Is "House Hacking" a more affordable path to homeownership in Sacramento?

One of the most practical strategies I’m seeing more frequently in the Greater Sacramento real estate market is buyers purchasing a duplex, living in one unit, and renting out the other. Sometimes called “house hacking,” the concept is simple: the rental income from the second unit can help offset the monthly mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, and even some utility expenses. 

For many buyers in Sacramento, Arden, Citrus Heights, Carmichael, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, and surrounding areas, this can completely change the math of homeownership. Instead of stretching every dollar toward a single-family home where the entire monthly payment comes out of pocket, duplex buyers may have a tenant contributing toward the property’s carrying costs each month. In some cases, that rental income can offset a substantial portion of the monthly expense. 

For example, if a duplex payment is $3,900 per month and the second unit rents for $2,000 per month, the owner is effectively not carrying the full payment themselves. 

Every situation is different, of course, but for many buyers this creates a level of financial breathing room that is hard to ignore. Another major advantage many people do not initially realize is financing. Traditionally, purchasing a true investment property often requires larger down payments, higher interest rates, and stricter lending standards...many non-owner-occupied investment property loans require 20% to 25% down or more. But when buyers purchase a duplex as their primary residence and occupy one of the units, they may qualify for owner-occupied financing instead. That can potentially mean: 

• Lower down payment options 
• More favorable interest rates 
• Lower monthly payments 

In other words, buyers can sometimes acquire a property with investment-style benefits of rental income, long-term appreciation potential, and multiple units without needing the large down payment typically associated with investment real estate. 

I’m also noticing that many duplex buyers today are not necessarily approaching it with a “real estate investor” mindset. They are teachers, nurses, office professionals, tradespeople, young families, or buyers simply trying to create a little more long-term financial stability. They want a place to live, but they also want their housing payment to work a little smarter for them. 

Of course, duplex ownership is not for everyone. You are still a property owner, and eventually there may be repairs, maintenance, tenant screening, or vacancy periods to navigate. But for the right buyer, the tradeoff can make a lot of financial sense, and especially in a higher-cost housing environment like California. Many buyers today are looking for flexibility, supplemental income opportunities, and ways to offset rising housing costs. Duplexes check a lot of those boxes. And while a duplex may not be someone’s forever home, it can absolutely be a stepping stone toward long-term wealth building and financial stability.

If you’ve ever been curious about whether buying a duplex in Sacramento could make sense for your situation, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to walk buyers through the numbers, financing considerations, rental market trends, and what to realistically expect from owner-occupied duplex living.

Sacramento Landlords: When Holding a Single-Family or Small Multifamily Rental Stops Making Sense

It's January! The holidays are behind us. The calendar has flipped to a new year...and this week I found myself having a familiar conversation: a Sacramento multifamily property owner called me and wanted to talk through "if it still makes sense for me to own this rental property". For this person, the short answer was NO. And perhaps at some point I will list this property. 

I hear this most often from owners of single-family rental homes, and owners of small multifamily properties like duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. These guys are not institutional investors. They’re what we refer to commonly as "mom and pop investors" -- meaning regular people who bought with a long-term plan in mind: retirement income, cash flow, or long-term wealth building. And let's face it, for a long time, that plan has worked well. 

But heading into 2026, perhaps the calculus has shifted. 

• Maybe they talked to their CPA and some of the tax advantages of owning rental investment property have run their course. Depreciation is usually part of this conversation. Many long-term rental owners are nearing full depreciation, meaning the tax advantages that once made ownership especially appealing are starting to fade. When those benefits diminish, it often prompts a closer look at whether continuing to hold still makes sense. 
• Maybe they are considering retiring and riding off into the sunset in their RV and owning rental property in Sacramento is not something they want the responsibility for. Some landlords begin to wonder whether keeping that equity locked inside a rental property is still the best use of their capital. For landlords approaching retirement there is often a shifting desire for liquidity and simplicity. Selling a rental property can provide funds to support retirement, reduce risk, and eliminate the day-to-day responsibilities that come with being a landlord. 
• Maybe they already live outside of the area and coordinating repairs and keeping up with tenant issues from a distance is too much to manage. Absentee owners, in particular, may decide it’s time to cash in, simplify their lives, and redeploy the proceeds toward other investments, lifestyle goals, or greater financial flexibility. 
• Maybe a tenant has stopped paying rent and they are faced with an expensive eviction, and just do not want to deal anymore. Or perhaps a tenant has provided notice to vacate, and it proves to be an opportune time to sell rather than re-rent the property. 
• Maybe they want to help their adult kids buy their first home, and selling the old rental property is the perfect vehicle for a tax deferred 1031 Exchange. A lot of my clients are considering how to help their adult kids become homeowners and maybe give them the inheritance a little early. 
• Maybe expenses like insurance premiums are increasing, or there are some anticipated large repair expenses looming due to some deferred maintenance. A new roof, a new HVAC, a new sewer line, dryrot or termites...these can be big ticket items if a housing provider does not have liquid reserves set aside. 
• Maybe they aren't excited with the direction the California legislature is going with tenant protections and the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, and they are over it. In the last few years, California has enacted AB1482 rent caps and just cause eviction, has limited the amount a landlord can charge as a rental deposit, and has now required landlords to provide refrigerators and stoves as a condition of habitability. 
• Maybe they never intended to be a landlord in the first place! They inherited the property, or maybe couldn't get the price they wanted when they moved out of the property and decided to rent it out. 

