So You Want to be a Real Estate Agent?

Today, the world stock market went downhill, with 2 banks in the US into bankcruptcy.  It is a wrong time for the real estate market ( to Sell and Buy) as the mortgage interest rates are near 7%.  However, personally I have plans to downsize and list my home beginning April 1 and maybe moved to a smaller place to be near my oldest daughter, so I would not be living alone. It appeared this may have to be moved perhaps another month or so and hopefully the real estate market will improve.   I have hired a realtor from Coldwell Banker and he appears to have the personality of an excellent real estate agent. Today my blog is about Real Estate Agents.  

A recent article from the NY Times discussed that the pandemic had inspired many to be come a real estate agents. The  reasons are discussed in this site:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/realestate/real-estate-agents-pandemic.html

Several months ago, I also had a heart to heart talk with a close relative. She plans to retire early from her high pressure job and planning what to do after early retirement ( only 62 years old). She has a friend who is a successful realtor. This friend had been mentoring her about real estate( how to prepare for closing cost documents etc..) and she likes it.  Her friend is making good money as a realtor. She told my close relative she paid $75,000 in taxes last year.  Her realtor friend was smirking on the $750 dollars that Lame Duck President Trump paid in taxes in income tax a few years ago.

Knowing the personality and abilities of my closed relative, I believe she will be a good and successful real estate agent.    However, I was curious of what is in the Internet on this subject. Here's what I found on the qualities that you will need to be a successful real estate agent( see link below).  Here's a video of the 10 traits you need to have to be a successful realtor.

https://www.bostonrealestateclass.com/posts/12-qualities-you-need-to-be-a-successful-real-estate-agent/

Meanwhile enjoy this photo from my collection

Red Sunset from Bodega Bay. California 2020

and a video of one of Macrine's favorite music, Secret Garden by Poeme

Looking forward for spring and the end of this torrential rain here in  Northern California.

 

Your Birthstone and Its Meaning

 

In my recent article, I discussed about your month flowers and its meaning. Today it will be about your birthstone.

Each birth month of the year is represented by a unique gemstone, known as a birthstone. Individual birthstones have special meanings as well as unique attributes and can be worn to represent the unique characteristics of the wearer. It has long been a widely accepted belief that wearing your birthstone is a symbol of wellness and good fortune, bringing the owner good luck and warding off bad karma and illness. Typically, each month’s birthstone features a distinctive color, but some gemstones come in a wide array of hues. I have a December birthday. Here are my birthstones and its meaning. Find your own birthstones in the website at the bottom of this page.

December Birthstone: Blue Topaz, Tanzanite, Zircon & Turquoise

Those born during December have multiple birthstones to choose from: blue topaz, tanzanite, zircon, and turquoise. The blue topaz birthstone is believed to ensure long life, beauty and intelligence.  Tanzanite has a vibrant, velvety blue color with overtones of purple and is said to be a stone of judgment and long life, promoting wisdom, dignity, truth, and spiritual mastery. While zircon is available in an array of colors, blue zircon is the most common and helps to clear the mind, remove stress, and restore purity. Lastly, turquoise is a symbol of friendship and promotes self-realization and creative problem-solving.

For complete details visit: 

https://www.almanac.com/content/birthstones-and-their-meanings 

Meanwhile enjoy these photos of  David E old watches collection and some golden items in Macrine's jewelry boxes.

 

 

Am I Ready for A Change of Lifestyle and Another Move?

For Sale: 8167 Treecrest Ave, Fair Oaks, CA ( Call Tim Pantle-916-834-6376)
 

Last week, I decided I will sell my 4BR,2.5B single residence(2200 sq.ft) with a big yard to a smaller 2BR (+Den perhaps), 2B condo/townhouse so that I will not be living alone. I have been living alone ( except with my 2 cats) for over a year. I have decided it is not conducive to a longer life being isolated and away from your love ones.

The new location is a prestigious Senior 55+ community with all the amenities a senior citizens desires. It will be more expensive but I will live the few remaining years of my life to the fullest. Now I could start playing bridge again and not scared if I fell no one is around to help me. 

I have hired several professionals and also with the help of my relatives to get the house ready for the market by April 1 with the hope of closing by June 1. The real estate market here in Northern Ca is slow because of the high mortgage rates. There are more available homes for sale than buyers. But My realtor has listed my home to the lowest estimate based on Comparables of Similar home in my neighborhood..    The plan are as follows:

Dumped all junks and prepare for the Estate Sale. Removed all clutter as suggested by the staging Professional. Fixed every thing in the house-both in and outside.

