Home for sale in Citrus Heights receives 122 offers in one weekend

by: Dennis Shanahan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. (KTXL) — A Citrus Heights home in a quiet cul-de-sac received 122 offers in one weekend on the market.

The 1,400 square feet Citrus Heights home has three bedrooms, two baths and a spacious backyard with a swimming pool and an asking price of $399,900.00.

“People would think that it was underpriced. It was not underpriced. It was straight on with the comps,” said Deb Brittan, the listing agent for the property. “I had hoped, I thought, maybe if we get 20 offers that would be amazing.

” Barry and Anita Jackier are the sellers of the Citrus Heights home.

“We had this little friendly wager going. I’m like, ‘I think we’re going to get eight offers,” Anita Jackier said.

“I said 10,” Barry Jackier said.

They all underestimated the number of offers, by a lot.

They received 122 offers in one weekend.

“That’s 121 people who didn’t get a house. And that’s kind of heartbreaking in this market to think that there are so many buyers out there. And if you don’t have an agent that understands how to put a strategic offer in on a house and get it accepted, you’re just out burning your gas and a lot of emotional turmoil because of the nature of our market currently,” Brittan said.

The couple is buying a home in Idaho.

They need time for the escrow to close on that home, so one big factor was they needed a buyer to wait until that happens before moving in.

4th stimulus check? Some lawmakers push for another direct payment “I’d like to think that the buyer that was supposed to have gotten the house, has gotten the house,” Brittan said.

The selling price of the home was in the mid-$400,000 range.

“We have so many great memories. And that’s going to be hard to let go of,” Barry Jackier said.

“But you know what I’m excited about is now another family gets to have a blank palate to make all those memories on. We are keeping those memories and they have an opportunity to start their own,” Anita Jackier said.

The couple said they felt called by God to move to Idaho and from that perspective, it’s a miracle they were able to find a home there.

“That house was on the market for three hours,” Anita Jackier told FOX40.

“So I don’t know that it’s going to slow down any time soon. And I don’t know what it’s going to take to slow it down,” Brittan said.

Should You Hire a Real Estate Lawyer

Buying a home isn’t just a simple purchase; it’s also a legal transfer of a property from one entity to another. Because the legal side of this transaction can be so complex, sometimes it makes sense (or is even required) for home buyers or sellers to enlist an attorney who can look out for their best interests.

While you’ll likely already be dealing with a myriad of costs as you work to close on your house, and probably aren’t keen to add another, having a lawyer on your side can be an expense that ends up paying for itself.

What Is A Real Estate Attorney?

A real estate attorney is someone who is licensed to practice real estate law, meaning they have the knowledge and experience to advise parties involved in a real estate transaction, such as a home sale.



If you’re buying or selling real estate, you may have heard you should hire a real estate attorney. "Should" is a squishy term, though. Do you need to hire a real estate attorney at all?

Granted, real estate deals are complicated transactions, so the last thing you want is to land in legal hot water. Nonetheless, in the same way you may not want to hire a travel agent to book a trip these days, you also don’t want to shell out for an attorney when you can make do without him, either.

So if you're on the fence or just unsure if a real estate attorney is required for you, here's some straight-up info to help you figure that out.

Air Conditioning and Your Allergies

Many people who suffer from seasonal allergies stay indoors during the times of the year (and day) when their allergies are most likely to flare up. But they’re confused when they still suffer from their allergies, even when cooped up indoors. That’s because they might have some severe air pollution indoors, including the type of allergens that run rampant outdoors. In fact, indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air quality, because these allergens have nowhere else to go, other than into everything you come in contact with from room to room. Allergens find their way into your home thanks to your pets, ventilation system, and even you (on your shoes, on your clothes). Running indoors when your allergies wreak havoc isn’t always going to give you the respite you’re looking for.

One of the solutions many people flock to when they think their indoor air is polluted with allergens is to open up their windows. But that’s not always an ideal choice because:

1. If you’re trying to avoid allergens found outside, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense inviting more allergens in with open windows.
2. If it’s extremely hot outside, you’ve now added another layer of discomfort into your world. Heat + allergies = a very bad day.



Whether you suffer from ID seasonal allergies or year-long allergens like pet dander or dust, your air conditioner can help you breathe easier. With the correct filter, your indoor air quality (IAQ) can be improved, filtering out allergens like pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and other irritant air particles. These particles get stopped by the filter and are not allowed to continue through the system to make their way to your lungs, improving air quality.

