NFL Driveway: I am a huge sports fan and diehard sports talk radio listener, but spray painting a dozen stencils of your favorite team’s logo on your concrete driveway doesn’t make the neighborhood look good.

Blue Cabinets: Most buyers aren’t looking for blue cabinetry, so if you’re going to do some painting, stick with a color that works well for the resale market. Right now I see most owners painting their cabinets a shade of white or sometimes a darker cherry wood color.

Battle in the Front Yard: This lawn gets points for creativity, but most neighbors probably aren’t hoping to find a battle scene next door.

Car on the Lawn: I understand if there is no room on the street to park a vehicle. However, it does not foster a positive image for the community to park on the lawn in a typical suburban neighborhood. That’s just how it is. If you’re interested in improving a neighborhood experiencing signs of decay, make sure to check out my “Blight Week” series. There is always hope to see neighborhoods improve.

Religious Messages: This one might feel a bit personal and I hope to not cross a professional line, but keep in mind I’m a practicing Christian. Let your actions and words show God’s love – not your garage door. This doesn’t really help a house sell and it doesn’t promote the principle of conformity in real estate either. It’s fine to decorate with religious symbols and slogans during holidays and seasons because that shows pride and helps a neighborhood feel festive, but a permanent message is maybe a bit much.

Custom Air Vent: If you plan to convert the garage, it would be a better idea to not run the vent through the Living Room to get to the garage.

Door to Nowhere: This is a door on the second story of a building with a decent drop to the parking lot below. Maybe the interior has drywall, so the door truly cannot be opened, but generally speaking it’s a good idea to have doorways lead to stairs or balconies. I took this picture on J & 20th in Midtown Sacramento.

I hope you enjoyed the images of some of the fun things I see while doing my job. What do you think? What would you add to the list above?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Twitter, subscribe to posts by email or “like” my page on Facebook

There are definitely areas where most backyards and front yards tend to be filled with debris, but that’s not the case in this neighborhood. As you can see from an expanded aerial view, most houses are not hosts to yard junk.

Clutter and property value: On a serious note, cluttered houses tend to drive down property value around them. I’m not being judgemental or targeting certain people at all. This is simply true. After all, nobody wants to live next to a perpetually unkempt property because it’s a hotbed for all sorts of issues. It’s true that theoretically a house can only contain clutter in the rear yard and have no evidence of an issue from the front. However, if there’s an issue with hoarding or something illegal going on (not just a lack of ability to care for a house), it’s not uncommon to see evidence from the front yard too. I guess it’s a bit like life. We can put our best foot forward and hide our issues, but eventually they’ll come out.

Hoarder House Video Tour: Here is a video tour of a hoarder house I inspected a while back. It’s amazing to see how much clutter can fill one house (and sad at the same time). Watch the video below or here. Yes, I had permission from my client to shoot this video.

Isn’t it amazing what we can find out about activity in houses while online? Have you seen something similar before? How have you seen unkempt front or rear yards impact a neighborhood or street?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Appliances are some of the most common items taken from properties.

Toilet seats were removed at this house.

Shower knobs and spigots throughout were missing (all faucets in the bathrooms and kitchen were missing too).

The covered patio was removed from this house, and that’s fairly normative to see before the bank seizes a property. I think the rationale is that the covered patio was likely not there when the property was purchased or refinanced, so it is the owner’s right to remove it. I completely get that and I really don’t have a strong objection to that point. I would however object to the removal of the actual concrete patio though. What do you think?

Pipes underneath the sinks were all partially removed and disconnected.

The toilet was missing in the Master Bathroom.

Most home owners do not take anything more than a stove or maybe a special light fixture, which is completely understandable, but the property above had really been gutted of things that should have stayed with the home because they typically transfer with a property when it sells. I’m not trying to be judgmental, the moral police or mean in my analogy between the actions of the Grinch and stripped foreclosure properties, but you can probably understand the basis of the correlation due to photos above. If you are going through foreclosure, my heart goes out to you because that’s not easy. Just remember to press on and continue to find hope that does still exist.

What items does the home owner have the right to take? What should be left? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. And of course, what is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve written quite a few FHA appraisal articles in case you wish to learn more about what to expect during the appraisal process in the Sacramento area.

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

In a situation like this the appraiser has to disclose all he knows about the roof and cannot simply ignore the situation – whether the appraisal is for a private party or a loan. A property like this would not quality for conventional or FHA financing unless the roof was repaired or replaced. On top of the cost to replace the roof, I would be most curious about any other damage on the interior from water intrusion.

