Category — Random Stuff

I shared before about the clubhouse I built four months ago. Well, it’s now time to take this piece of kid “real estate” in the backyard to the next level. I originally designed this fort with an upstairs balcony, which has been really fun for the kids, but ultimately this design is not going to promote what the experts call P.E.L. (playhouse economic longevity). My new plan now is to build out an enclosed second story with shutters on all windows. This will help weather proof the clubhouse a bit more.

I have earmarked September 24-25 as my building days, and I would love to get your suggestions and tips for anything I might add to make this structure an amazing place for my two boys and neighborhood kids. I am open ears and I would appreciate any feedback. See the image below to get a general idea of what I envision and watch a video of the clubhouse as it is now here. Thank you.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Is there really a “dragon house” in Sacramento? Yes, and here is a brief video as proof of this very unique looking house in the Curtis Park neighborhood of Sacramento. This “layer” off 22nd Street is definitely something you should check out in person if you’re local. The tile work and level of detail is nothing short of remarkable. Watch a video below (or here) that I shot a few days ago. What do you think? Could you see yourself living here? What would a design like this do for resale value? If you live in Curtis Park, what do you think of the dragon house?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

Can we do better than this? I want to share about an interaction I had with a real estate agent recently. This post in no way aims to bash agents because I have a great respect for many local agents. Not only do I sit on a council with SAR, but I’ve had three private appraisal assignments this week from agents.

The Scenario:  The listing agent met me at the inspection and told me that if this property appraised any less than the sales price, his seller would have to do a short sale. He was very specific – even a couple thousand less!! He really needed this to happen!! Moreover, a “low” FHA appraisal would stick with the property and harm the sale from moving forward. Apparently this guy did not read my post on tips for talking with appraisers, but thankfully he was concerned for my ethics by the end of the conversation. After two minutes of pressuring me to appraise this house for at least the sales price, the agent said, “but I don’t want you to do anything unethical.”

Questions:  What is wrong with this scenario? Real estate agents, how could this agent have handled the situation better? What is motivating the agent to communicate like this? How could the agent have been a resource instead of an example of what not to say? What do you think I said in response? Please be cordial and constructive in your comments.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to posts by email.

If you want to sound smart today, use the word “fenestration” in a sentence. Unless you’re hanging out with architects or fans of the real estate category on Jeopardy, people may not know what you are talking about. Fenestration is the design and placement of windows (and other openings) in a building. When observing windows and how they are arranged on a modern house, for example, you might say ”By golly, that is some striking fenestration”. Or maybe you’d say something like ”There were enormous changes to fenestration as Dave converted his home to the bat cave.” In all seriousness, fenestration does actually matter in real estate for energy efficiency, aesthetics, promoting conformity in a neighborhood, safety and many other ways. Just think how much of a safety issue it would be for a bedroom to have only one square foot window six feet off the ground. Not too many folks could fit through something like that, right?

When do you seem to take notice of the relationship between windows and a building? Are there certain types of architecture that make an impression on you in terms of how windows are used?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

I’m helping to put together a charity bowling event at Land Park Lanes in Sacramento, and I’d love for you to join us. The SAR YPC event theme this year is “Hollywood”, so come dressed as your favorite star or starlet (or however you’d like) and raise some money for the C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund. We’ll be bowling on Saturday, September 17 from 5:00 – 8:00pm. Tickets are only $25 per person, and include two full bowling games, a catered dinner and a whole lot of mingling. See the video below (or here) with yours truly and a few friends.

I hope to see you there. Any good ideas for a “Hollywood” costume?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

If you didn’t know, there are actually quite a few “green” resources available to home owners in the Sacramento area. These assets can help home owners conserve energy and water and save a few bucks too.

