The Piedmont Perspective, Volume 4

What's New?
Like the dazzling display of tulips along Sea View Avenue, fantastic listings are blooming all over Piedmont! Twenty-nine properties are currently active on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which is great news for interested buyers.

This week’s properties include 306 Sheridan - a stunning 4bdrm/2bth classic on a lovely tree-lined street, 150 Dudley Avenue – a completely remodeled 4bdrm/3bth mid-century with exquisite finishes that was featured on the garden tour last year, 135 Monticello – a charming storybook charmer featuring 2+ bdrms/2bths in a great central location, 1207 Oakland Avenue – a unique and elegant 4 bdrm/3bth home, close to schools, 38 Highland Avenue – a large 6bdrm/2bth home with 4 bedrooms upstairs and a pool, 58 Portsmouth Road – a 3bdrm/1bth home with nice bones, in need of a little updating, 425 Moraga (back on with a new agent) – a bright, cheerful home with flexible floor plan on a deep lot, and 303 Olive - a darling cottage with 3bdrms/1bth for only $689,000!If you aren't currently in the market, but know someone who is, or is thinking about moving, please pass along this information. It's great to see so many homes available and in every price point as well!

What's Coming?
A stunner, 42 Highland is getting primped and should hit the market in the next few weeks. This beautiful, spacious Traditional/Mediterranean home features 4bdrms/4bths with legal unit downstairs and all level garden on an expansive lot. Listing price - $1,995,000.

What's Pending?
It was a BIG weekend for Open Homes in Piedmont. Nineteen properties were scheduled to be open last Sunday, but three went into escrow before Sunday even hit, prompting their agents to cancel those open houses. Bona Fide offers came in for

133 Woodland Way,
169 Ronada Avenue, and
1127 Winsor Avenue, takingthese homes out of play.

Other properties that went pending last week include
575 Crofton Avenue, which received five offers and sold well over asking, and
46 Monticello Avenue.

Both properties sold in less than 14 days. The moral of the story? Strike quickly!

What's Happening Now?
There’s more demand than ever for Piedmont schools now that "open enrollment" is adversely impacting the few outstanding Oakland schools available. Rumor has it that 24 families were denied admittance to the Hillcrest school in upper Rockridge, even though their property taxes are earmarked for their local school. In some cases, their child was denied admittance, even when siblings already attend the school! The pressure for good schools is only going to become more intense, and so is the bidding process. Stay focused.

What's Fun!
The CSL Kitchen Tour gets underway this Friday and Saturday. Benefiting local children’s charities, the Children’s Support League, a 100% volunteer community, invites you to join them to tour five beautiful homes in, and around Piedmont. Afterward, head down to the Piedmont Community Center in the park for a box lunch and a little boutique shopping. It’s a fun event and an excellent way to get useful remodeling ideas, if you’re headed toward a kitchen renovation, Need a ticket? (They’re discounted if you purchase in advance.) Call Anne Feste, here at The Grubb Co. (ext.371) or on her cell phone at 757-4787. Don’t miss this fun and very worthy event.

See you next week!

P.S. - If you are receiving this e-letter and would like to "opt out," I respect all requests to delete addresses from my mailing list. On the other hand, if you know anyone who might benefit from receiving this update, please feel free to pass it along!

Shave and a Haircut- 2 bits!

"When is the best time to buy?"

I'm often asked this question by my clients when what the buyer is really asking me is "When can I get the best deal on a home? When can I get the best value?"

Like farming, Real Estate is a cyclical business. Typically, we see more listings enter the market in the spring - weather permitting. This listing trend builds through March, April, and May, and then begins to slow down gradually once summer hits. August finds many people away for the entire month - translating to a tangible slooooow down in sales. However, listings bounce back a bit after Labor Day, with a last flurry of strong home sales, before Thanksgiving all but kills the marketplace for the next two months. (Many Realtors take this much needed break to go on vacation and recharge their batteries!)

Given the choice, very few people care to move during the holidays. Would you? It's just downright inconvenient, what with all those functions, dinners, shopping and school holidays! Homes that do hit the market between Thanksgiving and New Years, often represent listings that happen due to unforeseen stress: a divorce, a death, a job transfer - in essence, sales that were unexpected a few short months ago, but are now forced by new circumstances.

This is, in fact, the best time to buy. If dollars per square foot are all you are considering, this is the best chance to obtain a property below market value. (One caveat, there are typically many fewer homes from which to select during the months of November and December.)

Here's the real answer: buy a home when you find the property you can't stand to lose to another buyer. Buy a home when you desire it. Buy a home when you've outgrown your current home and need more space. Buy a home when you want to buy down and simplify your life. Buy a home when you've been promoted or received your end-of-the-year bonus and can now afford a bigger, better property. Buy a home when your finances allow you to make an informed choice. Buy a home because the timing makes sense for you and your families' needs - not because it's December.

