This just in … actually I received it via an email from Jennifer Arnbrister, an Account Executive at Reunion Mortgage. HUD has revised their lending limits for the entire country and according to Jennifer the Central Valley rates are in today while the rest of the country has to wait until tomorrow.
Here are the rates for Fresno and several other Central California counties:
Fresno 381,250 417,000
Kern 368,750 417,000
Kings 325,000 417,000
Madera 425,000 425,000
Merced 472,500 472,500
San Joaquin 488,750 488,750
Stanislaus 423,750 423,750
Tulare 325,000 417,000
You can go to the HUD website to find the information about your area.
For years conventional financing trumped FHA financing and you would rarely see an FHA loan done. I’ll be honest - I HAVE NEVER DONE AN FHA LOAN! Times are changing though and FHA loans look like they may become the loans of choice for home buyers.
Did you know that last Sunday right here in Fresno we had the LARGEST REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURE AUCTION IN THE HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY with over 1500 homes sold?
Well, that’s not good news. In my opinion its not even good news for buyers, or at least in the larger picture, only marginally so. Why? Because a crappy housing market and crappy economy hurts us all in the end. Today I went to get my windshield repaired and the guy who drove me home told me that they have been super busy lately with vandalism claims. The worse the economy gets, the worse the people get, and we all suffer.
Saturday last there was a parade in Fresno's Chinatown. ITS THE YEAR OF THE RAT. I'm thinking that this creature to the left is maybe supposed to be a rat - but I dont know. You would think that if its the YEAR OF THE RAT that they would be parading a RAT, but this thing doesnt look anything like a rat to me. More like a catapillar. I would have asked someone who was chinese but the only chinaman I met that was willing to speak to me (last pic) couldnt speak English. All he said to me was "too old. 89". I tried to approach another asian gentleman but he seemed to deliberately avoid me. Maybe because I was carrying my camera - who knows?
Oddly, the event seemed to be dominated by Hispanics. Even after the parade when I went to the food booths, I dont recall seeing any Chinese food being offered. I ended up buying a hot dog from Hispanic woman. Go figure. There were lowriders in their modified hopping machines (photo to right). And then there were high riders on horses. The one pictured here (left,below) is proudly displaying the Mexican flag. I really dont have a problem with that, but I will say that I did live in Mexico for 6 months, deep in the interior in a little town called San Juan Del Rio i n Durango Mexico, in the early 70's and if I would have walked around sporting an American flag one of those cowboys would of shot me sure enough.
I did manage to find one little girl dressed in a Chinese outfit for the occasion but she too was Hispanic.
(That's her dad)
Fresno has a large East Indian population but I didnt see a single one at the parade. The closest thing I saw to India being represented was one of Fresno's newest businesses, which serves as strong reminder that America is gradually descending into third world status: THE RICKSHAW DRIVERS. The main difference between the Indian rickshaw driver and the American rickshaw driver is the Indian driver prudently establishes the cost of his service upfront whereas the American ones simply work for tips. Oh, and some American rickshaws come with electric power-assist.
The main reason I went to this parade though was to see the new breed of highly trained military photo journalist or Combat Cameramen.
These uniformed paparazzi endure rigorous training to enable them to perform with extreme speed to CAPTURE THE MOMENT. Speaking of which I just happened to catch them in one of their training exercises where they stoop down real fast to take their shot. Their Sargent was shouting "I'm your subject, SNAP MY FACE!"
I could hear the Sargent yelling: "WHEN YOU CAPTURE THE PERFECT MOMENT, ITS LIKE WALKING ON AIR!"
I was shaking my head saying, "you got that right brother!"
This man was kind enough to allow me to take his picture which is my favorite capture of the day:
© Randy "Lazarus" McAtee
Broker/Owner Lazarus Realty in Fresno CA
Historic Fresno Buildings
[photos included]
The Tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles is the Pacific Southwest Building located in the heart of downtown Fresno in the Fulton Mall. Between 1920 and 1930 this was the most expensive building erected in the entire state of California. You can read all about the history of this grand edifice which has been recently rename Fresno Pacific Towers here.
Its a great subject for those who like to shoot landscape/architectural shots.
You see that statue of the lady in 2 of the pictures. She is famous! She is “La Grand Laveuse (Washer Woman)“There were 6 original bronze statues of the Washer Woman by Pierre Auguste Renoir, the famous French Impressionist, and Fresno was fortunate enough to get the last one made.Looking to buy or sell real estate in the Fresno/Clovis area. Call me, I can help: 559-301-1647
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
Owner /Broker Lazarus Realty
The old Fresno Water Tower at the corner of Fresno and O Street is probably the city’s most famous icon. I read a comment on the internet by someone claiming it to be the second most popular subject for photographers in all of Central California, with Yosemite’s Halfdome holding the number one spot. In both pictures the sun is directly behind the Tower.
Below is a Man’s Eye View of the Tower with birds hovering above.
