How a Pile of Puckey Taught me to be an Optimist

I remember the day I become a positive person. I was about 7, and snuggled up on the back dashboard of my parents yellow and white Studebaker. Looking for animals shapes in the clouds as we rumbled through the hills of Mt. Shasta , returning from our yearly trek to Seattle.

My jokester Dad was at the wheel.

"Ya ever hear the one about the twins who both wanted a pony? "

"No, Dad.. tell it".

"Both twins wanted a pony in the worst way. Yearned for one. Would do anything just to get one. Once day they were brought to a barn door, chockful of horse puckey. (I'm sure he said shit, but Iet's pretend he didn't swear in front of a 7 year old.) The first twin started bawling. "Why that's nothin but a bunch of puckey.... WWHAAAAA I wanted a pony... WWhhAAAAAAA.....

"The second twin grabbed a shovel and started shoveling for all she was worth. Between huffs and puffs she gasped out 'With all this horse puckey, there's GOT to be a pony in there SOMEWHERE!!!!'.

"And that's the difference between an optimist and a pessimist", he said. "It's all in how you see things. You got a choice"

My little 7 year old brain latched onto that one. Hmmm, I'ld rather believe there a pony in there. You can choose how to look at things. The glass can be half full, or half empty.... Hmmm. I like that.

I thought of my Mom on our yearly trips to Seattle during the broiling valley heat. Wet dishrags tucked into the windows to mimic the air conditioning we didn't have. She'd say "It could be worse. Aren't we lucky we brought dish rags?"

Driving through the flammable fields of dry dead grass on either side of the road..."Don't you just love the shimmering golden hills of California? We're so lucky. Look how the breeze billows patterns into those fields. It's art, I tell you." Hmm... never noticed. Before.

Now I can't see a dry field without thinking of my Mom's viewpoint. And marveling at the beauty. It may have been a child's decision to make my Dad happy. It may have been a way to make teachers like me. Or to be like my Mom. Who cares. I made the choice. And it's stuck with me my whole life.

Now, every time I hear someone whine about the market, and how it sucks, and how much equity we have lost, I think of horse puckey... "Yeah, but think of the buyers who are being offered the golden ticket". Complaints of interest going above 5%???"You gotta be kidding.... it could be 8%.... 5's a gift."

It's all in how you look at it.

There's a silver lining to every cloud.

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

And ya can't teach old dogs new tricks..... Now I'm stuck with it.

Life is good.

flickr photos by Jason0Morrison and VisualPanic

"How's real estate?" I'll tell you....

With a long face primed for sympathy, I get asked "How are you doing in this market?" quite frequently. Well-meaning friends and others who know I'm a realtor, assume I am suicidal about THIS MARKET... broke, in debt, and have no one to sell to, sitting all alone in an empty office day by day twiddling my thumbs.

My answer always shocks them. "I'm doing great! I have helped 20 families manage their life by buying or selling a home this year." TWENTY! (Not my record of 55, but enough to give me great satisfaction that my career is still on-track.)

"Who the heck would buy (or sell) in THIS market??? I hear it's tanked. Prices are down. And who would buy these days knowing they may lose their job???? Who has any money to buy?"
Welp.... here's the answer. Who I have sold to this year will tell you what the market is about right now.... who is buying and who is selling....

I started off 2009 with May* and her husband. She had been transferred to So Cal during a reorganization. If she wanted to keep a job, she better move. She had help from her relocation benefits, and had enough equity left over to afford a downpayment down south. (* some unusual names have been changed to protect those whose Mom is a realtor, yet they bought or sold from me.)

Buyer #2 - I love Nate! First time homebuyer, mid twenty's... ready to start being responsible and spend weekends at Lowe's. Bought a short sale, had it appraise for $40K more than he paid. THEN got the $8,000 tax credit, which was more than his $6,000 down payment. And payments less than his rent would have been. Happy Camper! (And by now, master floor refinisher, I'm sure!)

Next.... Chuck and Mary selling their life-long home. He was offered a new territory in Arizona, and, tempted by the warm weather, moved. A first time homebuyer bought theirs - (they got the $8K credit.)

Billie wanted to move across town to be closer to her grandkids. Bought a fantastic newer home from a real seller who actually had equity! Woo-Hoo. Now she Skypes her grandkids from 2 blocks away!

Jim and Mary felt ready for Sun City's "cruise-ship-on-land" atmosphere, so sold their home of 25 years... to a first time homebuyer... who got the $8K credit. I'm sure they are playing golf, instead of mowing lawn, as we speak.

