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THIS IS A MUST READ ARTICLE describing how the Daily News ripped off the Empire State Building in 90 minutes using forged documents.  It highlights the huge potential for thieves to take advantage of a system that does no verification of information.

I believe that in the not too distant future we will see an entire industry developed to make sure your “REAL PROPERTY” is not stolen or tampered with, much like what we have today to protect ourselves from identity theft.

I had a gentleman contact me who wanted to sell some property he had and I looked it up on the tax records and told him that according to what I was seeing on the tax records he had transferred the property through sale earlier in the year.  It turns out a  family member had sold the property using bogus documents and notary.

Guess who the buyer was?  A REAL ESTATE BROKER –  who should have known that if the price was “too good to be true” there was probably something fishy going on.

		Direct: Fax:	559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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Fresno California Real Estate Market Update (edit/delete)

Interesting article in the Fresno Bee yesterday discussing the uptick real estate sales.  According to the article the same investors who sold property 2003 - 2005 and went to the sidelines are now coming back in.

• Fresno Association of Realtors reports preliminary figures of  612 units sold in October
• Over half of  October sales (56%)  were foreclosures.
• The median price of a home is now $175,000 ( down 31% from a year ago)

Go here for a chart of sales in Fresno  Clovis area

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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With prices continuing to decline in the Fresno Real Estate Market buyers are shuffling into the market. Anyone who has read my blog in the past (say since this time last year) knows that I have advised extreme caution and repeatedly stated I believed prices were going lower.

At this time last year sales were abysmal, inventory was peaking (it actually hit a peak in Sept of 07) and prices were substantially higher.

Here are couple of graphs taken from the FAR Grapevine that will help you to see what is taking place in the Fresno Market.

I don’t think anyone really knows where the bottom is with respect to prices but statistics indicate to me — AGAIN, as I have previously stated in other blogs — we are bouncing along a bottom. The only thing I dont know is if this is THE bottom. I certainly hope that it is and that the market is able to mend from here.

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I had to laugh when I watched this video because although I am not familiar with Sam Leccima and this particular series I am fascinated when I watch these guys on TV and usually am left wondering how it is the producers figure that money was actually made.  Trust me, there is nothing easy about flipping homes, or we would ALL being doing it.

How in the world did A & E manage to get hoodwinked by this humbug?

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I said in a previous blog that I would begin inserting some information about Green Living and I think the timing couldn’t be better. I was reading some articles the other day about the Smart Car and was thinking if the cost of energy continues to climb people WILL be driving those things. I think that Americans wont conserve unless they HAVE to, and the current energy crisis might be just what we need to get us to shift gears to greener living.

So, in this post I want to introduce you to TINY HOUSES and radically different concept of living. Check out this video of minimalist living.

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When you blog, you can’t help but to ask yourself this question. The answer, if you happen to be reading this is: YOU

I recently read that if I want to attract people that are in the market to buy and sell homes to my blog then I shouldn’t be blogging about my latest photos, altercations with mechanics, or how to save money on prescription drugs. Makes sense to me. I’ll try to keep this blog focused on real estate. Chances are though, I’ll want to blog about those other things, so I may have another blog @ randymcatee.com .

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Sunday’s Fresno Bee reported that home sales in Fresno are indeed picking up. I read the news and intended to comment on it but even if you ARE the blogging broker you still only have 24 hours in a day. Then last night ABC 30 did segment on the market. Unfortunately, I’m not able to embed the video into my blog but you can go here and see/read the story.

I will add that besides the sales being UP as they mention, the *MSI (months supply of inventory) is WAY DOWN from what it was in the fall of last year when I began reporting the numbers. In September of 2007 the MSI was at 20.2 months. In April the MSI was down to 6.3 months. What an improvement!

As I’ve stated before, the numbers show we hit a bottom in November of 2007 - and AGAIN - whether or not this is THE bottom I can’t tell you. But the numbers are improving and it would be nice to see things continue like this.

Lazarus will be out showing homes this evening and hopes to write and OFFER THAT STICKS

If you are looking to area, call me, Lazarus @ 559-301-1647

*The MSI is calculated by taking the number of properties listed on the last day of the month and dividing it by the number of solds in that month

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…is how Miss Manners title would this blog. What I really want to say is:

HEY YOU DUMB S.O.B. WTF ARE YOU WASTING MY TIME?