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Help For Buyers and Sellers in the Fresno CA Real Estate Market. We serve Fresno, Sanger, Selma, Folwer, Kerman, Reedly, Kingsburg, Hanford, and Squaw Valley. Members of Fresno and Kings County MLS
Howdy!
My name is Randy McAtee, but I often go by “Lazarus” and folks ask me why Lazarus?
Simple: Lazarus is the name I was given when I was baptized into Christ in the Orthodox Christian Church (which happened to be on Lazarus Saturday) Thus, Lazarus is my Christian name.
I am married to wonderful woman (31 years) who is the mother of our six children: 5 boys, 1 girl. We have been blessed
with 5 beautiful grandchildren and still have 3 boys living at home with us. Speaking of home, we have lived in the same home in a great northwest neighborhood for 21 years. I am a native Californian, born and raised in Marin County.
I dropped out of college and am still wondering what I want to be when I grow up. Prior to marriage I was doing mission work in Mexico ( I do speak some Spanish amigo) and was a puppeteer. Marriage and the subsequent offspring forced me to get a real job :(
I have been a California licensed Contractor (in good standing with zero complaints and zero law suits) since 1988. My license classifications are B, C2, & D65 — which means I am a General Contractor with specialty licenses in Insulation & Acoustical, and Weatherization and Energy Conservation. My license # is 555829.
I enjoy trading stocks and consider myself a micro-cap miner, i.e. I specialize in finding small companies with huge growth potential. Little secret: I have made far more money trading stocks than I have selling real estate.
In 2007 I took up photography and many of the pictures on my site were taken by me. I currently shoot with a Nikon DX200 & DX300 using an assortment of lenses. Not to brag, but the real estate pictures I take when I list a property are top quality. On occasions I do photo shoots for other agents. You can view a sample of a home I shot here.
In 2002 I got back in touch with my inner Puppeteer and built an entire Punch and Judy Theatre. I built the puppets, the props, the stage 
- everything- I even sewed all the little outfits myself. It took me 6 months. In 2006 I got frozen shoulder and have been unable to perform until recently (regained 90% range of motion in 2009).
This is my 8th year in Real Estate and in May 2006 I opened my own brokerage: Lazarus Realty. My license No. 01357881.
I enjoy being self-employed and independent. I don’t like it that public opinion of Realtors is low. I’m highly critical of our industry, since its one of the few industries where one can take some online courses for 2 or 3 months, pass a test, and then call themselves professionals.
I hope that you will find some useful information on my blog. Whether your a friend, former client, prospective client, or a real estate agent feel free to comment or contact me anytime.
AND… if you need the services of a knowledgeable, honest, and reliable Realtor© in the Fresno area - CALL ME: 559-301-1647
Randy “Lazarus” McAtee - aka The Blogging Broker
WHAT CAN'T I DO?
Atten: Randy "Lazarus" McAtee
Dear Randy:
Just a note to thank you for all of your help and expertise in previously selling my 7 -Units on Fairmont Avenue in Fresno, and your recent help in finding the right home for me in the Fresno area at the lovely "Stonebridge".
After meeting with you, I felt very comfortable and recognized your ability to represent me as a seller, and now as a buyer.
Presently living in a 45-Unit Condominium Comples in the Bay Are for 27 years and being on the Board of Directors, many as Treasurer, I have dealtwith many different Realtos and Title Companies due to sales and purchases in this building. I have also owned apartment houses over the years. I recogniz your ability to dot all of the i's and cross all fothe t's, which is very commendable.
Thanks you again. Should I need future help, you will be the person I will call and you are the one I will highly recommend.
Sincerely,
H. K.
_____________________________________________
To: Lazarus McAtee
Lazarus Realty
Fresno, CA
Dear Lazarus,
We just wanted to express our appreciation to you for the outstanding job that your company did for us regarding the sale of our home. We appreciated the knowledgeable advice received in preparing and pricing our house for sale. Also, the frequent and timely communication with us throughout the whole process from listing to closing was excellent. In today's very difficult housing market, we were so very glad to have listed our home with Lazarus Realty. There are many details involved in getting a house from listed to sold, so please accept our thanks in getting our house sold in less than two weeks!
Obviously, we would not hesitate to recommend Lazarus Realty to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. Again, thank you!
Sincerely,
Eric & Yoly Miller
___________________________________
Lazarus I want to thank you on behalf of my family. You have helped us in many ways. You helped us to find our home. When times were hard for my family I did not know who to call. But for some reason your name came to mind. I made a call to you. We were in alot of financial trouble and we were close to losing our home.
You helped us find a way to get through a tough time. You loaned us the money we needed to catch up on our mortgage and that gave us time to find a way to keep our home. Not too many people would loan money out of their own pocket. We did not know when we could pay you back, and I think you might have known there was some risk. But you gave from your heart. And I am very happy that we were able to pay you back.
We are still in the same home and with your help and some answered prayers we are making it. I dont just see you as a financial adviser, I also see you as a friend and an answer to our prayers. When we did not have a place to turn to, we were led to you.
I just want you to know, If you ever need anything please call me and I will do my best to help.
Thanks Lazarus.
The Torres Family
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