Fentons Creamery in Piedmont, Oakland California   I love a good ice cream place.   I even love a bad ice cream place – if there even is such a thing?   Somehow you can always tell a really good ice cream place – the line out the door is one good indicator. And of course locals can always tell you THE ice cream place to check out.   And offering creative flavors other than the typical vanilla and chocolate is, in my mind, the mark of a good ice cream place.   Fentons Creamery is in the heart of the Piedmont neighborhood in Oakland California where it has been since 1961 (with a second location in Vacaville), and well worth a visit…any time of the day. Who says ice cream is just for desert after dinner?   Fentons Creamery is a winning combination of great tasting cream, terrific friendly... 09/18/2011

The first time I had a real taco (as opposed to Taco Bell's) was from a food truck parked at the Home Depot lot in Emeryville CA. I remember how much I savored that taco. Truly flavorful. When I mentioned it to a co-worker, he laughed and said that the common term for those food trucks are "Roach Coach". The term scared me so much that I didn't go near a food truck for a long time. That was over 10 years ago. Now, the food trucks are gaining popularity. We've read of displaced high-earning would-be entrepreneurs that have branched out and decided on operating first one food truck and later growing to a fleet of trucks. Entrepreneur magazine even featured an article that Franchises Hop on the Food-Truck Trend as well as an article on Five Tips for Starting a Food Truck business. Even Inc... 09/17/2011

Eat Real Food Fest is a state fair, a street-food festival and a block party to celebrate the creation of good and organic food. According to EatRealFest.org, "participants learn where food comes from, who grows and makes it, and how they make it....all the food incorporates regionally-sourced, fabulous , and sustainably-produced ingredients." This organization is a social venture dedicated to promoting and teaching food craft. Its mission is to revitalize regional food systems, build public awareness of and respect for the craft of making good food, and encourage the growth of American food enterprises. Its manifesto outlines the ways by which they can revitalize and reenergize American food by making better quality, healthier and less processed foods. Mark your calendar for Sept. 23-2... 09/14/2011

ForeclosureRadar's August 2011 report showed a significant upswing in the number of Notices of Default (NODs) filed in August, to its highest level in a year. The report states that the Notices of Default or Notice of Trustee Sale rose in nearly every state. This may have been driven by Bank of America where there was an overall increase of 116% in foreclosure starts (or NODs) in August. According to Sean O'Toole, Founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, "Bank of America appears to be primarily responsible for the surge in foreclosure starts this month since their average time to foreclose has recently increased to more than a year. It is unclear that these foreclosures starts will lead to an increase in foreclosure sales anytime soon." The report also noted that the time to foreclose i... 09/13/2011

Oakland's Piedmont Avenue merchants are proud to present the beginning of a new tradition, every THIRD THURSDAY of each month --- ART WALK --- held from 6 to 9 pm. Stroll along Piedmont Avenues (Oakland CA) and meet local artists and crafters who sell their wares and art. Date:   September 15, 2008 Time:  6:00 - 9:00 pm Place: Piedmont Avenue, Oakland CA Visit:  www.PiedmontAvenue.org  And as a bonus, take a look and see the places and things you can enjoy in Oakland CA     09/12/2011

Among buyers and their REALTORs, zip code 94618 is one of the most sought after locations in Oakland CA. According to Neighborhood Link, zip code 94617 is a densely populated, affluent and upscale zip code in Oakland where real estate prices are significantly above average for the area. Naturally, it begs the question ---- how did this area fare during the real estate crash? To get a really good picture of the market trends, I looked at the 3-year history from August 2008 through August 2001. This information includes detached single family homes, townhouses and condos.   SOLD Surprise! Second Quarter 2011 had posted 65 closed sales, the highest number the last three years. Even more surprising, there were bank-owned properties sold since they were tracked. During Q2 2011, 9.2% of total... 09/09/2011