SO, you might get the idea that I’m a little pissed. I AM.

I called an agent today to check availability on a home. He just happened to be the SAME agent that had the home listed in this blog so I wasnt going to show the home unless I knew for sure it was available. I called both his office and his cell and only got his voice mail - so I left a message asking availability. For whatever reason my phone did not ring when he called back so he left a voice message telling me ONLY that the home is ACTIVE.

My client and his wife are first time home buyers approved for an FHA loan and looking really hard to find something in their budget. They brought this particular home to my attention and they read the same single-line marketing description that I did:

“3 bed 2 bath in estabished neighborhood. Great starter home or investment.”

Ok — nothing in the Agent Remarks to warn me about what I am about to take my clients into. Nothing in his voice mail prepared me for it either. The house is TOTAL DISASTER. Grafitti in every single room. Graffiti on the counters, graffiti on the stove, graffiti on every cabinet door (the ones still attached). Every back window boarded (I think they were all broken). Holes punched in the walls. Sleeping bag(s) in one of the rooms as evidence that transients had been using it for shelter. By far the WORST REO I have ever seen. I wish I had my camera with me so I could show you what I saw.

Why would you say that it’s a “Great starter home”???

Who would finance that home. It wont appraise for anywhere NEAR the ask price. WTF— cant you just let the public and other agents know THE TRUTH? Is that too much to ask? Is truthful dealing and uprightness beyond you? APPARENTLY SO!

CONGRATULATIONS! You succeeded in getting another showing of our property which you can now report to your lender in your weekly communique. But at what expense? You further damage your reputation with me. I have to believe that every agent who has believed your one-liner LIE feels exactly the same as me.

My friend Stan Tucker who who encouraged me to get into this business (he died last year of brain cancer) told me your agency was EVIL. We are not supposed to speak of other agencies in this way — but I BELIEVE HIM.

A POX ON ALL YOUR ESCROWS!

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On his blog today Donald Trump says its a good time to BUY. I am tempted to just copy and paste it but that is a viaolation of copyright law and what Donald or you or I or anyone else writes BELONGS to them and should not be used without permission.

You can read it in its entirety HERE.

Here’s an excerpt:

If you’re one of the fortunate few who is looking to buy, you could hardly be in a better position. Shop around, find a house and make an offer. Chances are, any good deal will get accepted and if you have decent credit you should be able to get financing.

I think the housing market is going to get better and it’s going to get better fairly quickly. The market is depressed and that’s when you want to go in. So if you have the money, now’s when you want to go out and buy.

If you happen to follow his advise and it doesnt work out — you can always say: “YOUR FIRED!”

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Help beautify Fresno by purchasing a home with a green pool through Lazarus Realty. I will *pay for the cost of draining, cleaning and refilling the pool. When complete you will have a sparkling BLUE pool.

Did you know that Fresno has over 1000 **GREEN POOLS and that these green pools are a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and a single green pool can infect an area within a quarter mile and that the mosquitoes may carry the West Nile virus? With the weather warming up green pools will only get greener because algae blooms in sunlight.

The majority of these homes are vacant and/or REO (properties that have gone through foreclosure and now belong to the bank)

If you are unfortunate enough to have one of these homes in your neighborhood you might want to report it to the Fresno Mosquito Control District and they will go out and test the pool for larva and if it has mosquito larva they will treat it. I called them and the person I spoke with said some homeowners pools are going green because they just dont have the money right now to take care of them. If you happen to be in that unfortunate situation you can grab a bucket and go down there and they will fill it with minnows for free.

If you are interested in purchasing a Foreclosed home in Fresno call me today: Lazarus @ 559-301-1647

SEARCH THE FRESNO MLS

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* (some restrictions apply) I called four pool cleaning services in the yellow pages and only one had a live person on the other end: All Brite. Erica at All Brite told me that this service generally runs between $400 to $800. I will either credit $400.00 of my commission to buyer at close of escrow or pay up to a maximum of $800.00 for the service. Agents of Lazarus Realty are not bound to this offer - only mwau - the broker

**(source: KMJ)

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