77 Fairmount Ave. #119

March 14th, 2009

It’s sunny and light filled 2BD, 2 BA corner unit is in a great building that’s been thoroughly redone. It offers granite counters, stainless kitchen appliances, crown moldings, lots of closets with mirrored doors and pleasant outlooks from it North/West facing dual pane windows. There is a large open living room with a sliding glass […]

240 Caldecott Ln. #207 Parkwoods Condo in Oakland Montclair Hills

March 7th, 2009

The Parkwoods Condos are great if you are looking for a low maintenance, the newer construction Parkwoods condos in the Oakland Montclair Hills is your condo development. I’ve just listed this luxury Parkwoods second floor Piedmont model on the sunny Easterly side of building 240. It has pleasant hillside outlooks and is set up with […]

Seismic retrofit incentives for new home Buyers in Oakland and Berkeley

February 10th, 2009

The city of Oakland and the City of Berkeley offer nice incentives for new Buyers to make seismic retrofit improvements to their properties.  If you live in the Oakland and Berkeley hills areas such as Montclair, Rockridge, Elmwood, North Berkeley or anywhere in the San Francisco East Bay, it’s a safe bet that the home […]

Neighborhood and district names for homes in Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont Hills California

February 3rd, 2009

The Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont real estate area is comprised of many colorful neighborhoods, each with their own names such as Montclair, Rockridge, Croker Highlands, Trestle Glen etc. I’m often asked to identify the most common neighborhood names used in real estate advertising so that home Buyers can identify their general areas of interest. Well, here you […]

Prevent crime in Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont CA

February 3rd, 2009

No matter what neighborhood you live in, Piedmont, Montclair, Rockridge, Glenview, Elmwood, Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills, small, big, good or bad, it’s always nice to feel secure in your surroundings. One way to achieve this is to keep an eye on things for your neighbors and to know that your neighbors are keeping an eye […]

Conforming loan limits and their affects in Oakland and Berkeley Hills real estate

October 23rd, 2008

Loan amounts fall into two main categories, Conforming and Jumbo.   Conforming loans have a limit up to $729k.  Jumbo loans are all loans over $729k.  Until recently the Conforming loan amount was all the way down in the $400’s.  As an economic stimulus the Congress temporarily increased the Conforming loan limit to $729 through January […]

If a full price offer comes in, is a Seller obligated to accept it?

October 11th, 2008

The bottom line answer is NO. Barring imminent domain, foreclosure and a handful of other specific situations, nobody can force you to sell them your property. A better question may be “What are my risks if a full price offer comes in and I don’t accept it?” The main risk is that you may be […]

You cant stop water… So divert it!

July 1st, 2008

If you live or own real estate in the Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont California hills it is important for you to know that you can not stop water, you can only divert it.  Properly diverting Water away from your home is the single most important thing you can do to increase the longevity of your […]