Whether you live in an Oakland bungalow, or a large Piedmont mansion, you want your home to have its very best curb appeal to potential buyers.  Your home should stand out among its competitors if you want to be first in the attention of home buyers.  The good news is that you can, with a little planning, make things appealing, and, at the same time do it on a budget.  In Part 1, we will concentrate specifically on first impressions that your home presents. 

Before you begin, you must step away from your home and see it as your neighbors, potential purchasers, and real estate brokers will see it.  This can be a rewarding and informative experience.  What you might see as cozy and cute, might be seen by others as crowded and small.

1. Here Are…

3697 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Let's assume that you have found a home in Berkeley that you are considering buying.  It really has a great deal of appeal, and the price seems reasonable.  There is a tendency, when you first see the home, to concentrate on it specifically.  However, each home is a part of a neighborhood, and since you will be potentially living in that neighborhood, you should expand your area of consideration about the home. Things can get overlooked that may become quite important down the road.  Here are some suggestions:

a. Drive by your potential new home from every direction.: Bring a notebook and record things that you did not observe about the house from the inside, but which are visible from the outside.  Check the neighboring homes more closely.  How…

3230 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

As a seller of your Alameda or Alameda Bay Farm Island home, you may be surprised how valuable your neighbors can be when it comes to putting your home on the market.  They can be a huge asset, or a big liability, depending on your approach.

Most homeowners who are preparing to sell, are given suggestions and ideas about how to make their home attractive and appealing to potential buyers.  But all the planting of fresh plants, and application of new paint or drapes may be a waste of time if the house next door has piles of trash, or there is a car on blocks right outside your rear window. 

While it's possible that you have gotten used to this, or decided that it was not worth alienating the neighbors by asking them to clean up THEIR home, the…

1898 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

 

 

  While the Victorian Style home is seen in Berkeley and Oakland, it's true location in the S.F. Bay Area is Alameda.  Alameda has one of the largest collections of Victorians in California.  The name itself is based on Queen Victoria of England.  During her reign in the nineteenth century, various styles of home were developed, all bearing the that name.  Titles like Victorian Gothic, Stick Style, Shingle and Queen Anne Victorians are just a few of the variations that arose in that period.  The most popular, and frequently seen is the Queen Anne, which began to appear between 1880 and 1910. The development of power tools and mass production techniques lead to the development of the excesses in architecture that was to characterize all the homes…

2524 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

While the Colonial Revival style is more common in eastern states, it is still seen quite frequently in Northern California.  Homes with this style are seen in Piedmont and surrounding Oakland neighborhoods.  Often, while not exact copies of the classical definition, they still fall within the basic descriptions of this style, which are:

a. Small porticos with pillars or columns.

2. Double-hung multipaned windows with accompanying shutters.

3. The facade is often symmetrical, and it may have, depending on its substyle,  a gable, gambrel or hipped roof.

4. Two or three stories and dormers.

5. The interior often has a center-hall floor plan, and multiple fireplaces. 

The Colonial Revival style became quite popular in America after the 1876…

5276 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

One of the most popular homes found throughout the Piedmont and Oakland area is the English Tudor style home.  Designed to give the impression of the English Tudor period of castles and wealthy aristocracy, it was very well received in the 1930's when homes were being built in expanding areas of both cities.  Interestingly, a California touch was added to many of these homes, and the interior often has more of a stucco, or Spanish influence, rather than the classic wooden paneling that should characterize the classic Tudor. It's overall interior design is to focus on home and hearth, with a large fireplace dominating the living room, and a sense of warmth and security throughout the house. 

If this style appeals to you, look for the following…

4656 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

 

As a seller of a home, whether Piedmont, Oakland or Berkeley, you should consider having a professional home inspection as soon as you make the decision to put your home on the market. 

This concept can be a bit disturbing to many sellers, because, while they are aware of the issues that presently exist in their home that may need attention, they are often concerned that many new things might turn up as a result of this inspection.  Actually, having an immediate inspection may be a good, rather than a bad, thing.  Knowing all the issues about the home will put you in control of the situation.  Here is why:

a. It allows you to make the decision about what you can and cannot afford to fix, and what you should consider negotiating about.

b.…

1897 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

If it is important to you to sell your Oakland home quickly, and you have an interested and qualified buyer who is not quite ready to take the final step to purchase it, there are some steps that can be taken to engage your buyer to buy your home over the others on the market.  Most of these motivating steps involve a financial reward to potential buyers, and, if you can afford to offer one or more of these options, you may be pleased at the response. Here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Offer To Pay The Closing Costs: These are all the fees associated with the purchase of the home.  Fees are assessed by the escrow company, the lender, the county, etc.. So, while is is traditional for you as the seller, to purchase title insurance on behalf of the…

1766 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Before you make plans to buy or refinance a home, you should know some of the things that lenders will consider before offering you a mortgage rate.  While interest rates are quite low right now, compared to many years past, they are still important in determining how much you can afford when considering your Berkeley or Oakland home purchase. 

While the marketplace always plays a strong role on the lending and financing issues of the day, the general considerations are:

a. Your Credit Score: This is certainly a key way for lenders to determine how responsible you are about acquiring debt, and paying it back in a reasonable and efficient manner.  Obviously, you will be offered a much lower, more appealing, mortgage rate if your credit score is…

1626 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

When you put your Piedmont home on the market, potential buyers are looking for many attractive features that interest them.  However, one of the most attractive things to them is space.  The more space that you can show them, the larger, and more appealing your home can become.  Space and room allows them options--the option to fit in their new furniture, redesign the dining room, or perhaps make a bedroom into an badly needed office.  

Your goal, then, should be to present them with an open, uncluttered, visually appealing home, that allows them to envision their things in that space, and encourage them to want to live there. One of my roles as your Piedmont and Oakland real estate agent, is to assist you in carrying out this plan. 

After living…

1810 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post