Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during September was $1,290,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1m-1.49m price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home.  If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business.  10/26/2018

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during October was $1,211,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1,000,000 - $1,490,000 price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com     You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business   11/16/2017

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during August was $1,242,500 with the highest number of units sold in the $1,000,000 - $1,490,000 price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com   You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business  10/17/2017

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during August was $1,202,500 with the highest number of units sold in the $1,000,000 - $1,490,000 price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com   You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business 09/21/2017

Will visiting with family in Northern California, we stopped off at the University of California, Berkeley. I have to say, the students and faculty who get to learn and work here are truly blessed. What a beautiful campus, full of world renowned programs and research projects.  Sather Tower (1914) designed by John Galen Howard Mr. Howard was commissioned to design 20 of Berkeley's "Classic Core" buildings on campus.  South Hall (1873) is one of the few original buildings remaining on campus today On the quad not too far away from South Hall, you'll catch Berkeley students playing sports. In this photo, you'll find students practicing Quidditchthe, which is a game inspired by Harry Potter. Yes, they are really running around with brooms between their legs. And some of them were pretty fa... 08/29/2017

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during July was $1,200,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1,000,000 - $1,490,000 price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business 08/13/2017

Should I rent to Section 8 tenants?Over the years I've had many section 8 tenants. Be careful when you do. Many of them have been "working the system" and are much more aware of what they can get away with than you are.The good thing is that your rent is in your bank on the 1st of every month, at least the counties portion of the rent, and that is the problem.Example 1:  You rent to a tenant that uses the system against you. Oops, first mistake. Their portion of the rent is $100 and the county is going to pay $1900 per month for you. Looks reasonable. But for a tenant using the system they just don't make their payment. Are you going to evict them? Wait, before you do realize the minute you start and eviction that might take 60 days the county stops making their portion of the payment. ... 07/23/2017

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Berkeley- June 2017 The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during June was $1,290,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1m-$1.49m price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home.  If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit:www.searchalleastbayhomes.com. You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.  I would love the opportunity to earn your business.  07/15/2017

The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during May was $1,260,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1,000,000 - $1,490,000 price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com. You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business.  06/17/2017

The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during April was $1,185,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1m-1.49m price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com.  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business.   05/11/2017

The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during March was $1,100,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1m-1.49m price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com.  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business.   04/20/2017

View the live recording of this seminar right on our Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/1406015379/videos/10213176644196463 👍🏽  #thepowerisnow Below is the flyer with all of the topics covered in this Seminar!    Every Tuesday night at 7pm we are live on our Facebook page! Go to facebook.com/PowerIsNow to learn about the variety of programs we have that can get you on the path to homeownership today. See which program works best for you. Also, check out thepowerisnow.com/events to see all of our upcoming events and seminars.Make sure to watch, like, and share this with your friends. Thanks! Eric Lawrence Frazier, MBA President and CEO NMLS #461807  CalBRE #01143484 Email:  eric.frazier@thepowerisnow.com  Website: https://www.thepowerisnow.com  Office: 800-401-8994 x 703  Direct: 71... 04/19/2017

The Median Sale Price for homes in Berkeley during February was $1,225,000 with the highest number of units sold in the $1M-$1.49M price range. The bay area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation. I would love the opportunity to earn your business. 03/09/2017

Higher loan limits for FHA loansGo to the bottom of the post for limits in 2023Below are the new loan limits for the the Bay Area, Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, Santa Clara, San Mateo as examples. MSA Name     County Name   State One-Family Two-Family Three-Family Four-Family       SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND-HAYWARD, CA     CONTRA COSTA San Francisco Marin Santa Clara San Mateo   CA $636,150 $814,500 $984,525 $1,223,475 What does that mean for you as a Realtor?Purchase price of $659,222 less 3.5% down payment and you are at the loan limit.Duplex purchase price of $844,000 less 3.5% down payment and you at the loan limit.Any additional money over those thresholds merely means the borrower has to put the difference up in cash.RE: the increase on a single family home it went from $625,500 to t... 01/03/2017

