Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor Staging Consultant, EcoBroker, CRS, Etc.

www.BuyConcord.net
Buy Concord was created to encourage residents to purchase their products and services in Concord. In this economy, it is good to support your local businesses. The categories include:

Apparel, Automotive, Electronics, Entertainment, Food, Floral, Furniture, Gifts, Health & Beauty, Home Improvement, Hotels, Jewelry, Pets, Professional Services, Restaurants and Sports.

- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area.

ATM Machines:
I found some websites you can look at to find No-Fee ATMs near you. Fees can be as high as $5 a transaction, and that definitely adds up!

www.allpointnetwork.com, just enter an address or zip code to find a no-fee ATM near you.

www.moneypass.com, also includes driving directions.

Going Out:
My daughter subscribes to www.goldstar.com. If you like going out but don't like paying full price, this site is for you. She receives almost daily emails with discounts on events in our area. These include comedy shows, plays, live music, art events and more. It's a great way to do fun things in your area without spending too much money!

Need more (or less) stuff?
Try www.freecycle.com. Freecycle is a yahoo group you join for your local area. You can post to the group asking for items you need or offering items you no longer need. Everything just has to be free.

- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area.

I received a mailing from my local water district reminding me it is time to reduce outdoor watering. According to their mailer at this time of year, even if the weather is warm, we can reduce our watering to:

Lawns: 1 to two days per week
Shrubs & Trees: No more than 1 day per week

My local water district also offers coupons for discounts on garden mulch and car washes that recycle their water, rebates on high efficiency toilets and clothes washers, free water-use surveys and more. It may be worth checking with your own local water company to see if they have freebies and/or incentives!

- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area.

The tale of a Short Sale - Sold by a Realtor who believes in Staging

Series...So this is the Bathroom!

The Short Sale bathroom - drab to potential fab

This is a short sale listing I took this past month. I know the lender will not give credit for repairs or clean up. This one needs both, and more. The a/c and dishwasher don't work, the disposal leaks. The walls are dinged, corners chipped and the paint is dingy, carpet stained, pet odor and stains (eek clothes pins provided at the door) and it's dirty, debri, cobwebs, etc.

BUT I espouse to my clients, my collegues, everyone I have talked to in the last almost 20 years that EVERY home needs to be staged. Perhaps the distressed properties need it more than any others. SO, how much money am I the Realtor willing to invest in a property where the short sale may not be approved, I may not get any reimbursement ? (I'm going to create a presentation piece for the lender to show the results the staging brought them and see if they'll relent, I figure it's worth a try and that's another blog post.)

SO, having said all that This is the bathroom. The mirror is delaminated and ordinarily we would probably paint the cabinets, polish the cabinets, and the room would it look better painted, yes? But does staging better make it look like you MIGHT want to live here?

More on the cost of all this and the other things in the rest of this series.

- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area.

Every year the City of Walnut Creek has an ice skating rink in the park at 1365 Civic Drive. This year we can ice skate between November 12, 2009 and January 18, 2010. This is their fifth year!

Public Skating Schedule:
Monday - Thursday, 11am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday, 11am - 11pm
Sunday - 11am - 9pm

Admission Rates:
Monday - Thursday, $11.00
Friday before 5pm, $11.00
Friday after 5pm, $15.00
Saturday - Sunday, $15.00
November 24-28, $15.00
December 22 - January 1, $15.00
Group rates for parties and field trips, $10.00

Special Holiday Hours:
Thanksgiving, 10am - 6pm
Christmas Eve, 10am - 6pm
Christmas Day, 11am - 6pm
New Year's Eve, 10am - 8pm
New Year's Day, 11am - 11pm

They also offer skating lessons!

Learn to Skate - Beginning December 5
Saturday mornings at 8:45am or 9:15am, 1/2 hour instruction and public session following class
$125 for six weeks of lessons, Recital on the 7th week

Parent Tot Class - Beginning December 1
Tuesday mornings from 10am - 11am, 1 parent and 1 child, 1/2 hour of instruction and 1/2 hour practice session
$100 for 7 weeks

Adult Class - Beginning December 3
Thursday evenings from 7:30-8pm, 1/2 hour instruction and public session following class. This class will be during the public session on a coned off section of the rink.
$125 for 7 weeks

- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area.