Specializing in Distinctive Wine Country Properties, Vineyards and Wineries in Sonoma and Napa Valley

Main Content

For Realty Professionals

A Growing Trend in California: Fire Resistant Homes

lisasheppard | December 24, 2019
With wildfires becoming an increasingly serious issue in California, more and more homeowners are choosing to rebuild their homes with a fire-resistant design and materials, including metal roofs and pre-fabricated steel framing wrapped in ...

Read more

Is A Picture Really Worth A Thousand Words?

lisasheppard | August 3, 2012
David vs. Goliath There are some things that are almost impossible to explain without a graphic or visual. With complex issues, the value of using visuals cannot be overexaggerated. A study measuring the importance of using visuals by the Uni...

Read more

Everybody Calm Down – The Market IS Recovering

lisasheppard | April 23, 2012
It didn’t take long for the naysayers in real estate to jump all over the National Association of Realtors’ Existing Sales Report which was released last week. It is true that sales were down 2.6% from the previous month. However, monthly v...

Read more

Mortgages and Veterans

lisasheppard | April 19, 2012
One of the great things about this country is that we do a lot for those who have served us. And in the area of real estate financing, we can do exceptional things. Understand that the VA (Veterans’ Administration) is, in the mortgage world,...

Read more

New Foreclosure Wave: What Will Be the Impact?

lisasheppard | April 18, 2012
We reported two months ago that foreclosures will significantly increase this summer as a result of The National Mortgage Settlement. This month, both Reuters (Americans brace for next foreclosure wave) and CNNMoney (Flood of foreclosures to hi...

Read more

6 Don’ts After You Apply For A Mortgage

lisasheppard | April 12, 2012
I learned a long time ago that “common sense is NOT common practice“. This is especially the case during the emotional time that surrounds buying a home, when people tend to do some non-commonsensical things. Here are a few that I’ve see...

Read more

What It Means To Be an ‘EXPERT’ in Real Estate

lisasheppard | April 9, 2012
  If you are either buying or selling a home in today’s market, you need a real estate expert. However, we must realize what the term ‘expert’ actually means. An expert in any area cannot give perfect advice as no one can predict the fu...

Read more

The 4 C’s of Mortgage Underwriting

lisasheppard | April 5, 2012
With Spring upon us, and new buyers out looking for houses, I thought today might be a good time to review the basics of what lenders look for as they decide to approve (or deny) mortgage applications. For at least 25 years, I have heard them c...

Read more

National Housing Survey 2012

lisasheppard | April 4, 2012
Each quarter, Fannie Mae releases their National Housing Survey. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. We like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting each time it is ...

Read more

Skip to content