I have hired the service of Tim Pantle, Coldwell Banker Realty. Tim plans on doing this with his 5% commission.

1. Professional Photography-36 professional photos for print and online to make sure the property look its very best

2. Single-Property Website- Professionally design property website that is viewable on all devices and easily shared via social media

3. Just Listed e-Flyer- "Just Listed" announcement eBlast sent to an exclusive list of personal and professional contacts

4. Property Tour- Professionally produced photo slideshow with narration

5. Print Advertising- Eye-catching property advertisement in one of the regions prime print publications

6. TV and Online Promotion- Professionally produced spot featured on Coldwell Bankers' TV Show, At Home in Northern California, Saturdays at 4:30PM, CW 31

7. Property Brochures- Beautiful, professionally printed property brochures to showcase the house.

8. Mobile Brochure- Exclusive Yard Sign with CB Mobile brochure technology that delivers the house unique details and photos to consumer mobile phones

9. Area Realtor Notification- Agents at all local real estate companies in my area notified that the home has come on the market

10. Online Property Syndication- Home displayed on most visited websites, Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia and other popular real estate websites

11. Seller Update- E -Detailed Report outlining everything that has been done to bring the property to market and maximize its exposure

With this plan I hope we will close by June 1, in spite of the slow market and High mortgage interest rates. We hope by middle of May the rates goes down to 6%.   

Meanwhile enjoy this latest photo of me during our Dinner-en-blanc Party on my 88th birthday last December. 

This projected move will be my 13th move( hopefully the last) in the more  than 63 years of my life here in the USA. The 12 moves are detailed here:https://lifeinus1960present.blogspot.com/2019/07/our-twelve-moves-in-forty-two-years-in.html

 

Your Month's Flower and Its Meaning

Today is March 1, but I am already thinking of June 1. The date is the estimated date of my downsizing move from my 4 BR,2.5 B (2177 sq. ft ) single residence and living alone to a smaller 2BR, 2 B townhouse/condo with all the Club Amenities ( social, physical, educational  etc...) with Dinah my oldest daughter and hopefully Batman & Robin.  I plan on hiring all professionals to assist me in this move, starting with selling my house, furniture and throwing all junk and accumulations to the Dump.  Wish me Luck! Today blog is about Flowers.   

The Latest Rose from My Garden-August 17, 2022

Rose is the flower of people born in the month of June. Do you know the color of this rose? Fuchsia or magenta?

I thought that my flower is poinsettia being born in the Month of December. I was wrong according to this article:   https://www.ftd.com/blog/celebrate/birth-flowers-what-they-say-about-you  But I am correct in the second article at bottom of the page.

Do you know your birth month flower and its meaning? If you do I salute you!

1. Long before email, texting, instant messages or even phone calls, people used flowers to communicate. The language of flowers — also known as floriography — was popular in the 18th and 19th century. While we now have more ways to communicate, the messages told with flowers are as meaningful today as ever. Each birth month flower has a unique meaning, and is sure to make the recipient feel extra special.

Month	Birth Flower	Meaning
January	Carnation Snowdrop	Admiration, love Hope, rebirth
February	Violet Primrose	Modesty, faithfulness Young love
March	Daffodil	New beginnings, prosperity
April	Daisy Sweet pea	Purity, innocence Blissful pleasure
May	Lily of the valley Hawthorn	Sweetness, motherhood Hope
June	Rose Honeysuckle	Romance Happiness
July	Larkspur Water lily	Positivity, dignity Purity
August	Gladiolus Poppy	Strength of character Imagination
September	Aster Morning glory	Love, affection Unrequited love, mortality
October	Marigold Cosmos	Creativity, passion Peace, tranquility
November	Chrysanthemum	Loyalty, honesty
December	Narcissus Holly	Hope, wealth Protection, defense

2. But according to the article below it is Poinsettia. So I am correct after all. See the photos below:

  https://jadorelyon.com/birth-flower/

 

 

How Reliable is Your Car GPS?

 

 

The other day a relative drove me to Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, CA. The Casino grand opening was last September and I know it is in Highway 99 about 15 miles south from downtown Sacramento. My relative used her car GPS system. I realized the GPS is routing as thru the back roads instead of the Freeways ( my favorite route to Elk Grove for Pinoy groceries). I have never used a GPS but maps. My personal knowledge is that from My house in Fair Oaks, the fastest route is via Highway 50 to 99 South towards Stockton.    

I realized that it was almost rush hour so the GPS routed us away from the Freeways and thru the back roads with less traffic.  

