Bother me please

I just got off the phone with a past client who was interested in moving up to a larger home.  She had been searching for homes for awhile but didn't want to BOTHER me so didn't call until now!  I had just sent her a competitive market analysis for her condo so it REMINDED her to BOTHER me !  BOTHER ME PLEASE!! This is my job- to help you search for homes in the easiest way possible and to help you sell your home.  Please don't think I am too busy to be BOTHERED!  Nope- no way- nada!  I LOVE real estate and want to be BOTHERED- so pick up that phone and give me a call and let me help you buy or sell!

Where are all the listings?

If you happen to be looking for a home under $250,000 in any area remotely close to Orange County- join the list of hundreds of others. The inventory has crashed and burned- the only thing out there are short sales and they all have at least 20 offers on them. If you don't have cash- you are out of luck- the cash buyers are snapping the listings up! If you are an FHA buyer- which if you are not cash you are probably an FHA buyer..... that makes it even harder as fewer and fewer complexes are FHA approved.
So put your boxing gloves on and join the fun- as it will be a battle in order to get into one of these precious properties.
I have a buyer that started looking 6 months ago and at that time I would have at least 2-5 properties a week to show him that were in Orange and under 225 with at least 2 bedrooms. I have not had 1 listing come up this past month that meets that criteria... where or where are all these deals! Keep me posted.

Help our local Marines from Camp Pendelton

Did you know the city of Mission Viejo addopted- Headquarters Battalion of the First Marine Division ? There are several ways you can help with this adoption. You can call 949-470-3061 to volunteer your gift of time and talents.

1- Serve on the Marines and Sailors Adoption committe- ( monthly commitment)

2- Contact schools, churches and groups regarding children and memebers collecting the latest support items- ( toys, gift cards, money, food, overseas care package items )

3- Store appearances to hand out list of latest support items for customers to purchase for troops.

4- Help out at various events.

5- Serve refreshments and put together snack bags for deploying troops.

6- Lifting, sorting, folding and sweeping.

Also your $20 donation will go towards the expense of entry level Marines/ Sailors to attend their annual formal ball in Novemeber. For your support you will receive a T-shirt, hat an decorative military coin.

Make checks payable to Mission Viejo Community Foundation

City of Mission Viejo

Recreation and Community Services Dept.

200 Civic Center

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Please include your t-shirt size and a mailing address to receive written confirmation of your donation.

Where have I been?

MOVING!
Yep- we sold our house in Mission Viejo after 17 wonderful years. We made a decision to buy a bank owned single story which is now down to the studs also in Mission Viejo- we just love it here and couldn't see ourselves living somewhere else. So when this deal came on the market we had to plunge in.
We are now temporarily living in a small home - also in South Mission Viejo and spent the weekend trying to fit 2500 sq. ft. of accumulated stuff into 1100 sq. ft. Needless to say it is an interesting situation.
We are finding out cool walking paths that wind through the neighborhood which I will share with you after we unpack
Sorry for being out of touch but will start blogging again soon.

The earth has stopped shaking- have you?

Did you experience the earthquake last week? Do you even remember it on your radar screen? I was not loving it- my neighbors were not loving it and my dog was not loving it... but my teenagers were thinking it was kind of fun! Great way to be woken up and laughing at Mom with her midwest roots- shakin in her boots!
Well, I am from Michigan and it amazes me that everyone was talking about the quake .... for about a day or so and then on with life.... It seems to me there are more people NOT prepared for that earthquake than are. So I am passing on a quiz for you to view and see how you do- are you ready for the next one?
http://www.pe.com/sharedcontent/features/flash/quake/
Let me know how you score? Hopefully well meaning you are ready for the next one.

When Did You Last Check Behind Your Fridge?

First thing I want you to do before you read this post- go to your kitchen and pull out your refrigerator. Look behind and make sure you are not experiencing a slow water leak- or a fast water leak! I went to get a box of baggies from the bottom of our pantry next to our refrigerator and the box was wet. After emptying the bottom shelf and finding that to be wet and bulging- we pulled out the refrigerator- disaster.... wet, bubbly dry wall and baseboard. We started trying to remove the wet stuff and discovered mold... long story short- Check behind your refrigerator on a regular basis. We pull ours out every 6 months to check the water filter... not often enough. Now we are dealing with trying to replace the whole wall of cabintets and more. Save yourself the trouble- pull out that fridge!

OC Foreclosure Bus

We are going on the bus again! June 28th touring Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Garden Grove areas. We will be leaving from Huntington Beach. We are charging $49.95 included in this price besides the bus tour with the home inspector, the contractor , lender and realtors along, we will provide a credit report, a home buyers guide and a $250 credit towards your first home closed through us.
On the last tour the bus was sold out- we had buyers following the bus!
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=6192193
We were on KABC Channel 7 on the evening news after the tour and on the news the following Sunday morning! We are really doing a mini seminar on wheels and hope you can join us or share the invite! Looking forward to seeing you on June 28th.