Tamara "The Real Estate Therapist" Dorris

When I used to teach English to college kids, one of the things I did each course was show the movie, Rudy, the story of a kinda small kid who ate, lived and slept Notre Dame football. All he wanted, with all his heart and soul, was to play for the "Fighting Irish."

Unfortunately, Rudy was not big enough to play ball--especially on this revered team. Also, his grades were not good enough for him to come anywhere near admission into Notre Dame. If you happen to be one of those very rare folks who have never seen the flick, here's a video clip.

I am fortunate enough to get to interview the "real" Rudy on my show tomorrow. Yes, the guy that the true story was based on. Rudy walks the walk. Even though many years have passed since that noted 27 seconds on the football field, his life was, is and will always be an example of absolute faith and perseverance. Rudy did not give up when he was told that something was impossible. And really, if you saw the movie you know he was told "no way" a million times. Even his own family couldn't believe it was at all possible that Rudy could even be a bench warmer for their beloved state team, The fighting Irish.

Now let's compare and contrast that with your real estate business (there I go, sounding like an English professor again!).

Sure, the recession and the economy have got some of us down. In fact, Thanks to Active Rain and twitter, I have Realtor friends all across the country and more than a few of them have told me that they've had to pick up part time jobs.

So What?

Rudy had to sleep in the cleaning room and eat what he could find...but those things were SMALL in comparison to the ultimate realization of his dream. So you have to pick up a job at Starbucks a few hours a day. So what? As long as you have a place to sleep at night and enough food to survive, you CAN still sell houses or lend money. Sure, times are tough for some of us, but it's only those of us who take our eyes off the ultimate prize that tend to falter in our actions and effectiveness.

As long as you hold close that dream....selling so many houses you can't see straight, making the difference in so many lives of people you can help, taking good care of your family and making enough money to give to the charities and causes of your choice...as long as THAT is what you focus on, then you will ultimately succeed. And, the "stuff" you have to do in the meantime, whether it's taking on another "real" job, cutting out coupons, scaling back on Christmas or knocking on doors and doing a little cold calling...is all worth it.

In reality, if you post everyday, attend local social networking events and partake in the social media outlets that work for you, you probably won't have to cold call or get another job, but even if you do, so what. As the saying goes, "This too shall pass."

Just think of Rudy.

"You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have nearly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football team in the land for 2 years. And you're getting a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself." --Fortune (as played by Charles S. Dutton) in "Rudy."

Show time: Wednesday October 28th, 10 AM PST time (California) at www.InLoveWithSacto.com 
You can catch the podcast later if you miss the show.

Thanks!
Tamara

There’s a new kid in town and we better pay attention. The Sacramento Press is making headway in a big way and I’m completely sold on the concept. The Press is an all online newspaper that focuses on local news for those of us who reside in Sacramento and the surrounding counties (Sacramento, Placer, Eldorado and Yolo Counties are covered).

I remember growing up, my mother had a subscription to the Sacramento Union. She said she preferred it to the Sacramento Bee because it was much more succinct and easier to read. Perhaps she liked the political slant, I really can’t say. What I can say, however, is that once The Sacramento Union went under, we were left with one resource for local and national news.

Now make no mistake, I am not bad-mouthing The Bee. Nevertheless, I have always been of the opinion that there should be more than one opinion in the way of reporting news. I stopped subscribing to the paper a few years ago. Too much to read, wanting to save trees and all that jazz. If I wanted to know what was going on, I would go to the online version of The Bee and see what was in the news.

Now I’m bookmarking www.SacramentoPress.com. For one thing, I appreciate that the publication reflects the local voice. One needn’t be a prized journalist to write an article. In fact, The Press is currently featuring a very cool contest where Sacramento folks can enter an article and win prizes (hurry, the deadline is Halloween night!).

Secondly, The Press covers local events that might not be “big enough” news for The Bee. I like the tone of the publication too…easy to read, covers not events, but politics and culture too. Most importantly, anyone can write anything, but let me clarify. First, you must register for the site. Second, you must adhere to The Press’ policy (which are ultra-agreeable). That’s about it. Oh yeah, no state or national news. This is Sacramento, Baby, and we only want stories in, about or that affect our own sweet town.

No go take a look at this new pub and tell me you don’t think it’s the neatest thing on the Net.

Ta ta for now,

Tamara

Catch my local radio show about self help and Sacramento...this week's guest is the "Real" Rudy from the famed movie by the same name. www.InLoveWithSacto.com

If I could count the number of times I heard a buyer say, "...and I don't mind a fixer," I would be a very wealthy woman. Truth is, most of us wouldn't mind a fixer of some kind. After all, it's an age-old real estate truth that the best buy is the worst house on the block. My first broker told me, get the dog of the street and you've got built-in equity.

Now while all this is true, in this market, I think some kind of clarification is due. Long gone are the days when you can buy a piece of land in Carmichael with a shaky shack atop it, with big plans to tear down and start over, all with the bank behind you.

Yep, the bank.

The first and worst problem with "fixers" today is that if you've got to get a loan to buy the house (and nearly everybody does) then you are limited into how much fixing can be overlooked. For instance, with FHA loans, the home needs to be habitable. That means, no broken windows, missing carpet, roofs in need of repair or broken heating and air. That sure doesn't leave much to the "fixer" concept, now does it? I guess some peeling paint might be okay, although if the home was built prior to 1978, you might have lead-based paint issues that FHA would pooh-pooh about.

Of course, there is an FHA 203 loan that is actually a loan for rehabbing a house, but we won't get into that here as it's really a whole other matter.

