It is expressly understood and agreed that neither Coldwell Banker nor its sales associates will serve in the capacity as a General Contractor to determine what work is to be done, to assemble bids or to oversee the work performed by repair persons hired by Seller and/or Buyers.

It is strongly recommended that Sellers and Buyers only hire people who have appropriate
licenses and insurance coverage. Sellers and Buyers need to make sure that all repair work
complies with applicable government regulations, including but not limited to the issuance of
permits, and complies with applicable government regulations, including but not limited to the
issuance of permits, and complies with any agreements between the principals. Coldwell
Banker has not and will not verify the licensing and insurance information supplied by others
nor determine if the repair work is done properly.

“Love Where You Live,” is more than just a slogan from Coldwell Banker Realty. It is an attitude, a point of view, a way of life!  I do love where I live, and, I am also a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty.

How can one expect to be a great Realtor, asking people to buy a home in their community rather than some other community, if you don’t love where you live?

As a Realtor, you are an ambassador for your community! To be a successful ambassador, you have to believe in what you are selling, you have to love where you live.

One of the challenges of selling what you believe in; is having the right tools to show what you are saying to the people with whom you are talking. Twenty years ago, there weren’t very many options for marketing or advertising your community. We didn’t have Youtube, Facebook, Instagram or any of the social media tools that we have access to today.

Because of the lack of available tools, I started building my LivingInElkGrove.com website so that I could show prospective buyer clients what I was saying about why they should consider living in Elk Grove. Not Folsom or Rocklin or Roseville.

I knew that building a website would be a lot of work and it’s something that would need to be maintained and updated constantly. I didn’t see any other option. Sacramento Magazine was all about selling Sacramento. Our Chamber of Commerce publication was more about telling businesses why they should relocate to Elk Grove or why they should start their business in Elk Grove. There wasn’t a City of Elk Grove at that time. I was kind of left to my own devices, and since I knew how to build a website that was the path I took.

All of my clients, during those first few years of being a Realtor, came from my website and my website marketing. Only after a few years did I have enough referral business to move from being just a buyer’s agent to being a sellar’s agent too.

Today’s real estate agents have something that I didn’t have, it’s called Be Local. This monthly publication, in full color, and on slick pages, shows and tells every potential home buyer why they should buy a home in Elk Grove.

Not only that, the publishers of Be Local, will give every agent access to an online version of the magazine that they can share with their buyer clients. And even better, there isn’t a single competing Realtor advertisement within their pages to entice your potential client away with a bigger or fancier ad!!!   In fact, if I am talking with an out-of-town buyer, I always send them the link to Be Local so that they, too, can fall in love with Elk Grove before they get here to look at homes. As an agent, I would suggest that you add a link to Be Local to your signature block so that you are sharing it with every email you send.

Be Local is a publication about our community, with articles written by your friends and neighbors, telling your buyer client’s why you “Love Where You Live.”

Be Local also offers advertising opportunities, but not ads within the publication, to use their publication to build a bigger and stronger real estate business. Talk with them about those options.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Another thought that has not yet bloomed into a full blog post has to do with the following statement, “The great thing about entertaining out-of-town company is that I rediscover the beauty of our sunny place and fall a little more in love, every time, with the elements that make up our community of Elk Grove when I’m showing it to someone else.” You can bet that I will also have a link to Be Local in that blog post as well.

It is almost Spring Tea Time in the Greater Elk Grove area. Several of our local service clubs and non profit organizations schedule an afternoon tea as an annual fundraiser. Here is a list of those, in calendar date order, that I have already discovered for 2024.

Delta Lions Club’s 22nd Annual Celtic Irish Tea  March 9th  Get your tickets before mid February because they always sell out.

Strauss Festival’s Spring Tea at the Round Table  March 23rd  Get your tickets before mid February because they always sell out.

Elk Grove Historical Society’s Victoria Era Courtship Tea  May 11th  Get your tickets before mid April because they always sell out.

Elk Grove Citizen of the Year for 2023

If you have lived in Elk Grove for very many years, you probably noticed Colton Insurance on Elk Grove Blvd, just a few doors west of Kerr Middle School. The name has been removed but Jon Colton is still with us, and as you will see, he has not only been a local business man, he has been a driving force for our community through the Elk Grove Rotary Club.

For the readers who do not know who he is, Jon Colton has been an active member of the Elk Grove Rotary since 1962 in a true model of their motto, “Service above Self”.

Mentoring Program: Jon has been a leader of Rotary’s Mentor Program since its inception in 1999. This means that he mentored numerous students for 5 years from 8^th grade until their high school graduation. With his guidance, they each received $5,000 post-secondary scholarships. In addition to mentoring students, Jon attends quarterly meetings with each of the students to monitor their academic progress and to provide support. During COVID-19, Jon was a part of the group of Rotarians who drove a student to school each day as his mother was not able to transport him. He hosts annual movie nights and retreats for his mentees at his home.

Rotary Grove: John was instrumental in the development of the Wall of Honor in the original Rotary Grove built in Elk Grove Park. Over the past 5 years, Jon has championed the reimagined new Rotary Grove and has collaboratively worked with CSD Director Phil Lewis and his staff to bring this project to fruition. Jon wrote the MOU for the project that was approved by the CSD in June 2023.

Elk Grove Rotary Foundation: Jon has been a member of the Foundation in which he has a fiscal and ethical responsibility to disperse charitable donations to local and international charities. During his time on the board, he has been instrumental in providing donations to Chicks in Crisis, Elk Grove Food Bank, Elk Grove Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART), Project Ride, Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation, Elk Grove Senior Center, Strauss Festival, Polio Plus, Veteran’s Day Parade and the purchase of animals at the County Fair to support the FFA at Elk Grove and Pleasant Grove High Schools.

Jon’s commitment to the Elk Grove community has only increased upon his retirement. After 61 years of Rotary Club work, one would think that Jon would take some time to rest. But no, instead Jon has intensified his charitable work as demonstrated by his leadership in the Elk Grove Senior Center, contributions to the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation and as a volunteer in HART’s Winter Sanctuary for the Homeless.

What makes Elk Grove such an amazing place to live is because of the passion and dedication of citizens such as Jon Colton.

Support your local service club when you purchase
See’s Candies for your friends and families.
They are also a donation site for See’s to Soldiers

Click Here to Download the Flyer

October 28 @ 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Thanks to Veterans

Illumination Festival