STUPID BLOG    STUPID BLOG.  I think it was Russel Ray who said we were doing too many "stupid blogs."  If I am wrong, please forgive me Russel.  You know I think the world of you.   This is my "Stupid Blog."  May daughter, a rabid A's baseball fan(her license plate is "A's Gal").  Anyway she forwarded a Jib Jab baseball video to me.  I realized that I could make changes to personalize the video.  I did, then I sent it to my Facebook site.  I thought it was funny.  What do you think? My Jib Jab baseball video       09/08/2011

The Essex is an impressive building overlooking Lake Merritt in Oakland CA. It iss located on a bend, and as such has views of nearly the entire lake.   The Essex is a relatively new complex that was started in 2001 and made a tremendous impact when it was completed in 2004. It was first introduced to the public as a 20-story luxury apartment complex with 270 units. I remember that when I inquired about rents, it reminded me of San Francisco prices where even the parking space had a price.     Not only is The Essex one of the tallest structures facing the lake, it also features tremendous amenities that continue to draw the buying public. The lakefront units have amazing views. In this case, the rule for valuing each unit is simple: the higher the floor, the better the view, and the hig... 09/06/2011

  Zip code 94611 includes parts of Oakland and Piedmont CA considered to be among the most desirable in these areas. Here's the map according to MyZipCodeMap.com. Market reports of what's happening in this zip code appear to be more intriguing when one tracks the movement over a three-year period of time. And these reports will support the contention that real state truly is local. What you read/hear on the national news may not  necessarily reflect what's happening here.       Average days on market. This is specially revealing and indicative of how desirable this area is. When the average days on market is in the 30-day range, it appears that this is more of a seller's market, and as such, it challenges national statistics that talk about this being a buyer's market. InvestorWords.com... 09/04/2011

Available now in the Montclair area of Oakland. If you are interested in viewing photos of this house or others, visit www.rockridgedigs.com 08/31/2011

What is a Sewer Lateral Inspection and why is it Important? Watch this video and find out: Elisa Uribe Realtor #01427070 Opening the Door to Opportunity Wells and Bennett Realtors elisa@rockridgedigs.com Office :510-485-7272 Fax: 866-230-9144 If someone you know seeks an experienced, honest Realtor, I’m never too busy for your referrals. 08/31/2011

  About a month ago I attended an event with fellow Realtors where Libby Schaff, the city council member of District 4 discussed a few topics I wanted to share.   One topic that came up was crime. It’s sad we have a lot of crime in our city but what makes it worse is the need for reporters on TV to sensationalize the story or for their bosses to pull a story when there is good news. Like the day Libby was asked about the robberies at a local grocery store and when the police caught the suspects, the story was pulled and never aired. All people knew about the robbery was a crime had been committed but not the end result.   A lot of home owners have decided to install a security camera in their home. I have been told they sell for about $500 and I’m sure there are many makes and models wh... 08/31/2011

Two weeks ago, this question was asked on another site. And my answer was "I did once, but probably won't do it again...It was so harrowing, and took so much fight out of me and the sellers." I may have spoken too soon. I received a call from a man who has hired more than one professional to help him do a loan modification. It's been nearly a year, and his efforts have not gained him any ground. The auction has been postponed twice before. But now, with the auction just two weeks away, he is looking for another solution. He is desperate. Someone had referred him to my blogs about short sales, and he called, asking for help. I nearly choked when I found out he is just two weeks away from having his property sold at a trustee sale. I told him that it looks like his only option at this tim... 08/28/2011

Clients sometimes baffle me with their lack of understanding as to what we do as 203k consultants. The short of it is that we protect the public. I’ve written about a deal where we wrote up a bid specification and provided our estimate of the cost to make the repairs before. We came in at $159,000 and the client’s contractor came in at $298,000 for the same job… remember? The second bid came in at $161,000. Yesterday I was talking to a client where we bid one number and her bids obtained from four local contractors who came inbetween $600,000 and as low as $350,000. She was armed with our bid numbers and refused to accept defeat. She added a few more items and her final “educated bid” came in at $250,000 and was so thankful she had our bid in hand before she started looking. It appears ... 08/27/2011

