I never thought I would become a Activerain addict!  It's crazy..I was never a big computer person but after reading and going to Tech seminars, I have realized that the future in Real Estate and most everything else is going to be on the internet. I love all the information from other REALTORS around the states. It's a great source of information when you get it from other professionals.    I was very pleasantly surprised to see Jeff Turner founder of Real Estate Shows on Activerain. How cool is that to find out he is the founder. I was pretty shocked. I didn't think about it before when we signed up for Real Estate Shows.Anyway I am now a Activerain blogger......and I'm hooked.....LOL 08/20/2007

I took Ralph Nudi's advise. I figured if it worked for him it could work for me. So I thought I would try it. All my children are grown & his son was so cute I wasn't sure what picture I would use. So I figured I would use a picture that touched my heart when I saw it. I really hope it touches yours too. All I have to say is God Bless our Troops and all the men and women that are and have served in the military. If is wasn't for these brave soldiers we would NOT be a FREE country today. Notice the sacrafice this young man gave for his country, an eye, hand, & leg. Now please help me get to 499 comments!!    SEMPER FIOH while you are helping me get 499 comments - please stop by this home for sale located at 1208 Frankette Modesto,CA For Sale at $220,000 plus $3000 buyers credit toward NR... 08/13/2007

After reading about Neal the Real Deal Bloom'sBlog on his Jack Russell Terrier, it made me want to comment on my son's dog. My son and daughter in law owned a 3 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Bailey. He was are very cute and smart little guy. He had beautiful markings.  Anyway, about 2 weeks ago they noticed that he was acting funny but didn't think nothing of it at first.Then he started to walk kind of wobbly so the took him into the veterinary office. The Veterinary told my kids that Bailey has blatter stones. Blatter stones?  Okay.....so they did surgery on him. After they surgery they said  to take him home and give him the medication and he will be okay.Well they brought him home and after two days he was not getting better. So they took him back to the veterinary office and t... 08/12/2007

Is this where we are heading?Are there homes in your neighborhood that are vacant?Has the foreclosure rate affected your neighborhood?What can you do to help?  It might cost you some time maybe even some money to keep YOUR neighborhood and OUR CITY looking great.  Here are some suggestions.1.  Be Proactive  - is the grass dying next door to you?  Call the agent if the home is listed.  Water the grass with a sprinkler from your yard if the water has been turned off.  2) Be Aware -  Watch for people who might be "swatting" in a vacant home in your neighborhood. Don't ignore this, call the police!3) Call City Hall if a home in your neighborhood looks like the one above.  They might not do much YET, but they will if they get enough phone calls.Let's keep Tracy beautiful or we'll have more h... 08/08/2007

First, you are not alone if you are in a situation where your payments are more than you can handle.  You are not alone if you fear you may lose your home.  You do not need to feel ashamed or embarrassed, bad things happen to very good people.What you do need is someone who understands, is compassionate and that can HELP!  Let's start with a definition.Foreclosure, the sheriff comes to your home and escorts you out.  The bank "reposses" your home and sells it on the court house steps for hopefully the loan amount.  This is not pretty, this will damage your credit.  This could prevent you from renting, buying a car, getting a job, getting insurance, you name it.  Many businesses run credit checks, you want to avoid foreclosure if you can.Short Sale, this is where the BANK agrees to allow... 08/03/2007

Another victory for Tracy National Little League.  The 11 - 0 victory has put Tracy National Little League just 2 wins away from another trip to the Western Regional Playoffs.Emmett Lee is at the helm, as coach, mentor and example of how you can be very successful without yelling, demeaning, belittling, etc a bunch of kids.  Why don't other manager 'get this?'Emmett is not alone in his quest for a Title, always beside him is the unsung hero, Donna.  Donna is at every game, pacing.  The team's victories are Donna's victories.  Donna carries equipment, bring water and ice, cleans out dugouts, you name it she does it.  As is often stated, behind every GREAT man that is an even GREATER woman.  This is Donna.Good Luck to the Tracy TeamSusan Goulding, PresidentTracy American/National Little L... 07/27/2007

