Yesterday, my son officially left on his journey as an officer in the Air Force to take his "tour of duty" in Iraq and I'm a mess. Tears come unexpectedly,  I'm the calm one, the one who is 'tough', the one who doesn't wear her emotions on her sleeve...... I don't cry, rarely do. Tyler choose to attend the United State Air Force Academy instead of the UC Davis, UC Berkeley, San Diego State, etc, and by doing so he had a fabulous education.  Yet, this was no ordinary college that he left for.  He'd worked hard and was accepted at the USAFA. USAFA - United State Air Force Academy, the Air Force version of West Point. I wanted to beg him to attend UC San Diego, UC Davis, but this was not my decision, this was HIS and he chose the Air Force Academy.  No Student loans, a "free" education or ... 03/01/2011

The homes in the above newsletter are all the homes that went pending in Tracy, CA  last week.  Notice the color coding to make things easy. (green)=the number of stories (red)=garage size (*)= there is a pool (brown address color)=the house is Tracy country property. Noah's corner is the biggest hit in this one.  It is my 11 year olds version of his world summarized each week.  I have baseball practice this weekend.  My dad got another Firefighter of the Year award. 02/25/2011

    The homes in the above newsletter are all the homes that went pending in Tracy, CA  last week.  Notice the color coding to make things easy. (green)=the number of stories (red)=garage size (*)= there is a pool (brown address color)=the house is Tracy country property. Noah's corner is the biggest hit in this one.  It is my 11 year olds version of his world summarized each week.   Basketball is ending early.  School is half day evryday till the play because we are practicing for the play. 02/17/2011

Top 3 Reasons why I love Susan Goulding!!!! (but there are many more, this is just the top 3) 1)  Susan Goulding taught a wonderful social media class to our office at Crown Key Realty.  It was very informative.  We learned about twitter, facebook, linked in, active rain, ping, hootsuite and every other thing online to tie them together.  Susan did an amazing job at helping all of us figure out how to eat that elephant. 2)  I aspire to be just like her in blogging (she has 186,969 points).  She blogs daily (or close to it).  80% of her business comes from her online presence.  Susan does her own blogging (which I think is fabulous).  If you have never met her in person, all you would need to know (to trust her & love her) would be just read her daily blog.  It is so her :) 3)  Susan Gou... 02/17/2011

What does AS IS mean? Writing an AS IS offer, be careful what you say and do. I spent some time looking up definitions on "google - where else" Here are a few...... As is is a legal term used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. As Is means in its present state or condition, especially as a contractual condition of sale. AS Is means the property offered for sale in its present condition with no guarantees as to quality and no promise of repair or fix-up by the seller; property is purchased in exactly the condition in which it is found. As Is in regards to real estate means a sale without any guarantees as to condition and where the premises are being accepted by a buyer or tenant as they are including any physical defects.  “As Is” can be generally defined as “wha... 02/16/2011

Stop by and Say HELLO!  Grand Opening Celebration. Many of you are surprised by this announcement.  6 years of being the "Keller Williams WHO" Girl, it was time to move on.  We are SUPER EXCITED to take everything we have learned to open a fabulous office in Tracy, CA. We are here to serve the residence of Tracy & Mountain House, and surrounding areas. We have some of the top agents in Tracy right here all in one place. We have certifications in REO Business, Short Sales, Customer Residential Sales, Residential Buyers and all other aspect of fulfilling your real estate dreams. 02/16/2011

Who Watches You When You Work from a Virtual Office? In my virtual office I am closely watched.... when she's not sleeping under my feet. If I decide to get up, stop working, she REALLY watches me. She's still a puppy so rare moment of quiet are relished around our house. 02/15/2011

iPad saved the short sale in Tracy, CA   If you've been following me for a while you've read about my short sale that was appraised at $500 less than the accepted offer.   I was at my son's baseball game in San Mateo when my phone rang.  Normally I wouldn't answer my phone at a ball game, but I had already sent the twitter out asking for help from Bank of America on my Short Sale.  When my phone popped us as "Bank of America" calling. I quickly answered only be connected with their "Twitter Monitor" and I explained in detail that we were $500 shy of approved price, our approval date was expiring in 7 days, and the lender can't move forward. She wanted to know the loan number on the file.  UH..... I don't remember numbers well, and to think I KNEW a 12 digit number on a short sale was i... 02/12/2011

