Chance Gates' Blog

Image by www.urbancityarch.com via Flickr

By Paige Tepping

RISMEDIA, September 11, 2010–Finding the home that is right for you can be a time-consuming process. The experts at Move.com offer the following tips to help make sure you don’t just settle for a home, but instead find the home that is perfect for you.

Once you’ve settled on a couple of neighborhoods where you would like to live, it’s time to pick out a few homes to view. Your wish list can remind you which features are absolute requirements and which amenities you’d like to have if possible. When narrowing down your home search, consider:

-Types of homes
-Home purchase considerations
-Home comparison chart
-What to do when you’ve found the right home for you

Types of homes
In addition to single family homes (one home per lot), there are other forms of home ownership to consider as you begin looking for the next place you will call home:

-Multifamily homes: Some buyers, particularly first-timers, start with multiple family dwellings, so they’ll have rental income to help with their costs. Many mortgage plans, including VA and FHA loans, can be used for buildings with up to four units, if the buyer intends to occupy one of them.
-Condominiums: With a condo, you own “from the plaster in” just as you would a single house. You also own a certain percentage of the “common elements”—staircases, sidewalks, roofs and the like. Monthly charges pay your share of taxes and insurance on those elements, as well as repairs and maintenance. A homeowners association administers the development.
-Co-ops: In a few cities, cooperative apartments are common. With those, you purchase shares in a corporation that owns the whole building, and you receive a lease to your own apartment. A board of directors supervises management. Monthly charges include your share of an overall mortgage on the building.

Home purchase considerations
Most buyers’ first consideration, after neighborhoods are chosen, is the number of bedrooms. As you begin to view homes, keep the following purchase and resale considerations in mind:

-Weigh your needs, budget and personal tastes in deciding whether you want a home that’s a newly constructed, an older home or a home that requires some work—a ‘fixer-upper.’
-One-bedroom condos are more difficult to resell than two-bedroom condos.
-Two-bedroom/one-bath single houses generally have less appeal than houses with three or more bedrooms, and therefore less appreciation potential.
-Homes with ‘curb appeal,’ (a well-maintained, attractive and charming view-from-the-street appearance) are the easiest to resell.
-When resale is a possibility, don’t buy the most expensive house on the street, or anything that is unusual or unique. The best investment potential is traditionally found in a less expensive, more moderately sized home on the street.

Home comparison chart
While house-hunting, it’s a good idea to make notes about what you see because viewing several houses at a time can be confusing. Create a comparison chart before you begin looking at homes so you can keep track of your search, organize your thoughts and record your impressions.

When you’ve found the right home
Before you begin the home buying process, resolve to act promptly when you find the right house. Every Realtor has stories to tell about a couple who looked far and wide for their dream home, finally found it, and then revealed that “we always promised my Dad we’d sleep on it, so we’ll make an offer tomorrow.” Many times the story has a sad ending—someone else came in that evening with an offer that was accepted.

Resolve at this point that you will act decisively when you find the house that’s clearly right for you. This is particularly important after a long search or if the house is newly listed and/or under-priced.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most of Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.

Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion… in private self-defense.

As much as I converse with sages and heroes, they have very little of my love and admiration. I long for rural and domestic scene, for the warbling of birds and the prattling of my children.

Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.

Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

Fear is the foundation of most governments.

I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.

In politics the middle way is none at all.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most of Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Image by Jay Heritage Center via Flickr

By Stephanie Andre

RISMEDIA, September 13, 2010—This year has certainly flown by, and now, with fall around the corner, it’s a great time to start prepping your home for the cooler months. From water leaks to the chimney, it’s better to be ready for the cold season…before it hits.

Here, State Farm offers up some fall maintenance tips for your home:

Check all window and door locks for proper operation
* Windows that can be opened by breaking the glass and unlocking them, are less effective deterrents to criminals. Check with the hardware store for window lock alternatives.
* All exterior doors should have deadbolt locks.

Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs
Other safety ideas for stairs:
* Tile and painted wood or concrete stairs can be slippery when wet or when a person’s shoes are wet. Resurface the treads with slip-resistant strips near the stair nosing.
* All stairs of at least three risers should have a handrail.
* Do not store items on the stairs.

Have a heating professional check your heating system every year
Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.

Replace your furnace filter
Furnace filters need to be replaced frequently to allow your heating and cooling systems to operate properly.

Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty
By doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. At the same time, make sure you aren’t storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite spontaneously.

Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the flues and check your fireplace damper
Soot and creosote, which build up inside the chimney, can ignite when a fire is lit in the fireplace.

Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures
Bird nests on top of light fixtures are a fire hazard. Bird nests in chimney flues can prevent a proper venting of combustion gases and can catch fire from sparks. You should exercise great caution when working on your roof or consider hiring a qualified professional to take care of any work that needs to be done.

Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat/cooling loss
Check glazing for loose or missing putty or glazing compound. This will also help reduce water damage to the windows and door frames.

Make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the sub-flooring

Check for cracked or missing caulk around the base of your toilet, bath tub, and bathroom cabinets. Properly sealing gaps between your bathroom fixtures and flooring material can prevent damage.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most of Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

In general, activities begin around 8 AM each day with Biplane and Formula One Class races, with the other racing events following later in the day. Unlimited Class races usually occur during the afternoon. The last event of the day usually ends around 4:30 PM.

Between races, there is always something in the air to enjoy, whether it be a military or civil aircraft flight demonstration, an aerobatic performance, or a fly-by. And you can catch a good view of the action from just about anywhere in the General Admission grandstands, the Reserved grandstands, the static display areas, and the pits. So we encourage you to explore everything that the Reno National Championship Air Races and Air Show has to offer.

Please note that schedules can change due to safety, weather, flight operations, or other conditions. Therefore, it is a good idea to avoid planning your visit to the Air Races too precisely around the scheduled time of any specific event.

2010 event schedule

A typical day during Race Week starts with Biplane and Formula One class racing. Opening ceremonies are held around mid-day, and most racing for larger aircraft and flight demonstrations by the headline air show act [this year, the Canadian Forces “Snowbirds” occur in the afternoon.

http://www.airrace.org/airshowSchedule.php

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most of Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Image by bill barber via Flickr

By Stephanie Andre

RISMEDIA, September 10, 2010–Now that fall is fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about preparing your lawn for the winter months and even the spring.

According to TruGreen, it’s important that homeowners understand how to care for their lawns, trees and shrubs in fall before the end of the growing season. The experts at TruGreen offer five fall green space tips to homeowners to better prepare their outdoor living rooms for spring’s vigorous growth.

ASSESS
Thoroughly walk your property and inspect lawn, trees and shrubs as these plants prepare for dormancy in late fall and early winter. Identify problem areas in need of treatment, pruning or replacement. Note patchy areas, where grass has thinned out or is in need of valuable nutrients and appears as light green. Also look for weed and pest infestations and overgrown shrubs and trees, especially those with the potential for interfering with roof and power lines. Consider a qualified expert, such as TruGreen, to properly gauge your lawn and landscape needs.

AERATE & PRUNE
Help your lawn breathe through fall core aeration to strengthen roots and to prepare for a hardy spring workout. Conduct corrective pruning of trees and shrubs in fall to enhance plant appearance and vigor, and thin rather than top-shear and overgrown shrubs and flowering trees to preserve their overall shape.

REPLACE
Fall’s favorable weather conditions, as well as moist and warm soil temperatures, create the ideal opportunity for successful seeding of bare lawn areas and overseeding of healthy grass to improve your lawn thickness and density. Replace dead or floundering plants in fall for a healthier landscape and improved curb appeal in spring.

