A Link to A Video. Got Enclosure?

Cameron Park Lake Video

Here’s the link we need.

This worked earlier for an audio file.

<a href=”http://www.sacramento-home.com/podcasts/PodcastTest.mp3″>Quiet, numbskulls, I’m broadcasting</a>.

Well, in Part 1 of Trying out Some Basic Podcasting, I installed MightySeek’s Podpress and it turned out that podcasting was not so basic using that plugin. So I thought I’d get still more basic. Let’s try an embed tag and a link.

Cameron Park Lake Video

Thanks and congratulations to Susan S., a good friend of mine from back in my software days .  Susan closed escrow this week on a fabulous home in East Sacramento, one which was offered at approximately 13% off of comparable sales value. 

Susan was fortunate inasmuch as when we previewed it, it was actually pending sale with another buyer.  However this buyer — who was a first time buyer — had a concern because of some slight irregularities in the carpeting, so they cancelled their transaction.  The irregularities were no big deal to Susan even if they’d been let stand — and it turned out they were corrected in escrow in any case.

Susan is shown here having a good time at her new home with several of her friends (some of whom helped informally with her inspections, though she was very dilligent with her formal inspections as well) and her dog, Sage.

These neighborhood came up during a preliminary search on the MLS for investment properties, that is, places that someone might want to rent out. The best homes for renting obviously are those that have at least 3 bedrooms, but having said that I own a 2 bedroom that has been doing quite well.

If I were an investor looking for something to buy at a great price that would rent well with about 20% down, I would be looking at the following (There are other neighborhoods as well, these just have higher inventories):

95864 (Arden area)

95841 (Just off I-80 and Madison)

95621 (Citrus Heights, always a favorite amongst landlords)

95758 (Elk Grove around Laguna)

I will post more as I see them, but if you are going shopping soon, I would focus on these places. There are some good deals here, especially the bank-owned properties.

It’s a fine balance – between answering calls and showing properties and scheduling appointments for listing homes. But John finally had to break down and put something on this blog.

Don’t worry – we won’t let it die! I’ve been fiddling around with the other blog a lot and haven’t devoted the attention this one deserves. But then, sometimes I have to fend off the terrible bubble-heads from taking over the other one! One in particular (or two, I’m not sure) have been going around to other blogs and posting mean comments about me.

Hey, I’m never one to turn down publicity. Especially if it brings us more business. And I’m definitely getting the sense that real estate sales this year will continue into the winter months.

Good for John for taking his vacation in summer.

… in 2008, according to the real estate section in the SacBee today.

In spite of all that negativity I feel pretty good about myself. Or maybe it’s because of it.

The more there are of the scared types, the better the arena for the real investors. Perfect! Who was it that said that: Be scared when others are greedy and greedy when others are scared.

They’re scared. It’s time.

… if you’re not a client. In fact, you don’t have to like either John or me if you’re a blogger.

You just have to admit we’re here to stay.

I spent the majority of the day today trying to protect my buyers in a purchase transaction and responding to this post. Well, it was fun.

I get the sense that a lot of people do not like real estate agents. And perhaps they have run into a few (God knows I have!) that we hope are out of the business now. So people are a little jaded and very wary.

Good for them.

An investment is an investment is an investment and should be considered very carefully.

That being said, I just heard (on audio CD in my car) Seth Godin’s THE DIP. And I think if you’re already invested in this real estate market and have no more to invest, don’t really want to sell but are watching home prices fall and all the negative news out there, you should read this book.

The Dip applies to everything, not just business. If you master the dip, you soar into success. Basically, the writer says that when you try something new there is the initial surge of interest that carries you through for a while. It’s new, it’s interesting, it’s fun. You might even have some beginner’s luck. But if you are in it for the long haul, you will inevitably run into the dip. And how you deal with it tells you whether you will succeed or give up.

Read the book.