Supra Man, Oh Man!

When a Fremont real estate agent http://www.tricityhome.com/index.html sells homes in Fremont, Newark and Union City, that Fremont real estate agent must also trust a lot of new technology to work together at critical moments. Most of the time technology cooperates, but sometimes it does not. Bay East Association of Realtors, had a mandatory Supra Lock Box update a few years ago which granted Fremont real estate agents the opportunity to trade in the old, grey key lock box’s technology for the new, blue technology. The new locks worked well and offered infra-red connectivity, a way for some Fremont real estate agents who sell homes in Fremont to downloaded an app, connect directly to the lock box to open the box and receive data straight to their smart phones. That was a step in the right direction for both Supra and Fremont real estate agents who sell homes in Fremont. The new blue boxes seemed to work fine.

Recently however, the association offered Fremont real estate agents newer, sleeker blue infra-red tech lock boxes (shown above). They are much taller than their recent replacements. But, woe to those Fremont real estate agents who had to sell Fremont homes using the new Supra Lock Box just days after their release. Many did not work. I mentioned “critical moments” earlier because one needs to consider the time and effort that a Fremont real estate agent puts into corralling different family members after work and getting Fremont home sellers and their Fremont real estate agents to set up the showings at a particular time.

So, there was yours truly staring at one of those new fangled lock boxes with a new home buyer and family. Everyone showed up, happy to be there to see the inside of the home of their dreams. We all walked up to the lock box, admired the new design and I then transmitted the infra-red signal from my device. 3-2-1... Nothing. After the 5th time and what seemed to be an eternity, I called the Fremont agent who was supposed to allow access for me and my home buyers. Apparently disheveled, he exclaimed that I was the 10th call as a result of his new blue lock box failures. Needless to say, we could not see the home, nor could we do a single thing about it. That was technology not cooperating at a critical moment. We had to pack up and leave and go to the next house. Hoping the next listing agent did not get on of these state-of-the-art lockboxes placed on the house yet.

Shortly after that experience, I purchased the iPhone 4s. Now, I use what is called a “Supra Key FOB” or just plain old “FOB” to open the Supra Lock Boxes together with the iPhone and an iPhone app. The FOB is a small quarter-sized infra red modem that, once plugged in to the bottom of my iPhone, can send a secure signal to the new blue Supra Lock boxes. The app also allows me to check stats off my lock boxes and much more. I was a little disappointed that I still had to carry a FOB around on my key chain, as the FOBs can and have popped out of its carrier. But, after a few uses of the new FOB, once all is connected correctly, it hasn’t failed me yet. By Jeff Pereyda

Fremont Landlords & Property Managers Are Seeing Eye-to-Eye on New Trend

Renting a home after  a short sale can be done

Although Fremont-Union City home renters looking for homes to rent in Fremont have to do so in some very trying times, despite challenges, many of them are excellent renters. A lot of Fremont renters have been recovering from a short sale in their recent history. That's a rough situation to be in. Not only can they can no longer keep their home, they must now have their recent financial woes made known to their soon to be landlords and the property management. Albeit embarrassing, landlords as well as property management should read between the lines of the back round report. The people looking to rent in Fremont-Union City, who have come out of short sales, can be very reputable renters. Landlords and property management professionals should look at the whole picture.

In order to rent a home in Fremont and Union City, you have to show some consistency in paying the utilities among other items. The loan history may not look good, but some loans are not good either. Landlords and property management cannot always blame the borrower. Renters Fred and Sue, who now rent through our property management division, had to short sale their Pleasanton home and find a Fremont home to rent. Their back round checks and credit checks were showing red flags in areas like the delinquent home loan, but utilities and other important subscriptions to services have been paid for on time. Moreover, they earned a very stable income. It's just that the Pleasanton home loan was too much to bear. Being a Fremont Union-City property manager, I made a positive recommendation to my client/landlord to accept their application immediately to rent the home to Fred and Sue. So, even after my new tenant's horrible experience with the big banks, they now pay the rent every month early and even pay me a visit at my Fremont real estate office http://www.tricityhome.com while they hand me a cashier's check. Now, with their stable income and determination to rebuild their credit, collecting rent is from Fred and Sue is the easiest part of my job as a property manager in Fremont. By Jeff Pereyda

Bugs Bunny Bytes

The name Mel Blanc may not have been too well known to many young children growing up in the 60's and 70's, but he was one of my childhood heroes. You may have remembered him as Barney Rubble, Bugs Bunny (not to mention ALL of the Looney Tunes characters all the way down to even Black Jacque Shallac). They were all the voice talents of Mel Blanc.

