Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
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Does a gate around a community add value? Can you sell a property for more if it is located inside a gated-community as opposed to outside of the community? Do you think that buyers consider a gate as a feature worth paying a monthly HOA fee for? Does an enclosed community attract some people while turning others off? And a sociological question to ponder just for fun, why is there a gate?
The best way to determine if there is a premium for the gate is to analyze recent and past sales, run data, talk with Realtors, investigate properties within and outside the community and interview home owners among other things. This is part of the normative appraisal process. It would be nice if there was a simple formula to apply to determine the value or lack thereof for a gate, but that just isn’t the case.
No Recent Sales in a Gated Community? Sometimes recent sales within the gated community are not available – maybe because of the small size of the community or other factors which may also be important. One must always ask why there are no new sales. Is there litigation preventing new sales? Is there a reason why buyers in the market are turned off by the community? Is there some sort of environmental concern?
In today’s market, some HOAs are actually suffering because of the vacant houses due to foreclosure and/or residents not having the extra cash to pay their monthly HOA fees. There are even some reports of HOAs going bankrupt. Could this impact value or be the reason why there are no recent sales within a planned HOA community? Could it be worth investigating how the HOA is doing if you are a buyer?
This is a photo of the gated ”Whitney Oaks” neighborhood in Rocklin, CA. There are a series of gated communities throughout this area.
There are many questions to ask when it comes to something simple like a gate. This is part of the job of an appraiser – to ask questions throughout the appraisal process and get answers. So with all this being said, do gates really matter in terms of value? Sometimes. Sometimes not. It’s really not a black and white issue. 
If you have any questions or potential appraisal needs in the Sacramento area (or Whitney Oaks in Rocklin), feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Gated Communities: What are they worth to Sacramento Area Buyers?
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Tags: Gated Communities in Sacramento Area, Order an Appraisal in Rocklin, Order an Appraisal in Sacramento, Order Real Estate Appraisal in Rocklin, Rocklin Appraiser, Rocklin Home Appraiser, Rocklin Home Values, Rocklin Property Values, Rocklin Real Estate Appraisal, Rocklin Real Estate Appraiser, Sacramento Appraisal, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser, Whitney Oaks Home Values, Whitney Oaks House Values, Whitney Oaks in Rocklin, Whitney Oaks Market Trends, Whitney Oaks Neighborhood, Whitney Oaks Property Value, Whitney Oaks Property Values
I spend quite a bit of time each week thinking about houses and neighborhoods because of my chosen career as a real estate appraiser. But more than my job, I find myself often imagining how neighborhoods can improve and become more connected like they used to be.
Below is an article I wrote in a series entitled “Community Building 101” (pdf file). “The Art of Hospitality” is the last article in this mini-essay series and I wanted to share it here on my real estate appraisal blog because life is not just about the value of our houses, but the quality and value of the relationships we have, even in our neighborhoods. Eating with neighbors is one of the the most profound but simple ways we can build a better community.
The Art of Hospitality by Ryan Lundquist
What is the best dining experience you’ve ever had? A few years ago I ate at a joint in San Francisco called Asia De Cuba. This fusion restaurant had spectacular ambiance and the feel of a hip club with its dim lights, pulsating beats, trendy décor, and exotic menu. Our group enjoyed four hours of eating and sitting together and we were never rushed to leave. The bill was substantial, but the unique experience was worth the high cost.
When guests leave my house after dinner, I want them to feel something similar. It would be great if they complimented the lavish food, stylish decorating, and festive atmosphere. That would be nice. I have a feeling though they’d more realistically say they’d eaten good non-gourmet food and felt mostly comfortable even though there were energized toddlers running around. Dining at the Lundquist home is not anything like an upscale restaurant, but that’s a good thing because practicing hospitality does not necessitate a gourmet experience.