MOW & MULCH
Mow your lawn into the fall and avoid removing more than one-third of the leaf blades with each cut. Return grass clippings and back to the soil for added lawn nutrients and use tree leaf compost to nourish plants.

FEED
A good fall feeding gives roots of lawns, trees and shrubs the energy needed to prepare for a healthy spring green revival. Keep fertilizer on target to prevent run-off and sweep fertilizer granules that may reach pavement back onto your lawn. Use a trained specialist, such as TruGreen, for insect and disease control measures customized to your region to help trees and shrubs thrive.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most of Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada senior tight end Virgil Green has been named the John Mackey Tight end of the Week by the Nassau County Sports Commission, which also administers the annual John Mackey Award.

Green, a senior from Tulare, Calif. (Tulare Union HS), had a career game in Nevada’s 49-24 win over Eastern Washington. He caught seven passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were career highs for the 2009 second-team All-WAC selection. The Nassau County Sports Commission chose Green for the weekly award over Michael Egnew of Missouri and Ladarius Green of Louisiana, among other candidates.

Green is on this year’s Watch List for the annual John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.

The John Mackey Tight End of the Week is an honor distinct and different from the annual John Mackey Award. This weekly honor was started in 2004 to draw attention to individual play by Tight Ends during the active season. The Tight End of the Week acknowledgment does not have a direct bearing on the final John Mackey Award selection process. The Nassau County Sports Commission, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization created to enhance quality of life of Nassau County residents through sports, is responsible for the administration of the John Mackey Award and the John Mackey Award Selection Committee.

The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.ncfaa.org.

https://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search for houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Image via Wikipedia

RISMEDIA, September 8, 2010–Real estate professionals know that a short sale transaction can take months for it to be approved and closed.

The reality is that short sales usually take three to four times as much as a regular sale to finally get to the closing. From the time the Realtor actually gets the property under contract to the time the lender approves, it could take anywhere from 30 days to six months, depending on how fast the borrower provides critical information for lender and Investor approval.

Even then, you still have one more variable to account for which is the buyer waiting for all this time to get the contract approved by the lender. For this, setting the expectations is a key factor in any short-sale transaction.

Buyers Expectations
Buyers who make an offer on a short-sale property need to know that lenders have to “reverse underwrite” a short-sale and make sure that they are allowing the sale to happen close to market value. I say “reverse underwrite” because instead of determining affordability, they will look for “un-affordability.”

They will check the seller’s financials to verify that they can’t afford the house anymore and consequently, they will order a price opinion from a broker or certified appraiser, commonly known as BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion) to make sure the house is being sold close to market value. If the offer is too low compared to what is owed, it will make more financial sense to the Lender to just foreclose the property and re-sell it as an REO (Bank-Owned Property). All this will happen while the buyer is still waiting for a response so it is very important to set the expectations correctly from the beginning to avoid losing the buyer close to the end of the process.

Seller’s Expectations
On the other hand, it is important to also educate the Seller and set the expectations with them from the beginning. They need to understand that the Lender takes its time responding, but when they do, they usually give a 72-hour timeframe to respond or provide the missing documentation. If the documentation is not provided within the specified timeframe, it usually ends up in a closed file and countless work-hours lost. Another common situation that is happening very often is borrowers being served with foreclosure paperwork from either the lender or homeowner’s association while the short-sale is being processed. It is crucial to let them know that this might happen so that they are prepared for it and receive the documents knowing that they are in the best hands. Foreclosure and short-sale are parallel processes and one does not cancel the other. Sometimes a short-sale might delay a final sale date, but it will definitely not stop the Lender from starting the foreclosure proceedings.

Closing the Short Sale
Short sale success comes from educating not only the seller but also the buyer and everybody else involved in the transaction. Setting the right expectations is the most crucial part of a short sale. There are many hours involved in processing a short sale and the last thing you want is a seller or buyer walking away because the expectations were not set correctly.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search house available in the Reno/Sparks and all Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.

