This homeowner tip will save you money and headaches every year.  So many times when I visit homes, I see clogged gutters.  If you have a two story house, it’s easy to look out your bedroom windows and see what those gutters look like.

If there are trees anywhere around your home, be sure and get all those gorgeous leaves cleaned out of the gutters before the rain comes and damage occurs. It will save you money in the long run.

Just yesterday while I was showing property to a Bay Area investor, all of the homes for sale had clogged gutters.

If you don’t want to climb a ladder to look at your gutters, then wait for the first rain and take a little tour of your home to see if water is flowing out of each of the downspouts. If there is only a trickle then you need to call a handy man and have them clean your gutters out.

I love to list and sell homes that are properly maintained where a home buyer isn’t left wondering how well you took care of your home.  It’s important to be a conscientious homeowner with a well maintained house.

For those renters, be sure to call your landlord and remind them to have the gutters cleaned.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

The goal I set out with home buyers and home sellers is to first and foremost,  LISTEN.  It’s amazing what you can learn by simply listening.   Some home buyers wonder if their Realtor ® is hard of hearing and some sellers, too.  I’m sure you can relate…how many times do you repeat yourself or walk away shaking your head?  Is anyone listening?

Looking for just the right house with just the right bedrooms, big kitchen close to schools and a yard fit for a king becomes the house my boss will call home.  There is nothing quite like finding just the right home for a buyers.  To see the look in their eyes and the excitement when their offer is accepted by the seller.

After all the disclosures, the inspections the day finally arrives when I know that I have succeeded.  That day is when I hand the new homeowner the key to their home and say, “welcome home.”  Those are my favorite words.  Everyone succeeds.  The boss is happy and I’m happy!

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

Yes, communication is the key not only to successfully closing on your new house while keeping in touch with your Realtor and communicating with your Lender but it’s true in LIFE.    Businesses fail and the primary reason usually breaks down to lack of communication. Marriages end in divorce and the primary reason is lack of communication. Wars are fought and you know the rest…

In this age of email and smart phones communication has become easier and yet, there are so many who fail to communicate.  Short Sales would run a lot smoother if banks and agents communicated at least on a weekly basis to keep each other and their clients updated.  There’s nothing like feeling as though you are in a “black hole,” which is where many home buyers in today’s real estate market who are buying Short Sales seem to be.

I make an effort to pick the phone up and actually call people…a lost art!  You can tell a lot by listening to someone’s voice.  The apprehension, the excitement, the anger, the indecision and yes the happiness with a job well done…these are things that are guessed at with emails and text messages. 

Yes, we are a busy society where emails  and text messages have their place but don’t sacrifice reaching out to someone every now and then by just making that personal call.  

Have you ever been frustrated waiting for an answer or hoping someone would call with an update and no one called?

I can honestly say that none of my clients are ever not informed or kept up-to-date.  It’s part of my business plan.  Won’t you make it part of yours?

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

It’s Veteran’s Day and I want to thank all those who sacrificed their lives for us each of us and those that continue to help make this Country free.  Give a Veteran a hug today and thank them.

Until the President signed the bill to extend the Home Buyer tax credit, it was merely speculation and wishful thinking on our part. Friday, November 6th, President Obama signed the bill extending the current $8,000 home buyer tax credit until April 30, 2010.

The caveat to this date is that if you have a ratified contract in place on April 30, 2010, then you will have until July 1, 2010 to actually close and be eligible for the tax credit.  Also, if you file your income tax separately then, there is a $4.000 tax credit.

Also, any home buyer who is a current homeowner and lived in their home ( used as their primary residence) for 5 years of the past 8 years can also get $6,500 tax credit.

Many of the home buyers  worked with did not qualify for the tax credit due to their income, however this too has changed.  Now, a home buyer’s income can be as high as $125,000 per person and $225,000 for couples.

There is a cap on how much the house or condo the home buyer is purchasing and that cap is $800,000

Remember to attach the HUD statement to your tax return as this will serve as proof  of your home purchase.

Click for chart explaining the Home buyer Tax Credit showing the difference in the previous tax credit and what is part of the new tax credit bill provided by the National Association of Realtors.

So, don’t delay…get your PreApproval letter from your Lender and let’s get started.  If you’ve talked to any home buyer in the past year, then you know it takes an incredible amount of time to get a house these days.   Now, is your time to become a homeowner.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

October 2009  brought 5, 223 single family homes for sale in the MLS.

There were 2, 466 offers accepted by home sellers and only 1,663 homes actually sold in Sacramento County which is down slightly from last month’s single family home sales .  The average sold price of a home in Sacramento County for the month of October was $208,775 having 1,693 square feet up from last month.

As always each month you can view the homes actively for sale, homes that received offers and sold home by clicking on the Neighborhood /County Market Statistics. Chose the County, month and year you wish to see the stats for.

On Sacramento Real Estate Voice, not only can you view the stats each month but you can also see every home and condo for sale.  You can also choose whether you want to see bank owned homes for sale, short sale homes for sale or traditional home sales. Just click on Sacramento MLS and start making your selections.

