Started 2021 on a cross-country road trip to Maine on a quest to spend time in Maine getting to know more towns and areas, with a goal of buying a property that I could rent out and where I might also eventually live. Ended 2021 with a property that isn’t in the location I…
Did your friend / cousin / in-law’s agent 500 miles away offer to give you a commission discount for helping you buy a house in Berkeley? When purchasing or selling a property in Berkeley or Oakland, it is always a good idea to work with a local, active real estate professional. Better yet, choose an…
With a never ending list of everything you ‘should do’ when purchasing a home, it seems counterproductive to focus on what you should not do. But being aware of the dont’s is just as important as the do’s, when it comes to making the biggest financial investment of your life.
Buying a home in the East Bay may be the biggest financial decision of your life. Then again, you don’t want to wake up one day after 8 years of being at UC Berkeley and realize you’d spend $250,000 on rent without once considering buying. Count me as one of the people who wishes she…
When getting ready to sell your home, it can be hard to know what renovations will get your property sold the fastest and for the most amount of money. Should you replace your furnace or redo your kitchen? Gut your bathroom or add another one? Have the roof done or buy new appliances? Or you…
Is that low house price for real? (“It’s in my budget!”) Berkeley and Oakland house hunters are all too familiar with house listings at prices that seem too good to be true. They often are! The East Bay has a long-time tradition of pricing homes for sale low to attract attention and drive the selling…
Congratulations to the city of Fremont, California and Fremont home owners who topped WalletHub’s rankings of “Best City To Raise a Family.” The City of Fremont has become an affordable East Bay place for Silicon Valley workers (and Tesla employees) to live, full of culture, relatively affordable homes, lots of new home developments. (Check out…
California home buyers have a few excellent programs to help you buy a home and offset the costs of building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) — a backyard cottage for family and income. The California Downpayment Resource Directory is a great place to see what you and the property you’re interested in might qualify for….
What’s the strangest thing you can grow in Berkeley or Oakland? SPONGES! Ask anyone where they think loofah / luffa sponges come from. I guarantee 80% of the time you will hear “the ocean” as an answer. Maybe even from yourself. My friend gave me loofah seeds from sponges she grew on the East Coast….
California’s Proposition 19 went into effect on April 1, 2021. It’s known as the “The Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act.” The goal of Proposition 19 is to help millions of older homeowners who want to downsize without huge increases in property tax, homeowners with severe…