The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right.

Wherever there is interest and power to do wrong, wrong will generally be done.

All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and all Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Image by nadja.robot via Flickr

By Debbie Arrington

Take the typical bedroom. Michael Payne has seen thousands, just this month.

“The bedroom tends to get forgotten — you spend all your money elsewhere in the house,” said Payne, a celebrity interior designer and makeover specialist best known for his “Designing For The Sexes” series on HGTV. “You end up with a totally forgettable room that you don’t want your best friend to see.”

Helping people find indoor harmony — particularly at affordable prices — is a common challenge for designers. Instead of moving, homeowners are staying put and trying to make the most of their current house.

“This has been the busiest year I’ve ever had,” said Folsom, Calif., interior designer Jennifer FaGalde. “Absolutely, a lot of people are wanting to stay put and put money into their own home instead of moving.

“They’re creating a nest within their own space,” she added. “People are staying home more now than they did five, 10 years ago. They want a sanctuary where they can relax.”

But where to start?

Paint, lighting and flooring are three of the easiest, quickest and least expensive ways to update a room, say the experts.

Arizona Tile’s in-house designer Emitt Isaacks advises people to start makeovers with a very basic question: Who lives in your home?

“A retired couple is very different than a family with young kids. They have different needs and considerations,” he said. “Don’t forget dogs and cats. Pets influence (design) decisions, too. Then, start thinking about style — modern, traditional, old-school — and color.”

FaGalde points to two recent makeovers she completed in Sacramento, Calif. A typical home in the Pocket area needed a radical update for its kitchen and three bathrooms. A Land Park house started with a termite invasion and ended up with a remodeled family/living/dining room.

“The Pocket house was a real challenge,” she said. “The bathrooms all had walls separating the toilet area. They had a closed-in feeling, the style of homes 25 years ago. And the rooms were so dark.”

The answer: “We knocked down walls, gutted to zero and started from scratch,” she said. “We added new lighting. It made a huge difference.”

In the aftermath of fixing termite damage, the Land Park homeowners started with paint and flooring, but then decided to update with new window coverings, crown molding and fireplace tile.

“It really transformed the space,” FaGalde said.

Lighting is key, “especially in older homes,” she added. “They’re too dark. Lighting enhances your space and shows off the investment you put into it. You spend money on paint and flooring, you want to be able to see it.”

“Most people have furniture that was given them. They never would have bought it,” he said. “It becomes an obligation and very unfair,” Payne said. “Instead, people should surround themselves with things they love. And remember: Less is more.”

Room makeovers are a staple of home and garden media, spurring TV series and online contests.

Based in Los Angeles, Payne currently is serving as a judge of the Big Bad Bedroom Break-Up contest, sponsored by online home goods outlet CSN Stores. More than 6,200 people entered to win a $10,000 makeover of their bedroom. (Vote for your pick at CSN Stores’ Facebook page.)

QUICK BEDROOM MAKEOVER
Makeover specialist Michael Payne offers these suggestions:

1. Less is more. An uncluttered bedroom makes for a more restful space. Make use of area under the bed for storage.

2. Remember: It’s a bedroom. The bed should be the dominant feature. Other furnishings are secondary, but look better if they match in style, wood and stain.

3. Start with the right bedspread or comforter. Use that to pick up colors for paint and carpeting. The result will be more harmonious.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search house available in the Reno/Sparks and all Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

(c) 2010, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

The Grille at the Reno  Gold Dust West salutes the police, fireman, paramedics  and any other first responders on Saturday Sept 11.  So if your a first responder and hungry just swing over to the Grille and get a free meal.   All you need is your uniform and identification to receive your free meal.  The service is usually really fast and friendly and the meal are pretty good.  I personally like the Western Omelet  for breakfast.

If  you have  heard of any other business saluting our first responders please feel free to enter the business into the comments section.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and all Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates