Empire Realty was recently ranked No. 10 in the SF Business Times annual list of Largest Residential Firms in the East Bay. The list includes residential real estate firms with offices in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and is ranked based upon gross sales for each calendar [...]
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 Terrylynn Fisher, CSP RealtorSRES, CRS, GRI, EcoBroker, LGLS CP, RCS-D Empire Realty DRE #00615420 925.876.0966 cell 925.672.6764 office 925.887.6614 fax Email Terrylynn "Terrylynn - I want to thank you so very much for all your help. You were wonderful. We could not have done it without you! I have already recommended you to several people and will continue to do so." - Kelly & Spencer "My experiences with Terrylynn Fisher have been wonderful. As stressful as purchasing a home, preparing a home for purchase, and all the other questions that come into play for other investment opportunities, Terrylynn has been such a wealth of information and support. When I have a question, I immediately only have her come to mind. She always gives honest, ethical advice even if there is no commission involved. I also love her calmness and overall energy." - Cynthia |
A friend and fellow Realtor, Lori Hagge, passed this along from one of her clients. I’d lolve it if we could find this dog a home so her owner doesn’t have to surrender her to a shelter. She can’t find a no-kill shelter! Terrylynn Via Chris Fisher of StagersLISTWebsites.com (StagersLIST.com):
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Wall Street Journal says – Sellers Dry your eyes and lower the price! I found this website recently which quotes some leading financial companies in the know about our 2010 real Estate Market… www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com February, 2010. The quotes are below in this post. There are some good blog posts as well pertinent to our current market. This is a particularly good one based on a New York Times Article about seller’s drying their eyes and lowering the price. I’ve used it personally. http://kcmblog.com/2010/02/25/dry-your-eyes-and-lower-the-price/ I think the blog post is on the money and looking at the statistics which reveal there are more home sales in our area than last year at this time it is clear that sellers are getting the message. Of course those who were “hanging on” are no longer able to which makes a difference. BUT our sales are up and in some of the zip codes locally that I monitor our Bank owned and shortsales (REO’s and short sales) are about 40% of the most recent sales. That number was much higher last year. David M. Blitzer, Chair of Index Committee and Standard and Poors says “Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip.” Patrick Newport, HIS Global Insight says “We believe that prices have further to fall-about another 5-10%”. Deutsche Bank reports “home prices will drop a further 10 – 12% from current levels”. Moodys “We expect another 11% national decline likely before the worst is over”. Morgan Stanley “Home prices should continue to decline 10-15% through 2010″. Keeping Current Matters is a website of Steve Harney, real estate They have a free monthly report if you are interested so I signed up to see what content I’ll be receiving. Click Here to find our more information and sign up for the free Quick Report. Free Monthly Quick Report for Agents KCM organizes its research and offers some insights with the Free Monthly Quick Report. A precursor to Keeping Current MattersTM, the Quick Report gives a simple outlook on a complex market. Sign up here to get KCM’s monthly Quick Report for free.
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Would you like to tell your State government what is important? Would you like to take a crack at spending the state’s money where it would do the most good. Take the budget and decide where you would spend the money, schools? Prisons? Environment? And more. This is the California Budget Challenge. It is a good exercise for students, but why not everyone? It is interesting to see your challenges when you spend too much or too little in one area. And what is your budget goal, philosophy which is a natural thought process in deciding what to cut and what to spend. Think about it…good for social media and just overall discussions. Try it, I dare you…For you guys outside of California, try the Federal budget challenge and see what you come up with. I know what I’d do… California Budget Challenge – UPDATED September 2009 Edition (Yes 2009, but think of it like a game, or an exercise, something you can talk with your kids about…so give a try and see what you think. http://next10.org/next10/programs/budget_challenge.html And as for the Federal budget: Excerpts from the www.Next10.org website Next 10 partnered with the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, to create the Federal Budget Challenge, an online simulation that lets users make policy decisions and try to reduce the federal deficit. In the months to come, Next 10 and The Concord Coalition will take the Federal Budget Challenge on the road, visiting classrooms and town hall meetings across the country. Please email sarah@next10.org for more information. www.federalbudgetchallenge.org
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Would you like to tell your State government what is important? Would you like to take a crack at spending the state’s money where it would do the most good. Take the budget and decide where you would spend the money, schools? Prisons? Environment? And more. This is the California Budget Challenge. It is a good exercise for students, but why not everyone? It is interesting to see your challenges when you spend too much or too little in one area. And what is your budget goal, philosophy which is a natural thought process in deciding what to cut and what to spend. Think about it…good for social media and just overall discussions. Try it, I dare you…For you guys outside of California, try the Federal budget challenge and see what you come up with. I know what I’d do… California Budget Challenge – UPDATED September 2009 Edition (Yes 2009, but think of it like a game, or an exercise, something you can talk with your kids about…so give a try and see what you think. http://next10.org/next10/programs/budget_challenge.html And as for the Federal budget: Excerpts from the www.Next10.org website Next 10 partnered with the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, to create the Federal Budget Challenge, an online simulation that lets users make policy decisions and try to reduce the federal deficit. In the months to come, Next 10 and The Concord Coalition will take the Federal Budget Challenge on the road, visiting classrooms and town hall meetings across the country. Please email sarah@next10.org for more information. www.federalbudgetchallenge.org