Because more homes are available in the spring, chances are you are going to find yourself in a spring market. That's the reality for most buyers.

If you are fortunate enough to come across your "dream home" during the "off season," snap it up before you find yourself back in competition in the spring. Or worse yet, before the seller and his or her agent, decide to pull the property and bring it back on at a higher price come spring.

Last November, I worked with a buyer who after many months of looking, actually found two homes he could see himself happily ensconced in. Unfortunately, stories of the "declining marketplace" erroneously lead him to believe that prices would continue to drop after the new year. He passed on both properties when the selling agents were literally begging him to make "any offer." Citing "friends opinions," he walked away from the market.

Now he's back hunting, at the urging of his accountant and ready, willing, and able to buy, but we've been outbid in heavy competition on the last three purchase offers. (As a foot note, the homes he passed on last year, eventually sold to other savvy buyers who had the good fortune and good timing, to be the only buyer at the negotiating table. ) His well-meaning friends' advice cost this client a couple of great opportunities. Their advice may also have cost him tens of thousands of dollars when all is said and done.

If, at the end of the day, you end up paying a little more for your property in the spring, than you might have paid for a similar property in the fall, it's probably irrelevant. If you plan on staying in your property for at least five years (as most of us do) than the difference you pay to get the property you really want, is essentially moot. Properties are unique entities, identical ones don't exist. So buy the property when you find it!

The Piedmont Perspective, Volume 3

What's New?
Just outside of Piedmont (literally one house) at 109 Calvert Court lies a cool mid-century modern with south bay views. If schools are not your primary focus, but location or buying down is, you might want to consider this modern take on life. 274 St. James has hit the market at $4,750,000 for buyers with discriminating taste, requiring a stunning English Manor on almost 1/2 acre. Featuring 6+ bdrms/6+ bths, manicured grounds, au- pair quarters, converted attic and elevator, it will meet your family's every need (and then some)! 68 Sharon is an elegant Tudor style home, offering 4+ bdrms/3bths in a great central location, priced at $2,495,000. 257 Scenic features 4bdrms/2bths at $1,257,000 and 303 Olive is returning to the market at $689,000 - a darling home for anyone just getting started. Need an appointment to see any of these homes? Please give me a call.

What's Coming?
135 Monticello is a charming shingled traditional with 2+ bdrms /2 bths. Its prime location on a flat block, makes it easy to access Piedmont Avenue for dinner and a movie and still walk to schools and Dracena Park. 58 Portsmouth will be entering the market next Sunday as well, asking price is$925,000. Built in 1922 and available for the first time, this home requires some updating, but is in excellent condition. It offers 3bdrms/1bth and sits below the high school playing fields.

What's Pending?
With so many families away enjoying the spring break, the week was quieter than usual. Still, while many of you enjoyed your time away, a few savvy buyers took advantage of your absence and purchased 117 Hillside Avenue - a large traditional home that's easy to grow into, and 290 Scenic - a Mediterranean with amazing views. Congratulations to these smart and lucky buyers who found themselves alone at the negotiating table!

What's Happening?
Value seems to be the order of the day. Buyers are demanding it and Sellers are responding in kind. 449 Scenic Avenue , 133 Woodland Way, 14 Caperton Avenue, and 116 Dracena Avenue have all seen dramatic price reductions! Several other properties, while not reduced, would welcome an offer. Listing price is often negotiable so if you like a property, but felt is was just out of range, make an offer! Time factors, close of escrow, terms, and attractive financing often play as important a role as the price. You never know what a seller is willing to accept until you step up and bid!

What's Fun!
"Chase the Blues" is definitely fun. This annual fund-raiser (and "fun-raiser") held at the Nady Mansion on Glen Alpine Road in Piedmont, benefits Children's Hospital of Oakland. This year's event falls on Cinco-de-Mayo and will feature blues music and blue margaritas. Dress code: blue jeans of course! Don't miss this casual and cool evening featuring drinks, appetizers, and my favorite- dancing. To order your tickets online or to find out more information, go to: http://contactbeacon.com/r.php?id=91713-884457 You don't want to miss this fun night out! (Tickets are limited so act fast!)

See you next week!

P.S. - if you are receiving this e-letter and would like to "opt out," I respect all requests to delete addresses from my mailing list. On the other hand, if you know anyone who might benefit from receiving this update, please fee free to pass it along!

