If Your Home Doesn’t Sell, I’ll Buy It

Even though most of us know there’s no such thing as a free lunch, we still get tempted when we see it advertised. Lately, I’ve seen lawn signs in front of homes for sale put there by Realtors who promise to buy your house if they can’t sell it to someone else. At face value, … Read more


When is it okay to suspend environmental protections?

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat just published an article highlighting Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to declare a State wildfire emergency, a declaration that will speed up the process for dozens of fire-prone areas to be cleared of underbrush and thinned of trees, including 36,000 acres in the Ukiah Valley. There will also be some controlled … Read more


Opportunity Lost

Ukiah Unified School District has two excess properties, former school sites in Hopland and Redwood Valley. State of California legislation severely restricts public school districts from marketing and selling their properties without going through a very long and protracted process with any cash proceeds being restricted to capital improvements only. Therefore, the District’s best options … Read more


Why is Housing So Expensive Here?

Recently, a client moved to North Carolina where they paid $95 per square foot for a brand new home with upgrades. This didn’t include the cost of the lot, but it did include a mighty nice house. In Ukiah, it would cost $200-250 per square foot to build a comparable home. Since it takes about … Read more


Creating the Next Generation of Tradespeople

If you’ve tried to hire a general contractor, plumber, carpenter, roofer, electrician or laborer recently, you know how hard it can be. You can wait weeks or even months to schedule a repair or renovation, and longer if you want to build from scratch. For years, we’ve had a shortage of tradespeople in our area, … Read more


Preparing Your House for Sale: 3 Tips for Low-cost Staging

To sell your house, it’s important to highlight its best features for prospective buyers. One way to do this is to “stage” your house, to put just the right furniture and décor in each room so visitors immediately focus on what you want them to see. If you’re wondering how to do this, have no … Read more


Deal Breakers That Make People Turn on Their Heels and Leave

When people are shopping for a new home, they schedule tours of the properties that look good on paper, so to speak—the ones in their price range, with the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, in a good location, and so on. No one buys a home until they’ve walked through it and imagined building … Read more


Want Enough Doctors in Ukiah? Advocate for More Housing.

For years, I’ve been on the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Community Advisory Council, where I get to learn about the hospital’s upcoming plans. Recently, the new hospital president, Jason Wells, shared exciting news about the hospital’s intention to build an 80,000 square foot medical office building northeast of Myers Apothecary. The new building will include … Read more


Why is Your House Getting Ignored?

Imagine putting a ton of time and effort into preparing your house for sale, only to have it ignored by prospective buyers. How frustrating! To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, follow these fail-safe recommendations to assure your property gets the attention it deserves. 1. USE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS (OR AT LEAST REALLY GOOD ONES) … Read more