  What happens when your short sale appraisal comes in $500 Dollars LESS THAN the OFFER and APPROVAL? Short Sales in themselves are prickly little devils. If you don't know what you're doing, best not touch! The Seller gets an offer.  Everyone wait months for the bank to approve it.  Once you have the approvals the Buyer starts doing inspections, disclosures, and gets the appraisals completed. What happens when the buyer's offer is an FHA offer, and the appraisal comes in $500 shy of the asking price and THE APPROVAL? Keep in mind Sale Price is a $135,500 property. The appraiser also called for a roof certification since there was mold growing on the tiles.  (Roof report came back great but this was another $450 fee that this first time buyer was not expecting.) Back to the $500....  He... 02/08/2011

You can see the rest of this online newsletter manually produced each Monday. The homes in the above newsletter are all the homes that went pending in Tracy, CA  last week.  Notice the color coding to make things easy. (green)=the number of stories (red)=garage size (*)= there is a pool (brown address color)=the house is Tracy country property. Noah's corner is the biggest hit in this one.  It is my 11 year olds version of his world summarized each week.   Noah is working hard on being Gaston in the Beauty & The Beast play coming up. 02/08/2011

Today was a wonderful day but honestly it was just wonderful like every other day.  I got the coolest call from a nearby area code & I was just driving along (thankfully with my bluetooth headset in my ear).  Mrs. Buyer says to me, "You don't know me but I found you online & You are the one I want to help me!!!".  Wow, I said.  This is fun.  Mrs. Buyer wanted me to know that she had been reading online in several different places & she just loved my responses.  They were honest & I was really helpful.  She had already called a few other agents & when she mentioned (a very busy main street in Tracy, CA), one of the agents didn't know which street she was talking about.  She even said, they probably shouldn't be listing Tracy, CA as a town they work in if they don't know the streets (espe... 02/07/2011

19 Year Old Boys from Tracy, CA Don't buy Sketchers - If I do will If I Get KIM's Results! I'm going today to buy some Sketchers Shape-Ups, if you didn't see the commercial during the super bowl it's below and you'll understand why. (If you see me walking around Tracy, CA in them you'll know why, I want to look like Kim in my shoes!) Millions of people watched the Super Bowl for the football game and to see who would be the Victor. Many others watched the Super Bowl to watch the commercials. Either way, the commercials usually spark the most conversation. When my 19 year old SON polled his friends on Facebook regarding what commercial they liked the best, the answer was unanimous..... Can you guess which Super Bowl Commercial he liked best? Yep - Sketchers..... Kim Kardashian, if you mi... 02/07/2011

It's Finally Friday Here is your "Honey Do" For this Week - Week 4.  Remember if you take care of your home in Tracy, CA or anywhere, it will take care of you. Clean or better yet get someone else to clean the duct work in our home.  When was the last time, if ever you had the duct work cleaned?  Bacteria, dust, pet hair, and all kinds of stuff collects in the ducts overtime make them far less efficient that when they were first put in.  You can check Kudzo for more information on how, when and who should clean out the ducts in your home. Outside maintenance in Northern CA right now means closing off your crawlspace if you have one under your house.  Just imagine that 'cute' little critter who is outside in the cold, wet weather, while under your house it is warm and dry.  Guess where t... 02/04/2011

