Shasta Association of REALTORS®

Listing and Closing Short Sales

smurphy — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:28:20 +0000

Standing room only for this meeting

On Wednesday February 15, we were treated to a a Master Class of valuable information relating to listing and successfully closing short sales.

Doug Juenke addresses the crowd

Reealtors Doug Juenke, Cindy Young, and Josh Barker spoke about their experiences listing, and more importantly, closing, short sales. The resulting seminar was equivalent to post graduate training from the school of hard knocks in this important aspect of real estate in 2012. The room was full, and all eyes and ears were focused on this valuable knowledge.

Our short sale expert panel -Doug Juenke, Cindy Young, Josh Barker

This was a popular topic, and the meeting was packed. If you were unable to attend, the Association has made arrangements for the talk to be available to you as a webcast at the link below. Our thanks to Association President Doug Juenke for putting this needed program together, and to both Cindy and Josh for such exceptionally generous sharing of their valuable insights. Skip Murphy

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A Brand New Day

twhitacre — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:50:36 +0000

The following information has been provide courtesy of A Brand New Day, Full Spectrum Memory Care -

ELDER CARE OPTIONS I REDDING, CALIFORNIA

The Redding, California community offers a wide variety of care options for our
aging parents. This ranges from services provided in the home to long term care
communities where they receive assistance with all of their activities of daily living.

Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s): This term is frequently used by healthcare
professionals to measure the functional status of a person. Consequently, it is
important to understand this term when evaluating which option is best for your
parent.

Individuals may live safely in their home and maintain their independence when they
can manage their instrumental activities of daily living. This includes taking care of
the house, cooking, managing their money, taking medications as prescribed, using
the telephone, and driving or arranging for transportation for shopping, participating
in social activities, going to doctors’ appointments, etc. The person may have certain
physical or cognitive limitations which may require help, so they arrange for a
housekeeper and lawn service on a regular basis and family members step in to
provide transportation and helping with the checkbook to pay bills.

When maintaining a household becomes too difficult: Individuals may hire a
caregiver to come into their home on a part-time or full -time basis to provide
assistance with their ADL’s. This may include basic ADL’s such as personal hygiene
and grooming, cooking, cleaning, medication management, movement (walking,
getting in and out of a chair, shower, bathtub, etc.) Shasta County’s ‘In Home
Support Services’ is where caregivers can be found for low income residents. They
can be reached at (530) 225-5507. There are private agencies who will arrange for
caregiver services. Caregivers are screened with a criminal background check and to
make sure they are drug free. They are trained by the agency. The caregivers are
bonded and the agency takes care of payroll taxes and covers caregivers under the
agency’s worker’s compensation insurance. Unlike the county program, the cost is
considered “private pay” which means that the individual is personally responsible to
pay for the services.

MediCal and Medicare will not pay for a private caregiver. Long term insurance may
cover the cost and the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Benefits may also be available
to help cover care giving costs. Contact our local Veteran’s office at (530) 225-5616
to find out about getting benefits. Private agencies in our community include Senior
Helpers (530) 223-5939, Home Helpers (530) 226-8530, and Medical Home
Care Professionals (530) 226-5577.

Living Alone at Home: Living alone at home isn’t all that it is cracked up to be
when the individual feels isolated and relies on a single caregiver for their social
support. Golden Umbrella offers day programs where seniors gather for meals and
social interaction. Golden Umbrella can be reached at (530) 223-6034.

Independent Living Communities: (aka Retirement Communities) These
communities offer a great alternative for seniors who can no longer (or prefer not to)
manage household duties. The individual rents an apartment within the community.

They can arrange for cleaning and laundry services and take meals in a common
dining room. Most communities have a full calendar of social events and activities to
choose from. Independent living communities in our area include Shasta Estates
(530) 243-4013, Hilltop Estates (530) 241-4444 and River Oaks Retirement
(530) 221-2121.

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE): When an elderly individual
cannot take care of their basic activities of daily living due to physical frailties and/or
memory loss assisted living communities become the best option. Assisted living
communities may also be known as retirement homes and board and care homes. All
are Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) and are licensed and monitored
by the State of California.

Smaller communities are subject to less stringent regulations than those housing 15
individuals or more. The size is usually referred to according to the number of beds
which can range from six (6) beds or less to over one hundred (100) beds and offer
varying levels of personal care and protective supervision.

Look closely at each facility: Because of a wide range of services offered by RCFEs
and the dependence of the elderly for care, it is important to look closely at each
facility to see if it is the right fit. There is a group of assisted living facilities in
Redding that belong to Redding Area Assisted Living Association. This group
provides a list of RCFEs that can find at RAALA.org.