Brian and Wendy moved here from a big home in Colorado, into a stunning newer home with a pool in Serrano. At a shockingly low price. She's a nurse, and he has a great state job.
Next came Shannon and Ron who had 92 year old Grampa living with them, along with 3 kids... in a home so small, they had to go outside to change their mind. They bought a bigger home, with room for all, right next to a park. (Grampa was SOOOOO cute!)

Clay and Pat bought two rentals... convinced that the upcoming economy makes this the perfect storm of interest rates, prices, and tax laws to make it INSANE to not buy rentals now. We're now on the hunt for two more, and Clay's become an expert rehabber.

Stephen, one of my friend's sons, joined the ranks of adulthood by becoming an accountant and buying his first home, all at the same time. Woo-Hoo. And he racked up the $8,000 credit, plus payments comparable to his rent.... BUT HE OWNS IT! Feet up on the ottoman, beer in hand, "Go Niners" reverberating throughout the house...... Life is good.

Josh... another twenty-something first time buyer, took the bus to my office from his state job, and wanted a home near the bus line. We got a great deal, that appraised about $60K more than our purchase price. He also got the $8K credit. Another happy camper.

Bob and Marcy felt the pull of home yanking them back to Fair Oaks after 8 years on the East Coast. A mega runner, Bob wanted a special home where he could fall out the back door and be on our magnificent American River Parkway trail. A little clandestine digging revealed the perfect spectacular bluff home, right on the trail. They move in soon. And you can bet he'll be a happy runner!

Sharon's a teacher, who after owning many homes in many locations, had recently moved back in with 90 year old Mom. Interest rates and prices were just too attractive to keep her at Mom's, so now she's painting and redecorating her own home, adjoining the parkway where she walks every weekend. SHE got the credit, too!

Bob's Dad died this year, and he needed to sell his life-long home. I did it.... for $70K more than his neighbor offered him "to save on the realtor's commission". Bob and his bank account LOVE me.

Scott and Gina moved here from the Bay Area, where they couldn't afford a yard bigger than a postage stamp for their 3 darling active girls. A sports scout, they could live anywhere. Here, they got a first-time purchase - 2000 feet of exquisite beauty on a cul-de-sac, a 3 car garage, and a play structure. Their daughter caught their dinner the other day in Folsom Lake. Happy? Yeah, I'ld say!!!

My friend's Mom moved to a care facility, so I sold her condo to help pay for her care. Unfortunately, Mom passed away during our escrow, but the funds will help pay for care of her husband.

Josh and Melanie... now HERE are happy campers. We've been looking for 2 years. (Yeah, you could say I'm patient) Their son grew up (well, tripled his age, anyway), and they had a new daughter during the time of our hunting. I felt like part of the family. Right before Christmas we closed escrow on their new home, with a pool and huge play structure. They are already deep into a kitchen remodel. The good news is that prices tanked during the time we were looking, and they ended up buying at a rock bottom price with a killer interest rate.

Then there's sweet Sam and Michelle - other first time home buyers, who only put $4K down on their new home, and will get $8K back from the Federal credit. They have already painted, done flooring and have such pride in their own home. They want to expand their family and wanted a home of their own to do it in.

Then there are more, including Craig, whose escrow fell apart when his Mom passed two weeks before closing, leaving him a home. Who needs two? Cancel escrow.

So, as you can see, people buy or sell for many reasons. Death, expanding family, taking on the responsibilities of adulthood, job transfers, changing family structures. Lots of reasons. As a realtor, I love just taking care of my peeps. I chose to not jump into the listing of bank foreclosures, or to specialize in short sales, and instead have continued to focus on what my peeps need. And as you can see, they keep needing to move, buy, sell, or make a change. It's a great business. A good life.

OOOpppps... a new blog spot.

I've started blogging at a new site. Check me out at www.FairOaksHomesAndMore.com. I discovered I can't use "Realtor" in my web address. Bummer. (Or if they throw me in the slammer over improper usage, you can visit me there...)

Fair Oaks, California, Home Prices and Sales Activity (5/09)

It's been a wild ride for homes sales in Fair Oaks, California, but for 2 months in a row we have had huge increases in the number of sales.

Sales doubled in March over the preceeding month, from 18 to 38, then increased another 10% in April, to 41.

And all the while inventory has been dropping to it's lowest numbers in over a year. With 42 pending sales out of the 132 homes on the market in Fair Oaks, that's roughly 1/3 of the homes selling in one month.

Compare that to one year ago, when only 1/5th of the homes sold.


But what effect have the increased sales had on the prices, you ask? April saw an overall increase in the average price per square foot from $143 to $149. That's down from a high of $194 last April.

Remember, this is for all price ranges. In general, the lower priced homes are going to sell for much different per-foot-prices than luxury homes.

But one thing is for sure... it's tough to build as cheaply as our homes are currently selling for.

