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Sonoma County info

Dec 16
0

Life is good in Sonoma County…

By | Buyers, RE Investing, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine Tasting | No Comments

Did you already get a chance to drop by WineSpectum in downtown Santa Rosa’s Rail Road Square? I did meet with a friend – the best chiroprator I know: Patrick Pisenti -> just opened his office in Santa Rosa- and it was a great experience. Roland Hankerson the manager is extremely knowledgeable about wine and the selections is unusual. WineSpectrum is a wine bar, the store next to the bar and you are able to buy the wine you enjoyed at the bar. Often they put wines on the list before they become famous. It’s worth going there and try some unknown wines.

We enjoyed a Cabernet Franc from Kenefick Ranch, it was Caitlin’s Select and it was delicious. You should try it before it’s sold out. It was a wine Roland recommended and it surely was a great pick.

Which brings me to my Real Estate thought for the day: the interest rates have come down over the last week, there are plenty of good deals around in Sonoma County, NOW is a great time to buy. We are already seeing multiple offer situations on the super deals : investors are jumping in. For anybody renting and thinking about buying: NOW is a good time to look at the numbers. You’d be surprised how ‘affordable’ Sonoma County has become for starters and how many interesting deals there are for investors.

Have a great day!

Mirjam de Rijk

(707) 486-2638

Dec 12
0

Commercial Historical Properties

By | Buyers, RE Investing, Sonoma County info | No Comments

Yesterday at our commercial broker meeting, I did come across the flyer of the Old Silk Mill in Petamula, a national historic landmark and a great investment opportunity and it’s for sale. The zoning is light industrial but if you take a look at the building and the location: wouldn’t it be a great place for a condo? It would be perfect: historical architecture, 3 blocks from the Theater District, 2 blocks from the new transit center.

A few months ago I mentioned that I was selling the oldest church building in Calistoga. Initially I did not think that it would be interesting as a residence. The property is currently in escrow and the buyers are planning to change the property into a private residence. I did see the plans… it is going to be spectacular! I did change my mind: the highest and best use in this case is residential.

A few of historical buildings in San Francisco have been converted to condos and a few churches have been converted into residences. Owning a converted historical property is not for every one but you will for sure own a unique property.

Also, no matter what the media will tell you, today is a great time to buy or sell real estate.

Have a great day!

mirjamnew.jpg Mirjam

Mirjam@c21alliance.com

Dec 01
0

Want to sell your house?

By | Sellers, Sonoma County info | No Comments

Kevin Boer had too much fun writing the article “Top 10 Ways To NOT Sell Your House”. As a Realtor I take my job seriously and assist my clients with great staging ideas, help with colors, make sure to do the pest inspection etc. etc. I mean, think of it, having your home on the market is not fun and it’s always my goal to make that process as short and painful as possible.

However, over the years I have talked to a lot of people about selling their home (guess what… yes… I am a Realtor…) and you’d be surprised how often sellers do the things mentioned by Kevin.

I don’t want my neighbors to know we are selling… Hmmm let me think… Yes one seller did mention that years ago. I had to tell her that neighbors quite often are a great source for potential buyers, if they like the neighborhood they want their friends to live there too.

No yard sign… same reason… Overprice the home. Yes we all think our home is the best in the neighborhood, Realtors who sell their own home/set their own price often do the same. We are no better when it comes to selling OUR home.

Long story short. If you decide to sell, be serious about it. No yard sign means that you are fooling yourself and not ready to sell you home: you don’t want to be reminded that you are selling your home every time you come home.

Over the years I have come to realize that sometimes people are not ready to sell their home for what ever reason. There are ways to make yourself ready, one is clearing out your home. You will go through memory lane but it will help you mentally get ready to sell your home.

Have a great weekend!

Mirjam – Mirjam@c21alliance.com

Nov 30
0

Real Estate is a good investement!

By | Financial news, RE Investing, Sonoma County info | No Comments

No matter what the newspapers are telling: today is a good day to buy and sell real estate.

This morning’s paper had a small article about something what I have been trying to tell all my clients and anybody who wants to hear it: Strange but true: Real estate good investment now.

The article is about Real Estate Investments Trusts, more interesting for investors. However, with the home prices at the level where they are at right now and the rents tending to go up, it is a great time to either move up or stop renting and buy a home. Recently we did a rent versus own comparison and it did bring out an interesting fact for a lot of situations: If you keep on renting you will end up spending more per month.

And for the investors among you: if the rent versus own tips over in favor of the home owner, guess what that means if you are the landlord… that monthly rent check will bring cash flow!!!

And there are still some good loan programs out there, you’d be surprised!

Have a great day.

Mirjam – 707-486-2638

Nov 23
0

Gen Y, who are they and how to we sell to them?

By | Financial news, Sonoma County info | No Comments

We hear about the “Baby Boomers”, the “Gen X and Y ” and the “Millenniums”….what does this have to do with the future of mortgages? In the latest issue of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) newsletter we learn that Gen Y will set the pace for the upcoming decade by their buying habits. Michael Murphy tells us….

“Financial institutions see Generation Y—a tech-savvy age group ranging from 15 to 29 in age—as a potentially lucrative but also more traditional demographic than previous generations, with nearly 80 million consumers and an overall annual income of more than $200 billion.”

Gen Y worries about their financial future because of tensions in job security, social security and future retirement, but in a recent Deloitte/Harris study showed only 31 percent of eligible Gen Y employees participate in 401K plans.

The Javelin Strategy & Research study showed Gen Y as more traditional in financial activity. In Javelin’s study of 2,800 consumers, it showed Gen Y as not ready to abandon the brick-and-mortar channels of financial institutions despite the group’s proclivity to initiate online transactions and use mobile phones.

When selecting a new financial services provider, Gen Y consumers ranked access to ATMs and access to branches as more important than online service capabilities, in comparison to other age groups, according to Javelin’s data. In the past 12 months 80 percent of older Gen Y used an ATM for either a deposit or withdrawal, nearly 60 percent used an automated telephone system to perform a banking transaction, and 90 percent visited a branch, demonstrating an apparent demand for multi-channel availability.

So what does this tell us?? If we are going to be successful in selling to this group we will need to provide a full array of avenues for them to contact us….not just new technology but the ole’ fashion “let me help” you “in person” sort of way.

Denise