Photos from the Field

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Photos from the Field: Vacant Oak Park Starbucks

October 2, 2009 in Photos from the Field | No comments

I inspected a property in Oak Park yesterday, and while on the road I snapped a shot of the now vacant “Starbucks building” on Broadway. It’s been just about two weeks since the Oak Park Starbucks shut its doors. I know it can be popular in some circles to hate Starbucks, but this one felt a little different because it was connected to an exciting commercial renovation project for the community. Now it’s just another vacant building, one among many, in the current real estate market.

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Businesses starting and failing is a part of the cycle of capitalism, and that’s just life, but let’s hope for great things for the next company that moves in on this corner. If you are familiar with this project, how does the image above strike you? Does it make you sad? Or are you full of optimism for what is next? Feel free to comment above.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Photos from the Field: Oak Park Vacant “Starbucks Building”

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A Mailbox in Dixon, CA: Photos from the Field

September 25, 2009 in Photos from the Field | No comments

I’ve never personally appraised a home for a higher amount because of the type of mailbox it had, and I’ve never heard of a mailbox actually increasing the market value of a property. Have you ever encountered buyers who purchased a home for more because it had a nice mailbox? Probably not. With that being said, I’ll say in principle that many times a good looking mailbox is often a byproduct of a house that has been well cared for. This isn’t always true, but generally speaking, when a home owner has taken the time to add attention to even the mailbox, usually effort has also been given to the actual house itself. Have you found this to be mostly true also?

While snapping comp photos today in Dixon, CA after inspecting a property I am appraising, I happened upon the mailbox below. I know, a mailbox can be sort of like piece of art, and either you’ll it or hate it, but my eye caught a hold of this one because of the telephone-pole vibe as well as the metal craftsmanship that was probably custom-designed or maybe even welded by the owner. I thought this was a very creative example of a mailbox and it really fit well with the overall presentation of the home (and sure enough, the rest of this house looks very decent too, which supports my generalization above).  :)

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There are certainly many more examples of mailboxes out there. We’ve all seen the chicken mailbox, the duck, the giant brick pillar, or the miniature mailbox that is designed and painted just like the actual house. Have a look at the links below to find out more about what is out there (and even the history behind mailboxes).

Mailbox Links:

If you have an additional link suggestion, please comment above. Also, if you have a picture you took of a wild mailbox, email me at ryan@lundquistcompany.com and I’ll post it here so long as it is appropriate.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog A Mailbox in Dixon, CA: Photos from the Field

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Photos from the Field: An American Flag Gate

September 23, 2009 in Photos from the Field, Wheatland | No comments

I snapped this shot while appraising a property in Wheatland, CA. I was taking comp photos when I stumbled upon this house. I felt compelled to grab the image because it’s not every day you see an American flag gate, right? Not only is the gate painted as a flag, but it’s clearly built to be a flag if you can see more closely the horizontal slats as stripes and a rectangular portion for stars. What do you think? Would you like to have this patriotic gate as a part of your home? Would you mind if your neighbors had something like this?  Feel free to comment above if you’d like.

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http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Photos from the Field: An American Flag Gate

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R.I.P. Oak Park Starbucks

September 19, 2009 in Photos from the Field | 3 comments

On this coming Sunday, the Starbucks in the “Oak Park” area of Sacramento will be closing. Between appraisal inspections today, I paid my respects by buying a cup of coffee for the last time at the location. Oak Park native, Kevin Johnson (former NBA All Star / current Mayor of Sacramento), was instrumental in bringing Starbucks to the area and helping to reinvent the corner on which it is located. 

I always liked the art on the inside of this store because it had somewhat of a typical Starbucks feel to it, but it also incorporated local Oak Park flavor by using KJ imagery. I took the following shots with my mobile phone.

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According to a Sacramento Bee article, the word is that Old Soul Company is potentially interested in this corner spot, so hopefully they or another coffee house will soon establish roots. Whatever happens, the hope is that the new business willl be a step forward in redevelopment for Oak Park. 

