Aren't you in the Business of Selling Homes? Oh Maybe Not!The other day a client asked me about showing a home. I had suggested it to them earlier, but they had rejected at first; now they were thinking about it again.The instructions stated it was vacant, but I needed to call the owner to show it. So I called the owner. He was irate. He had just spent all day Sunday at the house and told me we should have come by then. Then he reluctantly agreed to show it to my clients later in the week, after 6 (after dark) as he has to come all the way over here after work. He also demanded to see a pre-qualification letter before he would show it.Now of course I had a pre-qual letter and had spoken with the lender in detail. I do not like to waste my time either. But this is a non-occupied home of ... 11/04/2015

 Are you Buying a House or a Home?What is the difference between a house and a home? Well a house is a structure, you can evaluate it by Square Footage, Construction type, layout, lot size, location, up grades, amenities, cost, cost per SF, potential resale value, and many other factors. But a home is a place you live in; a home is the center of you and your families life. A home has a certain feel to it that matches how you live. The home is the center of your involvement in your outside community.The evaluation of a house is a more cold blooded than looking for a home. An evaluation of a house is about facts and figures. An Evaluation of a home is about you.Perhaps that odd room does not figure in good for a house, but maybe it makes and excellent sewing room, retreat, or hang out for... 11/03/2015

Brentwood California Home Prices – October 2015Brentwood California continues to be in demand for Quality Affordable Contra Costa County Housing. Brentwood offers some of Contra Costa County most affordable and best housing. View all Brentwood California Homes for Sale!With 190 developed acres of 65 parks and public facilities; and 17.5 miles of trials and 13 miles of bike lanes, Brentwood is a great community to live in. In the heart of the Sacramento Delta and surrounded by orchards and farms Brentwood strikes a balance between suburban convenience and a rural quality of life. Brentwood California Homes included gated communities, golf course communities and 55 Plus communities such as Summerset.Take a look at our last Brentwood California Market Report and compare it to this one. The... 10/30/2015

Summerset in Brentwood California Home Prices – October 2015Summerset Homes offer great value for 55+ Home Buyers. With low HOA dues, low prices, and quality homes makes Summerset Homes the smart buy for retirement of anticipating retirement living.View all Summerset Homes for Sale Now!Summerset Homes are in four gated communities, Summerset 1, Summerset 2, Summerset 3, and Summerset 4. Although each one has it's own HOA they frequently work together on activities and such.Each Summerset Community has a club house with pool, gym, library, meeting rooms, game rooms, and a large room for activities; as well as a commercial kitchen. Most have pool tables. Bocce Ball, Tennis and other sports courts. Summerset Homes set on the Golf Courses in Brentwood.With 190 developed acres of 65 parks an... 10/30/2015

Brentwood California Move Up Buyers and SellersWhere are all the Move Up Buyers and Sellers in Brentwood California and Contra Costa County?The California Association of Realtors puts out some great inforgraphics. Here is one that deals with people considering to sell and move up:There is a lot of information here and it is always important to remember the difference between what people say and what people actually do. The numbers I think are the most interesting are 1) that 64% of people do not feel they can afford the home they want if they sell; and 2) 60% of the people not thinking of selling feel they are in the home they will retire in.My gut feeling is that move up buying has slowed down because of both economic reality and a conservative approach by home owners. Home owners do n... 09/23/2015

Garage SaleFriday September 18th and Saturday September 19th – 9 AM to 5 PM both DaysCorner of Broderick Drive and Ellen Lane in Brentwood CA Final Garage Sale of the Year! What can you find at this sale? BikesVintage Radio Equipment and PartsVintage Radio CabinetCamera Equipment – Including Vintage CamerasClothesLarge collection of Leather Jackets and other JacketsCookware, Pots, Pans, and moreBedding, Blankets and suchMaterialCollectiblesLarge Collection of Budweiser Steins.Vintage Oil LampsVintage Electrical LampsLarge Collection of Electric Trains.Hand ToolsPower ToolsA Whole Hogg with 24 BitsDishesWine GlassKitchen ItemsHouse Hold ItemsToysHot WheelsJewelryBooksRecordsTapesDVD'sVHSVideo GamesSports Cards Full Sets and SinglesMagazine'sAnd Much . . . . Much . . . . More  09/16/2015

Amandine Patisserie in Brentwood, CAWe had a quick impromptu gathering at our home today. One of Diane's co-worker volunteered to set up our Entertainment System. Keep in mind it has been fourteen months since we moved and I had not had time to focus on it.(future blog:))) Also I am not really an electronics type of guy.... so we figured since Diane just celebrated her Birthday yesterday I might as well get some Cake today. Needless to say Diane loves Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cake hence instead of getting one cake I went with getting  nine pieces five and four in favor of the Carrot Cake.We were so busy having fun with the couple that no pictures were taken of the actual cake slices. Hence you need to click on this link and you will see the Red Velvet Cake for sure in the pictures. ht... 09/13/2015