You get the idea. 

Every year I have these conversations with property owners looking to go out of the rental business. That naturally leads to questions about opportunity cost. What am I currently not doing that I could be doing if the equity in this property were liquid, or if I weren't tied down? In the Sacramento market, single-family rentals and 2–4 unit properties continue to attract strong buyer interest. Buyers include owner-occupants planning to live in one unit and rent the others, as well as long-term investors looking for stable, well-located assets. Properties with solid fundamentals remain in demand. 

Reach out and I am happy to talk it through with you, analyze your income and expenses, the rental market and scenario, and to give you a sense of what your property might be worth.

New Listing: 4549 Ashcroft Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95841 (Fourplex)

Fantastic 4-unit investment opportunity in a prime Sacramento location near American River College. 4549 Ashcroft Avenue is situated in a small community of other fourplexes in a neighborhood among single family homes. Four spacious units with strong upside potential in rental income. Each unit has an identical mirror-image layout with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and approximately 898sf (per assessor's records). The property features a well-maintained exterior, dual-pane windows, updated plumbing fixtures, newer water heater, newer building water backflow, and roof replaced in October 2017. Recent SB721 exterior elevated elements inspection and required repairs were completed in July 2025. Each unit has off-street parking and access to a shared fenced backyard. A shared coin-operated laundry room (machines owned and included) provides additional income and convenience for residents. Located within a professionally managed Homeowners Association that covers common area maintenance and garbage expenses. Communal outdoor space fosters a neighborly feel. Financial analysis, rent roll, and disclosures/reports available. Don't miss this great opportunity! For more photos and information, please visit 4549 Ashcroft Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95841.

New Listing: 1011 Vernon Street, Roseville, CA 95678

Prime investment opportunity awaits in Roseville! This well-maintained triplex at 1011 Vernon Street offers three individual, separately metered units and a large 0.14-acre corner lot. 'Unit A' features 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 857sf, a recently updated bathroom (2024), and a long-term tenant in place. 'Unit B' is the largest unit with 5 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and 1540sf, with updates including a freshly painted interior, newer kitchen cabinets, sink, faucet, countertops, refrigerator, and flooring all completed in 2023, along with a new bathroom vanity (2023) and tub replacement (2020). 'Unit C' includes 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 996sf, laminate flooring, an updated bathroom, and a freshly painted interior. Additional common features include a large shared coin-operated laundry/utility room, upgraded electrical service panels (2023), resurfaced PVC membrane roof over Unit A (2023), new exterior stairs (2023), and recent exterior enhancements including a section 1 and 2 pest clearance (2025), and a new acrylic color coat (2025). Conveniently located near downtown Roseville, major freeways, and public transit, this property offers nice amenities to potential tenants while providing strong income potential for investors. Offered at $799,900. For more information and to schedule a private showing, please visit 1011 Vernon Street, Roseville, CA 95678.

Is 2025 the year you make a move? Here is a brief primer on how I help my clients list and sell their homes...

Selling a home is a major life decision that comes with many moving parts, especially in the dynamic Sacramento real estate market. Whether you’re a seasoned seller, or listing a home in a trust or probate estate, or putting your property on the market for the first time, navigating the selling process with clarity and confidence is crucial. Here’s a brief primer of the steps I walk through with my clients when counseling a seller to list a home for sale...

TL;DR -- I always strive to help my clients stay on top of market trends, assess what is in their best interest to optimize their sales price and net proceeds, and assist my clients to evaluate and think through their options as they move through the transaction. I welcome your call at 916-342-1372 to see if we are a good fit to work together.

Step 1: Estimate Your Home’s Value and Develop a Pricing Strategy -- One of the most critical factors in selling your home is pricing it correctly. As your real estate listing agent, I will prepare an estimate of your home’s current market value. This involves analyzing recent sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood, looking at competing listings, current market trends in Sacramento, unique features of your property. My goal is to strike the perfect balance on price, leveraging local expertise and data-driven insights to set a price that attracts qualified buyers and maximizing your profit and net proceeds. 

