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Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.
Real Estate

California House Sales Up, Prices Down

The Saitta House, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, New...

 

California home sales posted an increase both on a monthly and annual basis in November, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases, according to figures released today from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  Meanwhile, the statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California rose 1 percent compared with October, but declined 5.2 percent compared with a year earlier.

  • Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California rose to a seasonally adjusted 503,570 units in November, up 2.1 percent from a revised 493,140 in October, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide.
  • November home sales also were up 2.3 percent from the revised 492,040 units sold during the like period a year ago.  The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2011 if sales maintained the November pace throughout the year.  It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
  • The November statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was $280,960, up 1 percent from $278,060 in October but down 5.2 percent from the $296,480 median price recorded for November 2010.
  • The Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes was 5 months in November, down from 5.3 months in October and down from a 6.2-month supply in November 2010.  The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

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Boating - Sailing, Delta

Rambling around the California Delta

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By Bill Wells
Reprinted at the request of Bill, first published in Bay & Delta Yachtsman Magazine

Doug with a nice striper caught at Snug Harbor
Doug with a nice striper caught at Snug Harbor

Fishing is Great

I have to tell you the fishing in the Delta lately has been great.  I think it is because of all the rain this year keeping the rivers full.  I met Dillon Pitts, Alex Chatoian, and Andrew Chatoian at Vieira’s Resort.  They had just finished a day of fishing downstream on the Sacramento River.  They had four nice striped bass to show for their efforts.

The folks at Snug Harbor have likewise been seeing some large stripers caught just offshore from the resort on Steamboat Slough.  My man in Oakley, Chris Lauritzen of Lauritzen Yacht Harbor reports excellent fishing down that way too.

Diablo Sail & Power Squadron

Ox Bow Marina in Isleton was the destination for the Diablo Sail and Power Squadron on the weekend of May 14 & 15.  I had been emailing back and forth with member Geoff Goselin for a while and he invited Sue and I to join them.  Eight boats including a Hunter 340 sailboat made the trek from the Bethel Island area to enjoy the guest docks at Ox Bow.  On Saturday the 14th they held a barbecue and games on the marina grassy area near the office.  Sue and I arrived in the area just as things were winding down.  Yacht broker Nina Ankele attended the lunch and told us that we missed a great meal.

The Diablo Sail & Power Squadron is one of 450 local squadrons of the United States Power Squadron (USPS).  The organization started as a power boat squadron at the Boston Yacht Club about 1913.  Later the USPS split off as a separate organization and today has about 45,000 members nationwide.  Active members may fly the USPS flag in lieu of the yacht ensign or the U.S. flag in U.S. waters.  The flag has 13 alternating vertical blue and white stripes with a red canton containing a circle of 13 stars surrounding a fouled anchor.

We took a walk out on the dock and met several of the members and got to look at some of their boats as well as talk to the crews.  We met Ralph Price, Gary Smith, Pepper Wardle, and Les Johnson all Diablo members and former district officers of the USPS organization.  Later, at 1800 hours we were invited to join the club for dinner at the Ox Bow clubhouse.  After cocktails we enjoyed an excellent dinner prepared by squadron chef Mark Galbraith and his lovely wife Brenda.  They cooked a large amount of mouth watering ribs and chicken as well as salad, rolls, and potatoes.  For dessert we had cake and coffee.

We met Guy Schwartz the commander of the club.  I inquired and they said the power squadrons have commanders instead of commodores as most yacht clubs.  The Power Squadron is heavily involved in boater education and has many courses ranging from basic boat familiarity all the way to advanced navigation.  The Diablo Sail & Power Squadron has been around since 1958 and invites all sailors and power boaters in the San Francisco Bay and Delta areas to join and participate in their activities.

Many people believe as I do that you can never have enough education and are constantly honing their skills as mariners.  The USPS has courses and seminars covering almost every aspect of boating from reading a chart to weather forecasting and everything in between.  Here is a way to get more education and hang out with some great folks at the same time.    You can check out their website at: www.diablosquadron.org

Headed to Franks tract for the high speed run
Headed to Franks tract for the high speed run

A View to a Thrill

Hydro Dave Hernandez invited me to take a ride on his race boat.  Hydro is one of the coolest people in the Delta, just having a name like Hydro Dave makes you stand out from the crowd.  He was in Bethel Island for a few days helping his lady friend Cathy Whitlock do some work on her boat collection.  It had been fairly windy for a few days but when I met Dave on a Friday at noon there was just a light breeze that barely stirred the water surface in Frank’s Tract.

