Salt...wow interesting to learn that salt is the single largest culprit to contribute to peoples health problems! Salt...It leads to high blood pressure,strokes,heart attacks and kidney failure just to list a few of the problems with too much salt on a regular basis.The typical American takes in TWICE what the government recommends on a daily basis...that's 2X!

Want to get off the salt kick and get healthier? Cut down or cut out PROCESSED foods. Did you know that processed foods contribute to 3/4's of Americans salt intake on a average day?

The Government is thinking of regulating salt...can you imagine what that might mean? You go to the store and have to show them a driver's license or some for of ID and they write down your name and info and log it into their systems....The SALT POLICE might be contacting you if you purchase too many containers in a month!!

IS IT TIME FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE SALT??

Source- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22039449#22039449

Regards,

Rick Goates 

Theres a saying that one should never give up...never.You are only a loser if you give up and not until. Some of the wealthiest people in the world subscribed to this theory like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Did you know that Edison tried 10,000 times to get the light bulb right...10,000!!! Anyone out there tried less than that and given up? Please raise your hands...mine is in the air very high on that one.

Here is a link to a story that kind of popped out at me about a boy that went from the streets basically to being a star student.Congratulation to all the teachers that spent time with this youth and never gave up either!!! Teachers are under paid for what they do folks!!

I hope you enjoy the story and get something from it as I did.

Model student from street kid...what a transformation...Great job to all that worked with him to help him get there!! 

Happy Holidays!

Regards,

Rick Goates

ECO Broker

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

530-248-5627 

Thank you MR BUSH!!! 

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071220-3.html

This is a pet peeve of mine. I call an agent to get a price on a property that is not on the MLS and it takes days to get back to me with a simple price? I don't know maybe he has closed 20 million this year or something but even if that is so he should be helping his client out by trying to sell the property!!! It's kind of hard to get my buyer in the buying mode without a price!!

I called his office and got this standard line "well he has been in meetings". Yes I understand that...I called YESTERDAY ALSO TO GET A PRICE. She laughs...says well he should be back in this afternoon...great now it's a day and a half to get JUST A PRICE!

I am kind of wondering what the owner of this property would think if they knew that this was happening? Think they would be happy?

Hey we ALL get busy at one time or another....and we all have to prioritize but the difference between getting back to someone quickly and not CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE BUYER PURCHASING YOUR PROPERTY AND SOMEONE ELSE'S.

Oh well there will always be another buyer out there right?? Right? Right? right? ahhh hello have you seen any buyers???

Regards,

Rick Goates 

Green...building green, Eco, earth friendly...terms that you are starting to hear more about all the time. Then there is the skeptics out there that think it doesn't make sense to spend a little more to build green...that it can't be worth the additional costs to do a "green" project. Well there is evidence now that building green does indeed end up producing more green for the owners in the form of "Money".This is the green that just talks to you!

Here is a link to an article that shows for a fact that there are many benefits to building green. It puts to rest the nay sayers and the one's that look at today's cost versus the long term costs and benefits of building a great project.

I hope you find this study interesting and can share it with your fellow agents or clients if the subject ever comes up!

Regards,

Rick Goates

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

96001 

I just read a very interesting article. One agent is making the best of this market that we are currently having. In Stockton Ca there are a huge number or foreclosures. In fact Stockton has been severely impacted by the sub prime fall out.The Median home price in Stockton has dropped 26%...Owch! Redding might be down a couple percent but thank GOD it is not in the same category as Stockton.

This enterprising agent is arranging tours of REO homes to get buyers into the homes and see what deals we have out there.It seems to be working for him.

Read more about making lemonade out of a whole pile of ripe lemons here now.

Regards,

Rick Goates 

Greetings, we are now receiving our new inventory of Bulk REO/NPL pools once again. These should go fast. If you have direct buyers and are not more than one step away from them feel free to contact me immediately. We do not work with anyone that is more than 1 step from the buyer! No daisy chains please!!!

What we will need from you and your buyer/investor is a signed NC/ND/NC disclosure prior to releasing these new pools for your review. Proof of funds must happen and LOI on company letter head is mandatory to start the process.

These latest pools should be in the $10Mill+ range and will go quickly like they always do.

Do not delay Contact today if you have the BUYER/INVESTOR and they are ready to perform.

Please leave your name and your phone number TWICE on the voice mail if you do not get me in person. 

