Napa Solano Yolo real estate blog

Lately I have been trying to consider the price of gas these days and ideas on how we all can save gas and oil.

I have shared my ideas on where the lowest priced gas might be in Dixon, Vacaville, Fairfield and Davis.

I have shared ideas from others on how to squeeze extra miles out of the gas you use.

I have tried to combine trips in my car or eliminate uneeded trips where possible. I have even told myself, CAN I FIND THIS ITEM I NEED SOMEWHERE CLOSER To HOME?

I have FINALLY foreseen a positive benefit to our community when we are all out there trying to save gas! We will be shopping closer to home now. We will find ourselves drifting closer to the habits of Europeans who have long found their fuel prices above the affordability level.

Need will force us to comply with saving more of everything, money, gas, bags, water etc.

Walking is STARTING to become just a bit more popular. Neighborhood small shops MIGHT in-fill any empty retail spaces.

The American sense of pioneering and entrepeneur-ship will rise again and through NEED, our citizens will develop the services closer to our homes that we will require IF gas prices STAY at the current levels.

I have watched gas rise from my earliest recollection of $0.25/gal to today's unsightly prices of AROUND $4.00/gal!!!

Each time it raised drastically, a reason was given, we accepted the reason and continued our use of gasoline.  Each time practically, the reason for the increase finally subsided, but the price of the gas continued to be the same or even MORE! It NEVER went back down again in my memory!

In the early 1970's, the first "gas crisis" in MY lifetime occurred. I cannot even TELL you what the reason behind it was, we were just told that there was less gas available and to save it....we probably didn't....I was a teenager, teenagers (especially back then....we USED gas, a lot...it was the center of our lives....) we used gas to power our cars so we could "cruise" the J in Napa, which was short for Jefferson Street. Our FRIENDS were on the J, and they EXPECTED to see us on Friday nights on the J....!!!!! Yes, the police really didn't like the fact that there were crowds of teenagers driving up and down the J into the night those hot summer nights...but we didn't care.

Once the gas crisis hit, we STILL cruised the J, but we CHANGED how we did it.....we still disregarded those silly signs that said...IF a vehicle passes the same intersection more than twice in the same 15 minute period they will be considered in violation of some city of Napa ordinance....how we CHANGED is that we stopped cruising per se...we drove DOWN to Jefferson street, and parked....in particular areas of the J, and we met our friends and socialized and talked and found our other friends and we still achieved our goal of meeting our friends and having a nice time... We morphed I guess you'd say, then they would block off the parking lots etc and try to get us to not park and go down there. (PS now that it's 2008 and we baby boomers are all just over 50....we still find ourselves with the SAME kinds of cars wanting to park in parking lots on weekends and show other people our cars, only now we don't call it cruising in place, we call it "CLASSIC CAR SHOWS"!!!!)

Anyhow, back to the gas crisis.....what happened back then was, the government told us for a short time we would be rationing gas.....this meant a program where we could NOT buy gas on alternate days in California..if your license plate ended in an even number you went on these certain days of the week, an odd number, you went the next day..... Lines to the gas stations were very long....people feared they would run out of gas I suppose....so the lines extended out of the gas stations into the streets, it was a mess!

(PS I even remember my car sticking out onto that infamous Jefferson street one time while I was in line to buy gas and a police officer had to come and tell me to keep my car out of the traffic lanes! I was IN LINE WITH THE OTHER cars at the gas station!) Anyhow, just had to re-align it and keep waiting....

So, of course I do remember planning a trip to Disneyland that year...this is what we did, because remember you cannot buy gas if it is not your day and if you went far, how did you do THAT?

It did not cancel the Disneyland trip, my parents offered to loan me their pickup truck that had DUAL gas tanks, that way we could get all the way to Anaheim from Napa without buying gas! What a way to beat the system!!!!!!

So, we made the trip and yes, it WAS wonderful to go to Disneyland with your friends when you are that young, even in a gas crisis.

So, if you are planning on going to Disneyland today from Napa...it would not be an easy decision because it COULD cost you ABOUT $.21-$.25 per MILE to go there!!!!!!!! (PS WHY does MY computer keyboard NOT have a CENTS SIGN????)

Most people will see this kind of money as TOO much to go to Disneyland....EVEN a teenager who WANTED TO GO, I mean unless you have a Prius or some car like that! Anyhow, it IS affecting us and how we live now. I don't know what ONE citizen can do to affect the prices, but please, let us find out something that we can do. We will need more public transportation or easier access to it, like more train stops....Yeah, AMTRAK station to open in Dixon PLEASE!

