Viki Benbow - The Real Estate Huntress: July 2007

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If
you hear a noise outside
your home or someone trying to get in your
house, just press the panic
button for your car. The alarm will be set off,
and the horn will
continue to sound until either you turn it off
or the car battery dies.
This tip came from a neighborhood watch
coordinator. Next time you come
home for the night and you start to put your
keys away, think of this:
It's a security alarm system that you probably
already have and requires
no installation. Test it. It will go off from
most everywhere inside
your house and will keep honking until your
battery runs down or until
you reset it with the button on the key fob
chain. It works if you park
in your driveway or garage If your car alarm
goes off when someone is
trying to break in your house, odds are the
burglar or rapist won't
stick around... after a few seconds all the
neighbors will be looking
out their windows to see who is out there and
sure enough the criminal
won't want that. And remember to carry your
keys while walking to your
car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the
same way there..... This is
something that should really be shared with
everyone. Maybe it could
save a life or a sexual abuse crime. This
would also be useful for any emergency, such as
a heart attack, where
you can't reach a phone. I have found this to be a very useful idea and wanted to share it with the rest of you.

Sometimes with the busy lives we all lead, we forget to stop and reflect on our blessings and to give thanks for all our glasses that are more full than empty. In our family, we have enjoyed so many perfect blessings, with some definite challenges mixed in.

We have elected to make those challenges the focus of our chosen charities. One of those is the Special Olympics. My nephew Matthew Meaker is a former Olympian. We have seen first hand how this wonderful charity brings such joy and sense of accomplishment to children and young adults who will not settle for letting "their challenges" get them down.

This year, Alan and I are major sponsors in the "Great Duck Race." This fun and unique community event is scheduled for Saturday, August 18 at Waterfront Park in Old Sacramento. On race day, up to 20,000 rubber ducks will be dumped off the I Street Bridge into the Sacramento River and the race is on! The flock will float right through Old Sacramento and the first lucky ducks to reach the Tower Bridge will win a fabulous grand prize…like a luxurious hot tub, a home energy makeover, travel packages, cash and more! Additional prizes will be added right up to race day, so join in today and adopt a duck, or two or more! To help you adopt a duck, send us and email or give us a call. We’ll either fill out the adoption papers for you over the phone or mail you an entry form.

Also, go to www.sacramentoduckrace.com for more details. Don’t forget to check out and vote for our ducks; "The Real Estate Ducktress" & "The Coolest ConDUCKtractor" (see the yellow duck with "vote for the best dressed duck").

And, as always, count your blessings.

Foreclosures are the hot topic in today’s real estate market. Most people that I talk to are of the notion that the best buys to be had in today’s market are homes that have gone back to the banks. In some cases, that is true, but as in all real estate, you have to look at each prospective property case by case.
I am just now closing on one REO (Real Estate Owned or a foreclosed home) where my client made an outstanding buy on a great little home....about 20% below what the same house sold for last year. However, it is my experience that this case is the exception. Most homes that go through a full foreclosure end up getting stripped by the homeowners who lost them. The lenders often just adjust the price somewhat and put them on the market "as is".
We are also not seeing the lenders deal much yet. This is because their portfolios are not full yet, so the holding of these REOs are not effecting their lending business. For every dollar that a lender has in a foreclosed loan, they must set aside matching dollars from their lending pool to protect the investors of that foreclosed loan. When the number of dollars rise to a certain level, it can hurt the lender’s ability to loan and cut into their profits even further. It is then that you see lenders selling off their REO inventory to free up those reserves. We are not there yet, so lenders are holding tight on what they are willingto take on their REOs.
A new wrinkle in this REO market is that the lenders after 7 or 8 months on having a property on the market are sending them to auction. Interestingly enough, many of those homes end up selling at auction for more that its lowest list price. It would seem that the buyers who attend these auctions get caught up in winning bidding battle and often pay more than the same home can be bought for in the regular market. But, they do get the brag to their friends that they bought a foreclosure! There are also industry concerns that those homes bought through the auction process may not have the protection of full title insurance.
With rolled back prices, great interest rates and lots of options, there is no doubt that this is a great time to buy. ! If you would like to explore adding to your real estate portfolio, give me a call. I’d be honored to put my 37+ years of experience to work for you and prove that "Experience is not expensive, it is priceless!"