About Lake County, CA

Byron Duerksen - House Inspector

A few weeks ago during an office training session, our Healdsburg Sotheby's International Realty agents were introduced to Byron Duerkson, a home inspector who works in several counties in our area. Byron had an impressive stack of credentials behind him. He's certified not just by the major building inspection organizations, but by outfits I've never heard of. If it has to do with inspecting, Byron has probably done it and gotten his certificate.

Now, we all know that having credentials isn't the same thing as knowing what you're doing, but I figured with his background and the knowledge he demonstrated at our staff meeting that I would take him for a test drive on my next escrow. Luckily for both of us, I needed his services within a few days of our initial meeting. I have a buyer who is herself very skilled in home renovation and building technology so I figured it was a great chance to see what he could do.

From the minute he showed up on the property he demonstrated a strong sense of competence and cooperation. The power was off. He got it on. The water was off. He got it on. My buyer had some initial questions about potential sloping floors and irregular base board. He handled her questions with aplomb and continued with his detailed inspection.

Later in the process, more questions occured that had to do with future improvements and wall moving. Byron gave careful and detailed answers, explaining the roof truss layout and where they were floating over the walls rather than bearing on them. It's a question we might have answered by crawling around the attic ourselves, but Byron was willing to work with the buyer to answer her questions and to take the extra time to make sure all her questions about the property were answered. In my experience, some inspectors are unwilling to go the extra mile to handle questions from the seller that might not be related to the inspection. Byron didn't give any indication of boredom or overwork. He was delighted to share his knowledge and it showed.

By the end of the day, I really wouldn't have cared if Byron had any credentials or not. He demonstrated deep knowledge of his profession and a bedside manner towards the client that made her feel respected and appreciated as the client. Not every inspector...or every real estate agent...can pull that off.

If you're in Sonoma, Lake, or other nearby areas, I highly recommend Byron Duerkson as a home inspector.

I am having so much fun telling contractors about this program. It is amazing to hear some of their stores of how slow they are right now and how fast they can access this program. We need more qualified contractors in the program. If you are a contractor and need work we can show you how to find the right people who can let you start bidding right now. Don't like bidding because you don't get paid to put bids together and get the work.

We actually need good reliable contractors and the problem isn't getting the work, it is that the contractors we get need to be honest and tell us when they are getting too much work and back off the bidding process till they catch up. So many just don't want to turn any work away. It doesn't do anyone any good if you can't perform. Therefore we ask that you take a break once you are booked out and let us know as you get ready for more work. We will help you stay busy but we ask that you cooperate with us in that regard and we'll keep the clients happier. M

Hey guys and gals. If there is anyone out there thinking about becoming a 203k consultant in Northern CA... contact me. I'm going to take on a few associates and personally train them on the job. It looks like we are going to be very busy very shortly. If you know of a home inspector or contractor that is looking for an additional stream of income have them call me. There is a lot going on here and way too much for one person to handle. M

As you know the real estate market has taken a beating lately and as a homeowner I'm sure is a subject that you are keenly interested in. There is some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that home values have reached an 8 year low the second quarter of last year but the good news is that they have started to make the slow turn around the second half of the year. The $140,000 median price point in the second quarter of last year was the lowest since 2001. The fourth quarter median price is $147,000 showing an increase in home values. Even though this looks like a big gain, historically the first half of the year tends to be weaker on home values than the second half.

To put everything into perspective the median price of a single family home in Lake County was $316,000 the second quarter of 2006.

Overall sales are up across the county by 25 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same time last year. This is because investors are looking for good deals and homes are now affordable enough for many to buy. Lenders have tightened up the lending requirements, credit scores are now more important than ever in the equation for buying a home.

What does this mean? It looks like the free fall in house value has ended. We may bounce along the bottom for quite some time before it substantially goes up. The reason is that there are huge backlogs of foreclosure homes that haven't hit the market yet that need to be processed through the system. Banks are holding many back and only put a few out at a time so not to flood the market. That has stabilized the current market but as long as they keep being offered buyers will still look for bargains.

At the current time the inventory of well priced homes is low giving the opportunity for a quick sale because of less competition. We have been seeing multiple offers in many of these cases and it often sells for more than asking.

Unfortunately sellers have to compete with the banks so they have to be realistic in their expectations. Overpriced homes are being ignored by buyers month after month while the sellers hope that the market will turn around or that someone will be willing to pay more than what the market will bare. That simply won't happen in the near future.

As Paul Harvey used to say, "and now, the rest of the story..."

Recently, there was a message from ActiveRain encouraging members to post a new photo and offering 1,000 points to do so. And so I went through the photo album and found the picture above and cropped the 'mugshot' of myself and uploaded the photo.

Today, I'm posting the uncropped photo and revealing "the rest of the storey..."

About a year ago, I applied for and was hired as the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, Lake County. This was a short term job which allowed me to continue my Real Estate business while doing something for the community. As both a General Contractor and a Realtor I jumped at the opportunity!

Of all the things I did in this job...the best was handing the keys over to a family of their new home. A Habitat home buyer is by definition someone who could not otherwise buy a home. These are hardworking people who live in sub-standard housing and for whom the Dream of home ownership seems impossible.