About Sacramento County, CA

Salvation Army is the best!

As many of you may know, I work on the CanTree Committee of the Sacramento Association of Realtors, obtaining donations and putting on functions and events to raise money, all of which goes to the Salvation Army to feed needy families in our area.

In December we had a big celebration and presented the Salvation with $76,000 that we had raised through 2011. They thanked us at that time and we were happy and pleased to be able to raise money for such a wonderful organization.

Despite the fact that we needed no further thanks, the Salvation Army wanted to do something more for our committee, and Thursday, after our committee meeting, they provided us with a delicious lunch. There were a half dozen different kinds of sandwiches, two very yummy salads – a fuji apple chicken salad and an Asian chicken salad, some chips, drinks, and giant cookies for dessert. Yum!

Thank you to Ava Simpson, Syd Fong, Captain Hendrik Sumter, and everyone at Salvation Army for being such special people and for the wonderful lunch!

By the way, if you are in our area and would like to attend our next fundraiser, let me know. We are having a Crab Fest on February 25^th. Tickets are $55 each. It is our most popular event and raises the most money for Salvation Army of any fundraiser we give each year.

The food is great (in addition to the crab there will be pasta, salad, bread, and maybe some surprises), there will be a live band, dancing, auctions, raffles, and lots of fun. It will be at the new Citrus Heights Community Center, which is beautiful. Many of the tickets have already been sold, so get your tickets while some are still available. Jon and I would love to see you there.

If you can’t make it to the Crab Fest but just want to donate to the Salvation Army, let me know and I’ll tell you how to make out your check and get you a donation letter so you can deduct your donation from your taxes.

If you would like to donate a raffle or auction prize, I will also provide you with a donation letter for that. We can use lots of prizes for the event, and any help, large or small, is appreciated.

Salvation Army is the best, and I'm so happy to be on the CanTree committee.

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Susan Neal "Happy clients make me happy."
Broker / Realtor
Century 21 Noel David Realty
Fair Oaks, California

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 30+ years experience.

I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916)705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

HUD homes resource Search HUD Homes

I make no secret I am happy living in my older 1963 vintage home in an established greater Sacramento neighborhood. Over the past 25+ years I’ve dwelled here, renovations, updates, and changes have been made.

Newer homes often already have the latest technology or entertainment options, which are important in a home of today, but many older homes have added them over the years, as have I.

If certain technology or entertainment options are important in your new home, and you are in the home buying marketplace, there is a checklist you may need to include in any home search. They are as follows:

(1) Are there enough jacks in every room for cable TV and high-speed Internet hookups?

(2) Are there enough telephone extensions or jacks?

(3) Is the home pre-wired for a home theater or multi-room audio and video?

(4) Does the home have a local area network for linking computers?

(5) Does the home already have wiring for DSL or other high-speed Internet connection?

(6) Does the home have multi-zoning heating and cooling controls with programmable thermostats?

Does the home have multi-room lighting controls, window-covering controls, or other home automation features?

Is the home wired with multi-purpose in-wall wiring that allows for reconfigurations to update services as technology changes?

Visit the Consumer Electronics Association (www.ce.org/techhomerating) for a complete Tech Home TM Rating Checklist.


*The list was provided by Realtor Magazine Online with permission from National Association of Realtors

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

We knew reports of the death of American home ownership were greatly exaggerated (nod to Mark Twain), and now we’ve got the numbers to prove it.

A just-released survey by the Meredith Corp., which publishes Better Homes and Gardens magazine, says the vast majority of people polled believe owning a home is a smart financial move and a source of pride.

Here are some results of the 2,500 people surveyed online:

· 86% of home owners still feel owning a home is a good investment.

· 85% feel "owning a home is one of their proudest accomplishments."

· 69% of Americans who don’t currently own a home agree with the statement, "No matter what happens in the U.S. housing market, owning a home is still an important goal in my life."

· 68% of Americans plan to spend money on their homes in the next six months, with roughly half (49%) expecting to pay up to $1,000.

A thousand bucks may not seem like a lot, but it goes long way toward improving the value and comfort of your home. Here are some projects we recommend:

1. Add a new entry door. Spruce up your curb appeal and save energy by upgrading your exterior door. Steel doors, which can mimic many types of wood, typically run for $400 at big-box stores and offer the strongest barrier against intruders.

2. Get organized. Decluttering and maximizing storage space are inexpensive ways to transform a home. Add space to kids’ rooms by installing platform or bunk beds ($400-$600); neaten piles of shoes with shoe organizers ($20), which can do double duty as catch-all organizers in family room closets and kitchen pantries; extend bookshelves to the ceiling, creating storage in otherwise dead space.