 

The GPS misguided us to CA 104- five miles farther south from the Sky River Casino on Grant Line Rd and Ca 99.

Google Maps showed me three ways from my House in Fair Oaks to the Casino as follows:

 1. via Bradshaw Rd

Best route now due to traffic conditions

• This route has restricted usage or private roads.

33 min

30.3 miles

2. via US-50 W and CA-99 S

37 min

22.4 miles

3. via Sunrise Blvd and Grant Line Rd

 

If I were driving and not during rush hours, I will choose #2. My Relative chose #3 as directed by her Car GPS. However, instead of driving straight from Grant Line Rd to Ca-99, the GPS lead us to the small town of Wilton. By the time we reached 99 S, we were at the boundary of Elk Grove and Galt( Twin Cities Rd). The GPS directed us 5 miles farther south from our destination. 

 

The detour in the little town of Wilton was pleasant and my first time.   (https://elkgrovehistoricalsociety.com/history-town-of-wilton/

We have a leisurely drive in the rural side roads(Dillard and Arno) with vineyards and farm lands as the back ground. Since it was mid afternoon, the GPS detour was not as bad although we lost about 15 minutes to our destination.   We did drove by the Adkins Family Vineyards at Grant Line Rd.

So how reliable is your car GPS system? The price of GPS ranges from as low as $39 to as High as $700. I would guess that the more expensive the more reliable is the system.  My relative mentioned to me that this was not the first time that her GPS system instructed her about 5 miles away from her destination.

 Here's a summary from Wikipedia on ANS ( Car GPS) for your information.

An automotive navigation system is part of the automobile controls or a third party add-on used to find direction in an automobile. It typically uses a satellite navigation device to get its position data which is then correlated to a position on a road. When directions are needed routing can be calculated. On the fly traffic information (road closures, congestion) can be used to adjust the route.

Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer can be used for greater reliability, as GNSS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels.

Mathematically, automotive navigation is based on the shortest path problem, within graph theory, which examines how to identify the path that best meets some criteria (shortest, cheapest, fastest, etc.) between two points in a large network.

Meanwhile, I am reposting one of our photos from our Sky River Casino Outing last Wednesday.

A Fun 3-4 hours sojourn at the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, California

 

A Lucky Trip to the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, California

Yesterday was a lucky day for me. This was my first outing after five years to an Indian Casino near me.

 

Yuka and I with Parents-in-Law ( Father and Mother of Alex Chilan from Equador) enjoying the Amenities of Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, CA Feb 22, 2023 ( Ash Wednesday) 

It had been almost 5 years that I have enjoyed dining and gambling at the Indian Casinos nearby. For the last 2 decades Macrine ( RIP) and I had budgeted to play and dine in either the Thunder Valley Casino ( Lincoln) or Red Hawk Casino ( Shingle Springs) twice a month as our entertainment.  

Yesterday Yuka drove the 3 of us to Sky River. We stayed for 3 hours. We eat a moist and delicious turkey/bacon/avocado sandwiches. We gambled for 3 hours. The Chilan won $50 dollars. I won $66 dollars after playing in only 10 slot machines.  I was tired but very happy. Yuka said we may do it again in April when the Chilan's returned to Equador. 

Sky River was developed and built for the Wilton Rancheria Tribe. It is located fifteen miles south of downtown Sacramento in Elk Grove. It had a grand opening last September.

Cleverly referred to as “Sac Vegas,” Sky River required years of planning and a reported $500 million to build.

A third of its 300,000 square feet is dedicated to gaming, according to the casino. That includes 2,000 slot machines, eighty table games, and a 12-table poker room.

The property also has plans for seventeen new restaurants and bars and, eventually, a spa and a hotel.

Sky River holds a special significance to local residents. Not only have 2,000 been hired as employees, the casino was built over a formerly abandoned mall complex. The property has been a blight on the landscape for years.

Among the new restaurants are:

• SR Prime Steakhouse — A steaks and seafood joint that offers a top-tier wine collection, whiskies and local craft beer.

• 32 Brews Street — Television-heavy sports bar serving appetizers, entrees, cocktails, spirits, draft beer and California wine.

• Dragon Beaux — Sit-down dining and menu featuring dim sum, Cantonese roast meats and traditional Chinese cooking.

• The Market at Sky River — The casino’s food hall with twelve restaurants, offering everything from hamburgers and spicy chicken to rotisserie meats and sushi.

For more details visit: 

https://24hournation.com/casinos/sky-river-casino/

 For the latest news on the Casino read: 

 https://www.sacbee.com/community/elk-grove/article272539341.html