Sweets Shouldn't Be Sour and Neither Should Sales

Dessert seems to be a topic of ongoing dispute in my home. Since fifteen year-old boys ingest chocolate cake as quickly as locust strip a field of corn, my younger son has resorted to dividing any homemade goodies up front and hiding his share. So adept has he become at squirreling away these sweets, that he often forgets where he's placed them, only to discover them by accident, days or sometimes even weeks later, too stale to eat.

Property lines are a little like those hidden treats. Over the course of time, neighbors often forget (or never really knew) where their property lines actually exist. Fences fall down and get rebuilt, driveways are relaid, landscape grows and encroaches on adjacent properties and home ownership may be transferred over and over again. And while title companies exist to insure the property and deliver clean title, they rely on the legal description of the property only - not on fences, or retaining walls, and certainly not on here say. Without a professional survey, establishing the property lines is virtually impossible. Even with the legal description in hand, understanding the set markers requires professional knowledge and expertise.

In order to circumvent any discrepancies, many experienced Realtors request a preliminary title search before bringing a property to market. Even with clean title in hand, this does little to offset the contentious neighbor who invariably waits until the "pending" sign goes up to assert his claim that part of the property that just sold belongs to him. This assertion -right or wrong- often delays the close of escrow for weeks, or in some cases, even months. Once the claim has been made, a survey is usually required to settle the dispute. Unlike home inspections which can be ordered in a day or two and average about $500.00 to perform, surveys are typically backed up for weeks and start at about $3,000!

Aside from the cost and time involved, a property line dispute often makes enemies out of neighbors that had harmoniously lived side-by-side for years and can legitimately make the new buyers feel anxious about following through with the purchase altogether. Moreover, if the seller is relying on a simultaneous close of escrow in order to purchase his next property, a dispute that holds up the sale, can have disastrous reverberations.

Unchecked sweets can create infections the same way that unchecked property lines can. If you have any inkling that a problem might exist, if any claim was ever made - even in jest, if a passing comment was dropped - even years ago, clarify it before your property hits the market. Even if you have to pay for a survey up front, it beats losing the deal after a sale is established. Sweets shouldn't be sour and neither should sales. Putting the right ingredients into a cake helps make it sweet, putting the right ingredients into a home sale does the same.

The Piedmont Perspective, Volume 2

What's New?
Five new properties hit the market this week in Piedmont. 50 Woodland Way is a contemporary 3 bdrm/3bth Mid-Century, 46 Monticello is an updated 1908 Craftsman featuring 2 bedrms/2bths, 129 Ronada is a classical Traditional with 2+ bdrms/2bths, 104 Olive is a Traditional with 3 bdrms/2bths and my favorite of the week is: 575 Crofton - an enchanting 2bdrm/1bth Mediterranean with a charming level yard - great for the first-time buyer and close to Wildwood School.

What's Coming?
Several properties are still lining up to take advantage of the spring market. A little bit off the beaten path, but perhaps this week's best value is 1177 Harvard Road at the edge of Piedmont - a stately 4+ bdrm/ 3bth home, near Lakeshore and coffee! It's well worth seeing. Also drive by the 4 bdrm/3bth Tudor at 68 Sharon for central Piedmont ease. If you are considering placing your home on the market, now's a great time to take advantage of pent-up buyer demand. One caveat - price your home to sell! If your home hasn't received an offer in the first two weeks, you may be overpriced.

What's Pending?
It's been an incredibly active week in Piedmont. While average "days on market" is holding steady at 14 days, four properties went pending in less than 10 days! 42 Craig, 24 Piedmont Court, 124 Moraga, and 1530 Oakland Avenue, all received multiple offers and all sold over asking. 1135 Ranleigh sold in 7 days and 46 La Salle Avenue jumped on and off the market in 8! What's the moral of this story? Be prepared to act when you see the property you want and make sure your funding is set. If you'll need an equity line on your current residence to enable you to purchase your next home, put that in place before you shop.

What's Sold?
This hasn't sold - yet, but should have. 14 Caperton has been reduced to $2,775,000 and is well worth it. Even if you love the quintessential brown shingle home, for which Piedmont is so well known, you need to take another look at this cool contemporary with great flow and ease of living. Having lived in several older homes, there's something very appealing about a property that offers every amenity and is virtually maintenance free. . . I love this house.

What's Fun!
Like the birds of Capistrano, the teens of Piedmont are off in Tiajuana, Mexico to build homes for the needy. Over the course of the next week, 250 kids will pour concrete foundations, build supporting walls, and lay roofs, with the goal of completing sixteen new dwellings. This yearly trek is sponsored by the Piedmont Community Church and by the participating families. And while this annual teenage "rite of passage" builds character and appreciation, it is also fun working together and achieving real results. Thanks to the church and to the parents who bravely chaperone these teens year after year!

Enjoy spring break and see you next week!

