House Of A Different Color--In The Avenues Of Menlo Park

"It's white!" I said as I scrubbed the side of the house with warm soap and water. Truth be told, I knew it was white. This house for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park just needs a new owner that's all. It has vinyl siding which made the scrubbing possible as opposed to to it needing new paint. With vinyl siding you can scrub away and get the same look each time.

We listed the home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park about 3 weeks ago. At the time of writing this post--I feature it here at http://www.tricityhome.com. There was a comparable just one block over in November of 09 that sold for 530k. Granted it was a 10 and had one small room added to it, but still our home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park is listed at 429k, 100k less. Just think of the possibilities I thought. This home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park is an incredible alternative to owning a condo or townhouse in the Stanford vicinity. The home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park is a two bed one bath single family home on a half lot of about 2600 sq ft.

• hardwood floors
• fireplace
• backyard
• front yard
• 1 car garage
• over sized water heater
• new garage door
• bright kitchen
• composition roof

We are getting 3 showings a week, but still no offers. I get calls from other agents saying it is priced right and that the area is great. So, that can only mean one thing--it's the condition of the house that is preventing us from selling it.

I visited our 747 16th Avenue home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park and got out the ladder, a bucket, scrubber and the hose and got to work. two and a half hours later, I was done. "It's white!" I said jokingly to the owner. We laughed and likened the house to a tree that grows moss only on the north side. Joking aside, it was not that bad, but it did need a good cleaning.

I will be frank, there is no budget to install new vinyl in the kitchen floor or install new windows (all 5 of them). The home for sale in the Avenues in Menlo Park is as cute as a button and about the same size too. If you or someone you know is looking for an incredible alternative to owning a condo or town home in the Stanford vicinity, please let me know ASAP. Here's the listing-- http://MAXEBRDI.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=525ce68f-0361-4e38-a042-85e30b915d65&Report=Yes

By Jeff Pereyda

New Homes In Fremont--New Materials

I sold a brand new home in Fremont today. (not shown here) I am not the broker there at the new home in Fremont building site. Rather, I am the broker for TriCity Real Estate Brokers, Inc. here http://www.tricityhome.com.

But, an earnest home buyer found my site and--long story short--bought a brand new home in Fremont at the new Cedarbrook subdivision. I also discovered that they read my prior blog post on New homes in Niles here. http://tricityhome.blogspot.com/2009/12/niles-area-of-fremont.html.

On our tour of the homes, we were impressed with many things that led up to the new home in Fremont purchase. One thing we were educated about was the use of Hardie planks by James Hardie (facebook page). The name Hardie seems perfectly fitting. These are "hard" somewhat flexible, cement boards that make up the sidings for the new homes in Fremont at Cedarbrook. What was thought as or often referred to us as "scales" going down the of a front portion of the new homes in Fremont were actually Hardie planks shingles. They are designed to overlap just like wood siding. They have a good look to them and we really liked the "shingle" look that give the Craftsman elevation a traditional historic Fremont or Niles look. Hardie makes many different types of these exterior materials as well. What was thought to be regular wood siding that runs horizontally across the side of the house was again Hardie planks. What's more is that the Hardie materials were already colored to go with the well planned color schemes that new homes in Fremont have to undergo with the city of Fremont. The end result is one of the cleanest looks in a new home in Fremont can produce, not to mention the most durable.

My buyers really enjoyed the tours, the people at Regis as well as the materials used. However, I doubt that they will drive up to their new Fremont home and give a sigh of relief knowing their home was built with Hardie planks. A "home" is much more than its materials, but I know that the use of Hardie materials will play a big part in providing them with both pride of ownership and peace of mind. It's not even built yet, but my home buyers already love their brand new home in Fremont. Congratulations! By Jeff Pereyda

Parkmont Homes & Listed For How Much?

At the time of writing this page (2-10-10) Parkmont Villas Townhomes on Bright Common and Lavendar Common have been hovering around 435k for a Via Bravo--the two bedroom 2.5 bath and 475k for the Villa Bella--the 3 bed 2.5 bath townhouses.

Sometimes we get a scare when a neighbor lists their Parkmont home for sale at say $410k for the Via Bella--3 bed 2.5 bath at 1700 sq ft.

I am often asked why this is, or I am asked if it will hurt the value of the surrounding Parkmont homes. Truth is that it is unfortunate that the listing agent goes so low on the very first day. After all, the agent's job is to get the most they can for the property, right? So, why so low? Sometimes out-of-area agents fail to know the Parkmont homes area or the comparables as well as the local brokers do and mistakenly listing the house for a low price. The redeeming news is that the market will bear what it can bear and usually market value is attained after a few weeks.

Secondly, it does not seem to hurt the comparables too much.

Case in point is that I just listed 38332 Redwood Terrace in Fremont at 519k (pie in the sky price). We got an offer for 470k after 45 days. Long story short, we got 485k EVEN AFTER IT APPRAISED FOR 466k and it's last comparable was around 465k. We received 485k. It could not get any better than that.