Click to see all homes for sale that have at least 4 bedrooms.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

As a Sacramento homeowner it is vital that you check your Property Tax bill. Mistakes are made and believe it or not, if you overpay your taxes for years you may not get reimbursed for what the County feels is your responsibility.  I have seen it happen and it’s not a pretty sight!

Don’t assume your property tax bill is correct…you know what they say about that word, ASSume.

So, all of you new home buyers be sure to double check each year, the statement that you get from the County Assessor’s office and make sure that your taxes are correct.  Even though the County does send your new tax assessment to your bank, it is still your responsibility to make sure those taxes are paid so double check with your mortgage loan servicer that they have your up-to-date property tax bill.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

Was this an inside job? Does this happen in other areas? Is there a cover up?

Well, for those who didn’t happen to see the news, it seems that a 3,803 square foot under priced luxury home sold in a mere 13 minutes from being entered into the MLS. 

You ask yourself why is that so unusual?  It IS… and in this case it seems that this house was a bank owned home for sale for about $200,000 under the going market for an asking price of $460,000.  You ask, who was the bank?  Oh, the bank was US Bank.

Ready for the kicker, the smelly fish?

Seems the asset manager for US Bank, Linda Merrihew who just so happens to own a home in Rancho Murieta and “guided the property through the foreclosure process” has a son Lance Merrihew who bought this under-priced luxury home in 13 minutes. oh yes, he owns another home in Rancho Murieta, too.  (Someone made a mistake on the sold price. MLS says $460,000 and the tax records say $465,000).  The smell just continues. Do you think the share holders at US Bank know about this one???

The fish smell is tremendous on this one!  It smells all the way from Rancho Murieta to Sacramento.

Bet you wish your mother worked as an asset manager and you could underpay and get a house in 13 minutes from it going public on MLS.  Wow, that’s pretty fast offering writing and approval!  Be sure to read Realtors Question Rancho Murieta Foreclosure Sale. 

Hey, maybe that’s a solution for all the home buyers having trouble getting their offers accepted…I’ll just become an asset manager…or not.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

How about absentee Real Estate Brokers?

Seems like there is an elephant in the room that has been and continues to be overlooked.

A licensed real estate agent must work under a Broker.  That means the Real Estate Broker is to oversee the agent’s work by offering assistance and training.  This is a step to help safe guard the consumer.

In the State of California, there are “name only” Brokers.  What is a “name only” Broker?

This is a Real Estate Broker who is NOT in the same office and may be in Southern CA while the real estate agent is in Northern CA. 

Real Estate Brokers make a percentage of whatever the agent brings in terms of sales so there are Brokers who see dollar signs and realize they can have a lot of agents working under them and thereby make money but provide little if anything to those Realtors ® working for them.

It is my feeling that this is NOT in the best interest of the consumer, the home buyer and the home seller. This type of practice results in agents who have little or no supervision or training and that can only have a negative impact on the home buyers and home sellers.

While these Real Estate Brokers are making money by being “in name only” so is the CA Association of Realtors.  Until and unless the CA Association of Realtors stands up and protects home buyers and home sellers by stopping this practice, it will continue. 

Real Estate Brokers have a responsibility to the public.  Banks have a responsibility to the public…correlation?

What do you think about this elephant in the room? Do you see a problem with Real Estate Brokers who are in name only? There was a reason behind why Brokers and agents take different exams and are given different licenses.  Do you think maybe we should expect those reasons to be adhered to?

If you want this to change, let the CA Association of Realtors know how you feel about the absentee Real Estate Broker by calling (916) 227–0864 or check out the associated emails and additional phone numbers by clicking on DRE Contact Information.

And yes, I also don’t believe that a Broker can do loans and sell property.  To me, splitting your time between the two means you really aren’t excellent at either one. These are changes that I feel would work better for the consumer, the home buyer and the home seller.  Do we need to have a break down of the system before this is challenged?

Let me know your thoughts…does this matter to you?

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to by Gena Riede, Sacramento Realtor ® specializing in helping home buyers and home sellers be sure to check out and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email.   Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice

Be sure to have a fun and safe Halloween and please watch out for all those little goblins on the street, Saturday.

Then, on Saturday night turn those clocks back…it’s that time of year again. And you might as well change those batteries in your smoke detectors and have a safe night sleeping.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.

Each month you can view the real estate stats for homes for sale, homes in pending sale and homes sold by simply clicking on Neighborhood/County Market Statistics.

This chart includes all of the cities and neighborhood in Yolo County, they are as follows:

Capay Valley, Clarksburg, Davis, Dunnigan, Knights Landing/Robbins, Madison/Esparto, Springlake, West Sacramento, Wild Wings,  Winters, Woodland, Yolo and Zamora.

In September 146 single family homes sold bring the average sales price for a home in Yolo County to $278,949

August 2009 152 homes sold bring the average home price to $287,310

July was a hot month for Yolo County with 175 homes selling with a top sales price of $329,314.

Be sure to check back here for October’s home sales and see if the trend continues to fall.

If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe to get the latest articles sent to your email.

Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in . As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I am here to help you avoid foreclosure.  Let’s talk and see if you qualify for a Short Sale. Your Short Sale agent.