Mark Wisterman's Paradise & Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog

For a smaller town like Oroville, prosperity hinges greatly on the amount and quality of development that takes place.  Among other things, future development brings with it new jobs, which brings with it an expanded population base, which brings with it more housing needs. In other words, a prospering Lake Oroville contributes to a strong housing market.

Development, though cannot take place in ANY town without a City Council, or Town Council as the case may be, working together for the common good of it’s beloved city. Not only does nothing get done when city officials are bickering, but you won’t find any major companies willing to come to a town when there is discontent at the highest levels of city government.

So when I read, “City Council tensions erupt into open” on the front page of our local newspaper this morning I could only shake my head in bewilderment at how stupid things can get at City Hall sometimes.

The following e-mail was sent from one Council Member to our mayor. Now before you get your panties in a wad, I am taking no sides in whatever dispute these two elected members of our community are having. In fact, to be honest, I am not sure what the dispute is all about.

But I am sure of one thing, the message in the email below is unbecoming of an elected official and, in my view, may be reason to have him removed from office. I’ll have more comments on this after you read the e-mail. Oh, by the way, the text highlighted in red was my doing. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to all of you interested in what is happening in the Paradise, California real estate market. As I have been doing for the Lake Oroville real estate market for the past 8 or nine months, I will be bringing these numbers to you on a weekly basis.  As part of this reporting I will try to point out anything of interest in the report each week in order to try to bring the proper perspective to market conditions.

I always welcome your comments and suggestions on this or any of my blogs posts, so don’t be bashful. Come join in the fun.

I am pleased to announce that I have made the decision to expand the Realty World brand into the town of Paradise, California.

I actually have owned the REALTY WORLD franchise rights to the Paradise real estate market for close to a year now, but have been waiting to actively do business in the town in the pines until market conditions warranted it.  I now feel that this is the time to bring this extraodinary real estate brand back to town.

I feel that this is the right time for two main reasons.  One, I see the market beginning, ever so slightly, to shift away from foreclosures and more towards short sales. And, two, I have heard from a number of people in the area that our brand of progressive and aggressive marketing is sorely needed there. I guess you could say that people seem to looking for a more up to date style of real estate marketing and negotiating.

As a company we do not intend to take the town by storm, we simply intend to very methodically, and consistently increase our presence within the market until we become the preferred real estate negotiators of the fine residents of Paradise.

The first order of business for this blog site will be to begin reporting  weekly Paradise real estate market stats in the same way that I am currently reporting market information for the Lake Oroville real estate market.  So be sure to check back soon for the first of those reports.

I will provide progress reports as this exciting expansion of our brand moves forward so you too can share the excitement we all feel in our Oroville office about our new venture.

Paradise……..HERE WE COME!!!!!!!

It’s been a while since I provided any updates to the issue which arose from the Lake Oroville Area Public Utility District’s  (LOAPUD)efforts to reduce uneccessary flows into the local sewer treatment plant.

If you are new to this blog you may have no idea what I am talking about. To help bring you up to speed I have assembled the links below to the past opinion pieces I have written regarding this subject. 

Don’t Let This Happen To You     Local Sewer District Stops Real Estate Transactions 

  Sewer Districts Say “No Sale”     Let Me Clarify  Full Steam Ahead   

Be Ready To Roll Up Your Sleeves    We Can’t Hearrrr Youuuuu!!

35 Years To Address Imminent Crisis?    Sewer Lateral Update

Here is the latest information that I have. After much prodding from this Lake Oroville Real Estate blog, and in cooperation with the Oroville Association of REALTORS®,  LOAPUD agreed to look at a revised proposal that was drafted by the consultant hired by the REALTORS, who has worked with other government agencies to assist them in accomplishing their goals without putting a stop to a real estate transaction, through onerous Point Of Sale mandates.

The latest proposal contains many of the same solutions I mention in my previous blog posts. What we, as REALTORS® have submitted eliminates the requirement that sewer lateras must be inspected, and repaired if necessary, before a real estate transaction is completed. The proposal also does exactly what LOAPUD needs it to do to keep the State of California off its back. It provides a firm timeframe for when the entire district has been inspected and brought up to standard.

I applaud the sewer district for it’s willingness to listen and be open minded enough to entertain other solutions to this issue. It is good, in this day and age of intrusive government policies and attitudes, to see that the they understand that two heads are better than one and that working TOGETHER is far more in the public’s interest than going it alone

The REALTORS proposal is now in the hands of the LOAPUD management staff and Board of Directors.  I urge you all to contact the district and voice you support for the proposed solution.  Be sure to watch for more news on this as it develops.

I just added a new widget to this blog site in pursuit of my commitment to give you as much information as I can about the goings on in the Lake Oroville real estate market.

Now that I have finished compiling the sales statistics of the Lake Oroville housing market from the last 4+ years I can provide a more local perpective on the real estate market. 

Each month I will update the Northern California numbers as well as the Lake Oroville numbers. You now not only get to see what our local market is doing but can now compare how we are doing as compared to the rest of the north state. Be aware, though, that the Oroville housing numbers, being on a smaller scale, will show more volatility than the larger scale numbers of the Northern California region.  And, as I have said before, the trend is more important than the raw numbers.

With this added information at your finger tips, I now need YOU to provide ME with some information, and more importantly, your opinion.  Are the housing numbers I provide here helpful to you, or is it too much, or is it maybe not enough? I know this blog cannot be everything to everybody, but,  I want to be sure that what I provide you is what you feel you need to satisfy your hunger for all things real estate. Please leave your comments and let me know what you like as well as what you don’t like about this service. I appreciate your participation.

