Views, and more Views! in Concord!

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979 Via Montanas

I can’t get enough of this new home on Lime Ridge in Concord. My new listing is officially live and I hope you like it as much as I do! It is a single-story home on nearly an acre of land with views from the house and the yards to die for. A 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 2,310-square-foot gem going for $1.25 million. Take a look:

The home has vaulted ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, hardwood floors, and gardens, giving it a comfortable and welcoming air, perfect for hosting guests or relaxing alone. You can’t beat 180-degree vistas from your patio, with plenty of space to expand creatively with a deck, pool, or other landscaping dreams.

There are additional exterior living areas and room to add an ADU. You’re just steps from the Lime Ridge Open Space and the Contra Costa Canal Trail for miles of walking, running, biking, and hiking. You’re also just five minutes in the car from shopping and a BART station, meaning you’re all set on both tranquility and accessibility.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make this extraordinary home your own. Built in 1985, it is a sturdy and well-constructed house; move-in ready, or a blank canvas to be expanded on! Give me a call today if you are interested in touring 979 Via Montanas.

4 things not to do when putting your house on the market

RIS Media re-posted an older blog recently, and its advice still rings true. There are plenty of things you SHOULD do when putting your house on the market. But what about the things you shouldn’t do? Read on for more:

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So you’ve decided to put your home on the market. Congratulations! Hopefully, you’ve brought a rockin’ realtor on board to help list your home and together you’ve done your due diligence on what to ask for. As you start checking things off your to-do list, it’s also important to pay mind of what not to do. Below are a handful of things to get you started.

Don’t over-improve.
As you ready your home for sale, you may realize you will get a great return on your investment if you make a couple of changes. Updating the appliances or replacing that cracked cabinet in the bathroom are all great ideas. However, it’s important not to over-improve, or make improvements that are hyper-specific to your tastes. For example, not everyone wants a pimped out finished basement equipped with a wet bar and lifted stage for their rock and roll buds to jam out on. (Okay, everyone should want that.) What if your buyers are family-oriented and want a basement space for their kids to play in? That rock-and-roll room may look to them like a huge project to un-do. Make any needed fixes to your space, but don’t go above and beyond—you may lose money doing so.

Don’t over-decorate.
Over-decorating is just as bad as over-improving. You may love the look of lace and lavender, but your potential buyer may enter your home and cringe. When prepping for sale, neutralize your decorating scheme so it’s more universally palatable.

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Don’t hang around.
Your agent calls to let you know they will be bringing buyers by this afternoon. Great! You rally your whole family, Fluffy the dog included, to be waiting at the door with fresh baked cookies and big smiles. Right? Wrong. Buyers want to imagine themselves in your space, not be confronted by you in your space. Trust, it’s awkward for them to go about judging your home while you stand in the corner smiling like a maniac. Get out of the house, take the kids with you, and if you can’t leave for whatever reason, at least go sit in the backyard. (On the other hand, if you’re buying a home and not selling, then making it personal is the way to go, especially when writing your offer letter. Pull those heartstrings!)

Don’t take things personally.
Real estate is a business, but buying and selling homes is very, very emotional. However, when selling your homes, try your very best not to take things personally. When a buyer lowballs you or says they will need to replace your prized 1970s vintage shag carpet with something “more modern,” try not to raise your hackles.

And all of this is sage advice, choosing the right realtor to work with will streamline that process, talk you off the ledge and help you navigate the offer(s) and in the end if you hired right, will give you peace of mind.

JVM Lending: If appraisal comes in low…

…a buyer is not overpaying! Appraisals and market value can be a tricky math problem for buyers to figure out, but that’s why my friend Jay Vorhees from JVM Lending has put together this handy-dandy blog to explain. Take a look below:

When Appraised Value Does Not Equal Market Value

We have a buyer who was convinced she was “overpaying” for her property because her appraisal came in low. But, there were multiple offers for her property that were very close in price to hers, and there are nearby pending sales that are also similar in price. The entire issue has to do with appraisal guidelines. We repeat this often in this blog because the issue comes up so often: appraised value often does not equal market value.

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If there are multiple buyers willing to pay $850,000 for a property in an open market, then that property’s market value is $850,000. But, appraisers cannot appraise properties (in most cases) above the highest closed comparable sale in the neighborhood. So, if there are no closed sales above $800,000, that property will usually not appraise for over $800,000.

But, again, that does not mean the above property is not “worth” $850,000. Once this was explained to our buyer, she was no longer concerned about her low appraisal. This is something every buyer needs to understand in a fast-appreciating market where contract prices are tough to support in an appraisal.

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This is something I deal with constantly with my own clients. Jay hits the nail on the head here: appraisals may come in lower than expected, but it is not equal to a diminishing value on the property. For more helpful information like this, give me a call! I can talk about real estate all day 😉

7 home maintenance tasks sellers must do before listing

It is that time of year when the housing market starts to heat up. If you’re one of the homeowners who plan on selling this summer, there’s a lengthy list of must-dos to complete before you actually list. Take a look at the following ideas from Inman, with input from yours truly, on how to make your home more attractive.

1. Spruce up the exterior

This is the first thing your prospective buyers are going to see. They want something with literal curb appeal, and if you have overgrown bushes, peeling paint, dirty windows, or poor lighting, the first impression won’t be very good.

