A look at how home buyers and sellers affect the economy and job creation through "The Ripple Effect."   05/03/2013

How homeowners can save big money with a shorter term mortgage loan.   05/03/2013

A few quick local real estate statistics from Trulia: Median sales price for homes Jan 2013 to Mar 2013 was $272,000 (Tracy), $359,500 (Mountain House), $234,000 (Manteca), and $220,000 (Lathrop). The average listing price for homes for sale on Trulia for week ending Apr 17 was $318,641 (Tracy), $429,962 (Mountain House), $363,103 (Manteca), and $173,303 (Lathrop). 05/03/2013

Statistics from Truila's Chief Economist show the housing market is almost 60% back to normal. "Each month, Trulia’s Housing Barometer charts how quickly the housing market is moving back to “normal.”  We summarize three key housing market indicators: construction starts (Census), existing home sales (NAR), and the delinquency-plus-foreclosure rate (LPS First Look). For each indicator, we compare this month’s data to (1) how bad the numbers got at their worst and (2) their pre-bubble “normal” levels. In March 2013, construction starts and the delinquency + foreclosure rate improved: Construction starts rocketed to a new post-bubble high. Starts were at a 1,036,000 seasonally adjusted annualized rate – up 7% month-over-month and 47% year-over-year – which is the highest level since June... 05/03/2013

Excerpt from the Making Home Affordable program 2011 Amendment: “This Supplemental Directive amends this restriction (requiring arm’s length transactions) to allow servicers the discretion to approve sales to non-profit organizations with the stated purpose that the property will be rented or resold to the borrower, so long as all other HAFA program requirements are met.”  A short sale leaseback program (SSLB) allows homeowners to remain in their house after a short sale. They’re allowed to rent it from the new owner rather than vacating after closing. A 2011 Amendment to the Making Home Affordable program helped to create this leaseback option. You sell your home to a non-profit and they lease it back to you for a set period of time. Once your credit has improved and you’re approved f... 05/03/2013

I remember my first open house quite well. I had passed the state exam but had yet to receive my license in the mail. An agent in my office sent out an infra-office email looking for an agent to do an open for that weekend. I responded back I would like to do it. She responded back “who are you, do you work for us? I responded back with more information and she agreed to let me hold it open. We laugh about that now.   I prepared well with signs, fliers, and information about the neighborhood. I arrived and set up almost an hour early and stood there for the next four hours waiting for anyone to arrive. No one did. I was GREATLY relieved that no one had shown up. I had no idea what to say or do, but my first open house was over and I had survived. My mother would be so proud of me. I did... 04/22/2013

So last Saturday I am sitting home taking the day off. My 17 year old is with me for a few days so I am keeping the time open for him. He is out with friends so when my broker calls me I am happy the phone is ringing. She says “Dale, a buyer called and wants to look at a few homes today but I have plans can you help them?” Sure no problem, happy to help. I call the people and they give me a few address and I say I will check them out on the MLS and call them back. They say fine. I find them on the MLS, one is vacant with a lock-box so no problem. The second is open that afternoon so again no problem. The third says “call HO for appointment. I call and a guy answers the phone. I quickly explain who I am and ask is this afternoon possible? He says, and I quote “Dude, we have been in contr... 04/16/2013

Once again it was made clear that when regular folks get involved, work hard without need for recognition wonderful things can and will occure. Last night our local RE council hosted a Bunco tournement. It was held at West Valley Mall in a space donated by the mall. Some 53 players got together and a had a lot of fun, and made a lot of noise doing so. Local business's donated raffle prizes, and prizes for players, the mall along with the space donated tables and chairs and a PA system. Several people who were unable to play made cash donations. A local printer donated the tickets, and Relay for Life provided snacks.   When the dust settled over $1000.00 was raised for charity. Image, go out have fun, see your friends, make new friends AND raise $1000.00 for charity. Regular folks doing... 04/13/2013

When I heard this one all I could think of was my son and how he think the same way. When we put our house up for sale, I stressed emphatically that my sons make their beds each morning. I left for work before they left for school, and I wanted to be sure that the house looked presentable when the agent showed it to prospective buyers. I was surprised and impressed that my 15-year-old son's bed was made perfectly each day. One night when I went into his room, I discovered his secret he was fast asleep on the floor in his sleeping bag. My name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. Thanks for reading. 04/11/2013

I'm frequently asked the following questions.....   How much will my house in Tracy or Mountain House CA sell for?What is my Mountain House or Tracy, CA Property worth?What’s the value of my Tracy or Mountain House Property?Has the value of my Tracy Home gone up? There are a lot of variable to the selling price of a property in Mountain House or Tracy, CA.  HOWEVER, if you just want a quick easy answer and you don't want to just check Zillow... keep reading. Now there is an easy, no obligation tool just to answer those questions….   To read the rest of this article click here 03/28/2013

And the buyer said.....    "I can only afford $$$, and I'm very picky.  I want granite counters, stainless appliances, tan carpet, a large yard, tile in the bathrooms, a 3 car garage, 3 bedrooms, a den, 3 full baths, to be able to walk to schools, a court location...." The REALTOR replied...... "You can be as picky as your budget will allow. Now let's go shopping for your Tracy, CA Home." LOL..... (Note the buyer is FHA, 3.5% down, needs closing costs, and is purchasing in the bottom 5% of homes on the market.)     03/26/2013