 Wow, have I been a bad boy. I have neglected my duty to provide the Lake Oroville real estate market with the most up-to-date home sales stats. Not sure why I am behind, but here are the mumbers for the week endig January 4, 2010.

Maybe it was that mini-vacation I took that threw me off!!!

Stat of the week is the continuing decline is the number of Oroville homes currently listed for sale. The number hit a new low for the week. At the current sales pace this equates to approximately 6 month inventory of homes for Lake Oroville. 

Click Here for more historical info

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• Home-selling time sliced by half in 2009  lansner.freedomblogging.com)

It is happening again as it has for as long as anyone can remember. A strange object streaking across the sky on December 24th has the world watching the heavens today.

Fortunately, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is tracking the object and recommends that EVERYONE log on to their site and see what the commotion is all about.

The photo is the most recent photo of the situation released by NORAD.

Click here or on the photo for the latest information. And I hope you have been nothing but nice this year!

 

               

Based on the feedback presented to the trustees I think it is safe to say that the idea of reconfiguring the two schools is dead. The question now is what to do about the financial situation facing the school district.

With the debate beginning over what to cut, and when to do it, it is time for a few reality checks.

Reality Check #1:   Due to the incompetency of the State of California cuts at the district HAVE to be made to make up future shortfalls of $1,500,00 per year.  It cannot, will not, and should not be business as usual for the district.

Reality Check #2:  EVERYTHING the district pays for should be analyzed for potentisal savings. There can be NO SACRED COWS. Did you hear me teacher’s union reps. You have been part of the problem, you now are required to be part of the solution. Refusing pay and benefit cuts will the send the district the way of General Motors and Chrysler. 

Reality Check #3:  This is the Oroville Union HIGH SCHOOL District. The priority will be the HIGH SCHOOLS. I know that some non-high school programs have provided a service to those who were not responsible enough to take advantage of their high school educations, but the district is not responsible, financially or otherwise, for your education beyond your high school years. It is time to be responsible for your own destiny. 

Reality Check #4:  This town has too many school districts. It is time to put petty politics and childish turf wars to bed and do what is right for the financial health of our classrooms. Within something like a 5 mile radius there are three seperate school districts in this town. All with their own highly paid superintendents and administrative staff. So you’d think we can save some money by unification of these districts. Call me simplistic, but this seems like a no brainer.

 Reality Check #5:  Nothing is more important in dealing with this issue than ACTIVE participation in the process. All citizens should take an active roll in staying informed of the issues facing our schools today. The performance of our schools does not just affect those in the schools or those with children in the schools. It affects our entire community.

With heavy community involvement we can face, and conquer the financial challenges of the schools of the Lake Oroville real estate market.

Oroville real estate, oroville homes for sale, Oroville California, chico listings, Oroville listings, paradise listings, Paradise Ca homes for sale, Butte County home for sale, Oroville properties, houses for sale

Just a quick public service announcement to warn you that cellular phone numbers across the county will be released to telemarketers sometime this month.

To avoid these calls, (or most of them) call the Do Not Call registry and place your cell number on the Do Not Call List.

Simply dial 1-888-382-1222 from the cellphone that you would like to register.

It took me less than one minute to complete my call and now my number is blocked for five (5) years. (I hope) 

Remember, you must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. 

https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

An integral part of any quality community centers around, in no insignificant way, the performance of its school system. With ongoing budget woes, many, if not all California schools are faced with making budget cuts to ensure their solvency over the long term.  The schools of the Lake Oroville real estate market are certainly part of this financial nightmare.

You would think that with the State of California spending over $7,000 per year to educate each student in this state there would not be a financial crisis for schools. Unfortunately, we have not only a financial crisis but also crisis of academics. While there are plenty of reasons for the poor financial condition and lackluster academic performance of our schools, which by the way are almost entirely political, I want to use this post to talk about a proposal being considered by the Oroville Union High School District.

Currently, the district operates two mainstream 4 year high schools; Oroville High School and Las Plumas High School. According to the district’s budget projections they will be be running deficits as much as $1.5 million per year by the 2013 school year. To combat this shortfall the district is considering taking the two 9-12 high schools and place grades 9-10 at one school and grades 11-12 at the other school.

That’s right, the district is thinking about reconfiguring the population of two schools and continue running two schools while hoping to save $1.5 million. In order to accomplish this the district has appointed a District Advisory Committee whose members will make a recommendation as to how, or if, to proceed with the process of reconfiguration.

The district will be having a meeting to solicit public comment on this issue on December 14, 2009. It is VITALLY important that you attend this meeting and voice your opinion, whatever that opinion may be.

I, for one, am adamantly opposed to this plan for a number of reasons, most of which I will discuss in upcoming posts. Unless I was missing something at the last meeting of the Advisory Committee though, it looks as if the district can eliminate the $1.5 million dollar shortfall by simply shutting down the Adult School that costs the district $1.5 million to administrate. Although I am sure that the Adult School provides value to the community, the priority of the district must be grades 9 through 12.

Please visit the following links to keep yourself updated on this topic. And please ATTEND EVERY MEETING that is held and let your voices be heard.

• Agendas
• Minutes
• District Advisory Committee Blog
• Timeline
• Parent Flyer - Updated 12/1/2009
• Restructuring Pros and Cons - Updated 12/1/2009
• Best Practices Guide
  Although the district is not closing a school, the CDE recommends that districts considering consolidating schools use the applicable portions of this document as guidelines.
• Budget Cut Suggestions