I just love referrals.  It truly never gets old.  Another wife in Tracy Fire Dept just referred this awesome seller to me last week.  I met with him late last night.  There are quite a few things that just make this such a fun one to sell.  It's on Ali Ct in Tracy, CA.  I sold 2 houses on that street (same side of the street also) last year.  They were right next door to each other which made some buyers question what was happening on the street.  Both houses were a short sale & both got approved pretty quick. Fast forward to this morning: My husband & I go over there to take pictures to get it up for sale.  Last night I told my seller that I would help get the rest of his garage cleaned out so he didn't have to stress about getting rid of it (he was happy).  As we were emptying the gar... 02/02/2011

   You can see the rest of this online newsletter manually produced each Monday. The homes in the above newsletter are all the homes that went pending in Tracy, CA  last week.  Notice the color coding to make things easy. (green)=the number of stories (red)=garage size (*)= there is a pool (brown address color)=the house is Tracy country property. Noah's corner is the biggest hit in this one.  It is my 11 year olds version of his world summarized each week.  "I got to do the honor guard at the Stockton Thunder Game.  I learned all my parts for Gaston & I'm singing a lot by myself." 01/31/2011

  It's Finally Friday - Honey Do List time again- Week 3!  3 quick things to help take care of your Tracy Home. Remember if you take care of your home in Tracy it will take care of you. #1 Spend this weekend getting organized.  I had no idea January was GO-Month, get  organized month. According to the National Associations of Professional Organizers, this is the month to get organized. So take today and organize your bills, closets, drawers, etc.  Ok in all fairness for me, this would take far more than one Saturday.  Start small, work your way through each room, until every room has been done.   #2 Check your cars Anti-freeze.  Here again in Northern CA, this is not necessary unless you are heading to the mountains.  It certainly feels like the weather has been freezing lately.  Perha... 01/28/2011

   You can see the rest of this online newsletter manually produced each Monday. The homes in the above newsletter are all the homes that went pending in Tracy, CA  last week.  Notice the color coding to make things easy. (green)=the number of stories (red)=garage size (*)= there is a pool (brown address color)=the house is Tracy country property. Noah's corner is the biggest hit in this one.  It is my 11 year olds version of his world summarized each week.  Baseball practice started this week.  I practice everyday to be Gaston in the Beauty & The Beast play.  it's coming up soon.  i have lots of singing parts alone. 01/26/2011

Ever wish it was Friday, even though it's Wordless Wednesday? I did that yesterday - could have sworn tomorrow was Friday... nope it's only Wednesday today. Olive Garden In Tracy, CA makes the best martinis. No I didn't have one. However it sure is a pretty drink. There are days when you just wish you could have a treat.   01/26/2011

Tracy, CA has 44 Homes for Sale for under $150,000.   Which home do you want to purchase?  You are always paying a mortgage, sometimes it's your landlords in which you get NO BENEFIT. However, if you are paying your own mortgage you get tax benefit, appreciation benefits, security of longevity, and so many more benefits.    If you're ready to buy a home in Tracy, perhaps this is your first house, call me. Let's discuss your options.   First Time Home Buyers have FHA loans available to them that only require 3.5% as a down payment.   Investors, many of these properties, with 20% down will have positive cash flow if rented.   What are you waiting for?  Interest rates are low, prices are low.  Contact me TODAY!   01/26/2011

It's all about Perspective - Is this an OCEAN view to YOU? I got a chance to sneak away to Monterey, CA only about 90 minuntes from Tracy, CA.  A great place to go for a little R&R. As I opened the curtains in our hotel room, my Active Rain blogging brain saw an opportunity for yet another blog. It's all about Perspective - Is this an OCEAN view to YOU? This video will show in photos what I can't possibly express in words.   it's all about perspective.  If this was a home I'd advertise the ocean views.  I take photos, zoomed in highlighting that you can indeed see the Monterey Bay.  However, being a hotel room, that charges extra for "Ocean Views" I'll disagree.  Yes, I suppose in reality I can see the bay, there was even a sailboat that was visible.  However, I don't want to pay a prem... 01/23/2011