Posts from: Guides

If you have ever worked with a realtor on purchasing either a primary or secondary home or a lot, one of the first questions they will ask you is if you are pre-approved. I used to think this was less important when working with people who are in the market for homes valued…

I work with a lot of buyers who are in the process of living out their dream of buying a piece of land and either building a custom home or buying a pre-fab home. On the flip side, I also have a couple of clients who started down the road of building a home and their life…

A guide to Riverview Healdsburg, one of the best 55 or older communities in California. This guide outlines the choices available for anyone looking to purchase a home in an 55+ active retirement community.

There has always been a demand for homes that are remodeled and ready to go, but increasingly there are more and more people looking for something turnkey. This is partly because today’s society is more impatient, partly because buyers want a modern aesthetic with the…

Nearly five years ago my wife and I purchased a house on Chalk Hill Road on a couple of acres of land overlooking a vineyard. Our plan was to design our dream home, rent out the existing property in the meantime. We were then going to knock it down when we were ready to…

The market for lots in Sonoma County is still being impacted by the fires in 2017 and to a much smaller extent by the 2019 Kincaid fire. The chart below shows how the number of lots for sale doubled from September 2017 to September 2018 from 192 to 385.With the desire for…

During the fire season last year, it was fairly routine to have power shut offs for large parts of Sonoma County, as well as Marin County. I remember one of the first listings that I saw once the power was back on, was a rural property that heavily promoted the fact it had…

With the recent changes further lifting the restrictions on secondary dwelling units, in particular, Accessory Dwelling Units, it’s hard to keep track of what is allowed and what’s not. The big change at the beginning of this year lifted the minimum lot size…

Have house insurance costs increased after the recent Sonoma county fires? Rob Stroud of Farmers Insurance gives advice on insuring properties in Sonoma County

I work with a number of buyers helping them to find a piece of property where they can build their dream home either by purchasing a lot or a property with a structure which they will either tear down or designate as a guest house. However, with building costs for a custom…

I am embarrassed to say, the week before the fires, I cleared four dumpsters of brush from my yard, not before time. Little did I know at the time, but that probably saved my house from burning in the recent fires in Healdsburg.These latest fires are a reminder to all of us…