For all of you theatre lovers, here's a few Christamas Performances taking place in Vacaville this december: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17 Solano Choral Society presents Christmas Concert. Voices and spirits are lifted with holiday-themed concert from the Solano Choral Society. 8 pm at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theater. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 Solano Community Symphony presents their 25th Anniversary SeasonHoliday Celebration Maestro Semyon Lohss and the Solano Community Symphony present selections from Tchaikovsky, Madina, Anderson, Berlin, Handel and more. 3 pm at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theater.       12/11/2011

Brunch with SantaSaturday, December 17, 2011  This is such a great event for the whole family, and you get to support a local business too! Join Santa and friends for a yummy brunch and entertainment. After brunch, stay for a tour! Remember to bring your camera for those unforgettable moments. Brunch will be served from 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Advanced tickets must be purchased online at www.JellyBelly.com; $22 per person, kids 2 years old & under free.  12/11/2011

A Visit to Bethlehem Friday, Dec 16 6:00p New Hope Christian Fellowship, Vacaville  A Visit to Bethlehem is an interactive re-creation of Bethlehem the night of Jesus’ birth. See the blacksmith, and other artisans practice their skills; shepherds telling of angels and a newborn king; and register for Caesar's census. Follow the star and bring your coin pouch as some artisans will be offering their wares. There's even a 'kids only' store for 12 and under to buy Christmas gifts for mom and dad in stealth! There's definitely something for everybody, even live nativity animals! Come and check it out!! 12/11/2011

Vacaville Christmas Events for December 9-11 Live Nativity @ Trinity Baptist Church A Vacaville Christmas tradition returns when Trinity Baptist Church presents the Live Nativity from 6 and 7:30 pm. The church is located at 401 W Monte Vista Ave. Further information may be obtained by calling Trinity Baptist Church at 707-448-5430 or visiting the church website at www.tbcvacaville.com. Clara's Gift Vacaville Ballet Theatre Company presents Clara’s Gift at VPAT. Choreographed 17 years ago by company artistic director and Vacaville native Heidi LuMaye, she wanted to create a work that "embraced a warm and moral story line to celebrate the season while using the familiar characters from the traditional 'Nutcracker'. Laughter and merriment ring out while Clara and Fritz enjoy their annual C... 12/06/2011

Vacaville's Festival of Trees Come on out for the last night of Vacaville’s Festival of Trees. To help wrap it up, the Festival of Trees is hosting a FREE Children’s Day event (3:30 - 5 pm) where kids can create edible necklaces, Jelly Belly Christmas Trees, reindeer food, and more! While the kids are having fun, go ahead and bid on a Christmas tree! All proceeds go towards the Vacaville Opportunity House, which provides emergency shelter, food, and clothing for homeless Vacaville citizens (families and individuals) for a period of up to sixty days. Please visit vacavillefestivaloftrees.com or email vacavillefot@sbcglobal.net for info. If you're looking for something going on a little bit later, there's holiday fun for the whole family at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theater at 7 pm. T... 12/01/2011

A few days ago I had the opportunity to write about an excellent business in Vacaville CA. Cooks Collision. I mentioned that Cooks gifted me a few extra days on my rental car, because; they wanted to finish the job with excellence. Let me tell you first the job done is superb, 1st class body and fender workmanship. They went a step or two farther in their demonstration of service and putting the customer first. The interior of my truck was vacuumed, my windows cleaned and the cab was completely wiped down. Much cleaner then when I dropped it off to them. Initially when I spoke with Cooks estimator I mentioned having some pin stripping for the bed of my truck. You see I purchased a custom truck bed and bought the pin stripping from Ford to install myself. I ask Cooks to give me a price t... 11/29/2011

  Vacavilles Festival of Trees is a three day event that starts on 29 Nov. 2011 and runs to 01 Dec 2011 Located at the Vacavile Skating Center: 551 Davis Street, Vacaville CA. 95688 Festival Of Trees happens every year for the benefit of Vacaville's Opportunity House Homeless Shelter. An inspiring shelter that offers a hand up. The festival is operated soley by volunteers who come together to bring more than just holiday cheer to all. Each of the beautiful Christmas Trees are auctioned off and 95% of all proceeds goes to fund Opportunity House. This event is tha largest fund raiser for Opportunity House. We hope to have a record breaking year this year. I've been to see some of the set up, the trees are simply stunning: Here's an example of an incomplete tree from Young Artist Conservat... 11/28/2011

