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Author Archives | Tom Stone

About Tom Stone

I am a Broker Associate and Notary public with the Wine Country Group by Better Homes and Gardens (Mason McDuffie) in Sebastopol Ca. My father was an Appraiser and expert witness based in Oakland Ca for many years and I grew up having the basics drilled into me. I enjoy what I do and I am good at it. I managed income property in Oakland for a number of years and was licensed to run a collection agency for more than a decade. I have also worked as a credit manager and as the senior collector at the test center of a Bank . I have been commenting for years at "Calculated Risk" and on other Real estate Blogs including the defunct "Sonoma Housing Bubble" Blog. The best job title I ever had was "Chief Garbler". My Email Address is Tom.Stone@WineCountryGroup.com

Real property, personal property, fixtures and saving a $ on taxes

May 23, 2012

3 Comments

There are almost always items of personal property involved in the sale of a home. It is a very good idea to have those listed on a separate addendum with the price paid for each item listed. You pay property taxes every year on the value of the real property and there’s usually a Real [...]

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Chasing the market down. 1,048 Days and $2.4MM in price reductions.

May 20, 2012

3 Comments

2436 Blucher Valley Rd Sebastopol Ca 95472. MLS # 20915610. 44 acres and change with two houses and 8 acres of fine grapes planted. The big house is 5K sq Ft with 3 BR and 3BA. There’s not much more plantable acreage without some very expensive tree removal so this is a hobby vineyard with [...]

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Why curb appeal is important

May 20, 2012

15 Comments

It gets people’s feet on the floor, and that’s what sells a home. When you first list a property and hold it open you will get potential buyers driving by and many will get out of their cars and walk the property whether there is “Curb Appeal” or not. And if the place is priced [...]

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Observations and speculation about inventory and prices in Sonoma County

May 17, 2012

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Inventory is very low and has been for several months. There have been very few new listings in my office this month and we are the ‘Big Dogs” in Sebastopol. There is always a certain amount of organic or normal turnover in housing, the figure I have seen in textbooks is about 1% per year. [...]

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3 homes, 26 acres and a good price. 12500″A” DuPont Rd 95472 MLS# 21211503

May 12, 2012

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This is listed by Pam Bernier of Occidental Realty who is a first rate agent. It caught my eye for several reasons. I like the location, the price is significantly below most “Comparable” properties and the quality is high. I really like the landscaping. This is a late 1990′s price and it is not a [...]

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