Step 2: Schedule Pre-Listing Inspections -- conducting inspections before listing can prevent surprises later. I am a huge advocate of this and have written about this extensively. Pre-listing inspections demonstrate transparency and provide buyers with peace of mind -- AND often will take certain repairs off the negotiating table up-front. I often say "disclosure is far better than discovery". If it makes sense to repair issues that arise up front, doing so in advance affords enough time to get multiple bids to ensure you do not overpay. 

Step 3: Complete Required Disclosures Up Front  -- California law requires sellers to provide detailed disclosures about their property, including any known defects or issues, and items previously repaired or remodeled. Common forms include: Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ). I like to have these in hand when a property hits the market. Having these up front allows me to field questions from agents, and provide them to buyers. Often, providing these up-front will compel buyers to shorten their inspection or investigation timelines as well.

Step 4: Make Pre-Listing Repairs and Improvements -- Buyers are often looking for homes that are move-in ready. I counsel my clients to focus on repairs and upgrades that provide the highest return on investment, such as touching up paint, replacing old light fixtures, repairing exterior dryrot, refreshing front landscaping, etc. With each client, I provide tailored recommendations to ensure every dollar spent adds value and helps your home stand out in the market. 

Step 5: Stage Your Home to Impress  -- Staging helps potential buyers envision themselves living in your home. This might involve decluttering and deep cleaning, rearranging or renting furniture to highlight your home’s best features, adding finishing touches like fresh flowers or cozy throw blankets. While not every property needs to be staged, generally the homes that are presented well will sell faster and at a higher price.

Step 6: Craft a Winning Marketing Plan Effective marketing is essential to attract buyers. My comprehensive strategy includes professional photography including aerial drone shots, 3D virtual tours, print ads, social media and web optimized campaigns targeting buyers in Sacramento and beyond, hosting open houses and tours to maximize exposure. My goal is to put your property front and center for the right audience, ensuring maximum visibility. 

Step 7: Navigate Offers and Negotiate Like a Hell -- When offers come in, my role is to evaluate them thoroughly and advocate for your best interests. I create a spreadsheet to help my sellers compare the price and terms of multiple offers. Terms like timelines and contingencies are often extremely important in addition to price. Countering offers to achieve the best possible deal. Guiding you through buyer requests and appraisal negotiations. My goal is to ensure you achieve a transaction that aligns with your goals. 

Looking ahead to 2025, Sacramento’s real estate market remains robust, but it’s also evolving. I always strive to help my clients stay on top of market trends, and assist my clients to evaluate and think through their options as they move through the transaction. I welcome your call at 916-342-1372 to see if we are a good fit to work together.

New Listing: 7729 Sunset Avenue & 7864 Greenridge Way (DUPLEX), Fair Oaks, CA 95628

Excellent turn-key investment opportunity with this renovated well-maintained Fair Oaks duplex! Convenient, high-demand corner location looks a lot like a single family home -- with one address on Sunset Avenue, and one address on Greenridge Way. 7729 Sunset Avenue unit has 2bd/2ba + 2-car attached garage. You will love the updated kitchen with stainless appliances. Large primary suite with remodeled ensuite bathroom. Spacious hallway bedroom and hallway bathroom. Stunningly landscaped backyard with large trex deck and patio area. 7864 Greenridge Way unit has 2bd/1ba + 2-car attached garage. You will love the low-maintenance laminate floors throughout, large bedrooms, and updated bathroom. Each side has dual pane windows, ceiling fans, central heat & air, and washer/dryer hookups. Composition roof with 2-year certification. New siding and trim installed and exterior paint in 2023. Per assessor a HUGE 0.36ac lot. Located near shopping, public transportation, parks, award-winning schools, and easy access to public transportation. Income and expenses available upon request, as well as a complete list of updates/remodeling. DO NOT DISTURB TENANTS. Offered at $649,900. 3D Virtual Tour for Sunset Unit Link. 3D Virtual Tour for Greenridge Unit Link. For more photos and additional detail, please visit 7729 Sunset Avenue & 7864 Greenridge Way, Fair Oaks, CA 95628.

New Listing - 5517-5519 East Knoll Drive, Fair Oaks, CA 95628

Excellent turn-key investment opportunity with this renovated well-maintained Fair Oaks duplex! Convenient, high-demand location. Both units were substantially gutted and rebuilt approximately 6 years ago; new drywall and baseboards, new kitchen cabinets and granite countertops, new shower enclosures, bathroom vanities, and toilets, new laminate flooring, new light fixtures, new composition roof and gutters, new dual pane windows, and new HVAC units. Left side 5517 unit is 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a 2-car garage, and the right side 5519 unit is 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a 1-car garage. Spacious units flow nicely with lots of living space, open floorplans, big bedrooms, remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, en-suite primary bedrooms, ample storage, and large private/fenced backyards. Located near shopping, public transportation, parks, award-winning schools, and convenient access to I-80 and Hwy-50. 5517 pays $2095/mo. 5519 pays $1800/mo. DO NOT DISTURB OCCUPANTS. Offered at $749,900. For more photos and detail please visit 5517-5519 East Knoll Drive, Fair Oaks, CA 95628.

