When a new buyer chooses a lender, what is their choice based on? Interest rate?, the trust of a referral?, who has the prettiest sign? Often it's who seems to have the cheapest interest rate. What a mistake! 
Consider Captain Sulley. He looked like everyone else who flew. He always landed those planes, so it's hard to say how good he was. But when disaster hit, he was able to pull off the miraculous, and land a giant engineless jet in the cold frigid waters of the Hudson River. He used his years and years of experience, training, drills, and lessons learned from the inevitable mishaps he must have faced before to pull it off.
Your lender is the same. They all seem comparable... until disaster strikes. And when it does, you want experience on your side. A few months ago I sold a home in a great neighborhood of Citrus Heights, located 1/4 mile from a very seedy street (one of our areas worst). Any local appraiser would have understood to not use comps from the seedy street, as it was insulated from my buyer's home by geographical factors. But as the crow flies, it's another story. Our appraisal came in fine... actually above our price. It was the desk review that shot us down. It came in $60K low! Why, because the out-of-area underwriter used a zillow-like process to estimate the value... which included sales within a bull-eye radius. And that meant our seedy street became our comparable. 
But my lender has been doing this for over 30 years, and understands the ins and outs of lending like the back of her hand. She whipped into action, and got the loan through. Did she use magic?, coercion?, bribery?... no. She used her experience to know which of the many paths to take to make it work. She could have gone a number of different directions, but she knew exactly the turns to make at each fork in the road, as she led our transaction down the path to a closed escrow.
So don't just pick the lender with the cheapest quote. It could mean the difference between getting your home or not. Always go with experience. Don't know who to call?
CALL ME... I GOT PEOPLE!
flickr Photo by mpflies2
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Check out my other posts that might be of interest.....
HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS..........Buying a Home, Selling a Home, Loans, What Happens if....
LOCAL INFO................................. Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights
ABOUT SALLY DUNBAR.................. How I learned to...., Personal stuff, My Wordless Photos
OTHER STUFF............................... Inspiration, Attitude, Humorous Stuff, Charity, the Economy
TECHNOLOGY, BLOGGING ............. Active Rain, Technology
Sacramento Bar is the area just West of the Sunrise Bridge in Fair Oaks, filled with acres and acres of rock cobble left over from gold mining that ended in the 60's. It's one of my favorite places to walk, right near my home in Fair Oaks. You're in the middle of town, yet within minutes, you are deep in nature. Join me as we stroll the American River at Sacramento Bar on a recent winter Saturday...
And just for the record, Lewis and Clark DID NOT raft this river... I just imagine that I'm back in time to when they COULD have! But if I ever hear an arrow go wizzing by, I'll start wondering...
For bluff or view homes in Fair Oaks, call me!
"If the chocolate sauce won't squirt, try this..", said Ryan (FNTPTS - fake name to protect the stupid). With that, he held the bottle and spun his arm like a propeller, in giant circles... the pressure of the chocolate sauce building.
It worked the last time he tried it with ketsup. It squeezed right up to the neck of the bottle, and BINGO.. his hot dog was adorned. No muss, no fuss. Easy peazy....
...but not this time. It was the night before my buyer's final walk-through. The new carpet was spotless, and the stiple texture of the acoustic ceiling was pristine.
The black goo had settled into the bottle for way too long. With a few more rotations, it was sure to break free. Then SPLOOOOOOOSH! The chocolate stream gave way in an impressive explosion. A solid brown stripe was implanted in an orbital pattern from ceiling - to wall- to floor - to ceiling again. A Hershey Hotstreak. And the buyers were coming tomorrow. So much for the pristine acoustic ceiling.
The sellers frantically went into action ... detailing the ceiling, shampooing the carpet, and sweeping out the doghouse where Ryan would spend the next few nights! Miraculously by walk-through time the next day you couldn't tell. You honestly couldn't! We closed escrow a few days later. No worse for wear and tear, to quote Mick and the boys.
Funny thing, however. Just a few months ago the buyers called me to help them buy a rental. I couldn't help but ask, "Ruby.... Have you ever had any problems in your family room with spots or anything?" Then I told her the story. "Ah... that does explain the single drop of brown "paint" we found on the ceiling one time - but couldn't figure out where it came from.... Figured it must have been a heck of a party once."
Flickr photo by Noidp
This gorgeous home on Lemon Street in Fair Oaks has been in and out of my life many times. The first time I sold it, was for the family that built it. I was so moved by the stories of their life there. Like the Easter egg hunts in the garden... the slip and slide parties down the hill side... the bonfires in the pasture... and prom night dinners in the gazebo.
It was built to house their gigantic family, with amazing thought to detail. Like the deep closet by the garage door, so sports paraphernalia didn't turn into household decoration. And the 7 cubbies lined up just beyond the pantry, so backpacks would have a home somewhere other than, well, everywhere. This was built as a HOME, not for speculation.
I remember sitting in the living room during one open house, a quiet lull in buyer traffic. I absorbed just being there. What struck me the most were the little love notes tacked to the quiltplanning board... sentimental tokens of love for a wonderful Mom. And her quilts decorating the hallways... made with painstaking detail, as these same loving kids looked on. There was a couch set up in the bay window of her quilting room, the favored spot for Dad to enjoy his morning coffee & paper... while she quilted.
It struck me how much love and family life that home had seen, and I have to say it overwhelmed me for that moment. With teary eyes I wrote them a note about it, impressed with the commitment they had made to family. I was careful to point out that I was not an obsessed stalker, but just someone who appreciated and GOT the wonderful family they had created!
I sold the home eventually, happy they would be moving on with their plans, but sad to lose my involvement. It wasn't my buyer, so Lemon Street was gone from my life.
But funny how things turn out. After a number of years, I got a wonderful phone call from the current owners, to help them sell the home. One of my favorite homes was back in my life again!
It was really like a homecoming for me, like meeting up with an old friend. And quilting is still a part of it, as the home on Lemon Street becomes one of the threads that weaves the fabric of my career. It has added to the texture.... to the patchwork of experiences that makes up my career.
...and I still love the home......
Flickr photo by karen
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For Real Estate in the Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Orangevale, Gold River, Citrus Heights and Sacramento areas of California. I focus on doing what is right for my clients, regardless of my personal gain.
Whoooeeeeee! It's been a long time. 30 years as a broker, and I've loved it... well most of it. There have been a few yahoos along the way, but mostly great people, many who have become my good friends whom I have sold homes to multiple times. I'm mainly in my beautiful town of Fair Oaks, (on the bluffs of the American River, upstream of Sacramento, with the cutest old town known for its wandering chickens), but venture into Orangevale (an eclectic mix of horse property dotted with infill tuscan-style estates), Citrus Heights (good values), Carmichael (where my rental is and my daughter lives), Gold River (beautiful planned development on the banks of the river with miles of bike trails), Folsom (there's more than the prison where Johnny Cash sang - a quaint old town with Victorian homes and access to sublime boating, biking, bar-b-ques, beaching, and... bookreading? ... at Folsom Lake), El Dorado Hills (gorgeous, views, with beautiful homes), Granite Bay ( famous for its schools, rural properties and estate developments, like Los Lagos), Roseville (has everything, plus a super business center), Rocklin (rural bucolic life plus gazillions of newer lovely subdivisions) and Sacramento itself (where I grew up, and hey... Arnold's weekday home!)
Wanna check out homes for sale in some of my favorite Fair Oaks neighborhoods? Here ya go... Old Fair Oaks Village, Northridge Country Club area, Phoenix Field, and Rollingwood. Or if you simply want to search for the good deals on foreclosures, go here.
