Author: Tanya Knowles

Let’s be honest, after 8 hours in a desk chair, day after day, your back can really start to hurt. Personally, I’ve been having back pain for a while, but didn’t know what to do about it.

I finally decided to do something about it, and scheduled an appointment for a massage at Kim & Co. Salon in San Luis Obispo. Their massage therapist, Jason Knox, was so professional and excellent at what he does. He was able to target every muscle in my back that was hurting, and I left feeling amazing! Whether you are looking for a massage therapist to see on a regular basis, or someone to see while vacationing here on the Central Coast, I highly recommend Jason. You can contact the salon at 805-541-5424 to schedule an appointment.

(The one hour massage was $70, which is a bargain for this area, and they were able to get me in on the same day that I called!)

Buyers and sellers both love to know what has sold in their area recently, right? But it can be difficult to find the information you are looking for, all in one place, and in an easy to understand layout. The Keith Byrd Team now creates custom newsletters each month that include the following:

Street Address, City, Original List price, List Price on pending date, and final Sold Price, Total Days on Market, and Listing Detail (Standard Sale, Short Sale, or Bank Owned/REO.)

We break the reports down into 6 areas, so they are tailored to fit your needs. They include North Coast, North County, San Luis Obispo, South County, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Valley.

If you are interested in receiving these updates, click the link below, and enter your e-mail address. Newsletters are sent out at the beginning of each month, and will include everything that sold in the previous month.

Subscribe to our newsletter

You are able to unsubscribe at any time, if the reports aren’t fitting your needs.

If you are curious about what these reports will look like, feel free to contact Tanya Knowles, Information Specialist with The Keith Byrd Team, for the most recent reports. You can contact her directly at tanya@slocountyhomes.com.

More people are talking about California Valley these days. California Valley is about 50 miles East of San Luis Obispo, but still part of the county. With a population of only about 500 people, it is a small town. When you go to visit, you will find large pieces of land being used for farming, ranching, and recently there has been talk of using land in California Valley as a place to harness solar energy.

Looking for property in California Valley can be tricky! It you search for California Valley, CA, you won’t find any results. Instead, use the search phrase “Santa Margarita, CA.” On SloCountyHomes.com, you can search by map. Under Neighborhood Search, scroll over Santa Margarita, and there will be a choice to view California Valley properties. Then, at the top left of the map, you can choose to search for Single Family Residences or Lots and Land.

We hear about rental scams on Craigslist quite often. They usually involve someone claiming to be out of the country, requesting your security deposit and possibly some rent, and then you never hear from them again. It is usually easy to spot these, as they are advertised way below market value.

Yesterday there was a post on Craigslist that offered a 2 bedroom condo at $1,100/month. If you responded to the post, the “landlord” would write back and tell you more about the condo, then ask for you to have a recent credit report before setting up an appointment. The e-mail included a link to a website that provided “free” credit reports.

The problem? There is only one website that the government endorses which allows you to receive your credit report for free annually, annualcreditreport.com.

The other websites, like the one that the “landlord” directed the potential tenant to, have a tendency to steal your personal and financial information. They can easily steal your identity, and spend your money, with this information.

How do you tell if you are being scammed?
1) The landlord doesn’t provide a phone number to reach them at.
2) The landlord asks you to provide a credit report, and includes the link in the e-mail. If the link is to any site other than annualcreditreport.com, run!!
3) The landlord doesn’t provide you with the address of the property, even when directly asked.

If you get a response like this from someone you contacted on Craigslist, do a favor to others, and flag the post as spam!

Saturday, October 8th, 9 am – 2 pm
The Atascadero Mutual Water Company is hosting the 6th Annual Autumn Garden Tour. The self-guided tour will showcase water-wise, resource-friendly landscapes designed for the Atascadero area.

Tickets are available for $10 at Bay Laurel Nursery, Atascadero Chamber of Commerce, and the Atascadero Mutual Water Company office.

