Part One: Your First-Time Homebuyer’s Guide

Taking a break for pizza on moving day

Couple enjoying their new modern kitchen

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Introduction

As shared in the second edition of Your First Home, written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan:“Buying a home is a big decision – particularly your first home – but it is one of the best choices anyone can make. It’s a place that is entirely your own. Something you can paint, renovate, and live a full life in. Secondly, the reality is that homes are an incredible way to accumulate generational wealth. Because home isn’t only where your heart is, it’s where your money is, too. There are few places you will treasure more than your home and no place that will add more to your…

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High up in the Berkeley hills is this truly splendid home that is remarkable in every way.   Designed by one of Berkeley's most accomplished architects, John Hudson Thomas in 1927, it was custom made for its original owners, and has been extensively restored over the last seven years in its structural details and amenities. 

Called "The Home Cloister", it is located at 2900 Buena Vista Way, and  features 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, and 7526 sf of living space.  

While it may not truly be a "castle", its design conception is certainly that of an early 13th century castle or monastery, as will soon be seen below. 

If you are one who enjoy gracious living, quiet solitude, and unsurpassed beauty, this residence is more than worth your…

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This truly exceptional home is aglow with light from virtually every corner of the room, and offers the beauty and serenity that is seen above.  

Located on a private tree lined street at 1967 Tunnel Road in the Claremont Hills of Berkeley, it features 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms in a very generous 3134 sf of living space.  

A sweeping arc of floor to ceiling windows captures the varied colors and serenity of the many old growth trees that surround the home, allowing an everchanging view, as the days and hours change.  

A large, centrally located fireplace provides a perfect centerpiece for creating one's favorite seating configurations that encourage pleasant conversations on a lazy afternoon, or before a formal dinner. 

This…

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