...and property values have certainly come down in the greater Sacramento area.  Most everyone wishes they sold in late 2006 and rented until, well, about now.  Everyone is familiar with the "hindsight is 20/20," cliche, and it certainly applies here.

The market in Sacramento has corrected to normalcy, and the values are likely in line with local incomes and demographics, which is to say that the previously high prices were artificially inflated as a result of too much money in the marketplace and too much of the infamous "bandwagon effect" or "groupthink idealogy" -- "If I don't get into a house now, prices will keep going up and I'll never be able to afford one."  Some people are surely glad they resisted this sentiment, but many regret giving in.

So the current market climate is depressing for some, but represents tremendous opportunity for others.  Completely priced out of the market in 2006, many first-time home buyers can actually buy right about now.  Also, investors are back, because the numbers are once-again making sense...buy a house, and the rents translate to a reasonable return on investment.  When homes were twice as expensive and rents were about what they are now, the investment appeal of residential real estate was very low.

Markets run in cycles, and this lull, too, shall pass.  In the mean time, consider having Maloof Law Group's parallel company, Maloof Properties, consult with you regarding your situation and how to make the best of it!

Divorce is frought with emotion, and sometimes that emotion gets channeled in unproductive, even unhealthy ways.  Well, emotions need to be in check, because the shenanigans that got a couple to the point of mutual distrust will not be tolerated under new case law.  Yes, divorcing parties have fiduciary duties to each other—among the highest form of duty between any two people—and with these duties come significant responsibilities.  Just the right time to expect the moral high-ground, right?

The law of unintended consequence rarely escapes the federal government.  When the current estate tax legislation was enacted earlier this decade, it included an unusual “sunset provision” that pushed the threshold for estate taxation up to a gross estate of $3,500,000 for decedents of 2009, but $0.00 in 2010 and then back to $1,000,000 for 2011, 2012, and 2013.  Beyond that, the threshhold is anyone’s guess.