There is one Post Standing between me and setting down to enjoy Football this weekend and this is it. I love football.  I love NFL Football.  I have seen some of the College Bowl games, but now it is time to get on to the big event; the NFL Playoffs.  This weekend and next weekend will probably be about the two best football weekends this year.  Let's face it the playoffs are generally better games than the Super Bowl (although the last two Super Bowls have been good games) and we get four games these first two weeks. I must work Sunday and will only catch two this week.  But I will stick my neck out and give you my picks.  Jets over Bengals; Ravens over Patriots, Cowboys over Eagles, and Packers over Cardinals.  I think the Charges will beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Now any one th... 01/09/2010

Pinewood Derby Time. My kids are involved in Royal Ranger Out Post 5 at Calvary Temple.  And it is Pinewood Derby Time. For generations kids have done Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts, Royal Rangers, and other youth organizations. With four boys involved this is now a challenging time for dad who normally seems to do much of the work.  I can assure you with my talent the cars all appear and run like the kids did all the work.  This year my wife is attempting to lure the boys Uncle Ralph into working on cars with them.  Uncle Ralph is more mechanically inclined and might get them a speedy vehicle. Royal Ranger's Outpost 5 Pinewood Derby Race is set for Saturday January 30, 2010.  You do not have to be a memeber of Royal Rangers to participate, we have an open Division.  If you are interested... 01/09/2010

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 9 - Picture This! This is Part 9 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 5 - The Team - The Termite Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 6 - The Team - The Stager Selling a Luxury Home - Part 7 - The Team - Putting it together Selling a Luxury Home - Part 8 - Living Through the Sale I want to take a step back and look at another important team member - The Photographer.  When Selling a Luxury Home a Professional Photographer is an important part of the equation.  Even if your Realtor or you can take excellent photos o... 01/08/2010

It seems like the more the government tries to help the worse things get.  What they do to help often hurts more than it helps. I have been working some short sales and have had a lot of success using Short Sale services offered by Old Republic Title; a very fine company.  The Short Sale Services were reasonably priced and effective.  They were not negotiators, but simply got the packages together and made contact with the loss mitigation departments to make sure the paper work was moving.  When actual negotiations were needed this is where the agent would step back in. Well the California Department of Insurance decided this was a conflict of interest and was being used as an inducement for business and told them to shut it down. Of Course it was an inducement for business, what compan... 01/08/2010

Extended First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit.  It is the start of the new year and time to follow up on all those things we put off in 2009.  Well don't put off buying a home.  The First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit has been extended to April 30, 2010.  But Wait!  It is not just a First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit now.  If you already have a home and it has been your primary residence five of the last eight years you may qualify for a tax credit of up to $6,500.00. This is also a Great Time to sell with all these Buyer incentives.  The Key thing is do not let this Extended First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit pass you by. 01/06/2010

Brentwood Rose Garden Homes The Rose Garden is a newer Brentwood Community that combines four Pulte Home developments.  These are some of the nicer, yet more affordable homes in Brentwood.  The Rose Garden is located right off Lone Tree Blvd on the North Side of Brentwood.  There is nearby shopping and it is close to the Bypass without being too close for comfort. The Rose Garden is a well planned community featuring 7 Parks.  On the main entrance is a large park featuring a community pool  Scattered through the neighborhood are 6 small parks with different themes for the kids. The Rose Garden is an affordable, yet nice community in Brentwood.  The homes range from small starter homes to larger executive style homes. Let me know if you need more information on Brentwood's Rose Garden. 01/05/2010

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 8 - Living Through the Sale This is Part 8 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 5 - The Team - The Termite Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 6 - The Team - The Stager Selling a Luxury Home - Part 7 - The Team - Putting it together We have all had those moments when our home looks less than ideal.  If you have kids it has probably been more than a few moments.  My top 10 examples: Your two year old decides he is an artist and the wall is his canvas. The cat brings you a present - it has just killed. The dog leave... 01/05/2010

