Jeanean Gendron, Your Shasta County Real Estate Specialist: June 2009

Google has changed the landscape of technology. Would that be an understatement? My husband, David sent me a link to an article from a friend of ours who is the IT Manager for the Dalai Lama, Jim Skyler. We've know him for years and he's quite the "Thought Leader".

He's talking about "Identity" in his post, however it brought up different thoughts for me. If we move from keeping all our "data" near and dear on our own computers....to having it out there in the technosphere, what then do we really own? You have to read his post.

The question is that through "Google Docs" and various other shared platforms including the blogging world, the Twitter and Facebook world we are approaching having a huge investment and our data out there. It's all on servers that we don't own. So....we no longer own our own work.

Do you have a system for backing up your posts here for ActiveRain. I don't! Should I? I think so. While I have some redundancy in some of my posts....I always write live on-line and post. I am going to start to rethink that.

ActiveRain has never lost any of my data that I am aware of. However, Acts of God not withstanding it might be a good idea to write your post off-line and then transfer and format. I'm not so worried about my identity (Jim agrees).....I feel that for me that has grown with Social Networking and the current technologies that help us do cool stuff.

David and I both laughed when it was implied that if you are still sending documents by email....time has passed you by. Well, maybe so...however I would also point out that rather than seeing ourselves divested of our data and our Identity....why can't we see the desktop with enough power that we can now download data banks for our use in turning that data into information and knowledge for our use. I like my version better.

The one idea I did like is that the iphone is so powerful you may not need your laptop for meetings and such. Oh boy....here we go!

Food for thought...that is for sure!

Woohoo! For FHA approved first time home buyers, the federal government will now give you up to $8,000 for additional down payment, closing costs or buydown for your loan.

You can now use your anticipated tax credit towrd your home purchase now rather than wait. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow first time home buyers to apply the $8,000 tax credit toward the purchase cost of a FHA-insured home.

The home must be purchased before December 1, 2009. Call today and let me help you find your new home. This provides first time home buyers stronger buying power in getting their first home.

Don't wait, now is a good time as interest rates begin to climb. Use this wonderful tax incentive to puchase your first home. These changes to the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit benefit you greatly.

I am Jeanean Gendron, your Redding and Shasta County Specialist. I can be reached at 530 276-7417. I answer my phone. You can visit our website or blog site to learn more about buying your first home or Redding and Shasta County Real Estate.

We are at Summerfield Meadows on this beautiful day in Redding, CA. The sun is out and we have cool weather after an unexpected three days of showers. While we got the gentle showers in the valley, the surrounding mountains had thunder, lightning and hail. No fires because the rain was substantial enough to prevent the fires! Yeah! This time last year we had hundreds of fires burning from over 1,000 lightning strikes in one day. We had an entire summer of fire, burns and smoke.

We are glad to have clear skies and the beauty of our area to see and appreciate. Come by to see us at our Open. It's in the Sunday paper. We are Open from 12:00 to 4:00. Highway 273 to east on S. Bonnyview, South on Eastside Rd. East on Sacramento. South on Creekside. East on Seedling to North on Reflection. Follow the signs and you will find us.

There is a reason why Ochoa & Shehan build the best new homes in Shasta County. They build "Green" homes that are 20% more energy efficient than the standard for new construction in California.

Earth Advantage Benefits and Features:

• Increased Energy Efficiency--Homes are more energy efficient and take advantage of natural heating, cooling and lighting.
• Environmental Responsibility--Typically, Earth Advantage homes reduce wast and use environmentally sound building and landscaping practices.
• Healthier Indoor Air Quality--Earth Advantage home reduce sources of pollutants and improve fresh air ventilation.
• Resource Efficiency--Earth Advantage homes use wood efficiently and often contain building products made of recycled material.

Come see me and I'll show you around. I am Jeanean Gendron, your Certified New Home Specialist. You can reach me at 530 276-7417. I answer my phone. Visit my website and blog site to learn more about Ochoa & Shehan New Homes and Redding and Shasta County Real Estate.

I was just talking to my husband and telling him about the post I just wrote about Localism and Hit Router being so productive and on the level of "rockin"!

We both are so amazed at the "sling-shot" effect that being in the RAIN has for people. The leading-edge knowledge that is available here within the RAIN is totally awesome for sure.

David, my husband's remark regarding the level of learning and boost I've received from being part of this forum was as it "being a testimony to the benefits of participating in a Networked Improvement Community (NIC)". NIC is another term coined 20 years ago by the Bootstrap Institute of collaborators working with Doug Englebart. Pure and simple...that's what we have here in AR is a networked improvement community.

I know....I'm a broken record and no one really cares why it works....just that it does work. Anyway....I just had to share my joy at being part of this forum and my gratitute for all the opportunity it has afforded me.

Don't you just love it when deep inside you knew something would rock and then it happens....it really does ROCK!

