Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween Safety Tips - Be Safe

Anytime a child has an accident, it's tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, it would forever live in the minds of the child and the family. There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when they are more prone to accidents and injuries. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening. Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision. If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire. Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on. Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them. Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them. Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating. Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day! Thank you to the Halloween Safety Guide for providing us this pertinent information! It's October 31, 2009 and I am very Bullish on Sacramento!   David Ohara @dwo34 dwo34@aol.com

An Inside Look into a "Pot House" After the DEA Goes Through It Part II Photos

Good Evening! 

This is the second set of photos regarding my blog on "Pot Houses."  On another note, it was reported recently that the DEA had made more arrests.  One person who was arrested was a bay area real estate agent.  

Once again, It's October 27, 2009 and I am Very Bullish on Sacramento!

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com

An Inside Look into a "Pot House" After the DEA Goes Through It

Good Evening Friends

One of the big topics that has been featured in many of the media outlets in the Sacramento/Northern California area, are the infamous "pot houses."  A "pot house" is a residential property aka home, that has been turned into a marijuana farm.  The people who turn nice four bedroom homes in nice neighborhoods, have to make some serious alterations to the home in order to plant and cultivate it.  This is one a type of blog that will be better done in photos.  I don't know how many I can post per blog, so if I need to, I will create another post and add more photos.  You will be amazed! I could not believe my eyes when I walked through this home.  Holes in the walls and ceilings.  Extension cords all over the place. A thermal foil paper located on all the windows, the kitchen stripped of its cabinets and appliances.

Look at the photos and be amazed! I took a lot of photos so I can send you more if you would like.  

It's October 27, 2009 and I am Very Bullish on Sacramento!

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com

Resolution of the "Missing Fifty Thousand Dollars"

Good Evening

As a follow up to my last post "A First for Me!" where I talked about the case of the missing $50,000 cashier's check, I wanted to bring this saga to an end and let you all know what transpired today.

During our short negotiations and escrow period, I had built up a good rapport with the Seller.  I handled the negotiations in a non-adversarial manner.  I wanted to know if she had received her funds so I decided to give her a call and ask her.  I called this morning and this is how our conversation went:

dwo34: Good Morning, how are you?

Seller: I am fine, but I have an issue with the title company.

dwo34: Really? What is your issue?

Seller: Well, as you know we went on record on Wednesday of last week.  I received a phone call from the title company last week notifying me.  I gave her instructions to wire the funds to my account and she said she would.  She told me that the wire would be sent out on Thursday morning because we recorded in the afternoon.  Well, I called my bank around lunch on Thursday and my money was not there.  I called the escrow officer and she said she was so busy she did not have time to wire the money.

dwo34: The escrow officer can instruct anyone in the office to contact their bank to wire the money. She does not do this herself.

Seller: I know.  She lied to me.  She told me that she wired the money on Friday. But the fact is, she never did.  When I spoke to her this morning she told me that they misplaced $50,000 and the amount she had for me was short.  I told her that's not my problem and wire me the money.  They are still holding the other portion of my money too.  They won't release any of my money and they told me they would try to get the property back for me.  I don't want the property back, it closed and I want my money.  I am so furious that she lied to me and was so negligent with the Buyer's money.

dwo34: I knew about this on Thursday and I am sorry that you have to go through this.  I wished you would have allowed me to open the escrow at the company I always deal with (Stewart Title).  Where did you leave it with the title company?

Seller: I told her to send me my money or I will sue them.  They screwed up.  She told me that she had all the money to close on Tuesday.  So I place the blame on them.  How long should I give them before I call my attorney?

dwo34: I will go and meet with them today and see if I can get it ratified.  I will call you later and let you know the outcome.

Seller: Thank you and I appreciate you stepping in and helping.

