Top 5 Traits Your Real Estate Agent Should Have

  Here are the top 5 traits a real estate agent should have BEFORE you hire them. Do you agree? Did I miss any? Check out the video and let me know your thoughts.   1. Communication 2. Responsiveness 3. Outline What to Expect 4. Experience 5. The Right Vibe for you   #realtor #realestate #homebuying #homeselling #homesweethome #california #sacramento #successmindset   For a 60 second or less version of this article, check out the "This Short Video" "More Buyer Information" "More Seller Information"  

What's the deal with Curb Appeal? Worth it or Not

Curb Appeal is one of the most affordable options homeowners have that can increase the sales price of a home.   There are any number of improvements we can make to a home, but typically unless you’re a property flipper you want to do the least amount of work that will net you the greatest return.  For most homes, curb appeal happens to be typically the cheapest (and quickest) way to increase net profits. From experience most homeowners without any special tools can even do most curb appeal work themselves, which further makes it the cheapest way to get the biggest return.  When I’m working with my clients I always start with, “Are you willing to do any work at all.” If they are willing, then the next question is “Do we have a budget to complete any projects, and if so how much.” Finally we come up with a list of items that either stand out as huge red flags to potential buyers, or would make the home show as best as possible. This is of course, only for those sellers who are willing and able to take on work. Some homes we simply sell as-is because that’s what’s best for that particular seller.  Once we have our list of what creates the net greatest return to the seller, we get to work. I have excellent referrals who are affordable and diligent in all trades, or if the homeowners are willing to do work themselves, we create a plan and a timeline. The plan takes into account the current market trends to ensure whatever projects we plan to undertake we are getting the home on the market in a time that will net the seller the greatest return. Typically the highest sales prices for homes in the Sacramento Valley is spring and summer, but that changes in other areas where I’ve sold listings.  In short, every home has different needs and curb appeal statistically helps homes sell quicker and for more. There are time tested and proven strategies to put more money in sellers pockets and save stress and frivious projects, which is why working with a professional will help you put any funds or time available to the highest and best use, netting you (the seller) the most on a property sale. Check out More Home Buyer informationCheck out more Home Seller information

If You Hate your Family - Don't get a Trust - What you Need to know about Trusts in CA

This may be the most important information I've ever shared with anyone. I’ve spent years learning what I'm about to share, and hours compiling the information in an easy to understand format for you. It’s comprehensive and important for anyone who has assets, cars, money, and especially real estate.  If you’ve worked with me, you know I love to be as forward thinking as possible. When we are in a transaction together I‘m always outlining next steps in emails and talking about the hurdles ahead in our escrow experience, or even what's on the horizon when you finally close on your home. Now it’s time to think about the most unpleasant event in our lives, Death and/ or incapacitation leading up to our passing.  Do you know when you’re going to die? I sure don’t, and I have always strived (and failed) to live every day like it may be my last, full of love, personal growth, family time, and - to the best of my ability  - make wise decisions. Thankfully, one of the first things I did when I had anything to my name was create what we’re about to discuss today, a trust.  In my career, I have seen the passing of family members tear families apart. Not just because of what you might think, grieving greedy family members, but also because when the costs of passing begin to pile up, families feel the pressure and stress of the reality of their situation (in addition to the grief they are faced with). In these situations,  there is always a struggle for families without a trust who have to often come out of pocket to pay for the many burial expenses, debts, lawyers, and probate fees associated with the passing away of a loved one.  The video will go into far greater detail but in short: Trusts can save families from attacking each other Trusts will save your descendants estate lawyers fees - (Per hour or % of estate value) Trusts will save state probate fees ( Google “how much is “ Your State” state probate fee )* Trusts will dictate who is in control of managing your estate when you pass  Trusts can outline your advanced healthcare directive Trust can create a rule book of your wishes for charity Trusts empower a person or multiple people to have financial power at your passing or incapacity Simply put a trust dictates who gets what and keeps lawyers, nefarious actors, and the state from getting any more of your hard earned assets or money *CA probate as of July of 2024 charges 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, 0.5% of the next $15,000,000 based on the value of your estate - Real estate, Jewelry, Cash, Banks accounts, retirement account funds, Insurance money etc. As I mention in the video, I have learned so much in my career, and though they are not a sponsor for me or my content I feel Anderson Business Partners lead me to success in the creation of my trust and other services. They are nationwide and will give a free 30 minute consultation where other attorneys would otherwise charge per hour, and for that I am happy to share with you my link. I know there is some kind of spiff for me from them (I don't know what it is) if you elect to use them, but from the bottom of my heart I just straight up trust them and all they’ve taught me from phone calls and their many youtube videos. Use them just for the free phone call, or sign up if you like, it doesn’t matter to me but please create a trust. It will save so much more than tens of thousands of dollars for your family. Link to a free 30 minute phone consultation with Anderson Business Advisory Entity Planning Department.  https://andersonadvisors.com/ss/?utm_campaign=affiliate-ss&utm_source=affiliate&tfa_2278=Affiliate&utm_medium=john%20campos&tfa_2275=7016f00000194OZ&aff_id=11ad05c7 Postscript: Check out my other video and blog post on Proposition19 in CA to understand a more detailed look at the tax implications of real estate when you pass. Also it covers a special tax incentive for those who are victims of natural disasters and 55+ who move within the state and how they can transfer their lower tax basis to their next home.  Check out More Home Buyer informationCheck out more Home Seller information

