Today I was reading Brad's post on using Gmail to post.  Which I think is a great idea! I have trouble with my AR posts sometimes on my office computer so I was looking for a better way.   Here is a photo of my kids that I was able to insert thanks to Gmail:   And I love the highlighter!!! I can make the text larger...oh boy! And there are lots of cute little icons--   And so much more...Thanks Brad!           05/17/2010

http://www.montereyrockrod.com/ Next weekend May 21-23 is the Monterey Rock and Rod at the Monterey Fairgrounds! See the fun below! THIS YEARS CAR SHOW AND OLDIES ROCK FESTIVAL FEATURES hundreds of 1972 and older classic, hot rods, street rods, muscle cars, trucks, and customs, located in the Salinas and King City Rooms and throughout the lawn and oak tree studded areas of the Monterey County Fairgrounds. On hand there will be many types of food and merchandise vendors. The event kicks off Friday evening with a Sock Hop featuring live 50s and 60s style music being held in the Monterey Room at the Fairgrounds beginning at 6:00pm. On Saturday the car show commences and music will rock the Payton Stage all day and night. A variety of rock & roll bands will be on stage throughout the day an... 05/17/2010

PEACE 05/13/2010

Real Estate:  The market is stagnant!  What is happening in your market? 05/11/2010

The Monterey Peninsula is and always will be a wonderful place to live and a destination place.  With all the recent global natural disasters many people are choosing to travel closer to home. Consider the Monterey Penisula when planning your next vacation... 05/08/2010

  Signs of Spring at my Las Palmas Ranch home. Yesterday I took inventory of the beautiful flowers that are beginning to bloom around my yard! It has been such a gloomy rainy few days and these beauties brightened my day! Seems like I have been so busy lately that they could have easily been overlooked! Take some time and look around your area. You just may be surprised by what you see! 04/21/2010

Angelica Blatt | Keller WIlliams Realty | 831-406-1455 Golden Oaks Lane, Monterey, CA Located in central Monterey near shopping and easy access to highways. End unit with some views of the bay. Light and bright! 1BR/1BA Condo offered at $208,000 Year Built 1980 Sq Footage 605 Bedrooms 1 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 4 Parking 1 Covered spaces Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $350 per month DESCRIPTION Wonderful end unit with some bay views and city lights! Granite counters light and bright family room with fireplace. Bonus room used as an office. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Central heat - Fireplace - Hardwood floor - Tile floor - Family room - Bonus/Rec room - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Granite countertop - Balcony, Deck, or Patio - Swimming pool - ... 04/02/2010

203K for Contractors Monterey to Orlando Well we had a great turnout last night at the NARI meeting. Girl Scouts were there selling cookies... did you know you can order cookies at the regular price for our soldiers overseas and they will be shipped FREE? The Boy Scouts were also represented by an Eagle Scout and Scout Master who did the opening ceremony. Good job.  Lots of great questions from the audience. One that didn't get asked until after the event that was hosted by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage was that Wells Fargo can wire the contractor's check to save additional time in getting you paid. In any case it appears that Wells Fargo is way out ahead of the competition in getting contractors paid once the draw request has been submitted for payment. We talked about how contractors can ... 02/25/2010

Washington's Birthday is the official name designated to what many of us know as President's Day. During the month of February the birthday of two of our greatest President's takes place. Both George Washington who was born on Feb. 22nd and Abraham Lincoln born on Feb. 12th. However, Washington's birthday has been publicly celebrated since he was in office, before Abraham Lincoln was even born. Much of the debate over the name of the holiday springs from the fact that state's can follow their own holidays how they see fit and many of them chose to also honor Lincoln, calling the celebration President's Day. It was in 1968 that the term President's Day came up for legal consideration in the Congress but was shot down, though the holiday was moved to fall between the two President's birt... 02/14/2010

Capital: SacramentoEntered Union: Sept. 9, 1850 (31st state)Motto: Eureka (I have found it)State Colors: Blue and goldState Song: I Love You, CaliforniaNickname: Golden State Governor: Arnold Schwarzenegger Senators: Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein State Symbols Flower: Golden poppyTree: California redwood Bird: California valley quailAnimal: California grizzly bear (1953)Fish: California golden trout (1947) California Facts, State Geography Land area: 155,973 sq mi. (403,970 sq km)Water area: 7,734 sq miCoastline: 840 miHighest point: Mt. Whitney - 14,494 ftLowest point: Death Valley - 282 ft below sea levelGeographic center of state: In Madera Co., 35 mi. NE of MaderaNumber of counties: 58Largest county by population: Los Angeles Largest county by area San Bernardino, 20,062 sq mi. So... 02/02/2010

The State of California's website provides the consumer with invaluable information. In my practice, I have noticed that many consumers are unaware of this and therefore don't utilize it. One of the first orders of business for me when I enter into a contract is to check on the real estate license of the agent on the other side. I want to make sure that they have a license and that it is active. I can also see if they have any violations, how long they have been in business and if it is hung with the broker that they are currently advertising that they work with. This gives me a general idea of what I can expect from that agent. Not to say that a new agent won't do a great job but, mostly for the benefit of my client in that transaction.     The consumer can do the same when choosing an... 01/17/2010

