Wonderful Alameda stories, tips and info

If you are a senior citizen, 55 years or older, and are considering selling your home in Alameda county, you may have surprising tax benefits waiting for you.

Normally, if seniors have been in their home for a long time, and are enjoying the tax benefits of Proposition 13, they have had their current home assessed at a very low yearly tax rate.  However, when considering selling their current home, and moving into another, perhaps smaller home, they may experience what could be called "sticker shock" when they see the property taxes on the homes in the marketplace today.  These taxes could be considerably higher than what they are used to, and often for less property in terms of size.  

A solution has been offered in the form of California…

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In the past, we have discussed how important curb appeal can be to potential buyers.  We have made some suggestions about making the home as appealing as possible-both inside and out.  Now let us reverse the roles.  Let's assume you are looking at an Alameda home or an Alameda Bay Farm Island home with the intention of buying it.  It looks right.  It feels right.  However, you have only been inside on a tour once, or possibly a few more times.  What is the next step towards making the decision?  How can you avoid discovering unpleasant surprises once you purchase the home?  Besides the obvious home inspections and disclosures that you would be receiving, an additional plan towards making your decision is to drive around the area-a lot!

 You really…

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There are so many elements that go into selecting the ideal neighborhood for your new Alameda or Bay Farm Island home.  Over the last few days, we spoke about selecting the type of home that you might like. This time, we will consider choosing the best  neighborhood fit for you and your family. 

Each family has different needs, wants and finances.  One family will put a stress on the school district, another will want proximity to parks, recreational facilities, or transportation sources.  When all is said and done, however, the family wants to feel comfortable, welcome, and secure in their final choice, and looking forward to spending many years among their new neighbors.  There are certain basics that make any neighborhood one to consider.

1.…

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In Part 1, we began to list some of the initial steps to take in finding your future ideal home.  Whether you are looking in central Alameda, or Bay Farm Island, the suggestions remain the same. 

In Part 2-below is an in depth look at some of the key factors to add on to your initial considerations.

1. What Kind of Home Do You Want?  While this may seem obvious, there is a huge variety of choices that you must make.  Important examples include:

a. What style of home appeals to you?

b. How many bedrooms do you need?  How many bathrooms?

c. Do you want a one-story or two-story home?

d. How important is the size of the yard?  Do you want a yard at all?

e. What are your childrens' most important requirements?

f. How close do you want to be to…

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The search for a new home is always a great adventure, and sometimes, a great challenge.  So much depends upon bringing together the perfect balance of affordability and practicality.  While most buyers will admit to wanting a large home with lots of amenities and a nice view, the market today may not be able to provide these things just as requested, and at the price desired.

However, whether you are looking in Alameda proper, or Alameda's Bay Farm Island, there is a way of getting a lot of what you want.  While you may have a very extensive list of things that you hope to find in your new house, the key is to isolate your highest priorities, and work with them first.  If you can tell me, as your agent, what you feel are the most important features, I…

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San Francisco Bay is one of the most inviting recreational areas in the United States.  You can see bulky container ships moving slowly among the graceful sailboats that are racing each other from one point to another.  Every portion of the bay has sweeping views of some portion of the city that the Gold Rush built. 

Recently, I was able to get out on the water with some friends, and really began to appreciate all that the area has to offer.  We went on one of the best ways to see it in comfort-The Oakland/Alameda Ferry.  Whether you have a home in Oakland, or one in Alameda, it is just a short trip to their ferry terminal. We left from Alameda's terminal because the parking is often easier, and then, after a brief stop at Jack London Square to pick up…

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You may be surprised how valuable your neighbors can be when it comes time to sell your Alameda Bay Farm Island home.  They can be a huge asset, or they can be a huge liability, depending on your approach.

Most homeowners who are preparing to market their home are given suggestions and ideas about how to dress up their kitchen, fluff up their bedrooms and shine up their bathrooms, but all that effort can be wasted if the neighbor next door has piles of trash, or there is a car on blocks in view right outside the rear window.

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.  What was once something that you tolerated has now become an obstacle in getting…

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Still known to many as Dr. Boone's house, named for the Alameda fixture who owned it for years, 1000 Grand St. in Alameda's Gold Coast has come on the market for $1,385,000. The sprawling 4 bedroom 3 bath Colonial revival home sits on over a 1/4 acre with an abundance of original details that were retained over the years. The architech was C.H Russell who also designed the Joseph Leonard House at the foot of Union St. Theporte cochère that used to sit on the West side of the home has been turned into a sitting room, but portions of the wrap around porch are still used today. Alameda's Fourth of July parade passes right in front of this massive home. The carpets have recently been removed to reveal the quarter-sawn parquet oak flooring. The dining room's…

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I found some great vintage footage from the 20's that a real estate developer made of the Oakland area. It was trumpeting all of the great things about the Oakland in regards to shipping and transportation. Oakland had one of the largest train hubs and continues to have one of the largest shipping ports on the west coast. There are some great shots of Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon built in 1883, it looks the same today as it did back then. The name was based upon the fact that Alameda was a 'dry' town. If you were coming or going to Alameda on the ferry, Heinold's was your first and last chance to get a drink. There are also some great shots of the Tribune tower and downtown Oakland as well as the shipping ports that made Oakland famous. I will…

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While on my way to meet a friend at the new Alameda Theater I was reflecting on the diversity of retail opportunities on the 3 short blocks of the central Park Street shopping area.  After the movie, we wandered down to Tomatina for an early dinner.  As we walked, I began to take note of which businesses were on Park St. and I was pleasantly surprised.Starting at Lincoln and Park Street, and continuing down just 3 short blocks to Encinal, a shopper can find two antique stores, a large bookstore, four children’s stores selling toys and clothing, your standard Peet’s and Starbucks, a coin dealer, two bicycle shops, a store devoted to dogs, a large shoe store,  a handsome high end clothing store, and restaurants too numerous to list, but with food choices…

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