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Once you make the commitment to place your Oakland home on the market, you realize that there will changes that you will have to make to its current condition to appeal to potential buyers. Whether your home is located in Redwood Heights, Montclair, or Rockridge, you will need to consider your selling presentation.  Some things will be easy to do, and others may require some financial investment to make your home competitive in the current marketplace. I, as your Oakland real estate agent will be going over many of these things to assist you in making the best presentation possible.  Here are some of the ideas for consideration:

1. Tour Your Home As a Visitor Would--Go through your home as if you were a brand new visitor.  Ideally, take friends or…

Whether you are searching for an Oakland home, perhaps in Redwood Heights or Rockridge , there are four items that you may want to consider that are often overlooked when viewing potential homes.  Here are things to pay attention to:

1. The Parking Situation:  In many of the older Oakland neighborhoods, street parking is a challenge. Many of these homes were built when the family had only one car.  Today, with family teens getting their own cars, one home can require 2-3 parking spaces. It is often something that is not considered when viewing the home initially.  It is important to check to see if your car fits into the garage of the house, as well, so you can be assured of at least one parking spot in addition to street spaces.

2. Your Commute:…

When buying your home in the Oakland Rockridge area, or the Redwood Heights, or even the Trestle Glen area, you will find that some things are common among all home purchases.  It is important that you place yourself in the best possible position to purchase the home that you decide you want to have.  Here are some suggestions to put you at the top of the list:

1. Do All Your Financial Homework First--Make sure that you have enough funds to qualify for that purchase.  The rule of thumb followed by most lenders is that your total debts including housing costs, should be no more that 38% of your gross income(before taxes), and your ultimate housing debt alone should be no more than 33% of your gross income(before taxes). While there are other issues,…

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…

When potential buyers tour your Rockridge home, they are looking for many things.  One of the most important is space.  The more space you can show, the larger, and more appealing your home becomes.  Your goal should be to present an open, uncluttered home that allows them to envision their things in that space, and encourage them to want to live there.

 Homeowners create their home to suit their needs.  After living in that house for a long time, they may not see how cluttered it has become.  Very often, as the years go on, rooms gather much more furniture and accessories than are necessary.  Things become a jumble of style and function.  While the homeowner has learned to walk around narrow spaces, or ignore the mismatches, the possible buyers will…

Green Day’s frontman, guitarist Billy Joe Armstrong, has just added his Oakland, California estate to the luxury market. The 5 bedroom Mediterranean / Normandy estate was built for Armstrong back in 1998 by architect Mark Becker and features over a half acre lot, pool with pool house and an open floor plan. Located in the Claremont Pines area of Oakland, the mansion has wonderful views for the San Francsico Bay. Boasting lots of unique ironwork, a rough-hewn beamed rotunda and, of course, a music studio, the home also includes a winding brick staircase. The remains of a 1911 'Red Gate' mansion designed by Julia Morgan.

While most of the house has been redecorated, there are a few vestiges of Billie Joes' taste, including a bathroom adjacent to the…