There is something significant about welcoming others into our homes. When we ask people over we are giving them much more than a meal – we are inviting them into our lives. In an age of birthday card emails, drive-thru dinners, and brief cell phone interactions, it’s refreshing to sit down together for an unrushed hour or two and really get to know others. Sometimes though we think that being hospitable means we have to prepare the most scintillating dishes and spend all day cleaning the house. But it’s okay if the walls are not acid-washed, if toys are visible, and if there’s a stack of bills on the countertop. True hospitality is not about offering our guests perfection, but relationship. Sure, it’s nice to clean the house and spice up dinner a bit, but let’s remember that our guests are not customers to please but rather participants in a family meal. One of the most respectful things we can do is invite people into the life we really live. Besides, if we put so much effort into a meal we might exhaust ourselves and also cause our guests to feel intimidated about inviting us to their house.
Life is busy, so where do you find the time to eat a meal with others? Thankfully dinner is something that most of us do every night, so it’s just a matter of coordinating our schedules. If my household is eating dinner anyway and yours is too, it doesn’t seem all that overwhelming to combine efforts to dine together – especially on a weekend night. It always helps too to ask guests to bring a side dish or assist with preparation somehow.
The practice of hospitality is about sharing meals, but is more broadly about sharing our lives with people. This might seem like an odd topic to end a community building series, but by taking the initiative to invite other residents into our daily routines we can profoundly impact our neighborhoods. When we get intentional about helping our tracts become more connected like they used to be, we will begin to taste something wonderful – a sense of community.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog The Art of Hospitality: Having Neighbors Over for Dinner???
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Tags: Community Building, Community Building 101, How to Improve a Neighborhood, Inviting Neighbors Over to Dinner, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento Home Appraisal, Sacramento Home Appraiser, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
One of the key factors for our market to improve and get back to “normal” is for the oversupply of foreclosure properties to be absorbed. Basically, it’s a messy real estate market out there in the Sacramento Region, and the mess has to be dealt with to move on.
Sacramento MLS allows us to analyze past sales as well as current listings to see how many properties sold as bank-owned or short sales and so on. What about future listings though? How many foreclosures will be coming to the market? Two interesting data sources for this type of information are Realquest and Realist.
RealQuest provides a free service online for anyone to view properties which are in “Pre-foreclosure” (coming soon to the market unless something happens to stop them – loan modification, catch up on payments, legislation, act of God, etc…), “Auction” (you’ve seen the commercials for the auction properties where “there are 2000 properties to sell off and they MUST sell this weekend”), and “Bank-Owned” (yes, the bank has title already).
This is what RealQuest looks like when doing a property search:
Realist is also a service of First American Core Logic and is commonly known as “Tax Records” for Sacramento Metrolist Subscribers (a paid service). Realist has a new “foreclosure activity” search feature that covers the same categories that RealQuest does. But when looking up data in both RealQuest and Realist, there is definitely a difference. Sometimes the data is very similar, but other times the figures are way off. This may be due to the way RealQuest and Realist categorize their information as well as the difference between a free service (RealQuest) and a paid service (Realist). Ultimately there could be a number of factors why the data is so different, but it’s not the purpose of this post to go into depth about that. The real thrust here is to show that there is a new wave of foreclosure properties coming and we ought to be prepared for that. Let’s continue to be full of hope as well as avoid a lifestyle of worrying, but let’s keep an eye on what is going on.