Memory Care Communities: While most communities (facilities) will accept
individuals with dementia, it is best to select a memory care community to meet
their special needs. Memory care communities are a type of RCFE which offer a
specialized program to ensure the safety and the care of those suffering from
dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. Their physical facilities are designed to be
safe and secure and their staff receives specialized training. A Brand New Day
provides pre-placement counseling and dementia support along with a full service
memory care community.

* *As the author of this comprehensive look at eldercare options, Mary Burger,
President of “A Brand New Day’, and her team are well qualified to advise families of
the resources in the Redding, CA community for every type of elder care need.

Please contact:

Mary Lascelles
Community Relations Director
779 Kerry Jen Court
Redding, CA. 96002
Ph. 530 515-6299 Fax 530 223-6238

Also find us here:

Website: http://abrandnewday-redding. com
Facebook: http://facebook. com/abrandnewdayreddinq
Twitter: http://twitter.com/abrandnewday

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Dedicated REALTORS attend training

smurphy — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:10:44 +0000

On January 30, members of the Shasta Association of Realtors attended training covering Ethics and Standards. Instructor Dave Tanner outlined recent updates to the Code of Ethics. The Code is updated regularly, and it’s important for professionals to keep abreast of the rules.
These agents are giving freely of their time in order to raise the standard of professionalism among our membership. The Grievance Committee and the Pro Standards Committee provide enforcement of our Ethics and MLS Rules, and provide the public with a platform of recourse to have their real estate related issues heard. Without the volunteer work of these many professional REALTORS, both the public and the membership would suffer. Our thanks to all who attended. Skip Murphy

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James Theimer and Redding School of the Arts

smurphy — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:08:25 +0000

On January 18th 2012 the Association was very fortunate to hear a talk by noted local Architect James Theimer of the Trilogy Architecture firm. He spoke about the recently completed Redding School of the Arts.

This incredible school facility was designed from start to finish with green practices in the forefront. But even more importantly, it was designed to be an innovative teaching facility unlike anything before it. Taking full consideration of the setting, and the climate, this school is meant to keep the outdoors in. James is an enlightening and enthusiastic visionary designer on so many levels. His talk had the members full attention. If your were unable to attend this truly engaging talk, we have made arrangements for you to listen and follow along with the presentation.

An Outdoor School
A technical glitch cuts off the introductory remarks, but we think you’ll find the rest of the information as interesting and eye-opening as it was to the members in attendance. Readers interested in more about the design of this amazing teaching facility can find more at the Trilogy webpage devoted to the Redding School of the Arts. Such an impressive tribute to the values we place on education in our community. Thanks, James, and thank you to the McConnell Foundation for this gift to Redding. Definitely one of the best presentations we’ve seen here. Skip Murphy

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Nadine Bailey speaks to the membership

smurphy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:04:04 +0000

Our guest speaker for January 4th 2012 General Membership meeting was Nadine Bailey, Field Representative for California State Assemblyman Dan Logue. Nadine brings insight about governmental and political matters currently taking place in Sacramento coupled with her long experience and deep understanding of the issues that matter to the Northstate. Nadine is a most engaging and dynamic speaker, and her talk that day was a good example. She is always well recived by the membership for her frank opinions and common sense perspective on the sometimes frustrating state political scene. The talk runs just about a half hour, and if you were unable to attend, the Association has made arrangements to have it available to you as a webcast. Click on the link at the bottom of the post to listen. Thanks Nadine, for your hard work advocating Northstate interests in state government. Skip Murphy

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39th Annual Christmas Party for kids at the Elks Club

smurphy — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:13:06 +0000

The 39th annual Christmas Party for local kids with special needs put on by the Shasta Association of REALTORS at the Redding California Elks Club, with help and support from many members and businesses in our community. Our thanks go out to all the volunteers, helpers, and to the kids. All of you have filled our hearts with the spirit of the season once again. Skip Murphy

Shasta REALTORS Christmas party for kids 2011 from Skip Murphy on Vimeo.

