Del Norte County has affordable California housing.  DON'T WAIT for prices to surge and inventory to shrink if you are in the market for a home.

Our current inventory sits at 230 residential listings, down 27% from the high of 314 just a few months ago. 

The current median price of a residential listing is $297,000, a bargain when you consider C.A.R. reports the November 2007 median price in California overall is $488,640.

A sample listing in our median price range:

• 4 bedroom
• 2 bathroom
• 2 car attached garage
• 80 x 80 lot
• Built in 2005
• 1710 square feet
• Area of similar homes
• List price: $299,000

The current LP/SP ratio (list price versus the actual sale price) for December is 94%, but if you take original list price into account it would be much lower.  If you purchased the sample listing using that ratio, the sample home would sell for $281,000.  Not bad for a 2005 home in California. 

With shrinking inventory, great interest rates, the holidays behind us, and very affordable prices, now is the time to buy in Del Norte County.  If you are waiting for the perfect storm, so to speak, it's crashing all around you. 

Del Norte County seller's, hang in there.  Things are going to brighten up for you very soon.

Del Norte County is The Other California.  Why?  Affordable housing, no traffic, no smog, nice people, relaxing commute, fishing, surfing, hiking, bird watching, laying on the beach, kayaking, wind surfing, boating, hunting, yachting, rafting, no drought, fresh tuna, fresh salmon, Warrior's football, spectacular sunrise, mild climate, fresh crab and so much more...

I have assisted more buyers in purchasing homes in Del Norte County in 2007 than any other REALTOR.  I am looking forward to putting my experience to work for you.  

Del Norte County...The Other California
Copyright © 2007 Fran Gatti/Crescent City/Del Norte County...The Other California | All Rights Reserved

 

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Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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I am about to wrap up my first year on Active Rain. 

One of our goals as real estate professionals should be to gauge all our marketing platforms on an annual basis and decide if the effort and/or money expended is worth the results.

With many forms of advertising and marketing, it is fairly easy to measure success.  For example, with print advertising it's pretty easy to measure success by asking people how they found you and if they answer, "In the newspaper," you know it was cost effective.

With the Internet, although a great deal of marketing has no cost involved, there is A LOT of time expended on getting your name out there and not always accurate measures of it's success.  Many folks answer the question, "How did you find me?" by saying, "On the Internet."  Yeah but where?  I don't always ask, but certainly would like to know.    

Of course, all of us who rely on the Internet heavily for marketing and social networking know there are intrinsic rewards from doing so and that you don't always see an immediate pay-off, but...is the effort expended on blogging worth the output.   This I needed to know, because I spend a large portion of my time blogging. 

Measuring success in this venue is going to be different for each individual because not everyone is looking for the same reward from their blog.

If you like to write then your blog is probably more than marketing to you.  It may be a creative outlet for you that allows you to decompress from the more stressful aspects of real estate.  For someone who finds writing equal to a having their teeth drilled without Novocaine, a more substantial financial reward may be needed to continue the pain of having to write a post on a consistent basis. 

For me, it's decompression, finding new friends and business associates who make me a better practitioner, it's the need to help other's find the wonderful aspects of my market and be informed consumers, it's fulfilling a deep need to write...something, anything, and it's being part of a community of like minded people, professionals who want to be at the top of their game.

I have identified my goals and I suggest you do the same.  Why continue on with something if you aren't sure if it's worth the effort?

So here's how I stack up with blogging meeting my goals:

• Finding New Friends and Business Associates - I have been able to call several members over the last year and ask their advice or guidance without having ever met them face to face, but, they knew who I was from commenting on their blogs.  In each instance, the member bent over backwards to help me and followed-up to make sure I was on the right track - GOAL MET.
  
  
• Decompression - I havent' cracked up yet and that's saying a lot for being in real estate in a down market - GOAL MET.
  
  
• Helping Consumer's Learn About My Market- I have had several clients tell me they read my blog and enjoy it.  I would like to expand on this one however, and plan on working my blog into more that I do in 2008.  I would like to build-up a regular readership of clients, consumers and business people in my market who rely on me for up-to-the-minute happenings in Del Norte County - IN THE WORKS.
  
  
• Fulfilling my deep need to write - Yep - GOAL MET.
  
  
• Being Part of a Community of Like Minded People - AR is packed full of people who are real honest to goodness professionals who care deeply about their clients and that's who I want to be with - GOAL MET.

I encourage you to look at all your goals and if you find that your goals are not being met or are not really worthy goals, establish new goals and/or new methods to reach them.  2008 is going to be great!

Thanks for stopping by.

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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Is there anyone out there who isn't feeling the financial pinch right now? 

Not in my sphere of friends, family and associates, but I'm guessing the people who aren't feeling the pinch are quiet about it (they don't want to make the ones like me feel bad.  Thank you for that).

