California Real Estate Listings

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California MAP

A few home buying tips for California (and anywhere else):

1. Take your time. There is always another house on the market that will please you.

2. Be sure to get your home inspection. An independent and experienced home inspector could pick up some large defect that was not known to anyone. Better safe than sorry.

3. Don't skip hiring an attorney either. If something goes wrong with the deal you can call your attorney to fix the problem or get your money back.

4. Check the property tax carefully. Are there new schools going up near the house? This could cause tax shock a year or two down the road.

5. Make sure the roof and the plumbing is in top notch shape. Sometimes there are major problems that pop up in a year or two.

6. Utility bills can be very expensive in California. Make sure you are aware of the costs.

7. Find a real estate agent who offers rebates. This is money in your pocket.

Beach property pros and cons

The history of beach property certainly warrants close inspection for people looking for high appreciation.

There are sections of California beach areas where 2 bedroom trailers are selling for over one million dollars. Maybe you should open a trailer sales store instead?

California beach property stays hot even during real estate market downturns. That is because there is beach properties are relatively scarce.

If you put a dwelling on beach property there is always the chance that you will experience flooding problems. Make sure that your homeowner policy covers flood damage.

Obviously the pros outweigh the cons. One more positive comment. Oceanfront properties usually have little or no problem with bugs due to the wind currents. That is a big plus!

California rentals are the highest in the nation

Are you looking to rent an apartment or a home in California? Like most people, you are probably searching online. And like most people you have a severe case of sticker shock.

The US Department of Commerce issued a press release referring to the 2000 Census. This shows that 9 out of 10 cities with the highest rental cost are in California. They include:

Irvine
Sunnyvale
Santa Clara
Fremont
Thousand Oaks
San Jose
Daly City
Simi Valley
Huntington Beach

The average monthly rental cost in Los Angeles is over $1500, the highest in the US.

The 2005=2006 significant downturn in owner-occupied housing caused the price of rentals to soar. People are waiting for the housing market to settle down. While they wait, they will rent. This puts pressure on rental costs to soar.

In addition, landlords are now realizing they can charge more and they are not afraid to raise the rent. The end of 2006, however, did show a leveling off of rental costs.

California wine tours

If you are visiting San Francisco be sure to take time for a day trip to the wonderful vineyards close to the fair city.

Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley are sine qua non for fantastic wine tours. Some vineyards will send a bus to take curious wine tasters to their business and they will take you home as well. No need to worry about imbibing a bit too much.

If you are tasting these fine wines be sure to avoid wearing colognes and perfumes as these will interfere with your sense of smell as to the wines. Bring some crackers to cleanse your palate between tastings.

Oceanside

Orange
County

Palmdale

Pleasanto
California

Rancho
Cucamonga

Riverside County

Riverside County
Real Estate

Roseville

San Bernadino

San Bernadino
County

San Clemente

San Diego County

Santa Clarita

Solana Beach

South Laguna

Stockton

Temecula CA

Visalia

Bakersfield

Capistrano

Cardiff by the Sea

Carlsbad

Central
Coast California

Corona CA

Del Mar

Dublin CA

Elk Grove CA

Emerald Bay

Encinitas

Folsom California

Fontana

Hollister
CA

Imperial Beach

Laguna Beach

Lancaster CA

Leucadia

Livermore
California

Los
Angeles County

Los
Angeles Real Estate

Menifee

Modesto

Moreno Valley

I told my son yesterday on the phone that my wife and I decided we may move to California. "You better bring a lot of money," he said.

It is true that California has an extremely high cost of living. I remember buying a pound of Swiss Cheese at Val's Supermarket in Los Angeles for $12.50. I decided to limit my purchase to just 1/2 pound.

California has mystical qualities that people frome around the world are drawn to. First of all, California has perhaps the most magnificent coastline to be seen anywhere. How can you compete with the steep cliffs on Highway 101 and the imposing tall trees on the hillsides?
Next there is the climate. For someone who suffers through Chicago's wicked winters every year, the idea of not shoveling show certainly makes California a mecca.

The unemployment rate usually does not rise much above 5% in California. The state's economy is agriculture, aerospace and computer software cenetered.

It is true that some of California's housing lost considerable value in the first quarter of 2007. Santa Barbara, for example, lost 11.8% of the average value.

I think California values will continue to escalate in the foreseeable future. The state just has too much going for it to see a decline. Having said that, after recent downturns flipping houses may be too risky for some time.

Author Bio

Greg Cryns makes his living in Internet Marketing.

Visit his blog at http://greff.wordpress.com 
and his primary website at http://www.wahmsearchengine.com