Nestled in Northern California’s beautiful Mendocino County wine country, Tres Classique has been in business since 1985.

Their products are made by hand. The infusion process of garlic, ginger, basil, rosemary, red apple, currant, wild blueberry, or haberrano (their custom blend of garlic, Serrano, and Habaneros in 18 year old balsamic vinegar) produces an unforgettable flavor experience. And these are just a few of the incredible infusions they create and continue to develop.

The company owner, Thomas Allen, is a champion for finding new, healthful, and fun uses for Tres Classique products. He told me you can use them on salads, of course, but don’t limit your imagination and enjoyment. You can use them on vegetables, chicken, pasta, seafood and for bread dipping. How about adding a splash to barbeque sauce or humus, and cutting your favorite salad dressing in half to reduce the calories, fat and sodium. I buy their balsamics from Ben at the Ukiah Farmers Market who uses several of them over ice cream! Customers write in with uses and recipes you can find on their website, tresclassique.com.

You can find the full post on my blog, Mendocino County Country Property.

The Williamson Act has given landowners tax breaks for keeping land in agriculture or open space use for a specified time. This has been a life support system to private ranchers for nearly 50 years. Private ranching is a low-profit industry. Many ranchers in California report making less than $10,000 a year or no profit at all. The Williamson Act has been extremely important to their operations.

According to John Stumbos in his UC Green Blog post, “California’s premier farmland protection tool – the Williamson Act – is on the state’s budget-cutting chopping block and with it critical habitat needed for conservation.”

Many ranchers would need to sell some or all of their land for nonagricultural development.  Along with supporting local agriculture, John Stumbos reports that, “California’s rangelands provide clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, open space, and sequester carbon among many other critical ecosystem services.”

Local governments are also struggling and until 2008, the state reimbursed counties for reduced property tax under the Williamson Act. These subsidies were cut in 2008 and 2009. The future is uncertain.

What do you think?  Where do we go from here? Among all the state services under scrutiny now, how important is local private ranching and protecting the health and beauty of our land?  The Williamson Act is one of many important protections in jeopardy. How important is it to you? Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Here is a beginning checklist to work down as you look for the right agent.

1. Referrals are a good way to begin finding the right real estate agent. Ask your family, friends, people you work with, call a local title company or the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Office.

2. Real estate listings in the local newspaper and real estate magazines will tell you who the more active agents are and as important, how they present themselves and the properties they have for sale. Is that how you would like to be represented? You might start by looking for the ads of the agents referred to you. Check to see if they have their own presence on the internet, a website or a blog.

3. Interview 2 or 3 real estate agents you feel you might want to represent you. In person is always best but you can start with a phone call.  This is better than email because you can hear the voice behind the words. Here are a few questions to start the conversation and build on.  Remember you are not simply looking for the answers to these questions but also how they are answered, how the real estate agent engages with you. This relationship may be a short one, or it may go on for a time.
a. How long have you worked in this community?
b. What will the working relationship be like?
c. (If you are new to real estate ask) can you describe the process involved in selling/buying real
estate?
Then, how do you feel talking with them? Do they clearly explain things to you? Are they patient with your questions? Do you feel they are answering your questions or just giving you stock answers? Are they good listeners?

Again, finding the right real estate agent need not be difficult but it should never be taken for granted. Don’t just walk into the first agency and up to the first agent you see. Along with the emotions involved of finding your dream property or selling the home your family grew up in, there are legal and financial issues. None of this needs to be scary or unnecessarily complicated for anyone, and it won’t be when guided by the right real estate agent.

Grandfathers, grandsons, discovery, connecting, community, fresh locally grown produce, friends…

It is a different pace of shopping. For those of you who have not been there or haven’t been there recently I invite you to check it out.  According to Scott Cratty who organizes the Ukiah Farmers Market, business has slowed this winter.

You can read the full post at Ukiah Mendocino County Real Estate.

• 5 homes including a 2,500 sf 3b/2ba main house beautifully refurbished,
• 5 barns,
• shop,
• office
• and many outbuildings.

This working horse and cattle ranch includes indoor and outdoor arenas, perimeter fencing with an interior network of roads and trails leading through an exquisite country side of pasture, forests of fir, pine, oaks, madrone and bay trees, private glens, a hunting camp, many view sites, developed springs, several wells, and seasonal creeks, at the northern end of Little Lake Valley. Easily accessible yet a feel of the wild. Click here for the full listing of this diverse horse ranch for sale.

1. What are your plans for the land: are you thinking of building a home, having a garden, growing grapes, raising animals, or using it for recreation, etc.?
2. Have you thought about areas in the county you would like to know more about or live in?
3. What are the key features you are looking for on the land? View, seclusion, existing paved or gravel access, power, water features, springs, developed water, creeks, rock outcrops, redwood trees, oak trees, fir trees, range land, level or hill land, etc.
4. Location:  How far would you consider driving to the nearest town, a major city, school, hospital?
5. What is the maximum amount you want to spend?
6. Will you need financing?
7. How much of a down payment will you have to invest?
8. Have you been pre-qualified by a lender?
9. Will you need owner financing?

If the buyer does not have a lender, I recommend a few lenders. Submitting an offer from a buyer who has been pre-qualified by a lender will often make the difference in having the offer accepted.

This is the beginning of the process when a buyer is ready to work with an agent.

My next blog will be “How to find the right agent.”