As a parent of children in the local schools in the San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale and Boulder Creek) I was nervous when I first saw the school rankings of the local schools. We had decided to move back here in 2011. At the time SLV Elementary was struggling with a 6 on […]
Insurability Issues….…
INSURABILITY ISSUES… I’ve noticed that homebuyers often put off ordering their homeowner’s insurance policy until the week before closing. It is wise to investigate the insurability of both the home and the buyer as early as possible. That’s right, both the home AND the buyer need to be approved by the insurance company before they […]
Credit for Closing Costs
Credits for Closing Costs… Sometimes a buyer will ask a seller to pay for their closing costs. But, there could be a problem with credits for closing costs when the lender won’t allow credits to apply against some closing costs. Or when the buyer’s costs don’t add up to what was negotiated between buyer and […]
Solar News
Two items came to my attention recently in regards to solar power for your home that I thought you should be aware of. The first is that the federal tax credit that was set to expire at the end of 2016 was just extended for five more years. I’ve heard VERY little mention of this […]
Interest rate update 2016
The Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates. That is the first time they’ve done that in about 10 years. Gasp! That must mean that we’ll all be paying higher interest rates and our hot real estate market will cool down, right? Actually, since the Fed raised rates, actual mortgage rates haven’t changed that much. Maybe […]
Riding the Wave of the New Tech Economy (another perspective on local housing)
Here is an article I co-wrote with my colleague Liz Kroft you might find interesting. Santa Cruz is experiencing a technology boom and housing is becoming an issue we need to talk about. Here is the article: Riding the Wave of the New Tech Economy (another perspective on local housing) POSTED ON FEBRUARY 19, 2015 BY […]
If you don’t communicate with your customer how can you expect to succeed?
If you don’t communicate effectively with your client, how can you expect to understand the needs and requirements to smoothly close the sale? The two biggest requests of Millennials is to be responsive and have local knowledge. In other words, pick up the phone, answer the email, text back, and study your market area. As […]
Great customer service is paramount to being a great Realtor
Over the years of being a Realtor I have always maintained that treating customers with respect is paramount to my success. I always under promise and over deliver on my service. As a Realtor, we are working on our customers most important and largest financial obligation. Whether you are selling a home or buying a […]
Millennials looking toward homeownership. The next wave of homebuyers.
As Millennials get ready to be homebuyers, there are some interesting statistics coming out about what they want, how many want to buy and what their needs are. As a Realtor we should not ignore Millennials as a future and current demographic. Interesting enough is the fact that over 65% are going to want Single […]
Buyer optimism way up.
Take a look at the latest graphic on buyer optimism and see if you agree. Have you tried to enter the marketplace. How do you feel?