Anyway...I am feeling the pinch, and I'm trying to be as proactive as possible. Isn't that what we do on New Years, resolve to make a better and brighter future for ourselves?

In that vein, I took several hours out of my day today to figure out a budget for the coming year and read up on How To Get Out Of Debt (sorry for the profane language).

Rules to adhere to for 2008:

• Spend less than you earn (Duh) - Unfortunately, you can't buy self-discipline because if you did, I would have some.  If you don't have financial self-discipline then 2008 is your year to work at getting some. 
  
  
• Where do you stand financially?  Most of us would probably like to remain in the dark on this one, but what I learned today is that the denial method does not work at getting yourself out of debt, so write it down and take a look.
  
  I showed our financial picture to my husband a few minutes ago. He is perfectly happy to be left in the dark when it comes to finances and I ruined his day.  Well, mine was ruined after doing all this budget stuff, so why shouldn't his?
  
  
• Figure out if you have good debt or bad debt - yes according to The Motley Fool there is a difference.  From there you get to figure out your total interest payments (this is what ruined my husbands day).
  
  
• Establish a budget - (oops, another cuss word) and use your new found self-discipline to stick to it.

Since I am the student in this matter, I would like to direct you to a short How to Get Out of Debt seminar by The Motley Fool.  It comes complete with a workbook you can print up and where you can document your money woes (this is supposed to be helpful as I have stressed already).  Get ready to FREAK OUT when you figure out your Bad debt-to-income ratio.  I won't tell you what mine is, but suffice it to say I had to use smelling salts to revive my husband.

Best wishes to you in getting out of debt in 2008!

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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What the Bush Foreclosure Plan Means for Home Owners - The government's plan to aid as many as 1.2 million home owners who are facing foreclosure.

• Interest rates that qualify under this plan: You must have received a loan sometime between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2007, and be facing a reset of your interest rate sometime between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31, 2010.
  
  
• How do you qualify for this plan? You can not have missed a payment, but you might if your interest rate resets.
  
  
• Which adjustable-rate mortgages are affected?  To qualify to have your interest rate frozen for five years, you must have received a loan sometime between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2007, and be facing a reset of your interest rate sometime between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31, 2010.
  
  
• Who qualifies for this deal? If you who haven't missed a payment, but you might if your mortgage resets. Those who can't afford the higher payments, and who have credit scores below 660 and less than 3 percent equity in their homes, will get the biggest break from the lenders. If you are financially secure enough to pay the higher mortgage payments, you won't qualify.
  
  
• Do owners of second homes or investors qualify? No. The plan excludes people who don't live in the property that's facing foreclosure.
  
  
• Why didn't the plan go further? If home owners are going to pay less on their mortgages than investors expected, then people are going to lose money. Not all of those people are fat cats. Potential losers include pension funds for teachers, firemen, police and an array of mutual funds whose clients are individual investors.
  
• Source: BusinessWeek Online (12/07/07)

US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson's urged homeowners in trouble to call this toll free number in his press conference where Bush's plan was released.

It's called HOPE NOW:   888 995-HOPE  (888 995-4673)

For another take on this issue, please check out

Bryant Tutas' post: The Proposed Rate Freeze Has Frozen my Brain

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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2000 miles in three days.  Why didn't we fly everyone asked.  Oh, because we wanted to see part of the United States we have never seen before.  So here is what is between the Northern most county in California, and Salt Lake City Utah.

Wild Burros can be found on Highway 140 in Nevada.

We left Wednesday night, stayed in Klamath Falls, got up early and made it to Salt Lake City late Thursday night for a Friday morning meeting.  The meeting was getting to be a little long in tooth, so I announced that we needed to wrap it up as Garry and I had to head to Redding to take one of our twins out for his Birthday dinner on Saturday.

Friday night we stayed at the Peppermill Resort and Hotel in Reno.  Wow, was that nice.  Free valet parking, our room was newly remodeled with a 42" plasma TV, and we won $80 gambling (we don't gamble much, but thought it would be fun).  We ate Sushi at the Oceana Restaurant in the hotel (picture below).  It was very cool.

 

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Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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In my continuing series on remodeling, I have extolled the virtues of adding value to your home by making it a more user friendly place for you, the home owner to live, while increasing your homes desirability for resale.

Here is another reason you may want to consider a remodel, but only if you are going to tear out the floor or maybe re-sheetrock your walls: Contractor Finds $125,000 in Floor Boards of Home he Recently Remodeled!

Apparently, the home owner offered the contractor 10% of the booty of the rare collectible cash and religious memorabilia he found in an 83 year old home he was remodeling for a friend.  The contractor turned the home owner down, stating finders keepers.  Of course the home owner contends she owns the home and the depression-era money is hers to keep. 

At stake are rare 1929-series Cleveland Federal Reserve bank notes, worth about $85 each and other items totalling $125,000.