And instead of driving to HOME DEPOT to buy a hedge trimmer, consider buying LOCAL and helping out your local retailer and neighbor.....BUY locally! Shop at home and support YOUR community!

I appreciate it if you have any input or ideas to share on how to save gas, shop locally or share your discarded household items through programs like FREECYCLE, let me know. We can become more GREEN just through necessity and not through a FAD.....written by Barbara Adams, REALTOR Dixon, Davis and Vacaville REALTOR

Don't miss the Western States Horse Expo at Cal Expo next weekend June 6th thru 8th! Go to Horse Expo.com today!

one of the most unique shopping opportunities in the world. More than 500 exhibitors offer products ranging from tack and riding apparel to all-terrain vehicles and manure spreaders. It’s all here, all in one spot!

Magnificent 7 All-Around Stock Horse Championship

MORE INFO

Based upon the All-Around Stock Horse Competition, one horse and one rider demonstrate their skill and versatility in four events: herd work, rein work, steer stopping and cow work down the fence. The final seven compete on Friday night for $25,000.00.

There will be a broke horse sale   with consignments.

Dream Art sale of the equine variety.

Rigs and Digs Section when it pertains to horse-y homes, trailer rigs and much more!

Events-  Exhibitors- Show- Symposium- Sale- Shop- Learn - hang out with the horses!

This will affect most major roads in Sacramento and outlying areas within at LEAST 25 miles including parts of Solano and Yolo counties.

The I5 freeway in Sacramento is getting a facelift. It will begin on May 29 for 6 weeks. If you or someone you love will be anywhere close by you should check this website at www.fixi5.com for more information on how you can TRY to avoid this fiasco.

Nobody will know for sure the impact it will have until they are stuck in the traffic. There will be different sections of I5 closed down on different weeks for repairs that should make things smoother sailing in the future.

Meantime, don't avoid going to this great city, just be aware that it could take longer to get somewhere or you may also decide to take a more scenic route around the affected areas. You WILL be in the company of others when you take your detour, so bring your harmonica (that's what I use to whittle away time in lines...) or you may decide to bring extra food, water or some interesting CDs, your ipod etc...

I think this is going to use up some of your extra gas too, so in short....PLAN YOUR TRIPS in and around accordingly! Go at a different time if possible, use a carpool, public transportation, (which is adding extra service to their routes for this occasion)

Don't forget Solano citizens, Amtrak has a station in Fairfield and Davis and DOES stop in downtown Sacramento if you need it.

Thanks for stopping in! Barbara Adams, REALTOR, Davis/Dixon/Vacaville

Here is a link to a really nice slideshow of photos taken around Solano county.

There is an awesome local blog site that compiles all the local Solano county information as it pertains to the local business culture but it also tells about many other things that are happening or planned for the future of the citizens of Solano county including Fairfield, Vacaville and Dixon.

You can read about retail businesses coming soon, schools being built, solar power, sunshine harvesting, UC Davis, Dixon, Marina Shopping center has big plans, Suisun Valley wines, SMUD wind turbines (I once worked for SMUD on their wind and solar power energy projects.) Honeywell entered into a solar deal with Solano county.

Saturday May 24, 2008

7 AM Pancake Breakfast St. Paul's Methodist Church

10 AM Parade Main and Davis Streets Vacaville

11 AM Carnival at Andrews Park

12:30 Strut-A-Various

3:15 Awards Ceremony Creekwalk Stage

5:00 PAL Boxing program Georgie Duke Sports Center 12 bouts $10

6:30 Time Bandits perform

Raffles held near band stage

Sunday May 25, 2008

Diaper Derby 9 AM, registration starts at 8 AM Georgie Duke Sports Center

11AM Carnival opens at Andrews Park

Noon 25th annual DART tournament at Elks Lodge 302 Parker-sign in stops at 11:30

11AM ALL DAY Various bands perform on Creekwalk stage

4PM Onion and Jalapeno eating contests at Fiesta Garden

For more information consult the Vacaville Fiesta Days official website

The window shoppers of February, March and April are going into escrow after finding homes to buy.

The buyer's market atmosphere features the main things a buyer looks for in bargaining power:

A large number of homes for sale.

Low prices.

Low mortgage interest rates.

The down side of this renewed energy in home purchases is that the buyers are large in number and they are competing with each other on the most reasonably priced homes which creates too much competition.