The Monterey Peninsula College farmer's market is held every Thursday 2:30pm to 6pm on the school campus parking lot! It is the oldest market on the Monterey Bay founded in 1976! You'll find a bountiful selection of produce, specialty items and beautiful plants and flowers at this bustling, fast-paced market. I especially attend for two reasons: the gorgeous orchids and to support the local area! The prices are the best! Usually, I pay from $5 to $7 each! I don't have a green thumb..these orchids last anywhere from 6 weeks to 10 weeks in my home and look fabulous! You will find a variety of colors. I love the exotic ones! The produce is picture perfect! If you are in Monterey, California on a Thursday afternoon, plan a stroll through the marketplace!   01/14/2010

    Average DOM Sum of the days on the market (DOM) for sold/listed properties divided by the count of sold/listed properties. Average Price Sum of all the sales/list prices divided by the number of properties sold/listed. Median Price Sales/list price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive properties. Half the properties were sold/listed for more than the median price and half the properties were sold/listed for less than the median price. Closed Sales Count of properties sold. Status 5 (closed sale) only. Sales Under Contract Count of properties pending. Status 2-4 (pending sale) only. Current Inventory Current Inventory is the count of properties with status equal to 1, 2, and 3. New Listings Count of listings with a list date that falls within the timeframe r... 01/12/2010

While reading some real estate articles today on Realtor.com I noticed this very important article and wanted to share it here. I think that the general public doesn't always understand why they do need a Realtor to assist with purchasing and selling real estate! All real estate agents are not the same. Only real estate agents who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® are properly called REALTORS®. They proudly display the REALTOR "®" logo on the business card or other marketing and sales literature. REALTORS® are committed to treat all parties to a transaction honestly. REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. An independent survey reports that 84% of home buy... 01/10/2010

About two years ago, I posted a blog asking a question about Washington Mutual short sales and wanting information. At that time, I had two clients losing there home with Washington Mutual as the lender. I have received numberous comments on that blog over the past two years and wanted to share the information that I received with more people. Here is the link to that blog post. http://activerain.com/blogsview/294710/washington-mutual-short-sale-info Some of the phone numbers included may not be working at this time and Washington Mutual is now Chase! 01/10/2010

To predict the future we must first look to the past.  There were a total of Forty-three units that sold in Monterey in 2009. $165,000-$250,000 = 12 $300,000-$400,000 = 13 $400,000-$500,000 =  6 $500,000-$600,000 =  8 $600,000-$800,000 =  4 As you can see the lower-end dominated the 2009 market place. Currently there are 30 units on the market and 9 units in escrow. $60,000-$250,000 = 11 Active 3 pending $250,000-$400,000 = 14 Active 5 pending $400,000-$500,000 = 3 Active $500,000-$600,000 = 8 Active 1 pending $600,000-$700,000 = 2 Active Over 2 Millon          = 1 Active So what do these numbers show us.....the lower-end is still driving the market place. As the low-end's inventory slips away we will start seeing the middle range move more. I think the upper-end is going to take a whil... 01/09/2010

Mountain Shadow Townhomes are located in Monterey's Skyline Forest a beautifully wooded area with ocean views.  These twenty townhomes were built in 1973 by Henry Edwards on approximately 3.3 acres. Ten units were initially sold as "A" units at 1,950 sq. ft and ten units were sold as "B" units and are 1,650 sq. ft.; although many units have made some interior changes that have given them additional square footage. Additionally, each unit has a large two car garage. Dues include water, garbage, sewer, storm drains, insurance, ground maintenance, street lights, minor maintenance for the private road and major project reserves. Roofs, siding and deck repairs are the responsibility of each individual property owners. For the only unit currently on the market go to Mountain Shadow. 01/09/2010

Home sales jumped 30 percent in the Western region of the country in November, driven largely by first-time buyers racing to qualify for a tax credit that was set to expire. In the West, foreclosures and other financially distressed homes in the low price ranges accounted for many deals in California, Arizona and Nevada. That helped pull down the region's median price by 4 percent to $231,100. Nationally, sales soared by almost 47 percent from November last year, without adjusting for seasonal factors, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The median price dipped 4 percent to $172,600. The latest data benefited from an easy comparison to November 2008 sales, which were down sharply as the U.S. financial crisis worsened. Sales in the 13-state region have improved this year, ... 01/08/2010

The entire Gray Whale population migrates past the Monterey coastline every winter and spring. These whales have one of the longest animal migrations known, traveling over 12,000 miles from their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to their winter breeding grounds in Baja California and back again. Gray whales are easily observed as they hug the coastline during migration. Gray whales are present off Monterey from mid-December through mid-May. Several species of dolphins and porpoise are also present at this time, including Common Dolphins, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Risso's Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Dall's Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, and Killer Whales! Sea Otters, California Sea Lions, and Harbor Seals are seen on all trips.Monterey is the best place along the California co... 01/06/2010

Here are some of the most beautiful hiking areas on the Monterey Peninsula! As part of my New Year Resolution, each month my family and I will take the time to enjoy them a bit. I am so fortunate to live here and have this available to me. Now I have grown up on the Monterey Peninsula and have been to these place many times, but each time there is something different to see and notice. Coastal Recration Trail (EASY) Location: Start at Lover's Point Park in Pacific Grove Directions: Start at Lovers Point Park which is located on Ocean View Blvd near downtown Monterey and right on the ocean. This is where the coastal recreation trail ends but where you are going to begin. Hours: Sunrise to Sunset Description: This is a really popular trail for walkers and bicyclist because it is an easy, ... 01/01/2010