About Santa Rosa's Rincon Valley

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I'm sure a lot of Sonoma County residents will be buying their birds this weekend. All the supermarkets are packed with Butterball and other mass produced birds. If you want to try something new this year, I highly recommend our local Willie Bird Turkeys. They are raised in Sonoma County and shipped all over the country by mail order. Willie Bird Turkeys are free range turkeys that have incredible taste. Willie began raising the birds locally 40 years ago, and are a real treat.

You can pick up a pre cooked, or ready cook bird at the retail store located at 5350 Highway 12, Santa Rosa, CA (707-545-2832)

or swing by the restaurant for dinner 1150 Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 707-542-0861

Rincon Valley is a lousy spot to look for REO property in Sonoma County. Strong neighborhoods and a continued demand for housing have kept bank-owned single family homes to a minimum. Still, there are the occasional listings and the map below will show REO properties in and around Rincon Valley. If you want to look around other parts of Santa Rosa, you can either navigate on the map or visit my reo.sonoma.net site for more maps and information on the foreclosed homes market in Sonoma County.

This week continues to see great rates on 30 year fixed rate home loans. Below is a chart from Freddie Mac of the countries averages. Low rates with tax credits make this a great time to get out there and buy a home! Call me if you would like any further informationl.

I think one of the most misunderstood titles is that of Realtor. I know it doesn't matter to other real estate agents, but this blog is written to explain a few commonly and frequently misunderstood terms in real estate:

Sales Associate: This is probably the most common type of real estate agent the public comes in contact with. A sales associate can also be called a Salesperson, or simply a Real Estate Agent (although this last term is deceiving). In California, a Sales Associate is anybody who is at lease 18 years old, and takes 3 college level real estate courses, one of which has to be Real Estate Principles, and one has to be Real Estate Practice. The third can be any other real estate course offered at the college level. The applicant then takes the state Salesperson exam and if passes, applies for a real estate license from the state. Once licensed, the Sales Associate can not work for themselves, they have to work under the supervision of an employing broker. The Sales Associate can perform most real estate services which mostly include showing property, taking listings, writing contracts, and negotiating for a client.

Broker: A Broker,most commonly, started out as a sales associate, although there are several exceptions (such as lawyers). Once a sales associate has 2 years of experience, they need to complete the following additional college level real estate courses: Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Economics, and three other courses out of a possible eleven choices. Some examples are Property Management, Real Estate Law, Accounting etc. The applicant than takes the state broker's exam which is longer, and harder then the salesperson exam. The applicant then applies for a Broker license. Once licensed, a Broker can work for themselves without supervision. They can work under a name other than their real name assuming they have filed a DBA (Doing Business As). Real Estate Brokers have greater responsibility. For example, they can manage and broker real estate loans. They can sell real estate investment such as mineral rights etc., and can handle their own escrows.

Realtor: Realtor is the most commonly misused real estate term. Realtor is a trade name. A Realtor is a real estate professional, such as a broker or a sales associate who applies for membership with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR reviews the application, and if accepted, issues the applicant an annual membership card. They can then call themselves a "Realtor". The California Real Estate Commissioner takes this term and membership very seriously, and can revoke a licensees license for calling themselves Realtors if they are not indeed a member of the NAR. There are a lot of benefits to joining the NAR. They offer superior real estate courses, for example GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) which is a year long course, and CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), E-pro (a real estate technology course) and many more.

President Obama extended the first time home buyer new $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit program. Here are the details of how it works:

For the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer tax credit:

• You have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
• For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Here's a link the Federal Government's FAQ page regarding the $8,000 tax credit: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq1.php

For the $6,500 Repeat Home Buyer tax credit:

Here's a link to the Federal Government's FAQ page: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/faq2.php