Market Data from RealQuest & Realist:
City of Folsom in Sacramento County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 296 (RealQuest) 186 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 46 (RealQuest) 79 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 158 (RealQuest) 262 (Realist)
City of Citrus Heights in Sacramento County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 309 (RealQuest) 435 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 57 (RealQuest) 161 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 134 (RealQuest) 330 (Realist)
City of Orangevale in Sacramento County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 136 (RealQuest) 145 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 26 (RealQuest) 45 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 126 (RealQuest) 128 (Realist)
City of Rancho Cordova in Sacramento County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 245 (RealQuest) 256 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 32 (RealQuest) 107 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 223 (RealQuest) 298 (Realist)
City of Fairfield in Solano County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 309 (RealQuest) 710 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 51 (RealQuest) 283 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 140 (RealQuest) 745 (Realist)
City of West Sacramento in Yolo County
- Preforeclosure Properties: 232 (RealQuest) 225 (Realist)
- Auction Properties: 109 (RealQuest) 114 (Realist)
- Bank-Owned Properties: 159 (RealQuest) 207 (Realist)
NOTE: The discrepancy in the data above would be very important to research and explain if the data was actually used in an appraisal report or to support value conclusions in any way. It is very important to use the best available data in an appraisal report because solid value must be based upon reliable information.
The data above was really provided as an FYI for those who may be interested. Since RealQuest provides a free service too, go spend a few minutes on their website, see what you can find, and draw your own conclusions about reliability.
If you have any questions or potential appraisal needs, please contact me at 916-595-3735 and www.lundquistcompany.com
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog
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This is a commercial building off of J & 20th in Sacramento. I am always intrigued by design, architecture and especially odd and seemingly non-conforming features. As I recall, this particular building was rehabbed over the past five or so years.
Do you notice anything interesting about the green-ish building?
You got it. There is a door on the second story of the building with a decent drop to the parking lot below. Maybe the interior is sheetrocked and so the door truly cannot be opened, but generally speaking it’s an okay idea to not have doors open to nowhere.
If you have any insight on this building, let me know. I am always curious to learn more when I see interesting things. This property is located across the street from Original Pete’s on J & 20th.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Random Door in Sacramento
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Tags: Sacramento Appraisal, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento Decline in Home Values, Sacramento Decline in Property Values, Sacramento Home Appraiser, Sacramento Home Values, Sacramento Property Values, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
What is the difference between a real estate appraisal completed for a divorce and a typical loan appraisal?
Here are a few differences:
- The divorce appraisal is very likely to have a retrospective date of value, meaning that the appraised value is based upon a date in the past (the filing date) rather than today’s date.
- Sometimes both the retrospective value and current market value (as of today) are needed for divorce.
The appraiser in a divorce situation may be called upon to be an “expert witness” if the case goes to court, so it is crucial to include additional research and data within the appraisal report to ensure that value and adjustments are clearly explained and supported.- The divorce appraisal is not completed according to Fannie Mae guidelines as typical loan appraisals are.
- The divorce appraisal ought to be completed on a general non-Fannie Mae form since the purpose is other than a loan.
- The divorce appraisal is the same as a loan appraisal in terms of confidentiality. No information regarding the appraisal or appraised value is ever shared by me with any other party than the client who ordered the appraisal.
- The appraiser is bound by USPAP in both types of appraisals. These are the uniform standards that guide the appraisal profession.
Whether you are an attorney or home owner, if you have questions regarding litigation or divorce appraisals in the Sacramento Region, please contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com. Offering my appraisal services for litigation is one of the arenas I am available for. In addition to a solid appraisal report, you can expect professionalism, confidentiality, punctuality, courtesy, and reasonable rates.
You can see our divorce appraisal website also at www.SacramentoDivorceAppraisals.com.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog The Word on Real Estate Appraisals for Divorce (Sacramento Region)
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The Sacramento Redevelopment and Housing Agency (SHRA) has a great website containing foreclosure information and resources. In their own words:
“SHRA offers a list of resources with links to agencies that can provide counseling and additional helpful information if you are facing default or foreclosure on your mortgage loan.
If you are facing the loss of your home, attend a community meeting or workshop for education and information about avoiding foreclosure, or call a HUD-certified home ownership or credit counseling agency on our resource list for help. You may also be able to get foreclosure related legal assistance at no cost. If you are having difficulty with your mortgage payments, call your loan servicer’s hotline (pdf) for assistance.”