A friend and client sent me an email this morning. It's simply the best example or statement of how our system of banking institutions and government have failed to serve us. Before you read the email here's two insightful qoutes from arguably the greatest Statesman ever.  Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much go... 11/23/2011

Recently I had the unfortunate experience of someone damaging my truck door. At my request my State Farm Insurance Agent "Andy Pignataro" gave me some auto body shops for consideration. Cooks Collision of Vacaville CA was on the list, so I called them to arrange an estimate. Frank my estimator did a complete work up of all needed repairs and we scheduled the work. I needed a rental car for the 3 to 4 days Frank said my truck would be in the shop. Cooks Collision arranged for Hertz Rental to deliver a car to there shop,  when I dropped off my truck I had a vehicle. No real surprises here just good service right. Well yesterday Frank called me to say my truck was going to take another 4 days to complete the job. His comments next were interesting; Frank said; Terry we got really busy and ... 11/18/2011

We are writing to express our pleasure with Vacaville real estate agent Terry Hughes, who represented us in our recent sale of a single family home. We were so pleased with Terry during the process of buying our home, we ask him to represent us during the short sale of our home.   Terry guided us through the entire process, from loan pre-qualification to searching for houses to making an offer and closing the deal. When we had to short sale our home, due to a military transfer, there was no question of who to call. Terry made the whole process smooth and stress-free, we were amazed. We were ready for a long drawn out process with the bank, and were very worried, wondering if we would get our home sold and closed before we had to report to our next duty station. Terry took care of everyt... 11/17/2011

Vacaville Real Estate home prices vs rental rates: Doe's it make sense to rent when you can own a home? In today's market interest rates are at an all time low. Prices of homes are down from an all time high. The housing market in Vacaville appears to have stablizied, which may indicate we are at or near the bottom of price reductions.   Department Of Real Estate's chief economist Leslie Appleton Young in a recent meeting with me made these statements.    All fundementals are sound:   1. Prices are low.  2. Inventory is good. 3. Interest rates are lowest in history since 1970   Homes prices in Vacaville are at or near replacement cost, it makes more sense to buy a home then it doe's to rent.   If you pay rent for the next 5 years here's what you'll pay out, please keep this in mind as y... 11/14/2011

Are you or someone you know relocating to Vacaville, CA? If so, here's a little info on our beautiful city. Feel free to pass this on to your family and friends that are relocating, or even if you just think it's cool. You can also search for Vacaville homes here. 09/26/2011

Custom built home behind the gate in Vine St Estates. This 3200+ sq ft home includes gourmet kitchen with granite counters, stainless appliances, and custom cabinetry. 3 full bedrooms + office, HUGE master retreat and bath including a walk-in shower and separate bath. Enjoy breathtaking views from the front balcony or take a dip in the beautiful lap-style pool in the backyard. View FULL DETAILS and additional PHOTOS here: http://www.vacavillehomefinder.com/listing/mlsid/14/propertyid/21124899/syndicated/1/cgltguid/A5523994-52EB-458B-87FB-57B697B87494/?ts=crg Superior search engine for MLS. Search by city, year built, square footage, or any other detail. You will see multiple listing photos, satellite images, full MLS descriptions and Zillow pricing estimates. See how easy this is. 09/18/2011

Short Sale Victory, Foreclosure Options Short Sale Victory, California Real EstateThe following is great news for all families looking into or in the process of a short sale.Please read it completely as this is a great short sale victory for all California home owners.Gov. Jerry Brown signed his second real estate related bill last week, SB 458. http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/sb458/ The Governor Of California signs a landmark law allowing citizens of this great state to walk away from deficiency judgements through an approved short sale. Through the process of facilitating short sales in California during this market correction I have had to and gladly did negotiate language into short sale approval letters to prevent my clients from being sued latter by a junior lien holder.... 07/19/2011

