Top Realtors, Santa Rosa, CA - Top Realtors are like Top Chefs - Sonoma County Wine Country Lifestyle One of my favorite tv shows is Top Chef on Bravo hosted by by Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio. I have to say, (and my wife agrees with me) Padma is one of the cutest hostest on tv! The contestants face two types of challenges every week: Quickfire Challenge - The chef has to come up with a dish that uses unusual ingredients like potato chips or twinkies.  Elimination Challenge - The chef has to put together a meal that deals with a more complicated challege that takes them a day to complete. Usually it deals with a theme like gourmet tail gate food. As I watched this show, I recognized the top realtors that I work with are like the top chefs on the show. Here's my "quickfire" list that... 10/24/2009

Home Loans - Rates are great, but homes are better - Santa Rosa, CA   Mortgage rates are at an all time low again. This should help many home buyers save a few more dollars on their monthly payments or buy a little more home. Notice, I wrote "home" not "house." Remember the line "home is where the heart is"? It seems to me that we lost that connection with our home these last few years and stopped paying attention to the health of our "heart". I remember when home buyers talked about raising families or retiring in their homes. Then, things changed and everyone talked about buying a house as an investment. Loans were given out like candy to "house buyers" and people started living off their equity as if they earned it. We all lost touch with the "heart" of the house and ended up having ... 10/21/2009

Last night there was an initial meeting to establish a neighborhood watch in the Historic District. There had been a couple of incidents were an intruder entered homes were the owners were present. Unnerving to say the least! This alarmed the neighborhood, especially stay at home moms and the elderly. As word of these incidents spread it was decided that the Santa Rosa Police Department should be contacted to speak to our neighborhood as to what they would recommend. As a result we had a neighborhood meeting were three police officers discussed the different aspects of home security and steps that can be taken to deter unauthorized entry. In addition they recommended putting the local police department phone number on your cell phone or speed dial, in part because of an anomaly of 911 c... 10/13/2009

FHA and VA Home loans - Santa Rosa, CA - Inspection reports I have to laugh. I just got asked if I actually know how to do loans because several of my last blogs have been about my geographic area and were not loan related. I've been originating loans for 18 years, many of them were FHA and VA loans, but I don't feel I need to go on and on about my field, when there are plenty of other interesting things to write about! I have seen many loan professionals in my industry with the amazing ability to crunch out pages of information and commentaries about home mortgages. I have the utmost respect for those peers, and will continue to learn from all of them. I however, would like to keep a variety of subjects within my blog. I don't know about you, but, sometimes I feel like I'm overinundate... 10/12/2009

What? Haven’t you heard that the housing slump is over with? You must be seeing the same news reports I am. News reporters expounding that both the new and pending home sales are up. Come on everybody let’s jump in now before it is too late! For the past few months that’s all the news has been reporting; new home sales up over last month, pending sales up over this time last year. I think the news organizations need a realty check and should start reporting the figures as they really are. Although it is human nature to not want to hear bad or discouraging news, sometimes a dose of truth with a little common sense thrown in may help that first time buyer or current home owner decide when to purchase their first home, or move up to a new one. The fact is that the housing slump is not over... 10/06/2009

California's Sonoma County Wine Country Top 10 Secrets Exposed! - Sonoma County Wine Country Lifestyle Last night, I was on the phone with a friend who lives out of state and who's currently thinking about moving to California. We had a nice discussion about the benefits of moving to California and then we talked about living in the Sonoma County Wine Country. Our conversation gave me the idea to write a post about the top ten reasons I came up with to persuade my friend to move to Sonoma County. I know it's a cliche, but I wanted to share the top 10 secrets of this beautiful area with my peers in Sonoma County. There are so many things to do and see in this region! Even after living here for over 30 years, I still come across new and old "Secret" treasures that re-enforce my love for m... 10/06/2009

I love seeing the light bulbs in peoples eyes! - Sonoma County Wine Country Lifestyle Yesterday was one of my busiest days as a new producing sales manager for my office. I taught a class on Brand Marketing for a group of realtors, trained new loan agents, and met with several new clients. It was a long day, but it was fun! Why? Because each activity was a teaching experience. I've always admired the teachers who can inspire me and have aspired to do the same in my business. Yesterday, I got to see the light bulb in peoples eyes as I spoke and the experience reiterates why I love my job. I'm in a business that helps people move physically, mentally and financially from point a to point b. I'm a guardian and guide to those who have opted to take that journey into home ownership and I get... 09/11/2009

