Michael & Belinda Jackson

O.K. Maybe, but... After waking up this morning and seeing snow capped mountains all around us from the valley floor, sun out (over 300 days of sun a year here) and just breath taking views everywhere, I have to wonder if it gets much better? I was born & raised in Southern California and moved to Reno 15 years ago with our 4 kids. I know, the beach in so cal is hard to beat, the year around weather is hard to beat there, but you can keep the crowds, you can keep the tax on EVERYTHING and you can keep the 12 lane freeways !

Reno/Tahoe area has SO much to offer- Lake Tahoe is 30 minutes away, San Francisco is only 3 hours away, The outdoor recreation is 2nd to none all year around. No State income tax, No Inventory tax for business and the list goes on. Housing prices back almost to the level when we bought our first house here 15 years ago. Come check out this great place to raise your family, you won't be disappointed !

Is it just us or is every deal out there filled with issue after issue for buyers? In the last 60 days, every deal we are involved in with buyers are filled with issue after issue. Everything from addresses not matching on the listing vs. the deed, appraisers calling for a light switch plate cover to be replaced on a bank owned to short sale sellers taking their stove before closing. Can it get anymore crazy out there? ( please don't say yes) Then lenders asking buyers for everything short of a blood sample ( that is coming soon I'm sure) We have never had so many issues come up, large, small, stupid, I mean everything. We will keep fighting every issue to get the deal closed. I have 1500 light switch plate covers ready to install so bring it on !! 2011 has to go back to normal right? I know... keep dreaming !

So nothing in this business ever surprises us anymore but I have to say this one floored us. We were representing a buyer on a short sale. We started the process back in May, waited months, got the approval letter and our close date was last week. About 3 weeks ago we did a property inspection and we meet the sellers and everything went just great. We did verify that the sellers were leaving certain items and we received the standard " yes for sure" on all those items. So we go to the buyer signing of loan docs and we were set to close in 2 days. I asked the buyers to come with us for a final walk-through after signing that night just to double check everything after the sellers moved out and before closing. When we walked in we could not believe it.. All the window coverings gone, the top of the line stainless steel microwave gone, the top of the line stainless steel stove, gone, the A/C condenser out back, gone, the pavers that were laid in the dog run, gone ( who does that??) Needless to say we were all shocked !! I called the listing agent and she could not believe it, she called her seller and over the next day or so she just got a bunch of lies and the run around from them. So our buyer had to be out of their place, but the seller was no help at all. We asked the buyers what they wanted to do... walk away, still buy, hit someone ( I added that option) At the end of the day they still wanted to close if they could get the A/C replaced. So who do you think paid for the new A/C unit to close?? Yes both agents. As agents we had to do the right thing and help these buyers close if they still wanted to. As for the seller, It will all come back to him some day, maybe not this month, maybe not this year, but if you do bad things, your day is coming. The bottom line is the buyers are now in a great home, mad at what the sellers did but happy they had agents that cared and happy the entire process is over !!

We are working with a buyer on a bank owned property and the buyer informed me a few days ago that he is locked in at 4.5% on a VA loan. O.K, Let me hear that again, 4.5%, fixed for 30 years , no down. I have been saying for months that we will NOT see these kind of rates again for many many years. There are still many buyers asking the hard questions... Will prices keep going down if I buy now? What if I buy now and the price of that home goes down by $10,000 in 6 months? What if I have a problem with my job? We get it, all great questions that we just don't have solid answers for. However what we do know is that your family needs a place to live and with rates under 5% your payment will be less then rent in our area. If you had to rent it out, your entire payment would be covered. The best rates in over 40 years..... I guess you could wait but you may be missing out big time !!

If you are considering a short sale and need answers, You MUST get the most accurate, up to date information you can, to make an informed decision. Our short sale web site is the most informative web site regarding short sales you will ever see. Visit it today to get all your questions answered. http://www.ShortSaleHelpForReno.com We are experienced short sale agents and have succesfully represented many sellers through this process. We list short sale properties in Reno and Sparks Nevada, Washoe County.