John M. Scott's Blog

Time and date Stamp on those Photos? I seem to be getting more involved in REO properties. One lender requires photos taken every week with a time and date stamp (to verify I went there?) And another one who does their own trash out told me that all the trash was out - but it wasn't. They wanted ...

REO Trash Out - Lessons Learned Awhile back I got a new REO listing. It evolved from a Short Sale Listing I had. You can read all about it from some of my past blogs, especially related to Squatters. Never a dull moment, it seems. I met the guys from Junk King at the property today. I had a 2 hou...

Shimmering Skies of San Francisco San Francisco's weather on any given day can be as varied as the people who live here. I see a lot of foggy days with gray skies near the Pacific Ocean that change to brilliant deep blue skies as I drive past Twin Peaks to the other side of the City. But yesterda...

Required Pre-Sale Inspections - South San Francisco Just about every city in the San Francisco Bay area requires some sort of city mandated inspection or report prior to the sale of a 1 to 4 unit building. South San Francisco requires a Home Safety Inspection by the Fire Prevention Division prior...

REO Properties and Legal Requirements   I've written a few recent posts about keeping REO / vacant properties safe. Two of the latest are Squatters in the House! Police were called and Be Careful of the Squatters.   I live in San Francisco, which is only 47 square miles (according to Wikipedia) ,...

San Francisco Market Focus Report – October   The October issue of Market Focus Report, issued by the San Francisco Association of Realtorsbrings more encouraging news with the number of Home Sales Back on the Rise.   The following is an excerpt from the report, and focuses on Single Family Homes...

Squatters in the House! Police were called. I have an REO listing in Antioch, CA, not quite on market yet. I've been working with the former owner so he can get the last of his belongings out of the house first. The bank has been cooperating. A week ago, the 'owner' was at the house on Sunday, mo...

Shared Experiences = Life Long Value I was thinking earlier this afternoon about shared experiences and the bonds that come out of them. I remembered an experience I had 10 years ago while I was an Architect at KMD Architects  in San Francisco. I was sent to an 'Executive Speaking Experience Work...

Floor Time and Walk-In Opportunities It was roughly a month ago when a couple from Modesto stopped by our office in San Francisco's  West Portal on a quiet afternoon. They have a home in West Portal / Inner Parkside that had been rented out for the past 12 years. The tenants and sub-tenants final...

QR Codes have a new Use! So, I just read an article from SF Biz Journals about a firm that will, for $8,500 put a huge QR Code on a building roof so it will appear in satellite photos of Google Earth or Google maps. Of course, your roof has to be big enough! The company isn't associated with Goog...