Do you have any real estate roof stories?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

How have you seen buyers respond to a location near a power tower? What do you think is the main turn-off in the minds of buyers? Visual pollution or a potential for health risks due to electromagnetic fields?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

What do you think of the view?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

If you’re in real estate, how have you seen concessions in a purchase price impact the market? Do you see a difference in price level between conventional offers asking for no concessions and FHA offers asking for 3% back? Which tends to be higher? If there is a difference, what does that tell us? Lastly, do you think the HOA fees above are really free or is the price inflated to cover the cost of the fees?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

NOTE: The first three “after” photos are MLS photos and the “before” photos are my own. The agent’s “afters” turned out better than most of mine this morning, so I used hers instead. Contact Real Estate Agent Tera Coombs for more information on this property. And no, I am not being paid to promote this listing. I just think things like this are worthy of sharing. A bit of good news is nice these days in our economy, don’t you think?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

While we’re on the subject of Wilton, here are all sales in Wilton over the past five years. What do you see? Does anything stand out to you? The trend in many other areas of Sacramento tends to have a much sharper decline, but that’s less of the case here. What makes Wilton different in your mind? If you live in Wilton, what do you find desirable about the community?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

The cost to repair the large hole is very minimal, but it’s still a safety issue for occupants, which means it is something that needs to be repaired for an FHA loan. I’ve actually seen this issue twice in the past month on investor flips in the Sacramento area, so clearly it’s not something that is being cured every time by sellers before the appraiser heads out.

Here is a photo of a “before” and “after” of a firewall breach. Have you seen a hole as such cause problems before in a house? Might rodents be able to get into the house this way too? Can you think of any other issues this might pose?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

What a sign of the times, don’t you think?

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It really adds to a sense of festivity and even neighborhood pride when residents decorate during the holidays. Do you agree? On the contrast, when streets are pitch black and there are no lights in sight, how does that feel? If you’re planning a trip to enjoy Christmas lights, Realtor Gena Riede has a very detailed list of Christmas Lights in the Sacramento Area on her blog. Check it out and maybe try driving by a few new addresses this year. My family definitely enjoys lights in the Fab 40s, Arden Park, T Street and Dovewood Court in Orangevale.

Where do you recommend going to see lights in the Sacramento area? What do you think of the foil trees below? Points for creativity? Tacky?

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Some might say graffiti has artistic value, while others say it clearly does not. Stepping aside from that discussion, from a real estate perspective, I’ve never seen evidence to suggest graffiti like this helps boost property values. All things considered, graffiti ultimately harms a neighborhood because it contributes to a negative perception of the community. Do others get the sense that residents care about a neighborhood if graffiti runs rampant? No.

Just like I mentioned in my “blight week” series a while back, it’s often the “small things” in a neighborhood like graffiti, debris and unkempt lawns that create a less than positive view of the community and impact the way others feel about the neighborhood too. So focusing on getting to know neighbors and taking care of some of the small signs of decay is often a relevant place to begin to bring change.

Tips for dealing with a neighborhood graffiti problem:

1. Choose: Decide to be a part of the solution. Others may not step up, but you can be a game-changer for your street. Why not you?
2. Local Police: Talk with local law enforcement. What is the nature of the graffiti? Know what you are dealing with in the community and ask for advice from police officers.
3. Band of Neighbors: Get a few neighbors on board to deal with the issue by asking a couple of people to be on a rotating schedule for covering tags. Maybe you can switch on a weekly or monthly basis.
4. Be Quick: Cover graffiti within 24 hours and keep doing that until the problem stops. The issue is likely to lessen or stop over time if it is covered immediately because why would a tagger waste his time if his tags are not seen by others?
5. One Color: Use the same paint color if possible because it’ll look better and less blotchy. The residents in the picture above deserve applause because they are dealing with the issue. My hat goes off to them. Ultimately if they used one color though, it would look better, don’t you think?
6. Ask for Paint: Ask code enforcement, city council members or a local hardware store for free or discounted paint and any resources they might have to assist you. You may not even have to spend your own money because there is bound to be someone out there who wants to get behind your cause.
7. Keep a positive attitude: It’s easy to become discouraged when problems persist, but try not to take the graffiti personally. Try to get to the point where you find joy in getting to take care of your community on a more daily basis. You are doing something that needs to be done. You may never get recognition, but you are helping the community grow in the right direction, so practice thankfulness while you are painting and when you notice new tags too. I know that sounds like an odd concept, but just go with it.
8. Celebrate your successes: Have a casual BBQ with neighbors in your front yard and invite code enforcement and a city council member to eat with you. This could even help spur on more discussion about solving issues.
9. Any other suggestions?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your story. Feel free to comment below. Thanks for keeping it civil and constructive.

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

It’s great to see some positive signs in the real estate market, don’t you think?

By the way, this property shown above is located on Allister Way in Elk Grove and is currently listed for sale by real estate agent Jacque McBurney 916-417-3344. It’s 2701 square feet & 4 beds and 3 baths (front and rear landscaping w/ a patio too).

If you have any questions or Sacramento area real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs, contact me by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.