Jan Bates is truly an angel. For the past several years, Jan has worked tirelessly motivating agents and affiliates to round up supplies for our troops in Iraq and then taken care of packaging and mailing them. Boxes of socks, beef jerky, Otter Pops, cookies, books, games and many other items are donated and sent to platoons that Jan has "adopted". The reports we get back tell us that it's like Christmas when the packages arrive.Each week at the MLS marketing meeting we pass a can to collect postage to ship the items. After today's meeting, Jan asked me if I would stick around and help assemble the boxes. For about an hour and a half, Jan, Rosemary Smith and I filled boxes with coffee, Rice Krispies treats, Girl Scout Cookies, socks, toothpaste, toothbrushes and much more. Jan will tak... 05/06/2008

 Most cities have a few properties that are well known for various reasons such as the architecture, the size of the home, a famous owner, some are considered haunted or the property may have sold for the highest price ever and all of these things brings out the curiosity of the residents of the area but it also can be a bother to the owners of the property.  Back in 1990 I listed a home in Murrieta California that had sat on the market for 6 months without selling and by getting the seller to carry a first trust deed for a buyer we had it sold in 10 days to a gentleman who was the owner of two separate businesses and he provided 3 years of tax returns so life was good.  Fast forward to 1993 when I received a call from a friend who lived around the corner from this house and he tells me... 05/03/2008

 Seems everyone is talking Real Estate nowadays with the prices of homes falling and the large numbers of bank owned properties (REO) on the market but all is not gloom and doom as some are making it out to be as many people want to take advantage of the lower prices and favorable interest rates but they lack the money for a down payment or closing costs. There is help available to those who qualify in the form of down payments and money for closing costs and the buyer does not pay it back!!! It's a GIFT!!!  Down payment assistance programs help homebuyers with a gift of 3% of the sales price towards the down payment and in some cases another 3% towards the closing costs which results minimal out of pocket expenses. These programs go by different names such as Nehemiah, Genesis and Amer... 04/30/2008

Did I ever mention how much I love living in the Inland Empire? You'll have an opportunity today to discover one of the many reasons why I think this is such an extraordinary place to live. I have done a few posts on the Santa Rosa Plateau. Today you can see for yourself in rare opportunity with the Santa Rosa Plateau Garden Tour. Starting at 10 this morning you can enjoy a self-guided tour of seven five acre estate properties and their unique gardens. You'll see native and drought tolerant as well as rose gardens, succulent and cacti gardens. Your $20 entrance fee will benefit the third grade education program at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. Start at the information tent at the corner of Clinton Keith Road and Avenida La Cresta. Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – G... 04/26/2008

 For the past 8 weeks I have been working with a couple who had a very specific type of home they wanted to purchase in Murrieta, California that would include such things as a pool, views of the valley, 3 car garage and RV parking if possible with low taxes. Tall order but not impossible and over the course of our relationship they made offers on 3 bank owned properties (REOs) but were outbid every-time.  Two weeks ago a property came onto the market through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) at 10;05 AM and at 10:20 I called the seller to make a appointment to show her home that day and to my surprise she told me it was not a good day to show her house and slammed the phone down. Now I am not the sharpest tool in the shed but this smells like a divorce to me so I called the listing ag... 04/20/2008

 Southwest Riverside County, which includes Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee and surrounding communities, has been flooded with bargain hunters taking advantage of the lower prices on foreclosed properties held by banks, (REOs) and the low interest available to them in greater numbers than ever before.  Escrows closed on 522 homes in March and that is the largest number since August 2006 according to the local multiple listing service covering the region. The numbers rose by double digits compared with 2007 levels for January, February and March.  Dataquick Information Systems reported that 56% of the homes sold in Riverside County Ca. were foreclosed properties held by banks. This surge in the market shows buyers know a good deal when they see it and they are not only looking they are buyin... 04/19/2008