DOG LOVERS UNITE AND GET READY TO TAKE AN "ARMORED FLIGHT"-JOIN US FOR THE VEGETABLE PATCH SPRING FLING FAIRE--VACAVILLE REAL ESTATE Are you a dog lover?  Did you ever stop to think that K-9 dogs are at risk of getting injured in the line of duty?  Honestly, the thought never occurred to me.  The Solano County Sherriff's Department K-9 unit is asking for your help in raising funds to armor their dogs with vests and prevent man's best friend from getting hurt while they provide an invaluable public service.  A bullet proof vest for man's best friend costs around $1600.  Who better to help "armor" our canine friends, but Armored Flight?  If you have never had the pleasure of meeting any of the members of this band or hearing them play, then get ready to be impressed.  These are some of th... 04/15/2011

  What is all the whoopla about the EEM?     The Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) was set up in 1993 to Green UP the nation's housing stock. We must be more responsible for conserving our natural resources. Being more energy conscious is a MUST. Everyone wants to upgrade their windows to "dual pane" windows... they look nice and modernize the LOOK of the home but are they an effective means of spending your money on a rehab project? NO is the short answer. In most cases they make the home more aesthetically appealing and may make it sell faster but for being a prudent way to spend your money for a ROI (return on investment) it's just NOT there. How should you go about KNOWING where to put your money for the PAYBACK you are really looking for? That is easy...  get a HERS inspection. HERS ... 03/05/2011

I was sitting in a class at Solano College earlier this week when the attendees were introducing themselves and was very happily surprized to meet a young entreprenuer who has a restaurant and catering company in Vacaville, CA by the name of "Hand Me A Rib". Years ago my youngest brother Patrick, our father, and I were in Texas buying tax delinquent properties at auction and my father insisted that we have BBQ Brisket for lunch. It really didn't matter to me, I like to try new things. We spotted a BBQ restaurant called Tommy's which was the name of our other brother so we decided to give it a try. Love at first bite. That was fantastic and so tender. The next day we were out looking at properties to be auctioned off the next day and it was getting close to lunch time and I suggested we ... 02/26/2011

Homes for sale in Vacaville CA from $200,000 to $300,000 with 3+ bedrooms. With today's lower interest rates coupled with very low home prices it's realistic to own a great home for the cost of rent money. In addition many homes are priced perfectly for investment opportunities, allow the savvy buyer an opportunity to build a real estate portfolio or add to one. With affordable homes for sale in Vacaville from $200,000 to $300,000 there are many great buys. Many of these homes have been refurbished by the current owner who is looking to short sale or by the previous owner who was foreclosed on. It makes sense to look into this buyers market with your eyes on the real deals in the marketplace. Click the highlighted link to find the opportunities for affordable homes for sale in Vacaville... 01/06/2011

Hey anyone local to me we are going  to have a little impromptu training this Saturday for about 4 hours FREE to any consultant that wants to improve their report writing skills. We are primarily doing it for our staff but you are welcome to join us if you like. I'll post the time on my website when I hear from the main guys we are doing this for. Likely from 1-5 Saturday but we may go from 10 am to 2 pm. We have room for about 8-10 people. We will cover the 203k inspection, and bid specifications and we'll touch on how to bid the project for 203k loans. Even if you have been doing it for a while please feel free to join us, your input is welcome as we gear up for the vast amount of work that we expect over the next few years. If you don't have enough work you may want to join us simply... 10/06/2010

  How many listings are too small for an FHA loan? Actually there are quite a few. Most everyone knows that a home under 600 SF, as an example doesn’t qualify for an FHA loan, right? Wrong. It doesn’t qualify for an FHA 203b loan but it may very well qualify for an FHA 203k loan if you merely add square footage in the process. What happens if you have a 600 SF home that has two small bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom and you reconfigure it to have four bedrooms and two or three bathrooms? What does that do to the value of the property? You may have the best neighborhood and a small home exists that has just been fixed up and there is nothing that needs repairs… can I do a 203k on it? YES, by adding to it. This type of renovation is not for the Streamlined "k" which is f... 10/05/2010