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Would you like to tell your State government what is important? Would you like to take a crack at spending the state’s money where it would do the most good. Take the budget and decide where you would spend the money, schools? Prisons? Environment? And more. This is the California Budget Challenge. It is a good exercise for students, but why not everyone? It is interesting to see your challenges when you spend too much or too little in one area. And what is your budget goal, philosophy which is a natural thought process in deciding what to cut and what to spend. Think about it…good for social media and just overall discussions. Try it, I dare you…For you guys outside of California, try the Federal budget challenge and see what you come up with. I know what I’d do… California Budget Challenge – UPDATED September 2009 Edition (Yes 2009, but think of it like a game, or an exercise, something you can talk with your kids about…so give a try and see what you think. http://next10.org/next10/programs/budget_challenge.html And as for the Federal budget: Excerpts from the www.Next10.org website Next 10 partnered with the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, to create the Federal Budget Challenge, an online simulation that lets users make policy decisions and try to reduce the federal deficit. In the months to come, Next 10 and The Concord Coalition will take the Federal Budget Challenge on the road, visiting classrooms and town hall meetings across the country. Please email sarah@next10.org for more information. www.federalbudgetchallenge.org
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Empire Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Use a Home Warranty? They can tell you how to unplug your drain!!! Most Realtors are SOLD on home warranties for their listed properties. We’ve all had the horror stories of the home inspection a few weeks after contract is accepted and the heat exchanger cracked or a water heater blows…and the seller who has just sold as is not wanting to invest any more money in the property or wants to “fix it himself”…Home warranties can smooth over a myriad of escrow challenges like these and many more. BUT have you thought about a home warranty for your rentals, your clients rentals or your client’s or senior citizen parents own homes? You can get a home warranty today for any home, mobile home, duplex or apartment. And it protects you in the same way. Here is what my home warranty of choice does when you place an online claim (perfect for tracking and accountability as you have a receipt of what you said, and when you said it…and don’t have to check to see if the input person who took your phone call put in what the problem in accurately and/or got the note to call your tenant first or to bill you for the deductible.) Old Republic Home warranty has the feature that as I put in the information about the clog in the washer line, backing into the sink, it pops up with suggestions for perhaps solving the problem before they come out, thereby avoiding the $55 deductible fee, or getting the tenant relief more quickly. I did have a recent instance where the tenant had a plugged sink and I relayed this exact info, (see below recipe for slow drains) and she called me back within an hour saying it was a miracle and had worked. My client was happy, the tenant was happy and it was such a proactive little thing. I love this company and put all my property management client warranties through them as well as my mother’s home and a couple of senior clients who need to limit their repair costs. They renew year after year and have peace of mind about their home being in good order. We may have a Quick Fix solution that you can try to resolve your problem quickly and without the expense of paying a trade call fee. Try liquid drain cleaner Try our home recipe for slow drains
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Our Move, Your Opportunity Our family has lived here since 1961 – A perfect place to raise our family, great neighborhood, just one block to McKinley Park. Assigned to top rated Sutter Junior High in desirable East Sacramento. We have lovingly cared for our home while it cared for our family, but now it is time to move on. So, our move is your opportunity. For more information: • 3 bedrooms plus a den or office
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Landlords why don’t you ask me about your tenants? I am always curious why landlords don’t check references. I always call the previous landlord and the one before that, when screening tenants for a rental property. I am curious as to the reason the tenant’s are moving, what rent they are paying, how long they’ve been there and if there have been any issues with pets (they apply saying no pets often and then Fido pops up when they’ve moved in) or neighborhood complaints. Why do I ask, well mainly most people are honest and tell the truth but there are some that will stretch the truth and some that will really SSTTRREETTCCHH the truth. SO actually I am verifying their story. Remember my recent post about how people treat their credit and how that can determine whether they get into another rental or not? http://activerain.com/blogsview/1415172/choosing-a-tenant-do-you-view-your-credit-with-contempt-or-respect- Well there is often a theme and those who are fudging are often uncovered when references are checked, particularly past landlords. What do I say to the past landlord? I appeal to the fact that if they called me for a reference I would give them a very truthful reference, even if I wanted that tenant gone…because I would feel obliged to let anyone know the type of issues we’ve had with a particular tenant if we have. And I would hope for the same from them, landlords, property managers need to stick together and be honest with each other about their experiences. In general, all of our tenants are good, hardworking people who pay their rent ontime. But that occasional person(s)…for example: The landlord who took the 3 people who stiffed the 4th roommate and just disappeared on a week’s notice, never called for a reference. What would I have said? They were chronicly late, we had problems with cars and they did not keep up the yards. Would I want to know that when I rent? YES. Why didn’t you (the new landlord or property manager) want to know that? You will likely end up having the same issue months from now? Aren’t you wondering why they moved on a weekend before Christmas? They didn’t have a reference when they came to me, they were living with their parents…I’ve had tenants before that were living at home to save money and were very responsible people. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Some tenant want a “fresh” start. They have a pastor, teacher or other references. They move in and when they have something come up, the excuses are incredible!!! These are all true and too real to make up. “My son is in jail and I have to bail him out”, “We are getting married and need the money for the wedding.” “My motorcycle crashed and I need to get it fixed.” “I had to take a trip and don’t have any money left.” “”My roommates just moved out without any notice and I don’t have the money.” One tenant used to have a chronic health issue and every month it was something, he was borrowing from friends, family, coworkers (apparently) and had surgery again and again. His mother died (how many times?), etc. Then I would be out and about and see him around town walking around just fine. Oh MY. The landlord didn’t call for a reference when he moved either owing about $3000 in back rent!!! What they are thinking is that the landlord is such a good person that he’ll not mind a late charge and credit ding because you went on a trip. That’s right, they’ll feel they should help you get your son out of jail. NOT. The landlord is not your parent. They don’t feel it necessary to fund your wedding or trips. Responsible behavior would dictate that you never even ask. You know your responsibility and you do what is expected. I guess the point is that if we property managers, landlords understand that the landlord or property manager calling us could be us and we just want the “facts mam”, we would tell them what they needed to know. IF they took the tenant anyway, well then they knew what they were getting and could perhaps mitigage some future problems with clauses in the lease. BUT to consider it “buyer beware” just seems unethical to me. DO UNTO OTHERS. And I could save you some angst if you called and asked before you say yes to that tenant. You’d know you are getting one of the best tenants we’ve ever had or a chronic blamer, late payer or deadbeat. It’s all just a phone call away.
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
Do you view your credit with contempt or respect? This economy has taken it’s toll… It’s an interesting time. Years ago, a poor credit score, a bankruptcy or foreclosure made it virtually impossible to find a place to rent. These days a short sale, foreclosure and/or bankruptcy are common place as are low credit scores. People in those positions do need quality rental housing. As a Realtor who manages rental properties for clients we analyze the credit scores, bankruptcy, short sale and foreclosure issues with an open mind. After all, bad things happen to good people. It’s what they do with that adversity that makes the difference, the Credit report tells the story. Simply put the credit before the “bad” thing and after the “bad” thing tell the story. Have you had responsible credit history and a timeline when a job loss or health issue happened with a period of late payments, collections, etc? That is a story of a responsible person that had a hard time and for a period lapsed and the credit before and after the event is exemplary. I always ask prospective tenants if they have anything to explain to me so that they might have the opportunity to explain whatever I might find when I run the credit report. Many will tell me their stories before I have to find out, taking responsibility and tell how they plan to handle it in the future. After all the landlord’s major worry, and my responsibility is, to assist them in finding the right tenant who will take care of their property as well as pay the rent so that they can keep up with their mortgage and taxes and keep their own credit clean. Contempt, blame and it’s always something being done to me, we stay away from those tenants. Those who blame the current economy but have a credit history of late payments and collections before and after “bad” things that may have happened, now that’s another story. Curious to me are people who default on their student loans and utilities, phone, and minor bills. The justification that allows people to default on these type things change how I view that prospect. If you won’t pay your utilities, will you pay your rent? I’m not sure. If you can’t or won’t pay a student loan (generally very low monthly payments tailored to your situation) what happens with our rent? If you won’t pay the small dentist or doctor bills, when they were there for you when you needed them, will you pay the rent when the landlord needs to pay their mortgage? I’ve seen a collection account for less than $200, $100 or even $25… what makes that ok? Most medical and dental bills can be paid in small increments if needed. Last and most absurd are the prospects who, when asked why they are moving, tell you how horrible their landlord is and all the stories about the awful property they are living in. I stay VERY far away from those tenants. Investigate of course, but generally stay away from the “blame person”. How you view your credit, with contempt or respect, makes a difference and it shows on your credit report.
- Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 32 years. She works with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek and is consistently a top producer. Terrylynn is a local expert, please contact her for any Real Estate needs, or with a question about the area. Visit www.BuyStageSell.com to learn more about Terrylynn and her team of Real Estate Professionals and Staging Professionals, and how their award winning results can earn you more equity $$$ when you sell a home. We even stage our short sales! Why? Because it works.
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DRE #615420
Best of all is our local rep. Riz Nauman…