We are in a market that may be the best buyer's market you'll ever see. Low prices, low interest, and some selection.





If you want stats on a specific price range, just holler on over. I can zero in on price for you, or provide stats for any other Sacramento area neighborhood.

How I learned... to put the FUN in Fundraising.... and channel my inner hillbilly

Sweet Potatoe Sal here... befor I git kot jackin Sally's blog, I wunna tel ya'all bout my Hillbilly Olimpiks yesturdai, wher we razed $600 fer the Salvation Army and C.A.R.E.

See, Sal's ofiss has razed $200K fer char-ty, haff a which kame from soshul partees they throwd. Peeple bot thair tikets last November at a Chili Feed at Lyon Real Estate in Fair Oaks, then she got me, Sweet Potatoe Sal, ta kum up with some gamin and food fer the partee. It wuz at Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael - peeple hed ta ware thair Sunday best, as yul see in this muvin pitchur below.

thar seems ta be some problem with this new fangeled movee stuff. Sumtimes it's thare, sometimes not.... jest like my sens a humor with teknacul difikultys. I'm workin on it... be patent, and ya'll kum bek, y'hear?

Awr gamin wuz fun... PBR beer kan relay, toelit trottin, 3 leggit hippity hop, and cherree pit spittin. Downhome Dennis roold on the pit spittin. A Washurs turnamit wuz the hi-lite. Clayster roold thet won. Thay wuz all bedder at pitchin them washurs after drinkin Junebug Julie's Pond Scum Punch, ah'l tell yu.

OK... Sally here. I sent Sweet Potatoe Sal packing. She hi-jacks my blog WAY too often. She's back in the spud patch now.

Here's how we raise so much money for our charities. We've held our lunchtime Chili Feed and Auction in our Lyon office parking lot for over 10 years. All the agents bring chili, salads, desserts and such. We charge $5 to get in, and usually have 250 - 300 people come. Do the math on that. Total, we'll raise $20,000 - $33,000 in that 3 hour period. To date we've raised around $200K!

Our big bucks come from our auction, but half of that comes from our social events. Different agents will volunteer to host an event. We've had poker parties, video scavenger hunts, talent shows, Irish parties, gourmet dinners, pirate parties, and even a Cinco De Silk Road party on May 5th. Everyone came dressed as a gypsy/goat herder/sheik/sultan/belly dancer etc. It was wild. My party this year was my Hillbilly Olympics.

The way it works.... The donor pre-selects the theme, date, time, location and # of attendees. We make a sign up sheet. At the auction, the last table to close is the social event table. You sign up for a ticket to the party (usually $15 - $45 apiece). That way the guest list will be a self-selected group who wants to come to your party. If more people want to come than there are spots for, the price goes up.

We usually make $9,000 - $12,000 on the parties alone. (My pirate party had 40 people pay $45 apiece. That's $1800 on one party alone. Course, then I had to pay to put it on!)

The best part is that our family of agents has a rocking social life throught the upcoming year. Our event is always in November, then the parties start in January usually, contiinuing right up til the following October. Next week I'm attending a Martini party. The Oktoberfest is still a ways off. A day on a houseboat is planned for this summer... with jet skiis and all. Two weeks ago was the Irish Fest.

Whew... how do we have time to sell homes with all that socializing????

Uncle Sam wants to give you free money. $8,000 smackaroos, to be exact.

As if getting to be your own landlord isn't enough, now Uncle Sam wants to give you $8K for buying a home.

Unbelievable? Yes. True, also YES.

But there are ALWAYS catches, right? Yes, but not many.

Mainly that you gotta be a first time home buyer. So, principle residence only, and you can't have owned a home in the past 3 years. Good on that one?... then read on.

You must close escrow on your home by November 30th, 2009, and is retroactive to January 1, 2009.

It has income limits, and starts to phase out at $75K income for singles, and $150K for couples filing jointly.

Can you get it now? Absolutely. You can file an amended return for 2008. Then start spending, baby.

How much? The credit is 10% of your home's purchase price, or $8,000, whichever is less. There is no repayment, unless you sell your home within 3 years.

If you are clever, you are probably asking if you can use the $8,000 as your downpayment. Before yesterday, I would have smacked your nose for being so silly. But hey.... yesterday HUD announced they would make bridge loans availble to buyers who qualify to enable use of the $8K for a downpayment. That is huge. Call me to check on how that is being implemented. It's too new to tell at this point. (Update - they've pulled back on the promise to allow it's use for your downpayment... just one day later. Stay tuned....)

So.... pretty slick, huh? It's a total gift, inspired by the Fed's desire to jumpstart our housing market and get the money flowing again. Why not let a little of it flow into your pocket?
For more details, check out the NAR site .

flickr photo by 13 faves