http://www.TheRealEstateHourBlog.com

Pt 1--Where are the Listings?  2016 is rapidly coming to a close. Here in Sonoma County our summer “Buying/Seller Season” never got off the ground. It taxied about but was never cleared for take-off. Every Realtor knows a robust real estate market, and the factor which drives every market, is a p...

Our last segment of "Buying Country Property" ended with a  discussion of  toxic waste issues. I'll develope this further and demonstrate through actual stories how to gather information to protect you and your Buyer. Here’s another “red-flag” story regarding a dairy. I was referred to a widow wh...

Buying Rural or “Country” property: PT V-This is the last part of our series on “Buying rural or country property. “ To recap, we explored gathering initial inspections on the property you are attempting to purchase; Well performance, various water testing available, septic system report and unde...

Pt IIII   We finished by recommending a competent “Permit Consultant” to help your way through the maze that is the usual County bureaucracy. S/he can go beyond “level 1” searching of file  and dig deeper into the County records.The Consultant will make sense of what’s on record and KNOW the righ...

Buying Country or “Rural” Property PT 111     In Part I and II of “Buying Country or “Rural” property I explored the differences of a “Town” versus a “Country” property.  The major difference between Town and Country? Onsite “waste disposal systems” and “water supply” residing on the same propert...

PT11  Of my series on Buying Country Property.Note of reference--I'm writing this for a Northern California audience but reports of this kind happen across the nation. The names of some of the test or reports may be different and the county department may bear a differnent name. I'm in California...

Buying “Country Property” So you want to raise some chickens and things? Pt I of a Six part series.    I’ve  blogged previously on how to write a lean and mean offer that will stand-out from all others in a “Multiple-offer’ situation.  I gave techniques on writing offers with a minimum of inspect...

   Here in the greatest state of California, we use CAR Zip Forms for almost ALL of our transactions.  Our good attorneys at CAR try and keep us all out of trouble by giving us the most up to date contracts to use for our transactions. One of our goals is keeping the lender out of the deal. The s...

   Here in the greatest state of California, with looming legalization/cultivation of marijuana on the ballot, appraisers are pushing back on requests for appraisals where known growing is underway. Here’s Proposition 64 on the California ballot in a nutshell: Legalizes marijuana under state law,...

Many Buyers AND their Realtors, are still buying into the multi-offer, way over asking price market. I’ve been tracking our market here in the “Wine Country” of Sonoma County (2nd county above the “Golden Gate” and we are seeing a distinct “Shift”.  If you refuse to know your market numbers you a...