What do you think about how our parks effect our home values?

Next week I have been invited to speak to the Sacramento Board of Supervisors about the impact of our area parks on home values. As I am preparing my comments, I am wondering what you would tell your Supes. What advise do you have for me?

It seems to me most of our finest neighborhoods are near our parks. We have William Land Park, McKinley Park, Curtis Park, Ancil Hoffman Park, Goethe Park, just to name a few. We have the Effie Yeaw Nature Center where our area school children learn. But best of all, Sacramento Area is blessed with the American River, with its miles of protected parkway. With walking trails, horse trails and miles and miles of paved bike trails, the parkway defines what I love about our area.

But the impact on home values..... Hmmm. I've got some interesting ideas on how to formulate my 3 minutes of fame, and some major number crunching to do.

The issue here is budget cuts.... and huge proposed cuts to our park programs. If it can be shown that our parks keep prices up, that would ultimately keep taxes up, as well, which means they pay for themselves.



What do you think? How do you think the condition and improvements at your area parks effect your home values?



flickr Photo by etgeek, mrmitch, and pete baer.

The Right Kitchen Remodel Pays For Itself!

A complete kitchen remodel isn't cheap...$20K - $40K on average. But if you have an ugly kitchen, you will drop the price of your home by more than that to sell.

Would you pay $25K more for this home with this kitchen?

Or think of it this way, if you were a buyer, how much would you take off the price of a home if it's kitchen looked like the "before" kitchen below?

This kitchen was MAJORLY UGLY... bad flow, funky cabinets, ugly counters, yucky lighting, dated tile floors, a dropped ceiling and right-in-your-face hanging cabinets.

Before putting it on the market, we redesigned it, (thanks Suzanne Kyle Space Planner & Interior Design) gutted the old one, and built a beautiful new kitchen with new hardwood flooring and contemporary lighting. (Thanks DR Dunbar Construction Services... my sweetie). What a difference!

(See how expanding the cabinet around the corner opened up the whole space? That was Suzanne's money making idea.)

Sellers, To get your home ready to sell.... call me.... I GOT PEOPLE!