Further Background & Articles:

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog R.I.P. Oak Park Starbucks

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Photos from the Field: Tracy, Atwater, & Tire

September 17, 2009 in Photos from the Field | No comments

Here are some photos from the field yesterday. I usually snap a picture when I see something that interests me.

Got vacant sites? This sure is a common view throughout the Greater Sacramento Region and Central Valley. The following image was snapped in the city of Tracy on the Western end of Golden Leaf Lane. It’s just not cost-effective in most cases to build out lots right now, even if the lots are “finished” and simply ready for a builder to come in.

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I don’t know what it is, but when I see a home owner on his one-acre lot selling cows and goats, I feel compelled to snap a picture of the signage. This photo was taken in Atwater, CA.

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Last, but not least. On the way home from inspections yesterday I had a bit of a scary moment when my tire blew out on the freeway. The entire tread on my front left tire just completely came off. At first I didn’t know if I hit something or what happened. I felt the truck start to pull to the left though and for a split second I wondered what was going to happen. Thank God I was able to get to the side of Highway 99 safely and quickly.

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http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Photos from the Field: Tracy, Atwater, & Tire

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Photos from the Field: “Taco Bell” Buildings

September 15, 2009 in Photos from the Field | No comments

While in the field, I snapped a few photos over the past week that caught my attention. I get a kick out of architecture and design, and particularly old restaurants that have now been converted to different businesses. Below are two local examples of an old Taco Bell that was converted to something else. As a bonus, I included a shot of a former Long John Silver’s that is now a check cashing business. Enjoy.

If you have other local examples, please comment above, or better yet, email your pictures and I’ll post them (so long as they are original photos).

Starbucks at 1401 Alhambra Blvd in Sacramento:

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Carolina’s Mexican Food at 10179 Folsom Blvd in Rancho Cordova:

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Check Cashing (next to Carolina’s) – Formerly a Long John Silver’s:

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http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Photos from the Field: ”Taco Bell” Buildings

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Riding my Bike on the American River: Round 3 – A “Video” in Black & White

August 31, 2009 in Photos from the Field, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento | No comments

On Saturday, I took 801 black and white pictures while riding my bike on the American River trail in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. I built a mount for my bike (for only 87 cents, by the way) to hold down my camera and then I had to manually push the button to take photos. The images were then placed in sequence to show as a “video”. You can see my previous outing HERE.

I road an average of 15 mph throughout this brief ride and I tried the “continuous shooting” feature on my camera so that as long as I was holding the button down, my camera was taking photos.

I think the video got a bit washed out in the middle because of the sun. If you notice, when there are few trees along the bike path, the pictures look very bright. It was either that or evidence of my camera’s death since the last frame in this ride was the very last breath of life for my camera (bummer).

 

By the way, at the very beginning of the video there is a snake on the trail. Did you see it? A group of riders stopped to watch it cross the pavement.

I’m no photographer, but just a guy who loves biking and is experimenting with taking photos while on the road. This is my third “video” like this and I can only see my methodology evolving over time to capture some of the essence of the trails and how fun it is to ride them. The first “video” I made is much inferior to the second and third, but I’ll keep it up because that’s usually how experimentation goes. We tend to get better at what we do as time goes on. 

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Riding my Bike on the American River: Round 3 – A “Video” in Black & White

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Gold Miner Statue in Auburn: Photos from the Field

August 31, 2009 in Photos from the Field | 4 comments

I inspected a property in the city of Auburn on Friday, and while taking comp photos I snapped the following image of the gold miner statue at the lower end of Old Town Auburn and I-80. I always like passing by this statue. Roadside America has a brief article about this work of art and a local Auburn Realtor has posted a more in-depth article HERE. Enjoy.

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http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Gold Miner Statue in Auburn: Photos from the Field

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The First Official Video of the Silver Horse on Marconi Avenue & Eastern Avenue in Sacramento

August 27, 2009 in Carmichael, Photos from the Field, Sacramento | No comments

I think I may have produced the first official video of the new silver horse on Marconi Avenue & Eastern Avenue in Sacramento. Okay, this is not my biggest achievement in life and there will be no awards, but I definitely thought it would be fun and creative to put something together. As I mentioned in a previous post, while driving around between appraisal inspections, I stopped by the new Rite Aid shopping center on the aforementioned corner and snapped some photos. Today when I passed by this gleaming statue again, I couldn’t help but grab some more images and put them online.

