Blogs

Review Contractors and Get Several Bids

Fri, 07/02/2010 - 11:14 — pagepoint

So a lot of times our clients buy homes that are not in the condition that they’d like. They buy them with the intentions of improving or remodeling and we get questions about referring people to contractors. What do you think about that?

Plan Your Strategy for Interest Rates

Fri, 06/11/2010 - 12:56 — pagepoint

One of the things that we're going through right now are historically low - we're going through a period of historically low interest rates. Over the last 50 years, the average interest rate has been 7.5%. But, understandably, most of the people who are buying now are thinking about it in just the last couple of years, in the context of the last couple of years, so not only are people sensitive to interest rate increases, but they’re also sensitive to rates relative to where we’ve been.

Make sure your agent is your advocate.

Thu, 06/03/2010 - 16:29 — pagepoint

Well, one of the questions I ask new clients, in our first meeting, is "What is it that’s most important to you in us representing you?" And in one form or another, it’s almost invariable that they’re looking for an advocate. And different people have different ideas of what that means but I think most of them want us to negotiate the best terms possible, to educate them on the differences in neighborhoods; "Why is this house, which is nicer less expensive than this one over here in a different neighborhood?" So our job is really, basi

How can we be sure of finding the right home?

Fri, 04/23/2010 - 07:32 — pagepoint

There’s no such thing as the perfect home, and I think buyers need to get that clear. They also need to know what they can afford, and we talked about it previously too, about getting preapproved, and that this is as good a time to buy as there has been in the last 10 years because values are down and rates are still low, relatively low. So, I would say for people looking to buy, this is a great time. If you go to areas that are outside our little umbrella, prices are even more deflated, and I think it’s a great time to be buying, almost anywhere across the cou

The Trick to Trading Up to a Second Home

Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:47 — pagepoint

It's usual that the homebuyer that's trading up into their second home or even their third home is going to rely on a combination of their current equity and savings. Every case is different but the most common case is that people are going to take their growth in equity and transfer that into the new home. How do you do that without selling it first?

The Interior/Exterior Space Flow Thing

Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:46 — pagepoint

The connection between the interior spaces and exterior spaces is pretty critical in single family, detached homes in particular. I think the actual flow from inside the house to patios and gardens and yards is really critical because in the nice weather, we like to think even if we don't practice it, we like to think that we're going to spend a lot of time outdoors; our kids are going to be using the yard and the garden, etc. So, that connection is really important.

Oh, and Did We Mention Earthquake Preparedness?

Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:45 — pagepoint

Gillian has heard me say this many times. It's almost a mantra; that you really need to keep your house watertight and seismically prepared. We do live in earthquake country. One of the things about seismic preparedness is that most of the homes in our area were built prior to the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, and many of them in Berkeley and Oakland were built before 1930.

Financing & Budgeting Your New Home Purchase

Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:44 — pagepoint

One thing that's very critical, and it's the most important do, is to get pre-approved financing. Talk to your finance person, whether it's your banker or your mortgage broker, and have them preapprove you for a specific loan amount so that you know what your budget is. Buying a house is always a compromise. You either compromise the house for a better neighborhood, or you compromise - you take a lesser neighborhood for a better house. That's where your agent can help you with the process in determining what is the best choice for your budget.

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