Going slowly, finding just the place you want, where you want it will work for most buyers in the long term.

Sales figures for April have just been released and numbers of homes in escrow is increasing over the previous month in Solano county.

Prices are very very appealing to the buyer, with average Vacaville asking price per square foot at it's lowest point since 2005.

The average number of days on the real estate market in Vacaville is decreasing for the first time since August 2006.

100's of NEW jobs are coming into Vacaville in the next 9 months into the new Kaiser hospital, Genentech and State Compensation Insurance Office Complex.

At least 2 major banks have suddenly announced a shut down of their short sale departments and are no longer looking at short sale solutions to homeowners who have no viable means of continuing to make their payments. They have stated emphatically that they won't even consider a deed in lieu of foreclosure as a workout.

This could cause a sudden withdrawl of listings from the market which are classifed under this category, the loan amount owing exceeds the current market value and the homeowner is financially unable to make the payments.

This could result in fewer homes on the market at least for a certain amount of time which will then increase demand due to shorter supply.

This could also certainly back many of those affected homeowners into giving up and allowing the banks to foreclose on their home and result in a higher number of foreclosures in the future.

I am in Washington DC this week attending a legislative conference and trade show. The newest idea I will be bringing back and implementing in my business is offering to my clients a new service. I will be installing a sign rider with a text code that people can insert into their phones, this will send them an immediate text message back to their phones with photos and information on the house they are sitting in front of.

I think you will really like it. -Barbara Adams

Marc Tonnesson, the Solano county appraiser, an elected official, announced to us in a meeting that if you bought your property in Solano county since 2004, you may be included in a enmasse re-appraisal of the value of your property by the county. You may want to apply for this or wait until they get to you.

This is called proposition 8, and applies when the value of your property dips below that which you bought it for. If your property tax is reduced because of this, you will be up for review each year and when your value goes back above the purchase price then you will be off the review list.
If your tax goes down, it will be likely refunded or applied against your taxes for NEXT year.

Watch for a notice to come in the mail by the end of May or beginning of June. -Barbara Adams

As the shift from a mass of homes that were in default and short sale listings have transitioned into being owned by the bank after the trustee sale.

I was beginning to think things were shifting to the fair side for buyers, however that is untrue. Buyers are now suffering from a new trend the banks are placing on the properties they now own.

I noticed a new twist in the most recent few weeks from the banks who are putting homes for sale...at really nice prices FAR below FAIR MARKET VALUE.

This is a ruse....first of all, it spoils the market AGAIN, for the owner occupied home who may just want to move because they are transferred, moving into a smaller or larger home and STILL can't....they must compete with these ultra low prices the banks put on their listings....

And the new twist is that the banks WILL NOT LOOK at ANY OFFERS until 5 days on the market have passed.

So even when my buyers and I discover a home priced well and in the location they would like, there are literally LINES of people out there waiting to SEE the homes. They are LINED UP! Either waiting for their Realtor, or waiting until others have seen the home....

This creates an unhealthy atmosphere especially since the buyers must wait for 5 days to get their offer reviewed by the bank, BUT they also gather competing offers.

The ultra low asking price will always elicit a reaction from buyers of ANY comparable property or the subject property, gee, MAYBE I can offer LESS than the ultra low asking price?
Well, possibly if nobody else were interested, and nobody else knew about it, but that is not possible with this NEW 5 day rule...and thereby creating a circus atmosphere.

It also creates a problem at appraisal of the competing fair market value properties at their appraisal as the appraisers are now required to use ACTIVE comparable list prices on their reports...which will drive prices down even more! Down, but in an UNFAIR method, all the while, the bank intends to get an offer FAR above their ultra low asking price due to the fact there are now multiple offers on their property.

And the beat goes on.....when will the banks be held accountable?

Here are my current listings on the Bareis mls system.

North Village

Laurelwood

Vacaville

I have been keeping consistent records of the active single family Vacaville real estate listings since August of 2006. I have watched the average number of marketing days grow and now starting to shrink....the asking price per sf shrink and then stablize, and the number of active listings grew and is now shrinking below any time since that month.

Homes are selling in Vacaville, it is now taking less time. Sellers have less competition from the banks, fewer foreclosure/short sale listings.

Here are today's figures May 8, 2008:

408 Vacaville ACTIVE SFR listings
101 Days on market average
$443,102 Average list price
$228/sf average asking price
1947sf Average size