We are blessed to have some great wineries within a short distance from Elk Grove.  There are some fun place to go in Clarksburg, just West of Elk Grove on the Delta.  There is the Lodi area and, of course, there is the world famous Napa area less than two hours away.  We recently visited the Amador Wine Region.  With over 40 wineries to choose from in the area, there is a lot of variety.  We visited Jeff Renquist Wines,  Rombauer and Villa Toscano. Jeff Renquist WinesWe thoroughly enjoyed our time here.  The gentleman that poured us our wine was very friendly and made sure to explain each wine that we tried and there were several that I thought were outstanding.  I ended up purchasing the 2021 Viognier,  the 2021 Chardonnay, the 2020 Barbara and the 2020 Estate Zinfandel. RombauerThis ... 10/02/2022

While pondering which experience to reveal in the ActiveRain Crazy Real Estate Agent Story Challenge this month, I had many  old memories surface from my 40 years as a real estate agent.  In last month’s challenge, I told the tale of listing the home of an elderly couple who had a very abusive adult son, living with them.  Their desire was to escape his abuse. They hoped to sell their home without his realizing it.  We put the home on the market without a sign.  All showings were arranged through me, and the home shown while the son was at work, or otherwise occupied.  The home sold quickly.  During the last days of escrow, an uncle who lived approximately 100 mile north of us, helped out by arranging for the son to visit several days.  During his absence, the son’s belongings were put ... 09/28/2022

 I wrote a blog post in 2010 how ironic, twelve years later I might not need to change much to it? Let me know your thoughts    https://activerain.com/droplet/5cXM The first step in home ownership is to figure out how much you can afford each month. Many first-time buyers look at their current rent and base it  what they can afford. The key is to know how much one can afford. Once this is determined the rest is easy.The key is to know what the budget is in the long run. Do not spend every penny of your income to your housing budget. Remember you still need to eat and there are unexpected costs, or should I say unplanned costs that you need to think about. Even if you need to cut back on your down payment for the sake of having a reserve in your bank account for emergencies it is worth d... 10/01/2022

A day in the life of a Beverly Hills Realtor, one who has been licensed for over 26 years (not including my time as a Boston, MA Realtor).  Given all these years of practice, you can probably imagine that I have a slew of stories from which to choose to share on the platform! A couple that crossed my mind were the time I went with a client to look at condos in the San Fernando Valley and one of them had a camera and tripod focusing on the sleeping area;  or there was the listing appointment where the owner had at least 15 stray cats and another 10 cats that were meandering between inside/outside the home.  (As a cat dad and pet friendly realtor myself, I had a tough time not taking the listing.) The story that ultimately won out is the time that I fired a group of 3 brothers with whom I... 09/29/2022