Here's yet another reason for Sonoma County Residents to be proud of our Sonoma County governmental leaders who are now paving the way for more alternative energy resources.  Called Solar Sonoma County they have announced joint plans to triple solar-generated electricity in the next three years.The objective of this initiative is to make it easier for Sonoma County Residents to cost justify solar energy and become proactive in helping achieve our county's climate protection objectives.  It appears that incentives may include a streamlined permit process and bank loans that encourage conversion.  These incentives, combined with the fact that the cost of solar installations is projected to decrease, are making it easier for citizens to make and justify a cost/benefit case for installing s... 02/22/2008

With the passing of the stimulus bill now behind us, in a few short weeks Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA will release their new guidelines on loans above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. Although this will help to stimulate refinances and home sales, there are two things that homeowners looking to sell during this time must remember. The first is the bill is only effective until the end of the year, and second you will be competing with 1000's of other homes on the market.  Now is the time you must sit down and create a plan of action on how you are going to differentiate your home from all the others. What is going to make a seller choose your home over all the others. There are several ways of accomplishing this. The first and most important is renovating. The degree of renovat... 02/17/2008

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home. We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down ... 02/09/2008

The Senate has recently passed Senate Bill S 2338 which changer dramatically the structure of the standard FHA programs. In recent years FHA programs have not been used to any extent here in California due to the median home prices being much higher than the $362,790 loan limit established for most of the state along with the North Bay area. With the passing of the above bill, loan limits will be raised to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loan limits of $417,000. Along with those lines, the bill will also reduce the required 3% downpayment from the borrower down to 1.5%. This change alone will help many families the extra help they needed in purchasing a home. However, with the increase in the loan limits to $417,000, this change will help those that need to refinance now. Thos... 12/21/2007

As a National Lender, Ascent Home Loans not only services the home loan industry, but also the small commercial loan arena. Why do we invest the time in closing loans for the small business owner and investor? Because the small business owner and investor needs a representative in the commercial loan market that gives them an additional choice in lending when they are having difficulty providing documentation, or they are under the bank's minimum loan amount. a National Lender, Ascent Home Loans not only services the home loan industry, but also the small commercial loan arena. Why do we invest the time in closing loans for the small business owner and investor? Because the small business owner and investor needs a representative in the commercial loan market that gives them an addition... 11/29/2007

I have been reading a lot of blogs about whether or not staging is necessary. As a stager I think you definitely have to at least offer it as an option to your clients. More and more I am having the homeowner contact me directly about staging, often times before they are even working with a Realtor. Thanks HGTV! If you aren't at least letting them know that staging is an option, they might feel that you aren't giving them all the marketing power that you can. I have had great success in getting houses sold by staging. In the last 2 months all my houses sold in less than 10 days! Many were previously sitting on the market vacant. So staging does make a huge difference. As a Realtor you may wonder who should pay? I have had Realtors that would offer a staging consultation as part of their... 11/26/2007

When selling a home, sometimes it can be or feel like one of the most stressful times a person can endure. Along with the selling process you must also search for a new home, choose a lender, renovate your home,along with strange people walking through the home your kids grew up in. The list is endless.  But how stressful would it be if a perspective home seller changed their mindset. Instead of looking at the process on a personal level, try looking at it from a position of being the CEO of your own company. Why a CEO? If you really get down to it, what are you really doing when you sell your home? You are selling what could be thought of as a company. Let's say you purchase a home 5 years ago. What you have done is invested capital into this venture by purchasing the home or let's cal... 11/13/2007

I know, I know. Money is tight... House prices are down... Can't afford to stage. Those are some of the things we are hearing these days. Well the truth is, savvy sellers realize that a small investment in staging now will reap them larger benefits in the future. I can't tell you how many houses I've staged that have been sitting on the market for months vacant. Once they are staged they sell, usually receiving offers in a matter of days. How many mortgage payments have those homeowners thrown out the window? If they had invested in staging in the beginning they would have come out way ahead. We all know inventory is at an all-time high. Home buyers are overwhelmed with so many choices that they will easily pass over a house that doesn't WOW them.  If the pictures on the MLS don't grab ... 11/09/2007

With all the newspapers, TV News and stories on the internet in regards to what's going on in mortgage industry, sometime it might be a little scary to even think about getting a loan.  Loan programs have changed or have been entirely discontinued, everyone has heard about the sub-prime problems, in fact you may have a sub-prime loan right now as you're reading this. Mortgage companies all across the US have closed their doors. Actually, things are not as bad as they seem. There are still plenty of loan programs available to current homeowners, investors and first-time buyers. Despite what the news reports have been implying, there are actual senior loan officer's across the US, including myself,  who are reputable and are willing to take the time to talk to their clients and help them ... 07/24/2007

Santa RosaSanta Rosa Central Library - need Sonoma County Library card - Third and E Streets - (707) 545-0831Rincon Valley Library - need Sonoma County Library card - 6959 Montecito Blvd - (707) 537-0162NW Santa Rosa Library - need Sonoma County Library card - 150 Coddingtown Center - (707) 546-2265Burger King - 370 Coddingtown Center - (707) 579-5905A'Roma Roasters - 95 5th Street - 707-576-7765Wolf Coffee - 1810 Mendocino Avenue - (707) 546-9653 and 614 Fourth Street - (707) 524-8036Sonoma Coffee Company - 521 Fourth Street - (707) 573-8022Valley Tire & Brake - 1688 Piner Rd. - 707-544-3420Valley Fast Oil & Lube - 1675 Piner Rd. - 707-544-2423Holiday Inn Express Santa Rosa - 870 Hopper Ave  Check out other Free CA Wi-Fi Locations!http://www.wififreespot.com/ca.html 07/03/2007