Regards,

Rick Goates

530-248-5627 

There are usually two sides to every coin.Heads and tails on money.Right now lends itself to one of the best times in the last 20 years to purchase real estate. Don't believe me? Well here is just one example...A local Broker (name withheld to save him from a stoning) purchased a VERY nice custom home here in Redding in an excellent subdivision.The scoop-Purchase price was $280k Cash. Resale price was $380k in less than 60 days! Not to shabby if I must say myself.

Not everyone has cash to do a deal like this one but if you do and want to make money there are more like this out there. It's not for the faint of heart or the weak

minded. It's not for those that can't stand to lose a few dollars either. And certainly not for those that are currently on medication to reduce stress.... 

The way to these fortunes is through what's called the "Short Sale". The short sale is where the bank agrees to take less than what is owed on the balance to clear the loan and let it sell. Now not all banks are excited about this but there are some that understand that 70 Cents today is better than the possibility of 70 or less later....the key here being later as in many many months....Most the time the money now is better for the banks so they don't have the carrying expenses that go with owning real estate.

The flip side is that there are many people losing their family homes right now. This is sad there is no doubt.

Regards,

Rick Goates

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

530-248-5627 

They say that good subject/headlines are what get people to open emails. We will see. Here is an idea for all of you out there that love spam as much as I do!! How about a rat your spam creating buddy contest. We start with taking donations from every company and corporation in the USA. We then set up a fund with all the money that is managed by a good independant CPA.

Then run contests all over the internet with the prize of $10,000+ for each spammer caught/prosecuted and sent to jail. Now if that kind of money in a cafe in Nigeria doesn't get some clowns attention then we are doomed.

In India the average wage is under $35 a month I understand. Not sure about Nigeria but I would think that there would be some full jails pretty quickly!!

I spent about 45 minutes today marking and deleting spam....Think of the wasted time in America when you multiply this times 150 Million!!

Wow,, Bill Gates do you want to make the first donation??

Let's put a real bounty on these spammers!! We can't wait for the Governments to find them and slap their hands!!

Maybe we need to make it $50,000 per spammer head?

 What do you think?

We could then have spin off shows like SPAM DOG......lol

Regards,

Rick  

Wow..now if this doesn't get some agents out into these subdivisions then I don't know what will. I can see that they need to sell some homes at  K. Hovnanian® Homes™.I have never seen an incentive like this before.I have to be honest though...I would like the buyer to benefit from some of this to buy down their loan or a nice closing gift etc.

Sometimes there are agents that do something similar and it creates some problems.Example I know of an agent that wrote up a nice home that offered a buyers agent bonus. She got it accepted and they took away the bonus as part of the negotiating as they were close on the price after many back and forth's. We should always be looking out for the buyers we represent but I don't know too many agents that can honestly say they are happy about giving up any commission to make it work that was promised as a bonus and then taken away.

We work hard for our money! When the seller offers an incentive/bonus they should stand behind it! Taking it away in the last counter to get the seller that last little bit seems a bit unfair as the agent brought an excellent buyer to the table and will be getting their home sold!! IN this market that should be reason to CELEBRATE!

I believe some would call this bait and switch!!

Personally I am not in favor of agent bonus's at all...The reason is simple...We represent the buyers to the best of our ability to get them a great deal and make the transaction go smoothly. I don't think they would like it if they found out LATER, that, by the way the home you ended up purchasing made me an extra Bonus SSS. If I were the buyer I would be questioning at that point "Did I get the lowest possible price?" Or was the agent really looking out for MY best interest, or his "Bonus".

I am in favor of buying down the buyers loan rate to save them much more than a couple dollars in the long run!

Now granted this is a limited time promo and has some restrictions but if it doesn't generate at least SOME additional activity out there at their subdivisions it is going to be a very long new year.....

Regards,

Rick Goates 

You owe more on your home than it is currently worth...sound familiar? You need to sell because you can not make any more payments and have too many bills currently...still sound familiar? There are about 8 main options out there to help you out of your current situation.Some you may know about and some you may not.

OPTION 1-Renegotiate with your lender. Call them and tell them your situation. Some lenders such as Countrywide are working with borrowers to delay raising their rates on their loans that just adjusted or are ready to adjust.

OPTION 2-Refinance the property. This option is very difficult if not impossible today as the property is probably worth less than what is owed or less than what you would need to make it work.

OPTION 3-You can sell to an investor.

