What to Inspect When You’re Inspecting

Tips On Home Inspections

All home inspection should be done by an ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) certified inspector. These guys will look at everything from the foundation to the roof. They’ll inspect the electrical, plumbing, roof condition, foundation and everything in between. An inspection can cost anywhere from $585 to $ 650, depending on the size of the home.

Pest inspection of termites or beetles and all water damage. Approximately $235

Sewer – buyers are responsible for sewer lines until they hit the city main. For $75 your inspector can take a video camera into the pipe to check the condition of the pipes.

When to Get a Second Opinion:

Pest/Termite Inspections:

Recently a seller supplied an inspection report that had been done by an out-of-area pest inspection company. The report stated that there was no pest damage to the seller’s property.

I encouraged my buyers to get a second opinion.  My clients employed a highly respected local company to do another inspection. The local company found $6500 worth of pest damage. Ultimately, I was able to negotiate a $6500 credit for this discrepancy.

Sometimes home inspectors will call for a second inspection. It could be for anything from electrical wiring follow up to having a structural engineer come to look at the foundation.

Anytime that this is suggested it is recommended that you have professionals look before removing your inspection contingency. (An inspection contingency is a period of time during an escrow that a buyer is allowed to investigate the condition of a home and neighborhood.)

Jason - Harry Clark 

Paul

what's behind there

Rot

If Your Walls Could Talk

I absolutely love what Joyce did during her kitchen remodel.  After renovating the kitchen and restoring the walls, she decided to create a "picture" of the history of  her 1910 home. In the photo below you can see various wallpapers and plaster layered under the paint. A nice rectangle was evenly measured to create a custom work of art.  Genius!

history of a home

Shower Pans and Real Estate Transactions

This happened last year.... I woke up abruptly at 2 am worried about the shower pan at a Montclair property my client was purchasing.  In the disclosure reports the seller noted that a licensed contractor replaced the shower pan prior to listing the home.  Yes, that’s a good thing but, since no one lived in the house since the replacement, the new shower pan had never been tested. Inspection reports often call for the replacement of leaky shower pans.  To test one, the inspector stops the drain, runs water a few inches high, and then inspects the crawl space, garage, or room below it, (if there is not a nice finished room below). After tossing and turning from 2 am on, I left my home early the next day with towels in hand to test the shower pan.  I put several towels in the shower drain and ran the shower until the water rose several inches high.  I then went downstairs to the garage below the bathroom and waited.  No water, great!  The next day, I stopped by the house and the ceiling below the shower was soaking wet, we had a problem.  I immediately called the listing agent, who in turn called the licensed contractor who had replaced the shower.  We negotiated with the seller, and the shower pan was completely replaced for my buyer.

What happened? It turned out that when the contractor initially replaced the pan, he was trying to preserve the marble walls and did not bring the waterproofing membrane up high enough on the wall.  When he replaced the shower pan for the second time, the original marble walls could not be saved and also had to be replaced.  This situation could have been messy, but the agent representing the sellers was helpful and cooperative.  He even sent me photos of the shower reconstruction progress.  Below is a picture of the shower pan replacement in progress and the black paper is the water proofing membrane that was needed.

Shower replacement in progress

An Opportunity to Give Back - Fountain to Vessel

Oakland resident Karlya Benjamin has a vision of honoring the past and empowering the future.  She feels that our elderly have so much to tell and who better to listen than our youth.  Additionally, too often our seniors crave visitors.  If you or  your teenager have the desire to reach out and volunteer for a few hours, read a few of the details below and email me at deidrejoyner@gmail.com.

Who: We, a group of parents and teens in a project called, “Honoring the Past, Empowering the Future”

What: We will go to 3 facilities to share and interact with seniors for 1-1½ hours.  There are 2 facilities and two dates so far.

Where: November 21 – 10:30 -11:30 – North Berkeley Senior Center

November 22^nd – Center for Elders Independence, Berkeley – 10:00 – 11:00 am

Why: To keep us (especially teens) connected to the elderly and as human beings.    By sharing with each other, we are able to appreciate the elderly as an incredible wealth of knowledge, history and strength.  A lot has happened in the last 80-90 years and they’ve seen it and were a part of it.  In turn, the elderly are able to see the young as possibilities to empower create and shape the world and as vessels to carry forward the knowledge of the past.

Possible Cliff May Home For Sale in the Oakland Hills

Last week, I walked into 3425 Robinson Street in the Joaquin Miller area of Oakland.  One glance at the wooden windows that slide to the side to open, the triangular windows sandwiched between the wall and ceiling and I said, this looks like a Cliff May house!  Karen Lum the listing agent said that her seller told her it is a Cliff May designed property, but she has no verification.  I went home and checked the online Cliff May registry and could not find it.  Regardless, there are many mod features: radiant heated concrete floors, floor to ceiling windows, gravel, concrete and wooly thyme landscaping, exterior doors from the master bedroom, kitchen, living room and more. The kitchen is tweaked out with gourmet appliances and  windows to the backyard. I loved it!

