Housing reporter Jim Wasserman at the Sacramento Bee this morning shares his personal experience and observations. He bought an Elk Grove home in 2002 with a fixed-rate mortgage, which is worth today about what he paid for it. Several of his neighbors have gone into foreclosure. One neighbor bought at the height of the market in 2005 and the other refinanced, which is why they both lost those homes. Wasserman says his culdesac is beginning to turnaround. He appears to be optimistic that a recovery is underway.
As a Sacramento short sale agent, I see the market from a different perspective. I'm not so certain a recovery is here. Mortgage rates recently dropped to 4.375%, the lowest probably ever in some 50 years and, with the exception of mortgage refinancing activity, it's causing little stir. Buyers are writing offers and then ripping them up. Days on market are lingering. The marketplace is filled with pretend buyers -- buyers who have no handle on reality and therefore are not going into escrow.
Having said that, I offer you a remarkable opportunity to buy a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Antelope. This is a John Mourier home, built in 1996. It has a concrete tile roof. The garage is mostly stucco with lap siding and brick on the front. It holds two cars, with storage available in the rafters.
From the garage, you can conveniently enter the kitchen, which is great when you're unloading groceries. All the appliances in the kitchen stay such as the built-in microwave, free-standing gas stove and the stainless steel refrigerator with black sides. The cabinets are a contemporary blackened chocolate with brushed nickel hardware.
Apart from the breakfast bar and ceramic counters, there is room in the kitchen for a table. Plus, you'll find a formal dining area off the living room. There are vaults in the living room and a fireplace. Sliding glass doors lead to the back yard patio. The floors are laminate.
The master has vaults and a built-in headboard on the wall. Not only is there a closet in the master, but there's an additional closet in the master bath area, offering twice the storage space you normally find in homes this size. As an added benefit, there is additional access offered to the back-yard patio from the master suite as well. There's really nothing that needs to be done except move into this lovely home.
It's located on a culdesac. The back yard is fenced with a raised brick garden. Sprinklers are manually operated, but at least the irrigation system is in the ground. The subdivision of Northern Hills East is located north of Elkhorn and West of Waterga.
Oh, and for you feng shui followers, when you add these house numbers together, they equal the number 9. According to my manicurist, that is the luckiest number and almost magical.
4221 Oslo Court, Antelope, CA 95843 is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $160,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.
Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub
---
Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
Here we go with the Feng Shui again. I just added up the numbers in my street address: 10228. 13. Is that lucky in Feng Shui? I know it's not considered lucky in American culture.
Hey Chris Ann: According to my manicurist Rosa, the #10 and the #13 are both unlucky. She says 7, 8 and 9 are lucky. I don't know about the others. She also said the way you do it is you add all the numbers and then you subtract 10. So your home would not be a #13. It would be #3.
My manicurist is of Chinese ancestry and was born in Vietnam. She says both Chinese and Vietnamese interpretations of feng shui are identical, and the agent who told me there was a difference is wrong.
Elizabeth - I'm with Ms. Sacramento short sale specialist. I believer recovery is a looonnnggg way off. On another note, my address is 516 so my feng shui number is 2? Is that lucky or unlucky? LOL
Ah, numerology, now you're entering my territory. However, the way various traditions translate the numbers can differ. And much has to do with the people involved.
For instance, I remember a powerhouse of a single career woman, who lived in a "1" house. 1s are great for personal power. However, I remember one house, that a guy had bought, and he went through live-in girlfriends like fireplace kindling. . .The house was shedding off the excess energy.
2s are neat for couples and love birds - People who are just starting out in life.
3s are harmonious most of the time. But, I knew a couple that moved in a mother-in-law, and that third person wasn't so harmonious:-)
4s work well for people that sometimes work out of their home. And people that can set goals, requiring some work to accomplish. But sometimes they can add a "cross-purposes" element.
5s and can be tricky. I live in a "5" house, and it seems a place of balance. But not all folks like 5 houses because there can be lessons presented with a 5 house. . .I love the lessons. It's how we grow in life.
I've very superstious about 6 houses. I have seen a lot of crap go down in houses with that number. Yet in traditions other than the one I mainly practice, 6s can be fine.
Nearly all traditions see the 7 as fortunate. Asian culture embrasses the number 8 as also fortunate.
Nines are seen as a finishing number (and almost magical, as you say). I like to see folks living in 9 houses, who have worked throughout their lives, bought a series of homes, and then decided to buy one last one to spend their golden years in.
Contrary to Chinese numerology, other traditional methods would include adding numbers together - with Chris Ann's numbersbeing 10228. 13, you would add the 1 and 3 together and get 4. You would not be subtracting 10. That would be the difference in calculation methods.
I think the market is going to be like a roller coaster for years to come... highs and lows and a few times I might feel like throwing up and getting off the ride. But I've always been one to "make hay while the sun shines" like my Grand Daddy said, so right now while we're busy... we're rolling and storing hay.
So Myrl, if I understand you correctly, what you're saying is people whose house numbers exceed the number 10 are in big trouble because there's no telling which way of figuring it out is correct, right? I'm glad mine equals 8. It's simple.
If I had a number that added up to more than 10, I'd calculate it both ways, and synthesize the readings of various traditions. I have also found that individuals who live in the house have a lot to do with the destiny of things.
Hi Elizabeth, I think we are the same age, now I find out we both live in 8 houses- may good fortune smile upon you and bring a buyer for this listing soon!