real estate: Summer is Really Over - 09/14/09 07:18 PM
Summer may not be officially over for another week or so but in my mind it does end with Labor Day here in the States. And Mother Nature didn't waste anytime in reminding us in the Bay Area that it was drawing to a close. Saturday morning the alarm via thunder and lightning awoke most of us just before the crack of dawn and what a show as it seemed to stall over us for about half an hour, maybe more. It was a drizzly weekend to say the least.
Luckily Nancy and I were able to make a quick escape … (1 comments)
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real estate: Buyer's on a Buying Spree - 08/31/09 07:00 PM
Boy oh boy has it been a busy week. Unfortunately it hasn't been all positive news. Last week I wrote an offer on a home in Hayward as did many many others. It was listed at $264k and my client offered just under $300k on this 3 bedroom, 2 bath "flipped" home with a pool near Tennyson. After a multiple counter offer and an additional counter we were in contract having beat out 16 others. That's the good news on this home. Unfortunately I received a call from my buyer this morning that one of his largest accounts who contracts with … (2 comments)
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real estate: Busy as a bee - 08/24/09 12:20 PM
It's been a few busy weeks since I've posted and I apologize. But it's been a good kind of busy few weeks. We are still massaging along the two income properties on Buena Vista Avenue. Slowly but surely they are inching closer to a closing date in late September. All but the loan contingencies have been removed. We're still having a difficult time with one tenant that totally refuses to work us.
One the brighter side we have on waiver two new listings we expect to get on the market next month. Both are three bedroom homes, one in the west … (0 comments)
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real estate: Broker's Tour and a new granite vendor - 08/03/09 11:20 PM
Another week has passed and two more to go before I go on a brief vacation, (a long weekend). I hope many of you reading this got a chance to visit Alameda's Park Street Art and Wine Festival. It was packed, I hear upwards of 100,000 packed the 4 block long affair over the two days. While I'm looking at the gourmet food booths Nancy is looking at the colorful garden décor but we both stop in our tracks at home remodeling booths.
One of these booths really captivated us. It was a company called Granite Transformations. What sets this company … (0 comments)
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real estate: Feeling Blessed! - 07/27/09 04:27 PM
I erased my blog post I originally had planned to post after I received a call Sunday night from a couple who are clients of mine. I received a call from my clients that recently moved into their condominium that they bought a few years back. This couple happened across my website about 3 years ago and called me about buying a condominium. They were moving from a large home (3,000+sq.ft.) in Texas and wanted a home that offered a bay view, it had to include San Francisco views because that's where their son's family lives and it had to have a certain … (1 comments)
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real estate: Run of the mill week - 07/20/09 09:51 PM
It's been a pretty run of the mill week for Nancy and I. Our townhome listing is set to close early next week. The activity on our triplex and duplex has been brisk. We received an offer on each property. Unfortunately neither was acceptable to the seller as written. Besides, the other agent wrote the offers on the wrong contract. When I asked him to re-write them on the residential income purchase agreement he answered back I thought the standard purchase agreement covered income properties of 1-4 units. That would be news to me I told him because the standard agreement does … (0 comments)
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real estate: Broker's Tour Tuesday - 07/13/09 02:39 PM
It has become apparent, that there are just not enough hours in a day to get everything accomplished. Both Nancy and I have a number of buyers we are currently showing homes to while managing our own listings. What I see suffering is my posting to our blog that I have been doing twice a week so I have decided once a week will have to do temporarily. I apologize in advance but our client's interests are just far more important than putting an article together. So with that, look for my posts on Tuesday mornings or Monday evenings until time … (0 comments)
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real estate: The Parties Over, Back to Work - 07/06/09 10:51 PM
We hope everyone had a safe and sane Fourth of July. The City of Alameda's 4th of July parade just keeps on getting better. This year it had close to 150 entries if memory serves me right. I sure would hate to be a judge and have to pick out a handful for awards. I can't even pick out my favorite, but if I had to it would probably be the one in the photo to the right. Yep you guessed it, a rolling hot tub complete with market umbrella. Not only did it travel down the road but if you … (1 comments)
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real estate: Happy Fourth of July to Everyone! - 07/02/09 09:38 PM
Last Saturday's golf outing was a great day as is any day on the links. Aside from a hiccup in everyone's start times the day went off without a hitch and everyone had a good time. The Chuck Corica municipal course was a hub of activity that day. There were two other tournaments being played and we had to wait for those in the earlier to tourney to wrap up so we could get their golf carts. With the temperature around the mid 70* at tee time we weren't sure just how warm it would get but it seemed to stay … (0 comments)
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real estate: What's on Broker's Tour today - 06/30/09 10:40 AM
I sure wish there was a good and easy to use speech recognition software available. I mean the kind you don't have to retype half of what you spoke over. I've toyed with the built-in program under windows accessibility but maybe I just hadn't fine tuned it. The way I pick and peck on a keyboard anything have decent would be a timesaver, lol.
Oh well I may have discovered a new breed of bird a week or so ago, I call it the "Chimney Duck" wouldn't you agree. I caught this duck standing guard over the neighborhood a few weeks … (0 comments)
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real estate: What a strange week it's been - 06/26/09 06:45 PM
It certainly has been a rough week in the entertainment industry starting with Ed McMann, Farrah Fawcett and hopefully ending with the iconic Michael Jackson. May they all rest in peace!
