Crescent City, CA

It is after Christmas and I am still on my family vacation in Seattle, WA. The home of Active Rain believe it or not. Well, being on vacation and visiting my family, I have realized something important that I mostly forget during the rest of the year when I am frantically working. I realize that we have to take time out to invest in ourselves and our families the way we put all that effort into our jobs and work because without those family moments and enjoying personal happiness, then what is the point of all that hard work?

After hanging out with the cousins, nieces and nephews all day yesterday and taking them to see the new Alvin and the Chipmonks movie as well as ice skating (something that I have not done before) in Bellevue, it dawned on me that these few and precious moments are what we will remember for the rest of our lives, not our routine jobs or the next sale. And on our death beds, these few precious moments are probably what we will ultimately remember as we lay there reflecting on our lives.

So for the new coming year, I will prioritize my Business action plan as well and my own personal time, and the time spent with family and friends. Sometimes we as real estate agents tend to work so hard and get wrapped up in chasing our next deals or joggling multiple deals that we forget to stop and smell the roses for instance, and remember why we do what we do. I think that by scheduling time off from work will also help us to rejuvenate our energies and strength for when we do work, so that we do not burn ourselves out of business and enjoy our work more.

So for the coming new year, I toast to all my real estate professional friends out there and my clients and future clients, to always remember what are the important things in life and to give yourself time to spend with your family and friends and to yourself, as well as your work. Happy New Years!

My Crescent City Fed Ex driver is the best there is and just one more reason I love living in a small town.

First off, I don't know his name, but I will find out and put it in this post. He is awesome. My husband and I had a delivery that needed a signature and it was impossible for either of us to be home from work, so he delivered the package to my husbands school (he's a teacher) during my husbands lunch break. How convenient is that?

Today, I was at work and noticed the Fed Ex truck in our parking lot. I had a fax cartridge ready to be sent back to the manufacturer and took it outside to hand to the driver and he said, "I saw your car in the parking lot and thought I would deliver this package to you at work, so I didn't miss you at home."

I defy anyone out there to tell me they get as good of service from their driver. Go ahead and try.

Yep, that's what I thought. Only in a small town folks.

For affordable real estate, check out my website at www.frangatti.com. Thank you.

Crescent City makes America's Prettiest Towns list at Forbes Traveler.com

There are so many reasons that Crescent City would make the Prettiest Towns in America list. To name a few:

• Pristine parks: Tolowa Dunes State Park, Beachfront Park, Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge, Jedediah Smith State Park
  
  
• Miles of rivers for rafting, fishing and more: Gasquet, home of the forks of the Smith River, the Klamath River
  
  
• Beautiful and quiet places to swim: Second Bridge a swimmer's delight
  
  
• Miles of beaches: South Beach, Enderts Beach
  
  
• Fresh seafood: Fresh Crab, Fresh Tuna, Tuna fishing w/Mike Nolan, Fishing the Pacific North Coast w/Mike Nolan
  
  
• World Class Fishing: Crescent City Harbor, Fishing the Rogue River

Not to mention Pt. Saint George Reef Lighthouse, Battery Point Lighthouse, Batter Point Pier, Redwoods State and National Parks, Point St. George Recreation Area, surfing...need I say more?

Here is a link to a cottage by the beach that I just listed. Let me know if you want more information.

This is an update for Crescent City/Del Norte County Home Sellers -

The time is quickly approaching for my monthly market report, which is for the general public; however times are tough for Crescent City home sellers right now and I thought I would do an update just for my those of you with active Crescent City/Del Norte County listings.

32 listings have sold since 9/1/09 (I included land sales because many of you have land listed and are concerned with what is going on with that segment of the market).

The median priced Crescent City/Del Norte County residential listing to sell in that time period is $150,000. 19% of those sales were REO's (foreclosed homes), which is down from previous months. The sellers that sold their home in that time period had their home priced to sell. The price was at the lower end of the price range for their size and condition of home. Several upper end homes sold because they were priced to sell. In some cases, the owner financed the home offering good terms and/or kicked in the buyers loan fees and other concessions. That is very common in the current market.

The vacant land sales show an acre dropping from the high of $125,000 for an unimproved acre several years ago to $80,000 and well below. The acre that sold for $80,000 had well and septic in and electricity on the parcel.

Crescent City/Del Norte County buyers are sophisticated! They generally know as much about what's out there as their agent and they know a competitive price because they have researched it on the internet. Buyers are all looking for a bargain. That can make it tough on a seller.

Several of my clients have been following my market reports and know very well what's going on with this market and have priced their home to sell. As we enter what is generally regarded as our slow time of year in the Crescent City/Del Norte County real estate market, I would expect, even with a slow down, those listings that are priced to sell, will.

Please let me know if you have questions, concerns, or would like to discuss this information in more detail. I am happy to speak with you at your convenience.

In Crescent City, CA, a new Ordinance has been passed that puts landlords responsible for the trash that accumulates in rental properties, even though the trash came from the tenants. This law seems unfair to landlords as tenants can take advantage of this and not take care of their own trash.

Here is a link to an artical about concerns from the landlords:

http://www.triplicate.com/20091014107212/News/Local-News/Landlords-question-new-waste-law

So are the landlords' concerns valid? There has to be a balance for this between the tenants and landlords as to who is responsible.

"Helping to make your dreams of home ownership come true."

Thavisak "Lucky" Syphanthong, Broker

Phone: 707-954-7926
Lucky Star Realty
email: lucky@luckystarrealty.com
Phone toll free: 866-875-2279 Fax toll free: 888-490-7728
websites: http://www.luckystarrealty.net http://www.luckystarrealty.com/