   So you have decided now is the perfect opportunity to purchase a home as the prices are down and the interest rates are favorable and with all the bank owned properties, REO, on the market in the Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee Valley area of California all we need to do is pick one, make an offer and call the moving company. Wrong!!!  All of those statements as to price, interest rates and number of REO's are true but the fact of the matter is there are many people such as you competing for the best properties and the banks are receiving multiple offers which they must choose what they consider to be the best one and it's not always the highest priced or cash offer that gets accepted.  As an example this past week I had a client get his offer accepted from a pool of 14 offers, yes 14, a... 04/13/2008

 The latest statistics have been released by the Department of Real Estate in California and it should bring concern to anyone who will be selling or buying real estate now or in the future as for most of us our homes are the largest asset we posses.  In The State of California 548,959 people have a real estate license and that works out to 1 license for every 67 people living in the state. With the number of home sales handled by agents in 2007 that translates into less than 1 transaction per licensee and 2008 will no doubt shrink those numbers dramatically.  Mr & Mrs Consumer it is up to you to do your due diligence and find out as much information about your agent as you possibly can as they will be representing you in one of the largest and most important transactions you will ever ... 04/11/2008

Every once in a while you hear a story that tears your heart out. I got an email today from a fellow agent at my office: Attached is the picture of Emily Locricchio. She is a 7th grader at Thompson who died April 7th of asthma attack. She went to school Friday and was in the hospital over the weekend. She was airlifted to Loma Linda where she died early Monday morning. Emily had an asthma attack that closed her airways completely. This is a tragedy for her family and friends. Her brother is a 4th grader here at Cole with Ms. Calvillo-Murray and her older brother attend Murrieta Valley. Memorial service will be this Sunday at 2:00pm at Cornerstone (I-15 and Baxter). It is open to the public, and her mother hopes that all her friends and classmate, teachers and staff would come. Here at C... 04/10/2008

 Mr and Mrs Murrieta Ca. home buyer please do not ask me for the lockbox code on the property you just drove past. Those codes are for agents only and as a professional real estate agent I take my profession seriously as I hope your Doctor does as well.Yes I do remember you previously worked with an agent who gave you the codes to properties in Temecula Ca. but you did say you felt he wasn't doing a good job in helping you to find a new home.  Please allow me to assure you we will fnd the right home at the best price and terms and you did like the homes we saw on Friday plus the property you are calling about is on my list for our tour on Monday and there is one home in Menifee that meets your criteria that you may want to see.  Please don't apologize for getting angry and I'm glad you ... 04/06/2008

Call me for information reference foreclosures in the Copper Canyon area of Murrieta, California. Call me at 951-543-2317 or email me at FrankTiburzio@aol.com 04/04/2008

Call me to view any home foreclosures in Murrieta and Temecula. I can also send you them via email. Call Frank Tiburzio at 951-543-2317. You can also email me at FrankTiburzio@aol.com 04/04/2008

For the past eight years our Chamber of Commerce has held a $10,000 reverse drawing. At the end of the evening, some lucky stiff walks out with $10 grand. Nice! We only sell 225 tickets at $225 each. Each ticket comes with 2 dinners and 1 chance at the cash.I have MC'd these for the past 8 years and my daughter, Tara, does sound effects, rude noises & music.This year I was joined onstage by one of our local newspaper columnists, John Hunneman. and three good looking ladies to help pull numbers and provide a little eye candy to off-set John & I. I have a face made for radio and John has a voice made for newspaper. It works well.   We start with all the numbers in a big hopper and draw them out one by one with each loser going into another hopper eligible to win $1,000 at the end f the ev... 03/22/2008

 It is not a secret that home prices in Murrieta Ca. are down as we are no different than other parts of the country and this has created a mindset with many consumers that houses are selling for pennies on the dollar,especially if the property is bank owned (REO), and they want to go "fishing" for a deal. There really are some great deals on homes right now but they are not free and yesterday I had the privilege to hand over the keys to a beautiful home to a client, Ryan, who now understands the real estate market.  Ryan looked at five REO properties in the beginning of our search and I showed him the comps on each property before he decided to make a offer on one in particular but the offer he wanted to make was ridiculously low but he insisted on making the offer. I explained to him ... 03/20/2008