I am intrigued by landmarks, architecture, neighborhood design (porches especially) and how things like this make up the feel for a neighborhood. Moreover, my career as a real estate appraiser helps me to continually analyze the appearance of neighborhoods and properties.

Enjoy the video on the Lundquist Apppraisal YouTube page or below.

 

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog The First Official Video of the Silver Horse on Marconi Avenue & Eastern Avenue in Sacramento

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Riding my Bike on the American River Trails: Turning 653 Pictures into a “Video”

August 26, 2009 in Photos from the Field, Rancho Cordova | 1 comment

After work and getting the kids down to an early bed time last night, it was time to do run # 2 for my latest project. At dusk I headed over to the American River trails in Rancho Cordova to take some photos while riding my bike. I showed a video in a previous post of the first round of this biking / photography experiment, and now I have a second video.

Last time (the first time), I manually held the camera on my handlebars and managed to snap 800+ photos while riding. Yes, my fingers and wrists were extremely tired. The video turned out okay considering it was a first stab, but since I wanted to increase stabilization this time, I put on my MacGyver thinking cap and ended up making a contraption to mount the camera on my handlebars. The great thing too is that this device cost me only 87 cents.

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I found that the mount helped to stabilize the camera a whole lot better (not perfect though), but since I still had to manually click each of the 653 pictures, I am still on the hunt to find a way to take images with a remote or some other method so that I can give maximum attention to steering. The more I can steer straight, the better the end product will be. Whatever the case, it’s fun to be creative and to learn something new. You can see the new video on my YouTube page or below.

If you have any ideas or resources for me to improve my technique and explore the possibilities for biking / photography, I am open to your suggestions. Thank you.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Riding my Bike on the American River Trails: Turning 653 Pictures into a “Video”

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A Silver Horse: An Instant Landmark in the 95821 Zip Code of Sacramento

August 18, 2009 in Photos from the Field, Sacramento | 1 comment

While driving in the field this morning I snapped a photo of a silver horse statue in the brand new Rite Aid center on the corner of Marconi Avenue and Eastern Avenue in the 95821 zip code of Sacramento. This newly constructed shopping center is located just West of Carmichael and the Rite Aid store has been open for less than two weeks.  

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What do you think of the horse? It’s gleaming and it’s not hard to miss, is it? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Does it add to the appeal of the retail center? Do you think it fits in with the neighborhood? Comment above if you’d like.

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This horse has been dubbed by my three year old boy as “Silver” (sounds appropriate I suppose). It is certainly a landmark for the intersection now because passersby will be drawn to look at it. For reference, Wikipedia says the following of the word “landmark”: In modern usage, a landmark includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. 

On another note, this store is located in Sacramento, but the Rite Aid website currently says “Carmichael“. Why do you think  Rite Aid has listed their store location as Carmichael? Is this similar to the 24 Hour Fitness in Rancho Cordova on Sunrise Blvd (West side of street = clearly in Rancho Cordova) saying they are located in “Gold River” when they are certainly located in Rancho Cordova? 

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  A Silver Horse: An Instant Landmark in Sacramento (95821 Zip Code)

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Vacant Site in Newman, CA: Photo from the Field

July 13, 2009 in Photos from the Field | No comments

While in Newman, CA today on an appraisal inspection I snapped the following image of a vacant site that will someday be Hurd Barrington Elementary School. According to the Newman Crows Landing Unified School District (NCLUSD), ground for this school was broken in July 2009.
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Vacant residential and commercial sites are fairly common in today’s market when considering developments that are newer in age (and ones that were not quite built out before the real estate bubble burst). Whenever I see an image as such, or even vacant residential lots, a “coming soon” sign for a neighborhood park or commercial area, I always think of the phrase “a sign of the times”.  

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog  Vacant Site in Newman, CA: Photo from the Field

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