Guess this one will be decided in court. 

So there you have it.  A innovative way to pay for your remodel.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

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7 recommendations for selling your home quicker in the current Crescent City/Del Norte County real estate market: 

1. Properly price your property - Unfortunately the market has slowed, not just in my market, but all over. Seller's, price your home accordingly or you will have your home listed for a good, long time.  Buyers are looking for the deal of the century right now.
   
   
2. Set your price to fall in the most advantageous spot in web searches - For instance, if most 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes with your same sq. footage are priced in the $245,000-$250,000 range, buyer's will top their web search price at $250,000. If your home is priced at $251,000, it will not show up in their search.
   
   
3. Debut on Friday- A December 2007 Redfin analysis of its online traffic for 119,079 listings across seven markets found that listings that debut on Friday get on average 7.7 percent more visitors in their first seven days than those that debut on the worst day, Thursday.
   
   
4. Get sellers engaged with your agent - According to several academic studies, motivated, active sellers are able to sell their property as much as 30 percent faster.
   
   
5. Market the property on-line -  NAR (National Association of REALTORs) reports that 80% of all home buyers start their search on-line before they ever contact an agent.
   
   
6. Stay in your home until it sells  - A recent California study states that vacant homes were 9.5% more likely to undergo a price reduction.  Most homes show better with furnishings.
   
   
7. Wait to list your property until neighboring foreclosures are off the market - According to a November 2007 report from the Center for Responsible Lending, a foreclosure costs neighboring home owners an average of $5,000 when listing their property.

There you have it.  Strategies to increase the odds of a quicker sale of your home. 

One of the most important considerations this list leaves out is the importance of working with a REALTOR who knows your market, knows what a proper price is for current market conditions, and knows how to market your home on the Internet.

I have assisted more buyers in purchasing homes in Del Norte County in 2007 than any other REALTOR.  I am looking forward to putting my experience to work for you.   

Source for post - REALTOR magazine online

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

*PER DNAOR-MLS

I know you have all felt the regret of a bad decision. 

Some are immediate, like looking in the mirror after getting that trendy haircut that looked so good on the girl in the magazine, but makes you look fat and some take awhile for the regret set in, i.e. a bad investment, a misinterpreted sentence to a friend...a statement in a blog post.

Anyone who blogs on a regular basis knows what I'm talking about on this one. 

I have deleted at least two posts that I can think of that I wrote when I was in a very negative state of mind and when I came to my senses, I realized the folly of my anger.  Fortunately, I deleted the posts quickly.

Some suggestions that may help newer bloggers:

• Do not attack people in your posts - especially if your post if going to be read by consumers.  You would think this is a big duh, but I've seen a recent example and it wasn't pretty.  Even mentioning situations but not mentioning names can be damming.  In a market the size of mine--65 agents--it doesn't take much to know who the unmentioned person is. 
  
  
• Check your spelling - This should be the first thing a blogger does after they reread their post through one time.  I've seen a lot of spelling errors in posts over the last few days and I think a consumer would be wary of using a professional that doesn't check spelling, or worse, doesn't know how to spell.  That's what the little spell check button  is for at the top of this page.
  
  
• Reread your post, please.  I know you're not rereading it because if you were you would notice that you used "the" instead of "they" (spell check won't get that), "at" instead of "and", plus you used "very" instead of "vary" and "their" instead of "there."  You want to be seen as a professional don't you?
  
  
• Read through the AR suggestions on getting started.  Hey, why invent the wheel.
  
  
• Always remember that your blog is accessible to consumers (unless you write member only posts, which I don't like to do.  I figure if a consumer can't read what I'm writing, I shouldn't be writing it), so watch what you say...that can not be reiterated enough.  If you want to use your blog in a more personal way where you're telling very personal stuff about you and everyone else, you may want to consider a personal blog separate from your AR blog.  I have a personal blog where I post pictures for my family members to see (my kids are away at college) and tell cute stories about what's going on at home. 
  
  
• Try to find a positive way to state negative things if at all possible.  Believe me, I'm not an overly warm and fuzzy person at all, but when you're writing a post with the intent of getting new clients or informing current clients, it seems self-defeating to come off negative. 

The golden rule to follow in blogging is:  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Don't write something in your blog about someone else if you wouldn't want them writing it about you. 

Don't write something in your blog that you wouldn't want in large bold type on the front page of your local newspaper, because it could end up there. 

If you come at blogging in a pro-active way, you will have a much better chance of achieving your blogging goals of increased readership, increased business and increasing your friends and sphere of influence.

Del Norte County...The Other California
Copyright © 2007 Fran Gatti/Crescent City/Del Norte County...The Other California | All Rights Reserved

 

GOOGLE ME

                        

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

 

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®, CDPE® CA lic 01723796

*PER DNAOR-MLS