Seaching for homes in the Oroville real estate market, the Chico real estate market, and the Paradise real estate on your mobile device just got a lot easier and more convenient with the recent release of REALTY WORLD’s Mobile Connect home search program.
 This new platform allows buyers to obtain listing information, nearly instantly, on any residential property for sale in the area in which they are currently located by simply texting  as simple two letter code. There is even a QR code available for you iPhone and Android users.   No more searching through cumbersome apps like REALTOR.com, Zillow and Trulia looking for a specific property that you are standing in front of trying to get updated information. And no more hassles when calling the phone number on a yard sign and getting hold of an agent that has no idea of what property you are asking about.
With this new system you get not only the information on the specific home you are texting for, but you also have the option of seeing the 5 other homes for sale that are closest to the home you are looking at. I have included a couple of links here that will provide further information on this awesome new system. The benefits to buyers and sellers alike are explained in the flyers.
To sign up for this program just give me a call or drop me an e-mail with your cell phone number and I will get you enrolled. As always there is NO CHARGE for this service and there is NEVER any abuse of your contact information. In fact, I will make you this promise: I will not ever call you about any home you inquire about through this system unless you ask me to.
Mobile Connect for Sellers
Mobile Connect For Buyers
Happy House Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!

 “……will contract with a person who will do as complete exterior inspection as possible,” to “identify CC&R violations on homes listed for sale and foreclosed homes owned by banks.”

“Both buyer and seller are to be notified that escrow will not close until corrections are complete.”  “…..the notification letter will be sent to the escrow company handling the  sale advising that they are not to close until we verify that corrections have been made.” 

Sounds harmless and reasonable you say?
Maybe it is. But I do not think so.
Look who KREOA is targeting with this: “homes listed for sale and foreclosed homes owned by the banks.”  Why are they not targeting ALL violators? Why are they engaging in discrimination in their enforcement of their rules? I will tell you why….because it is an easy target.  But will it accomplish their goal or just prolong the process of getting the neighborhood in compliance?
For example:
What happens to the elderly widow who is trying to sell her house in order that she can move to an assisted living facility and needs every penny she can get out of her home in order to pay for her care?  Let’s say she has her house on the market and has a buyer for her home who is willing to comply with any repairs that KREOA insists on being done. Because it is inadvisable that a buyer make repairs to a home that the buyer does not yet own, and the seller simply has no funds to pay for the required repairs,  the repairs can’t get done  and the house cannot sell. So the transaction dies, the widow takes the house off the market, and because the focus of  KREOA is only homes listed for sale, the repairs never get done! Are you following me on this???
Here is another thing that KREOA is getting ready to do: They intend to hire someone to go out to the County of Butte Building Department and research building permits to see which homeowners have not pulled the proper permits when repairing their homes. Shades of Big Brother??????
It seems that KREOA has decided it is in the best interest of the neighborhood if they establish their own informal Kelly Ridge Association Patrol force (my words, not theirs)
Over reaction you say? I thought that too when I first reacted to the newsletter. Until I read  this sentence in the newsletter that I think portends a coming conflict:

“If you have a problem with a neighbor leave a message at  589-**** and it will be handled by one of the Directors.”

In other words, if you don’t like something your neighbor is doing, like, as the newlstter says, leaving, “excessive amounts of dog poop in a yard constituting a health hazards (and driving neighbors off their decks to in homes with windows shut), call what I am now calling the Kelly Ridge Association Patrol People  (K.R.A.P.P.) and it will be handled- whatever that means!
I wonder if all of the Director’s homes are in compliance? If not, I wonder how they are going to ”handle” it when they find K.R.A.P P. on their doorsteps. Or do they only intend to send a bunch of K.R.A.P.P.  their neighbors way!!!!!
There goes the neighborhood? I certainly hope not! 
 

With 100+ degrees temperatures this week in theLake Oroville area, it definitely does not feel like fall is upon us!  The trees and the gardens know what time it is though and they are preparing for winter.  I am reminded of this every time I sit on my patio and the acorns are pelting the ground around me making me think maybe a hard hat would be in order.  The foliage is dying back in the veggie garden and the surrounding hills are starting to change their hue and that can mean only one thing…… winter is around the corner.  From a Real Estate professional and homeowner perspective, there are several things that a homeowner needs to do to get ready for the cold season.   Most homeowners are familiar with the basics such as insulating any exposed outside pipes, leaf collection and disposal, clearing drainage areas and mulching the plants, but there are several tips below to help you accomplish your winterizing chores faster and make your winter much more comfortable.  I hope you find them as useful as I have:
*  Use a leaf blower or high pressure air compressor to blow out the (dry) gutters.  My husband stands on the roof to do it, but if a ladder feels safer, then by all means use it!  The leaves come out easily and are ready to be raked up and disposed of. 
*  Propane costs typically go up around the first of October, so fill your tank in September to get a better price.  If you own your tank, shop the suppliers for the best prices.
*  Get your wood early!  If you have a wood stove or fireplace you will want to get your wood while the weather is still good and the prices are lower.  Often the suppliers are willing to deliver and stack the wood in the early part of the season before they get swamped with orders.  Don’t forget to clean the flu in the chimney or stovepipe! This is very important to prevent chimney fires later in the winter.
*  If you live on a rural property like where I live in Bangor, Ca. , you may have a pond or seasonal drainage canals that run through the property.  If so, take the time to cut back any vegetation (like blackberries) that may have grown during the summer to block the outlet.  It is no fun to be out in a downpour in the mud trying to unblock something so you don’t flood.  This can be equally true for homeowners in the city who have sewer grates in front of their homes or other drainage collection systems. 
*  If you are a gardener, you know that this is the time to begin preparing your garden soil for next spring by tossing in some compost or other materials that can compost down over the winter.  Here in Yuba County, we have the huge rice operations and the rice suppliers leave mountains of rice hulls that the public is welcome to take.  My husband and I till several yards into the garden to compost over the winter and the resulting soil is rich and super “fluffy” and if you have ever tried to work the red clay dirt around here, you know that “fluffy” is not a term that is generally used!
* Lastly, check your weatherstripping around windows and doors and replace if it is cracking or dried out. This can be a MAJOR air leak potential in the home.  I also use the vinyl backed drapes on my large picture windows to help with insulation at night in the winter.  It really is impressive how much of the cold air is trapped between the drapes and the window even when the windows are dual pane. 
A little bit of attention now can save a bundle of aggravation later on!  Take it from my husband who did not wrap the pipes one year and had to sit outside in his bathrobe with a blow-dryer at 4am in 28 degree weather trying to un-freeze the pipe so he could take a shower……..