Yesterday my client suggested I was a real estate encyclopedia, which may have been an accusation that I'm square and use way to many words, or a compliment that I really do know my stuff. I guess sometimes its both.
CREDENTIALS
AWARDS AND HONORS
Additionally, in 2006 Sally Dunbar was chosen out of 900 agents to receive Lyon Real Estate's prestigious C. Mike Messina Memorial Award for excellence and professionalism.
I have been married to David Dunbar for nearly 30 years, and he's still my sweetie... love that guy to death. He's a contractor who only does things one way - the right way. We have a ton of fun together.
We have 2 daughters, and we should have had more, but who knew they would be so entertaining and fabulous? Roxy is a Financial analyst and UC Davis graduate. She saves me every time I'm half-way through a spreadsheet and realize I am not a financial analyst. Thank God those things email well. She's a great dancer, and we both have an obsession for cowboy boots. Christy is a Senior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is another great dancer. She's our comedian, and has brought the joy of newfangled music to my life. Thanks to her, my favorite group is Incubus, and Everlong can bring me to tears! I have lived in Fair Oaks since 1979, having returned to Sacramento from Santa Barbara, where I had lived since high school (don't ask who would leave Santa Barbara for Sacramento... it was for love, and it was the best choice i ever could have made!). Our family loves this area, and is involved in bike riding (ask about our world-class bike trail), sailing (on Folsom Lake), walking our fabulous trails (you feel like Lewis and Clark), snow boarding (I found a two carat diamond ring in the snow once), water polo, swim, and occasional jaunts to Sand Mountain and Florence Oregon where we go duning with our extended family (ask about our dutch oven pies).
I love my area and can't wait to show it to you! And I promise you, we'll have fun! (If you have skipped over my discreet links above, I'm done with gentle reminders! You HAVE to watch my video of what I love about Fair Oaks. It's my town, and I LOVE it. I want to share it with you. Aw come on... tried to drop subtle hints!)
I hope you will have fun prowling around my blog. Check out my posts on BUYING A HOME, SELLING A HOME, STAGING, Getting a loan, the Economy, Things I've learned in life, and some fun stuff just for thigh-slappin fun.
I'LL ALWAYS DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR MY CLIENTS.
A few years ago, Gloria called me to list her home on the bluffs of the American River. I was excited! She then confided she was recently widowed, and needed a change. She was sad. I told her she had the best investment she could possibly find - a rare home with a smashing river view. I suggested she strip wallpaper, repaint, install new carpet, replace her windows (to improve her view!), and paint-out her dark-beamed ceilings. And to then see if she needed a change. So she did. And today, 8 years later, Gloria is still enjoying the view from her lovely new windows. And her home has tripled in value! While I talked myself out of a sale, it was the right thing for Gloria!
I do the right thing for my clients because it's the best way to lead your life. If you want to buy or sell, call me. We'll figure out the best way to proceed, then we'll make it happen. You have my word! And if that means encouraging them to do nothing. then I've done my job well.