I invested heavily in Localism and Listing Router (now called Hit Router). I have been posting fun stuff to Localism forever and sponsored a numbers of areas in the Shasta County area. I then combined Hit Router with a new IDX solution and set it up so that anyone looking in our area has the opportunity to find me....way cool!

Guess what....it's working nicely. Now through Localism and the cities and communities I sponsor, it is my search site and website that comes up and through Hit Router I quadruple that effect to dominate this area.

I truly am a broken record about how incredible ActiveRain is and how we have a "sling shot" effect here within the RAIN! I constantly try to help people see how truly amazing being in this forum is and the learning and leading edge advantage that is available to us here. Not to say that you can just join AR and it will happen. You definitely need to work at it, however when you do the benefits will pay off greatly.

I've talked before about a DKR (Dynamic Knowledge Repository). This term was a "think tank" term we used 20 years ago in the "Bootstrap" forum with Doug Englebart. We were certainly speaking on a huge magnitude of application, however what we are provided here within ActiveRain the opportunity to build DKRs for our clients on specific areas with hyper-local information that includes market data and the experience of living in the area.

How completely cool is that. I still wake up everyday and think OMG it's real and I can play with it all I want. I'm doing so and it soooo works. I get calls weekly and sometimes daily.

Here is the link to a post I wrote some time ago about the business development aspect of at that time "Listing Router".

Post #2 on a prototype of the infrastructure. I should do an update on what's really built now.

You gotta say "Rockin in the RAIN" is pretty cool.

It's hard being green. Kermit was a wise frog indeed. While "being green" was Kermit's very nature, the nature of Realtors is to work all the time. I've been working at changing my spots....workaholic for many years and I wish to share some changes I've made and my commitment to "having a life".

Here are the points to my success (redefined I might add):

• I no longer work 12-15 hour days.
• I have knowing confidence that my business will continue to grow
• I time block so that I can have time off
• I spend time with my husband
• I spend time with my puppy
• I call my clients to just chat
• I wake each day to acknowledge how grateful I am for the good things in my life
• I do positive affirmation daily on all aspects of my life
• I will work with motivated sellers and knowledgeable buyers
• I will help to motivate sellers and buyers to be knowledgeable about the trending market
• I will continue to develop a massive Internet presence and marketing system for my clients

Life is Good and Work is Good! It is our choice!

I am Jeanean Gendron and you can reach me at 530 276-7417. I answer my phone (except on my day off). I will return calls the following day.

I specialize in short sales and helping Sellers in hardship. It is a complicated thing we do when we help a seller with a short sale. The seller must own the decision to do a short sale and be confident that this is the best solution for their situation. As the short sale agent, you must be confident that the seller has researched and is knowledgeable about their alternatives and the consequences of their decisions.

You cannot give them legal advice although you can send them to reliable websites and advise them to seek legal and financial advice. You must see if a loan modification can work for them prior to doing the short sale.

The Banks have very different policies regarding loan modifications.

Well Fargo has a plan that offers a reduction of the loan principal balance by 20%; a low-interest only rate for 5-10 years based on the clients financial situation; and forgiveness of past due amounts. They do add a number of legal fees and the impound accounts on the back-end of the loan. What is the criteria that they use to determine who is eligible for this loan modification?

Saxon Mortgage will offer the client a reduced interest-only option but no principal reduction. In the current market here in Redding, California, that would not be helpful to the client. It is like asking them to take the guillotine rather than commit Hari Kari. We've lost over 50% in market value in the past four years. To remain in a home with a loan for $575,00 when the home is only worth $250,000 and make payments of $2000 a month would not be a wise decision.

While Well Fargo has offered a small number of clients the option to weather the storm and remain in their homes, what we really need to see is a wider application of this program. Each bank offers some type of loan modification under any number of names. Bank of America while saying they have a program to help the seller keep his home, when called and given the particulars we were advised that no program exists for our circumstances.

What makes up the criteria to make that determination.  In the Saxon Mortgage case, why would Saxon not choose to keep the seller in the house when the short sale will produced the Buyer and a new loan of the $250,000 which is market value. Saxon saves money by keeping the seller in the home. HELLO! Is anybody out there doing the numbers? WHY would they choose to make a bad financial decision?

Bank of America has a choice to keep the current seller in the house at market value or take the additional loss of paying for the short sale with the same net result. The bank will have to pay closing costs and commissions and some legal fees to get the short sale done. Why does this not make sense? It is a losing proposition. If banks are all about the bottom line, well why are we having this discussion (sorry....rant).

I would love to have someone explain to me why such common sense does not prevail and why we live in this current surreal world when making simply choices could make the real estate industry whole again. Of course, that does not even touch on the real value of a new point of view and perspective by the banks on this better course of action. It's a good business decision and those people who recover from this current situation will remember who did good business.

It won't be Saxon Mortgage or Bank of America.

I am Jeanean Gendron, your Redding and Shasta County Specialist. You can reach me at 530 276-7417. I answer my phone. Visit our website and The Shasta Lifestyle blog to learn more about real estate and living here in Redding and Shasta County.