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Thank you

You carried me & a spreadsheet for Christmas

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This will be my last post of the year and I wanted to say thank you for all of your support. I’m so grateful for the conversations and all the business of course, but there’s so much more. 

This year was not easy as I spent six nights in the hospital and took three months off work to heal from a really bad ulcerative colitis flare. I’m thankfully doing very well now and I’m happy. But I couldn’t have done this alone.

Thank you for the kind words, advice, flowers, meals, cards, prayer, and all the ways you showed support. I’m especially grateful to those who donated to the GoFundMe because it sustained my family and helped us pay off medical bills. 

It might sound cheesy, but you carried me this year. And I will never forget that.

Merry Christmas. May you know profound joy and a deep-seated peace regardless of your circumstances or the craziness of 2020.

Much love,

Ryan Lundquist

——————- now a spreadsheet if that’s your thing ——————-

A SPREADSHEET FOR CHRISTMAS?

It’s not the new PlayStation, a leg lamp, or a Bob Ross chia pet, but it’s pretty cool even if it sounds lame. This spreadsheet will help you make quick neighborhood graphs and it can work anywhere as long as you can export data from your MLS.

What does it do? This spreadsheet makes ten or so visuals as I shared about last week. This is a tool to quickly understand a few neighborhood dynamics. This isn’t a template to find out exactly what prices are doing. It’s more about the relationship things like bedroom count or lot size has with price.

STEPS TO USE THE TEMPLATE:

1) Download the spreadsheet here.

2) Decide what data you want to show. It’s up to you.

3) Create a custom export in MLS (see how to video).

4) Paste data from MLS into the template (see how to video).

5) Share graphs on social media, newsletters, etc…

HOW TO VIDEO:

I talk for ten minutes or so about how to use this template. If you have questions, let me know. Please call your MLS if you cannot figure out how to export though because that’s not something I can help you with. Watch below (or here).

NOTE ON DATA: It’s important to think about the data you use. It could be a neighborhood, zip code, or MLS area. You might use all neighborhood sales or maybe just a sliver such as 1400-1700 sq ft homes. I suggest showing maybe the past 90 days or 180 days of sales so we capture a recent trend (or maybe it’s useful to see one year of sales?). Remember, if there is too much data it’s going to look like chaos. In short, experiment and figure out what works.

FEEDBACK: I have lots of graph tutorials here, but I’ve never made a template like this before for the public, so let me know which visuals you like best and/or what might work better in the future. I’m open to doing more of these if there is interest and it’s useful. Just remember this template isn’t meant to do everything or dissect prices in depth, so please see it in context. Thanks.

I hope this is helpful. Thanks for being here.

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My last blog post of 2016

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Almost eight years ago I started this blog, and I never imagined it would still be going after all this time. Sometimes people say, “An appraisal blog? Yeah, that sounds so uninteresting.” But I love the conversations we have each week, and in some way I hope they help us all grow in our skills and understanding. Anyway, I’m sincerely honored you take time out of your day to be here. Thank you for your insight, comments, emails, phone calls, constructive criticism, and the referrals you send my way. On behalf of the entire Lundquist family, I want to wish you Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

The next two weeks: At the end of this week I’ll be taking some time to enjoy family, relax, drink ungodly amounts of coffee, lose the weight I said I was going to lose in 2016, hang out with my new nephew, and let my kids whoop me on their Xbox. I might be crazy, but this year when we visit family I’m bringing my tools so I can build my mother-in-law a bookcase. That’s either the best thing ever or maybe I’m setting myself up for a yearly tradition. Uh oh. Ultimately I hope to get refreshed in coming time and ready for 2017. This has been an amazing year, but I need a break. Can you relate? I hope you enjoy this season and I can’t wait to reconnect in early January. Thank you again for making this a tremendous year. Blessings to you and your loved ones.

pallet-trees-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog

These are some of my festive pallet trees in the front yard.

Questions: What are you going to be doing over the next week or so? Any special traditions? I’d love to hear.

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My last blog post of 2015

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It’s been a wonderful year. Has it been for you too? I hope so. I wanted to thank you sincerely for taking time out of your day to read my blog. I hope it’s added some value to your life or business somehow, or maybe it’s helped you navigate the real estate road a bit better. Sometimes when I tell people how much I love blogging they think I have no life. But in truth this blog is about building relationships with readers (you), and that means the world to me. I appreciate the amazing people I’ve been able to meet over the past 7 years since this whole thing began. Thank you for hanging in there with me for another year.

Two Weeks: For the next two weeks I’ll be lying low with family, which means I’ll be taking the rest of the year off (I like the way that sounds). Honestly, this has been a very successful year in terms of business, personal goals, and relationships. Yet I find myself tired and emotionally done with 2015. Can you relate? I’m ready to close this chapter, get refreshed, and open a new chapter in 2016. So these next two weeks I’ll be enjoying walks on the beach, thinking about appraisals, building a few wood projects, catching the new Star Wars movie (no spoilers please), drinking as much coffee as possible, and savoring time with my lovely wife and sons. I’ll look forward to connecting with everyone again the first week of January.

Merry Christmas from Lundquist Appraisal Company

I took this photo at the Capitol building in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago. If you’re local, I highly recommend grabbing a hot drink and heading over to enjoy the tree while it is still there.

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!

Question: What are you going to be doing for these next two weeks? Any plans with family or friends?

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How $10 (and an amazing Mom) made two boys happy on Christmas

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Today I wanted to share my favorite Christmas photo. This is me and my family in 1980 or so. And yes, I have a twin brother in case you did not know. I wrote about this picture four years ago, but I felt it was time to revisit the image since this is always a powerful reminder for me of what really matters during Christmas. I hope it’ll be encouraging for you too.

favorite christmas photo - by sacramento appraisal blog

How $10 (and an amazing Mom) made two boys happy on Christmas:

Let me introduce you to my grandparents, mother, and the four-year old version of me and my twin brother. This photo was taken during a time when my family had very little money as my mother was a single parent doing her best to work full-time and raise us boys. We lived a modest lifestyle out of necessity, and so when December rolled around, there wasn’t much to cover Christmas gifts. My Mom had a total of ten dollars, and since she was too proud to accept additional funds from family members, she made do with what she had.

When I look at this post gift-unwrapping picture, I see two extremely happy boys and an amazing mother who stretched out ten bucks to provide both of her sons with a superman t-shirt and cape, Mork & Mindy egg, coloring book, and soccer ball.

Maybe it’s just subjective sentimental goo, but this photo gets me thinking about what really matters and even how I can enjoy the coming week. There are some real nuggets of truth here: Family time is so important. Money doesn’t make us happy. Humble circumstances can teach us valuable life lessons. Moms are amazing. Christmas is not about the gifts. Financial hardship doesn’t have to steal our joy. Life is good. There is much to celebrate and be grateful for. We need to savor the time we have with our kids.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!! May you find tremendous joy and peace (and not too much drama) with your family and friends over coming days. And on a different note, thank you so much for hanging around here on the blog this year and for enhancing my life. I am truly grateful for you. I’ll be taking the next week off to unplug and get some much needed rest. I cannot wait to connect again in early January. Blessings to you and your family.

Question: What is your first thought after reading this post?

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