Congratulations to the Tracy National Major Little League baseball team.  Tongiht they won the Section 3 Title.  The already held the Tracy National Title, the District 67 All Star Title and now one more flag to thier arsenol.Living in the town of Tracy, while not small, 80,000 by some standards, it is still extremely small when it comes to the towns athletic teams.Baseball while the American Passtime it is best when watching 12 years olds play thier hearts out, not for money but for the love of the game.As the President of this league, and the previous District Administrator for 3 years, and now President in the 2007 season, I'm very proud of this group of kids, parents, managers and coaches.Good Luck - On to Divisions...then West Region.... then Williamsport - the Little League World ... 07/23/2007

Life comes at your fast.  Now, what?  Many people who bought homes in the past 3 years with starter rate adjustable loans are going to see those loans adjusting soon.  What happens when that new payment is one that is no longer affordable?  What are the options?Foreclosuer - that means the sheriff comes and kicks you out, the bank takes back your home and you have to find somewhere else to live.  Foreclosure can also affect your car insurance, your employment, finding rental property, getting a credit card, even getting a checking account.  Foreclosue is NOT a great option.Short Sale - this means that the bank agrees to allow you to sell your home for less than you owe the bank.  There are negatives to this also.  1) you could have to pay taxes on the amount written off by the bank. 2) ... 07/21/2007

The price of homes is drifting downward... and there are MORE homes on the market in Tracy than ever before.  I actually heard today that there are more homes available for sale in the entire United States than has ever happend previously.918 homes for sale in Tracy.11 pending9 sold this week.The good news is it appears that buyers are starting to buy, interest rates are holding steady.If you live in Tracy or Mountain House and your payment is adjusting rapidly, don't wait call today to see what your options are.  Foreclosure is not the answer.Susan Goulding, RealtorLoss Mitigation SpecialistKeller Williams RealtyTracy & Mountain House, CA209-914-5573 07/19/2007

da da ta da ta da... June Housing Stats for Tracy, CA.  They aren't pretty, but...June 4 For Sale 910          Pending 15          Sold  10June 11  For Sale 902             Pending 16             Sold  4June 18 For Sale 918            Pending 15            Sold  9June 25 For Sale  936            Pending 7            Sold  9For those that don't know Tracy is a town of about 80,000 people.  Many of the homes for sale are foreclosures, bank owned or short sales.  If you need to sell it's important to use a Realtor that knows the market, watches the market, call me.  Competitve pricing is what will sell your home.If you are looking to buy a home in Tracy, California call me for help finding the perfect home without the need to visit all 900.Have a great day.Susan Goulding, Realtor - Tracy, ... 06/25/2007

Tracy, CA. State of the Market as of June 24th 2007 There are presently 976 Single Family Residential Properties on the Tracy Market. Of these 937 are detached Single Family Residential homes. The average price of a detached SFR is $571,867. For this median price range the home square footage size was 2190 square feet of living space.Since June 1st there have been 41 sold SFR of which 38 were detached single family residences. The average listing price of these homes was $523,936 and that same average home sold for $513,926 for which the average size was 2024 square feet of living space. The average time to sell a home was 75 days.The median listing price of a sold home was $482,500 and sold for $470,000 for which the median size of a sold home was 2024 square feet of living space. The ... 06/24/2007

A Ball Boucing; The Tide; a Boomerang; California Real Estate -- what do these 4 things have in common?They always come back!  So what are California investors and buyers waiting for?  The tide only goes out so far, a ball only bounces until it hits the ground, a boomerang always turns goes back from where it was thrown and California Real Estate has always bounce back.Why - well balls and boomerangs have to do with physics, and the tide has to do with gravity and the sun, but in California it is all supply and demand.  Add that to the fact that our weather is awesome, especially in the Northern California Bay Area.  We don't have snow unless we want to drive to it, we don't have tornados or hurricanes, we don't even really have draughts.  The temperature is 60 - 90 10 months out of the... 06/19/2007

I know we've all heard it - the market is terrible.  Why would I buy now? There are tons of foreclosures, short sales and bank owned properties, etc.My questions is when do you want to buy and why not NOW.Let's consider why....1) There is a lot to choose from.2) This is a BUYERS MARKET.3) There are foreclosures, short sales and bank owned properties available.4) When the bottom hits you will have bought on the way DOWN not the WAY up.24 months ago if you wanted to buy you had to bid over at least one other person, you had to see a home, bid on it, buy it and then think "did I really love this home?"  Why buy in that market.Interestingly enoug most buyers buy in a sellers market, and most sellers sell in a buyers market. Isnt this backwards.  When will you have the biggest advantage, whe... 06/07/2007

