Modesto, CA

As a homeowner, you can legally own a home and not be insured. However, most lenders require for a future homeowner to have insurance coverage. The owner of real property runs the risk of financial loss due to circumstances which are beyond their control. Lenders need to protect their investment in your home in case your house burns down or is badly damaged by a storm, tornado or other disasters. Other perils that can result in property damage are hail, windstorms, smoke damage, explosion, earthquake, riot, glass breakage, and building collapse. The area that you reside in will determine the type of coverage the lender will require you to obtain.

Insurance is a method of showing risks with a group. The basic property insurance is fire insurance. The principle of insurance provides for a large number of people (policyholders) to pay premiums into a fund, which is then used to pay for loss by fire, loss by lightning and loss resulting from the removal of personal property from endangered buildings. An insurer can obtain additional coverage by adding endoresements to the basic policy. Insurance companies have compiled homeowner package policies to include additional perils. Be sure to understand exactly what disasters your insurance covers and what it does not.

Insurance covers liability. It provides protection in case a visitor is injured in your home.If there is theft or damage to your personal property like furniture, clothes, and appliances...your insurance company provides coverage for it. The insured should carry enough insurance on the property so that if a loss occurs, the reimbursement from the insurance company will fully cover the loss.

TIPS ON SAVING MONEY WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

• Increase your deductible. The higher the deductible, the less expensive the insurance premium. However, in the event of a loss, you are responsible to pay the amount you agreed to. So make sure the amount is an affordable one!
• By purchasing your homeowners insurance with the same company as your auto insurance, you may be able to receive a discount.
• If you are over the age of 55, you may be able to get a discount.
• If you are a loyal customer to your current insurance company, you may have some rewards that could pay off for you!

Do your own research. Shop around and compare different services and prices.

Your home is one of your most valuable assets...... that's why you protect it with homeowner's insurance, title insurance, and get the inspections....but what about the items not covered by insurance? As your Mother and Daughter Realty Team, we offer to pay the home warranty for our seller/buyer. That's right a year of home warranty FREE to our clients! A Home Warranty is an insurance policy, it gives the same comfort as any insurance against unforeseeable events. The Home Warranty protects the buyer by paying for certain repairs and costs of major mechanical systems and major appliances in the home such as heating and air-conditioning. The Home Warranty can be ordered at the time of listing to protect the seller during the listing period, usually not exceeding six months, then assumed by the buyer at the time of sale can be purchased during the escrow process, and some Home Warranty companies allow the buyer to make the decision to have a plan after purchasing the home.

Your home systems and appliances will not last forever and a home warranty can save you much of the expense, time and frustration of dealing with unexpected covered repairs. Many homeowners claim that their warranties have more than paid for themselves. The advantage of offering a home warranty are:

1. To gain confidence of your potential buyers
2. Having fewer unexpected repair bills will add to the value of their investment.
3. Buyers increasingly expect Home Warranty protection and sellers can help protect themselves by providing it.
4. Home warranty protection helps reduce stress during home sale negotiations and concerns related to after-sale liabilities.

Now that your offer has been accepted there are a number of steps that will need to be taken care of until the closing process is complete. So, it is important to give the same amount of attention to the closing process as you did during hunting for your home.

The concept of an Escrow and Title Escrow Company is to operate as an uninterested third party in Real Estate Transactions. Title Companies act as an intermediary between buyers and sellers, or their agents, and ensure that everything in the transaction goes according to the sales contract. This offers protection to all parties involved.

TITLE INSURANCE

Title Insurers operate under the theory of risk elimination or loss caused by defects in title from the past. Title Companies spend a high percentage of their operating income each year collecting, storing, maintaining and analyzing official records for information that affects title to real property. Their technical experts are trained to identify the rights others may have in your property, such as liens, legal actions, disputed interests, rights of way or other encumbrances on your title. When a title search is complete, the title company issues a preliminary report. Before closing your transaction, the title company will proceed to "clear" those encumbrances which you do not wish to assume. Title insurance provides coverage only for title problems which were already in existence at the time the policy was issued.

PRELIMINARY REPORT

The preliminary report illustrates the extent of your ownership rights. This means you will want to review the ownership interest in the property you will be buying as well as any claims, restrictions or interests of other people involving the property.

INSPECTIONS

During the contingency period, your Mother and Daughter Realty Team will schedule any physical inspection specified in the purchase order. The seller has the responsibility to reveal the true condition of the propery on a disclosure statement. This may help you determine the type of inspection you and your Real Estate Agent deem necessary.

STRUCTIONAL PEST CONTROL INSPECTION (TERMITE REPORT)

In addition to actual termite damage, the pest report will indicate any type of wood destroying organisms that may be present including fungi. The termite report is prepared by a state certified inspector as evidence of the existence or absence of wood destroying organisms or pests which were visable and accessible on the date the inspection was made. The inspector looks for signs of activity from other wood destroying organisms such as:

• Dry wood termites
• Carpenter ants
• Carpenter bees
• Wood destroying fungus

Most termite reports classify conditions as Section I or Section II. Section I conditions are those currently causing damage to the property. These conditions generally need to be corrected before a lender will make a loan on a home. Section I repair work is usually paid for by the seller. Section II conditions are those not currently causing damage, but which are likely to, if left unattended.

GEOLOGICAL INSPECTION

A buyer can elect to have a geological inspection performed by a Geotechnical Engineer, who evaluates the soil conditions at the home. This inspection involves not only physically inspecting the property, but also researching past geological activity in the area. You may also elect to go to the city and research the property and its proximity to known fault lines.