Indoor air quality is also improved because your air conditioner helps control your home’s humidity. Higher levels of humidity breed additional allergens like bacteria, mold, and mildew. Your air conditioner works hard to balance your home’s humidity, thereby reducing the instances of these allergens and irritants.

Clean Your Carpet Before Selling

Realtors making your house as attractive as possible before trying to sell it- doing things like getting the home out of your house, cleaning out closets, and making things look more attractive help you get the right buyers to look at your house. Making minor updates to the home also helps tremendously- updating plumbing fixtures, lighting, and repainting rooms to light, cheery colors can help you sell your home faster, and for more.

But what about carpet? Shouldn’t that get changed as well?

In my experience, and in working with realtors for the last 15 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that unless your carpet is in really bad shape, carpet cleaning it is sufficient to maximize your profit. Most buyers aren’t looking for a brand new house- otherwise they’d be talking to a builder instead of you, but they do want to be able to move into the house quickly, and they want it clean. Having recently purchased a home, the first thing my wife said when we got the keys and walked in the first time was “they didn’t even bother to clean it.” Not looking at anything else, the cleanliness is what caught her eye. Your prospective buyer will think the same thing. Cleaning the carpet and the tile or linoleum is a great way to help give the impression the home is clean.



If your carpet is very old, ripped to shreds and truly unfixable, we suggest you replace your carpet before putting your house up for sale. If you have a couple of stains here or there, or the color is a little dingy, don’t waste your time and money replacing it. Call Langenwalter and we will get your carpet looking great and ready for prospective buyers

Fixing Your Credit Score

Your credit score—a three-digit number lenders use to help them decide how likely it is they'll be repaid on time if they grant you a credit card or loan—is an important factor in your financial life. The higher your scores, the more likely you are to qualify for loans and credit cards at the most favorable terms, which will save you money.

If your credit history is not where you want it to be, you're not alone. Improving your credit scores takes time, but the sooner you address the issues that might be dragging them down, the faster your credit scores will go up. You can increase your scores by taking several steps, like establishing a track record of paying bills on time, paying down debt and taking advantage of tools like Experian Boost™† , a new product that allows you to add utility and cell phone bills to your credit file will make it much more likely that you can get a good mortgage loan.

How Credit Scores Are Calculated

FICO Scores are calculated using many different pieces of credit data in your credit report. This data is grouped into five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).

Steps to Improve Your Credit Scores

1. Pay down revolving balances to less than 30%

Your aggregate debt and the amounts owed on all credit cards and all installment accounts make up about 30% of your credit score. The most common revolving balances are amounts owed on your credit cards. However, there is a big difference between the revolving balances of someone with a 780 credit score and a 680 credit score.

Credit score of 680 → revolving balances of 40%-50% of their credit card limits
Credit score of 780 → revolving balances of 15%-25% of their credit card limits.

Essentially, don’t worry too much about paying installment accounts. They have a low impact on your score. Instead, pay your revolving balances off as soon as possible. At the very least, aim to pay those balances down to less than 30%. This will help to improve your credit score in 30 days or less.

2. Pay Your Bills on Time

When lenders review your credit report and request a credit score for you, they're very interested in how reliably you pay your bills. That's because past payment performance is usually considered a good predictor of future performance.

You can positively influence this credit scoring factor by paying all your bills on time as agreed every month. Paying late or settling an account for less than what you originally agreed to pay can negatively affect credit scores.

You'll want to pay all bills on time—not just credit card bills or any loans you may have, such as auto loans or student loans, but also your rent, utilities, phone bill and so on. It's also a good idea to use resources and tools available to you, such as automatic payments or calendar reminders, to help ensure you pay on time every month.

If you're behind on any payments, bring them current as soon as possible. Although late or missed payments appear as negative information on your credit report for seven years, their impact on your credit score declines over time: Older late payments have less effect than more recent ones.

3. Get Credit for Making Utility and Cell Phone Payments on Time

If you've been making utility and cell phone payments on time, there is a way for you to improve your credit score by factoring in those payments through a new, free product called Experian Boost.

Through this new opt-in product, consumers can allow Experian to connect to their bank accounts to identify utility and telecom payment history. After a consumer verifies the data and confirms they want it added to their Experian credit file, an updated FICO® Score will be delivered in real time.

