sought, arrested, put on trial. The agent was called to testify (for his part in the matter). The male involved was convicted of murder. He'd killed the client over drugs.

The moral of the story - the next time you haven't heard from your client in a while, proceed with caution.

(To view picture on its original site, click here. By Lorc under CC BY 3.0.)

by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: The Case of the Lady in a Bottle The Case of the Missing Wife

FREE eBook download by entering email address:

6 Ways to Promote Your Garage Sale for Maximum Success

If you want your next garage sale to be a huge success, put some time and effort into promoting it.

1. Plan your advertising strategy well in advance and spend your advertising money wisely. Shopper-type publications, community television stations and your local paper are generally good bets. Call these companies early to get policies, prices and deadlines.

2. Look for free advertising sources such as bulletin boards in local businesses and friends' company newsletters. Create a sale flier and distribute it around your neighborhood to boost attendance.

3. Arrange for your ads to appear the days of the sale as well as the day before. The ad should cover the basics including the date, time and address of your sale. If your home is hard to find, include directions. Adding certain words like huge, bargains, antiques, consignment-quality and designer will help your ad grab shoppers' attention.

4. Make signs and post them along important access routes on the days of the sale. The signs should be written in a simple block style and have letters large enough to read from a passing car. They should point the way to your house and include the date and time.

5. On the sale dates, folks driving by are basically window shopping. Using flags, balloons, promotional signs — anything that can make your sale stand out — will attract attention and invite people to stop.

6. Keep a consistent look with the decorations on your signs so that your house is easily identifiable.

The Case of the Missing Wife

Here's a bizarre real estate story from a former coworker:

I was working at First American Title Company as a Junior Escrow Officer at the time this occurred.

We had a home in escrow. The house was pretty run down and a local contractor was purchasing the property. The owner was a casino worker and there were questions about whether his wife was available and would sign off on the house, but the owner reassured the buyer that she would come in and sign the Deed no problem.

When the owner came to the office to sign the Deed the Senior Escrow Officer asked for their I.D. and the wife (whom only later it became known she had been paid to impersonate the wife) said she had lost her I.D. at the Airport. The Senior Escrow Officer refused to Notarize the Deed.

The following week the Seller brought in a Notarized Deed from a local Notary which we knew. The Escrow Officer called the Notary and asked if he had seen the wife. He responded that the wife was ill and because he knew the gentlemen, he went ahead and Notarized the Deed anyway.

The Escrow Officer proceeded to tell the Notary what happened in his office (with the wife having lost her I.D.) and by now there were rumors that the wife might even be dead.

The following week the Sheriff's Office in Douglas County found the wife. She was buried under a wood pile on the very property that was in escrow.

Her husband was arrested for murder.

He is still serving his sentence.

by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: The Case of the Lady in a Bottle The Case of the Missing Seller

FREE eBook download by entering email address:

10 Tips for Growing Awesome Annuals

As you purchase and begin planting this season's batch of annuals, follow this advice for great results:

1. Look for stocky seedlings with bright green foliage when shopping for annuals.

2. Soak hard-coated annual seeds overnight before planting. Nasturtium and morning glory are two species that benefit from this treatment.

3. Keep color in mind when you plan your garden. Plant flowers with complementary colors near each other. For example, blue, white and pink flowers are a good combination in the same border.

4. Include annual vines in your garden. Sweet pea, climbing nasturtium, morning glory and moon vine can grow up and over your garden.

5. Use annuals to provide fill-in color, if you have an established perennial border.

6. Mulch annual flowers to eliminate weeds and maintain soil moisture.

7. Pinch back buds with your fingers to encourage stem growth.

8. Snip off flowers as they fade to encourage continuous blooming.

9. Use a soaker hose or drip irrigation to water your plants.

10. Promote new growth on small-flowered plants, such as alyssum, by shearing them back in midsummer.

Are You the Realtor® People Are Looking For?

What are people looking for in a real estate agent?

For that matter, what are people looking for in any person no matter what the career field?

Of course, they’re wanting an expert. Right?

They’re wanting someone who “knows the business.”

But they’re also wanting a whole lot more than that.

No matter what the level of expertise, people are also wanting someone who’ll go to bat for them, who’ll keep their best interests in mind (ahead of their own).

They’re also wanting someone with integrity, who’ll be up front with them, who’ll prioritize and listen to their needs and then make their buying or selling dreams come true.

And the list could go on and on as regards what people are looking for in a realtor®.

And even though it’s a tall order, I guess the bottom line is we need to be that person people are looking for.

And then when they run into others who are ready to buy or sell, it’ll be your name they mention and not for the wrong reasons.

by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: Would You Do Business With You? Would You Recommend You?

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The 3 Step Approach to Treating Injuries

Most sports injuries are either strains or sprains. These injuries are painful but can usually be treated successfully at home. Strains result from "pulling" muscles and tendons that attach muscles to the bone. Sprains are more serious and occur when ligaments stretch or tear. Symptoms of these injuries include pain and swelling in the first 24 hours followed by discoloration and stiffness.

The best home treatment is a three-step approach. Just remember the acronym I-C-E: Ice, Compression and Elevation.

ICE

The first thing to do to an injured area is apply ice, which will help reduce the swelling. Keep the ice directly on the area for 20 minutes. It's best not to use chemical ice (the kind used in coolers) because the temperature isn't low enough.

Also helpful is an ice massage. Use six-ounce paper cups to freeze water, then tear off half the paper and rub the ice on the swollen area for 8 to 12 minutes each hour.

Don't apply heat until the swelling has gone down. Then alternate between hot and cold treatments to encourage blood flow.

COMPRESSION

Wrap the injured area with an elastic bandage to help prevent further swelling and give support. Don't wrap the area too tightly or wear the bandage overnight. You can also purchase an inflatable air cast at a pharmacy or medical supply store.

ELEVATION

Prop an injured leg on a chair and use a sling to elevate an injured arm or wrist. If problems persist contact a physician.

Tech-Smart Home Buyers [infographic]

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(To see this infographic on its original site: click here.)

TECH-SMART HOME BUYERS

More than three quarters of house hunters say technology has made them smarter home buyers. They consider and use technology in both searching for a home and interacting with REALTORS

37% read profiles of real estate agents online

74% say they think it's important that their agent is tech-savvy

89% use online resources during the homebuying process

THE TOP THREE WAYS BUYERS ONLINE TOOLS TO FIND HOMES:

83% scan real estate listings

72% use maps to explore neighborhoods

71% use email, apps, and websites to submit documents to lenders

10 Mistakes People Make with Toxic Clients (plus 1 bonus)

(To listen to the podcast version, click here.)

Lightning fast read meant to make you think...

10 Mistakes People Make with Toxic Clients (plus 1 bonus):

1. Reinforce their toxicity because they have a lot of money.
2. Reinforce their toxicity because they want their money.
3. Aren't able to say "no" to them.
4. Don't realize the emotional drain a toxic client is having.
5. Forget that spending time with toxic clients steals away spending time with healthy (normal) clients.
6. Overlook the adverse affects on their overall business and public persona that a toxic client can bring.
7. Overlook warning others to steer clear (you will save them a huge headache).
8. Don't point out / confront their toxicity for fear of what might happen (he or she might "explode"?).
9. Allow a toxic client (or two) to drive them from their business (make them quit).
10. Rehearse their experiences with toxic clients constantly (let it go; you'll be the better for it).

BONUS Would rather have a toxic client than no client at all (really?).













by Mike C (aka blog boy)

You might also be interested in: 10 Mistakes People Make with Criticism 10 Mistakes People Make with Depression

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