June 2024

June 28, 2024

“I read the news today oh boy, about a lucky man who made the grade, and though the news was rather sad, but I had just had to laugh, I saw the photograph………..” and then “nobody was really sure if he was from the house of Lords”….” And, “3,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire, and though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all…..”

We read other news recently and one headline stood out from the others: “Bad News for Homebuyers: We are in a Big Hole”

It wasn’t so shocking, and rather, it flashed us back (that’s right!) to John Lennon’s melodious, plaintive voice in A Day in a Life, from the groundbreaking record by those four lads from Liverpool. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was easily the most innovative, transformative music of its era. Some of us were lucky to be present at the time.

Years later, many actually, and here we are, in the real estate business, and that headline, about bad news for homebuyers, badly misses the point about home ownership.

We get the news value in the story – that the housing market is horrendously under-supplied (and probably always will be). This translates into an expensive housing market. But it always is. It’s time to consider an alternative perspective.

The point of home ownership is to be ….. HOME!

We will note the obvious here. There is a lot to life, and living, and all the news (noise?) about mortgage rates is partly why we skipped posting in these pages during the Spring “Selling Season,” because frankly we were holding our breaths to wait for mortgage rates to fall. Plummet, is more like it, though alas, neither mortgage rates or the sky fell from the sky.

In a strange way, it is all so centering (not sobering!), the housing industry, and situation. It is always expensive to buy your first home. It is always expensive to fix up the home you bought. It is always expensive to move, upgrade, buy an even more expensive house. And we won’t even address the cost of having, and raising, a family! The point is, it’s not about the money, “though it’s always about the money,” according to a line in one movie. It’s about being home, and living.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the housing rental industry, with living in a home in which the resident does not own title. It is still a home. Their home! We do what we can do. We do what we have to do. Home ownership is a little about control. Controlling a small piece of our lives. And it’s a lot more than that. While you won’t find the trite words in these pages about “curating one’s life,” or whatever, lives are not libraries. Home is where we live, rest, love, have peace, regenerate, make music and sing songs, rejuvenate, laugh, cry, tell stories, dream, and much, much more. Getting a home, buying a home, provides an experience in fulfillment that is very, very difficult to describe. It is such a personal experience, a private thing, the memories you create, all that.

Hence, a little perspective on the business of buying and selling real estate, and what it means for people that actually propel this industry. We know who the people are that sell their respective homes, and hopefully, move onto another one. We know the folks buying these homes. We are the same people. And everyone wants to be home. More about the numbers and data on the housing shortage, and home sales in Sonoma County, in our next post.

 

Ron represented me twice in recent years on the listing and sale of two investment properties. His vast knowledge and experience in real estate made for trouble free and expedient transactions. Ron’s communication and negotiation skills are top notch. Highlighting Ron’s genial personality, it was a pleasure to have him represent me.

— Glenn S.

Ron was a tremendous help during an extremely difficult transition for me after living in my house for 36 years.  He went far beyond what I expected in a RE Broker by helping to enhance the appeal of my house and by guiding me through all the challenges that came up from selling a rural property.  And he’s just a genuinely nice guy! His calm attentiveness and deep knowledge made the move bearable when I felt like giving up just from exhaustion. On top of that, he helped me acquire my current house which is so perfect for me during this new chapter of my life. A very happy ending!

— Sharon B.

Ron Welsh, the owner/broker of Sonoma County Properties Inc., has been nothing less than an angel in disguise when it came to the sale of my grandmothers property.

When my grandmother died at the age of 103, she left her only asset of a country property in Santa Rosa to her four children in equal shares. These are four senior citizen adults that did not typically see eye to eye. Ron was patient, understanding, unflappable, and made the process extremely easy. His experience in real estate transactions was evident and his experience in dealing with multiple obstreperous parties was clearly unmatched.

Ron kept the family apprised of every step in the process and was successful in selling my grandmothers (rather dilapidated) home in just a few days to the satisfaction of all parties. That was no easy feat.

I would highly recommend Ron and his team in any real estate transaction, whether that be buying or selling a home.

— Kathleen Pozzi

I found Ron to be the consummate professional. He is extremely skilled and accomplished at all phases of the sales process. His hard work and negotiating skills were the deciding factor in closing the sale of our home in less than 90 days at 97% of our asking price. That is a real accomplishment, as our home was priced at the upper end of the market where buyers were far and few between.

I would highly recommend Ron’s services for anybody looking to purchase or sell a home in this area.

— mwerneralsco

We were looking for a unique house with character. Ron took the time to understand our needs and was patient with us as we spent many months looking for the right house. He was always available to answer questions or tour properties, and didn’t push us to commit to something that wasn’t right. Ron was a calm, reassuring presence during our search. He knows both the real estate business and the local market. Ron is an experienced advocate you’ll be glad to have in your corner. He is the Realtor we would recommend to friends and family.

— MF Warren

We were able to hit our target date for listing and Ron had us priced right to get multiple offers within 48 hours. From that we were able to choose a strong buyer and close in under 3 weeks, still in October. What had seemed an impossible dream became our new reality thanks to Ron’s experience and ability to get us connected to the right people and complete our pre-sale tasks. Aside from all this Ron is simply a great person to know and work with. He is hands on (literally helping me tear down a false wall the tenants had erected) and was constantly extending offers to help in any way he can with the contractor and appliance deliveries. I strongly recommend Ron to anyone looking for a top quality real estate experience.

— Kevin E.

Ron has helped our family members buy two homes and sell another. I’ve also recommended him to several friends over the years – something I only do when I really trust someone to take good care of them. Everyone has really enjoyed working with him and they’ve become repeat customers of his now too. He knows Sonoma County so well and has a great mellow personality. except when you need him to really rally for you during price negotiations – the perfect combo you want in a realtor!

— Kelley K.

Ron negotiated our very challenging deal with multiple transacations and deadlines. This was definately the kind of situation the required experience. He went the extra mile to ensure that both our real estate sale and purchase closed on time. This was such a tricky process, I really don’t think it would have happened without Ron there to help us through!

— Nick S.

Ron Welsh, has been our real estate the past few months, He has conducted himself, very professional, has been very sincere in our needs of real estate. Dealing with past agents some were not very reliable, Ron was always on time with appointments. It has been a pleasure working with him.

— David & Linda R.

I’ve had 2 purchase and one sell experiences in my life so far; hands down Ron Welsh / Sonoma County Properties was best real estate experience I’ve had to date.

In the end, I felt like Ron was really on my side, advocating my position at every step. Thanks to him, our project is well on its way and we should have our new home for the next holidays.

— S Lietzke

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