866 homes on the Market in Tracy as of 5/7/0790 are pending49 have sold in the past 6 weeks.WOW!  this does not include Mountain House or Rural listings.Buy NOW!  Now is not a "flip" time, but a 3 - 7 year investment.  California Real Estate rarely stays down for long.  Call me for your own personal market report.Susan GouldingKeller Williams209-914-5573wwww.gotTracy.com 06/06/2007

Are you thinking about selling your home?  How about buying a home?  You can search for FREE, 24 - 7 from my web site.  This is a comprehensive web site that allows you to search not only Tracy, California, but almost anywhere in Northern California.I belong to 3 different MLS's so that allows you to seach from North of Sacramento, south to Madera.  You can search from Monterey to Santa Rosa, and Half Moon Bay to the foothills.  WOW all those locations on one web site.Once you find the perfect house, call me, I will find you the perfect REALTOR to facilitate your transaction if it is out of my service area.Check it out, you won't be sorry.Susan Gouldingwww.SusanGoulding.com 04/07/2007

Branding - A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Branding is a way of getting people to remember you. For example, if you see the golden arches, you immediately think McDonalds.Branding can also be used to help people remember your house. It can either be a positive brand or a negative brand. As my family and I were looking for a house, my children, unknowingly branded houses as a way of remembering them. There was the "fish stank" house, so named because it smelled like a stinking old fish tank which had not been serviced in a while. There was the BBQ house (smell of BBQ ribs in the oven), the pool house (pool in the backyard), Pottsgrove (street name), and we even ... 04/04/2007

Have you seen or heard about home staging and would like to have your house or listing staged, but you're afraid?Afraid staging is expensive? (It's less than you think!)Afraid staging will disrupt your life? (It will actually help keep your house in a "show ready" state.)Afraid your house is not worth staging? (Any house can benefit from staging. I'll explain why.) Afraid the changes will not really make a difference? (You'll see Before and After photos)Afraid your house or style will be questioned? (A stager's goal is to help your house give a positive and lasting impression; not critique your taste.)In order to ease your fears and see what staging is about, I am offering a Free Home Staging Seminar. Sunday April 22, 20071:00pm - 3:00pmTracy Branch Library / Wadsworth Room 20 E. Eaton ... 04/03/2007

There are two prices when it comes to selling a house.  There is the "asking or listing" price and there is the "value or worth" price.  Let me explain the difference between the two.  Have you even been to the grocery store to buy a can of something and you pick up one can and it has a dent in it?  What do you do? Most buyers will put the dented can back on the shelf and chose another can which is not dented.  Why? Although both cans have the same product in it, to the buyer they are not worth the same.  What will it take to sell that dented can?  A price reduction.  This is the same for anything on sale including houses. When listing a house, Realtors will give homeowner comparables or comps of similar homes which are presently on the market or have sold within the past few months. Ho... 03/31/2007

Here is a QUICK update on the Market in Tracy.As of a week ago - March 12 There were a total of 709 homes on the market104 homes were in Escrow21% of the homes on the market were between $620,000 and $635,000.Check back often - updates bi-monthly.Susan Gouldinghttp://www.gotTracy.commailto:AR@gotTracy.com209-914-5573 03/26/2007

I go to Open House to see how homeowners are preparing their homes for sale.    I am so surprise at the way they are "marketing" the listing. Do they really want to sell? Are they really expecting the price they are asking? Many homeowners have the assumption that they can place their home on the market as is and someone will come and buy it for the price they are asking. Well that was the case a few years ago but times have changed and we are now in a buyers market. Buying a home is a big investment and buyers want the best value for their money. With so many homes on the market, buyers can pick and chose. I am based in Tracy, CA so I enjoy going to Open Houses in this area. One home I went to over the weekend, was in a nice area of Tracy, in a cul-de-sac in a newer neighborhood with P... 03/20/2007