I hope this helps. Please pass it on to anyone you might know who could use a resource like this.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Help for Avoiding Foreclosure in the Sacramento Area
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Tags: Avoiding Foreclosure, Foreclosure, Sacramento Appraisal, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser, SHRA
What is the lowest-priced single family residential property on Sacramento’s MLS right now?
And the winner is…. $15,500
41 La Fresa Ct # 3 has been listed on the market for seven days at $15,500 and is a McKeon-style condominium in South Sacramento off of Shining Star Blvd (formerly G-Parkway). This 2 bedroom / 1 bathroom unit is 2-stories and has a tandem garage. McKeon-style properties have four attached units. The number 1 unit is located in the front, numbers 2 & 3 are located on the sides (the subject is a # 3), and the number 4 unit is located in the rear above the garage. MLS states that the monthly HOA fee is $180.00
Former “Lowest Price on MLS” winners: $12,500 (1 unit), $35,900 (4 units)
No, I am not affiliated within this property in any way, nor do I know the Agent. If you happen to be interested in the property, I can always connect you to the Agent.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog The Lowest Priced House on MLS (Sacramento)
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Tags: 95823 Zip Code in Sacramento, 95823 Zip Code Real Estate Appraiser, Lowest Price on MLS, Property Values in Sacramento, Sacramento Appraisal, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser, South Sacramento Condominium, South Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
What’s happening in the Eastern Galt market area lately? Galt is a wonderful city located in Sacramento County just South of Elk Grove and North of the San Joaquin County line. I have done quite a bit of appraisal work in Galt over the past six years and have seen many changes within the city - new construction, commercial development, population growth…
The trend graph below shows sales over the past 12 months within Eastern Galt (blue) as well as all current listings (red). What do you see when you look at the graph?
The data in the graph is based upon an MLS search of “Eastern Galt”, which is defined by the parameters shown in this map.
Real Estate Data for Eastern Galt, CA as of 03/05/09:
- 31 active listings
- 45 short sale active listings
- 40 pending listings
- 68 sales over past 90 days
- 239 sales over past 12 months
City of Galt Links:
If you have any questions about the data above or have a potential need for real estate appraisal service, feel free to contact me. Make sure to explore the Galt links too and you may encounter a sense of community among some local residents – that’s priceless.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Eastern Galt Market Trends
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Tags: Decline of Property Value in Galt, Eastern Galt, Elk Grove real estate appraisal, Elk Grove real estate appraiser, Galt Property Values, Galt Real Estate, Galt Real Estate Appraisal, Galt Real Estate Appraiser, Home Values in Galt, Homes in Galt, how to find an appraiser in Galt, How to order an appraisal in Galt, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser, Western Galt
Many local residents are wondering if they’ll need to contest their property taxes this year. Will the assessed value from the Sacramento Assessor be accurate? Will it take into consideration the substantial decline in last year’s market? Hopefully so.
Each local county has specific steps for home owners to follow to contest their property taxes if the owner feels the Assessor did not get it right. There are basically four steps to follow to appeal your property taxes as I have outlined in an article I wrote, “The Skinny on Lowering Property Taxes.” During this process the home owner is asked by the local Assessor’s Office to offer evidence for a lower opinion of value than what the Assessor came up with, but since not all home owners can provide that themselves, property owners sometimes need to hire a credible and local specialist to help provide solid and convincing evidence for the true value of their property. As a licensed and experienced real estate appraiser based in Sacramento, part of the supporting evidence I offer for home owners includes graphs of market trends, standing before the appeals board on your behalf, charts, convincing data and analysis, the best available comparable properties, and among other things, other properties that are not comparable but may have been used to support the Assessor’s value.