New listing - 7413-7415 Tierra Way, Fair Oaks, CA 95628

Excellent investment opportunity with this well-maintained and professionally managed Fair Oaks duplex! Sharp and tidy, this is a convenient and high-demand location. Each unit is 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, with an attached large 1-car garage -- they are essentially mirror images of each other. Spacious units flow nicely with lots of living space, fireplaces, open floorplans, big bedrooms, updated kitchens, en-suite primary bedrooms, ample storage, private/fenced backyards. Both units have central heat & air, and composition roof. Located near shopping, public transportation, parks, schools, and restaurants. 7413 pays $1522.50/mo rent + $95/mo toward utilities. 7415 pays 1496.25/mo rent + $92/mo toward utilities. DO NOT DISTURB OCCUPANTS! Offered at $549,900. For more photos and information, please visit 7413-7415 Tierra Way, Fair Oaks, CA 95628.

New Listing - 2717-2719 59th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817

Great investment property opportunity awaits you in Tahoe Park! Convenient, high-demand location in an ideal spot -- just a quick hop skip and a jump from Tahoe Park and its playground, sports fields, and swimming pool AND on a road that is quick jaunt directly into East Sac! The best of both worlds! Front unit is a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom floorplan, with central heat & air, big bedrooms, spacious living and dining areas, wood floors, lots of closet space, and indoor laundry hookups. The rear unit is 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom, formal entry area, wood floors, big bedrooms, central heat & air, large private/fenced backyard with lots of sunny space to garden. Detached 2-car garage has 2 separated parking bays, and a side storage closet area. Property backs up to the 59th Street-2nd Avenue Alley! The possibilities are endless. Close proximity to public transportation, shopping, restaurants, schools, freeways, Sac State, UCDMC, the future planned development at Aggie Square, and more! Don't wait! Inspection reports and income/expense information available. Offered at $449,900. For more photos and detail, please visit 2717-2719 59th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817.

Sacramento Home Seller B-I-N-G-O!

After one particularly stressful transaction recently that was laced with several pandemic-induced challenges I jokingly asked my seller client "So was 'getting exposed to COVID right before closing' on your BINGO card"? 

And we both laughed.

And then it hit me -- gosh maybe adding some levity during an otherwise stressful time would be a good idea. So, starting now I will be giving my sellers a BINGO card to complete during our transaction. I used an online program that randomizes the squares so each client will have a unique card for their own unique transaction. Any client who achieves a BINGO will get a $100 gift card to a restaurant of their choosing at closing.

The market is a little nutty and things can get chaotic, so let's have some fun too. 

New Listing - 3498-3950A-3950B Sherman Way, Sacramento, CA 95817

Amazing renovated 3-unit / triplex investment property opportunity near UC Davis Medical Center! You will appreciate the attention to detail and recent renovation. Front unit (3948) is a spacious 2/1 with a sunny front porch, light and bright with lots of windows, built-ins, updated kitchen with a Wedgewood stove, updated bathroom bathroom. Rear unit (3950A) is an adorable 3/1 with a downstairs bedroom and bath, and 2 fun attic bedrooms with skylights and cool nooks and crannies! Also features a quarter basement, updated kitchen with new quartz counters. ADU unit (3950B) is an efficient 1/1 that is newly built and has lots bells and whistles, including new kitchen with stainless appliance, new bathroom, a minisplit a/c, breezy rear deck. All units have new dual pane windows, refinished or new flooring, fresh interior/exterior paint, new light fixtures. Landscaped yard and planter boxes. Disclosures, income/expense statements available. 5.8% estimated Cap Rate, 13.14 estimated Gross Rent Multiplier. Offered at $875,000. MLS# 20031999. 3D Virtual walk-through and more photos and detail available at 3498-3950A-3950B Sherman Way, Sacramento, CA 95817.

As of January 1, 2020: SB 329 prohibits discrimination based on a tenant's source of income - which now includes Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

A new law took just effect on January 1st, 2020 that has not received as much publicity as other new laws aimed at tenant protection -- and that is SB 329 (Mitchell). This new law prohibits a landlord from rejecting potential tenants based on their use of a Housing Choice Voucher (often referred to as Section 8).

