Blogging Broker

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Attention Realtors! When posting your pics to the MLS make sure they are least 400 X 300 pixels in size (MLS format size). It’s ok if they’re larger because the system will automatically resize them. But if you upload them at this size …

(actual size of the pic taken from the Fresno MLS)

people viewing them won’t know what they are looking at
Looks to me like the this might be a contributing factor to the home being on the market over 200 days. Also looks like the seller is offering nearly $20,000 commission to have a Realtor market their property.
__________________

Selling real estate in Fresno? What is your Realtor doing for you?

Looking to Buy real estate in Fresno - SEARCH THE FRESNO MLS

Share This

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal in March titled

Why Don’t Real-Estate Agents Use Better Photos?

which I happened to miss at the time.  It certainly worth a read.  Its a great article and I expect that consumers will gradually wake up to what is going on.  I dont find time to blog every day but I might try finding the time to post a CRAPPY MLS PIC(S) OF THE DAY.

Here are today’s todays winners.  NOTE: all these pics are from the same listing AND, get this, you are seeing the ACTUAL size they posted them in even though the MLS provides for a 400 x 300 pixel format.

This is the exterior …lmao!

  I think this is the kitchen — HELLO!

  Turn your head sideways please.

  The master bedroom perhaps?

If your going to list your home, find someone who has the tools and enough cerebral substance to market it for you.

Share This

Whether you’re looking to BUY or SELL real estate in Fresno California,

I will give you the straight picture.

Don’t be caught with a half-assed agent (and a broker who doesn’t oversee them) who give you the picture SIDEWAYS:

Actual pictures taken from the Fresno MLS

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
Broker: Lazarus Realty

559-301-1647

Share This

Well they wont be secret spots for long because I am going to share them with you.

If you like to camp and if you like to get out in the early spring when the poppies are in bloom and hills are alive with color and if you enjoy relative seclusion and privacy (but still want a campground with a commode), I have a few spots to share with you that I KNOW are underutilized at this time of year. (How do I know they are underutilized? I visited each of them the other day and there wasn’t a single camper at any of these three campgrounds.) They are all in the Sequoia National Forest about a hour and forty five minutes drive from central Fresno. These campgrounds are:
(click the pic to enlarge)

——–Camp 4 ————– Green Cabin Flat——and Mill Flat.

These are located on the Kings River above Pine Flat Reservoir

and as you can see here all of the campgrounds are at low elevation.

These campgrounds have tables and fire pits

and toilets,

no running water, are most suited towards using a tent but I have taken a small trailer back there. Best of all: NO RESERVATIONS REQUIRED AND NO FEES.

In the early spring these low elevation campgrounds are ideal because its much colder at the higher elevations. This is really the ideal time of year for low elevation camping. The poppies and wildflowers are in bloom and the hills are brilliant green from the rains. Take advantage of these now and then in the summer you can go to the higher elevations sites.

HOW TO GET THERE

Easy. Go East on Belmont Ave. Belmont Ave will turn into Trimmer Springs Road. You will know when you’re there because you’ll be on the Kings River and there is a little general store off to the right: Doyles. That is where you’re going to want to get your bait if you plan on fishing. Of course, if you’re a hard core fisherman going up that way you’ll have flies - so no need for bait. Now all you do is follow Trimmer Springs Road all the way around Pine Flat Lake. It’s approx 30 miles and its all well paved. You will cross a couple bridges and then you’ll come to this STEEL BRIDGE.

Do NOT cross the bridge.

From this bride on up the river is a habitat for wild trout. The limit is two and you have to use a barbless hook. Of course catch and release is encouraged. These wild trout are NOT easy to catch nor are they as abundant as the man-fed, stocked trout on the lower river. Translation: this is a fly fisherman’s paradise! There is some info just to the right of the bridge about the area. You cant miss it. Here is a picture of it.

Now just to the south of the bridge (right of these signs) is a U.S Forest Service Road that runs along the south side of the Kings River. You can’t miss it either. Here is a picture of it - note that it has the sign telling you the distance to each of the campsites mentioned above.

In case you can’t read it - its 2 miles to Camp 4, 2 1/2 miles to Green Cabin Flat, and 3 Miles to Mill Flat Campground. Last year the Forest Service re-graveled the road so its fairly decent and you can go back there with two wheel drive without any problem. I should mention that Camp 4 1/2 cabin is also on that sign and its only a mile down the road and is also a great place to camp. This site has a place for horses and we met some folks who brought their horses with them to camp so they could ride them. How cool is that? The cabins used to be for Forest Service rangers but are no longer used by the Forest Service so if you call them you can rent them and they have all the amenities. I was up there the other day and it didn’t look like anyone was taking advantage of them

I hope you enjoyed this little photo tour.