Active Rain has Ranked Kammie Quinones as a Top Sonoma County Realtor. Blog Posts: 30 Rank in California: 825 /23,152 Rank in Sonoma County:  11 /269 Rank in Santa Rosa:  8 /142 Kammies website is:   http://KammieQuinonesRealEstate.com  License #01372729 Serving: Santa Rosa First Time Home Buyers, Rohnert Park First Time Home Buyers, Santa Rosa Homes for Sale, Rohnert Park Homes for Sale, Windsor Homes for Sale, Petaluma Homes for Sale, Santa Rosa Real Estate, Rohnert Park Real Estate, Windsor Real Estate, Petaluma Real Estate, Santa Rosa Realtor, Rohnert Park Realtor, Windsor Realtor, Petaluma Realtor, Santa Rosa Property, Rohnert Park Property, Windsor Property, Petaluma Property, Sonoma County Realtor, Sonoma County Real Estate, Sonoma County Homes for Sale, Sonoma County Property, K... 09/04/2009

Once again, my wife was right! - Sonoma County Wine Country Lifestyle I just got back from a wonderful trip visiting my wife's grandmother who turned 85! She lives in upstate NY in a nice quiet little town and she keeps herself busy golfing, bowling and knitting. What an amazing knitter! The time seemed to have passed by quiet slowly and gently because there was limited access to the internet and television. We spent the days visiting with family or reflecting on family history. To my surprise, it took me two days to decompress from my busy life back in California! I didn't realize how wound up I was until my wife asked me if I was ever going to take my eyes off my cell phone. LOL!  After several days of reading and eating... and eating... and eating, I noticed my breathing was slower a... 09/04/2009

Where do I even begin? My friends have encouraged me to start writing down what I know about real estate lending to practice my writing skills. I've spent 18 years in the lending industry and have managed to survive several down cycles thanks to my connections and referrals. Almost everyone that I've worked with has come back to me because they've felt I've been able to simplify the complex journey of home ownership. As we all know, that's not an easy task. Even though, I've been able to verbally educate my clients and speak in front of a large audience of realtors, I've never written anything down that was substantive. I've often wondered if I have anything worth saying after I read some of the wonderful blogs in Activerain, and am not quite confident with my writing skills. That being... 08/21/2009

Kammie is dedicated! My husband and I found Kammie through the website www.KammieQuinonesRealEstate.com. I put in my requirements and I soon received an e-mail from her. We have worked with Kammie for four months. She is very dedicated and understanding of her clients needs. Kammie is very familiar with the Santa Rosa area and was not afraid to tell us if she thought a neighborhood was not appropriate for our young family. Kammie is very thorough and energetic; the passion she has for helping people find a home shows through her high level of dedication and follow-through. Not only did Kammie help us find our first home, she put us in touch with a great person to handle the financial side of buying real-estate. Kammie never once showed any frustration with our phone calls, e-mails and ... 08/08/2009

Assisting First Time Home Buyers with knowledge, power and information that enables them to obtain an $8000 tax credit. While assisting them with making their dreams come true of becoming a Home Owner!In addition, accomplishing goals of Investors, Home Buyers and Sellers, with Residential and Commercial Property. I am a licensed Realtor, Loan Agent and a member of the North Bay Board of Realtors. License #01372729.My experience and dedication has proven that I will guarantee the highest level of satisfaction to my clients. 19 years of experience in the industry, ensuring purchases, sales and loan transaction are less complicated and the maximum results are achieved.A native of beautiful Sonoma County. My knowledge and devotion to the area is an asset to my clients. With the vineyards, t... 08/07/2009

Kawana Springs and the post-world war II subdivision just north of it represent two sides of the entry level home market in Santa Rosa. They are blocks apart physically, but miles apart in terms of amenities, style, price, and maintenance. Location unites them, but so does the attractiveness of both sets of homes as entry level housing in Santa Rosa. The area that was named Stellar Gardens in the early 1950's includes Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, San Domingo, Elsinore, Moraga, and San Clemente Drives. These were very modest homes, even when they were new. On the other hand, their relatively small square footage (877 to 1177 square feet) and nice sized lots (.13 to .25 of an acre) promised an upgrade in the future to returning GI's as the second wave of the Boomer babies were being born. Pr... 07/25/2009

