Congratulations to Mckenzie!

I recently closed a home for my client, Mckenzie. She currently lives in the city and will be moving to Clayton. Thus, we met at the Legion of Honor to see the Monet exhibit, celebrate her closing and give her the house key, as seen below.

The tenant doesn’t leave for another six weeks so this was a great way to celebrate and she was very happy to have closed! The process became a bit stressful as the family wanted to use their local bank in the valley, and the parents were co-signing. However, this bank was primarily an AG bank and did not close on very many condos.

Buyers rarely understand at the onset what a difference a great lender can make and the lasting experience everyone involved will have. If it is a great experience, the impression is minimal, but when it is not so great, it can become one of your worst nightmares. This ultimately ended well because of the family’s relationship with the local bank, yet, we still needed an eight-day loan contingency extension (but only closed four days late).

If you want to be the next client who buys or sells a property with me, I will help you navigate the process to a successful close! Just reach out at www.kristinlanham.com or call me direct at (925) 899-7123.

Road Trip: San Francisco Museums

For these “Road Trips” segments, I often pick a place out of the Bay Area for a good road trip. But sometimes, the best road trips are within the same region and even go right into the busiest city!

Starting this Saturday, June 24th, The Legion of Honor in San Francisco will hold a Degas exhibition that examines the French artist’s place in Impressionist history.

I’ve been to a few exhibitions here, and it’s a really interesting museum that will captivate you for a few hours. Plus, it’s a great way to escape this heat wave and find a fun, educational indoor activity for the day.

Here’s a bonus: you can make a whole day out of it! Pick your favorite two or three museums in San Francisco and do a little mini-tour of them. For example, a ticket to The Legion of Honor earns you a free same-day admission to the de Young. That is right across the street from the California Academy of Sciences. And you can always hit the Exploratorium on your way in or out of town, especially if you have a few kids with you!

The Legion of Honor just closed a Monet exhibit a few weeks ago, where I’d met a recent client! You can take BART and a bus (or just drive – parking is fairly easy around there) to the Legion of Honor and members get in free to the exhibit. For non-members, it’s $28, but well worth the price of admission.

Road trips aren’t always about stuffing the trunk full of junk, rolling down the windows and driving for hours to get somewhere. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a 45-minute jaunt over the Bay Bridge to beautiful San Francisco for some museum-hopping on a sweltering hot day.

If you go to the Degas exhibit, or any other museum for that matter, comment here and let me know how you liked it!

April events to mark on your calendar!

Believe it or not, it’s already almost April! As the calendar turns from winter to spring, Diablo Magazine has provided a few awesome ideas for local events in the Bay Area next month.

Here are four of the best ones that I’m personally interested in going to:

The Naked Magicians: April 3rd at Livermore’s Bankhead Theater

An Australian duo who put on “the world’s naughtiest magic show,” complete with illusions and comedy. Adults only!

Bay Area Craft Beer Festival: April 22nd at Martinez waterfront

More than 50 local breweries, live music and food trucks from all over the East Bay? Yes, please!

Diablo Trails Challenge: April 15th at Mt. Diablo

You can choose from a 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon and a 50K. Partial proceeds go to Save Mount Diablo!

Monet: The Early Years: Through May 29th at Legion of Honor (San Francisco)

You can get a cool perspective on Claude Monet’s early period of work, covering his evolution to Impressionism at the SF Legion of Honor.

Leave a comment if you know any other fun things to do next month!