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New Listing - Live/Work Inspired Home in the Laurel

I am really digging my new listing in the Laurel district of Oakland. It is part private yacht meets live/work space.  The previous owner was a contractor who created a huge space for his large projects.  Barbara Tapp created this great aerial view sketch for me. Click here for more info www.3901LomaVista.com

12 month Oakland and Berkeley Real Estate Market Recap

We are now in our Fall real estate season.  Homeowners who have waited all summer to list their properties and are now trying to sell, before winter. .  I am seeing “cream-puff” properties, (homes that have it all: vintage details in tact, great flow, structurally sound, lush landscaping, stable neighborhoods and are priced right) sell quickly.  Other homes that need work, are over-priced and that are not presented well to the market seem to sit on the market.Buyers can be very cautious about neighborhood, property condition and their future space needs. Beyond that unless a buyer has all cash, a home needs to appraise.  An appraiser is an independent person who analyzes a property, neighborhood and recently sold homes to determine if a home is worth the purchase price.  They are the eyes to the bank who is providing the loan to the buyer. As a seller it can be difficult realizing your home is not worth what it was 1,2,or 5 years ago, but you have to price it carefully to gain the attention it deserves.  Speaking of pricing and analyzing comparable sold data, Red Oak has proprietary data for our clients.  My sellers are also able to study custom graphs scrutinize number of units sold, median pricing, average days on market and more.  What makes the data available to me different from my competitors is: neighborhoods are broken down into real neighborhoods, not just zip codes. I can access data on various square footage, bathroom count, select time or just one Thomas Brother Map Code. The possibilities are endless. Red Oak as a company scored a great coup, with the addition of Aman Daro, our Director of  Media.  I am fortunate enough to partner with him on all of my listings.  See my Bay Area recap on the next page, but please call or email me with your questions, I am happy to chat with you about your property.   - Deidre 510.693.4253

Are you up for a short sale?

The chart above illustrates the active conforming, (regular sales) and short sales by zip code in Oakland and Berkeley as of three days ago.  Short sales are here and we are all affected by them.  You as a seller might owe more than your home is currently worth and need to sell your property due to a life change; you could be a home-buyer and are in love with a property that is being sold as a short sale; or if there are multiple properties being sold as short sales in your neighborhood, (they are often being sold slightly under market price) and are affecting your home's value.  To learn more about short sales email me at,  deidre@redoakrealty.com.

What's Going On Out There

This chart shows Montclair market data from the first quarter of 1997 through the second quarter of 2011.  As you can see, sales and selling prices are trending down. As I was writing this blog post, I got word that my favorite property from last Thursday's Broker's Tour went pending in less than a week.  A cool mid century home on Saroni was built in 1950 and and renovated  to tug on the heart strings of any mid-century modern purist.  Click here to view the project. This home was in pristine condition, was tastefully renovated to enhance the property, (no Home Depot cookie cutter finishes here), is level and has a sunny backyard.  Additionally it was priced correctly, hence it is under contract.

Click on the link to view a cool video of the  Montclair district of Oakland.

Before and After in Oakland

Every buyer has a wish list as they venture out and start their house hunt.  My Crocker Highland buyers wanted a home in original condition.  They wanted to embrace the vintage details of  a 1920's or 1930's property and enhance it to blend with their modern edge.

All of the original gum wood was preserved.  The hardwood floors were refinished with a water based matte finish to open up the space.  The wall paper was removed and the plastered walls were hand restored.

North West Oakland, Time to Visit

If you follow my blog, you know what a foodie I am.  I love exploring new taste treats in Oakland and Berkeley.  A coworker told me about the new storefront for James and the Giant Cupcake. Eurydice Manning opened her concept in 2008, but realized her dream of opening her own shop, when her North Oakland location opened for business, just last week.

My Daughter, Nia has already made a special request for these cupcakes in lieu of a birthday cake for her next special day. Here you can also order gluten free and vegan varieties.

A thriving retail corridor, the area along the Oakland Berkeley border at San Pablo has been growing and is part of the Walk Score Renaissance that Oakland has experienced. This week Walk Score announced that Oakland ranked number ten in the nation’s most walkable cities.  In the past ten years, walk-ability has become more important to Oakland families and is part of the reason that home prices have remained relatively stable in our neighborhoods. Click here to read the article.

While I was there, I happened along the Actual Café, which is, as the name states, (with tongue firmly in cheek,) an ACTUAL Café, not a cyber one.  The owners invite you to unplug, kick up your feet and stay a while. There is a wonderful bike rack, free WiFi and they sell seriously local coffee, McLaughlin Coffee that is roasted a few blocks away in Emeryville.

A Verb for Keeping Warm is one of those Etsy-esque artisan knitting shops whose purveyors have a penchant for doing things by hand.  I discovered knitting classes and yarn dyed by hand right on the premises.

I love exploring my City, and it’s always a great time to support local business.  Consider a stroll in your very walkable Oakland!

