My oldest turned 13 a few months ago…glorious and gory teenage-hood has entered our home!!  One thing my teenager yearns for is independence.  Those close to her know she’s been this way from day one.  In fact, I posted about her fearless spirit as a tiny 4-year old in this 2010 blog post.

Her adventurous and independent streak runs deep.  One way we have channeled this is to allow her to do some very daring feats under adult, but not parental, mentor-ship. Case in point, she climbed Mount Shasta when she was 10 years old!

Mount Shasta, as many know, is an iconic mountain in Northern California.  Its summit, at 14,179 feet, is one of the highest peaks on the West Coast.  My brother and sister-in-law, whom my daughter quasi-worships, led & accompanied her on the two-day trek.

Many treacherous conditions awaited them, most notably unseasonably warm temperatures that melted the ice that was coagulating the rocks and preventing rock slides.  On their descent, boulders broke free and cascaded in their direction.  They were aware of this potential, and were lucky to steer clear of the rock slides.  If a careening rock would have hit them, life-threatening injuries, or death, would have been the consequence.

It’s quite natural to protect your kids from dangerous encounters.  It would have been very understandable if we held her back from future expeditions after experiencing such a close call with the violent great outdoors.  But, my daughter feels most alive when she’s adventuring outdoors.  She relishes in the courage, the freedom, and the perseverance it requires.

I would argue that while it’s scary to let your kid take chances, being overly fearful for them can be even worse.

Kids are sponges.  They absorb our actions, our words, and especially our emotions.  A fearful parent will breed a fearful child, and a fearful child often grows up to be a fearful adult.  Too many of us, unfortunately & admittedly, let “fear take the wheel and steer” (a great line from the song Drive by Incubus) in our life and it inhibits our ability to live life to the fullest.  As parents, we should try to avoid instilling a fearful outlook in our children by means of our own fearful behavior.

There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.  Caution can keep us safe and alive!  But too much caution, even towards our children’s welfare, turns to fear that is detrimental to their well-being.

Becoming overly fearful doesn’t just apply to parenting; it applies to everything.  In my mortgage and real estate practice, I often see clients, business owners, and myself make foolish, fear-driven decisions.  I’m sure you witness (and experience!) the same thing in your life too!  There’s a fine line between caution & fear, and it’s a tricky balancing act to pull off.  Parenting, more than anything, has taught me that.

As for my teenager, she’s entering a very risky time of life.  But it’s also one of so much discovery, opportunity, and growth.  Wish my wife and I luck with keeping her confident, fearless attitude in tact while trying to show her the pitfalls of preliminary adulthood.

Early this month, homeowners began moving into the first set of completed houses at Folsom Ranch. A project that has been 20 years in the making is finally taking shape and becoming a reality. Our office had the opportunity to take a bus tour of the South of 50 project to see the progress made.

While a lot of construction has yet to break ground, a great deal of work has been completed. Currently, Taylor Morrison and Lennar are the two home builders have a total of 4 neighborhoods under construction for a total of 387 houses; 206 by Taylor Morrison and 181 by Lennar. In addition, the first elementary school is scheduled to open as early as 2020.

Click here for a detailed map of the project, or scan the QR Code. 

If you are interested in learning more about the south of 50 Project, please reach out to our office with questions.

A few years ago, a former colleague told me he wanted to improve his biography page on his web site to come across more professional to clients.  After making his “improvements” I noticed he polished up his professional accomplishments and completely removed the paragraph about his personal interests, hobbies, and passions.

This struck me. In my opinion, conducting yourself in a professional manner includes revealing yourself personally to create TRUST with others.  In fact, that’s what this blog is all about!  The slogan “Part Professional, Part Personal, Always Insightful” means I want to provide both professional and personal insight so you may better know and trust me and my services.  WHO you are often means more to others than simply WHAT you do. 

Maybe I feel this way because of my chosen field and the way we run our business.  When helping clients, we often ask personal questions about their life goals and dreams so we can best serve them and make the transaction’s outcome signify more than just dollars and cents.  In requesting such personal information, it is only fair we reciprocate and divulge ourselves through the process.

While driving around looking at homes, clients learn about my family, my boating obsessions, my ideals…they learn about me as I’m learning about them.  To me, professionalism is more than respectful demeanor, appropriate dress and market expertise; it also includes a personal panache that allows you, the client, to get to know, like, and trust me, the professional, as a person.

I consider this the “new-school” way of being professional.  Simply doing your job well is not enough.  You must do it passionately while exuding your values and your interests; your personal side.  On the chance you haven’t seen it yet, check out our team profile video to get to know our team better, both professionally and personally.

Most California homeowners received their property tax bill in recent weeks. Many of us just file it away without looking since most of us have our mortgage company pay the tax bill. If you do this, you may end up paying more for property taxes than you should without even knowing it!                                                        Let me explain.

Every year the county assessor’s office determines the assessed values of properties from which to calculate your property tax bill. California has many state laws, most notably Proposition 13, that skew one’s assessed value. Thus, the assessed value is often lower than true market value. Occasionally, the assessor’s office gets it wrong and assesses your home for MORE than the market value, resulting in you paying more taxes than you should.

All counties have an appeals process to reconsider your assessed value, but there is a window of time to file the appeal. Sacramento County, for example, requires the appeal to be received before November 30.

I am offering a free service to my clients to help with the appeals process. If you believe your assessed value is unfairly high (check your tax bill or a link like this one), give us a call or a click and we will research comparable sales to your home to help make a valid argument to the assessor’s office. Doing so could save you hundreds on your property tax bill.

Chris McGann

In early 2017, I wrote a post about my hesitation, but ultimate need, to lace politics into an economic discussion in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.  It was one of the most popular posts of the year on my blog!

