Author Archives: Mirjam

About Mirjam

Sonoma County Real Estate Specialist.

$ 8,000 Tax Credit, did you take advantage of it?

Who doesn’t want to take advantage of Tax Credits? Remember the Federal Tax Credit programs offering $7,500 and later $8,000 to first time home buyers? A lot of Home Buyers did take advantage of it. There are some hick-ups with … Continue reading

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Insurance Scam?… or???

As we all know, news sells because it’s catchy and the person writing the headline for a story is usually not the journalist writing the story. With that said, last week one of my buyer clients asked me whether I … Continue reading

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Short Sale = not Bank Owned

In general when you see overviews of Distressed Sales, REO/bank owned sales are put together with Short Sales. This might give the false impression that a Short Sale is a bank owned sale. However, a SHORT SALE IS NOT OWNED … Continue reading

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Million Dollar Views!

Number one rule in Real Estate World Wide: Location, Location, Location. It’s all about the perfect location, either surrounded by trees, at the end of the cul-de-sac, next to a harbor or on top of a hill with the 180 degrees … Continue reading

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The Roof over your Head

Before I moved to California I was under the impression that roofs were either thatched or made of tile. My grandparents had a thatched roof made of reed. This was customary for the older farm houses. I had always lived … Continue reading

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House on Fire!

As mentioned before, in Sonoma County, it is cheaper to buy than to rent. BUT there is a major difference between being the tenant vs being the OWNER… When renting, the landlord is ultimately responsible/liable for the house/asset. In the … Continue reading

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Foreclosures, is it that bad in Sonoma County?

Following the news headlines might give you the impression that every home that is being sold right now is in foreclosure… As this might be the case in certain areas, this is not the case in Sonoma County. To give … Continue reading

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Deficiency: shortage, deficit… or paying back what you owe…

The majority of people who buy a home need a mortgage or a loan. The home is yours, you pay the mortgage back over the life of the loan. When you sell the home you pay off the remainder of … Continue reading

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Earthquake Fault Zones and due diligence…

Looking for the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood? There is a little secret I need to share: there is no such thing as the perfect home/perfect place … Ouch… The home might be a great match, the neighborhood might … Continue reading

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Banks not supporting Energy Independence Program

As Kermit in Sesame street sang: ‘It’s not easy being green’ Sonoma County in general has been promoting lowering our dependence on fossil fuels for a while now. Not only in big things but also in small things like using … Continue reading

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