According to Chicago Title, scammers and fraudsters are impersonating property owners to illegally sell real property — especially vacant lots and land. Avoid being scammed! Due to the types of vacant lots and land property being targeted, it can take months or years for the actual property owner to discover the fraud. Facebook has lots…
Do you fully understand the importance of being prepared for flooding in their homes…or outside of your home? The California Association of Realtors points out that homeowner’s insurance does not cover flood damage. After the record-breaking wildfires in California, the risk of flash flooding and mud flows increase significantly until vegetation is restored — up…
How can a home buyer make a winning offer on a house that has multiple offers for which the seller is looking for the “highest and best” offer? Good question! All along the East Bay near the Bay, Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, home sellers are countering multiple offers asking for “highest and best.” In short, it’s…
You’re living your dream life with passive income, minimizing taxes by offsetting income with expenses. Yet you can’t get a home loan! The article Jay Voorhees from JVM Lending wrote about “When the Ultra-Wealthy Don’t Qualify For Mortgages” really hit home. Jay offered to share some options for how affluent borrowers with great credit and…
Ikea kitchen planners can help you design a kitchen in 3D and choose your cabinet, counter, hardware…all the materials for your shiny new modern kitchen. You can also pay for an Ikea kitchen designer to come to your house (now $79) to make sure all of your kitchen measurements are accurate. The Ikea kitchen I…
Buying a new house before selling your own house or condo in cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda can be a challenging process. Yet, who doesn’t want to avoid moving twice? To buy a house before selling there are many factors to consider, including: financial planning to know what you can afford deciding if it’s…
Building ADUs on a property with a single-family home or multi-family building has become the most popular way to think about multi-generational living or generating income during retirement. (The New York Times reports on the popularity of ADUs — although ignore the very low prices per square foot quoted!) But what if it turns out…
Murals on walls inside houses has been a time-honored tradition through the ages. In Berkeley, the murals adorning the walls of Pauline Kael’s house in Berkeley became legend. More rare is seeing murals, or little “spot” paintings, on the exterior of houses. There’s nothing I love more than seeing houses that reflect the passions and…
Who doesn’t love a trend report? It’s so much fun seeing what materials, colors, textures, and decorating styles the experts and purveyors are calling “it.” So what to do when Pantone names “Viva Magenta” their 2023 Color of the Year? Paint the town pink?! The thing to remember as a home owner is: It’s up…
True confessions: I never had extermination done after buying my house years ago. After all, no termites were crawling or flying around. How did we know if the termites were old school or a current infestation? Then there was a live termite incident. Three different pest inspection companies did estimates, with three wildly different recommendations….