1. Sacramento Tree Foundation: Get up to 10 free shade trees for your property from SMUD. Watch a video here. I actually have four trees on my property from the shade tree program.
2. Energy Upgrade California: This website is a great resource for energy and water efficiency programs and is geared toward both consumers and trade professionals. 
3. Realtor’s Energy Audit Program: The California REALTOR®’S Energy Audit Program provides up to a $250 rebate on a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) home energy audit conducted by a certified HERS rater (from CAR website). Watch a video on REAP here. This is good for finding out what areas of your home might need some efficiency TLC. Water Rebates for Residents: Find water rebates offered by a handful of local water suppliers in the Sacramento area. This can come in especially handy when purchasing a toilet or clothes washer.
4. Check Before You Burn in Sacramento: As we all know, residents and businesses are prohibited from using indoor and outdoor fireplaces and such on certain days. This website lets you know which days are “burn days”.
5. Energy Efficient Mortgage: The EEM Program was created by HUD to allow home buyers the opportunity to upgrade the energy efficiency of the home they are purchasing during the escrow period (from website).
6. Energy Improvement Grant: The energy improvement grant is designed to promote the HUD Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) Program. The SAR program provides a grant of $2000 to buyers who take advantage of the Energy Efficient Mortgage in the purchase of their home. The grant is applied to energy upgrades and limited qualified closing costs (from website). 
7. SMUD’s Home Performance Program: SMUD has various programs and financing options to help home owners increase energy efficiency in their homes.
8. Turf Replacement Program: The Placer County Water Authority has a pilot program for replacing lawns. There may be some in Sacramento too. Know of any? Per the PCWA website, the program offers a $300 rebate for lawns replaced with non-water consuming material and a $150 rebate for lawns replaced with low to moderate water-use plants.
9. Free Water Audits: California American Water provides free water audits where a conservation specialist will visit your home, identify ways to help you save water, and even provide free low flow fixtures for your kitchen and bathroom (from website).
10. Green Marketing Tools: The Sacramento Association of Realtors has a compilation of flyers available for local consumers and Realtors to help home owners take advantage of available resources.

The bulk of resources listed above came from a recent meeting at the Sacramento Association of Realtors. What other “green” resources exist for home owners in the Sacramento area? What have you done to promote conversation in your home?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

Did you do anything for “National Night Out” on Tuesday? My household hosted a neighborhood BBQ and it was a profound success. We had a fantastic crowd, and it was nice to have visits from four council members, an Alyson Huber representative and Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli too. But most importantly, neighbors were connecting and we really had a good time. I’m so thankful to residents who worked to pull things together last-minute to make this happen. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by good friends in my community.

What makes a neighborhood great? In my opinion, it’s not about big houses or price level per se, but rather a sense of community and connectedness. That’s priceless.

Quick Tips for Hosting a Community BBQ:

1. Do the BBQ in the front yard.
2. Ask a few neighbors to do the BBQ with you. Get people on board first before you start publicizing.
3. Make it your goal to connect with others and simply invite residents into that vision. People like it when they smell authenticity rather than an agenda. On a related note, if you want to see change in your neighborhood, keep the tone positive rather than negative. A positive vision is attractive, but complaining doesn’t work to muster the troops.
4. Go potluck style. It’s easier that way and more powerful when everyone has something to share and donate.
5. Knock on doors to pass out flyers. Invite people personally and they’ll have a greater chance of responding. In my experience, 400 flyers placed on doorsteps has far less impact than knocking on 30 doors.
6. Provide opportunities for neighbors to help with details like canopies, grills, drinks or any other component. Remember too that you don’t have to pull off the ultimate block party with bounce houses and pony rides. Think simple.
7. Invite council members or the police department to show up and give them a minute to talk with residents.
8. No guilt or shame if people cannot make it – only grace and goodwill. Nobody likes to eat a guilt sandwich.
9. If you have an action step, let people know. Maybe there is a neighborhood meeting coming up that people could sign up for. Or maybe you are putting together a phone tree, neighborhood email list or e-Group that would be perfect to help propel the community forward. You don’t need an action step of course, but if you have something, bring it.   
10. Thank people for their contributions and recognize the work of others to pull off the event - whether big or small.

Do you have any tips to add? What do you think makes a neighborhood great? I’d love to hear your comments and stories.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

Imagine you were hired to investigate a community and report on what the community is like based on information you can find online. Put your Magnum P.I. thinking cap on. What websites would you bookmark for research? What resources are available to give insight into the DNA of a neighborhood?

Maybe you’d interrogate the usual suspects like Megan’s Law, City-Data, Great Schools or Zillow among others I mentioned in a previous post. But what about the following ones? Would these be helpful to understand a community?

1) Unemployment Rates: EDD posts current and historical unemployment rates for cities and census designated places in California.

2) FBI Uniform Crime Report: This website lists all offenses reported to law enforcement (categorized by state and cities with 100,000 or more in population).

3) Nuclear Power Plants in United States: In case you wondered if there was a nuclear power plant near your house, check out the “Nukes Near Me” website.

4) Superfund Directory: Find out which sites near you are categorized as “Superfund” sites by the EPA. Search by state, congressional district or site name.

