Mirjam de Rijk, REALTOR

Mar 08

0

Are we at the bottom?

By Mirjam | 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…

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

Nov 13

0

Facts and numbers to keep perspective!

By Mirjam | Economy, Financial news, Interest rates, RE by the numbers, RE Investing | No Comments

Some people have compared the current financial turbulence to the 1930’s and other ‘black days’. Some facts to know:

More than 1000 banks closed in 1930 – only 14 U.S. banks have been taken over in 2008
There are 76 million households in the U.S. that own their home – 24 million of these homes are free and clear
There are 52 million homes with mortgages – 97.2% of these are not in foreclosure, 93.8% of these homes are current on their payments

On a sobering note:

Over 20% of homeowners with a mortgage owe more than their home is worth
40% of all foreclosures are non-owner occupied

How did we get here?

Resale numbers – the above does not include new home sales.

Sources: Wall Street Journal / Moody’s Economy.com / RealtyTrac / NAR / Forbes

Do you see the problem and thus the predicament we’re in? Something had to happen one way or the other. Of course no one wanted it to be this bad. Let’s see what’s going to happen the coming time. In the mean time, Pat Kitano has a great way of keeping us informed –

In the mean time, it’s an excellent time to buy real estate!

Mirjam

Sep 15

0

Golden State Venture Capital Network, Venture Communities

By Mirjam | Economy, RE Investing, Sonoma County info | No Comments

Need Funding? Are you an investor? Need information about how “funding” works for your company’s growth? See www.goldencapital.net for the latest information about their virtual venture communities.

There are 8 communities in the network:

Golden Capital Network

Golden Capital Network fuels innovation, entrepreneurship and investment capital networks by

Assisting and coaching companies to become more “investment ready”
Connecting companies to accredited angel and venture capital investors
Sourcing company deal flow to investors
Fostering entrepreneurial networks in forward-thinking communities for economic development
Providing early stage capital for companies

Venture Communities ignites entrepreneurship and investing by connecting innovative companies, early stage investors and forward thinking communities.

Venture Communities is part of the Golden Capital Network, where over 1000 companies have raised over $1.3 billion in capital from accredited angels and venture capital firms since 1999.

Venture Communities Online is a virtual community where companies, investors, talent , media and other high-value participants create individual and company profiles to share knowledge, make connections, distribute milestone news and get involved in innovation-focused events in their region and throughout the network.

Venture Communities provides:

Networking and connections for companies, investors, advisors and communities across regions, industries and disciplines
Access to exclusive content and coaching for growth entrepreneurs, angel investors, policy-makers
Event updates and special VIP registration offers for all events and activities happening in the Venture Communities network

Members of the network engage in different ways to get the most from Venture Communitie:

Growth Companies

Send news about your company throughout the entire GCN subscriber network
Invite investors and advisors to view your profile and inquire about their interest in your company
Upload a two-minute video elevator pitch and other documents as part of your profile
Apply to present at a VIP registration rate at future GCN events
Apply to the Golden Capital Venture Fund
Keep tabs on upcoming events, networking opportunities and other entrepreneur-investor focused activities in your region and throughout the entire Venture Communities network.

Investors

Keep periodic tabs on companies you see at GCN live or virtual events you think might be interesting, but who aren’t a fit right now
Send news about your fund, investing group or portfolio companies through the GCN subscriber network

Advisors and Service Providers

Create an advisor profile to connect with your advisory group and add value to your most promising companies.

Individuals

Create a Community Member profile to receive newsfeeds, manage your watchlist, keep tabs on innovation entrepreneurship by industry, region or events

NEXT EVENT:

November 14 2008 in Santa Rosa

Jul 29

0

Streetview by Google

By Mirjam | Buyers, Sellers, Sonoma County info | 12 Comments

Isn’t it great, all the tools we have to totally check out a property before setting foot in it? Of course when a property is for sale there is the property website : www.3605Sumatra.com is an example, the virtual tours: here’s on of my newest versions and the Google satellite views.

And now there is Google Street View… And MSN has bird eye view. Here is my office, it’s on the corner… Did you get a chance to travel through your neighborhood?

The Pressdemocrat had an article about the privacy issues involved. The people who are concerned to make a point, in the meantime: it’s a great tool to ‘scope out’ a property and a neighborhood before even visiting the property.

There is ofcourse lot’s more to learn about a property when you decide to sell or buy, but technology today gives a great start.

Have a great exploring day!

Mirjam

Jul 06

0

Bittersweet Windfall?

By Mirjam | Buyers, Economy, Press Democrat, Sonoma County info, Wine Tasting | No Comments

The Press Democrat had a article about the “Bittersweet windfall”: when you bought you home at the height of the market, you can ask for an adjustment for your property taxes. Your Realtor can help you with the ‘comps’ by the way, just call and ask. he/she will know what you need.

However, coming back on the article: Now is a great time to buy property, most people know that by know. However, ever thought of the fact that it’s also a great time to move up/move down? Yes you will sell your home for less than if you would have sold it in 2005 however, what you are moving into is also less and guess what the basis is for your property taxes… yep, current market value, in most cases the price you paid for the home. And for investors: quite a few properties do cash flow…

Actually my friend Raquel stated it very smart: it doesn’t matter when you buy or sell as long as you do it in the same market. It’s very difficult to time a market, investors do in some way, but so far the people that were waiting for the market to come down/go up have done nothing at all. So Raquel is right: ‘do the math’ see whether it makes sense and make your dreams come true!

And some stats to prove that sales are picking up:

Have a great weekend. Great recommendation from Pat Pisenti (best Chiropractor in town) for a small winery with great wines: Porter Creek Vineyards. I haven’t been there recently so let me know what you think.