DRE lic # 00809499
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TESTIMONIALS about Sally Dunbar
"I know many real estate agents in the Sacramento area, but when it came to choosing an agent to list and market my elderly parent's home in Del Dayo Estates, I knew I wanted Sally to be the one. She is enthusiastic and diligent with her listings and her follow-up in the whole process was fabulous. She was wonderful and patient with my dad and kept all of the family members informed each step of the way. I highly recommend Sally for all of your real estate needs." Patti Codiga
"Sally really knows her stuff." Dr. Gregg Heise
"After 274 days on the market with another reputable agency we called Sally. She presented her marketing plan, and walked through our home and made several suggestions, which we implemented immediately. With her changes, our home just shined! She had an offer for us in 11 short days. Even better, we closed in 15 days. Sally's professionalism, candor, and expertise were the best gifts we gave ourselves for the holidays!!!! We will always recommend Sally to our friends and family." Curtis and Rosemary Asby
"Sally is a true pleasure to work with. She was very informative, patient and extremely understanding. Sally is a true professional who we would recommend to anyone we know." Paul & Ida Mamika
"Sally was awesome. We will recommend her to friends and family. She was the only professional aspect I witnessed in this cutthroat industry. We were fortunate to have found her!" Randi & Allen Hampton
"Sally's highly competent negotiating skills were of great benefit. She got an excellent purchase price for us!" Doug & Mary Kuhl
"Sally is by far the best agent I know." George Raab, her Dad
"Sally has empathy for her clients, the knowledge and negotiating skills to make transactions happen, the marketing savvy necessary to represent any property and the drive to get it all done. There have been few people who I have observed in the some 30 years that I've been in the real estate profession who have combined so many elements into such an outstanding career. Her career can only be described as exceptional. I'm proud to work along side her." Clay Sigg, Vice President/Managing Broker, Lyon Real Estate
"Without Sally's support, perseverance and professional expertise we wouldn't have been able to purchase our first home. I respect Sally not only for her expertise and tenacity, but also for the amount of effort and pure hard work she puts into her job. Throughout the entire transaction, Sally made certain that my best interests were being met. She even made the extra effort to be present at the signing of escrow, which is another example of her dedication to her position. Her efforts are to be loudly applauded by this happy client. " Sarah & Rick Walker
"I found Sally to be caring, efficient, and professional beyond the word. Her follow-up with detail was impressive." Carol Delzer
"Sally listened so well we bought the first home she showed us! It even matched our decorating. She really keyed into our needs." Patricia & Jerry Hall
"We will, as we always do, tell anyone and everyone about you! And of course any move or change we make MUST have a "Sally Dunbar" mark." Gail & Mike Arno
"Thank you for all of your hard work in finding and helping us buy our house. We know it wasn't an easy process, so thanks for sticking with us through it all. You have our future business and well as our sincere recommendations. " Kurt & Debby Smith
"You are wonderful and we truly appreciate your help, guidance, professional knowledge, and above all else your sweet self." Joe & Snow Nemeth
"Sally Dunbar did a fantastic job. I cannot think of one thing that would have made my experience more pleasurable." Wade Serrian
"Minnie and I really want to thank you for your work in selling our home. Your professionalism, attentiveness and overall outstanding knowledge was always evident. We appreciate you." Bob & Minne Buyse
"Thank you for making the house sale so easy. I did just ‘sit home' and let you do it all. You are the best!" Alison Majer
"You are such a pro and always do such an amazing job. Thank you." Nancy & Gene Mansfield
"How great a realtor are you? Let me count the ways:
You tirelessly showed houses to me and quickly learned which ones were ‘me' and which ones were not. You saved me a lot of time. You found out I was almost 55 and you knew that 55 was the magic age to transfer an existing tax base. You told me I should wait 8 months before looking - after you had spent countless hours showing houses to me! You saved me $140/month in taxes. You gave me suggestions for simplifying my home so that it would show best. And you suggested small but impacting improvements. You helped the house sell quickly and at top dollar. You knew the market in my area and in other comparable areas and helped me set a reasonable price. You attended the loan signing with the title company for the house I was buying and caught their mistakes, saving me $2,000 in closing costs. You knew the laws so well you were educating the people at the title company and giving them documentation on a lesser-known law which protected me. Two escrow officers said ‘Boy, you have a really good realtor'. You attended the home inspection of the home I was buying, and helped me determine what the seller should be requested to repair. When my first buyers dropped out at the last minute, you delivered the bad news as soon as you learned it. AND you had already contacted the realtor for another offer we had received on the house and they were still interested! As a result, the close of escrow was only delayed by one week. You put me in touch with loan brokers, moving companies, and other organizations that I needed. You answered my e-mail, answered my phone calls, answered my many, many, many questions. You calmed my anxieties and you rejoiced with me over my new home. Sally, you are the best!" Marsha Raigoza
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