Best Realty's Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog

Commercial Building with Apartments in Clipper Mills has now been cleaned up.

Steffan Blaser — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:28:00 +0000

Click link for pictures please. http://reporting.loopnet.com/report/702561f0-63a3-4d60-abad-ded2cca35bac

February already and rates are still down :)

Steffan Blaser — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:07:00 +0000

Made in the USA picture anyone can post to Facebook (Photo credit: Alternative Heat)
I have been busy trying to find homes for my people and it seems just lately there is a shortage in the price ranges of the areas they are looking in. Shuks. Gotta keep looking and something will pop up. I hope you enjoyed the Superbowl yesterday as I did. That is actually the 1st game i have watched in years and it was a good one. Oops, back to work.

Introducing Mobile Connect

Mark Wisterman — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:05:00 +0000

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

A NEW AMERICAN CHRISTMAS TRADITION

Marie Hawkins — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia
Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high
gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods –
merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This
year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine
concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift
giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes
there is!
It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in
a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?
Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates
from your local American hair salon or barber?
Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some
health improvement.
Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates.
Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down
the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about
a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this
isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town
Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or
motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.
My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is
struggling to get his repair business up and running.
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.
Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at
your hometown theatre.
Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about
fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to
burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.
You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that
China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about
US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow
their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our
communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine.
THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.
Forward this to
everyone on your mailing list — post it to discussion groups — throw up a
post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city — send it to
the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments.
This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn’t that what
Christmas is about?

There Goes The Neighborhood?

Mark Wisterman — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:51:00 +0000

In the nearly 18 years that I have been actively negotiating on behalf of buyers and sellers in the Lake Oroville real estate market, I have been involved in numerous transactions involving property located in the Kelly Ridge Subdivision.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kelly Ridge, it is a nice community overlooking Lake Oroville and Bidwell Marina; with a 9 hole golf course intertwined among many of the homes. For the most part it is a quiet neighborhood and pride of ownership is evident as you drive through the community’s winding roads.
As with nearly all subdivisions of this nature, there is an active homeowners’ association (HOA) there, as well as a document called Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions. (CC&R’s) recorded on each lot in the subdivsion. These CC&R’s are basically a set of rules established as a means of insuring a certain conformity among the homes in the subdivision, which in turn protects the integrity of the subdivision and helps in maintaining property values. For example, most CC& R’s that I have read over the years set minimum lot sizes, minimum square footage requirements, prohibit livestock, require that your RV be parked out of view of the street, and so on. For the most part, the CC&R’s in this area are not as restrictive as they are in the more urban areas, but are just restrictive enough to do the job they were intended to do.
The enforcement mechanism in these CC&R’s is generally the homeowners of the subdivision. If a homeowner notes a violation then he/she can normally take action to enforce the correction of the violation. In cases where there is also a homeowners association in place, the association itself can usually act to enforce the CC&R’s. If the violator fails to take corrective action, the complaining party, through a civil action, can ask a judge to force the violator to comply. As human nature would have it, there are sometimes instances in associations such as these where some get “too big for their britches, ” (as my parents used to say) and, in their own mind, become “Mayor” of the subdivision. Fortunately for the Lake Oroville real estate market, there are not many HOA’s in the area, but the 2 or three that we do have, have demonstrated, for the most part, a fairly reasonable approach in the administration of their duties.
But, as they say, the times they are a changin’.
The most recent newletter published by the Kelly Ridge Estates Owners’ Association (KREOA) contains what I view is a very disconcerting column regarding a new enforcement program they are implementing to address CC&R violations.
Now, before I continue, I want to be clear here that I am in total support of homeowners that want to see their neighborhood properly maintained. It is, after all, in everyone’s best interest that this be so. I just think this may be a heavy-handed approach that has the potential of causing a lot of unnecessary strife.
According to the newsletter, KREOA,

“……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!