Jim Patton - Realtor - Turlock California Real Estate

Play Ball !

Every year at this time when the big boys are back at in Arizona and Florida I think about my baseball "career". I played little league baseball here in Turlock Ca. I definitely was not a super star (couldn't hit) but I loved to play the game. I had lots of fun and made lots of friends, some that I still see to this day. So if your son or daughter wants to play baseball this spring and summer here in Turlock be sure to check out the Turlock Little League website for all the information you will need to get them signed up.

This is the field at Soderquist Park in Turlock. I played here in the early 70's. I spent many hot summer days and nights playing games here and then watching my friends play.

This is Julien Field in Turlock. This is where I hit my one and only home run in my little league career. I opened my eyes just in time to see it clear the right field fence.

This is another view of Julien Field with the newly installed infield grass. It really looks great. As you can see we have had quite a bit of rain here the last couple of days.

If you are thinking about moving to Turlock please give me a call at 209-633-2839 with any questions you might have. You can go to my website http://www.jpattonhomes.com/ to view homes for sale.

Turlock has several very nice parks.  I spent a lot of time in them growing up here in Turlock, especially Donnely and Crane parks.

  I spent a lot of time as a kid in the mid 70's fishing here with my friends. 

This is part of the Turlock Childrens Play Park at Donnely Park.  This was added to the park in the mid 90's.

    

 

This is the brand new playground equipment at Crane Park in Turlock.  It was just installed over the last couple of weeks.  This equipment replaced the equipment that I used to play on as a kid.

 

 

 

 

 

              

 

 

These are the tennis courts at Crane Park.  They are lightted for night play and are free to use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   This is the playground at Summer Faire Park in Turlock.

If you are thinking about moving to the Turlock area call me at 209-633-2839.  You can view homes for sale in the area by going to my website at www.JPattonHomes.com 

Education in Turlock

Turlock is the home of California State University Stanislaus (CSUS). CSUS was opened for students in 1960. The University is composed of the College of the Arts, College of Business Administration, College of Education, College of Human and Health Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the College of Natural Sciences.

For more information about CSUS click here.

Turlock has two public high schools. Turlock High school was established in 1907 and is located on Canal Dr. Pitman High School was established in 2002 and is located on Christoferson Parkway.

For more information about Turlock High School Click here.

For more information about Pitman High School Click here.

Turlock has 9 elementary schools and 2 Junior High/Middle schools.

For information on the Turlock Unified School District click here.

Turlock Ca, was founded on December 22,1871 by John Mitchell, a grain farmer in the area. Turlock was incorporated as a city on February 15,1908. ( Happy 100th Turlock)

In it's early days agriculture was the main industry in Turlock. (Agriculture still is a major industry in Turlock) The construction of the Central Pacific Railroad through the area allowed farmers to ship thier produce through out the country. One of the most important early crops were melons, which led to annual Melon Festival. The Melon Festival eventually turned into the Stanislaus County fair which is still going strong today.

In the 1930's Turlock was cited by Ripley's Believe It or Not as having the most churches per capita in the United States.

In 1960, California State University Stanislaus opened to students in Turlock. The current enrollemnt is around 8000 students.

The current population of Turlock is just over 69,000. As the title says this is part 1. I will be adding new posts about the city of Turlock so be sure to check back. I have lived in Turlock all of my life and think it's a great place to live. If you are thinking about moving to the Turlock area feel free to call or email me for any information you might need about the city.

We as Realtors have been saying it's a great time to buy. If you read the paper or watch the TV news you may have a hard time believing that. If you believe the media you would think that every home owner in America is in danger of losing their home, they can't make the payments, and owe lots more than it is worth.

The truth is that the vast majority of homeowners in this country are NOT in foreclosure and are NOT about to lose their home! Of course this is not newsworthy. It's the bad news that sells papers. I am not condemning the media, I realize thats the way it is.

So why do I say it's a good time to buy? If you bought your home several years ago you probably have equity. If you are thinking about moving up to something bigger or better or a better neighborhood you will be able to afford something much better than you could last year. Prices have come down , of course you know that. So what would have cost you $400,000 a couple years ago might now be around $300,000.

Interest rates are LOW. Lenders are still lending money , you just have to jump through a few more hoops to get it. Two years ago anyone that could fog a mirror could get a loan. Now you have to actually prove how much you make, what your debt is, etc. You might actually have to have some money down (Thats called a down payment for those of you that don't remember those days) All that is a good thing.

I know some people are waiting for the "market to hit bottom". The question I have for those people is, how will you know when the market has hit bottom? The surest way I know of being able to tell when the market has hit bottom is when the prices have started going back up.

There are also lots of bank owned homes on the market. I am seeing the banks staring to get aggressive on their prices. In my experience they will deal with buyers by either accepting lower prices and/or helping with closing costs. Keep in mind that the banks do not make money by being home owners. It just costs them money. The real estate that they own is money that they can not lend to someone else. After all that is how they make their money. So they are much better off by selling that home and then lending that money to someone else.

Well thats my 2 cents for today. I hope this helps. If you are thinking about buying real estate in Stanislaus or Merced counties give me a call. If you are somewhere else in the country ask a friend or family member (or call me for a referral) to refer you to a Realtor and talk to him or her about the market. You may be surprised!