I walked down to the dock and Dave and Cathy had just returned from a ride.  I heard them coming from several hundred yards away thanks to the over the transom exhaust on Dave’s boat.  He pulled close to the dock and killed the engine a few feet away and coasted right up to the pier.  The boat has a Casile V-drive with a crash box type of transmission with forward and neutral and no clutch or reverse gear.  In a race the engine is revved up to a few thousand rpm in neutral and then shoved into gear, naturally this causes a lot of wear on the moving parts.  Dave leaves it in gear when he is not actually racing to save wear and tear on the unit.  Dave said he had originally built the boat from a Brendella hull in 1979 and built the motor in 1989.  The boat looks brand new and had a beautiful custom paint job that Dave created himself.  If you have seen a few of Dave’s paint jobs you will recognize his distinctive style with scallops and symbols that are meaningful to him.  Looking at one of Dave’s boats is like looking at a Van Gogh or Picasso painting.  They are all different but you instantly recognize the artist by the style of the work.

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Real Estate

Inspired by the likes of James Bond, this $10 million House Has A Secret Entrance


This home is on the market for $10 million dollars and has a secret entrance. Inspired by the likes of James Bond this home took  to five years to build.

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Real Estate

Protect Yoursef Aganist Mortgage Fraud

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris

5 Tips to Avoid Being Scammed

  1. Don’t pay up-front fees. Foreclosure consultants are prohibited by law from collecting money before services are performed.
  2. Don’t ignore letters from your lender or loan servicer. Responding to those letters is your best bet for saving your house.
  3. Don’t transfer title or sell your house to a “foreclosure rescuer.” Beware! This is a scam to convince homeowners they can stay in the home as renters and buy their home back later. It might also be part of a fraudulent bankruptcy filing. Either way, a scammer can then evict the victim and take the home.
  4. Don’t pay your mortgage payments to anyone other than your lender or loan servicer. Mortgage consultants often keep the money for themselves.
  5. Never sign any documents without reading them first. Many homeowners think that they are signing documents for a loan modification or for a new loan to pay off the mortgage they are behind on. Later, they discover that they actually transferred ownership of their home to someone who is now trying to evict them.

Where Do I Report Fraud or File a Complaint?

File a complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office.

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

If your complaint is against a real estate broker, visit the Department of Real Estate website.

If your complaint is against an attorney, visit the State Bar of California website.

You may also wish to consider filing a Small Claims Court action. These are informal courts where disputes are resolved quickly and inexpensively by a judge. You can recover up to $7500 in Small Claims Court. You represent yourself and can request a judgment for monetary damages. Visit the California Courts Self-Help Center for further information.

Source: Attorney General of California

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O’Dell Realty
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Business

Buy Made In America – Buying Five Percent More Creates 220,000 Jobs

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

 

This is a great video, it has a thirty second commercial at the start, but it is really worth watching.

In Bozeman, Mont., Anders Lewendal is hard at work building a home he hopes will be a blueprint for creating jobs in America.

Lewendal, an economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from U.S.-made products. Everything from the nails, screws and bolts, to the steel, staples and bathtub is made in the United States.

“Every piece here is made in America,” he said.

Lewendal is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more U.S.-made materials, they would create 220,000 jobs. The Boston Consulting Group agrees, confirming that Lewendal’s numbers add up.

Source  ABC News

 
For all your real estate needs:
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John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
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Real Estate

Five Things To Look For In Housing In 2012


Just as in 2011, in 2012 many will be trying to figure out where housing is headed.  While the housing market didn’t worsen in 2011, it also didn’t stabilize either.  This year, the story will be about local markets.  While many housing markets rose and fell together, they’re recovering at difference paces so talking about housing on a national level is not beneficia

  • Confidence and jobs: Housing is more affordable than it has been in decades, but many would-be buyers are worried about buying today if prices are going to be lower tomorrow.  Still, others don’t want to buy a house until they have more evidence that they’re not going to get laid off or see their hours cut back.

  • Foreclosures: Banks and other mortgage investors own around 440,000 foreclosed properties, but there’s another 3.4 million loans in foreclosure or serious delinquency, according to estimates by Barclays Capital.  Because banks are faster to cut prices to unload inventory than are traditional sellers, home values can fall further as the share of distressed sales rises.

  • Rents: If low mortgage rates aren’t enough to give urgency to would-be buyers, rent hikes could accelerate buyers’ decisions to take the plunge.

  • Mortgage credit and rates: It’s still hard for many buyers to get approved for a mortgage because banks are demanding lots of documentation of borrowers’ incomes.

  • Regulation: Many analysts don’t expect Congress to make major changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the election year, but several major regulatory changes could significantly reshape the future of the lending landscape in 2012.

  • Meanwhile, the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie is revamping the way that mortgage companies are paid for collecting loan payments.  This could lead to a broader shakeup in the mortgage industry that ultimately influences how much borrowers are charged for mortgages and how banks handle loans that fall into delinquency.