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Attorneys Jody Burgess and Clint Boren from Maire and Burgess

smurphy — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:42:29 +0000

Jody Burgess

Attorneys Jody Burgess and Clint Boren from Maire and Burgess spoke to the assembled General MLS membership on November 2, 2011. The talk covered a wide range of topics including Fiduciary Duties, Risk Management, and recent case law that will impact the practice of real estate in our region. These attorneys are always very interesting for our members to hear, and accordingly the meeting room was packed to standing room only. In case you were unable to attend, the Association has arranged to have the webcast of the talk available to you online at the player below. Additionally, we have been very generously supplied with the presentation slides that were shown as well, so you can listen and follow along. RealEstateDevelopments2011LocalBoard Also from Jody, “I have attached the Real Property Journal article that was recently published. It starts on Page 25, and it builds on the fiduciary duty issue I addressed at the meeting.”RPJ issue 3 2011 Final Our thanks go to Jody and Clint, and to the Shasta Association of Realtors for this educational event. Skip Murphy

Attorney Clinton Boren

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Improve your client’s credit score

smurphy — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:44:22 +0000

Kevin Kust of Continental Credit

Have you ever had a client who needed to improve their credit score in order to qualify for a home loan? Certainly, it’s become even more common in our current economy. On Wednesday October 19 the membership was treated to a talk about improving FICO scores from a proven professional, Kevin Kust of Continental Credit. Kevin can help your credit challenged buyer to improve their score using expertise accumulated over hundreds of people. Interestingly, he emphasized that his company doesn’t really do anything that the client couldn’t do on their own. But after listening to his well-tested

There was a slide show of illustrations

strategies, I think few ordinary consumers are going to be able to make all the right choices as to what direction and tactic. Indeed, many of the seemingly obvious things you might try, like paying off debts, can have the opposite effect on the score. It’s a complicated business, but one which can make a big difference in the buyer’s ability to purchase a home.

The meeting was very well attended and stimulated a lot of discussion. If you were not able to be there, the association has arranged for you to be able to have this information as a webcast at the bottom of this post. Additionally, there is more information about Continental Credit at their website , and you can get there by clicking on the image below. Be sure to listen to the webcast, and keep this crucial information handy for review later on when needed. You buyers will thank you! Thanks to the association for another excellent program. Skip Murphy

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Nursing students caught in Catch 22 bind

smurphy — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:36:25 +0000

The Association receives many deserving requests for charitable aid. We live in tough economic times, and that’s certainly true for our members as well. Your Directors must decide which requests are worth a collective response using our member funds. The Directors are very aware of the great responsibility that is required. Which of the requests would be supported by a majority of the members? Sometimes choosing can be agonizing. This request below hit home for a number of the Directors. Although we chose not give from the collective Association funds under our responsibility, a number of Directors gave from their own funds, and so we present the request here knowing that many of our members may feel the same way. Hard work should not be punished by a rule change after the fact.

From: “Douglas McConnell”
Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 4:04 PM To:
Subject: Student Nurses Fred,

Thank you for your interest and possible support. Currently I have paid for their expenses for September and October (budgeted). This was necessary just to keep them going as they had consumed their savings waiting for the July government check that never came. By September 1 they really were out of cash and had no money for gas or car repair. Getting to class was nearly impossible. They cannot really get a job as they are in their preceptor semester often working 12 hour days at various hospitals. Their schedule is erratic and they are really in school full time – thus the cash crisis. The Feds nationalized the entire student loan program for the US inside the Obamacare health legislation. The rules were changed as of July 1 and here we are. These students were deemed to have attained “too many” units and thus were ineligible for Federal loans or grants. Might we be punishing success and hard work? All this occurred just four months shy of graduation at the end of at least four years of courses.
Here is the KRCR clip. http://www.krcrtv.com/video/29238143/index.html

Link to video

Again thanks in advance for your help. I have put out about $4400 and I estimate another $5000 to $6000 will be needed to get to graduation. I have not set up a true 501 c-3 yet as they needed living and transportation funds immediately when this started.
I am convinced that Redding can help these talented young ladies achieve their DREAM. (Play on terminology)
Doug
Douglas H. McConnell, M.D., FACS Director of Cardiac Surgery Shasta Regional Medical Center Redding, CA 530.242.6422 douggtesurgeons.com

9/29/2011

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What Realtors need to know about Lead Paint

smurphy — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:18:06 +0000

Mike and Debbie talk about what Realtors need to know about lead based paint

On September 7, the Shasta MLS hosted a talk by Mike Brody of Choice Property Services, a certified lead paint inspector, along with his wife Debbie.

Mike holds aloft a lead paint inspection device

They spoke about the changes to the requirements for treating lead based paint in homes and how that affects realtors. Relatively recent changes to legislation make it a requirement that any remodeling or repair to homes that may have lead paint be treated very carefully. Mike talked about the questionable reliability of hardware store self-test kits, and how he was trained to perform a professional inspection. There is a lot more to know. You have resources at the NAR to read, click on the graphic below. But your MLS has also arranged to have the talk available to you as a webcast in case you were unable to attend. Check it out at the bottom of this post. Not knowing could prove costly. Skip Murphy

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