For your reference and in case you own rental properties in other counties, here is a list of Assessor websites for 10 Counties in the Greater Sacramento Region, Central Valley, & Bay Area:
As a Sacramento-based real estate appraiser, I may be able to help you in this process. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. You can reach me at 916-595-3735.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Lowering Your Property Taxes (Greater Sacramento Region)
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Tags: contesting property taxes in Greater Sacramento Region, decline in property value in El Dorado County, decline in property value in Merced County, decline in property value in Placer County, decline in property value in Sacramento County, decline in property value in San Joaquin County, decline in property value in Solano County, decline in property value in Stanislaus County, decline in property value in Sutter County, decline in property value in Yolo County, decline in property value in Yuba County, how to appeal property taxes in El Dorado County, how to appeal property taxes in Merced County, how to appeal property taxes in Placer County, How to appeal property taxes in Sacramento County, how to appeal property taxes in San Joaquin County, how to appeal property taxes in Solano County, how to appeal property taxes in Stanislaus County, how to appeal property taxes in Sutter County, how to appeal property taxes in Yolo County, how to appeal property taxes in Yuba County, Lowering Property Taxes, rancho cordova decline in property value, Sacramento Appraisal, Sacramento Appraiser, Sacramento County Assessor, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser, The Skinny on Lowering Property Taxes
What is going on in the Folsom, CA real estate market within the Sacramento region? Below is a trend graph as well as data. NOTE: looking at data from an entire city at once may not be indicative of every niche within a city because certain neighborhoods or areas within a city do better or worse than others, don’t they? Still, city-wide data is important and indicative of what is happening in the big picture.
When looking at the trend graph above, there sure are quite a bit of red dots(current listings) as of late, huh? Moreover, it appears there are listings which came on the market many months ago, yet they are still on the market. It is evident that there is a much greater percentage of properties listed or sold under $400,000 now in comparison to one year ago. The trend line and data indicate a decline in value. What else do you see?
Real Estate Data for the City of Folsom:
- 708 sales over past 12 months
- 177 current Active listings
- 85 current Short Sale listings
- 82 current Pending listings
- 125 sales over past 90 days
- Median Price over past 90 days: $380,000
- Average Price per square foot over past 90 days: $190.19
- Median Price over past 12 months: $420,000
The data above is based upon an MLS search through Sacramento Metrolist of all single family detached properties within the City of Folsom.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog City of Folsom Market Trends (Sacramento Region)
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Tags: Folsom CA, folsom decline in property value, Folsom FHA Real Estate Appraiser, Folsom Real Estate Appraiser, Property Values in Folsom, Real Estate Market Trends in Folsom, Sacramento Decline in Property Value, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
What’s been happening in the Rosemont area of Sacramento in terms of real estate activity? The trend graph below is based upon the past 90 days of sales and listings from information provided in Sacramento MLS (the only listings included in the graph are those which were actually listed in the past 90 days – some listings have been on the market for well over 90 days and were not used in the graph).
From the trend graph it appears that there are many recent sales and current listings being priced between $175-200K. It appears too that there are a good amount of listings priced below the level of the most recent sales, which is a classic feature of a declining market.
Data for Rosemont Area of Sacramento as of 02/27/09:
- 7 current Actives
- 20 current Short Sale Actives
- 20 current Pendings
- 27 sales over the past 90 days
- Median Price of $190,000 over past 90 days
- Average price per square foot over past 90 days: $126.33
The graph and data is based upon the following boundaries:
Please contact Lundquist Appraisal Company if you have further questions about the Rosemont area of Sacramento or other areas we cover within the Greater Sacramento Region. Thank you.
http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Market Trends: Past 90 Days in the Rosemont Area
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Tags: 95827 Zip Code, Property Value in the 95827 Zip Code of Sacramento, Rosemont Area of Sacramento, Rosemont decline in property value, Rosemont Market Trends, Rosemont Neighborhood, Rosemont Property Values, Sacramento, Sacramento Decline in Property Value, Sacramento Market Trends, Sacramento Real Estate Appraisal, Sacramento Real Estate Appraiser
