There she is .... Miss America- my dirtly little secret Tonight.... 6:00 in Las Vegas the Miss America Pageant will be on. Ever since I was a little tiny girl I've loved watching this contest. Now, don't get started on why this is explotation of women or not.  Whether you believe it or not there is a fundamental difference between the Miss America Pageant and Miss Universe Pageant. 1) Miss America gives no PRIZE MONEY, they only give scholarships.      Miss USA only gives prize money and is produced by the Trump organization. 2) Miss America contestants are judged also on TALENT.     Miss USA contestants are judged on looks and the illustrious question. 3)  Miss America stops at Miss America     Miss USA goes on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant which has contestents from all ove... 01/15/2011

Friday - Honey DO for the Weekend -- 52 weeks  -- Tracy CA Things to do this weekend to maintain your Tracy CA Home... Maintaining your Tracy CA property is KEY to getting top dollar when it's time to sell your Tracy, CA home.   If you take care of your house, your house will take care of you.   Every Friday I will have a list of little projects that should be done NOW. Some will print this and make it into a HONEY DO list, for some of you ---- YOU are the Honey that gets to do! 1) Clean your carpets.    Vacumming on a regular basis will help prolong the life of your carpet, cleaning it every 12 -1 8 months will do wonders.  I recommend Mark Irwin with Classic Carpet Care in Tracy, CA.  He's phenomenal.  The product he uses is DRY in less than 30 minutes.  I know I didn't believe it eit... 01/13/2011

Random Buyer on Trulia posted this question, or should I say series of questions? "We are currently in So. Cali and are looking to buy a SFR in the Tracy / Mountain House area. We need someone with experience in these and surrounding areas. I need to pick an agent over the phone and have him/her show us homes while we visit for a few days at a time. Will need someone to figure out what we like after the initial visit and see the places for us before we can come up and view everything in batches. We are pre-approved and ready to start looking asap. In your response please note why I should call you to interview for the job and of course your contact info. Please avoid canned responses as this is the first test of your ability to give us personal attention. We need someone who we can real... 01/13/2011

    The A - B - C's of Real Estate by Susan Goulding, Tracy CA., REALTOR Once you start blogging a great deal, if you are like most Blog Addicts, your brain starts thinking ilke a blog. I have conversations with people all the time now and think "" OH I see a Blog Coming." The other day as I was talking on the phone, who isn't' on the phone any more while driving... I started thinking of the "DUH's" of what makes a great real estate agent. I was going to do all 27 letters at once, but that would be a waste of future blogs... so here we go.... the first in a series, to be posted every Wednesday. (Yes I know it's 27 weeks to hit the entire alphabet, but it will be worth it.) THE A - B - C'S OF REAL ESTATE by Susan Goulding, Tracy CA - Realtor A - ANSWER YOUR PHONE!  I know I recently had... 01/12/2011

1/11/11 and it's 1:11 Today is a day of ONE's. I know there are a lot of 1's running around this month, this year... As I'm sitting here watching the clock, I'm in CA which means on a 12 hour time clock in 25 minutes it will be 1.11.11 1:11p.m. That seems to me like a special number and something special should happen. One's are important.       We have: ONE dollar bills #1 Mom and #1 Dad #1 Realtor in Town First Place  We are number #1 One is the loneliest number One at a time First Born One Chance One Love Everything STARTS with ONE... so what are you going to start today a day FULL OF ONE's? Off to find something fabulous to do as a first in 20 minutes 01/11/2011

  Are you willing to do it after 5:00?  I'm asking about answering the phone My new referred clients told me "The agent who referred us told us  "Don't call Susan after five, she doesn't answer her phone."   She is very responsive via email or text but she doesn't usually answer her phone after 5:00.  (Setting expectations - BTW this a great Active Rain Referral!)  At first I wasn't sure if I was offended or grateful.  The more I considered this the more I was certain it was a good thing.  WHY?   Last year, I was so consumed by my real estate business in Tracy CA,  when I was home I was constantly on the phone.  My friends, family and kids started to complain that "I was always on the phone."  When your friends say, "we didn't know if you'd want to come with us, as you're always on the ... 01/10/2011

  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.  This week he found out he is going to be Gaston in the Beauty & the Beast play at Ripon Christian on 3/4/11.  Also our new dog, Sugar, got a new collar & she walks so awesome now :) 01/10/2011

E-Mail to Susan.....Why do you like living in Tracy, CA    I love living in Tracy CA!  Here is REASON #1 in a series of REASON As a 17 year resident of Tracy, CA.  I frequently get asked if I like living in Tracy.   The answer is an resounding YES! The next question is WHY do you like living in Tracy? To understand some of my reasons you have to understand Tracy. Tracy is located in Central CA.  When I say Central that is exactly what I mean. The San Francisco Bay Area is to the West, the Sierras are to the East, Sacramento, Redding and Mount Shasta to the North and Los Angeles, San Diego to the south. Tracy, CA is located between Highway 205 to the north which connects the San Francisco to Highway 5 to the North.  Highway 580 to the West which connects the Bay Area Highway 5 to the Sou... 01/09/2011

So my son & I are strolling thru the mall to check out what changes are happening there.  Macys was our ultimate destination, since everyone has talked about them finally going in the place of Gottschalks. We stumbled upon the cutest little animals (dogs, cats & kittens too).  There were so many people, volunteers & kids roaming around.  Everyone was smiley (my kind of place).  I didn't dare want to walk in.  The sign said Pet Adoptions Today.  We already have 2 dogs & 1 cat (1 dog we just rescued literally rescued a few months ago...well my husband did, thats another story)  Our cat was even rescued also by our brother-in-law (she was a sick little kitten that we nursed back to health & loved her...5 years ago).  With my allergies to cats & dogs, I just can't have another one. I know t... 01/09/2011