Up until now, landlords could choose not to work with Section 8, which is a federal housing subsidy program for low-income people. Landlords could advertise rental property declaring up front that they would not accept Housing Choice Vouchers. But no more.

Discrimination based on a tenant's "source of income" has already been a violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, however housing vouchers were previously not considered to be part of a tenant's source of income since the subsidy is paid from an agency to the landlord directly. SB 329 changes the definition of source of income to include Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV).

So landlords -- you MUST NOT advertise that you will not accept Housing Choice Vouchers. This is now illegal. You may still have other application standards, such as a minimum credit score requirement, a requirement for no prior court evictions, etc. but you must be sure that you uniformly apply these standards with all prospective applicant tenants. Many properties will have a higher market rent than the maximum allowable rent for the property type and zip code. So while in some cases it is likely the property will not be a viable candidate for a voucher recipient, you still may not advertise blanket rejection of HCVs.

For full disclosure, I myself am a landlord and one of our tenants is a HCV recipient. This tenant has now rented from us for about 3.5 years and has been a great tenant. Jumping through the initial hoops of the HCV program was a real pain. It can take several weeks or months prior to the tenant's occupancy of a property to get through all the layers of paperwork, inspections, and repairs to make a property eligible for occupancy. There are also subsequent property inspections and interim paperwork requirements as well. But, the HCV rent payment magically appears in our bank account at the beginning of each month, and our tenant has never been late paying her small part of the rent that is proportional to her monthly income.

Overall for myself I'd characterize it as a positive experience, and I personally am so glad that we can offer some housing stability to a family who needs it...although I am personally generally not a fan of the government forcing mandatory compliance with its onerous programs. But I do urge landlords to keep an open mind with the HCV programs and just be prepared for a lot of up-front flexibility. I do believe the agencies who administer the HCV programs have done what they can to streamline the processes. In Sacramento County the program is administered by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA).

I can only hope there are not obvious unintended consequences of this legislation, such as application requirements for rented properties getting much more stringent -- like minimum credit scores increasing for everyone, for example. That overall will make it more difficult for renters to secure housing.

In addition to City of Sacramento's rent control ordinance, for more fun, now we have statewide rent control in California as AB1482 is signed into law...

I have been holding off pushing the "publish" button on this post until California's Governor Gavin Newsom actually signed AB1482 into law, and since he finally did so yesterday, here you go.

California now has a statewide rent control and just cause for eviction. And nearly simultaneously as I wrote about a few weeks ago, the City of Sacramento passed a local rent control ordinance that is essentially rolling out at the same time.

I am not looking forward to the confusion these two parallel rent control programs will cause in and around Sacramento. The provisions in both are similar, yet different. And while I am not an attorney, I imagine that within the city limits of Sacramento where the terms overlap, the higher level of tenant protection will prevail.

AB1482 statewide rent cap limits annual rent increases to 5% + regional CPI (inflation adjustment), applies to newer construction on a rolling 15-year basis, and after tenancy for one year provides for relocation assistance in the amount of one month's rent to terminate a tenancy (this is known as just cause for eviction).

So for example, within the city limits of Sacramento, while single family homes are exempt from the local rent control ordinance, because the statewide rent control applies single family homes owned by larger investors (LLC's owned by corporations, or individuals who own more than 10 properties), some single family homes in the city may be rent controlled by the new state law. Additionally, the state rent cap allowable increase percentage is actually LOWER than the city's...so I imagine the lower of the two will be what goes.

So basically, it's complicated. If you care to read it, here is the bill language for AB1482, as well as the ordinance for the City of Sacramento.

In addition, landlords will be required to provide their tenants a disclosure about their rights under the new ordinance by January 1, 2020. The California Association of REALTORS is coming out with a standard form for this, and I imagine the California Apartment Association will too, among other rental housing organizations...if you have a professional property manager you should inquire to make sure they are ready to be in compliance with this requirement. And if you self-manage your properties, you should perhaps get some legal advice.

If you are thinking about selling an investment property or any tenant occupied property, please connect with me so we can strategize the best way to move forward in compliance with these rent control ordinances.

Regardless of your stance on rent control policies, these are here to stay for a while. The state law sunsets December 31st, 2030, which is more than a decade away...

City of Sacramento passed a rent control ordinance -- here are the basics...

The City of Sacramento passed a new rent control ordinance last month that will be rolling out very soon. I think there may be confusion among local landlords and tenants alike as this is implemented. This ONLY applies within the city limits of Sacramento, which is a very specific area...there are areas within the unincorporated county of Sacramento where the ordinance will not apply, and there are many residents of those areas who do not realize the difference between city and county jurisdiction. Here is a map of the affected areas:

I think confusion will be highest in areas with Sacramento addresses that are outside of the city limits. For example parts of town such as the Arden / Arcade areas, some parts of Natomas, areas near the Oak Park neighborhood, Rosemont, South Sacramento, Foothill Farms, etc all have Sacramento addresses but are actually located in the unincorporated county though are adjacent to the city limits. Those areas are not affected by this rent control ordinance.