2. Service the heating/cooling system

Home inspectors have to check this anyway, so you might as well beat them to it. Waiting until a buyer makes an offer to service this system may cause issues, so get ahead on it!

3. Check your lightbulbs

Check every single one of them on both the interior and exterior. Make sure they are clean and bright. It is essential to have the home as bright as possible. In my experience, this is a tiny thing that is very noticeable if not addressed.

4. Check all smoke detectors

We’ve all pulled batteries out of our smoke detectors when cooking, but don’t forget to put them back in. Make sure all your detectors are working. A home inspector will ding you if you don’t.

5. Blue tape it

If there are nicks, chips, scratches, etc. in the walls of your house, blue tape it! No buyer wants wear and tear on the interior walls or molding, so make sure the rough areas are marked for repair before you list. My stager blue tapes what needs to be removed, painted or fixed at the staging consult I provide as part of my services.

6. Deep clean and declutter

And we mean deep. If you can, hire a cleaning crew to get a small army of people cleaning every corner and crevice (think baseboards, light switches, etc.) of the house before it goes on the market. And don’t forget to gather all your extra junk and either store elsewhere or donate.

7. Don’t forget the garage

This is often an overlooked space, but prospective buyers will want to see a clean, organized garage. Consider painting the floor or putting an epoxy down. And don’t forget to repair cracks in the ceiling of the garage!  Side note, in this area most people store all of the noted blue taped items, just make sure if you do a pest inspection, you do it before you store all your items in the garage.

BONUS! 8. Stage the property

This is my personal addition to the list. There are people who stage homes for a living. They are experts at making a house as attractive as possible to buyers. I can’t recommend having your property staged before listing highly enough!  You only get one opportunity to make a first impression!

Open House at 407 Midway Pl. (Martinez) this weekend!

Come check out 407 Midway Place in Martinez this weekend for a home with great curb appeal! It’s situated on a cozy court and has a large, flat backyard with redwoods scattered throughout with enough space for a pool if so desired! An entertainer’s delight with plenty of privacy, good shade and stone retaining walls with landscaping, and a basement area with water that can be built for an outdoor bathroom.
In total, it is a 4-bed, 2.5-bath with vaulted ceilings, multiple decks, a formal dining room and a kitchen-family room open-concept combination. The master bathroom is delightfully decadent, and the half-bath upstairs also draws high praise.
 The home contains triple-pane windows, and welcomes in lots of light. An Owens Corning roof, new rain gutters, a high-efficiency water heater, and exterior paint creates the charming curb appeal. The landscaping in the front and side yards were re-done in 2014, and solar panels with a 20-year lease were added that year, too.
The aforementioned master bathroom was remodeled as recently as 2015, and an entertainment system with surround sound was added to the family room in 2016. The pictures, beautiful as they are, do not do this place justice. You have to swing by and check it out for yourself. You will be amazed!
The Open House will be held from 1-4 p.m. this weekend, on both Saturday, Mar. 10th and Sunday, Mar. 11th.

Are millennials looking for homes or glorified dog houses?

Everyone loves dogs! I love my dog! You love your dogs, too! It seems that millennials especially like their dogs, as a recent Time article explained that “space for a dog” is the third-most common reason cited by millennials for buying a home in today’s market.

What really struck me about the article is this: “space for a dog” is listed ahead of “children” or “marriage” as reasons for purchasing a home. It came in only behind “more living space” and “building equity.”

Now, isn’t that interesting?  We know millennials are getting married later and having fewer children than previous generations, and the housing market has become so expensive across the county that it prices out people who have spent money on marriages and providing for children, but it’s still surprising to see it behind a reason like “space for a dog.”

The rental market prices have also skyrocketed, which makes me think that millennials would rather pay a mortgage in some cases and have their own home with ample room for their four-legged friends, than pay a monthly rent in properties with strict pet policies.

I guess you can always buy a home first, let your dog break it in, and then bring in a partner and children! Whatever works! It’s just funny to see the difference between their generation and mine, and why they pursue home-buying.

4040 Siino Ave, listed with views of Mt. Diablo.

Tired of renting? Looking for a place to store all your toys? Welcome home to 4040 Siino Avenue in Concord!

This 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1,102-square foot home on a nearly quarter-acre (.23 acres) lot, has refinished hardwood floors, an updated bathroom and gorgeous, cozy bedrooms.

Relax on the covered patio, take in a beautiful view of Mt. Diablo and enjoy a perfect getaway that you get to call home. It’s situated on a quiet street, has a large detached garage with three bays and an extra spot for a boat or RV, and even a separate area for a kennel and dog run.

Everything you could ever want, all in the heart of the East Bay. And it’s offered at just $470,000 right now! We’ll have this awesome home available for viewing at our Open House on Sunday, June 25th from 1-4 p.m. Come stop by!

Open House this weekend: 3650 Sun View Ct. (Concord)

The Comforts of Home: 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom corner lot home!
Enjoy an eye-catching kitchen enhanced with new flooring, dual pane windows and a rebuilt back deck. The home boasts a 2-car garage, inside laundry, spacious bedrooms and updated bathrooms.

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Simplify your commute with a short walk to the North Concord BART station while living in a quiet, tucked away neighborhood.
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Come check out the Open House this weekend! We’ll be open both Saturday (12/3) and Sunday (12/4) from 1-4 p.m.

Check out the virtual tour of 3650 Sun View Ct. here!

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