Top 10 Predictions for 2010 In this crazy world I know longer try to make too many predictions but here are my top 10 predictions for 2010.  You be the judge as to how on target I am: A well know figure in the entertainment industry will die of a drug overdose. A conservative politician will get caught in a Sex Scandal and driven from office. A liberal politician will get caught in a Sex Scandal and will call it a lifestyle choice lowering the standards for all. A first round draft pick in a major sport will get a gazillion dollars and after tattooing a sponsors name on a certain part of his anatomy then proceed to fall on it. A new reality TV Show will come out bringing us to new lows in voyeurism. A new TV show will come out that is actually thought provoking, entertaining, and fit fo... 01/02/2010

Not only do I not like the BCS I do not want a playoff system.  We should go back to the way it used to be. I love tradition and college Football is about tradition.  I love watching college bowl games at New Years, but here are the practical arguments: These are not pros.  A playoff schedule will take too much out of the players.  I know they do it in basketball, but basketball is not football.  Football takes a lot more out of the players. These are amateurs.  With a playoff system there will be one winner.  With 30 some bowl games there are 30 some winners.  Most of these seniors are playing the last game they will ever play.  Let them enjoy it. As an aside I do not mind the huge number of games.  Like I said they are amateurs let as many kids as possible enjoy the honor of playing i... 01/02/2010

Bank Owned Homes in Brentwood Bank Owned Homes are a very large section of the Brentwood Housing Market and the portion of the market that seems to attract the most buyers.  If you are interested in Buying a Bank Owned Home this Post will provide you with the information you need to save thousands of dollars. Right now there are 29 Bank Owned Homes on the market in Brentwood.  The average asking price is $305,351.00 with a median asking price of $289,900.00.  The average asking price per SF if you are Buying a Bank Owned Home in Brentwood is $133.00.  These homes spend an average of 23 days on the market. In October 48 Bank Owned Homes sold in Brentwood at an average price of $294,900.00 and a median price of $295,000.00.  The average price per SF was $123.00.  The average days on marke... 12/29/2009

Short Sales in Brentwood Short Sales Continue to be one of the most Dynamic parts of the Real Estate Market in Brentwood California. About 40% of the Homes on the Market in Brentwood California are Short Sales.  This Post Provides Market information or link here on How to Short Sale a Home. This report looks at Active Short Sales and compares Short Sales in October and November.  This looks at all Short Sale Properties. There are currently 66 Short Sale Homes on the Market in Brentwood.  The Average Asking Price is $334,537.00 and the Median Asking Price is $322,450.00.  The homes currently listed have been on the market an average of 97 days and have an Average List Price of $139.00 per SF. In October there were 28 Short Sales in Brentwood with an average price of 309,664.00 and a medi... 12/29/2009

There is a lot of guilt in our culture about Christmas excess, both from the secular side and the religious side.  I understand that our thoughts should not be focused on personal pleasure, we need to be mindfull of the Reason for the Season, and take care of those in need. But my wife and I always celebrate Christmas to the full extent of our ability and our kids will be spoiled.  Now most celebration is not about money.  You can put out a real nice spread fairly cheap for a Christmas Dinner.  It is the attitude you bring to it.  My kids can hardly wait for Christmas dinner and we will have some nice food this year.  But what really makes the meal special is the effort we take in seating the dinning room table, the gathering of the family and friends joining us, the reading of Scriptur... 12/23/2009

I love Christmas but also know it can be a painful time for some.  I have had my own share of pain associated with Christmas: When I was young my mother became ill shortly after Christmas and died.  She left behind me at 5 and my brother 3 and sister 2.  My dad was never the same.  My grandmother refused to celebrate Christmas for years.  For years this hurt me, and not just around Christmas.  It effects you growing up in ways you cannot imagine unless you have been there. As an adult there were many times I spent Christmas alone. After loosing one child my wife and I were trying hard to have our first child.  On Thanksgiving we found out she was pregnant again.  We decided to wait to tell people.  On Christmas eve I started to call Grandma to tell her, but noted it was late in the mid ... 12/23/2009