  GOOD NEWS OAKLAND CONDO MARKET IMPROVING     GOOD NEWS OAKLAND CONDO MARKET IMPROVING  The number of condos for sale in Oakland is still high at 231, but the sales of condos has increased from last year.  The actual number of condos sold has increased from 41 units sold in July 2010 to 60 units sold in July 2011.  The trend for increased sales in looking up even with a slight dip in July, which may be due to vacations.         The Months Supply of Inventory chart shows a steady decrease of inventory from a high of over 10 months in July 2010 to as little as 3 months in July of 2011.  This graph indicates how many months it would take to sell the current inventory.  This is the lowest it has been in a while and is a good trend for the future of the condo market in Oakland.                08/21/2011

Oakland CA Foreclosures are featured in ForeclosureRadar.com's Foreclosure Report for July 2011.   Foreclosure Filings These figures seem to slightly head downward for both Notice of Default and Notice of Trustee Sale. They look quite promising. But with the USA credit being downgraded and the stock market roller coaster ride causing heart palpitations....will this trend continue?                         Foreclosure Outcomes According to ForeclosureRadar.com, after Notices of Trustee are filed, there are three possible outcomes Cancellation -- possible reasons include successful loan modification or short sale, a filing error, legal requirement to refile, postponement Go back to the Bank as an REO (real estate owned) to be part of the bank's REO inventory Sold to a 3rd party            ... 08/14/2011

I've written about a warehouse over the years in a  neighborhood where the zoning changed as we watched residential uses move in all around it. I had the pleasure today of stopping by and seeing one we did many years ago out of curiosity. This is what I found:You can see it was  a warehouse and now is a very nice live/work and two units. I saw the door was open and stopped in to see if it was still how we had left it to find the original buyer(s) sitting in his office working away. It was fun to get reacquainted and find them still enjoying the property.As you can see they kept the look and feel of the industrial building and the roll up doors allow them to conduct their buisness in the front 25% of the builidng. 08/12/2011

FUN THINGS TO DO IN AUGUST 2011 in downtown Oakland Come and Visit Oakland City Center for a complete schedule of summer entertainment in downtown Oakland. All events are FREE of charge. There's something for everyone. Date Time Event August 2011 August 10 Noon to 1pm Salsa Pa'i Bailador Feel the warmth and enjoy the salsa beat of the Salsa Pa'l Bailador August 16 Noon to 1pm Dance OAKLAND! Cut a rug in the heart of Oakland with DJ Dave Gillis! Also join us for a special live performance by New Style Motherlode, local hip-hop fusion dance troupe. August 17 Noon to 1pm Festive OAKLAND! Catch some big-top fun under the sun! OCC celebrates summer fun with stilt walkers, jugglers, face painters, and old-fashioned candy girls. You can also sit back and enjoy the artful tunes of The Family Cr... 08/03/2011

Oakland CA is the 8th largest city in California. Wikipedia says that  Oakland is #1 in climate in the U.S 10th best city in the U.S. for business according to Forbes magazine 10th most walkable city in the United States, in 2011 second most ethnically diverse city in Alameda County And like any city, it has neighborhood jewels that out-of-towners just haven't discovered. However, and just like other cities throughout the county and the country, it is seeing its share of distressed homes. I like to look at 3-year trends (heck, if there was a way to pull 5-year trends from the free edition of Clarus Metrics, I'd do it) because the picture seems clearer as to where the city is going. MEDIAN FOR SALE VS MEDIAN SOLD This illustrates a leveling off of value where median price sold and median... 08/02/2011

  My review of the East Bay Food Fight to Benefit the St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County I had a great time. We arrived early and there were lines to get in. It was nice to be able to get your tickets ahead of time and stand in line so once you got in you could sample the small dishes without delay. The lines formed fast but we were able to make the rounds without having to wait early on. Like all events like this some people are not sampling but making it their dinner so some vendors did run out towards the end of the event. Too bad we haven’t learned to share. I saw Sal Castaneda from Channel 2 and had a photo opp I couldn’t pass up. Always fun to see a “local celebrity” He was there to facilitate the auction at the end of the event.   Two restaurants I now plan to visit are Zut on... 07/25/2011