We got a call this week from a local Book Store.  The Manager said, he got our name out of the phone book and looked us up online.  He said, he was going to hold a Home Improvement Workshop this weekend and wanted to know if we would be interested in being part of the workshop.  He wanted us to talk about Home Re-design, Organizing and Home Staging.  He told us that he wanted to have as many representatives as possible there who did home improvements, Painters, Contractors, Landscapers, even a Mortgage Broker for anyone who needs a loan to do home improvements.  He advertized it in the local paper, local radio station and in the county events register. It sounds great, we are trying to get stuff together now for the event.  If you have any suggestions as to what we should have on hand, ... 07/08/2009

I’m sure many of you have heard over the past few weeks, or maybe even saw some of the advertisements touting that FHA will now allow First-time Homebuyers to use the stimulus packages $8000 tax credit as a down payment for a home. As exciting as that may sound to a first-time homebuyer, it is not entirely true. As you may remember, when the Bush administration came out with the original stimulus package, the amount was actually $7500 and in truth was not as much a tax credit, but a 15 year loan. With the Obama stimulus package the tax credit amount was raised to $8000 and did not have to be paid back. However, this money could not be used for the down payment mainly because the borrower would receive the tax credit after the close. However, over the past weeks, HUD has come out with a ... 07/04/2009

  The Santa Rosa Chapter of Realtors Presents: Strategies and Questions On Short-Sales--All*Star Panel When: Tuesday July 7th 8:30am to 10:00am--This is taking the place of our regularly held Marketing Breakfast Meeting, however, will we DO Broker's Open Houses!   Cost: $7.00 An unbelievable Deal!! Where:Jockey Club,1350 Bennett Valley Road (ne corner of the big Fair Grounds parking lot across from the East entrance)corner of Bennett Valley road and Cooper Road What: Short-Sale panel to discuss the process of successful short-sales, lender requirements, underwriting Title Issues and to answer many questions by all concerned Realtor/Agents Why:The Mortage Bankers Association, tracking 45,000,000 loans found almost 4,000,000 either IN forclosure or now technically in default. With these n... 06/25/2009

    If you one of the many who are eager to join the "Go Green" movement, what better way than go and check out the Solar Fair at the Finley Center in Santa Rosa on June 20th.  The fair opens it's doors at 11am and closes at 6pm. In partnership with PG&E, the fair will have many activitesd throughout the day. You will be able to learn about solar enerthy and energy efficiency. There will be speakers, panels and also several workshops. You will also be able to learn how to finance your home energy projects, along with how to prepare to finance and install solar for your business and commercial properties. Looking to take advantage of the growing employment opportunities within the green job zone? There will be information in regards to how and where to get training for the green jobs mar... 06/11/2009

Tax Credit Can Be Used on Closing Costs FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit upfront, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to help cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put down more than the minimum 3.5 percent.The loans can't be used to cover the minimum 3.5 percent, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning. Thus, buyers applying for FHA-backed financing with an FHA-approved lender that offers a bridge-loan p... 05/29/2009

The new fire station in the JC neighborhood in honor of Colonel Robert E. (Hoot) Gibson, USAF (Ret) is here.  Colonel Gibson was a highly decorated Officer who served his country for 29 years as a pilot and Squadron Commander flying combat operations in both Korea and Vietnam.  Returning to Sonoma County after retiring in 1971, he purchased the Carwash at 50 Lewis Road in 1977, operating the business until his death in 1998.  His family continued the business until purchased to become Santa Rosa Fire station #11 in 2007.  Robert E. Gibson was an individual whose pride, honor, respect and human kindness touched many lives. The dedication will take place on Saturday, May 30 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. This would be a great time to take your kids down to the station and welcome the firefight... 05/26/2009

Interested in current market statistics for the Santa Rosa Market Area of Northern California Real Estate?   Following are the stats for the April 2009 market as well as what is currently (as of May 23) available in the residential real estate market.    Residential meaning, Single Family Homes, Condo's as well as Farms/Ranches.   This month I am changing this up a bit by dividing out the detached single family homes from the condo market. As of Today May 23, 2009 the Santa Rosa Market Area currently has: 1166 Listings: 1004 Are Single Family Home Listings with List Price Range of $92,000 - $6,900,000   Average List Price $563,086   *  Median List Price $350,000  148 are Bank Owned aka REO/Foreclosed properties & 387 are Short Sales 162 Are Condo Listings with a List Price Range of $65,... 05/23/2009