Linda Kay's Blog

I'm so sorry Debbie had to go through this, but luckily things are looking up.  I am reblogging this because everyone should know the signs of stroke and the 3 simple questions to ask if one is suspected.

1.  Raise both Arms over your head

2.  Smile

3.  Ask them to speak a simple sentence.

If one arm is visibly higher than the other, call 911, if their smile is not balanced, call 911, if their words are slurred or funny, call 911!DO NOT DRIVE THE PERSON TO THE HOSPITAL YOURSELF - AT LEAST HERE IN CALIFORNIA THE AMBULANCE PATIENTS ARE SEEN RIGHT AWAY WHILE THE WALK INS ARE SEATED IN THE WAITING ROOM TO WAIT!  And as Debbie says, the clot-busters must be given in a timely manner.

Please visit Debbie's original post to leave your comments.

Senior Healthcare - In Home Healthcare

Okay, so this is a fantastic blog to go along with my Reverse For Purchase Blog.  It helps seniors realize that moving can be done step by step and not necessarily in one HUGE job.  Thanks to Larry and Sheila for posting this.  And when you comment, please do so on their original blog - they deserve all the credit!

Heart Attack Symptoms You May Ignore - DON'T!

HEART HEALTH MONTH

Okay, so, we are coming close to the month of February which is Women's Heart Health Month.  But I think it should be EVERYONE's heart health month!  GO RED FOR WOMEN!  That link is to a small video starring Elizabeth Banks that illustrates how we always take care of everyone but ourselves.

So in honor of EVERYONE knowing the newly recognized signs of heart attacks, and in honor of it running in my family, please, if you do nothing else, click THIS LINK which is to YAHOO Health.  It shows many of the signs that we may quite possibly be ignoring!

And don't forget to WEAR RED every Friday during the month of February in honor of awareness, and your personal health!

(I don't know what happened to the 1st post, it disappeared, but here it is again.  And if you commented on the first, I'm sorry, but I can't read it!)

Reverse For Purchase - What A Concept!

Okay, so we all know seniors (age 62 or over) who want or need to sell their current home. An aunt, an uncle, a grandparent or parent. Maybe they have a two-story and can no longer handle the stairs, maybe they want to be closer to their kids or grandkids, maybe their house is way too big, maybe they want to be with other active seniors... many, many reasons this could be happening.

But since they happen to be a senior, they are on a fixed income (usually) or have other factors that would not make them a good candidate for a new home loan, plus they are just not sure about the new payments.

I have GOOD NEWS for both the seniors and their Realtors! The "Reverse for Purchase" can come into play!  Here's how it works...

Step One: Mr. and Mrs. Stiles meet with their Realtor and place their home on the market. Step Two: Mr. and Mrs. Stiles start looking for a new home to purchase that will fit their needs.  Step Three: The Realtor introduces Mr. and Mrs. Stiles to a Reverse Mortgage Consultant who explains the process to them.  (Yes, I happen to know a couple of fantastic people who have done reverse for more than ten years each!) Step Four: Their home sells for $300,000!

Here's how it looks on paper:

New Purchase Price                    $400,000

Reverse Amount                       $230,000

Cash Needed to Close               $170,000

The cash can come from the proceeds of the sale of their previous home or other sources and the rest can go into their own pocket.  And because of the Reverse Mortgage on the new home, they will never have a payment* until they can no longer live permanently in the home.

And the best part is, they can use the extra money for anything they want; possibly a dream vacation, pay off their other bills, etc.  How freeing is that!  What I always say about my mother who was a teacher for more than 35 years is that she worked hard - so why should this time be more difficult for her?  She deserves everything and MORE!

Great, FANTASTIC deal... and everybody's happy!

So, if you know of anyone who fits this criteria, please don't hesitate to call me for further information!

*House must be kept up to FHA standards and all taxes and insurance must be kept up to date.

HIGHS AND LOWS - La Verne, CA - January 20, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the LA VERNE, CA Real Estate Market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     229,900

Highest Priced Home   $  3,500,000

Average   $     419,000

Active Listings   121

Sold This Week  3

New Listings This Week  7

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in LA VERNE this week is $419,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 121 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 121 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 3, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 40 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 7 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 40 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $    75,000

Highest   $ 344,300

Average   $ 154,000

Active Listings   8

Condos Sold This Week  0

New Listings This Week  0

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take at least 8 weeks to sell your condo or townhome and probably more.  It is more difficult to tell because of the lack of sales this week. And a buyer has 8 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in LA VERNE Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.  Since I happen to live in LA VERNE I am pretty on top of things here.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

HIGHS AND LOWS - Claremont, CA - January 20, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the CLAREMONT, CA Real Estate Market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     152,000

Highest Priced Home   $  4,000,000

Average   $     549,000

Active Listings   116

Sold This Week  3

New Listings This Week  9

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in CLAREMONT this week is $549,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 116 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 116 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 3, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 38 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 9 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 38 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $   180,000

Highest   $ 702,688

Average   $ 300,000

Active Listings   14

Condos Sold This Week  1

New Listings This Week  0

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take approximately 14 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer has 14 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in CLAREMONT Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

 World Famous Donut Man, Located in Glendora, CA

Okay, so when I was younger, I used to have a friend who loved Donut Man in Glendora where I grew up.  We would sneak out of the house in the middle of the night (she lived around the corner) since they were open 24/7 and grab a donut or two... a lady never tells how many!  My Momma (who is wonderful) always brings me one on my birthday, it's become a tradition.

Since that time, Donut Man has been featured on The Food Network, The Huffington Post and been written up in the LA Times just to mention a few.  Their strawberry and (my favorite) peach donuts are simply to die for!

So I've taken the liberty of posting the (HOW TO) make Peach Donutsfrom YouTube and Huell Howser's visit to the Donut Man for your enjoyment.  Simply click on these links.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures for you to savor!

Credit Score Myths Debunked

Okay, so, I was once again reading an article, this time in Yahoo Finance.  It had some really great news on credit scores and since this is a major factor in a home purchase, I decided to link you all to it.

One of the points the article made was that CARRYING A BALANCE on your credit cards brings your credit score up.  Personally, I never heard that and always understood that you use it and pay it off, which this article leans towards.  The point made here is that you will simply be paying interest on a carried balance that the credit bureaus don't even know about.

A point that was made was something new to me.  CUT UP CREDIT CARDS YOU DON'T USE.  I'm sure you've all heard that, but probably never knew that there was something called "credit utilization ratio" that affects your score.  You should use your cards, even if only once or twice per year so this portion of your credit score will stay up.

PAYING CASH will increase your credit score.  The problem with this idea is that the credit bureaus do not see anything you pay for with cash or your ATM card.  It has recently been suggested by SUSIE ORMAN that you get a prepaid credit card thereby allowing your bill payments and purchases for just about everything to increase your credit score.  You can even direct deposit your paycheck onto this card and include things like groceries and gas.

For more information, you should read the article HERE.

Tod really hits the nail on the head here.  He comments on things that most people are completely overlooking right now.  While everyone's attention is solely focused on housing prices, he hits some of the things that will affect a buyer more like decreased housing inventory.  Less to choose from for you!  Not to mention the interest rate will affect your payment much more than the price itself!

If you'd like to comment, please head over to Tod's blog, he deserves to hear from you.