I live in the city of Tracy California. Our population is roughly 85,000 and there is an area west of Tracy called Mountain House with another 9500 people. Like most Realtors here I am dismayed with the inventory shortage we face. Lots of buyers, but little to sell. Here are the real numbers we face everyday. In a 7 day period March14 through March 20 (Thursday through Wednesday) we had 11 new listings come onto the market. During the same period, 32 properties went pending and 16 were sold. In other words 48 properties went off the market 11 came on for a minus 37 for the week. The total available properties for Tracy/Mtn. House ended at 28. Hard to believe that a few years ago we had over 1200 properties available. This property shortage has caused values to sky rocket (5 to 10% or mo... 03/25/2013

Yesterday I wrote at the end of my blog that today I would tell you who the worst person in the world to lie to is. I'm sure that if you read that and thought about it for a second you knew the answer already. The answer is, lying to the person you see in the mirror each day. If you do that it will prevent accomplishment faster than anything else you might do. I attended a motivation presentation last week and the speaker, Mr. Rick Geha said very quickly the worst person to ever lie to is yourself, and then he quickly moved on. That line stuck with me though and I have thought about it a lot since. I did research on the subject on the internet and found that it has been written about, blogged about and spoken about extensively throughout history. I found two quotes that I would like to ... 03/12/2013

Just returned from what was supposed to a Face Book training,but was in fact a social media training with a focus on Face Book. Now I'm not an expert by any means but was very happy to walk away with a lot of facts, and a lot of personal opinions given by the presenter, Mr. Jim Walberg. Yes, he is related to Mark. Interestingly, the presenter was not a twenty something mega hip dude with skinny jeans but a sixty something mega hip dude with gray hair and glasses. In a nut shell here is what he had to say over 90 minutes. First, if your not on the first page of Google, then your not on Google. His point was made when he asked how often we have gone to the second page to find something we were searching for. Never. He talked a lot about SEO or Search Engine Optimization. This is how we mo... 03/11/2013

Yesterday was the best example of why I am proud to be a Realtor. The local Tracy Council of Realtors worked throughout 2012 to raise money to be given to local Tracy charities. The picture you see is the group picture taken at the conclusion of he event. Eight charities received money and each described the difficulty in raising money the past year in tough economic time. Each group was thankful for the donation but we made sure that they understood that as a group, the Tracy Council simply collected the money. The heroes were those who donated their time to help during the events, the generous donations by individuals who wanted to help and the organizations, staffed primarily by volunteers, that put the money to good use. The Tracy Council of Realtors would like to thank all of those... 02/15/2013

This one is a little old, but it does suggest creative thinking.A man was sitting at a bar enjoying an after-work cocktail when anexceptionally gorgeous & sexy young woman entered. She was so striking thatthe man could not take his eyes away from her. The young woman noticed hisoverly attentive stare & walked directly towards him. Before he could offerhis apologies for being so rude, the young woman said to him, "I'll doanything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky,for $100 on one condition." Flabbergasted, the man asked what the conditionwas. The young woman replied, "You have to tell me what you want me to doin just three words." The man considered her proposition for a moment,withdrew his wallet from his pocket & slowly counted out five $20 bills,which he... 02/06/2013

OK, these have probably circulated around the world by now (with the exception of N. Korea) but they just crack me up. Just can't help but think about the normal arguments that family members, especially brothers and sisters, and how the Super Bowl would magnify them to unbelievable proportion. Just wondering how it will be at Thanksgiving or Christmas when they sit down for dinner and the Lombardi trophy sits in the center of the table. Ah, boys will be boys.   My name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. 02/05/2013

I have heard a lot of folks on the radio complaining about the officiating in yesterdays Super Bowl. If you have watched football for more that a minute you know that there are calls that could have been made, calls that should have been made, calls that could go either way and calls that weren't made in every game. We all know that “holding” could be called on almost every play.   What I haven't heard this morning is 49er players and coaches complaining about the officiating. I have heard them talk about execution and preparation.   The first play from scrimmage, according to the 49er coaches, was practiced (ran) 10 times in the 3 days before the game. Each offensive player knew that it was to be the first play. Great play for 20 yards, except for the uncovered lineman. A penalty, nega... 02/04/2013

Martin Luther King was assassinated (murdered) in 1968. I was a junior in an all white high school at the time. His assassination was thought provoking and an interesting topic of discussion for several days. We talked about what he had accomplished, the motivation for his assassination and how he would be remembered.   My girl friend at the time, was a junior in another high school that was a near equal mix of black and white. It was, according to her much different there. While there was similar discussions she said that in the hallways there was great fear of violence. From her point of view she feared retribution for his death. Turned out that nothing serious happened for which she was very thankful.   In retrospect, Mr. King turned out to be nearly as influential in death as in lif... 01/20/2013

To be honest with you, I have never been a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. Nothing against her, she just didn't hold my interest with her show, or any interview that I have seen her do. Now though she has done me a big favor. If what we read is true Oprah has gotten Lance Armstrong to admit he cheated. Not once but through his entire career.   In previous posts I have staunchly defended Lance Armstrong. I won't type his name again. I to was a hardcore bike rider and he made me believe that with hard work you CAN be the best. He lied. He looked me in the eye and lied. I say looked me in the eye and I am referring to all of the time he looked into the camera and lied.   I have held him up as an example to my son, my friends and evoked his name and his story when trying to convince others that h... 01/15/2013