Category

Wine

May 15
0

Sonoma County from a Dutch perspective…

By | Buyers, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine | One Comment

This week I had the honor to meet with Anthony Ebright, a lender who works for Wells Fargo. Anthony is not only specialized in FHA/VA loan products but is also a fervent blogger and integrator of social media. After brainstorming he mentioned that he would love to see my stories from my Dutch perspective.

This has gotten a lot of thought and I will take up the challenge. The theme of this blog will be changing a little: Real Estate and Real Living in Sonoma County from a Dutch perspective.

I know you all think all Dutch people wear wooden shoes -they are practical for yard work- and live in windmills. Well, there is more to Netherlands than that. More in the coming time.dutch-wooden-shoes.jpg

Did you know that Sonoma County has a lot in common with Netherlands? For one thing, both are dealing with levees to protect parts of the land.  However in Netherlands you pay for this through your property taxes as a special assessment.

Right now, real estate in Sonoma County is on sale, or affordability rate is around 67 %, a historic high, for many it is just as expensive to buy as to rent, upon request, I will supply you with examples, just send me an email.

As for today, enjoy this beautiful Dutch weather in Sonoma County with a cup of hot Van Houten Chocolate or a nice Seghesio Sonoma Zin , the best of both worlds.

Mirjam

Mar 22
0

New website for Windsor Schools

By | Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Windsor, Wine | No Comments

Windsor schools have unveiled their new website : www.wusd.org.

Great website, easy to navigate,  allows you link to the different schools in Windsor,  to pay fees online and  coming soon will also allow parent access to individual student records.

Windsor is a great place to live, did you visit the town green lately and sipped your latte at Caffe Noto or Starbucks?

Should you need the perfect hair cut, please visit Bella Nova Salon be, a great place to experience. They are always looking for better products with less toxins/healthier ways to treat your hair. They also offer online booking, tell them I send you and you will receive a 10% discount on your first treatment.

wov_main_icon.jpg  Last week barrel tasting…  our visit to Windsor Oaks Winery was perfect as was the last time, great wines, great location and they just started a wine club. Ask Regina for more info: Regina@windsoroaks.com.

 And by the way… should you decide Windsor is the place for you to live… there are a few houses right now on the market on just the perfect locations. Should you like to stay on top of these great deals, just let me know and I will put you on my special update list.

Mirjam (mirjam@c21alliance.com)

Mar 08
0

Are we at the bottom?

By | Economy, RE by the numbers, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine, Wine Tasting | 3 Comments

Earlier this week I had the privilege to be at a financial seminar organized by Wachovia Securities. Senior Portfolio Manager Margaret Patel was the first speaker and besides a lot of valuable information she expects the real estate market to go further down, about 10-15%. Of course this forecast is based on the financial and economic situation in general and is an overview of the real estate market nation wide.  However, all real estate is local and the following charts show what’s currently happening in the real estate market in Sonoma County. Please feel free to give your opinion, quite frankly I think with numbers like these we might have hit bottom in Sonoma County…

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In the mean time, don’t forget that we live in beautiful Sonoma County and this weekend and the next weekend is Wine Road Barrel Tasting.

Should you like to go next week, it’s cheaper to order tickets ahead of time, click here to order.

Have a great day!

Mirjam -707-486-2638

 

May 18
0

Green living in Sonoma County

By | Buyers, RE Investing, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine, Winery with picnic place | No Comments

picture-5.png Did you see the new homes at Bridge Trail at the North Village ? It’s developed by Hugh Futrell, a great developer who does unusual projects. He also build The Burbank on seventh street in Santa Rosa. Both developments have something special. All the homes at Bridge Trail come with solar panels a great way to lower your PG&E bill, actually there are tax rebates that can be claimed too!

The homes in the newer subdivisions are built on small lots (post stamp lots), the beauty of the Bridge Trail projects that it comes with open space/trails, kids will be able to walk to the Jack London Elementary and Piner Olivet Charter Middle school. And don’t forget the North Village club community center with pool gym etc.

The homes are priced in the low $400K range, should you be looking for a new home: there is lots of value that come with these homes. Tell them Mirjam de Rijk sent you and say hi to Stan and Juan.

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Yesterday’s Wine club party at Seghesio Winery in Healdsburg was great, 400 pounds of crawfish was flown in from New Orleans (Peter’s wife comes from New Orleans) and that was served cajun style with red potatoes, corn and sausage. It came with Gumbo, that was absolutely the best I had.Last time I mentioned the 2004 Venom, a Sangiovese from Rattle snake hill (sold to members only), this time I need to tell you about Defiant, a new wine that will come out next year. Peter shared some of it to sample: it is still very young but already delicious and my expectations are extremely high for when it come out next year. It’s a mix from some Italian vines, will have to ask again what’s in it since I did not write it down.

Oh, Seghesio is also a great place for a picnic: enjoy you picnic with a great glass of wine while enjoying a nice game of Bocce. It doesn’t come better than that: Sonoma County living at it’s best!

Have a great day!

Mirjam (707-486-2638)

Nov 18
0

Beautiful Healdsburg – great destinaton for wine lovers

By | Buyers, Sonoma County info, Visit WineCountry, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery with picnic place | No Comments

Seghesio is one of our favorite wineries, members of their Centennial wine club are invited to club events, visit with family members and get to taste the limited production wines. Yesterday’s November Wine release party’s theme was a taste of Italy. We agreed that the Tuscan seafood dish that Ashley served was the best. From the wines that were paired with the food, we liked the Westphall Zin the best. And the winner of the evening was the Venom, Peter Seghesio shared some with us since we were also impressed with the Sangiovese.

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Quick note, Seghesio is located on Grove street, beautiful grounds with picnic places and a bocce ball court. Enjoy your picnic while playing a game of bocce.

I did do the count this morning: should you like to move to Healdsburg, there are 139 active listings in the MLS system, 25 are in escrow and in the last month 8 sold. These numbers might not be that great for sellers but great for buyers. And the 8 that did sell, sold rightfully so.

Open houses this afternoon: check the Press Democrat, they have a list of open houses, don’t forget to visit 95 Kennedy Lane, a large vintage fixer and 1231 So Fitch Mountain Road, it needs some updating but has beautiful views.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Mirjam (707) 486-2638