Mid-Summer - Real Estate Market Update 2024 - Greater Sacramento - California - National Trends

This is a comprehensive breakdown both in video form at the top and charts/ graphs below. In both I work to give a breakdown of the data and my opinion on some occasions. This is your Sacramento Real Estate market for June and July 2024 with a look at Placer, El Dorado, and California stats as well as a national perspective on prices and interest rates.    Quick Market Update: The market has been faster moving and competitive these last 2 months with decent homes earning multiple offers compared to our May report. The market isn’t scorching hot, but there are still groups of buyers at nearly every open house. Also, I’m still showing various families multiple homes and I have multiple listings upcoming. I find unique and well-priced homes are selling quickly, so-so houses or people listing for the highest price on mediocre houses are sitting. Average days on the market for a home is 26 days, this has remained steady. Most sellers are selling because of big life changes or to use the equity to keep the payment on their next house low. Sac county median price increased from $557k at the end of May to $562k as of July 21.   Sellers:  Selling prices in 2024 are still at a yearly peak, so acting quickly will help you capture the highest net profits before they begin to decrease going into fall/winter. This is the statistical point where prices begin a slow decline into winter. The Inventory (# of homes available) is lower than it is on an average year, but has grown quickly from May through July.    Buyers:  There is a new down payment assistance program that gives $15,000 toward buyers down payment for first time home buyers* and the rate only increases by 1/8th of a percent, which is NOTHING compared to past programs. Compared to my last update, expect prices overall to begin to decrease. This is property specific however! Excellent properties priced well nearly always have multiple offers over asking. Interest rates have continued to drop slightly now around 6.8% down from this year's high of 7.5%. Though not moving much from this range in the last few weeks. If they change significantly in either direction, this will skew the market. *First Time Home buyer for this program is someone who has not purchased a home in 3 years. They CAN own a home. They may have purchased homes in the past.    Interest rates provided here are only provided as a national average, and can vary from person to person, and lender to lender. By my calculation 7.42% - Historical Median Interest Rate from 1971 - 2023   In RED below, you will see rates continue trending downward below 7%, in our last report we were only slightly starting to trend at and below 7%. This is great for buyers and sellers alike, BUT will increase competition if the trend continues. Detailed Sacramento Market as of the last published report: Sacramento County (including Cities of West Sacramento): Median Sold Price Month / Month- July vs May down 1.4% Median Sold Price Year / Year - Is up 5.08% Housing Inventory - Inventory is increasing starting in May Monthly Median Price Sold - June was $559,000 Current Median Price Approx. - As of 7/21/24  $562,000  My Take on the Sacramento Market: Median price appears to have plateaued for the year, lower than the all-time high price of $575,000 set in May of 2022. 2022 was also notably before interest rates continued to drastically increase. However, if rates continue to drop, there’s a chance the median price can continue to rise though at this point it will likely be 2025. A 5% growth in 2025 like we saw this year would have the median price hit $588,000 next summer. The market is mixed, some homes are priced well and/or a “dream home” that everyone wants, those seem to sell very quickly or for above the comparables. Average homes need to be priced right to sell quicker than the 40 day average days on market. Expect homes to sit on the market longer this winter unless interest rates drop to below 6.5%.    California Market: Redfin data shows Year over year Growth of: California - 7.7% Sacramento County Only (not including City of West Sac) - 5.8% Placer County - (-0.72)% El Dorado County - 2.6% Note: County Data is vast with numerous rural areas. If you want specific data on your Zip Code please let me know and we can discuss your specific needs.      Nationwide: We are seeing growth across all regions year over year nationwide, albeit, slower than West region up at 3.5%. This is still steady growth nationally and is evidence of a healthy market. I would expect to see a decrease through winter nationwide, which is cyclical and normal.      Sources: https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook/june-2024-existing-home-sales-drop-as-median-price-hits-426900 https://www.redfin.com/state/California/housing-market https://sacrealtor.org/housing-statistics/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US https://www.car.org/marketdata/data/ftbhai/ https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms https://trendgraphix.com/   Check out More Home Buyer informationCheck out more Home Seller information