Last week was a tough week at my real estate office here in Fremont CA http://www.tricityhome.com. One real estate lender was particularly persnickety. At the end of the day, on may way home, I heard the voice of Bugs Bunny singing the old Danny Kaye scat routine my head. A half smile made its way to what must have already looked like a genuine curmudgeon's face.

You might say that I just had to scratch that old Bugs byte. So, after I found it, it not only did it make me laugh all over again, but it seemed to cause a lot of delightful childhood memories to come flying back in my mind as well. Life was not so bad after all.

If you want it--Here it is--Bugs Bunny mimicking Danny Kaye "scat'n." download it here (very small .wav file) or find it here -- It's at the bottom of the page.

If that one does not put a genuine smile on your face, find one that does. It's worth browsing for. Some other good ones are:

• You know I just bet we shoulda toined left at Alberquerque
• Nyah, pardon me Mac
• My stars, where did you ever get that awful hairdo

Bookmark this blog post if you ever need to hear the voice of an old friend. Thanks Mel. By Jeff Pereyda

Mel Blanc Wiki

Popcorn Ceiling Removal for 60's and 70's Fremont Homes

His name is Retro. Initially, it was one of those 70's retro popcorn ceiling light fixtures. "He" was later created by dotting on a little mud on after removing him from our popcorn ceiling during our popcorn removal fest in our Fremont home.  Frugal as we are, my wife and I were sure that we could remove the stuff ourselves--keep in mind that the living room has a 12 foot high ceiling that measures 28 X 12. The 1700 sq ft task was labor intensive, exhausting and messy--and we supposed to have been prepared. We were not. Pooped out from popcorn removal, I tried to inject a little humor into the project. I run around the house while holding "Retro," making robot sounds and chasing the kids with it during breaks.

My Fremont real estate office http://www.tricityhome.com recently sold another home in Fremont.  We had the popcorn ceiling removal done on it after the close of escrow. No, we did not remove that popcorn ourselves, the Fremont home buyers did. I had a chance to walkthrough it after there removal was completed. The contractor who did the popcorn ceiling removal made it seem so unproblematic. 

Our new “non-popcorn” ceilings are still in the making. I still have to prep and paint. If you are thinking about removing your Fremont popcorn texture, call me for a real contractor who knows how to do it right. They prep, scrape, sand, float (more on that later), and professionally apply the spray texture perfectly perpendicular to the ceiling. They are perfect ceilings when finished. Floating the ceiling involves 24” to 30” troweling a light coat of material to make it flawless prior to primer and paint. Yes, contrary to what you may hear, there are amazing contractors doing great work in Fremont. If you ever need the numbers, let me know. By Jeff Pereyda

Fishing for a Blog Post

In the Brookvale Elementary School area, a couple things are stirring. First, my Fremont home for sale on  Alder Ave is back on the market and getting many showings--we need the exposure. It is a good Fremont home at a good Fremont sales price.  Second, and not so related, is that significant sized trout are being caught in Fremont CA at the Quarry Lakes. I have seen Fremont trout being caught twice just by observing the Fremont fishing enthusiasts giving it a try. During the most recent bike ride through Quarry Lakes, my two kids and I had watched a Fremont fisherman catch a decent sized trout. I'm hooked. This Sunday, I am taking my kids out to Quarry Lakes for a go.

Our office is finishing the sale on two Fremont homes for sale this Friday, so it will be nice to take a well-earned, relaxing break. With two second-timers--I will try to relax as best as I can. Wish us luck.

by Jeff Pereyda

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