 With all the media reports from the so called Experts we all have been hearing about recently on how bad the real estate market is and how it will continue to decline all I can offer is the market report for my primary area of Temecula, Murrieta and Menifee California.  In January 2008 we had 49 properties go into pending status (accepted offers) and that was an OUCH month.  In Febuary 2008 there were 338 properties that went into escrow.  From March 1st 251 properties have gone into escrow and many of these properties had more than 1 offer so those buyers are still looking for another property which in turn will bring more sales this month.  These numbers are not going to bring us out of the current real estate slump but the numbers presented here do show the market, at least in my ar... 03/16/2008

 Murrieta Ca. is a city that has grown to a population of 100,000 since it incorporated in 1991 with 27,000 residents and was a close-knit small town. The residents, myself included, voted to tax ourselves so our own fire department could be formed and the dept. has been a source of community pride ever since.  Today we once again have that small town sense of community as we mourn the death of one of our first firefighters, Captain Matt Moore, who passed away Monday night after being in the hospital since December fighting a rare form of meningitis.  On Saturday March 8 the residents of Murrieta came together for a pancake breakfast fundraiser to benefit Capt. Moore and his family and raised close to $40,000 to help them thru this difficult time. What a great community we are fortunate... 03/12/2008

A wetter than normal winter has blessed up with an abundance of brilliant wildflowers in the Temecula Valley. I know they won't last long, so I grabbed my camera and started snapping. The first shots are a few blocks from my house in Murrieta. This is from the nectarine tree in my backyard. Then this morning I went to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. Everything was green and gorgeous. Check out the snow-capped San Bernardino mountains! I plan on taking more photos before the splendor fades. I love where I live! Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701 It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.  Subscribe in a reader 03/09/2008

 The Murrieta Ca. firefighters auxiliary held a pancake breakfast today, March 8,2008, for Captain Matt Moore and the good people of Murrieta stepped up to the plate and helped this brave firefighter and his family to the reported total of $38,000.  Capt. Moore and his brother Capt. Mark Moore were two of the first firefighters hired by the city of Murrieta 18 years ago and both have worked their way up the ranks to their current rank of Captain and coming from a family of firemen they know the danger of their profession and they face it proudly. Recently Capt. Matt Moore fell into a coma due to an obscure form of meningitis that has invaded his body. His wife Sherry and their three children, Alyssa 16, Trent & Brandon 13, are praying for a miracle for this wonderful husband and father ... 03/08/2008

 Due to the rise in foreclosure rates across the country and the problem of neglect with some of these properties the city of Murrieta Ca. on Tuesday March 4th adopted an ordinance that will require lenders holding these real estate owned (REO) properties to keep up with the maintenance or they will be fined.  The ordinance requires lenders to maintain security and landscaping on the homes which they have taken possession. Lenders will be fined $100 per day for failing to register the property or failing to post that the property is bank owned; $250 for allowing lawns to die or failing to remove graffiti, litter or weeds. In addition they will be fined $500 for unmaintained swimming pools with stagnant water or unsecured structures on the property; and up to $1000 if the city learns pub... 03/07/2008

 Recently I had the fortunate opportunity to help the most inspiring couple I have ever worked with in my 20 years in the Real Estate industry purchase a home. Bill and Kristi, last name withheld upon request, are two people who live life to its fullest everyday and when problems arise and they are dealt lemons they make lemonade and keep on living life. Something you should know about Bill & Kristi is the fact they are blind.   At 8:05 on a Saturday morning my phone rang at the office and the caller wanted some Real Estate questions answered so I did my best to answer them and then Kristi told me she & her husband Bill had made a deposit on a yet to be built 2 story townhouse and the builder had told her it was the best price in our area and everything would be fine. I confirmed that t... 03/01/2008