With the large amount of websites available with information regarding Oakland homes for sale, it seems that picking out your new home should be easier, because there is so much to choose from.  However, with the variety of choices offered to you, my job as your real estate agent is to assist you to find just the right home in the most efficient manner.  Here are some ideas to consider in working with me as your agent:

1. Be as specific as possible about your needs--  No one wants spend hours touring homes that are not suitable.  Once you decide your price range for purchasing, it is worth your time to look through the matching choices on my website, and then spend time analyzing what appeals to you and why.  You will soon see things that are…

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Oakland has so many homes and neighborhoods to choose from.  Whether you want to live in Rockridge, Redwood Heights, or the Trestle Glen neighborhood, there are some steps that you can take to make sure that the time that you spend house hunting is truly productive, and that you end up with the best home that you can afford.

The first step for most serious home buyers is to begin to search the Internet for all the various web sites listing homes for sale.  It is a good first step, because it begins to give you an idea of what is immediately available.  As your agent, I need to have a sense of what you want in your next home.  It is helpful if you create a list for me using the following criteria:

1. The Must Haves--These are features that you…

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You have just bought your new Oakland home.  You are going to move locally from your Alameda home, and now you need to begin to make some plans to do so.  One thing that is important to know is that local moving costs are based on time. You are charged for how much time it will take the movers to move your household items from your first to your second house, and you are charged on an hourly rate for a van and the men needed to complete that move.  In essence, in local moving, time is money.  The more time involved in moving you, the more money it costs!   Below are some tips to save you valuable funds:

1. Pare Down Your Items In Every Way Possible--The longer you have been in your home, the more things you have accumulated.  Start considering what…

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When buyers are considering purchasing a home, its size, and how it will fit their needs, becomes very important to them.  Even though you tell them that your Piedmont home is 2445 sq. ft., if it does not actually look that size when they enter, will cause you to lose much of the valuable first impressions of spaciousness that you want to convey.

Additionally, many Oakland homes and Berkeley homes are often quite large inside, but need to be presented in the best way possible.

 Many things can cause a home to look smaller than it is. Here are some tips to make it appear to be the size it actually is:

 1. Before you begin showing the home, go through each room and remove as much furniture as practicable. Side tables, end tables, bookcases, chairs and…

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In yesterday's blog we talked about the need to obtain your credit report from the 3 major credit reporting agencies-Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The reason for doing so was to have this information in front of you before you consider submitting your loan application to lenders.  Once you have these reports, you need to see what your FICO scores are.  If they not in the mid 700's, your chances of getting a good loan is poor.  This score is composed of many elements about you and your credit history-things like how many loans you have, what kind of payment history you have, what type of loans you have, etc..  A value is given to each of these elements, and a score assigned by each of the different agencies above.   

Assuming you are still eligible…

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Nothing can be more shocking or discouraging than to plan to purchase your perfect home, and find out that the lenders have rejected your application because you have some credit problems.  It is entirely possible that you may not know that you have them, because you have not checked your credit in a long time, or at all.  Many new buyers are unsure about how to go about it, or have heard conflicting reports about doing so.

Whether you are buying a Piedmont home, an Oakland home, or any home, you need to know where you stand financially.  Even if you have been paying all your bills on time,  and not exceeding your credit limits, there may be items in your report that are there due to the fact that they may have been incorrectly entered by the credit…

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 Recently, in Part 1, we addressed how to keep your newly purchased Alameda home in top condition, and how to keep it in such a way that you could easily to resell it with very little time and money involved in reconditioning it.

In Part 1, we discussed what should be done to the exterior on a regular basis to keep things in shape.  In Part 2, we will follow the same pattern, and address the interior. Here are the basic  interior checks to make:

1. Check the ceilings regularly. Look for any new stains or cracks that might be a warning of some recent event that you should know about. Stains could reveal a leak in the roof, and cracks could alert you to foundation or floor problems.

2. Check the windows and doors on a monthly basis. See if they are…

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You have just bought an Alameda home. You are very pleased to be there, and you want to live there for a long time. Below are some tips that will maintain your home for the long run, and, as a bonus, keep your home ready for any future sale that you might want to consider. Many of these suggestions do not cost a great deal of money, and, if followed consistently, will prevent more expensive repairs later.

 You need to have a regular plan of maintenance based on the various elements of the home. Here are some suggestions regarding the exterior:

1. Have a schedule to repaint, reseal, or restain the exterior walls.

2. Clean and inspect all gutters, downspouts, and drainage areas to avoid leaks into the home.

3. Inspect the roof regularly for leaks,…

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While it is my job as your agent to sell your Piedmont home, there are many things that you, as a seller, can do that will move the process and the negotiations along sucessfully.  Here are some ideas:

1. Know What Your Property Is Worth--You are considering selling your home.  One of the most important first steps that you should take is to go my website, or to the various real estate web sites like Trulia or Zillow, and get a sense of what homes like yours are selling for today.  You will be amazed at the wealth of information available.  It may be a shock to you.  If you bought your home at the peak of the home selling cycle a few years ago, you will become aware that your home may not be worth what you want it to be.  If you have a true sense of…

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It would be ideal if you had plenty of time and money to upgrade your Oakland home before you put it up for sale.  Realistically, the odds are that you might not have either one.  If it is important to get your house on the market in a short time period, and still be able to make it attractive to potential buyers, there are some ways that are flexible in terms of both time and money. 

Four Quick and Reasonably Priced Ways to Upgrade Your Home:

a. Paint Your House--One of the quickest, and most effective ways to give a facelift to a tired home is by using paint.  You can choose to paint all the rooms, or some of the rooms, or just concentrate on the exterior trim.  That is the appeal of paint. Take a complete tour of your home, and look at it as if…

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