Point being--do not panic if your neighbor lists for a ridiculously low price. Contact me using the form below for a real market value based on true comparables and true sold history along with experience in Parkmont sales prices.

The goal here is to create a report for you to determine the market value of your Parkmont Home by looking at the real-time brokerage data.

We will create the report by hand, but you need to type in the correct information so the job can be done correctly. We will then deliver the Parkmont report to you by email.

If it is time to sell, let me know. I will get top dollar for your home as fast as I can.

Just go here: http://www.tricityhome.com/Parkmont_homes_sold.html By Jeff Pereyda

Fremont Real Estate Agent Gets Stalked By Fremont Home Buyers

Real estate agents who help Fremont home buyers look at homes spend a lot of time out in the field. Today, I was one of the agents doing just that--spending a lot of time out in the field showing Fremont homes. My home buyers and I looked at 11 homes today. It may not be considered a lot of homes by some, but we did it smoothly and effectively within 2 hours without being rushed. That was nice. The odd part of it all was that during the whole time, I felt like I was being stalked. Not by my clients but by other Fremont home buyers.

More times than a few, we pulled up to the next house on our tour only to find that there was someone already waiting there in a car or van. They seemed motionless at first. Quietly, these car sitters waited for me to pull up, and then watched me get out my supra key box and approach the home. I guess once I showed signs that I was a real estate agent they pounced.
"Are you the agent?" or "Open House Today?" They exclaimed.
I had to say, "no." I was not the listing agent nor was I their agent. As I opened the door for my Fremont home buyers, they, the stalkers, assumed they were going to see the home and take their time with it. In they went wiping their feet with a sort of look that I don't necessarily have the words for.

This happened four times today until finally one of my Fremont home buyers, the husband chimes in and says, "Uh, this isn't and open house. You need to get an agent."
Kudos, naturally, good agents are worth their weight in gold I thought to myself.
Then, Mrs. Fremont home buyer takes a gentler approach saying, "You should call Jeff. He's really good. You need to get together with him. Oh, he does loans too. You need to be approved or the seller will not really look at your offer."
Wow, double kudos. My Fremont home buyer lessons sunk in.

When the day rolled to an end, I thought, will these stalkers call me? I doubt it, but truth be told, they should really get with an agent. Think of it this way:

• The stalkers waited around hoping to get inside a house for sale.
• My clients were being escorted by a professional to see 11 homes in 2 hours. Keys in hand at the door.
• The stalkers had to rely on a flyer if there was even one there or try to find the info in the Internet.
• My clients knew all the info already; heard the stats straight from me as I was able to compare the info to other homes I had professionally closed escrow with.
• The stalkers, if they found a house they liked, would have to call the listing agent to make an offer. This can be risky and perhaps tempt the listing agent to just close the deal without thoroughly negotiating for the Fremont home buyer/stalker. Sometimes it happens.

I was very polite as were my Fremont home buyers during these strange ambushes, but I could not help to feel a bit taken advantage of. I was not put out, and I do not want my readers to think I'm ranting. Truth be told, I felt it was a funny occurrence running into these folks with their presumptuous dispositions. I thought I would let you know.

If you are stalking, please consider the FREE benefits of having a buyers agent as mentioned above as opposed to your current method of house hunting.

If you have an agent, good for you. The agent really cares about your transaction. Any business owner or agent wants to get referrals after doing a great job http://www.tricityhome.com/ondemand.html and they can only get them from caring about you and your transaction.

If you do not believe me, ask my current Mr. & Mrs. Fremont homer buyer. They really stuck up for having an agent. I later told her that it was very nice of here to say that to strangers about me and to keep up the good work.
By Jeff Pereyda

Everything But the Kitchen Sink & The Avenues

A short while ago, I "wrote" about a little place I was getting ready to list in The Avenues here. It was not ready to sell at that time, but it is now. Albeit there still needs to be some clean up and straightening--It's time to sell it. The last item to attend to was the kitchen sink. It had aged a bit and needed tile replacing in certain areas. Now that it's done, we are on our way.

"But wait," you might say. "Aren't you just a Fremont real estate broker? What's with this Menlo Park business? and The Avenues"? First of all, Menlo Park is beautiful and the listing call was a great excuse for me to take just a short drive over the Dumbarton bridge over to The Avenues. I love that area as you can tell by my attempt at some expository writing in the aforementioned blog post. I did not know it was called The Avenues at that time. Second, was the fact that I just knew I could help this seller get her goal of selling The Avenues house and moving into Fremont. Lastly, technology has made out-of-area listings much more palatable for the office to work with. Proximity is good, and it is something I preach to my agents, but we knew we had a good handle on it.