5) DEA National ”Drug Lab” Register: This website by the U.S. Department of Justice contains addresses of some locations where law enforcement agencies reported they found chemicals or other items that indicated the presence of either clandestine drug laboratories or dumpsites (verbatim from website).

I definitely don’t have a P.I. designation, thick 80s mustache or red Ferrari, but my job as a real estate appraiser in Sacramento does have striking similarity with Tom Selleck. Okay, maybe that’s wishful thinking. I suppose it’s hardly similar, but the nature of real estate research does involve investigation and require information from some of the sources above, interviews with local agents and expertise to sift through and interpret often conflicting market data. There is so much that goes into really knowing the local real estate market.

What websites would you add to the list?

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

Do you use the Google Maps app on your smart phone? Have you seen the “street view” feature yet? This feature is of course available online, but it’s neat to see on a smart phone too. I think ”street view” is a great tool to begin to see a neighborhood in more detail before physically going there. Have a look at the video below (or here) and let me know how you think street view might come in handy for you.

If you have an iPhone and need to use “street view”, check out this well-written article from REbliss. The iPhone and Android app are similar, but they do have differences.

If you have any questions, or real estate appraisal or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact Lundquist Appraisal by phone 916-595-3735, email, Facebook or subscribe to posts by email.

I had someone ask about Kevin Martin’s condo the other day, so I wanted to give the scoop on L Street in Midtown for any who might be wondering. Former Sacramento Kings Guard, Kevin Martin, purchased a penthouse condo in the L Street Lofts on 09/25/2008 for $1,340,000. The property was re-listed on the market at $995,000 in December 2010 and sold all cash on 04/19/2011 for $775,000. Here is a visual tour of the loft in photos. I bet this tour will only be live for a matter of weeks, so sneak a look if you can. Frankly I’m surprised the tour is still up since the property closed a few months back. This post by Bleed Black & Purple goes into a bit more detail about the transaction. By the way, there is a bank-owned corner penthouse loft for sale right now at $750,000 (originally sold on 06/27/2008 for $1,185,000).

The Price of Fame: Would you pay more for a property because someone famous lived there? Would you feel like you had ”bragging rights” to say an NBA player previously owned your property? Or what about buying Ronald Reagan’s house in the “Fabulous 40s” where he lived while he was Governor? There is obviously a difference between a former president and NBA star, but the scenario is still thought-provoking. On the other side, would you pay less in other cases, maybe serial killer Dorothea Puente (sold last year)? What role have you seen former ownership play in real estate?

If you think your property tax bill is high in Sacramento County, take a look at the amount paid out each year by Maloof Sports & Entertainment for Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena). More than just the numbers, what do you make up such a steep decline in property taxes over the past year? How does that impact the City of Sacramento?

There are actually five separate parcels for the arena in Natomas, but the above graph only considers 1 Sports Pkwy since it is the largest and most heavily taxed parcel (it’s the parcel that includes the arena). The other four parcels really only added up to just over $430,000 in assessed value for 2010, which is about $6,500 in property taxes.

Breakdown of assessed value and property taxes for 1 Sports Parkway
2011 assessed value: $29,129,000 ($450,000 in property taxes – estimate)
2010 assessed value: $56,534,445 ($881,208 in property taxes)
2009 assessed value: $58,844,792 ($904,003 in property taxes)
2008 assessed value: $59,595,796 ($940,690.94 in property taxes)

It might seem surprising to see such a low assessed value for an entire arena, but keep in mind the original stadium was constructed for about $40 million in 1987 (Wikipedia states today’s costs would be $74.3 million).

What do you think of the numbers above? How much of a role does the arena play in the health of our local economy?

FYI: Property taxes for 2011 were posted yesterday by the Sacramento County Assessor. I strongly recommend all property owners to look over their assessed value closely (click this link) to make sure you are paying your fair share of taxes – and no more. If you have any questions about the tax appeal process or would like my tax appeal company to look up your property for free, please click here.

What are you doing on July 22nd? I wanted to invite you to 3rd Annual YPC River Cats game on July 22nd at 5pm to benefit Courageous Connection, a local charity focused on improving the lives of youth at risk (particularly in the foster care system). Enjoy a BBQ and tailgate party with a great number of local real estate professionals and others. Tickets are $25 each for adults and $10 for kids.

I sat down last week with Realtor Allison Couchman & Alyssa Lozano of Placer Title Company to shoot a quick promo video. Let me know if you have any questions.