There is another current issue that requires tip-toeing on a new political subject. Since the headlines surrounding the pending Supreme Court Nomination of Brett Kavanagh simultaneously touches on all of the main taboo topics (sex, religion & politics), I’m not going to touch any of that with a 10 foot pole!

Instead, there are state-level political issues on the upcoming ballot that have the potential to significantly influence our local real estate market.  I feel fairly strongly about these matters, and hope that I can educate you of the issues, and incline you to vote “Yes on 5” and “No on 10” this November.

California is facing a housing crisis – and it’s getting worse. Put simply: there’s not enough homes.  This is the largest single factor that has contributed to home prices nearly doubling in the last 6 years. Presently, too many potential homeowners and renters are simply priced out of the market. This November, two propositions meant to combat this crisis are on the ballot, and I believe one will make matters worse if passed.  Together, we can take decisive action to protect home ownership and private property rights in California.

The first is Prop 5, an initiative that will allow seniors, the disabled and victims of natural disasters to move to a home better suited to their needs without facing drastically higher property taxes.  It’s essentially an expansion of Propositions 60 & 90, current California laws that allow homeowners over 55 to move and avoid property tax reassessment.  Here’s how Prop 5 will work:

• Seniors often live in homes that no longer meet their needs because their homes may be too big or too far from family. If these homeowners want to downsize or move closer to their children, they could face a doubling or tripling of their property taxes, or what’s being called a moving penalty.
• Proposition 5 provides appropriate relief by allowing those eligible the ability to transfer their current property tax base to the purchase of another home in any of California’s 58 counties. Current rules only allow seniors to transfer their tax base if they buy a less-expensive home in the same county, but Proposition 5 will make more folks and more situations eligible for this tax relief, resulting in more homes to be sold and available for purchase, particularly older, smaller, more affordable homes. The new property tax for that individual would be based on their original home’s assessment, in addition to an adjustment consisting of the difference in value between the sale price of the original home and the sale price of the new home.
• Proposition 5 would provide respect to seniors (many on fixed incomes), the disabled and disaster victims by allowing them the flexibility to move to a more suitable home. Right now, too many feel locked in place. 
• This will help boost the housing inventory in existing neighborhoods as older homeowners move from their single-family homes that no longer meet their needs and free up housing for the next generation.

The other measure of concern on the November ballot is Prop 10, the so-called “Affordable Housing Act,” that would actually make the housing crisis worse by repealing the long-standing Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, eventually allowing local governments to impose draconian rent control measures.  While on the surface rent control may appear to be a way to reduce housing costs for lower-income residents, it ultimately will have the opposite impact.

Here’s why Californians should vote NO on Prop 10:

• Proposition 10 will reduce availability of affordable and middle-class housing. Academic experts from the University of Southern California, U.C. Berkeley and Stanford agree that it would drive up rents, while discouraging new construction and reduce the availability of affordable and middle-class housing. Even the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst has found that passage of Proposition 10 would both discourage new construction and result in existing rental units being taken off the market, reducing availability of rental housing.
• Proposition 10 will increase the cost of existing housing. Proposition 10 will cause homeowners to sell or convert rental properties into other more profitable uses, such as short-term vacation listing services like Airbnb. That would increase the cost of existing housing and make it even harder for renters to find affordable housing.
• Proposition 10 will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year, reducing revenues available for education and public safety. The Legislative Analyst also said that Proposition 10 would likely reduce the value of rental properties and single-family homes, driving down local property tax revenues by up to hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Driving down home values will hurt middle-class families and will also reduce the funding available for vital services like schools, public safety, road repairs, education, and fire safety.
• Proposition 10 will eliminate homeowner protections. Proposition 10 repeals protections homeowners have enjoyed for over 20 years, and lets the government dictate pricing for privately owned single-family homes, controlling how much homeowners can charge to rent out their home – or even just a room.
• Proposition 10 might even lead to bureaucrats imposing oppressive surcharges when an owner takes a home off the rental market and chooses to occupy it.

Please vote YES on Prop 5 and NO on Prop 10 on November 6th.  I’m happy to chat about these matters further in the weeks ahead. Either leave a comment here or give me a call.

For more information:

Prop 5: https://voteyesonprop5.com/

Prop 10: https://noprop10.org/

The first homes in Folsom Ranch, the new development south of Hwy 50, will go on sale this Thursday. This is a momentous occasion for the city of Folsom, as planning for this began nearly 20 years ago.  The city is also presently finalizing its General Plan, the first update since 1988.  Folsom is certainly looking to the future, and as a local REALTOR I’ve been keeping my eye on these story-lines for some time.

Area residents have mixed feelings about Folsom Ranch, as it is a stark indication of urban sprawl and population growth.  The total development, which includes nearly 12,000 new residential units and also devote 30% of the land to open space, will surely change Folsom and the surrounding communities.  But how exactly remains to be seen.

Will traffic become maddeningly congested with 40,000 new residents?  Will more employers flock to the area as a means of recruiting talent in a lower-cost alternative to the Bay Area?  Will home values suffer as builders saturate the market with hundreds of homes for sale?

Again, the impacts are uncertain.  For now, here’s what I can tell you…Taylor Morrison is opening their sales trailer this Thursday to sell their first community in Folsom Ranch, called Azure.  The model homes won’t be built until September, but deposits will be taken and contracts signed immediately.  Pricing will begin in the high 400,000s.

Our team is able to help you purchase and finance these and other new homes built in Folsom Ranch.  If you’d like more information about the floor plans, the community, or the Folsom Ranch development at large, please give me a call.  As a life-long Folsom resident, I’m excited about the changes ahead for our city and feel fortunate to be in a position to help educate my neighbors of our city’s future.