Contra Costa, California Real Estate

Thank you Pamela for posting this true story.   Renters, if a rental is advertised by an individual versus a property Management company, please be aware of another rental scam:  homes that are listed For Sale are being copied by scammers and posted For Rent in order to get security deposits from unsuspecting renters.

This is a short-story about how Home Stager, Kathy Burke, changes a potential disaster to an opportunity.

It has happened to all of us at one time or another.  The listing is signed, Kathy completed the staging consultation and once the seller's typical To Do list is completed (declutter, depersonalize, clean, touch-up paint, some minor purchases) the house will go on the market and be fabulous.  That is until the Pest Inspection returns with over $15,000 of unexpected repairs.  And worse, the repairs require removing the marble tile in both bathrooms and the cost to reinstall marble tile versus generic tile is a significant additional expense to the $15k bid.  Not going to happen.

Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes and now the bathrooms will only be generic.  What to do?  Call Kathy Burke of Sensational Home Staging!  My original question for Kathy was "What color should we pick that will most appeal to buyers?"  The answer I received was soooo much better.  Kathy provided fabulous design ideas using off-the-shelf tile products, a few inexpensive tweaks and, ta da!, a totally upgraded bathroom with a "designer look" and all within the budget.  Buyers are going to love it!  Suddenly the potential disaster is a wonderful opportunity.

Kathy's approach to creating a designer-look on a budget suddenly made me realize how valuable her expertise could be to Walnut Creek homeowners (or anywhere in the East Bay) contemplating improvements, not just sellers.

For several years I spent Thanksgiving day with a group of people who prepared and served a free Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was always a wonderful day spent with interesting people but shocking to learn the extent of hunger in our community.  From Senior citizens who had to choose between medication and nutritious food to young families whose primary wage-earner was unemployed, it was a significant eye-opener to a young woman (me, at the time) who never faced a hungry day.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I would ask you to remember the "Giving" in Thanksgiving and donate to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties.  Every $1 dollar you donate provides two meals for children, adults or seniors.  Really think about that for a minute....a $20 donation would provide 40 meals and over 1/3 of the food distributed is fresh produce (often the first food sacrificed when money runs short).

The Food Bank has an additional - and very creative - donation opportunity called Tiny Tickets.  Save all of your BART tickets that have nothing but change left on them - a penny, 5 cents, 20 cents - we all have them stashed in drawers somewhere.  Please send them to the Food Bank so they can be redeemed for cash.

With unemployment still above 10%, the need for your donation is greater than ever - and sadly that's true even in our affluent Walnut Creek community - so please remember the "Giving" in Thanksgiving.

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Realtor

A few days ago I was attending a meeting and struck up a conversation with a man who is house hunting to buy a home in Walnut Creek. He does his own research, he knows the school district where he wants his family to live and the individual API scores of those schools, he has driven through every neighborhood in the school district to determine the neighborhoods he likes the most, he's been tracking the average sold prices and days on market and he has signed up for auto-alerts on multiple websites.  He has definitely done his homework and said, "I don't really need a Realtor except to provide access to the homes and write the contract."

I stared at him for a moment in shock because this buyer's livelihood depends on the real estate industry so I expected that he, more than John Q. Public would have a better understanding of the actual work required of Realtors.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts and said, "On behalf of your Realtor, I want to thank you for utilizing all of the resources on the Internet to educate yourself.  This may come as a surprise but most of us are thrilled with buyers that take the time to conduct appropriate due diligence on their own behalf.  Acting as a glorified chauffeur has never, ever been the highest and best use of a professional Realtor's time.  It was a necessary service, nothing more.

For the sake of conversation, let's put aside my personal belief in the value of Realtors and let me ask you a few questions.

Do you know the questions to ask your mortgage loan officer to determine if your pre-qualification is valid or really just a pre-approval?

Do you know that the type of your mortgage financing could impact which homes you can buy?

Do you know the customary buyer and seller costs to ensure you aren't paying more than normal?

Do you know the Point of Sale requirements?

Do you know which seller disclosures are required by California Law and who is exempt?  If the seller is exempt, do you know the additional investigation that you might want to consider?

Do you know the difference between "passive" and "active" contingencies and how that lack of knowledge could potentially result in the loss of your earnest money deposit?

When you view homes, do you know what to look for that would indicate something should be professionally inspected?

Do you have a list of qualified professionals for Home, Pest, Roof, Chimney, Pool, Sewer Lateral, Geological and Structural inspections?

Do you have an additional list of qualified, licensed contractors who can competently complete the structural, health and safety items on those inspections at a competitive cost?

Do you know how to make a compelling request repairs from a seller who already feels like you "stole" the property even though you are paying fair market value?

Do you know appraisal requirements and is your internet homework sufficient that you could legitimately challenge an erroneous appraisal if needed?

When you write a contract, you will quickly realize that the majority of a selling agent's work starts when the contract is accepted.

I think the National Association of Realtors should change their ad campaign.  Rather than showing an impeccably dressed, well-groomed Realtor handing the keys to delighted homeowners, they should show the real work of our profession. The harried Realtor scurrying between inspection and appraisal appointments while on the phone following up with the mortgage lender and title company, arranging bids, badgering the HOA for the late documents, reading disclosures and negotating repairs - all within the tight contractual deadlines.  It wouldn't be pretty but would help dispel the perception of "easy job, easy money".