I love Christmas and I love Tradition.  I do not break routine easy.  Here are some things that just stay the same: Presents are opened on Christmas Morning. The stockings are opened in the morning before the ones under the tree. I start decorating the house on Thanksgiving weekend (or shortly there after). There is an Orange or Tangerine in the toe of each stocking on Christmas Morning. Cookies and Milk are always left out for Santa.  A carrot for the raindeer.  (As an aside here I have speculated Santa might prefer Hot Wings and Beer but this has not caught on with the kids.) But over the years we have made some changes or added new traditions. A few years ago we stopped doing a big Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day.  Instead we started having it on Christmas eve.  With all the kids i... 12/23/2009

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 7 - The Team - Putting it together This is Part 7 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 5 - The Team - The Termite Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 6 - The Team - The Stager When you decide to use the team as recommended above to sell your Luxury Home get all the initial reports and inspections together and decide what you are going to do. The reason I wanted you to get all the members of the teams initial reports first is to keep you from having to redo work. If the termite inspector finds Section 1 work to com... 12/22/2009

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 6 - The Team - The Stager This is Part 6 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector Selling a Luxury Home - Part 5 - The Team - The Termite Inspector At this point someone is thinking that their home looks just fine, they do not need anyone to tell them how to clean, and stagers are a waste of money. I am going to disagree and tell you why staging is very important for Luxury Home Sales. Stagers hate to tell you how much the cost as it really varies from home to home and job to job.  It depends on how much furniture they bring in, how long it stays on... 12/22/2009

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 5 - The Team - Termite Inspector This is Part 5 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector Right of the bat some of you are asking why we need a Termite inspector if we just had a home inspector.  No matter how you feel about it in California they are two different inspections.  There may be some overlap, but here is how they are different: Home inspectors are not licensed by the state, but they do have professional credentials and professional organizations they are a part of.  Termite inspectors are licensed by the state. The home inspection report ... 12/18/2009

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 4 - The Team - Home Inspector This is Part 4 in a Series. You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan In part 3 of Selling a Luxury Home we already covered why you should use a Realtor to get the most for your home in the least amount of time.  The Realtor is going to help you put together a team.  Remember this is a high Luxury Home and we have to show it as such.  The three things that will build value are Uniquness, Status, and Luxury in Luxury Home Sales. One of the first team members you need to get is a Home Inspector.  In this market lately many sellers balk at this expense; expecting the seller to pay for any inspe... 12/18/2009

NOVEMBER 2009 HOME SALES FOR BRENTWOOD CALIFORNIA Here is a list of the actual homes sold in Brentwood, California in the month of November.  The average list price for the month was $$295,745 with an average list price of $134 per square foot.  The average sale price was $300,347 with an average   square foot price of $137. There were a total of 101 single family homes sold in Brentwood this month. The Brentwood real estate market is heating up. Knowing what is going on with regard to sales in Brentwood is important for making a buying or selling decision. Finding comparables for determining price for either a listing or a purchase can sometimes be tricky because of the limited inventory. For a complete list of Homes for Sale in Brentwood, California, please call or visit me at www.so... 12/15/2009

Selling a Luxury Home - Part 3 - Make a Plan This is Part 3 in a Series.  You may wish to look at the other parts first: Selling a Luxury Home - Part 1 - Defined Selling a Luxury Home - Part 2 - A State of Mind As we discussed in prior before Selling a Luxury Home is about Uniqueness, Status, and Luxury.  So what is important is find the best way to treat the home as a Unique and Luxuries Status symbol.  Your first impulse is going to be to start fixing things up and cleaning things.  No matter how nice your home there are always those little things that need taking care of or things that have just become dated with time.  It always strikes me as odd that we will leave in a home for years and put up with things then as soon as we are ready to move we fix it for someone else to enjoy. Bu... 12/13/2009