As a rule, people who sell their real estate holdings want to receive top dollar, whether it’s a family residence or a commercial building. The challenge is how to price a property to sell relatively quickly without undervaluing it. Ultimately, the market will determine the value of a property, and the market is fluid. Value … Read more
With the end of the rain and the blooming of wildflowers comes that undeniable itch to put your home in order—it’s time for spring-cleaning. Maintaining a home requires time, effort, and a little planning. While many chores must be done daily, weekly, or monthly, some only need to be done seasonally or annually—so they’re easier … Read more
When you decide to sell your house, you’ll want to share the news with every potential buyer out there. But how? The way you market your home will typically affect its final sale price, so you should spend some time thinking about it. You’ll be selling yourself short if you simply put a “For Sale” … Read more
Most of us don’t have several hundred thousand dollars in cash lying around, so when we want to purchase real estate (or invest in a business or embark on other expensive endeavors), we need a loan. Conventional bank loans require borrowers to follow strict guidelines regarding proof of income and creditworthiness. This works well for … Read more
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a non-profit group working to start a family medicine residency (doctor training) program in Ukiah. While this may not appear to be closely tied to real estate, I’d argue it is, because anything that substantially improves the quality of life in our town also improves real estate … Read more
I’m on the Ukiah Valley Medical Center (UVMC) Community Advisory Board, and at a recent meeting we received an interesting update on the hospital’s expansion. In case you’re curious, here’s what’s going on. The hospital is building a new emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) to be completed in 2017. The original ED, … Read more
For those of you who read this column regularly, you may remember me reviewing several ways you can hold title (own property), each of them with different tax implications and several of them influencing how you could pass that property on to family members. As of January 2016, the California Legislature added a new type … Read more
Every property has a special designation that defines how it can be used, and knowing this before you buy the property can make a huge difference in what you can do after you buy it. I’m talking about zoning. Here in Mendocino County the following zoning categories exist: residential, civic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and extractive. … Read more
After years of drought, many of us are pleased to hear that it is supposed to be a wet winter; however, some of us get a little nervous when we hear meteorologists predicting an especially strong El Nino year, because that can mean flooding. If you buy a home in a federally designated flood zone … Read more