Real estate in California is highly coveted, and whether you're looking for a suburban tract home or a rural piece of land where you can have a custom build, you need the help of a realtor to find the right place. If you're looking for a home in the Berryessa area, competition is likely to be fierce. A realtor who has access to a lot of listings can help you get past the competition and place an offer on a home.

Specify Which Berryessa!

Have you ever looked up a place and gotten really intrigued by what you saw, only to realize later that the place you looked at was not the place you intended to find? Many places have similar names, and in California, "Berryessa" is one of those. There's the Berryessa neighborhood in San Jose in the Bay Area, and Lake Berryessa in the mountains west of Sacramento. Oddly, these both have similar issues when it comes to real estate, but you still don't want to mix them up and end up talking to a realtor who specializes in the San Jose area when you're interested in one of the smaller towns up north. Be clear from the start whether you mean Lake Berryessa or the Berryessa neighborhood of San Jose when you call realtors.

Fire Impacts and Risks

Regardless of which Berryessa you're looking at, you'll need to find out what the fire risk is like. The Berryessa neighborhood is adjacent to the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve as well as a lot of other open land, and brush fires could always be a concern for you, especially if you buy a house right on the edge of town. Lake Berryessa is surrounded by mountains that tend to see some fire activity, although it's not always yearly. If you buy real estate in one of the towns to the east, rather than in a rural area closer to the lake, the fire risk will be smaller, although smoke may still be an issue. But that's the case in San Jose as well, and in fact across much of California. Your goal is to find out the immediate risks to you and your family.

Wildlife Concerns

Any rural or undeveloped land in California will have its wildlife. This can be wonderful to see and hear, but it does mean you'll need to take some precautions. For example, across California, coyotes are a threat to small pets. You'd want to keep your pets inside and not leave them unattended outdoors, especially if your home backs up to open space. On a more positive note, you can find out about wildlife to watch, such as hawks near the Sierra Vista Open Preserve or pelicans and deer near Lake Berryessa.

When you're settled in your new home, you'll be glad you enlisted a realtor to help in your search. Don't try searching for homes on your own. To learn more, contact a realtor in your goal area such as Nicole Gurries.