We don’t love Short Short Sales!

One of the housing issues that’s getting talked about a lot in the past few months are short sales.  A Short Sale, is where the lender is willing to accept less than what is owned on a property.  Many buyers, who look into short sales for the first time, think a short sale means a big time [...]

Young Actors go camping after Christmas in Livermore.

Our daughter really likes drama and not just because she’s 13.  So for the second year in a row, she is going to the Young Actors Drama Camp, which is being held at Camp Arroyo here in Livermore.  As of yesterday there were still 2 spots left, registration information is on [...]

Foreclosure, Frauds and Scams…Watch Out!

Check out this video from Freddie Mac about Foreclosure Scams and Frauds.

If you are in trouble on your mortgage call your lender or seek assistant from a reputable organization that can help like Acorn or the California Reinvestment Coalition . 

Cost versus Value of Home Improvements 2007.

   Recently, I did a couple of posts on upgrades you could do that would improve the curb appeal of your home.  Well in the December edition of Realtor Magazine it had an article on Remodeling Magazine’s 20th annual “Cost vs. Value Report”.  One of the highlights of this year’s report was of the projects that had national [...]

For Statistic junkies, a site for sore eyes.

Each month we send out our Realty Times newsletter, which contains my current market analysis based on what has happened in the housing market.  Now normally, I try to summarize the housing stats for the month, so I don’t cause excessive eye glazing.  But if you are the type of person, who while not a Realtor, likes to drop important [...]

No Rear Neighbors or What were they thinking?

All businesses use code words and unique jargon for ease of communications between themselves and to confuse others.  This has been going on since the beginning of language.  Now real estate agents use their language skills to sometimes make a property sound like a silk purse rather than the sow’s ear that it is.  I love [...]

The Great White Way meets Wine Country or What’s a nice Regional Theatre doing in town like Livermore?

Last night’s Livermore City Council meeting spent a majority of its time discussing the current status of building a Regional Theatre in Downtown Livermore.  Now as a Realtor and a resident of Livermore, I will go on record as being supportive of both the Bankhead Theatre and the proposed Regional Theatre.  Most of the people in [...]

New Construction, Good Deal or Buyer Beware? 3 Rules to Follow!

Normally the smell of new construction draws buyers like flies.  However in today’s housing crisis, new home sales are suffering along with the rest of the market.  Which means that there are opportunities to get some of the best deals on a new house in years, but there are some rules that will help.
1.  Most [...]

The Black Death of Tri-Valley Home Prices.

With the headlines still screaming about the housing crisis, it’s hard to know what’s going on and what can be done about it.  I don’t have a very positive opinion yet on whether or not President Bush’s new plan for Subprime borrowers will make a big difference.  There are a heck of lot of opinions con and pro.  According to a [...]

Can’t move Up, Push out.

                        
In walking around some of the 70’s track housing in South Livermore, it’s fun to see who has been creative in updating their homes.  In an earlier post, I showed do’s and don’ts of curb appeal.  This time I saw a really good example of a garage conversion.  I don’t have before and after pictures [...]