Home Loans for Millennial's – Challenges and OpportunitiesThe California Association of Realtors (CAR) puts out some great infographics. This one looks at Millennials and their home buying plans. It also looks at their perceptions on lending. Let's take a look: What I find interesting is a full 25% of them do not know how to get started. That is a large hunk of business to be tapped into for us in the business, but I see something deeper; there are a lot of misconception or bad planning by some of the others.A full 64% of them see having a down payment as an obstacle. I suspect many of them have not heard of or researched the Zero Down Payment Options or the 5% rebate options that would cover the down payment. Other objections can often be over come with a little good planning or talkin... 09/08/2015

 Homes for Sale in the Garin Ranch Brentwood, Ca 94513Why Do People Live here?Recently we moved to Garin Ranch which is located right next door to Garin Park and Garin Elementary School and within walking distance to Downtown Brentwood Ca 94513. In fact, all three highly regarded K-12 schools are within walking distance of this charming neighborhood. Garin Elementary, Edna Hill Middle School and Liberty High School. It's not uncommon to see neighborhood kids playing in the streets of this quaint corner of Brentwood, Ca 94513.Also close by are plenty of things to do for familys. The popular bowling alley Harvest Park Bowl is within walking distance of Garin Ranch and there is a huge athletic facility within walking distance called Delta Valley Athletic Club.  There is also a small Cinelu... 09/07/2015

    It often seems that a property owner does not have any rights and that tenants try to call all the shots, some courts seem to rule in favor of the tenant, and the attorneys end up with all the money. Sometimes, you just have to look at the whole picture to understand that, in fact, a property owner does have rights. The truth is that if owners did not have any rights in this country, there would not be any investments in real property and therefore, no rentals available. The Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act, URLTA, was set up to outline obligations for BOTH landlords and tenants. It specifically provides that tenants uphold certain obligations and responsibilities to the Landlord. Here are some of the provisions for the tenants. Tenants must maintain the interior of the lease... 09/04/2015

If I were a great prognosticator I would be blogging about my rich upper crust life style, rather than real estate.  So when I make predictions keep that in mind.However, I have said that this market is hot and will continue up for some time.  Here are two major indicators:1)    When the stock market took it's recent dip interest rates went down.  My feeling has been that the market is in a bubble and when the money comes out of the market it will go into bonds, lowering interest rates.I also think that soon investors will get out of the market and may well put their money into Real Estate.2) The Wall Street Journal Agrees with Me!   When you consider your Home Purchase I hope you consider Home Point Real Estate.  Serving East Contra Costa County and beyond.  Including Brentwood, Antioc... 08/27/2015

Garage SaleFriday August 28th and Saturday August 29th – 9 AM to 5 PM both DaysCorner of Broderick Drive and Ellen Lane in Brentwood CA What can you find at this sale? BikesVintage Radio Equipment and PartsVintage Radio CabinetCamera Equipment – Including Vintage CamerasClothesLarge collection of Leather Jackets and other JacketsCookware, Pots, Pans, and moreBedding, Blankets and suchMaterialCollectiblesLarge Collection of Budweiser Steins.Vintage Oil LampsVintage Electrical LampsLarge Collection of Electric Trains.Hand ToolsPower ToolsA Whole Hogg with 24 BitsDishesWine GlassKitchen ItemsHouse Hold ItemsAutomotiveToysHot WheelsJewelryBooksRecordsTapesDVD'sVHSVideo GamesSports Cards Full Sets and SinglesMagazine'sAnd Much . . . . Much . . . . More   08/25/2015

Yard SaleFriday August 21st and Saturday August 22nd – 9 AM to 5 PM both DaysCorner of Broderick Drive and Ellen Lane in Brentwood CAWhat can you find at this sale? BikesVintage Radio Equipment and PartsVintage Radio CabinetCamera Equipment – Including Vintage CamerasClothesLarge collection of Leather Jackets and other JacketsCookware, Pots, Pans, and moreBedding, Blankets and suchMaterialCollectiblesLarge Collection of Budweiser Steins.Vintage Oil LampsVintage Electrical LampsLarge Collection of Electric Trains.Hand ToolsPower ToolsA Whole Hogg with 24 BitsDishesWine GlassKitchen ItemsHouse Hold ItemsAutomotiveToysHot WheelsJewelryBooksRecordsTapesDVD'sVHSVideo GamesSports Cards Full Sets and SinglesMagazine'sAnd Much . . . . Much . . . . More   08/18/2015

