Found 9 blog entries tagged as Oakland Home Buyers.

You have just bought your new home.  You are preparing to move in.  There is so much to do and know about this home.  You, as the new owner, should make sure that you have some vital information and details turned over to you for your first day.  While I will assist you with much of this activity, here is an excellent summary checklist for the departing owner provided by REALTOR Magazine, which you should go over together before moving in. You may need some or all of the following:

1. Owner's manuals and warranties for any appliances left in the house.

2. Garage door opener(s)

3. Extra set of house keys.

4. Other keys--Think beyond the front doors.  Do you have any cabinets or lockers built into           the house that require keys?

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You and your family are excited that you have just bought a new Oakland or Piedmont home.  It was something you all really wanted, and now you are going to settle in and enjoy it for years to come.  These years of enjoyment, however, must be tempered with a maintenance plan to assure that you will have few, if any problems over your time living there.

The good news is that, with a little bit of planning, you can save yourself a lot of money down the road by taking these following steps to create a regular maintenance plan:

1. Clean and inspect all gutters, downspouts, and other drainage areas around the home to avoid damage         from leaks-whether interior or exterior.

2. Inspect your roof regularly for cracks, loose shingles or tiles, and…

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While there are many elements that you must consider in deciding to buy or sell an Oakland or Piedmont home, there is one very important element that you will want to consider-the marketplace of  the home. The basic question to ask yourself is " What is the direction of current Bay Area real estate housing sales?" "What is the direction of Northern California housing sales?".

Right now, the direction is "up".  Here are some quick summaries courtesty of the National Association of Realtors' "Median Sales Price of Existing Single Family Homes For the Metropolitan Area" :

1. Median existing single family homes in the Western US rose 4.8% to $299,500 in the 4th quarter of 2014.

2. In the Sacramento/Arden/Roseville area, the median single family…

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When it comes time to seriously consider buying a Piedmont or Oakland home, there are so many elements that you will want to consider, since this will be your family's home for quite a while.  You will want to be comfortable in your final choice.  In recent blogs, we have considered how to qualify financially to purchase your home.  But your home has to qualify in for you in so many other ways. As with financial prequalifying, it is important that you analyze your requirements for your new home, so you don't waste time viewing homes that will not, in the long run, meet your needs.  

So, while some of these questions may seem obvious, the answers to them may surprise you when you sit down with your family to get a consensus for their next home:

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In my previous blog, I itemized the variety of services that I am prepared to offer to assist potential home sellers.  As I also indicated, I have many years of experience in real estate on both sides of home sales and purchases.  In this blog, I would like to make you aware of the many services that I can offer you when purchasing a home.  Buying a home is a truly a significant step for everyone, and whether you are looking in Oakland,   Alameda or Piedmont, I can offer you the following services to make your search more comfortable and well directed:

* Meet with you to identify your ideal home

* Provide you with a list of reputable lenders

* Educate you about current market conditions

* Furnish a buyer's information handbook

* Provide…

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No matter where you want to buy a home, be it Piedmont, Montclair, or Oakland, the same basic rules apply once you see a home that you want to purchase.  Although I will be assisting you through all these steps to assure that you present the very best offer, it is helpful to plan ahead, so that when that special event arrives, you will be ready. 

1. One of the buyer's most important considerations is knowledge about the house and the neighborhood. Once you decide on that special home, I will be glad to assist you with market analyses and comparable sales information, so you will have a full sense of the marketplace that you will be working in.  You will then have a sense of what other buyers have paid for similar homes in the area, and how those…

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In Part 1, we talked about some practical tips designed to make moving day a bit easier for your move into your new Oakland home.  In Part 2 - we will consider some simple, yet, important personal and family issues that need to be part of the same plan.

1. Consider The Impact Of The Move On The Children: It is obvious that there is going to be a great deal to do in terms of a broad array of paperwork to be signed and dealt with, plus arranging for the children to attend a new school, addressing how the new home will be decorated, what needs to be bought to complete this, and who is going to do it.  Often in all of this, no matter what their age, the children are often just asked to be patient, and to decide what they want to take with them, and just…

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Once I have completed and processed any homes for sale in Oakland, CA I realize that the thought of moving can make the buyers anxious about the issues revolving around the actual move itself.  In Part 1, I will suggest some tips to assist you in the actual packing preparation.  In Part 2, we will talk about the family and pet preparations.

To pack and move in a way to protect all your goods, and save time and money in moving costs, take the following steps:

1. Make a Floor Plan: Your first step, before packing, is to make a floor plan of your new home.  On this floor plan, map out each room.  Actually measure out the room to decide what furniture will go where, and whether it will fit as you hoped.  Many new homeowners are surprised that their new…

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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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