Monday, August 31, 2009

Major Fixer in Piedmont!

Major fixer with major potential. 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2110 sqaure feet, 1/3 acre lot with expansion potential. Looking for a buyer with cash or private financing.  $775,000

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Beauty of Emeryville!

I just read this interesting article on the transformation of Emeryville. I moved to the area where Emeryville and Oakland meet also known as the Golden Gate Neighborhood. I bought here because I saw the value in this area and always regarded Emeryville as a very well planned town with incredible development potential. In the past three years that I have lived here, I have seen many changes. We have a new playground and picnic area at Hollis and 60th, a new and delicious pizza place called Rotten City Pizza. If you love New York style pizza, this is a place you will want to check out. The new Pulte Homes finally were built and now, even in this market, close to being sold out. Often times when I meet people in Emeryville, I feel a sense of an underground movement of artistry and uniqueness. I love my location and I enjoy the families on my street who have been there for many generations coupled with the young, hip crowd who have claimed stake on the richness of Emeryville. To read more about additional developments in Emeryville, go to:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/21/RE6A187O6S.DTL

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Carol Rodoni speaks...

Carol Rodoni, highly regarded speaker, author and analyst of the Bay Area real estate market spoke at McGuire and these are just a few thoughts that I want to share with you from Carol:

Within the foreclosure market, banks are holding onto these properties and releasing them slowly for two reasons – 1. To not flood the market and, 2. To control the market.

Numerous hedge funds are being created to buy distress properties. (Your competition is not only the single investor with cash but the “group” investors who have joined together to buy.)

Interest rates will begin to increase by the middle/end of 2010 they will increase to 7%-9%. Inflation will occur.

If you can buy real estate now and own it while the market stabilizes itself , you will make money off of your investment. (as I have said , hold onto it for at least 5 years)


Buyers in our market are reading about other markets and think that it pertains to our market – not true… get the facts and stop believing everything you read.

With that mentioned, I can email you any stats you want about what is selling and for how much in a particular market/zip code. Just let me know and I can send you an email. Be prepared, be educated, and be realistic in this market and you will succeed!

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Why should you obtain a pest report?

When working with a first-time home buyer, I am often asked, what is a pest report and why should I get one? It is important to get all inspections completed during your inspection contingency period including a basic home inspection, a pest inspection, roof, foundation, heating and electrical inspection. In some cases, the Seller will have obtained some of these reports and this can save you some money and in other cases you may not need to get all inspections completed which can run you a total of $200-$900 depending on what inspections you will need to obtain. However, in all cases you definitely want to make sure that a current pest inspection has been obtained and that will cost you a total of $175-$400 depending on the type of report and who you use. So, what is a pest inspection and what does it tell you?

If there is evidence of a pest problem, then a qualified termite control specialist will let you know what treatments are available to control existing termite issues and give you recommendations to help control the spread of termites in the future. However, if there is structural damage to the home, then you must call a structural engineer to assess the damage and recommend how to fix the issue. The Engineer and the pest control specialist are different and they look differently at the issue. Engineers look at the impact of the damage and pest control specialists look at the need for treatment.

It is extremely important to get a pest report and make sure you do your due diligence before removing your inspection contingency. Trying to save a couple of hundred bucks by not obtaining a report could lead you down a very expensive path of homeownership.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Cliff Bar establishing headquarters in Emeryville


After being in Berkeley for several years, Cliffbar is returning to where it all started - Emeryville. They will be leasing space at the Emeryville Tech Center at
65th and Hollis. They will occupy 110,000 square feet with 180 employees.

They plan to become LEED Gold Certified from the US Green building council. Improvements to the space will include a bike garage, hair salon, kitchen, full time day care facility, and theater for their employees and community events.

Go Emeryville!!