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Why do sites like Zillow and Trulia have so many sold listings mixed in with the active houses for sale? Property searches can take a long time to find the right home. It makes is twice hard to find the right house if half the properties on the list are sold. Looking on sites like Zillow (Dan Parisi is a premier agent), Trulia and the like return many properties that are sold or are pending. Why? Most of the listings on the national real estate web sites come from secondary sources. Here is how it works. A Realtor takes a [&hellip

Making an offer to buy a home Winning — The point of making an offer to buy property is to gain acceptance from the current property owner. Different real estate markets have different rules for success. In some markets, just putting in an offer wins the deal. Other markets, a bid of ten thousand above list price will not win the home. Understanding the current market is crucial to making a successful offer. Discuss with your real estate the offer amount you have in mind, based on the research you have done on comparables, the condition of the home and [&hellip

Benefits of a home protection plan   Just as homeowner’s insurance covers the property against damage or repair based on your designated deductible, a home protection plan helps protect your home system components and appliances against costly repairs or replacements. A home protection plan is a renewable service contract that covers many of the most frequently occurring breakdowns of home system components and appliances that are not usually covered by homeowner insurance. Home protection plans offer coverage of many of the critical major system components and appliances in a home that generally are of a high cost to repair or [&hellip

Two Important Considerations for First Time Home Buyer First time home buyers are wise to buy with the end in mind. Thinking ahead in these two significant areas can pay big dividends in the future. Consider properties that will have a strong resale value and correctly evaluate the total cost of repairs and remodels. First: Buy with re-selling in mind. Home owners should plan to stay in the first home for a while to build equity and to maximize investment advantages.  The fact is that few people remain in their first home forever. First homes are often used as spring [&hellip

Sacramento Housing Numbers August 2013 Charts are good for showing the mind what the numbers are showing. The chart of number of homes for sale and homes that sold reveals the upward trend in a very choppy way. The last few months are showing a strong upward direction. The number of houses for sale took a big jump, which should mean a bigger selection of houses? But if you are in the real estate market, you know that does not mean it is the type of house you are looking for. The months of inventory chart shows how many houses [&hellip

The New Horse EPA–“Equine Property Academy”   Housing Sacramento Magazine’s (HSM) establishes the new horse EPA or “Equine Property Academy” center for horse ranch information in California. This EPA will give horse owners timely knowledge about available horse properties and their features.   The Equine Property Academy provides, free of charge, material about horse properties for sale, the detail of those properties, insights into horse property’s features, local horse tails, detail information about barns, arenas, pastures, fences and other ranch elements.   Horse properties are one of the most complicated real estate purchases homeowners can make. Horse ranches are not [&hellip

Living green isn’t only the right thing to do…it’s also the smart thing to do. Cleaning Tips Green Energy Homes and Green Living Some commercial cleaning products contain harmful chemicals that can adversely affect waterways, rivers, streams, aquatic life and indoor and outdoor air quality. Cleaning products can also be harsh to human skin, eyes and respiratory systems, particularly for allergy sufferers. Fortunately, there are some effective and often less expensive green alternatives that can be made with readily available natural products. It is always good to test in a small area unseen first. Some specialty surfaces react to natural [&hellip

Living green isn’t only the right thing to do…it’s also the smart thing to do. Lighting Brightly lit homes show off the houses design features. Learning to use light wisely creates great effects and saves energy. Lighting is an effectual approach to produce green energy efficient homes. Lighting makes up almost 15% of average Sacramento California home’s electrical use, so paying attention to your home’s lighting design can be advantageous to your bottom line. Incorporating new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use by over 50%. Lighting Design •    Don’t assume every room needs overhead lighting. Lamp lighting is more [&hellip

Living green isn’t only the right thing to do…it’s also the smart thing to do. Landscaping California is a wonderful place to live. One of the little things that make this part of the world so nice is the landscaping around people’s homes. Landscaping is a powerful method to create a green energy home. It’s a well-known fact that energy conservation and efficiency efforts are good for the future of our planet. In addition to being good for our planet, did you know these same efforts can be good for our pocketbooks? Taking steps to minimize energy consumption can often [&hellip

Living green isn’t only the right thing to do…it’s also the smart thing to do. Cooling In California heating and cooling is likely your largest energy expense so changes made here may have the biggest impact on your budget. Heating and cooling costs comprise 50% or more of the average American utility bill. One of the best ways to curb heating and cooling bills is to use a programmable digital thermostat set to accommodate your family’s schedule. The thermostat will automatically raise and lower temperatures as needed, conserving energy and keeping your home at comfortable temperature levels. In Sacramento the [&hellip