What's the housing market like in Tracy & Mountain House, CA?   The housing market in Tracy and Mountain house is currently dominated with distressed properties.  Short sale now make up 75% of our listings, with 40% of those being short sale continent.  20% of the Tracy housing market is REO properties, bank foreclosures.  The last 5% are either investor flips or equity sellers. These facts make a difference in the amount of time you will need to wait to move into your new home, and the type of offer you should write. Short sale - these will most likely take 3 - 9 months to get bank approval.  Once we have bank approval, normal escrow time periods exist.  Many sellers will not ask you to put money into escrow until the bank accepts your offer.  Short sale offers that are accepted by the... 01/08/2011

  Amy DiGuilio speaks to us (Tracy CA marketing meeting) & tells us how to put your goals down for the year of 2011. The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life, is the will to try it and the faith to believe it's possible. Write down your goals, take them with you, make them S.M.A.R.T. Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Goals not written down are just WISHES :) by Top Achievement founder Gene Donohue. Inspirational quote by Henry Ford "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, You're Right!!"   01/07/2011

quick email to first time home buyers -- Frequently asked question.  Can I do any of these 4 things.... keep reading  Tracy CA Buyers Beware!    Don't do ANY of these 4 things before buying new home. 1)  Don't pay off bills.   You loan officer may need you to pay off some bills in order to qualify for your loan.  However, you may NOT need to pay these off, and may need the cash instead.  ASK FIRST 2) Don't change jobs.   Changing your job in the middle of the loan process can create major problems for your loan officer.  If a job change is necessary make sure to talk to you lender and explain when the change will take place, where you are going, who to contact, etc.  Sometimes changing in the same field is not nearly as severe as changing to a completely different line of work.  ASK FIR... 01/06/2011

Come to the 3rd Annual Battle of the Badges Friday, January 21, 2011 9am to 2pm Tracy Community Center 950 East St, Tracy, CA  95376 Donate blood & vote for your favorite dept Tracy CA Fire Department or Tracy CA Police Department Breakfast or lunch will be provided by Tracy Fire for blood donors.  Tracy Police will be handing out t-shirts. Tracy Fire Department has won all three years, last year was a close one.  Things you will need to bring, your identification, medical history knowledge & drink plenty of fluids.  You have to weigh at least 100 lbs & be over 17 or if you are 16 years old, you can weigh 115 lbs.  Students are required to bring a permission slip & their ID. Last year, I tweeted it out & put it on Facebook & my home inspector, Jeff Bond, came but he didn't have is ID wi... 01/05/2011

New Years Eve 2010 - Ringing in 2012 I know we actually rang in 2011, however, since I spent New Year's Eve at Disneyland, somehow it became 2012.  Spur of the moment decision, let's leave Tracy, CA and go to Disneyland for New Year's Eve, yes we will expect crowds, yes it's going to be cold, but there is no rain, we have the time and it's one more thing off my bucket list. Crowds- oh yes there were lots of them... by 10:00 a.m. the park was at capacity....by 11:00 Disneyland and California Adventure were not taking any new people into either park.  Yes we expected this type of a crowd.  We fortunately had gotten up early and opened both parks, so we were free to go between the 2 parks at will. We headed back to our hotel around 3 for a nap and dinner.  Since Disneyland closed at 2:00 a... 01/04/2011

    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.  This week he has had a blast playing with his IPod Touch.  Enjoy your week. 01/04/2011

    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.  This week didn't get updated by accident.  Have a Happy New Year :) 01/01/2011

  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. 12/21/2010

  A Charity Moment....  I wanted to share a moment with you.  Thursday morning at our Tracy Realtor Marketing meeting was our day as REALTORS to GIVE BACK.  We have raised money all year to make very special presentations to some of our favorite charities. We raised over $6500 to give to these charities.  One of the poignant moments is highlight below.  In the upcoming weeks I'm going to high light these different Charities, because there are FABULOUS and WORTHWHILE.  Gene Birk the previous director of Brighter Christmas for 31 years came to see us.   He gave stats that were “jaw dropping”.  First, Brighter Christmas is an organization that has been around for 31 years that assists families in need during the holidays. Each family needs to go through a screening for need. Once the fami... 12/16/2010

THE TRUST FACTOR - That is what really makes Active Rain work.  I wrote the featured blog - How Far Does Active Rain Reach - and one of the things that really hit home was that part of the reason my Tracy, CA buyer chose me from my Active Rain blog is that she trusted me. She trusted me to find her a house in Tracy, CA in 2 hours - read about that in the "How Far Does Active Rain Reach" .  (If you aren't writing your own blogs, then your blog probably isn't reflecting YOU, then people don't get to know YOU when they read them, so you probably aren't building TRUST.) Part of the trust factor that I didn't talk about were all the other parts of the transaction. 1) I met all the inspectors at the house in Tracy, I became her eyes and ears. 2) When one of the inspections came back with more... 12/14/2010

DAY 14 of 31 Day Challenge I've been reading all of these daily for the past 31 days.  Since I'm not a procrastinator I've waited until NOW to get started.  I got busy, got out my calendar and went back through the past 14 days. SO...... Here we go...... On December 1 - I spent my day calling other agents to invite them to our Annual Tracy Realtor Marketing meeting.  I had a lot of fun enforcing relationships with local agents.  This only helps my buyers when I'm writing offers and the listing agent KNOWS I will do whatever it takes to get my transactions closed. I sent in a Wordless Wednesday Photo, I got 22 comments on Facebook, since my Active Rain posts post on Facebook also. December 2 - My day was spent keeping my first time buyers calm when their lender was anything but speedy. ... 12/14/2010