Temescal life

Last Sunday I spent a great day at the Temescal Street Fair.  The weather was gorgeous, (not too hot.)  My company, Red Oak had a booth and so we were right there in the middle of the action.  It was quite a cast of characters.  There was live wrestling, not something you see at many street fairs, and my favorite, Barlata Tapas Bar with their famous paella.

Besides meeting our neighbors, Red Oak was there to promote the launch of our new neighborhood video series.

Click here to view!

It’s so fun to see all my neighbors out and about.  If you are not familiar with this vibrant neighborhood of Oakland, it’s worth a special trip, even on a non-street-fair day!

How Graphs Can Help Buyers

Often times people know what they want, but have no idea what it costs. I would love to live in Upper Rockridge for $600,000, but I know that is not feasible. A client came to me looking to buy a home in three specific neighborhoods - Rockridge, Claremont and Crocker Highlands.

He came to me with no real knowledge of the market or what these neighborhoods typically sell for. So as a way to help familiarize him with the market and the prices that these neighborhoods typically command, I had these graphs made for him. After he reviewed them, he was able to determine if these neighborhoods would in fact fit in his budget.

Below are some samples of the graphs I prepared for him: (Elmwood, Crocker Highlands, Claremont 1st quarter 2008 - April  2011)

Goats and Weed Control in Oakland

The City of Oakland has hired some furry friends to help with the weed problem at Joaquin Miller Park and other public grounds. Goats are excellent crawlers, climbers and jumpers, so they don't mind being on the side of steep hill.

Goats are also a natural and less expensive alternative to weed control. According to Ken Gee, Noble Foundation wildlife researcher, goats will choose weeds or woody plants 85 percent of the time and grasses only 13 percent of the time.

Mountain View Cemetery

Mountain View Cemetery is an architectural gem in Oakland. Frederick Law Olmsted, the same guy that designed Central Park, Stanford University and much of UC Berkley's campus, designed this beautiful cemetery. The famous landscape architect drew upon the sloping foothills in Piedmont and Oakland to express the harmony between man and the natural setting.  It is common to see people remembering their loved ones and folks jogging during a week day lunch hour.

The Mountain View Cemetery Association is a nonsectarian, community nonprofit corporation which maintains the cemetery through an endowment fund. Docent-led tours occur two Saturdays a month. Check out this true Oakland natural beauty. More information about the cemetery, including tour information can be found here: http://www.mountainviewcemetery.org/

Happy Father's Day

Today we honor all of the fathers.  The photo above is by Oakland artist Sara Haba of my husband and children.

Tonight on Piedmont Ave

What:

Amy Perl's (http://www.amyperl.com/) latest photo art work and Craig Erickson's (tmdwblog.blogspot.com) awesome illustrations on wood + resin art work will be on display. Fivetenburger (delicious food!), as well as super cool crafters Hoof and Horn (hoofandhorn.tumblr.com), A Boy Named Coy (aboynamedcoy.com), and Cougar Horse (http://cougarhorse.com/) will be open with their custom clothing designs, and some great artisans' work!

When:

TONIGHT - Thursday, June 16

Time:

6:30ish - 10 pm

Where:

Amy Perl Photography Studio and Dana and Reed from Cougar Horse Boutique

4456 Piedmont Ave (near the Oakland Cemetery)

It should be a fun time!

This is in conjunction with Piedmont Avenue's first monthly THIRD THURSDAY ART WALK.

Some of Amy Perl's work:

Modern Landscaping

A few years ago, Liz and Eric sold their small house in Temescal and were able to buy a large home in Redwood Heights. This neighborhood is sometimes overlooked, but it's a great place to live. Plus, your money goes a lot farther compared to others. Liz and Eric's home in Redwood Heights was built in the 1970s, and they've renovated it to give a nod to mid-century design.

They also opened up the entrance to the backyard with these great double doors. It opens up the kitchen, brings in natural light and frames the gorgeous landscaped backyard.

What I like the most about their landscaping (besides that they designed it themselves) is the various focal points.  The water feature, the private corner spa area, the deck, variety of foliage and the grass.

Your Realtor knows your market

Sometimes it's difficult as a seller to find out that your home is worth less than you thought. I always encourage my clients to price right initially so they can sell quickly and at top dollar. For example, a house should be listed at $549,000 but a seller insists on listing at $599,000. Because it's priced too high and a buyer is not willing to purchase a property for more than it's worth, it sits on the market. Often times, it can take more than one price reduction to ultimately sell the house. On average in Oakland for 2010, a seller had to reduce by 14% to sell.

Let's do the math.

Agent suggested listing price: $549,000

Seller insisted listing price: $599,000

Ultimate selling price: $515,140

In this scenario, the seller actually lost $33,860 compared to if they had priced it right at $549,000. This doesn't take into account the mortgage, the property tax, etc. the seller had to pay while maintaining the listing.

A recent client of mine went with my suggested listing price of $329,000, and we just closed at $347,000. My seller obtained 3 offers in 6 days, and the market took the price where it needed to be - $18,000 more!

I really try to be honest with my sellers about property values. As you can see below in the chart, Red Oak Realty sells more of their listed properties than our competitors.