I’m available to teach the following classes for real estate or law offices. Each class can be tailored to fit a time slot in your office meeting. If any of the classes below sound relevant for your company, let’s set up a date. I prefer groups of 10 or more where possible and 30-45 minutes to have discussion. As long as you are local, there is no charge. This is a great way for me to share solid information and build relationships with local agents and offices. I look forward to connecting soon.

Overview of FHA Property Standards: Since FHA has been so dominant in the market, it’s important to understand the nuts and bolts of what appraisers look for during an FHA appraisal inspection. What does it take for a property to meet FHA minimum requirements? This class will help when listing and marketing a property as well as communicating with loan officers too. See my FHA appraisal articles for reference.

How to Challenge a “Low” Appraisal: Have you had a bad appraisal on one of your deals? What can you do when an appraisal comes in lower than it should? This class goes through a specific format to help you prepare a solid reconsideration of value. We’ll discuss fundamentals about reviewing an appraisal report (what to look for) and specific ways to challenge a low appraisal. Bring your laptop if you have one since we’ll be looking at a Word document together (you’re fine without one too).

Effective Blogging for Real Estate: Real estate blogging has been a big part of my business and it’s something I enjoy doing too. Blogging is an opportunity to share knowledge, build relationships and connect with existing and potential customers. If done right, a blog can help build credibility and expertise for your real estate business as well as serve as a place where potential clients can feel you out before deciding to do give you a call. This class is full of tips, how-tos and gives a framework for creating original content too. Check out “tips for real estate blogging” to get a sense of my blog philosophy.

How to Make Solid Real Estate Videos: Video is a very powerful tool for sharing information and connecting with clients. A good video can help build trust and convey professionalism for your brand, but a bad video can accomplish the opposite. This class will be very practical as we discuss how to create videos that help you stand out (in a good way). We’ll actually edit a video in class so agents can have hands-on experience knowing what to do. I create videos regularly for clients, non-profit ventures, my Sacramento appraisal business and to promote YPC events through the Sacramento Association of Realtors. I also started a real estate video site called “Sacramento Real Estate Tube”.

Introduction to Appraising: This class is great for new agents, lawyers or loan officers to help get them up to speed on the appraisal process. We will look at a common appraisal form to get a good grasp of what an appraiser looks for and how an appraiser does his job. We’ll also discuss practical tips for interacting with appraisers (things to say and not say). While a class of 10 or more is usually preferred, lower numbers are more understandable for an introduction like this.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to book a class. Call, email, or text message and I’ll get back to you promptly.

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 met up with Realtor Steve Ostrom the other day while at Real Estate Bar Camp Sacramento (a great event). Steve interviewed me and we talked about home owners getting an appraisal before listing a home, finding comps and other issues. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Catch up with Steve and his wife Heather at www.rosevilleandrocklin.com or on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so much Steve & Heather.

If you have any real estate appraisal, consulting, or property tax appeal needs in the Greater Sacramento Region, contact me at 916.595.3735, by email, on our appraiser website or via Facebook. 

There are many requirements for a property to qualify for an FHA loan. It’s important to understand all the little things if you are considering getting an FHA loan, selling your Sacramento area house or listing a property for a client. If you didn’t know, FHA loans comprised 28% of the market in 2010 in the Sacramento area, so details like this are very important.

In this video I take one minute to discuss the importance of water heater straps and self-closing garage doors. You can view other videos and FHA content here. Keep me posted if you have any questions.

If you have any real estate appraisal, valuation consulting, or property tax appeal needs, contact me at 916.595.3735, www.LundquistCompany.com or via Facebook.

After a meeting at Sacramento Association of Realtors HQ yesterday, Rico Rivera of Old Republic Home Protection pulled me aside to do a little interview. He wanted to talk shop about property tax appeals as well as second appraisals. This was a spur of the moment brief conversation. I wish I would’ve added a few extra bits of information, particular about second appraisals, but that’s how impromptu dialog goes. Thank you Rico for the opportunity and for all you do in the community. Keep up the tremendous work. Watch the video here or below.

If you have any questions, give me a call at 916.595.3735, catch me on Facebook, or contact me through my website at www.LundquistCompany.com.

This morning I was interviewed on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program hosted by Jeffrey Callison. This program airs to the Greater Sacramento Region in several counties on multiple stations. I didn’t talk “shop” (real estate), but instead I shared about the Project 680 Hoody Drive for a few minutes. Overall the interview went okay. If you’d like, click HERE to listen to the interview on Cap Radio’s website. I’m at the very end near the 45:30 marker. Now I’m off to finish some deadlines. It’s been one busy week and it’s only Tuesday!!!