Do you even have a Clue? Ready to Buyer?I get these great infographics from the California Association of Realtors (CAR). This one looks at Buyer Preparedness. Take a look:  Only 54% of potential buyers don't know their Credit Score. My advise is check out your score at CreditKarma.com. On line sites can only approximate what your loan officer will find, but it give a good idea to start. (Side tip – don't give a copy of this to your loan office and tell him he does not needs to run your score. He needs to run your score. Get over it and get moving.)Now I find this one fascinating, 60% of potential buyers say they are prepared to buy a home? Well what are they waiting for? I say to them get your rear in gear and talk to a REALTOR and/or Loan Officer now.Which comes first the REALTOR or t... 08/11/2015

When will home prices come down and what will bring them down?Right off the bat I will say that no one knows for sure. If I could predict every thing I would be rich. But I want to give you some thoughts.There is an unprecedented run up in home prices over the last four years with as of yet no end in site. As we all know is everything that goes up must come down. Real Estate runs in cycles, many feel we are due for a down turn. However, consider the following: Prices have still not returned to the pre-crash point from the big crash. Now admittedly at that time homes were way over priced, but the the up and down price trend over the long haul always goes up. We just came off a huge crash and that recover is still not complete. So we could say what has gone down is not back up yet. Home o... 08/05/2015

Contra Costa County Homes Prices Still Headed Up – Buy Now!I have been doing a lot of market reports for different communities and home prices are headed up all over the place. The hard part about this job is I often see trends beginning before there enough numbers to prove it or demonstrate that fact.The California Association of Realtors (CAR) puts out infographics periodically. The most recent one notes that prices are on an “uptick” but the focus of the infographic is Home Affordability. Take a Look:What I find interesting is it says that only 30% of Buyers can afford a median priced home. Now if that were true the median home price would be dropping fast. Perhaps it means only 30% of non homeowners. What ever it means the good news for Home Buyers is that Quality East Contra Costa ... 07/29/2015

Yard SaleFriday July 24th and Saturday July 25th – 9 AM to 5 PM both DaysCorner of Broderick Drive and Ellen Lane in Brentwood CA What can you find at this sale?Vintage Radio Equipment and PartsVintage Radio CabinetCamera Equipment – Including Vintage CamerasClothesLarge collection of Leather Jackets and other JacketsCookware, Pots, Pans, and moreBedding, Blankets and suchMaterialCollectiblesLarge Collection of Budweiser Steins.Vintage Oil LampsVintage Electrical LampsLarge Collection of Electric Trains.Hand ToolsPower ToolsA Whole Hogg with 24 BitsDishesWine GlassKitchen ItemsHouse Hold ItemsAutomotiveToysHot WheelsJewelryBooksRecordsTapesDVD'sVHSVideo GamesSports Cards Full Sets and SinglesMagazine'sAnd Much . . . . Much . . . . More   07/22/2015

Summerset Homes for Sale in Brentwood CA – Market Report July 2015Summerset Homes are very popular 55 plus homes in Brentwood Ca. Summerset Homes for Sale are in 4 Gated Communities surrounding by golf courses and walking trails. Each Summerset Community has a club house with a pool, gym, meeting rooms, kitchens, community library, some have pool tables, boccie courts, and tennis courts. But if you are thinking about Summerset Homes for Sale you need to remember what you are buying is Community, Summerset Homes are all about Community, with plenty of groups, clubs, classes, and social activities. Here are some Summerset Homes for Sale:  Here are the sales figures for Summerset Homes for the first half of 2015, the sold numbers are broken down by quarter:  Status Number High Low Average ... 07/08/2015

Yard SaleFriday July 10th and Saturday July 11th – 9 AM to 5 PM both DaysCorner of Broderick Drive and Ellen Lane in Brentwood CA What can you find at this sale? Vintage Radio Equipment and PartsVintage Radio CabinetCamera Equipment – Including Vintage CamerasClothesCookware, Pots, Pans, and moreBedding, Blankets and suchMaterialCollectiblesLarge Collection of Budweiser Steins.Vintage Oil LampsVintage Electrical LampsLarge Collection of Electric Trains.Hand ToolsPower ToolsA Whole HoggDishesWine GlassKitchen ItemsHouse Hold ItemsAutomotiveToysHot WheelsJewelryBooksRecordsTapesDVD'sVHSVideo GamesSports Cards Full Sets and SinglesMagazine'sAnd Much . . . . Much . . . . More   07/08/2015

Buying a Home – How to Survive the Next Crash!Many people buying homes are worried about the future and are scared of that commitment. When I say Crash in the title it can mean different things to different people. It can mean a drop in housing prices, a even worse employment situation, (The old joke is a recession is when your neighbor is out of work a depression is when you are out of work.) a worsening economic situation, a drop in the dollar, inflation, a stock market crash, and what other endless fears keep them awake at night.First off we all have our fears and nothing is certain. No one knows the future and I can try and make predictions, but often I am wrong. But to ease your fear consider the following when buying a new home: Owning a Home is Better than Renting. If you are goi... 07/03/2015