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What is it Like Living in South Lake Tahoe?

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for most of my life I hesitated several times before picking up my roots and moving to South Lake Tahoe. I had purchased a second home in Tahoe in 1991 so I knew I loved the beauty of the area having spent many a summer days enjoying the mountains but I had never lived in the snow and was scared to death not knowing if I would enjoy the Tahoe winters. The things that crossed my mind were:

*Longer winters in the snow.

* Having my kids change schools and leaving friends.

*What would the community be like?

*Was the youth sports my kids enjoyed available?

*What would I do for a living?

*What would my social life be like?

*Driving in the snow.

*Do we own the right Tahoe Home?

 

I learned by having a second home in Tahoe and visiting during winter holidays that having a “A” frame house with single pane windows, high ceilings and poor insulation was a good summer home but not a good full time home. Not to mention that it had no garage. I sold the A frame in 1995 and bought a new 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage house in Christmas Valley (South Lake Tahoe). This real estate transaction paved the way for our future move. When the time came to make my new career choice of staying in the Bay Area or making the leap to South Lake Tahoe I knew I had the right Tahoe home.

Now after nine years of Tahoe life I feel I can now answer any questions from people who are contemplating a full time move from an urban environment like the Bay Area to a smaller slower pace environment like Tahoe.  Please do not hesitate to call or email me with any questions you might have about Lake Tahoe Real Estate or life in general in South Lake Tahoe. Oh by the way, I was a home inspector in South Lake Tahoe for four years and inspected over 1500 homes and was owner builder of my current Christmas Valley home so I know most TRPA and building permit questions as well. Chuck Stanley, Realtor, Century 21 Tahoe Paradise chuckfortahoe@sbcglobal.net 530-318-8830

I got a call from a nice lady from Oregon and she is looking at re-locating to South Lake Tahoe and wanted to know where I posted the answers abouit life in South Lake Tahoe so I thought I would clarify the purpose of this posting. Since  most questions and situtations will be different I would really like to hear from you to take the time to answer your individual questions. Laura from Oregon wanted to know about youth soccer and I was able to tell her about our brand new soccer facility in South Lake Tahoe and the popularity of the sport at the Lake, so please feel free to call me or email me with your questions. Chuck Stanley 530-318-8830 chuckfortahoe@sbcglobal.net

 

 

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I read a recent article which contained five new rules for home buyers. These rules apply to South Lake Tahoe Home buyers as well.

 

1). It has been said and it is true: You can’t time the bottom of the market. Resist it is harder than you think. This is the best time to buy in the last two decades. Find the home you are looking for and negotiate.

 

2) Mortgage rates will go up. Inflation remains a concern and that typically means rates will go up. Plenty of houses on the market in South Lake Tahoe and if you wait barrowing money is going to get more expensive.

 

3) A new law has allowed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy jumbo conforming loans making less expensive.

 

4) Don’t buy cheap, buy good schools really doesn’t apply to South Lake Tahoe properties. South Lake Tahoe really doesn’t have bad neighborhoods or clusters of foreclosures and with one high school and middle school the only boarders are for elementary schools and they are all good.

 

5) Pick the right agent. This basically means with extra incentives being offered by sellers make sure your agent has your best interest in mind and not their commission. The L&S team of Fred Loetscher and Chuck Stanley know this and work with your best interest in mind when buying a home in South Lake Tahoe and Nevada.

 

 

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