So take your conventional loan. And, take your fixer upper. Getting the house will depend upon a few things, but most of all, two things: Your loan qualifications and how much fixing needs to be done.

If you've got super shiny crazy-good credit and 20% to put down, well then, you have a good shot at a good loan with a low interest rate and a house that needs some moderate fixing. I will not qualify "moderate" as it can mean any number of things. However, let's just say that the house needs a bit more than repainted and floored.

If you're not in quite such a comfy position, consider houses that are cosmetic fixers. These houses can appear to be real dumps; pink walls, missing appliances, broken floor tiles, missing bedroom doors and strange symbols painted on the ceiling. (yes, I've seen it). In these cases, yards may be a force to be reckoned with and fences may be falling down (which is okay, because fencing doesn't come into the appraisal), and the houses can look really, really bad, but still, it's all only surface repair and update, hence the term "cosmetic fixer." In these cases, you're probably getting a good deal and you'll probably be okay with financing.

However, when the appraiser comes out, and he always will, then any major overhaul works, structural, roof featuring unplanned on sunroof (i.e. holes in ceiling!), you'd better be sure your ducks and financing are all in a row in order to find the funds to buy the house to do the fixing.

Hopefully this brief but well-meaning discussion got you thinking about what you really mean when you tell your agent you are looking for a "fixer-upper," because now you know, financing comes into play and helps you decide how much fixing you really can afford to buy.

The bottom line is this (and it's the bottom line I use so often, I should just make it my default footer): Find a real estate agent who knows what the heck is going on in the real estate market and a lender who knows what the heck is going on in financing. Your goal is to get the most (or perhaps in this case, the least) house for the money at the best rate and terms.

Good luck!
Tamara

PS

Catch my Sacramento Success Radio Show on each Wednesday at 10 AM at www.inLoveWithSacto.com. We chat a bit about real estate, self-help, health and local businesses.

I was pleased as pie earlier this week when Allen Lyle contacted me to ask me to be a guest on his and Danny Lipford's radio show, The Homefront Radio Show. Honored, of course, that a radio show that's nationally syndicated to more than 250 radio stations wanted my lil' ol' opinion on the real estate market at large, but moreover, pleased that I discovered such a great program.

The Homefront Radio Show is something that I think all of us that are homeowners might want to bookmark.

Here's the description on the website:

"Each week, listeners across the country tune into Homefront for useful advice about their homes. The syndicated call-in radio show is hosted by veteran remodeling contractor Danny Lipford, who is also known for his television appearances as host of Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford® and home expert for The Weather Channel. On every show you'll hear Danny, along with Co-Host Allen Lyle, answer questions from listeners about a variety of home topics, and dispense useful tips and information. And you never know what special guest will drop by to share the microphone, a laugh or two, and some home insights as well. Homefront is informative and entertaining fare for home enthusiasts nationwide."

Some of the topics I noted had lots to do with home updating and remodeling, but I found they have a great blog, plenty of excellent resources, and hey, they touch base on the overall real estate market. And, if you can't listen live, catch any of the past shows right from your computer. Check out the site now.

While I'm posting this blog for the many buyers and sellers who read Active Rain, I'm also encouraging agents and affiliates to re-blog (you can edit me out of it :-) and post to Localism as I am since this is a true consumer benefit that your buyers, sellers and community residents will appreciate.

If you want to hear yours truly talk to the guys, that show streams live on their site this Saturday, September 26th at 10-12 EST. Take a look.

Thanks!

Tamara Dorris

PS

If you like self help and Sacramento real estate (my two favorite things in the world), tune into my Internet radio show, Sacramento Smiles.

I’ve been in this business a long time and I’ve seen a lot of crazy things, from wild Peacocks chasing me out of a backyard to foreclosed properties with the sink missing. I know when people lose their homes, it’s a very emotional event, and my heart always goes out to them. I guess in some instance, say for example, a homeowner goes to all this time and expense to fix up his or her home, only to find out that they are going to lose that home.

And, in perhaps a fit of escalated emotion, they decide to take out whatever they put into the house. I don’t think it’s for the money as much as it is principle, warped as it may seem to those of us visiting the now-vacant house and seeing, for example, the fireplace mantle or sink ripped outta the wall.

This week though, I gotta tell ya, really takes the cake. I have a deal in escrow. The buyers are the nicest kids in the world. The house is NOT a foreclosures. The house is vacant. So I get a call from the FHA appraiser that the home has no carpet.

Huh?

Of course the house has carpet. It’s new and pretty and I just walked on it last week when I let the home inspector in. Well, not anymore, she informs me. And, there is a broken window in the back.

So let me get this straight.

Some hoodlams, who have nothing better to do, scope out a vacant house and break in to steal carpet? Really? Yep. Someone broke in, pulled the carpet up, rolled it up and took it right out of the house. How bizzar is that?

And this was just a short time before we were to close, mind you.

Fortunately, the sellers had it replaced, but now I’m wondering, will it happen again? How do you protect yourself and your clients from such parasites that would do something that irrehensible. I just don’t know.

I secretly fantazie that I am Wonder Woman and I camp out at the house until the creeps come back for more rug. As soon as they walk in the house, I’ll zap them with my Wonder Woman wand (did Wonder Woman have a wand? I don’t know, but that seems sort of irrelavant at this point). I think about getting a gaurd dog, a camera and a sercurity gaurd.

It’s sad enough that so many folks are losing their homes, but to break into a home and steal the carpeting seems to be a new low. I am sure, somewhere, somehow, there is carpet karma, and I am certain these carpet thieves have it comin.’

Ta ta for now,
Wonder Woman