FAQs About Selling An East Bay Home

First ask yourself if you are ready to sell your house. If so, a conversation with a local, expert Realtor® will help you strategize your timing. Thankfully, there is very high demand at most times from buyers in the “Inner East Bay” (Alameda to Richmond areas). Especially Berkeley. With UC Berkeley, Berkeley’s reputation, industries and startups, and easy-to-commute location, Berkeley rarely cools down.

There are some great options for sellers who don’t have income to qualify for a loan to be able to buy a new house before your current house sells. (Credit score and equity in your current home are factors.) As part of working together I’m happy to connect you with lenders to discuss the details, as well as look at scenarios to help you with your next step, with minimum stress and expense and maximum joy.

Just like any remodeling, the cost of updating depends on the repairs and upgrades made.
In collaboration with your listing agent, you decide which home upgrades to make that will have the biggest impact on price at the lowest cost. This is usually flooring and paint improvements as well as landscaping and others. Even window washing helps your house shine.

It’s remarkable what even a good window cleaning can do to make a brilliant impression on buyers (and their agents).
Depending on the condition of your property, our team might suggest updates in areas such as: 

Flooring Replacement/Repair 
Carpet Cleaning / Replacement 
Deep-Cleaning
Cosmetic Renovations 
Landscaping 
Interior and Exterior Painting 
Roofing Repairs 
Kitchen Improvements from Countertops to Cabinets 
Bathroom Improvements and Updates 

In addition to making your house shine, in the Bay Area, staging has been proven to have a huge return on investment. Staging helps buyers imagine what it will be like living in their new home. It gets rid of that cavernous, lonely empty house echo, too. With high-quality staging, a cozy house always gets more offers than an un-staged house, here in the East Bay.

Believe me, you are not the first to ask this question. You might have been selling to move into a more modern place. Suddenly your old house is an uncluttered, updated home with curb appeal!

Good news: Of course you can stay in your house after it’s updated. As you might have guessed, the fix ups won’t be free. You’ll just have to pay for them much as you would paid a contractor to work on your house. 

First, you can do whatever you want. It’s your house! However, know that you are not alone. I am my team will make it easy as possible to help you move, get ready to sell, and feel confident that you are taken care of. Some homeowners try to do everything themselves. That’s what we’re here for, so you can focus on your next place.

You are not alone. Many longtime East Bay homeowners comment how wonderful and rare Berkeley, Rockridge and so many neighborhoods here are in so many ways. Connecting those dots to clarify, explore options, and help you reach your goals — and ONLY your goals — is what we can do together. We are on the same page if you think about crafting a lifestyle that’s engaging, near good healthcare, has a likeminded community, and access to an airport for quick trips to Europe and Mexico. Living part-time in Europe and part-time in Maine or Manhattan are retirement lifestyles I ponder often.

There are lots of options for buying before selling, beyond the tradition bridge loan. We have many lenders who will be happy to discuss with you.

Whether you are leaving the Berkeley home you have lived in for decades or striving to sell a Rockridge house you bought recently, you have a specific goals in mind — the sale price, the sale timeline, and the sale terms. You might also be concerned with needing to downsize and how you can net the most with your sale.

In the California Residential Purchase Agreement there is a place where buyers indicate how much EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) they will put down to show that they are serious and sincere about following through with the purchase. The Earnest Money Deposit is typically 3% in the East Bay.

The funds are transferred to the seller’s account only after all contingencies and conditions have been satisfied. It is comforting to know just how organized and structured our house transaction process is.

Here are a few of my favorite guides to help buyers and sellers, produced by title / escrow companies like Chicago Title and Fidelity Title. (Both of these companies are owned by a publicly traded company called Fidelity National Financial.)

–Buyer and Seller Guides with detailed information about the escrow process and title (also available in print)
-Understanding California Property Taxes in Escrow (from Chicago Title)
–Protect Yourself From Wire Fraud during your next house purchase and sale transactions (from Fidelity Title)