For several years I spent Thanksgiving day with a group of people who prepared and served a free Thanksgiving Dinner. It was always a wonderful day spent with interesting people but shocking to learn the extent of hunger in our community. From Senior citizens who had to choose between medicatio
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11/18/2011
I Don't Need No Stinkin' Realtor A few days ago I was attending a meeting and struck up a conversation with a man who is house hunting to buy a home in Walnut Creek. He does his own research, he knows the school district where he wants his family to live and the individual API scores of those sch
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11/12/2011
This great article from L.A. agent, Jane Peters, puts your Holiday shopping in perspective with your desire to buy a home. A 52 point drop to your credit score from opening a single charge card is significant enough that you may not qualify for a mortgage OR pay a higher interest rate. Am I sug
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11/09/2011
This Part III of the journey of how one battered home became a beauty using the FHA 203k Renovation Loan. This post addresses the "sexy" part of the renovation - the kitchen! To discover where this journey started, read Part I To view the exterior renovation on this home, read Part II While the
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10/28/2011
This Part II of the journey of how one battered home became a beauty using the FHA 203k Renovation Loan. To discover where this journey started, read Part I. While the FHA 203k Renovation program is time and paperwork intensive, it is an amazing opportunity to give a home new life and create your
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10/27/2011
This is the journey of how one battered home became a beauty using the FHA 203k Renovation Loan. Let me give you a little background. My client, an absolutely delightful woman who will be retiring in one year wanted to purchase a small, single story home that she could afford on her retirement i
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10/25/2011
I recently broke the "Agent's Car = Agent's Success" chains of bondage and purchased a Prius. I get it, it's not a sexy car (just asked my husband who literally BEGGED me to buy another Mercedes) but the lure of 45 - 50 mpg and reducing my carbon footprint was a siren song that I couldn't resis
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10/11/2011
I met my sister when she was 9 and I was 11. We each had very annoying brothers (they have since improved enormously) and decided the very day we met that we had to get her mother and my father married as soon as possible. We actually spent the day scheming to get it done and felt quite smug wh
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09/04/2011
I purchased my iPad2 assuming it would be a decent back-up when I didn't want to carry my laptop. The reviews all stated that the iPad wasn't intended as a replacement for a laptop so my expectations weren't high. I didn't intend to fall in love. I never anticipated my iPad affair to cause a di
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08/27/2011
I am representing the buyer on a short-sale that requires the approval of a 1st and 2nd lender. That in itself isn't unusual. What is CRAZY is that the short-sale approval is stalled over a gap of $25.86 payable to the 2nd lender. You read that right, a mere $25.86. My rough calculation on
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08/11/2011