Kathy Wall

Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat of Day….

February 16, 2009 · · 7 Comments

It is about 3:30 p.m. and I’m doing an open house in a lovely, although freezing, townhome in Pacifica.   The rain is pouring down in sheets.   The door is open, hoping to encourage someone to come in.  I’m bundled up, including wearing long johns under my slacks, and am suddenly reminded of the postal service motto:  “Neither snow nor rain nor heat of day nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”    It occurs to me that, to a great degree, professional Realtors follow the same creed.  An example of this would be my day today.  Read more

Nicole Machado

Have We Hit the Bottom

January 24, 2009 · · 5 Comments

I was reading the January/February 2009 edition of the California Association of Realtors Magazine and came across this article I thought I would share. The article has good facts with a positive economic forecast for 2009 and the graph is a great visual representation of the history of the market.

To read the full article click on the thumbnail image of the article below, then click once more on the article to make the content larger.

Nicole Machado

Open House drawing Black Friday Crowds…

January 12, 2009 · · 8 Comments

With the Holidays behind us, buyers are back on the Real Estate scene scoping out the latest inventory. This weekend I held a home in SSF open. I had over 65 groups come through and even ran out of fliers & ended up staying well after 4pm as buyers kept showing up. I can’t remember the last time I ran out of fliers or had to stay longer then the open house was scheduled. I felt like I was at a department store on Black Friday and everything was 50% off!
The home was a single family fixer, in a desirable neighborhood. I figured there was an abundance of buyers because it was the first weekend of scheduled open houses, come to find out it wasn’t just my open house that faired well to the buyer’s scene, it was everyone’s.
Every Monday morning my office has its sales meetings. In the meetings we take count of how many people came through our open houses. Today the count was 400. Those are huge numbers which gives us all something to ponder… Buyers are out in droves, prices have come down and interest rates are historically at all time lows, has the market hit its threshold? What are your thoughts? All I can say is when it’s your time to buy or sell, it doesn’t really matter what else is going on around you. That’s the beauty of Real Estate.

Nicole Machado

SSF Real Estate… things are looking up

December 11, 2008 · · 5 Comments

As 2008 wraps up and we all grasp onto our crystal balls to determine the fate of 2009… I wanted to end the year on a positive note with some statistics from the San Mateo County Multiple Listing Service that may help to give us all a positive outlook on the Real Estate market for 2009. South San Francisco was one of the Peninsula’s hardest hit cities with short sales and foreclosures, but by the looks of it, SSF seems to be bouncing back just fine. Read more

Nicole Machado

Appraisers… what’s their real job description?

October 9, 2008 · · 5 Comments

AppraiserSince when did appraisers become home inspectors? Just curious as I encountered a never before sitaution today… As my property inspector was packing up from a routine property inspection, the appraiser drove up (early I may add) to what I thought at the time was to appraise the property. Read more

Nicole Machado

Christmas Come Early

September 15, 2008 · · 1 Comment

Best Present of AllAs we approach the holiday season,  while everyone else is immersed in cooking the Thanksgiving Turkey and getting up at dawn to get those Holiday discounts on the season’s hottest new toy you can take advantage of the season’s best toy… a house! Read more

Nicole Machado

Buyers Beware

August 14, 2008 · · Comment here

Have you ever purchased something from a store to later find out it was defective and feeling frustrated that you would have to return it or find out you couldn’t do to good ole “store policies”? What if you purchased a house and later found out there was something wrong? Sorry folks, no returns on those a couple of months down the road! Read more

Nicole Machado

Calling all Potential Home Buyers…

July 29, 2008 · · 1 Comment

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” ~Henry Ford

Don’t let the turmoil of the subprime crisis get in the way of your dream of becoming a homeowner. With all the negativity buzzing around, everyone seems to be missing out on the opportunities out there. It’s time to get educated and surround yourself with a solid, knowlegeable team that can assist you in making informed decisions when purchasing Real Estate. Whether you are a first time home buyer or getting ready to upgrade, there are many loan products out there that can help you get the home of your dreams.  Don’t let obstacles throw you off track. Ask questions and educate yourself on all of the loan products out there helping people who have little money down or not so good credit. Remember a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. If you keep your eye on the prize you will reap the benefits down the road. Check out these websites to learn about some loan programs that can assist you in purchasing a home.  http://www.hud.gov/buying/loans.cfm or http://www.heartofsmc.org/