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

Share This

WHO NEEDS A MOVIE?

Well, I’m not saying you NEED a movie but if you list your home with Lazarus Realty and would like a movie I can forward the pictures I take of your home to Fred and Sharon and they will put together a movie for you. There is of course an additional cost, which happens to be whatever Fred and Sharon charge, but it could be well worth the cost!

Ok - for those who dont know me - this is tongue-in-cheek. Buy hey, I WILL do it if you want. I’ll bury a statue of St. Joseph if you think it will help!

Share This

As promised I have the photos ready from our drive of the Blossom Trail the other day. As you can see from the pics the drive is pure camera candy. speaking of candy, on the south end of the trail we passed some signs that said dried fruit, nuts, CHOCOLATE, and we were thinking to stop but before we knew it we had passed the place. We drove on about a 1/4 mile and I decided to turn around and go back. I told my wife they may not have the fruit or nuts yet — BUT THEY GOTTA HAVE THE CHOCOLATE. So we pulled into Luke’s Almond Acres (11281 S Lac Jac Reedley) and where we were cordially greeted by the staff and proprietors, shown around the farm, offered fruits and chocolates to taste and bottle water too! You will see a few pictures of the place towards the end of the slide show. The stop happened to be one of the highlights of the trip and I look forward to stopping in again.

You will also see a pic of our FJ Cruiser in the parking lot next to a Taco Bell in Reedley — NOTE the huge blossoms on the trees in the parking lot. THERE ARE BLOSSOMS EVERYWHERE IN FRESNO RIGHT NOW!

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
Broker - Lazarus Realty

Share This

Today my wife and I planned to do the Blossom Trail. We scheduled to leave at around 9:00 am figuring we would spend about 3 hours on the road and I would get some shooting in. Well, we left at 10:00 a.m. and returned home at around 4:47 p.m.— nearly 7 hours later!

I think this was actually the first time my wife and I drove the trail alone, without our kids. It really was nice, and if you’re thinking of driving the trail you better not wait too long because for the most part its in FULL BLOOM. I will be blogging more about the trail later and have a slide show of the pics I took.

For now, here’s a preview:

Share This

Children’s Hospital in Madera California is truly one of the gems of California’s Central Valley. The hospital is perched right above the San Joaquin river basin just north of Fresno on hwy 41. I’m not a doctor or a hospital analyst but my layman’s guess is that this is truly one of the best - if not THE BEST - children’s hospital in the state of California. I pulled into the hospital the other day as the sun was setting and got these shots. They start at the entrance and then I went around the hospital clockwise. As I left I took a final picture of the giraffe and you can see the moon rising in the backround.

Share This

Yesterday was Theophany for old calendar Orthodox Christians.

One of the basic tenants of Orthodox Christian faith comes from the Psalms:

“God is the Lord and has revealed himself to us”

Theophany refers to the revelation or “shining forth” of God on earth. When Jesus Christ was baptized the Spirit of God descended up him in the form of a dove and Father spoke from heaven saying “This is my beloved son…”

It was at his baptism that Jesus Christ was revealed to the world as the Son of God.

During Theophany we have a blessing of the water and the blessed water is taken home and used later when the priest comes for the annual house blessing and also used at times when we are sick, etc. We believe that when Jesus Christ entered the water as God in the flesh, the water, the earth’s most essential element, and the earth was blessed.

These are the beautiful words of the hymn we sing on this day:

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest! For the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, and called Thee His beloved Son! And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!”

Our Bishop was present for Feast of Theophany and we had a hierarchal liturgy in the morning. I was able to get this shot of him:

If you live in the Fresno area or are considering relocating to the Fresno area you can learn more about the Orthodox Faith and St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Orthodox Church here.

Please don’t let the word “Serbian” discourage you from visiting or contacting the church. The founders and many of the parishioners are Serbian. But this fellow is Irish and we have Russians, Hispanics, East Indian, Filipinos, etc — there is plenty of cultural diversity.
©Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
Owner/Broker Lazarus Realty

Share This

Just about everyone who knows anything about Fresno knows that Fresno has a beloved Christmas Tree Lane located on Van Ness Blvd in Old Fig Garden. Old Fig Garden is known for its tree-lined streets with historic homes. Every year they string up lights on Old Van Ness and many of the homeowners decorate their homes and yards with lights … and often much more.The other nite I was eager to see what I could accomplish with my new camera and shot the photos below. I dont really have a good night lens for what I was doing but that didnt stop from doing the best I could.

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
Owner / Broker Lazarus Realty
559-301-1647
Email Me

Share This