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John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
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Travel

Crime In Costa Rica

Church Merced, San Jose, Costa Rica
Church Merced San Jose Notice the high fence surrounding the church Photo Courtesy of Artist Hubert Steed http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/profile

 

How about going to a country that is absolutely beautiful, but the inhabitants live behind fences, windows with bars and razor wire on top of the fences? Welcome to Costa Rica.

Judy and I went to Costa Rica recently, along with a friend that owns property there. In San Jose, capitol of Costa Rica, we were informed at the car rental agency not to leave our SUV unguarded.  If we get a flat tire, keep going, thieves there slash your tires, than come by on the pretense of helping you, but instead proceed to rob you. That’s right get a flat, ruin the rim, but keep going until you get to a service station.

Judy and I were eating at a restaurant in San Jose and I said, look at the front door. She said what? I said, there are two men there with steel pipes in their hands.  They are guarding the entrance to prevent being robbed here. Walking back to our hotel, a taxi cab driver went by and stopped to tell us, watch out for thieves, be careful. Nice.

Going to a local bank, there were two guards at the entrance, both with guns behind locked bullet proof glass. They would let one person in at a time, lock the door, search the person, than let repeat the process after a few minutes wait, so there were not too many people in the foyer.

Leaving San Jose, we found much the same thing throughout Costa Rica. Private homes with eight foot fences with razor wire on top, guards at restaurants, stores shuttered at night, windows with steel bars.

Arriving in Nicoya, we broke the rule that the rental agency gave us, leaving our SUV unattended. I parked the car downtown and looked at the street. I saw a lot of school children going home and thought, well, our vehicle should be save.

Wrong, came back thirty minutes later and all our luggage was gone.  We called the police and after much jabbering, we were told to drive to the local police station. When we got there, there was an identical vehicle to ours. Robbers had taken a screw driver to the back door lock and stole all the luggage out of this guy’s SUV.

Gone was all of our suitcases, everybody’s medicines my new Sony camera, laptop,     I-pad, Bose earphones, Judy’s Kindle and new binoculars, as well as a few gifts we had purchased.

So Judy lost all her luggage which her home insurance policy will not pay because she has a $2,000 deductible.  I have AAA and my home policy will pay for most of my loss.

After that, we drove straight to San Jose, got a room for the night and flew back to California.  Along the way, we talked to at least three people who knew of similar robberies during their vacation in Costa Rica.

One incident, as told to us, involved a case where armed robbers went into a hotel room and stole everything the tourist had, including the wife’s wedding ring.

Than after we got home, I talked to one of my former clients who had a friend that went to Costa Rica last year and was robbed at gun point while a policeman across the street completely ignored the situation. Then, to top it off, another friend of my told me his cousin went down there with his grandmother and was killed when he resisted the robbers. He was 27 years old

If you are going to Costa Rica, just be careful.

For further information please go to the following sites if you are considering a trip to the land of crime, Costa Rica.

United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security Crime in Costa Rica 2011 

British Foreign & Commonwealth  Office  Travel Advice

 
For all your real estate needs:
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John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
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(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

DRE #00669941

 

History, Travel

Feast of the Serpari (Snake Festival) in Italy (Part Three – the Roman Catholic Twist – Still Celebrated Today)

Saint Domenic is draped in snakes
Saint Domenic is draped in snakes

By Judy Pinegar

But along came the Roman Catholic Church, who could not approve of such paganism, so we now have the Festival of Saint Dominic (who is the patron saint of the town of Cocullo). Saint Dominic is of course known for many other things, the greatest of which was founding the Dominican order within the Catholic Church. However this legend has the village fields overrun with snakes, and when Saint Dominic cleared the fields of snakes the villagers of Cocullo came up with a lasting show of gratitude, where the effigy of Saint Domenic is draped in snakes and paraded around in May of each year, also known as the Feast of the Serpari. The snakes are primarily of the local variety, four-lined aesculapian, grass and green whip snakes, and are released into the fields at the end of the day. (Humm, I guess we need Saint Dominic to come back and clear the fields again!)

But on feast day the statue is draped in snakes and carried around the town, while many people also allow themselves to be draped with snakes as well. Of course the snakes are all non-poisonous, or have had their fangs removed, but this is not a festival for the faint of heart or anyone with a snake phobia! The festival is held to seek the Saint’s protection from snake bite.

It is believed that the snakes, once on the statue can predict the future. The people in attendance watch the snake behavior carefully. According to custom, if the snakes wind around the head of the statue it is a good sign. But if they go in the direction of the arms or body something bad is ahead.

This is a video of the current day celebration

 

 

Judy Pinegar is a writer. Part of this three part series appeared in the Corriere della Valle Magazine

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs
Email or call:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
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Email jodell@nevadacounty.com