3. Save with a programmable thermostat. Switching from a manual to a programmable thermostat (less than $500) can save you up to $180 a year in energy costs. The latest models offer remote programming via the Internet.

4. Replace cabinet hardware. If you’ve got traditional knobs and pulls, try contemporary; change from staid to whimsical. Big-box retailers often have huge selections for budget prices. (10-pack for $20).

5. Update bathroom flooring. Give bathrooms a quick facelift by replacing old tile with vinyl flooring or ceramic tile, which can cost as little as $3 per square foot for material and installation.

6. Create luxury with a shower panel. Turn you bathroom into a spa with a programmable shower panel with adjustable spray jets, fog-free mirror, and multifunctional shower head. Most systems easily attach to existing plumbing. Panels typically sell for $360.

7. Turn a mudroom into a garden room. Bring nature inside by recasting your drab mudroom into a flower-filled garden room. (If you already have a utility sink, you’re halfway there. If not, it will cost you $200 to $350 to tap into existing, nearby plumbing, and $80 for a plastic tub.) Repurpose an old wood table into a potting bench. And hang your basket collection from J-hooks attached to a forged iron curtain rod ($100).

What improvements have you made recently under $1,000? What are you planning to do in the next six months?

Elk Grove Short Sale - Approved by Bank of America

It's so exciting to get a an Elk Grove short sale approval because that means that the bank is on board with the short sale and has agreed to a price they will accept. Take a look at my newest approved Elk Grove short sale with Bank of America. 4809 Noriker Drive is located in the Jungkeit Dairy neighborhood of Elk Grove and has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1,660 square feet. It's in good condition and Bank of America approved this house for $185,000.

Iv'e closed over 100 short sales and REOs with Bank of America and they are one of my favorite lenders to work with. It took me less than 2 weeks to get this Elk Grove short sale approved. I know what Bank of America expects from real estate agents, how to submit a complete offer package, negotiate on behalf of the seller, and follow-up to insure a successful short sale. If you are thinking about selling your Elk Grove home as a short sale, it's important to work with an agent who has a lot of short sale experience. Short sales are very different from traditional sales and inexperienced agents can jeopardize their success.

Find out if you qualify to sell your Elk Grove home as a short sale.

Elk Grove Short Sale - Approved by Bank of America

I finally accomplished a feat that ended up achieving a goal I didn't create. While I like competition as much as the next guy -- after all, I am a Sacramento short sale agent which, by its very nature, should make me somewhat competitive -- I am not driven by competition. I don't have to be better than anybody else, I just have to make more money, haha.

Seriously, though, given a choice between celebrity status or being stinkin' rich, I'll take the money. Haven't you ever had discussions like that? Well, I did, when I was younger. Before the days of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians. Back when being a celebrity meant you had actually accomplished something, because being a famous person meant one possessed a talent that was recognized. I've never fully understood why anybody would want to be famous, though.

Famous people get mugged, strangers clamor for autographs. Paparazzi hound them to death. Look what happened to Lady Diana. You have no privacy. Photographers with long lenses take photos of you half nude on the beach. You can't ever let your hair down and just be yourself because sure as crap you'll screw up, say something that is not PC, and the media will blast you to smithereens. No thanks.

I know there are people who think I am a celebrity. I get the biggest kick out of those people. I'm just a writer who writes about homebuying for the New York Times' website About.com. I've been in real estate for so long that my longevity makes me an expert. I don't consider myself a celebrity. I sell real estate in Sacramento. For the past 6 or 7 years, I've been specializing in short sales, and I've gotten pretty good at it. So, my goal was to earn Master's Club status in the first 30 days of the year. Just to see if I could do it.

Sure enough, this January, I did it. When I first earned this status years ago, it took me almost a year to meet the requirements. But now I am a Life Member of Master's Club. And in the first 30 days of January, I met the qualifications for 2012. Not only that, but the unexpected benefit is I am also the #1 Top Producer Agent for Lyon Real Estate in January 2012. We have almost 900 agents at Lyon. This is a huge deal.

I don't have a big team. I'm not an REO agent churning dozens of homes, hand over fist. I simply keep my nose to the grindstone, and keep listing and closing those Sacramento short sales. But now that I made Master's Club in January, I'll have to come up with a new goal to achieve. Well, being the #1 Agent at Lyon is nothing to sneeze at, either. But I doubt I'll earn Master's Club status next January. I suspect this was a lucky fluke. I had closings rollover from December.