I am very pleased to share that Lundquist Appraisal Company has become a member of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce. Since my HQ is located in Rancho Cordova and I already have so many great business and personal connections in the community, it only made sense to formalize a bit and earn a plaque for my office too. It’s good to see the Chamber offering members a free webpage too. I got on that quickly a few weeks back when I joined.

Do you belong to your local chamber of commerce? What benefit have you noticed, and what value have you given?

I wanted to share a website I launched today called www.goodneighborTV.com. It’s really for anyone – not just locals in my neck of the woods. It’s about community, conversation and improving neighborhoods. These are some of my very favorite topics in life. But in truth, they’re far more than mere conversations because I’m all about putting ideas into action. I should mention it’s all video too (hence the “TV”).

I have two posts up to kick things off: What does it mean to be a good neighbor? and Socks, underwear, and a sense of vision for my community. I’d love for you to check out the site if you’d like, “like” on Facebook, and let me know what you think.

I made this one-minute “before & after” video for a client (Housing Group Fund) to help show one of their recent first-time home buyer projects in Sacramento. I appraised this property and I have permission to post the information here. This is a block  construction house (cinder block) near the Fruitridge area that was purchased recently as a bank-owned fixer and then rehabbed extensively throughout. One of the features I really like about this remodel is that there is now sheetrock and texture on the interior walls so the house does not have a typical “block” feel to it. If you are reading in RSS, you can view the video directly here.

It’s amazing to see the difference from beginning to end. What do you think? 

I’m doing some research for a duplex in South Sacramento. I thought readers would be interested to see a trend graph of all sales over the past twelve months for 2-4 unit properties (duplex, triplex, fourplex) within the South Sacramento & Fruitridge market area. It’s amazing to see how low prices have come down. In 2005, for example, something would have been sincerely wrong to see a residential-income property selling anywhere near $100,000 (or below). For reference, 67% of the sales below were REO and 19% were Short Sales.

What do you see? Also, how have you seen the decline in property value impact rents in the Sacramento area? 

If you woke up this morning itching to see a macro glance at the real estate market in Roseville, you’re in luck. I’m doing some research in the city of Roseville and I wanted to give a glimpse into sales over the past 18 months as well as current listings.

What do you see? Does anything stand out to you? What does it look like the market has done at the high and low end?

Here is some helpful information on condominiums for FHA/HUD, whether you are in the Sacramento area or elsewhere. I wrote previously about FHA condo issues here. This is straight from HUD:

Effective on Monday, June 14, 2010, all condominium inquiries, telephone and email, must be submitted to the FHA Resource Center at: (800)225-5342 or by email at info@fhaoutreach.com. The FHA Resource Center will provide responses to general inquiries received from consumers and industry partners. Responses requiring technical knowledge will be escalated to the jurisdictional Homeownership Center for review and response.

Before contacting the FHA Resource Center, it is recommended that you use
the following resources to search for answer(s) to your question(s).

1. Check to see if your question is already included in the Condo FAQs currently posted on the web here (pdf).

2. To determine if a project is on the FHA Approved List or to obtain the FHA concentration please visit this web page and input the condominium project name or the Condo ID. It is recommended that only the first few letters be entered to return a complete list. If the project is not listed it will require FHA approval.

3. FHA provides the FHA Concentration percentage information on the Condo List Screen. If the percentage is not identified or incorrect, provide documentation to the jurisdictional Homeownership Center so that the system can be updated. This information would include the first two pages of the appraisal or a letter from the HOA providing the number of units in the project.

4. What is the process for obtaining project approval? For documentation and processing requirements, please refer to ML 2009-46B and ML 2009-46A, which can be found on this website (or directly as a PDF here and here).

Good luck everyone. I hope you find what you’re looking for. Make sure to read all the information from the above links. Keep me posted if there is ever anything I can do.

As I mentioned previously, I’ll be heading to Kansas City next week as a part of delegation from the city of Rancho Cordova for the All-America City Awards. I wanted to invite you to follow this exciting journey next Wednesday through Friday through videos, Facebook & Twitter. Technology is going to help us connect!!! It should be great fun. Watch the videos below or here and here.

I’ll be posting from Kansas City mainly from my Twitter account @SacAppraiser and I’ll be getting some videos up at www.facebook.com/Project680 (directly on my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/lundquistco). The official hash-tag on Twitter is #AllAmericaCity (note it is not “American”, but “America”). I’d love to hear from you during my stint in Kansas City. Your support will be a huge encouragement.

This is a real honor for me to represent Project 680 and my city. Go Rancho Cordova!!!!