Time was when a home in the East Bay Hills was everyone’s dream …. Away from traffic, close to nature, with views of the Hills or Bay. Well, put your bucolic dreams away. The Millennials are here. And for these 20 to 30-year olds, their dream house is a house in the Berkeley or Oakland “Flats” … close to traffic and BART, walk to stores, and gritty with that edgy feel. Oakland’s Art Murmur in the up and coming Oakland Uptown … the flats. Their preference is measured by the “Walk Score (www.WalkScore.com). The closer you are to stores and public transportation, the higher the walk score. So in the last 3 or 4 years, we’ve seen that houses that used to be “downscale” are now “upscale.” Or, in other words, homes with a Walk Score above 80 (walkable to dining, drinking and shops) are comman... 09/06/2016

Want to close your 203k loan in short order or you just don't care?Everyone likes to close fast... or do they?I have a client that just called me for an inspection. They informed me that their inspection contingency is over tomorrow. Their contractor bid should be ready today or tomorrow.If I'm hearing this correctly they have had this in process for a couple three weeks and call the consultant a day before the deadline for inspections because no one told them the process up front. Wow.The way it should have gone...  Day 1 your offer is accepted. Call your consultant and make the inspection appointmentDay 1 call for a pest or termite report even if it isn't in your contract... it is a must for 203k projects. Your contractor can be there too but I really don't like that as it will likely... 08/30/2016

Rent Payments Can Really Add Up!No matter how much you pay in rent, you might be surprised what it adds up to over the years. Investing your money is a wiser financial choice. With the current home prices and mortgage rates, this is an excellent time to look into buying your own home in Berkeley, California.Common Concerns of Renters and Homeowners - Advantages and ConsiderationsBUYINGProperty builds equityResponsible for maintenanceTax deductible mortgage interest*Responsible for property taxesFree to change decor and landscapingResponsible for hazard insuranceNot dependent on landlord to maintain propertyRENTINGLandlord is responsiblefor maintenanceNo equity gainsLandlord is responsible forproperty taxesRent payments are not tax deductiblePossibility of evictionNo control over rent in... 03/15/2016

The "Art" of Prepping a Home for Sale It’s no secret that 95% of all homes for sale in Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda are staged to sell these days.And no wonder.  Sellers  have figured out that investing $10,000 to $20,000 in “prepping” and staging a home yields big returns in the Sale Price in our area.  Like 5 to 20% more in the sale price.  Or often $100,000 to $300,000 more in the Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda area. As to whether this makes sense for you, ask yourself this:  which of the following houses would you pay more for?          These are just a couple examples of listings in Berkeley that I’ve recently sold where I “coordinated” the prep and staging as part of the listing.  And yes, this Berkeley property did go over $300,000 above the asking price.To see what sort of “prep” a... 03/14/2016

Those of us who enjoy working, and don't mind working hard -- and I have plenty of company in this -- sometimes forget to take time off to spend with those we love. My daughter and I have said for about 3 years, "Oh, wouldn't it be great to go to a spa for a few days and relax, exercise, and enjoy time together?"Susan took the bull by the horns, found a Groupon for us to use at the historic Claremont Hotel on the border of nearby Berkeley and Oakland, just a mile from the University of California, Berkeley.This past Monday, I hopped on BART and went across the bay; she drove the hour from San Jose (no traffic on a holiday!) We met at the hotel and enjoyed two days laughing and chatting together, taking yoga classes, enjoying the fitness center and hikes, and treating ourselves to a coup... 02/19/2016

What does a consultant do for their fee?Some lender clients must think it is a matter of a site inspection, end of story, you can do that in a day, right? I'm sorry but that isn't what we do as 203k consultants. Our job description is to make a site visit, looking for health and safety issues, and items that would affect the structure's ability to last as long as the mortgage, then to add whatever else the borrower's may want to add to make this property "theirs" in ever sense of that word.We then work with the borrower(s) to come up with a "scope of work" so all contractors are bidding the same list of repair items and in the proper categories for the program requirements.This process was designed by HUD to take two weeks. In reality we have it down to five working days in most cases a... 02/03/2016