It has been another busy week for Nancy and I. The three residential income properties are listed now and on waiver while details are being worked out with the tenants. As I mentioned earlier in the week they are two duplexes and one triplex all listed between $450,000 and $580,000. I would classify all three as extensive fixer-uppers which I consider a notch above the typical contractor's special, all units … (2 comments)
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real estate: Back to work - 06/22/09 07:21 PM
What a great time I had at this years camping trip to Lake Camanche. A few years ago I was invited by a friend to attend an annual camping trip called the Grand Poobah which is organized by a family from Auburn, Ca. It always has a theme and this years was called the "Trailer Park Poobah" other themes have included the Gods and Goddesses and a Hawaiian theme. My first time attending was in 2007 for the Gods and Goddesses. Beings I have not been able to attend the trips since that year, I found out this past weekend that … (0 comments)
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real estate: Running out of time - 06/16/09 12:58 PM
I'll first start by apologizing for the tardiness and briefness of today's posting. We're having a lot of showings on the listing at 1115 Via Alamosa after a good weekend of open houses. I don't think it is going to be around too much longer but we will see.
Yesterday I received a call from an attorney friend who is working with a gentleman that has a duplex and a triplex that need to get listed and sold. So last night was spent sorting thru rental agreements. I will have more on these in the coming week. You will read about … (0 comments)
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real estate: Busy, Busy and the Market Watch for the Week - 06/12/09 11:54 AM
It's been a busy week and that's good, even though interest rates didn't just rise in the last week, it was like they took the express elevator. While 4.6% is good 5.3% isn't bad either and that's just about where they're hovering today. I bought my home in 1980 for under $120,000, it rose and declined and rose in value until its value peaked into the mid $500,000. It has cooled off by a $100,000 roughly but I know its value will come back in time. Can you imagine though what I was saying in 1980 when interest rates were in … (1 comments)
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real estate: Isn't there a law against that? - 06/08/09 10:44 PM
I bought my Bluetooth device many months before the law went into effect saying I could not hold my cell phone to my ear while driving. It's been pretty easy to get use too although I don't always take calls while driving unless I'm expecting information regarding what I'm on my way to do. But I could not believe what I saw on the freeway Sunday afternoon. Talking about standing out like a sore thumb, picture this on a windy afternoon, a bright red convertible, top down, hair blowing in the wind, car swerving in its lane from the wind (it … (3 comments)
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real estate: REO Games - 06/04/09 12:10 PM
It sure seems the bank we are dealing with don't care how quickly they get their properties off of their books. Our escrow on Windsor has been dragging on for a week now. Initially we were supposed to close escrow and hand the keys to the buyers this Friday. Well, that isn't happening as much as the bank thinks it is. It seems the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
It started with waiting almost a full week from verbal acceptance before we had a ratified contract. The bank then chose an escrow company in Texas, then … (0 comments)
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real estate: Tour Tuesday and midweek fun - 06/01/09 11:59 PM
It's was a busy week for Nancy and me. We have been wrapping up the work on the new townhome listing. The painting is done except for some touch up that will be needed after the hardwood floors are refinished which begins Tuesday. The rose garden is looking great. We are planning on it being open this coming Sunday from 2-4 pm. Come on by or send your friends by to see this clean "F" model in Casitas, located in Bay Farm Island area of Alameda.
Now for some fun, on Thursday 6/4 LaVal's Pizza in the Harbor Bay Landing Center … (0 comments)
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real estate: Market News from around Alameda - 05/27/09 08:52 PM
Are you getting tired of that old wallpaper that's been on your computer screen? I found this site years ago called Molecular Expressions. They have photographed almost everything known to man at the molecular level. The photos make for great wallpapers. How about a diamond, a moon rock, a pearl or a 7-Up or a Coca Cola? One of my favorites is my birthstone, the Peridot.
Okay, I know you didn't come to this blog for some fancy pictures so let's dig right into what has happened in the marketplace since last Wednesday in Alameda.
We are seeing more of … (0 comments)
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real estate: Three days of glory! - 05/26/09 11:39 AM
We hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. We did around our house for sure, and that explains why this post is a day late.
Our weekend began with a little more preparation of the listing coming up. While Nancy worked in the garden, I was at the computer Freecycling more goodies to the public. All is just about gone with the exception of a couple closet and hollow core doors. Where theses doors came from is anyone's guess because they surely didn't come with the house. My neighbor was an antiques dealer and I think she may have … (0 comments)
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real estate: No luck here and an early Memorial Day family tradition - 05/21/09 12:28 PM
I'm referring to how some business is conducted and who is working for whom?
On Monday a client asked to see a home near downtown San Leandro that had just come on the market that afternoon. We made an appointment for Tuesday afternoon.
Our client liked the home so much that we were going to bring her mother and sister to see the home on Wednesday prior to writing an offer.
While talking out front of the home a friend of mine from one of the Italian clubs I belong to pulled up and tapped his horn. At first I didn't … (0 comments)
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