Scott Barr Realtor soldbybarr.com Canyon Lake Luxury Homes

I want to make it official.....I Scott Barr declare that Riverside county in California has reached the

bottom of the market for housing. At least that's what I told some friends at a dinner party back in April.

At first I made a blanket statement that we will look back a year from now and see that April was the

bottom of the real estate market in our area. Then it occurred to me that I was standing in the kitchen of

a home located in San Diego county.Ooops...wrong county. (I think San Diego and Orange county have a

little more deflating to take place.)I quickly clarified myself and stated that I

meant the county that I primarily work in Riverside. The color returned to my friends faces and I averted

a public stoning for prophesying incorrectly.

I came to this conclusion after being beat out by other offers that were a little higher than my clients.

Keep in mind that we are sometimes bidding $20,000 or more per offering. It's happened with five

different sets of buyers. The same thing seems to be occurring with other agents.

This type of thing is prevalent in the Menifee,Murrieta, Temecula and even San Jancinto, Hemet area's.

I make this "prediction" realizing that if I'm wrong, cyber space will forever have record of my insight.

Only the Garden of Eden could be more beautiful than the mountains of Idyllwild California. Gold can still be found in them thar hills maybe not the kind that you spend, but certainly the kinds that make you feel rich. The sights are magnificent this time of year.

Even the bears can't resist taking in all the beauty Idyllwild has to offer.

The people that live here get to take in this beauty every day. Wouldn't it be nice to call this home?

Many artists do call this home. This artists' web-site is easy to find.

At 6000 ft you'll feel like you are on top of the world.

If you or someone you know has a desire to view propertys in Idyllwild please feel free to call 909-261-2497 or visit www.soldbybarr.com.

Anatomy of a sale (in today's market)

What is a sane approach to the buying process in Southern California?

First, let's look at what is happening in our real estate market. We have primarily two types of sales taking place bank owned and short sales. Bank ownedor other wise known as REO property is just that the bank now owns the house. These are the new normal transactions in Riverside county California.

As a buyers agent I'm always relived when my client wants to view a bank owned home. Typically these negotiations are handled like they were back in 05'. What is interesting is the fact that there is usually an offer already on the table which is very good for the seller (bank). How do we do we handle the competition? We put forth our best offer and we move on and don't look back if we get beat out. After all, there are more properties than there are buyers. I remember the shift in our market that took place in the middle part of 07'. We started to see multiple offers again. This was the new sellers market.

Now for the big butt but, but what about short sales, don't they take a lot of time? Yes they do. Short sales typically take longer than REOs (bank owned) properties. Sooo here is how we handle them:

•1. I tell me my clients what to expect on the front end so they are not as disheartened if they should not succeed in acquiring the property.

•2. My approach is to find at least three properties that my clients positively love. (this is possible here in Southern California)

•3. I inquire via the listing agent as to the status of the short sale. I ask questions such as: how long has the property been in default, how many mortgages are on the property, are the current owners occupying the property?

Keep in mind that just because there is a short sale going on doesn't mean that the home owner has lost any rights. The only thing that they are not in control of is what price the holder of the note will settle for.

CANYON LAKE

How does an old fashion Christmas sound? That's

exactly what we had this past Saturday. First, we

got a bird's eye view of the Canyon Lake's Christmas

boat parade. Then we Christmas caroled into the

night followed by some delicious treats for all. We

ended the night

with a "white

elephant" gift

exchange

that was made up

of items only found

at home.

Earl and Marina Rideau really know how to bring

Christmas cheer to friends and family alike. About

thirty of us got together for refreshments and

fellowship. Part of the entertainment was Canyon Lake's

Christmas Parade of boats. Twenty or so boats made

the annual trek around the lake to the cheers of

bye-standers.

After dinner we harmonized around the fire with

some traditional carols. Marina led us with her newly

acquired organ abilities. Don't tell Marina, this was my

favorite part of the evening. (I don't want her to get

too big of a head.)

The gift exchanged was enjoyed by both the young

and the even younger.

I think I speak for everyone attending when I say, a better time was never had.

I got a call from a friend, who belongs to the local jeep club, and he asked if I wanted to go on a "snow run." My thoughts immediately went back to a childhood spent frolicking around in the elements until I couldn't feel my toes. Then I realized that I wasn't in Ohio anymore but rather we were in Southern California. Therefore he must be talking about going to the Idyllwild-Pine Cove area via the fire trails. We had made a similar trek earlier in the summer minus the snow. I figured this would be a little more exciting and decided to go despite my aversion to cold whether.

Besides, his 5yr old daughter was going and I wasn't going to get shown up by a 5yr old.

At 5:00 pm, accompanied by six other jeep enthusiasts, off we went on our journey.

We didn't see snow until we hit the 5,000 foot mark. The skies were grey and the snow was abundant. In fact, we didn't realize how much snow was falling until we looked at our digital cameras after snapping a couple of shots.

After a couple of hours of caravanning through the Mountains, we discovered a new favorite Mexican restaurant. Only in Southern California will you find a Mexican restaurant sitting on top of a Mountain. To think all of this fun is in our own back yard!