Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Why Choose Melson Realty for your Real Estate Needs?

Our agents are awesome! They are involved in all aspects of our local community and in our state over all. Today hundreds of agents from the state of California went to Sacramento to be educated and informed of the legislation in this state that will affect you the home owner. Melson Realty had a team of 8 representatives attend this huge event to bring back valuable knowledge for our team and for you the home owner. Special Thanks to Jen Lusk, Raffaela Woods, Lynn Trice, Janell Colby, Rachel Leon

& Ashley Catalina from our Porterville office, and to Ruben Olguin, Jose Jimenez, & Chris Jolly of our Visalia office for taking the day away from office to spend in our State Capital. Act, Invest and VOTE!

ps. Very special thanks to Lynn Trice, Raffaela Woods, Janell Colby and Heather Ruggles @Property ID for taking great pictures!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Terrific Value Tuesday $$ Save Thousands on HUD Homes $$

Tulare County HUD Homes

1650 West Grand Avenue

Porterville, CA, 93257

045-655023

$205,675

775 W Putnam Ave
Porterville, CA, 93257

045-694781

$120,175

1033 N Palm Street

Visalia, CA, 93292

045-703685

$170,000

Kern County HUD

2106 Monterey Street
Bakersfield, CA, 93305

045-520239

$61,000

6569 Valley Avenue
Inyokern, CA, 93527

045-641956

$24,300

24208 Sage Avenue
Boron, CA, 93516

045-643166

$40,000

5607 Ripple Cove Way
Bakersfield, CA, 93313

045-650975

$245,000

224 E Radar Avenue
Ridgecrest, CA, 93555

045-651377

$141,550

2032 Rainbow Drive
Lake Isabella, CA, 93240

045-660534

$60,300

16024 O Street
Mojave, CA, 93501

045-681333

$73,650

6101 Orchid Field Court
Bakersfield, CA, 93311

045-701866

$250,000

328 W. Felspar Ave
Ridgecrest, CA, 93555

045-724283

$157,500

9663 Raymond Avenue
California City, CA, 93505

045-729173

$158,000

For more information visit: www.HUDHomestore.com

You may also contact the real estate agent of your choice or Melson Realty @ 559-788-2222

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Terrific Value Tuesday $$Save Thousands on HUD Homes$$

Tulare County HUD Homes

$$ Save Thousands $$

$161,000

2089 Roosevelt Way

Dinuba, CA, 93618

045-651819

$216,500

1650 West Grand Avenue

Porterville, CA, 93257

045-655023

$160,000

4108 E Paradise Avenue

Visalia, CA, 93292

045-671685

$126,500

775 W Putnam Ave

Porterville, CA, 93257

045-694781

$170,000

1033 N Palm Street

Visalia, CA, 93292

045-703685

Kern County HUD Homes

$24,300

6569 Valley Avenue

Inyokern, CA, 93527

045-641956

$40,000

24208 Sage Avenue

Boron, CA, 93516

045-643166

$141,550

224 E Radar Avenue

Ridgecrest, CA, 93555

045-651377

$60,300

2032 Rainbow Drive

Lake Isabella, CA, 93240

045-660534

$157,500

328 W. Felspar Ave

Ridgecrest, CA, 93555

045-724283

$160,000

2239 Rizal Drive

Delano, CA, 93215

045-772694

For more information visit: www.HUDHomestore.com

You may also contact the real estate agent of your choice or Melson Realty @ 559-788-2222

Monday, April 21, 2014

Money Mondays!!! Homeowners Insurance by Rob Smee @ Country Club Mortgage

Homeowners Insurance

Just like automobile insurance, most homeowners are required to have an insurance policy on their property. Sometimes this coverage is termed “hazard insurance.” Most of the time, however, it’s called homeowners insurance. Homeowner’s insurance policies cover incidents ranging from leaking roofs to catastrophic damage done by storms. A key distinction to make is that homeowners insurance is not Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which is a policy to protect lenders against loss if a homeowner defaults, generally required from homeowners making a downpayment of less than 20%.

Homeowners insurance is required by mortgage lenders. The most important reason for this is that your lender will want your home, their collateral, to be rebuilt in case of catastrophe. With homeowners insurance covering at least the cost of rebuilding the home both the lender and homeowner are protected from disaster.

Homeowners with FHA, VA, or less than 20% equity are required to “escrow” their homeowners insurance. “Escrowing” your homeowners insurance is simply paying your insurance as part of your mortgage. Generally, escrowing your homeowners insurance is optional if your mortgage is conventional (i.e. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) and your downpayment or your home equity is at least 20% of the home’s value.

Homeowners insurance is the “I” in PITI, which represents a homeowner’s total monthly housing payment.

1. Principal is the money used to pay down the balance of the loan.

2. Interest is the charge you pay to the lender for the privilege of borrowing the money.

3. Taxes refer to the property taxes you pay as a homeowner.

4. Insurance refers to both your homeowners insurance and your PMI, if required.

For more information regarding homeowners insurance and other mortgage topics, contact myself or your local mortgage professional.

Visit my Facebookpage or email me at rob@ccmloans.com

Rob Smee, Mortgage Consultant with Country Club Mortgage.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Easter Eggs!!!! Dye, hacks, decorate... Here are some great ideas for you!

Its the Saturday before Easter and you are probably up to your eyeballs in hard boiled eggs and the scent of vinegar and sulfur fills the air.... Here are some great egg decorating ideas for you to try. :)

mommyish.com had 10 great ideas including using shave cream to help dye eggs.

Life buzz has 15 great ideas for easter egg fun, but I must warn you these seem to be some advanced techniques....

And for the plastic egg people...

Friday, April 18, 2014

Fun Food Friday!!! EASTER EDITION

Here is the situation..... It's Good Friday, sure you knew in the back of your head that Easter was coming, but now all of the sudden its here! You are going to at least one Easter Egg Hunt and possibly multiple BBQ's. You have not bought anything, you are unprepared and the thought of going to Costco practically causes your heart to stop.... Where do you begin? Don't worry we are here to help. Here are some easy Easter ideas, recipes and cheats to get you through the weekend.

This short little video has some super cute and super festive ideas for you :)

The good folks at Pillsbury have compiled 50 "Doable" recipes for the the big weekend. They cover everything from breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and of course (my favorite) desserts.

Martha Stewart has a great list of easy last minute Easter saves. Including this one that we love. Use a plastic egg to weight down table cloths!!! Genius!!!!

Last but not least, here is some great Easter music, just in case you forgot you were hosting Easter. Here is a little 10 song playlist that covers your for about an hour. :)

Please if you are travelling this weekend, be safe. Spend time focusing on the most important things like, family, friends, laughter and memories. God Bless you and your family on the precious weekend.

Happy Easter!

P.S. Mother's Day is officially around the corner... 5/11/14

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Throw Back Thursday: cost of living then and now

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Good News for Selling Your Home! California Home Prices are on the Rise!

California has many things to attract buyers, and if you are in the Central Valley, you have the advantage of being a short drive to it all! Better still, home prices are on the rise! California home values overall have gone UP 18.4% over the past year. That is great news coming out of the Tulare County is that our home values over last year have gained 22% compared to 2013.

What does this mean for you? Now is a great time to contact an agent about listing your home and getting the best value for your home. Combine this with current interest rates still below 5%, you have great home values for the seller, and great interest rates for the buyer. If you are considering listing your home but your just not sure, contact an agent and feel it out. Our agents are experts in our market and would love to answer your questions. Enjoy this beautiful spring weather and Happy Selling!!!