4. Apply for and Open New Credit Accounts Only as Needed

Don't open accounts just to have a better credit mix—it probably won't improve your credit score.

Unnecessary credit can harm your credit score in multiple ways, from creating too many hard inquiries on your credit report to tempting you to overspend and accumulate debt.

5. Don't Close Unused Credit Cards

Keeping unused credit cards open—as long as they're not costing you money in annual fees—is a smart strategy, because closing an account may increase your credit utilization ratio. Owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your credit scores.

6. Don't Apply for Too Much New Credit, Resulting in Multiple Inquiries

Opening a new credit card can increase your overall credit limit, but the act of applying for credit creates a hard inquiry on your credit report. Too many hard inquiries can negatively impact your credit score, though this effect will fade over time. Hard inquiries remain on your credit report for two years.

7. Dispute Any Inaccuracies on Your Credit Reports

You should check your credit reports at all three credit reporting bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, the publisher of this piece) for any inaccuracies. Incorrect information on your credit reports could drag your scores down. Verify that the accounts listed on your reports are correct. If you see errors, dispute the information and get it corrected right away.

How Long Does It Take to Rebuild a Credit Score?

If you have negative information on your credit report, such as late payments, a public record item (e.g., bankruptcy) or too many inquiries, you should pay your bills and wait. Time is your ally in improving your credit scores. There is no quick fix for bad credit scores.

The length of time it takes to rebuild your credit history after a negative change depends on the reasons behind the change. Most negative changes in credit scores are due to the addition of a negative element to your credit report, such as a delinquency or collection account. These new elements will continue to affect your credit scores until they reach a certain age.

Delinquencies remain on your credit report for seven years.
Most public record items remain on your credit report for seven years, although some bankruptcies may remain for 10 years.
Inquiries remain on your report for two years.
Rebuilding your credit and improving your credit scores takes time; there are no shortcuts. Start improving your credit by checking your FICO® Score from Experian data and reviewing the individual factors that are affecting your credit scores. Then, learn more about how to build credit to improve your scores. And if you need help with credit mistakes from your past, you can learn more about credit repair and how to fix your credit.

Establishing or Building Your Credit Scores

If you simply don't have a credit score because you have little experience or history with credit, you likely have a thin credit file. That means you have few (if any) credit accounts listed on your credit reports, typically one to four. Generally, a thin file means a bank or lender is unable to calculate a credit score because there is not enough information in a user's credit history to do so.

There are things you can do to fatten up your thin credit file, such as applying for a secured credit card, becoming an authorized user on someone else's credit card or taking out a credit builder loan.