For more information call 461‐7217 x22 or email conservation1@amwc.us.

http://www.amwc.us/

-Kerry Ann Moore
Realtor®
Patterson Realty

This is an awesome video about San Luis Obispo County, as told by Chevrolet, in 1949!

Watch it Here

There are many differences between buying a mobile or modular home, and buying a stick built home or condo.

1) Financing- Most large banks won’t loan on mobile homes. If you are trying to get pre-approved for a mobile home loan, a local credit union would be a good place to start. Michael Fitzgibbons, with The Mortgage House, also can help with financing mobile homes. The interest rates will be slightly higher than the national average, and you should expect to pay 20% down.

2) Space Rent- Most parks in San Luis Obispo County are leased-land parks, which means that you own the mobile home, but not the land that it sits on. Rent can range from $300-$1100/month. The park will do their own credit check and background check. Some parks are Share Parks, where you own a share of the park and pay a monthly HOA due, usually around $100-$200/month. There are also Owned Land parks, where you would pay only HOA dues. You have 5 days after having your mobile home offer accepted to apply with the park management.

3) Taxes- Mobile homes on Leased Land are registered with the DMV, and it will cost you approximately $75/year to license the home. There is no property tax that needs to be payed in Leased Land parks. Mobile homes in Owned Land parks are taxed just like stick built homes, at approximately 1.1% of the sales price per year.

4) Age Restrictions- A lot of parks have restrictions on age, where at least one owner needs to be 55+. The parks are rarely flexible when it comes to this requirement.

5) Pets- Each park has different rules about what kind of pets are allowed.

6) Rent Increases- Space rent can increase as much as 4%/year for a home on leased land. If the park is rent controlled, the space rent increase is based on the Consumer Price Index, and last year was around 1.5%. The space rent increases 10% each time the home is sold.

7) Investment Potential- In most cases, mobile homes can not be rented out to non-family members. This means that if you want to live in the home for a few years, then rent it out to a tenant cover the mortgage payment later on, you won’t be able to do this. It would be a better idea to purchase a stick-built home or condo.

A few extra note-worthy items:

If you purchase a home in an age restricted park, and you want your children or grandchildren to visit, that is okay. They just can’t live there as a permanent residence unless they are approved by the park management.

You can remove an older mobile home, and put a new one in its place. There aren’t currently any empty lots available in any parks in San Luis Obispo County, where a new home can be put. (There almost never are empty lots available.)

We have mobile home specialists available to help you, if you decide that you are interested in purchasing a mobile home. Click Here for a link to parks in the area, some information about each one, and the homes that are currently for sale in each park.

The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival chose “The Comedy of Errors” and “As You Like It” as their two productions for this year. The shows alternate performance days, and can be seen weekend nights from now through August 13th.

You can Click Here to see more information about the show schedule, and the actors. This is the third year that the performances will be held at the River Oaks Amphitheater in Paso Robles.

The new Target is open in San Luis Obispo! It is located on Los Osos Valley Road, across the street from the Costco shopping center.

The Mac Superstore, a locally owned store that sells a variety of Apple products, is moving from its location on Higuera St to a space next door to Target. The grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, July 30th.

 

San Luis Obispo county provides a lot of incentives for developers if they commit to reserving at least 20% of the new homes for low income families or senior citizens. These incentives include relaxed parking standards, and less fees are charged for reviewing the building plans..

These homes are sold at a lower price than the other units in the development. There are income limits, and other requirements. In today’s market, however, purchasing a home is easier than it was a few years ago. With house prices being lower, the down payment is lower. Interest rates are also very low, so monthly payments are more affordable.

If you decide to purchase one of these homes, make sure that you are aware of how the transaction would go if you were to sell. In some cases, they put a limit on the amount that the seller can earn from the sale of their house, due to an increase in market value. If you plan on living somewhere for a long time, wouldn’t you want to collect the full return on your investment? However, if it is a planned temporary living situation to get into the housing market as an owner, this program can definitely help with your first home purchase.