If you have trouble sleeping, you can read the full text of the adopted ordinance here. Here are the highlights of the new ordinance that will be in effect in the coming week:

• Allowable annual rent increase is set at 6% + CPI (inflation adjustment), hard cap not to exceed 10%
• Base rent is set at what the landlord charged as of July 1, 2019
• Only 1 rent increase allowed every 12 months
• Single family homes are exempt
• All units built after February 1, 1995 are exempt
• Just cause for eviction. After 1 year of occupancy, owners may only terminate tenancy for cause (like failure to pay rent or illegal activity), OR may only terminate tenancy with 120-day notice for the following reasons:
• To make substantial repairs (must offer tenant first right to return) 
• Landlord or immediate family moves into the unit 
• Landlord withdraws all of the units in the building from the rental market for at least one year.

The ordinance will sunset on December 31, 2024 unless extended.

For added fun, there is a statewide rent cap bill, AB1482, making its way through the legislature right now. It will be interesting to see if there is the political will to make rent control a statewide policy. We shall know on that one in the next month.

If you are thinking about selling a rental or investment property in the city limits of Sacramento that falls within the jurisdiction of these rent control ordinances, please reach out to me right away so we can strategize how to sell the property in compliance with the ordinance.

New Listing - 6931-6933 Trovita Way, Citrus Heights, CA 95610

Great duplex multi-family income property opportunity awaits you in Citrus Heights! Convenient, high-demand location. The left side unit is 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a 2-car garage, and the right side unit is 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a 1-car garage. These units are a blank canvas for your updating after decades-long tenants. Spacious units flow nicely with lots of living space, open floorplans, big bedrooms, en-suite master bedrooms, ample storage, private/fenced backyards with lots of sunny space to garden or play. Both units have central heat & air and composition roof. Located near shopping, public transportation, parks, and schools. Don't wait! MLS# 19058660. Offered at $405,000. For more photos and information please visit 6931-6933 Trovita Way, Citrus Heights, CA 95610.

New Listing - 7446 Saint Tropez Way, Sacramento, CA 95842

This 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1,018sf property is the perfect blank canvas for your personal style and touches! With deferred maintenance throughout, you can look forward to restoring this once cute home to its former glory with your major renovation project. You will love the open layout, spacious living room and dining areas, kitchen with ample storage space, big bedrooms, and large pass-through bathroom with two sinks and stall shower. Attached 2-car garage. Big backyard with covered patio. Nicely located close to shopping, public transportation, and freeway access. Don't wait! MLS# 19048048. Offered at $225,000. For more photos and detail visit 7446 Saint Tropez Way, Sacramento, CA 95842.

New Listing - 6134 & 6136 Merrywood Drive, Rocklin, CA 95677

Excellent investment opportunity with this well-maintained Rocklin duplex! Convenient, high-demand location. Each unit is a 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, attached 1-car garage and are essentially mirror images of each other. Spacious units flow nicely with lots of living space, open floorplans, big bedrooms, updated kitchens, en-suite master bedrooms, ample storage, private/fenced backyards. Both units have dual pane windows, central heat & air, and composition roof. Right 6134 unit is month-to-month and $1,250/mo. Left 6136 unit is leased through May 2020 and $1,520/month. Located near shopping, public transportation, parks, schools, and easy access to I-80. Offered at $449,900. For more photos and information please visit 6134 & 6136 Merrywood Drive, Rocklin, CA 95677.

Ramifications of jointly purchasing a home with a non-spouse...

Home buyers come in all shapes and sizes. A home buyer could be a single person. Or a married couple...Or an unmarried couple. Maybe two friends. Two siblings. Parent and child. You get the idea. But let's be real. There is a lot to consider when purchasing a property, and potentially a lot more to discuss when you are purchasing a home with someone who is not your spouse.

When buying a home with a spouse, your finances are usually at least somewhat co-mingled. California is a community property state, so a home purchased likely belongs to both of you equally no matter who brings what to the table financially.

But hey, it's 2019, and not every deeply committed couple gets married. Or perhaps two BFF's decide to purchase a home to be able to afford a nicer or larger place than one could afford individually. Or parent and adult child decide to jointly buy a home so grandma can watch the kids while adult child is working. I have worked with buyers in all of these scenarios and more.