Are Vacation Rental Properties a Good Investment

Investing in vacation rental properties is an excellent strategy to make money in real estate. Thanks to Airbnb and other vacation rental websites, making money with vacation rentals has become much easier than it ever was before. But are vacation rentals a good investment for beginner real estate investors? Continue reading this article for the answers you are looking for! Before we answer our main question “are vacation rentals a good investment for beginners?”, let us first explain what we mean by vacation rentals. Vacation home rentals are a type of real estate investment that falls under the category of short term rental properties. Vacation rentals are, therefore, an alternative to hotels that are rented out for a period of less than 30 days. Thanks to the internet, the trend towards staying in vacation home rentals has increased and many tourists are choosing Airbnb rental properties over hotels, opening up new opportunities for real estate investors. Airbnb rentals are also a good investment opportunity in urban areas like Downtown Sacramento. Vacation Rentals for Beginners Getting started in real estate investing can be a bit intimidating, especially if you start with investing in traditional rental properties. Having to deal with tenant-screening, long-term tenants, and maybe even eviction can be hard to deal with as a first-time landlord. That’s why many beginner real estate investors find it easier to buy a short term rental property to get started in real estate investing. Related: Long Term Rentals vs. Short Term Rentals for Beginner Real Estate Investors So, are vacation rentals a good investment for beginners? The answer is a strong YES! There are many benefits to buying a vacation rental property, especially for beginner real estate investors. Check out the top reasons why we think you should buy a vacation home rental as a beginner investor. Why Are Vacation Rentals a Good Investment for Beginners? 1- Dual-use property The idea of having a dual-use property sounds very appealing whether you’re a novice real estate investor or an experienced one. With a vacation home rental, you can use the investment property to spend your own vacations at while renting it out the rest of the year. 2- More rental income A major advantage of investing in vacation rentals is that you can make more rental income as a beginner real estate investor. If you choose a good location, vacation homes tend to attract many travelers and tourists during the high season of that area. During these times, you’ll get to charge high rental rates due to the high demand. The rental income you collect helps you pay the mortgage and other investment property related expenses. Related: 6 Things You Can Do Right Now to Increase Airbnb Rental Income 3- Easy to find guests Thanks to vacation rental websites and applications like VRBO, HomeAway and Airbnb, finding guests for your vacation rental property has become much easier. While this is a good answer for “are vacation rentals a good investment“, it is still important for a beginner vacation property investor to learn how to attract guests to reach high occupancy rates. 4- There is room for mistakes Owning a vacation home rental is a great opportunity to learn about real estate investing while having some room for mistakes. Because of the high tenant turnover, you can easily become an expert on property management issues and remedy them with the next booking. The experience you acquire can help you kick off your career as a full-time real estate investor. 5- You can always hire professional property management Managing a vacation rental is a major concern for many inexperienced real estate investors. Not everyone has the time to manage a vacation property and prepare it for the next guest several times per month. Instead of handling property management yourself, you can always opt for vacation rental management services that will take over these time-consuming duties. 6- Real estate appreciation Another advantage of owning a vacation rental is the money you can make in the long term if you decide to sell the investment property. Vacation rentals are always in demand, which means that their values are increasing all the time. When the time comes that you decide to sell the investment property, cash in the profits you made and use it to finance another investment property! Related: Becoming a Vacation Rentals Owner: A Smart Move for 2019? When Are Vacation Rentals a Good Investment? Use Mashvisor to Know Now that you know why are vacation rentals a good investment, let us explore how Mashvisor can help you figure out exactly which vacation home rental makes for a good real estate investment. Whether you are looking for a beach vacation rental or a vacation rental in the city, Mashvisor provides the solutions you need when it comes to vacation rental data. Using predictive analysis and special algorithms, our vacation property investment calculator provides you with real estate metrics that can help you identify the best vacation investment opportunities. Do you have a free Mashvisor account? Use our Property Finder to find lucrative vacation rental investment properties that match your criteria in a matter of minutes! The vacation rental data collected by our investment calculator shows that for properties located in prime locations, the rental income and the cash on cash return are typically higher when you go for the short term rental strategy when compared to traditional long term rentals. Let’s take a look at some of the best cities for Airbnb investment according to Mashvisor’s data.

Real Estate 2020

California Unbooming Real Estate Market

It’s no secret that California’s economy is large – so large that its $2.7 trillion financial system ranks fifth in the world, championing the United States' national economy.

But as the U.S. continues to grapple with an oncoming economic slowdown, the UCLA Anderson Forecast, which examines signals of weaker economic growth, shows there are several economic factors that might weaken California’s booming housing market within the next year.

The housing market in the U.S. could enter a recession in under five years, with online real estate company Zillow predicting that it will happen in 2020. In a research report in which Zillow polled 100 real estate experts and economists about their predictions for the housing market, it disclosed that nearly half of all survey respondents said the next recession will commence in 2020, with the first quarter of the year cited the most as to when the recession will start. The main culprit for the housing recession: monetary policy.

"As we close in on the longest economic expansion this country has ever seen, meaningfully higher interest rates should eventually slow the frenetic pace of home value appreciation that we have seen over the past few years, a welcome respite for would-be buyers," said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas in the research report. "Housing affordability is a critical issue in nearly every market across the country, and while much remains unknown about the precise path of the U.S. economy in the years ahead, another housing market crisis is unlikely to be a central protagonist in the next nationwide downturn."

An Alternative Point of View

Freddie now predicts GDP growth will reach 1.2% in the first quarter of 2019, rising to 2.0% for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, the entity expects the rate to eventually edge down to 1.8% by 2020.

And when it comes to the U.S. labor market, the forecast indicates unemployment will drop to 3.8% in 2019 before eventually increasing to 3.9%.

That being said, Freddie does believe rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will average 4.5% this year, eventually rising to 4.8% in 2020.

This could bring the housing market some much-needed momentum.

“The real estate market is thawing in response to the sustained decline in mortgage rates and rebound in consumer confidence – two of the most important drivers of home sales,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said. “Rising sales demand coupled with more inventory than previous spring seasons suggests that the housing market is in the early stages of regaining momentum.”