The Piedmont Perspective, Volume 1

What's New?
Twenty-seven listings are currently available in Piedmont - the Spring Market is in full bloom (and so are the tulips)! Prices range from a low of $789,000 to a high of $6,95,000 with offerings at every price point in between. Average dollars per square foot sits at $640.00.

This week's new properties include a classic three-story brown shingled 4bdrm/2 bth home on Hillside Avenue, a darling Cape Cod style 3 bdrm/2bth home on Piedmont Court, a sunny 2 bdrm/1bath cottage on Moraga Avenue, a 3 bdrm/2bth midcentury ranch on Oakland Avenue, and a large multi-level home with 5bdrm/3bth and stunning city views! Please call for prices and viewings.

What's Coming?
Check out the new listing at 46 Monticello Avenue. This quintessential brown shingle stunner features 2 bdrms/2 bths and is close to Piedmont Avenue. Consider 50 Woodland Way which offers a spacious all-level dwelling, and look for a darling 2bdrm/1bath bungalow on Caperton opening Easter Sunday!

What's Pending?
Ten properties are currently pending in Piedmont and their average "Days on Market" amounted to 14 days - well above the local average in the East Bay. If you are contemplating a move to Piedmont, or moving up (or down) within Piedmont, speed is a factor. Make sure the mortgage piece is in place before you shop! Consider an equity line for your next down payment or to provide needed funds to ready your current home for sale. Need a name of a reputable mortgage broker? Give me a call.

What's Sold?
13 properties have sold since the beginning of the year. Average price per square foot on the buy side is $609.000. And while the market has moved quickly, several quality properties are waiting to be snapped up. My favorites include the magnificent modern on Crofton and the quintessential craftsman on Craig Avenue. For more specifics, please feel free to call me.

What's Fun!
Fun may be a relative term, but I've recently become addicted to "The Daily Method" (or as I refer to it- "The Daily Torture") on Piedmont Avenue. It's a challenging mix of Pilates, Yoga and Barre class that will give you back your waste and trim your thighs! With great instructors and cool beats, I think it qualifies as fun!


See you next week!

Sabotaging Your Sale

As I sat on an Open House for a colleague last Sunday, doing my best to extol the virtues of this charming home with great potential (and it could be a charming home and yes, it does have great potential) I was amazed at how easy it is for some Sellers to sabotage the process. This home had been on the market as an overprice FSBO (For Sale by Owner) for more than a year when a sharp co-worker brought in a potential buyer. Although the buyer fell through, he was able to convince the seller that perhaps, it was time, to let a professional step in.

That being said, it's always difficult to take over from Sellers who are sure they know more than you. It's been an uphill battle for my co-worker ever since! With a credit at escrow, he convinced the Sellers to paint and polish the badly damaged wood floors. However, they stopped short of painting the whole house, didn't clean up the garden which is knee-high in weeds and refused to stage the home, adding intrinsic charm and character, most buyers have come to expect. They came back on the market at a price that is still too high and are now in heavy competition against other more polished, nearby properties. Worse of all, they have refused to inspect the property or to make available their disclosures about the house unless a buyer steps forward.

"What do you know about the pest?" a savvy perspective buyer asked me, looking at the sagging sun room and the rotting windows. "Nothing," I replied. The seller didn't order a pest inspection . "How's the foundation he asked?" viewing the cracks in the basement? "I don't know," I answered. What can you tell me about the electrical system or the condition of the roof?" he pressed. "Nothing" I said, embarrassed by my lack of knowledge. "I would encourage you to investigate fully if you are interested." "How much are inspections?" he asked. "Inspections run from $150 for a roof inspection up to $500 for a home inspection (finally a question to which I knew the answer!) "I don't think so." he said as he walked away.

Relaying this story to a friend and client, he said, "Why don't sellers recognize that anything they can do that alleviates risk for the buyer is a smart decision?" "Yes, reducing stress in a competitive market makes sense," I agreed, "but they didn't want to spend the $1,000.00 it would take to fully inspect the property." We are about to put his home on the market and he and his wife have already begun the process of inspections and are prepared to correct any flaws up front. They recognize what my colleagues Seller has not. Preparation and Disclosure are tantamount to a positive net result! What's more, they are, what we like to refer to in the business as " highly coachable." They listen and value my opinions and more importantly, act on them!

More than fifty people came to the open house on Sunday, even though it has been on the market for several weeks. Strategically placed signs, a hot local market, and aggressive advertising has kept buyers coming. But lack of information, an overpriced home, and rigid Sellers have kept them going just as quickly. Sabotaging your own sale leaves everyone spinning their wheels and fails to meet the goal. If your goal is to sell your home quickly for top dollar, listen to your Realtor, respect the market conditions and what they are telling you, and inspect and prepare your home fully in order to compete!