But let's talk about the ramifications of making a large joint purchase for a minute. A home is a large asset to own jointly. If you are planning to buy a home with someone, you should have a pretty candid discussion the other person about your intended mutual financial arrangements and obligations owning a home together. And, if you were to separate, you should talk about how you would divest yourselves from it.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Couples who are deeply committed do separate sometimes. BFFs maybe eventually get married and want to move somewhere else with their new spouse. Or grandma gets tired of constantly having the grandkids around and wants a place of her own.

It can be a tough conversation to have. Buying a home is exciting, and this conversation can be a real buzzkill. It's as exciting of a conversation to have as, for example, creating a prenuptial agreement. But it is a really necessary conversation to have so everyone has the same expectations.

You should be thinking about this stuff and get mutual clarity on:
-Who is making what percentage of the downpayment?
-Who is paying what percentage of closing costs?
-Who will make what percentage of the monthly mortgage payment, utilities, HOA dues, property taxes, insurance, etc.
-Will this be a 50-50 ownership? Or some other percentage? Perhaps you may not want a 50-50 ownership if one of you will carry more of the financial load.
-How will you hold title to the property? (Married couples usually are "Joint Tenants" where essentially both owners collectively own 100% of the real property, and in the event of the death of one owner, the surviving owner retains 100% ownership. It might make sense to explore other forms of vesting, like for example "Tenancy in Common" where each owner owns an individual interest in the property. That interest could be sold on its own. There is also no right of survivorship, such that one interest does not automatically go to the other owner upon death and could be bequeathed to a beneficiary.) You should consult a CPA or an attorney on that one.
-Who will pay for repairs or improvements to the property?
-How will you decide who gets to deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, and other house-related deductible expenses on your state and federal income taxes (if applicable)? If you are unmarried, each owner will be filing a separate tax return.
-And most unexcitingly, if you were to separate and want to sell the property, would you split the net proceeds down the middle? Or would you want to first recoup your downpayment, closing costs, repair costs, and then split it? Or if you have individual ownership interests in the property, and one wants to sell his/her interest, should the remaining owner have any input as to who the new co-owner would be?

It's not exactly fun to discuss the termination of anything (especially a relationship or friendship), but it is also best to be on the same page now. It might be worth it to even draft an agreement relating to this sort of thing...

I know, buzzkill. But if you don't feel comfortable enough to have this conversation before making your purchase, perhaps you should rethink your purchase with your potentially joint co-owner.

As an agent, I see these scenarios play out all the time. Everyone is excited and happy to make the purchase. But then when things go south, it is a tense situation and nobody is on the same page when it is time to sell the property. Things are usually a little more straight-forward when a married couple separates (usually joint tenants, usually proceeds of a sale are split down the middle, if spouses do not agree usually divorce attorneys or judge help to steer the decision-making), however when people are unmarried it can get messy quickly.

Save yourself the trouble and think about these things in advance.

Acceptable forms of providing an escrow company your initial deposit funds or downpayment for a real estate purchase...

So there is a first time for everything, and this week a client asked me something I have never before been asked: if he can send his downpayment funds via Venmo. In the age of money transfer apps, that is a totally legit question.

For those of you who don't know, Venmo is a popular money sending/transferring app. My husband and I have a Venmo account...and our most frequent use for Venmo? Loaning his 20 and 23-year old sons gas money every once in a while, or occasionally reimbursing a friend or colleague for a meal. There are other money sending apps -- PayPal is sort of the "old school" one, and some banks offer a feature called Zelle that essentially does the same thing. There are probably other ones too. 

These apps can be super convenient obviously, but will escrow companies (the neutral 3rd party that facilitates the transfer of title and handles the funds) accept funds transfers from them for initial deposits and downpayments for real estate purchases? The answer is -- NO. They will not.

And you might wonder why...well for one, you cannot just walk a bag of cash into an escrow company either. Escrow companies are themselves financial institutions, which in California at least are heavily regulated, usually by the California Department of Business Oversight. Venmo by its own admission is not set up for business transactions. Additionally, the amounts typically involved in real estate transactions to purchase homes or investment properties tend to be pretty large. Most of these apps have daily or weekly limits that prevent transfers in excess of a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. And with that, while I believe Venmo transactions may be free if linked directly to a bank account, many of these accounts charge significant transaction fees -- up to a few percent. If you were to send your $75,000 downpayment via one of these apps, the sender or recipient might be charged a couple thousand dollars in these fees alone.

These accounts are often linked with credit cards, so I am not sure it is advisable to "charge" your downpayment. In fact I am sure your lender would not like this at all as it could significantly change your loan debt-to-income ratio. Security of these transactions is potentially also a concern. While transactions are probably encrypted, it is not difficult for hackers to hijack a phone where the app lives, or what if you physically lose your phone logged into your app's account with a large fund balance awaiting transfer? Additionally, when sending or receiving funds via Venmo, your transaction history is public. Do you want the world to know you just sent a large sum of money to an escrow company? Also, funds on deposit at banks are FDIC insured and funds that live in these apps are not. 

