Real Life Real Estate Blog

Despite yesterdays hacker attack our site is now back to normal. 

The site was hacked earlier today and we would like to apologize for any confusion that was caused as well as for the content that someone maliciously posted on our site.  As you can see, the incorrect information was pulled down and our articles are back up for you to read.  The site will look different for a while we are reconstructing and working out some security issues.  Thank you for your understanding.  Also, we want it to be known that wind, rain, or hackers we will continue to provide great articles from our real estate professionals.  

On the occasions that you’d been to Acapulco, you would have probably remembered the rounds of golf that you might have played, a morning of fishing, or dinner at one of its many restaurants. Surely you would remember with nostalgia the fresh sea breeze or the sunset on the terrace of your hotel room. During many years Acapulco has become one of the favorite tourist destinations of our country and on a world level. However, in the last 10 years Acapulco has been renewed; the well-known areas like Acapulco Diamante located between the Puerto Marquez bay and the international airport have given a modern thrust to the old Acapulco. This modernization boom has been fueled by the thousands and millions of public (through modern infrastructure) and private investment dollars by means of three additional golf courses, shopping centers, new entertainment, and the buildings of groups and departments dedicated to more luxurious and modern development of our country while keeping intact the traditional taste of the port city.
In Realty World Opus we are participating in the commercialization of the best of the developments of the area: Vidamar which groups 240 apartments in 10 clusters that surrender themselves immediately, and Vidamar 2 with a beach front of 150m (~450ft) the most luxurious option in Acapulco Diamante. E-mail denise@teamshanahan.com for more information.

From the United states the most frequent flights are from the cities of Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and Newark among others.

I just returned this week from Monterrey Mexico and I have to tell you that it is NOT good to be home. If it were up to me I would have stayed, but I do have silly things like family, friends, and a job that pulled me back to Sacramento. I went with my colleagues from Team Shanahan to Realty World’s 9th annual convention in Monterrey, Mexico. We were there working for a week like any business trip only this one was a little different. The people that we met inside and outside of the convention made it a week to remember. The leaders of Realty World Mexico did a great job of putting together presentations from great speakers with relevant information for the brokers there. What we saw at the convention and the people we met inspired us to begin posting articles from brokers in Mexico regarding their everyday lives, Mexican Real Estate, and their market knowledge so you the reader can get to know and love Mexico as I have. We here at Team Shanahan have teamed up with several brokers in Mexico who would love to let Americans interested in investing, retiring, or vacationing in Mexico know more about Mexico from people who actually live there! So look for more and more articles regarding Mexico in the coming weeks. I’ll also be posting more pictures that I took on the trip just because Monterrey is a very beautiful city and I want to show off my awesome cell-phone photography skills

…Rosario Marin, the former U.S. Treasurer (that’s her signature on a dollar bill!) and current Secretary of the California State and Consumer Services Agency, was the keynote speaker at last night’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Gala. I guess I should can any ideas I had about becoming the chamber’s booking agent (j/k). The gravity of her words were evident in the fact that hers was the only speech during which almost all of the dinner tables were completely silent. No paraphrasing would do justice to her oratory…truly moving. She described her journey to the office of Treasurer from immigrating to the United States at the age of fourteen, completing a degree while working full time, the struggles she encountered after giving up her career to care for her disabled son, and going from not wanting to wake up in the morning to reaching for the impossible and making it so. I’m no cry baby but I must admit, I did get a little misty eyed. It’s comforting to know that there are people who have had much worse days than when I miss my morning cup of coffee; who go on to excel beyond their wildest dreams and end up extremely happy.

Last night was the 36th annual Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Gala. As it was the first event put on by the chamber that I experienced, it certainly surpassed any expectations I had going into it. When one is asked, “Do you want to go to a chamber of commerce party with us?” one can jump to the conclusion that there will be nothing but boredom and stuffiness about. On the contrary my friends. I think only James Bond himself could have put together a classier, more top-notch event. I will be posting some more pictures of the party as they become available on their website and as I try to hunt down people who didn’t forget to bring their camera’s last night. Until then, please to enjoy beautiful logo.

Fidel Castro has stepped down as Cuba’s leader early this morning. He is to be replaced by his brother Raul who has hinted at some reforms. I don’t think that this will be the end of socialism in Cuba, however it may be the beginning of the end. Perhaps Raul will be to Cuba what Gorbachev was to the USSR. Gorbachev introduced economic reforms called perestroika in 1987 and we all know what fell in 1989. Hopefully after a couple of years and some capitalist reforms, Havana and the rest of Cuba will enjoy prosperity once again as a vacation hot spot for Americans. I dream of the day that I can have real Cuban food, not just the stuff in Miami. Check out the details on MSNBC.com

It’s official. The conforming loan limit has been temporarily raised. While it won’t save the economy, it will definitely make it easier on those who are encountering difficulties when looking at their home finance options. Check out this article in the Seattle Times.

I feel as if there should be horns blaring from every mortgage office in America with the news of a bill that will raise the conforming loan amount from $417K to $625-$725K. Either number would add some much needed help. One of the main obstacles in doing a loan in California or New York or any area where the median home price is more than $150K is the conforming loan amount. Most people don’t know what the conforming loan amount is, so if you are not already privy to it, here it is. The conforming loan amount is the maximum total loan amount (includes fees, taxes, insurance,etc.) that either of the two government entities, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, will guarantee to buy on the secondary market. What does that mean? That means that under the current rules, if your bank does a loan for you for under $417K and they can’t sell it on the secondary market as a mortgage security, the government guarantees them that either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae will buy them. Because loans over this amount are somewhat more risky because there is no guaranteed buyers for the banks, these loans cost more and are often prohibitively expensive to home buyers.

Originally made famouse in the song by the late great Johnny Cash, “Foslosm Prison Blues,” the city of Folsom has undergone some major changes. Although it retains some of it’s gold rush era rail stop old town charm, there are now brand new communty colleges, upscale subdivisions, and new resteraunts. Part of my early childhood was spent in Folsom around the time I was entering first grade. I have since returned to the greater Sacramento area and compared with the memories of my youth, it would seem that Folsom has a new lease on life. Several business parks make it a great locale for those who want to drive down the street to work. It’s freeway proximity also makes it a very close bedroom community for those who want a quite suburban lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, Folsom is an atypical suburb because someone in the planning commission got the right idea. They must have decided to bring some of the classy fare of the city, i.e. shops and eaterys, that most city dwellers love. There’s an idea, a suburb that actually has things to do.