1D outlines the close of escrow you are agreeing to. Thirty days is the average turnaround of escrow, however many lenders can get your loan funded much sooner, particularly if there are no credit or serious issues. This is good to understand as price is not the only competitive force in real estate.

Shorter escrow can mean the difference between you being successful in a bid vs. another buyer. Even ten days shorter escrow can make a huge difference, especially on foreclosed properties where banks are gunning for a quick turnaround.

Buyers should consult with their agent and lender on the best escrow timeframe to indicate on the Residential Purchase agreement. It is crucial to be as realistic as possible because if you do not close when you say you are going to in term 1D, you could stand to lose your deposit.

- Original Youtube vid – Why Time of Escrow Counts When Buying a Sacto Home 01/03/2011
- Home Buyers

When a foreclosure occurs on a home, the value drops. This in turn causes the entire neighborhood values to decrease. Simply put: foreclosures make a neighborhood look bad. When a home owner responsibly opts to short sale their property, this extends value to the entire local community.

For information on short selling in Carmichael specifically, please see my article in the Carmichael Patch.

- Original Youtube vid – Celebrating Short Sellers, 11/10/2011
- Home Sellers

The primary example of this is where the copper from city street light boxes are being targeted by thieves. KCRA recently reported that around 175 areas have been affected. The Sacramento Department of Transport estimates the theft has cost around $200,000, with a 3-6 month backlog in street light repairs. The Department is strongly urging the public to contact police if they notice anyone working on city lights in absence of a city/Dept vehicle.

Copper theft has also affected the real estate industry. I’ve had 3-4 houses either awaiting buyers to move in or awaiting escrow to close where the process had to be halted due to air conditioning units being stolen with the copper being sold at a recycling center.

Although crack down efforts are in place on the seven Sacramento copper recycling facilities (Sheriff Jones is actually putting a person or department together to target copper theft), as conscious community members in Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, and the greater surrounds, I encourage you to be observant of activity in your neighborhoods.

If you notice suspicious activity with the removal of air conditioning units, make the call to authorities.

- Original Youtube vid – Copper Crooks, 11/15/2011
- Home Sellers

Here’s where we are with single-family homes in Carmichael for November (95608)

We currently have 115 traditional and REO active listings and 55 short sales, for a total active inventory of 170 homes on the market.

There are 47 short sale contingents. Remember, a “contingent” short sale means that the homeowners have accepted an offer and are now waiting for the bank to approve it, so it’s not really sold yet, but it’s no longer active…kind of like in limbo.

There’s also 68 pending sales, so that means there are currently 115 Carmichael homes waiting to go to the new homeowners. People are recognizing the great living in Carmichael!

For the month of November, there were 39 Carmichael homes sold.

My commentary:

On one hand, we could look at the stats for Carmichael homes and thinks, “wow, only 39 sold and 170 still on the market, that’s terrible!” However, we can’t be sure how many of those contingencies took place in November, AND, we have to assume the pending sales will close, thus, that could bring our total use per month up a whopping 154 Carmichael homes sold per month, making the current inventory of 170 seem less daunting.

Nevertheless, we are entering the holiday season, and although I am still listing Carmichael short sales and helping folks buy Carmichael homes, this will typically be a slower time for sales. That said, and with the prediction for foreclosures still uncomfortably high, we may find ourselves having a slow start to 2012. I will keep you updated with Carmichael home sales for the year next month.

Happy Holidays!

You can fix an ugly house and sometimes even change the floor plan, but you cannot fix a neighborhood, so be sure your new home is in an area you feel good about living in.