OPTION 4-File for Bankruptcy..Contact an attorney and don't just do it!

OPTION 5-Borrow money from friends or family.

OPTION 6-Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure-offer the bank the home back.

OPTION 7-Do nothing...not a very wise option.It won't go away!

OPTION 8- Talk with a pre foreclosure specialist that understands how to get you out of your present situation.Questions to ask this person...How many short sales have they done? Do they know how to get to the decision makers at the bank?

As you can see there are options but the must important thing to remember is this....DON'T WAIT ANOTHER DAY!! DO SOMETHING TODAY NOT TOMORROW!! TAKE ACTION....

Regards,

Rick Goates

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

530-248-5627 

One thing is for sure right now. There are many people that are having a hard time making their house payments. Here in Shasta County we have our share of homes that are either in pre foreclosure status or are going to auction.With all the hardship out there it is also time to be very aware if you are in this situation. You may get a phone call or letter from a "Shortsale expert" or an investor.There are some people out there right now trying to get steals on homes that are going to foreclosure. The problem is...how do you tell a legitimate call from a swindler?

For starters ask if the individual that calls is a Licensed California Real Estate agent. For starters find out if the property is for themselves? If the person calling is not an agent or Realtor then you have your answer...they are not looking out for you...They are looking out for numero uno...plain and simple.When's the last time that you got something for free?? I mean really free?

By contacting an agent/Realtor to help you sell your home if you are behind on your payments you stand a much higher chance of getting your home sold! There are not many true Short sale Experts out there. Short sales are very time consuming and sometimes don't close as the bank might not agree to take much less than what is owed.

Sure signs that something is not right...The phone call from an unlicensed individual that promises to get you out of the mess you are in and all you have to do is sign some papers! Don't...contact someone to verify what they have presented you...don't be fooled...Save yourself some additional stress and check out what ANYONE says!

Regards,

Rick Goates 

With winter now officially here, rain and all, I have these numbers to report for our county thus far this month of Dec 2007

PREFORECLOSURES-396

TRUSTEE'S SALES THIS WEEK- 16

FORECLOSURES- 58 

BANKRUPTCIES 104

TAX LIENS 1641

Short sales- 21+ 

The market continues to favor the buyers out there with some very good deal popping up once in a while. Todays best deal was a 2054 sq.ft custom home for only $269k!!! Wow...just to think that about 2 year ago that would have sold for around $390-$400k.......Now there are not tons of these any given day but the banks are wanting to unload their inventories for many reasons. They hate owning real estate and especially when they home sits for a long period of time! They have to pay the insurance,taxes,maintanence and all the other things that homeowners have to do.

I saw a steal about 3 months ago also...he bought it for $280k and sold it 50 days later for $380k...now how is that for a quick little profit??

Contact me today if you are looking for a good deal on greater Redding California Real Estate!

Regards,

Rick Goates

Keller Williams Realty

Redding

530-248-5627 

This year the traditional Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is going green...well greener lets say for arguments sake.Well every little bit helps and this year they have new higher efficient lights and are using some solar panels to provide some "Juice".

Green leadership starts at the top and in the public eye so this high profile scene hopefully will inspire some New Yorkers to start on the green path...get out ahhh here!

It looks like they will be saving about 60% on the electricity bill for the tree this year! That's great. The solar panels are located on the top of the Rockefeller Center building.

To top it off when they take down the tree it will be saw up and they are donating the lumber to Habitat for Humanity!!

Great Job Folks!

I can hear it right now...Whadda ya looking at?? Your solar panels sir. Whadds it to ya...Sell good job there sir!!

Regards,

Rick Goates

ECO/e-PRO

Broker Assoc

Keller Williams Realty

Redding

530-248-5627 

If you live in California and want to know more about solar and what the story is here is a link for you to check out that will help answer most if not all of your questions that you might have.If you live in PG&E territory then it makes sense to at least consider Solar power. Did you know that there are many programs to finance your solar system also? If you put your system on an equity line you can write off the interest.There are even loan programs out there to help you finance adding solar to your home when you build it or when you remodel.Contacting a good lender will help you to find out exactly what is available in the area.

One thing is for sure that the incentives have never been greater with the state and federal credits/rebates available today! I expect these incentive to go down as we get closer to the numbers that the government wants on it's program.

Regards,

Rick Goates 

Keller Williams Realty

Redding Ca

530-248-5627