Your best bet -- physically walk into your local bank or credit union branch and arrange for a wire transfer of your funds to the escrow company. Depending on your account type, these wire transfers may be free, or you may be charged a small fee of perhaps $25-$35. You may also obtain a cashier's check from your bank and walk that into an escrow company. 

While these bugs with money transfer apps may be worked out sometime in the future, for now I do not anticipate escrow companies to rush out and create Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, or other accounts. But perhaps this is something to consider as attitudes and culture shifts.

2018 - review of my real estate transaction statistics and how I compare to Sacramento market averages...

I ended last year with a bang, and had a busy start to 2018. I can't believe the year is over already! And what a year it was...it was one of my busiest years ever in my 13+ years in Sacramento real estate and did so while finishing my master's degree.

I like to track the statistics of my transactions, and toward the year end I always reflect on what I have done, how I compare to the rest of the agents in the market, and how I can improve. So as a follow up to my similar post last year, I thought I would publish some statistics and my thoughts on the coming year. Keep in mind, I am not a part of a "team" and this is all my own production. This year, all of my transactions are in Metrolist MLS, so this information is easily verifiable (although one sale was erroneously attributed to me that is not included in here)...in 2018:

-I closed 36 transactions and closed $14,473,000 in volume. My lowest transaction was $190,000, and my highest transaction was $749,900. The average was $402,028 and the median was $376,050.
-41.67% of my transactions were past/repeat clients (which is amazing to me!) 58.33% were new clients.
-94.4% of my transactions were residential properties (condos, single family homes), 5.6% were multi-family properties (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes), and 0 were other (commercial, land).
-58.3% of my transactions I represented the seller, while 41.61% of my transactions I represented the buyer.
-My typical residential listing sold for an average of 100.56% of its original listing price (meaning, 0.56% over the original listing price) in just 17 cumulative days on the market. The distinction of original and cumulative is important...original means even after a price reduction from the initial listing price, and cumulative means even if a property is re-listed or comes back on the market.
-My typical multi-family listing sold for an average of 108.7% of its original listing price (8.7% over the listing price) in just 2 cumulative days on the market.
-My typical listing had an average of 4.14 buyer offers on it! (For further disclosure though, one listing really skewed this statistic and had 23 offers on it alone...removing that one, then it becomes an average of 3.2 buyer offers)

Comparing my production statistics to the overall Sacramento real estate market averages, my clients and I had another stellar year.

For one, to qualify for the Sacramento Association of Realtors Masters Club, a realtor must close $5M in transaction volume and a minimum of 8 closed transactions. Clearly I blew those numbers out of the water. I would guess that with 36 closed transactions and nearly $14.5M in volume I am likely in the top 1-2% of all agents in greater Sacramento.

My clients are all over the spectrum from first-time buyers, move-up buyers (those who sell their home and then purchase another home), investors, sellers of property they inherited via a trust or probate, sellers retiring and moving out of the area, sellers divorcing, etc. My average and median transactions at $402,028 and $376,050 are basically in line with the average and median home prices in the Sacramento region according to Trendgraphix data. My high and low range indicates I work with a broad economic client spectrum as well, from those working with downpayment assistance to those among top-income earners in the region. I closed just one short sale listing in 2018, and I also did list one foreclosure/bank repo. Distressed properties are a very small part of the marketplace right now though 5 or so years ago they were the bulk of my transactions.

My listing statistics are also excellent...according to Trendgraphix for Sacramento County, the lowest average days on market for a single family listing in the last 14 months was 23 days on market (with a high of 41 days on market), versus my listings at 17 cumulative days on market. My original listing price versus final selling price ratio is also outstanding as my listings sell for 100.56% above original listing price on average, versus the highest month of the last 14 months at 100% (lowest at 96%). I think these numbers are indicative of my strategic approach to listing property -- complete with pre-listing inspections, staging, repairs, professional photography, 3D virtual tours, TV ads, and multi-faceted marketing.

Comparing 2017 to 2018, the market went from crazy nuts to a little more balanced between buyer and seller. This, as far as I am concerned, is a welcome change and brings a slightly more equitable transaction between buyer and seller. Sellers need to price according to the market, and buyers won't have to offer their first born to actually have their offers accepted.

 It is a good thing for buyers not to be faced with such intense competition from other buyers -- though don't get me wrong: properly marketed, appropriately priced, good homes still sell with plenty of competition and offers.

Of course I hope to improve these numbers this year in 2019...so we shall see how that shapes up! If you think we would be a good fit to work together toward your next property sale or purchase, I welcome your contact via phone or email.