Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Market trends and real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

knowing a community

Naturally Occuring Asbestos in El Dorado Hills

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It’s been well-publicized for years that there is naturally occurring asbestos in El Dorado Hills. Here are some links for further research for anyone wanting to read up on the issue, particularly if you are considering making a home purchase. It’s so important to be well-informed about the good stuff and “the dirt” in a community, don’t you think? If you are a resident in El Dorado Hills, how do you feel about the issue? No big deal? Slightly concerned? Is there anything you do to adjust your outdoor lifestyle because of NOA?

EPA Article on El Dorado Hills
El Dorado County of Education Links on Asbestos
EDH Asbestos Yahoo Groups
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
California Geological Survey – Asbestos

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.

Magnum P.I. & real estate investigation

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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 (the link was removed on 10/01/2013 since it became a porn site instead of a nuclear power site).

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.

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