HOME INSPECTION

A Home Inspector will go through the house and seek out any potential problems (roof, plumbing, electrical, heating, appliances, water heater, furnace, exterior siding and other visible features of the property. The Home Inspector will issue a detailed report that will have recommendations, often times to consult a specialist for further inspection.

HOME INSPECTION TIPS

• A Home Inspector can uncover problems before you purchase, potentially saving you thousands of dollars down the road. So skipping out on a Home Inspection can effect you in the long run. If your Home Inspector discovers some issues with the house this can be factored in and negotiated with the purchase price
• Schedule your Home Inspection around a time that you can be present. Good Inspectors are passionate about explaining what they see as they go along.
• Have questions ready when selecting a Home Inspector.
  • How much experience does your inspector have?
  • Does the Home Inspector have a license? It is wise to chose a home inspector with a license, so if a problem arises after the sale of your home that you were not aware of, you can argue that, and that the Inspector did not disclose it it you. If the Inspector is bonded and at fault, they may be responsible for paying costs associated with whatever problem came up.
  • Is your inspector a member of a professional Home Inspection Association?
  • How long with the Inspection take and cost?
  • What type of report is provided and how long will it take to receive it? Always insist on a written report from an Inspector. Verbal reports are meaningless in the event of a conflict with a buyer.

OTHER COMMON INSPECTION

• Water Conservation
• Well & Septic
• Seismic
• Hazardous Materials
• Zoning & Building permit compliance
• Contractors Home Inspection
• Chimney Inspection
• Heating & Air Conditioning
• Structural Engineering
• Energy Audit
• Geotechnical
• Roof Inspection
• Pool/Spa Inspection

The seller will want your inspections performed quickly, get approved and move forward with the purchase of the home. Once the buyer has received the inspection reports, it is their responsibility to review it, and approve it or not. If the buyer decides not to approve the inspection reports, it is best to sit down with your Real Estate Agent and negotiate with the sellers on which repairs to perform and who is responsible for paying for the repairs. If the seller and the buyer can not come to an agreement, the buyer can cancel the contract without penalty, as long as time was permitted within your contract. Once all of your inspections have been scheduled and reports reviewed and approved...contingencies are removed!

I can't believe the number of calls that I received from SEO companies since my last blog on SEO page ranking. For the next two weeks my phone was off the hook with people promising me to promote me to page 1 on Google using one or two keywords or phrases. I did not understand how these companies could make that promise to me, so what did I do. My wife and I acquired a SEO program, for very cheap, which many of these SEO companies use. What happened next astounded me. I saw my page ranking go from not even showing on google in November to actually surpassing my company site in January, using modesto real estate as my key words. What caused this increase? A few things:

1. We made sure that we had an RSS feed going from Active Rain to my website, to make sure that it is continuously being updated with new information.

2. We changed our meta tags in Active Rain to reflect our websites key words and common hits, which we found using this program.

3. We changed all canned information on the website to original information.

4. We acquired tons of handshake listings, which increases your page size.

5. We used the acquired program to alert the spiders that our page had new information to grab.

We do happen to be well-versed in computers and would not recommend the route we took to everyone, but when people promise for only 1 or 2 thousand that they can increase your page rankings, when all you have to do is some very simple steps. By the way the program can be acquired for a few hundred to six hundred dollars, which would be a better investment if you are acquainted with SEO and computers. Otherwise, yes I am a believer that these companies can increase your web page ranking.

PS: The best way to increase page ranking is have a established website. Your page rank will automatically increase because of its age over time. Though information must be updated regularly otherwise it is considered a stale website and does not fair too well.

Good luck to you all.

I was asked by a consumer to write about Modesto, California, and some of the misconceptions that there are about the area and some of the plusses. First I will start off with the issues that have been in the press lately. Modesto has terrible gangs, the worst car theft in the nations, home values are low, and it is not a family-friendly community. Now everything that has been written about Modesto is true, but only pertains to a little section of it.

For the majority of Modesto, and if you look at the city crime reports, the crime occurs within a few little pockets of the city, it is relatively gang and car theft-free. It offers wonderful areas to raise a family. I lived in Modesto for over 10 years and have lived in wonderful areas in which I felt safer than when I lived in Portland, OR. There are beautiful parks everywhere, and Modesto is dedicated to the environment. Every home is mandated to have at least 1 tree in the front and it has the most trees of any city in California. It is conveniently located close to the Bay Area and the foot hills and is a great hub for people wanting to go to either place. It is oonly an hour and a half drive to each, and only a 2 hour drive to Yosemite National Park, which is spectacular.

The schools in Modesto have some of the highest ranked in the state, and are dedicated to improvement. In addition, the people are warm and friendly and are willing to help others in need. Right now is the best time to buy, especially with 1 in 70 homes in some state of foreclosure in the valley, which happens to be the worst in the nation by far. It has caused a trend to lower prices and you can get a 5 or 6 bedroom home for only 300-350K, compared to 500-550K only 2 years ago. However this market has been seeing some improvement in recent months, although a full recovery is out there, at least things have started to stabilize especially with the excessive inventory out there. Modesto has a wonderful fine arts program with the creation of the new Gallo Building for Fine Arts and has the Townsend Opera Players. There are also many high end art galleries that are located in Modesto, as well as a variety of places that offer showings and theatres. It also is home to one of the last drive through theaters, as well. During the summers there is a "free concert in the park" series on every Thursday evening. I hope this helps to clear up most of the misconceptions that have been printed. It is just amazing what a little bad press can do.