But why is inventory low? Is it because of a coming “wave” of foreclosures or a “shadow” inventory? Do sellers have less confidence in the market? Do banks have something to do with it?

I talked with Eric Peterson of Praxis Capital about the issue of low inventory. Eric’s company pays very close attention to the market as they flip about 125 houses a year in the Greater Sacramento area. Watch the video below (or here).

What do you think? Anything else you’d add? Is there a looming shadow inventory? If you are an agent, buyer or seller, what’s it been like in the trenches for you lately?

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

The video below highlights Realtor Bruce Slaton and it deals with some of the most common financing challenges and HOA issues that condominiums tend to face. It’s really an excellent quick intro to condominiums. The presentation was geared toward Realtors at the Sacramento Association of Realtors, but the information is still solid and relevant for others too. Bruce shares some interesting condo nuggets too that many may not be aware of. His presentation is about twenty minutes and begins at 5:07 and ends at 26:18. If you are pressed for time, just listen to the video in the background while you work. Watch below or here (video starts right at 5:07).

For more information you may wish to check out two previous articles I wrote entitled ”5 Potential Deal Killers for Condo Loans” and “What’s the difference between a condominium and townhome” (there is so much confusion about this).

What do you think of the video? Anything stand out to you?

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

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

Do you use video in business? Why? Why not?

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? Any questions?

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, Twitteror subscribe to posts by email.

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.

What does this tells us? This shows me how much turnover there has been since the bubble burst. For example, one unit sold for $560,000 in 2006 and then resold in 2011 for $155,000. It used to be really difficult to pick up a fourplex under $400,000, but that’s not the case anymore. Also, I’m reminded of investment strategy as well as risk. Some investors make purchases and then sit on them for the long haul before reselling, whereas others are looking to purchase and then resell in a relatively short time period.

Mistakes Investors Make: By the way, here is a video I did with Sacramento real estate broker Joel Wright on mistakes investors sometimes make when purchasing real estate. I think we saw some of the mistakes Joel mentioned

Holes in a Fourplex: I inspected one of these units years ago and it was an odd situation since there were actually large holes in the walls of each unit big enough to let me access the entire fourplex. I could simply make my way through each hole to get to the next attached unit. This was actually a bit on the creepy side though since the property was powerless, stripped and clearly had a problem with squatters.

Was it still four units or just one big unit? 

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 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.

You are overbuilding…

1. If your house is going to be twice as large as all others in the neighborhood.
2. If you no longer need Neighborhood Watch because your house towers over all others and is a watchtower in and of itself.
3. If you have double the bedrooms of other homes in the neighborhood.
4. If your house is mistaken for a motel or residential care facility.
5. If you can see in every backyard on the street.
6. If what you are building will yield little value in the resale market.
7. If the larger size removes the rear yard and thus creates a negative for buyers.
8. If prospective buyers think “Yikes, what were they thinking?” or “I would not want to live next to THAT house.”
9. If shade from your house lowers energy bills for neighbors on every side.
10. If buyers don’t have the expectation for such a large house in the neighborhood.

Obviously some of the points are only for fun, but you get the gist. If what you are doing is not consistent with the look and feel of the neighborhood as well as the expectations of the marketplace, then you’re probably overimproving your property. Watch a fun 30-second clip below of an overbuilt house I saw in Sacramento (and here is another in Woodland).

Anything you’d add to the list?

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.

Chris Little was appointed to the American River Parkway Advisory Committee in 2007 by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and was also appointed to the 65th Street Redevelopment Advisory Committee in 2008. He received the Civic Affairs Award from the Sacramento Association of Realtors for community service, and he has been a Director through the Sacramento Association of Realtors since 2009 (and he’s the current 2012 President-Elect). I mention these things because community service is extremely important to me, and Chris is a great example. Catch up with Chris Little at 916-698-1961, www.ChrisLittleSells.com or Twitter.

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: In quite a few cases the “comps” provided by real estate agents are really not all that “comparable” to the subject property. It can be valuable when agents share their market insight with appraisers, but my advice to agents is to make sure the sales really are comparable and located in the same market area. This comes back to the difference between a property that is truly competitive / comparable (“comp”) to the subject and a sale that meets a certain price level.

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? Have you seen something similar? Why do you think inventory has been down?

By the way, this video marks the debut of my beardless look for 2012. I suppose it’s a resolution of sorts, but I decided it was time for my “distinguished” beard color to go away – at least for this year. Since shaving the gray, not one person has said, “Ryan, you really shouldn’t have done that,” so I know it was the right season to let the razor win. I know you don’t come here to hear about my face, but I just wanted to put this out there publicly so there is some internet accountability in case you see a beard creep back into my life this year.  Anyone make a similar resolution?

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.

Two reasons to AVOID paying someone to reduce your property taxes before July:

1) Assessments are Published in June or July: The Assessor historically doesn’t publish their assessed values until the second quarter of 2012. Every year tax companies send mailers in the early part of the year promising to reduce property taxes, but how can they offer to reduce your property taxes in February or March if they don’t even know your assessed value? Moreover, the Assessor does actually review property taxes and they might catch your overassessed value and correct that before their assessments are posted. Again, why pay someone if the Assessor could potentially get it right anyway? Ultimately a company can easily claim they “helped” you when in fact the Assessor simply got your value right and would have adjusted it regardless of the “help” you received.

2) The Appeals Period is July to November: The formal period to dispute your property taxes is between July 2 to November 30 of any given year for most counties surrounding Sacramento (besides Placer, which is July 2 to mid-September). Why hire a company in March when the company cannot formally dispute your taxes until July? First see what the Assessor says your property is worth and then make a decision about whether to appeal or not once you see your property’s value. The value should be based on January 1, by the way.

Here is a video with the same information above if you wish to listen instead:

I know a post like this sounds very self-serving since I run a property tax appeal company, but this is truly about honest business and providing good tips to save money. I sincerely want property owners to not be taken advantage of as I mentioned above.

What should you do? The best case scenario is for you to wait to see how the Assessor values your property for 2012. If the value looks too high come June or July 2012, and you don’t know how to provide support to show a realistic value, then hire a reputable company to handle it for you. If you want an email reminder when property assessments in Sacramento County are released, click here to fill out the form on the sidebar and I’ll send you an email reminder so you can remember to check your property taxes come July 2012.

Was that helpful? I hope so.

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’d like to hear about your situation with a “low” appraisal and what you did about it. How did the appraisal impact your deal?

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 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.