I did have a meeting with the title company and I basically said:  

Look, the Buyer brought in all the funds to close.  You confirmed it in writing to me.  Some where between receiving the funds and getting ready to deposit the funds, you lost it.  That is your problem.  We don't have an issue with the Seller.  You do.  As a matter of fact, I spoke to the Seller this morning and she tells me that you have not been totally honest with her and it appears you are trying to "cover up" something.  The Buyer will not be signing the property back over to the Seller.  The Seller is not willing to wait 90 days for her funds.  Unless you file a claim with your insurance company for $50,000, we will be contacting the insurance commissioner and letting them know what transpired and all of your mixed signals.  We will also show all of our documentation that we have that clearly shows you are not being honest and broke your fiduciary responsibility.

After some phone calls to upper brass, we got what I had come for.  The title company will end up sending the Seller the $50,000 that they "lost."  The Buyer will be reimbursed for the added expenses he incurred while trying to get another "cashier's check."  And I have the satisfaction of having a happy client and perhaps picking up a new one (Seller).

I also told the manager that I spoke to, that I did not appreciate any of the tactics that her mid level manager tried to use on me in an attempt for me to have the Buyer sign back the property.  He tried to use intimidation and his "enormous legal team" as his weapon of choice. When he said that I replied "Go ahead Brian,  some of my best friends are lawyers and I actually enjoy chatting with lawyers, so I am sure I will have a nice time with your team. How long shall we drag this process?"  I told the manager today, with mid level managers like that,  I can see why you have to maintain such a large team of attorneys.  She ultimately apologized for the debacle and their bungling the escrow.   I did call the Seller and informed her of the good news, as well as the Buyer.

Once again, when you are dealing with people, there are choices.  It's prudent to chose your service providers wisely.  Call me, I have built a solid team of professionals that I can refer you to in most industries.  Even the simplest of tasks can cause large problems.  Memo to this title company: Handle those cashier's checks a little more diligently and not so carelessly!

It's October 26, 2009, and I am very Bullish on Sacramento!

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com

A First for Me!

Good Evening:

Ever hear of the saying "There is a first time for everything?"  Well, I truly had thought I had seen it all in my real estate career.  I have seen homes burn, I have seen couples separate during escrow, I have seen people have their relocation plans change during escrow, but something happened on Thursday that I had never seen nor experienced before!

To set the story up, one of my clients had successfully made an offer on a property and was going to pay cash for the home.  We signed our papers and sent in our funds to close the escrow.  We were notified by the escrow company that they had received the buyer's funds and all closing documents needed to consummate the sale.  The escrow called me the next day (Wednesday) to let me know that the property would be closing that afternoon.  I received an email late Wednesday that the property did close and the please relay the good information to the Buyer, which I did.  

A nice easy escrow.  A seven day close. No hassles with appraisers, pest companies, home inspections, and lenders. At least that is what we all thought.  I get a call from the escrow officer and she sounded frantic.  I was in a meeting so I missed her call.  The Buyer also called me and said "get a hold of the escrow lady, because she just called and makes no sense...."

When I called her back this is how our conversation went.

dwo34:  I got a message you called. What can I do for you?

Escrow Officer: Your buyer needs to bring in additional funds. He was short. 

dwo34: What do you mean? You confirmed you had the funds and we are on record. As a matter of fact we brought in more than what was needed to close. You owe him money.

EO:  I cannot find the other check. Are you sure you gave it to me?  Maybe you only gave me one check.

dwo34:  You confirmed receipt of the funds. If you did not have enough, you would not have let it record.  Did you lose one of the checks?

EO:  I don't know.  Can you see if it is at your office, or in the buyer's car, or maybe you still have it.

dwo34:  We gave it to you. You confirmed it.  I would have more respect for you if you just admitted you lost it or misplaced it.

EO:  I don't know where it is.  I take full responsibility for the check.  I cannot find it. Can you have the buyer cancel the check and get me a new one?

dwo34: I will call him, I know he cannot do it today, he is out of town. I will see what he can do.

EO: Thank you

Amazing!! Misplacing a check for $50,000!  I know she received it, because you will not close an escrow when there are not enough funds.  The thing is with banks, they will not give you access to your funds for 90 days! Even though we stopped pay on the check, we cannot get another check for 90 days!  The head brass at the title company did not act the way I thought they should.  They wanted me to have the buyer sign back the deed to the seller.  I said "Give him his money back, including access to his $50,000 and we would.  The story is not over.  My client has a home and the seller who sold it to him is probably short $50,000.  Not a good way to start your weekend if you were the escrow officer!

I'll finish this blog this upcoming week.  We need to get this ratified.  One of the reasons I wanted to blog on this is simple:  Use qualified service people!! Use people who will pay attention to details.  Even the simplest tasks can be botched.  In this case, a simple depositing of a check would have made all the difference in the world!  

It's Saturday, October 24, 2009, and I am very Bullish on Sacramento!

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com

Mechanic Liens

Good Evening

California Mechanic's Lien Law provides special protection to contractors, subcontractors, laborers and suppliers who furnish labor or materials to repair, remodel or build your home.

If any of these people are not paid for the services or materials they have provided, your home may be subject to a mechanic's lien.  The result can occur even where full payment for the work of the improvement had been made.

The mechanic's lien is a right that the State of CA gives to workers and suppliers to record a lien to ensure payment.  This lien may be recorded where the property owner has paid the contractor in full and the contractor then fails to pay the subcontractors, suppliers or laborers.  In the worst case, a homeowner may actually end up paying twice for the same work.

The rationale behind this is the constitution and laws of California.  The theory behind the mechanic's lien law is that between two potentially blameless parties, the homeowner who has ordered the work and made full payment of the agreed amount and obtained the value of the work is in a better position to bear the loss than the laborer or supplier who has provided the labor and/or materials to the job site and has not been paid for his efforts by the contractor.  It is the homeowner who bears the ultimate responsibility for making payment for services rendered.  The theory is that the value of the property has increased by the work and/or materials and the homeowner has who has reaped this benefit is required to return to act as the ultimate guarantor of full payment to the persons responsible for this increase in value.

The best protection against these claims is for the homeowner to employ reputable firms with sufficient experience and capital and/or require completion and payment bonding of the work.  The issuance of checks payable jointly to the contractor, material men and suppliers is another protective measure, as is the careful disbursement of funds in phases based on the percentage of completion of the project at a given point in the construction process.

Even if a mechanic's lien is recorded against your property you may be able to resolve the problem without further payment to the lien claimant.  This possibility exists where the proper procedure for establishing the lien was not followed.  Each claimant must adhere to a well established procedure in order to create a valid mechanic's lien.

As in all areas of real estate, the best advice is to investigate the quality, integrity and business reputation of the firm with whom you are dealing with.  Once you are satisfied with your due diligence, make sure you discuss your concerns about the possibility of mechanic's liens with your contractor and a work out a method of ensuring that they will not occur.

It's October 21, 2009 and I am very Bullish on Sacramento

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com

Sunday Treat - Raider Game

Good Sunday Evening

Today I got an unexpected call from a dear friend.  She had two tickets to the Oakland Raider and Philadelphia Eagles football game.  She told me that they were tickets to the "suite."   I had been to several games in the "suite" with her and it's quite a treat.  The "suite" is situated on the 20 yard line and is high enough that you have a great view of the entire field.  

I called my friend G up and he was up for going. He's a big football fan and the fact that we would be sitting in the "suite" made it an easy sell.  We took off about 9:00, had a quick breakfast and headed for the East Bay.  We did not encounter any traffic and since we had a preferred parking pass, we were able to by pass a lot of the traffic getting into the Coliseum.

We found our private entrance and made our way to "Suite P 75."  We were greeted with a smile and a beverage as we walked in.  The food, beverage, service, people and game were all exceptional! To our surprise, the Oakland Raiders won the game.  It was a hard fought defensive battle.  Only one touchdown was scored.  The Raider fans were great and fanatical! We loved the atmosphere. Because of the lose game, we watched until the time expired! A great Sunday by all accounts.

It's October 18, 2009, and I am very Bullish on Sacramento and NFL Football!

David Ohara

@dwo34

dwo34@aol.com