The Walnut Creek Soccer Club is offering a course for the "E" coaching license on August 19-21.  As a licensed soccer coach who went through the system to obtain my national "C" license, I can attest that the courses are a wealth of great information.

Classroom:  Friday, August 19; 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., at the Civic Park Community Center, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek

Field Training: Saturday-Sunday August 20-21; 8:30 a.m., Tice Valley Park, 2055 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek

More information and License Application

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Walnut Creek Real Estate Market Report
July, 2011

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Condos and Townhomes

34 closed sales, of which 6 were short-sales and 13 were sales of bank-owned properties.

The average sales price was $278,716

There are 97 pending transactions and 76 actively for sale.


Detached homes under $1 million

55 closed sales, of which 3 were short-sales and 8 were sales of bank-owned properties.

The average sales price was $649,943.

There are 72 pending transactions and 125 actively for sale.

Detached homes at $1,000,000 +

4 closed sales, of which 0 were short-sales or bank-owned properties.

The average sales price was $1,211,749.

There are 4 pending transactions and 31 homes actively for sale.

Walnut Creek's first Community Service Day is October 1, 2011. 

The day begins with a free pancake breakfast at Heather Farm Community Center.  Volunteers will then fan out to complete a variety of half day projects that range from Animals, Creeks and Open Space, Schools, Arts & Library, Community Assistance and Gardens and Parks. 

Support Walnut Creek and sign up to volunteer.

Search Walnut Creek Homes For Sale

Dear Short-Sale Seller,

We understand that you have suffered a financial set-back and it's the last thing you ever expected to happen in your life.  We know that you loved your home and didn't really want to sell it. We understand that you have dealt with the lender for months and are angry. We know you don't have discretionary funds for maintenance and repairs and didn't blame you for the deteriorating condition of the home.  

We, too, dealt with your lender for months because we stayed in contract for the long haul. When the lender wanted to receive the top of fair market value but refused to pay for the Section 1 repairs, we didn't bail. When the home was 12 hours from foreclosure, we spent an afternoon getting the notarized signatures from all parties as requested by the lender in order to delay the Trustee Sale. We closed in 22 days. 

We were part of the team that kept your home from foreclosure. Could you have considered thanking us with a little elbow grease? Was it too much to ask to have the carpets vacuumed, the counters wiped off,  the oven and stove top clean?  Could you have taken a little time to remove the hair from the shower drain, the trash in the garage and the dog poop in the back yard?

Does it bother you to know that even though you had over a week to clean a little bit at a time after the closing documents were signed, we had to hire a professional house cleaner at a premium price to get it done in the 1/2 day before the moving van arrived?

We are very disappointed,

Your Short-Sale Buyers

(Many homes in short-sale transactions are left spotlessly clean so this should not be construed as the norm.)

Please consider this my formal Thank You for leaving the smart real estate buyers and sellers to me. Bear with me as I explain how I know this.

I was recently invited to attend a round table meeting with Realtors from various markets in Northern California to provide input as to the best way to incorporate Green features in the MLS.  The intention is to provide sufficient data for valuation and marketing purposes as well as to enhance home buyers' ability to make discerning comparisons between homes.

I was more than a little suprised to hear numerous suggestions that we should "dumb it down", inferring that the average client would somehow be confused or overwhelmed if they didn't understand the terms "Low E windows", "Smart Irrigation Controller" or (treading dangerously here) "A/C with SEER rating of 14 or greater".

That's when I realized that I must be the recipient of all the smart buyers and sellers.  Every one of my clients knows about the wonderful world of the internet (apparently still a secret to the other Realtors' clients) and have developed the highly advanced skill of using search engines to quickly research new information.

 I've never had a client develop an inferiority complex or run from their decision to buy or sell a home because they were faced with a new concept or information.  Nobodys head has exploded. In fact, when the information is new to me as well, my secret cache of smart clients pull out their smart phones and immediately find the answer.  And guess what.....they don't doubt my competence because I didn't have the answer.  I think that's the real concern behind "dumb it down".

 To my smart clients, I am grateful for your inquiring minds - and the fact that your heads don't explode.

When renters are deciding whether they can purchase a home in Walnut Creek, CA and surrounding areas in the East Bay, they are told of the great tax benefits from home ownership. 

While it's true that home ownership does generate income tax write-offs, the general formula provided to renters to calculate the income tax benefits is wrong.

Don't use this formula:  mortgage payment + monthly property taxes x effective tax rate = income tax savings from home ownership.

The formula fails to account for the fact that some standard deductions are replaced by the itemized home deductions so the formula overstates the income tax savings, in some cases significantly.

I invite you to request the Buy vs Rent Calculator that has been specifically programmed for California residents, includes state and federal taxes and considers additional important factors such as filing status (married, head of household or unmarried), number of dependents and tax deductible 401(k) savings. 

This Buy vs Rent Calculator generates a side-by-side, easy to understand Rent vs Buy comparison.  Don't make important financial decisions based on inaccurate information.  Request the Buy vs Rent Calculator now.