One necessary evil, some might say, is to chat up an agent or two in that area and find out the local tips and tricks to maximize the listing strength. I did just that. Here's what I found out that I did not know previously or just needed affirmation. First, I became reaffirmed that we had priced very well. Second, I learned that there is a huge difference between 5th Ave. and say 18th or 16th Ave., The Avenues. The latter being extremely desirable and part of what is referred to as "The Avenues." Nice touch, I thought. What's more, is that "The Avenues" belongs to FOBA (Fair Oaks Beautification Association) where the residents are encouraged to go beyond just upkeep, and it is working. The largest contributor to this well-found news was Shelly Roberson of Palo Alto. She owned properties in The Avenues some time ago and not only loved the area, but watched the area as FOBA went to work and beutification took place as well as the equity build up. She had many good things to say about our listing over all and was quite helpful. Needless to say, all the agents in the SCCAOR (Santa Clara Association of Realtorsa) were polite, helpful and wanted to share. I wonder if BEAR (Bay East Assoc. of Realtors), the membership I belong to, would behave the same way.

After we had reciprocated the listing in The Avenues, we have syndicated the listing to more than 50 websites using Point2Homes and http://www.tricityhome.com (as a cute featured property at the time of this writing) more will follow suit I'm sure, but it will not end there. I plan on using many different means of getting information out as I hold the flag for Bay East Association of Realtors in "The Avenues."
By Jeff Pereyda

Handheld Device + Redfin = New Killer Tool

I got frustrated with somethings in the real estate business recently. One thing in particular was the fact that buyers were asking me to show them properties I knew nothing about. I got calls that went something like..."Oh Jeff, here's one I want to see." or "Jeff, can we see these. I'll send you a list." These were listings I had never seen, they were growing in number, and they were coming from other MLSs like Santa Clara, San Mateo, etc. Santa Clara County MLS currently does not cooperate with Alameda County, so if this is new to you, it might be a little complicated.

For example, let's say a Santa Clara broker gets a Fremont listing but does not have the Alameda County MLS subscription. It happens a lot. It will only show in their MLS not mine or maybe not yours. Well, frustrated, I not only found a way to get the info, what's more, I found a way to be alerted on my handheld device the second any listing anywhere comes on the market--thanks mostly to redfin. I like redfin; I am not so sure I like the picture of Maiwand and his attache on their Fremont (east bay team) home page, seems a bit smug, but they work with a great product. No one can deny that, so perhaps the photo is fitting.

Perhaps other mega home search sites have this function too, but redfin has a very intriging method of alerting homebuyers of new listings as they happen, and that is RSS saved-home-search-feeds. RSS (Real Simple Syndication), some call it, is quite cool. In short, just about any data can be compiled, organized a certain way then sent over the internet in nice neat readable packets to users by way of what is referred to as a "feed." The sender of the data (server side) pushes the information to the user on a regular basis (client side). I guess after getting over 12 million in funding from Microsoft's cofounder/investor redfin has a bit of R&D behind them.

Here's the killer application I made or rather "mashed." Tired of getting out searched by buyers, I am now on the forefront of home search mega mania. I'll show you what I did. Here's what you need:

• A free redfin.com account--easy to set up.
• A handheld device, blackberry is what I have.
• A Viigo account (recommended instead of Google Mobile Reader) Viigo is an RSS app for the mobile device, very cool. http://www.viigo.com.
• Recommended, but optional, you can get a Yahoo Google Reader account or Google Reader I am not referring to a mobile m.google/reader. You only need it on your regular online accounts for the laptop or desktop. These online apps make configuring the Viigo handheld account much faster and easier. You simply add the feed to--my yahoo, add to google, netvibes or rss in the second image below snipped from redfin. Don't worry. I will get to that.

Go to redfin.com and set up your My Redfin account. After you search in redfin and want to save the search, redfin takes you to a naming window where you ok it. Go to the bottom left of the screen and select RSS. See the image here.

Name it. Save it. Then, it takes you here. Oooo. This is what I meant when I wrote, "my yahoo, add to google, netvibes or rss" earlier.

If you have a Google Reader or other RSS app on your regular online account with Yahoo or netvibes, you can easily attach the RSS feed you just created in redfin to it. The idea is to sync it to the handheld. If you click "add to Google," shown above, it takes you here.

and here

If you already have Google Reader on the handheld, it should work, but I heard it was a bit clunky. Viigo seems to do better. For mobility's sake, you should click "add to Google Reader." Google reader now has a live feed for homes that come on the market that match your criteria you set up in your My Redfin. Remember that when you are in the redfin property search/save step you can specify listings that just came on "yesterday'"or you can give it a time frame that you are comfortable with then do the saving steps above. I saved about 10 searches in my redfin account this way.

• Fremont 300-400
• Fremont 400-500
• Fremont 500-600
• Fremont 700-800
• Fremont 800-900
• Union City, etc.

After doing the steps above, I ended up with 10 or so feeds added to my Google Reader account online automatically after clicking the "add to Google Reader" button in My Redfin. Go into your Google Reader online account using your laptop/desktop. Make sure everything is there and it displays the way you wan it to. I selected the option to export an OPML from Google Reader. It gives you an .xml file. Just save this Google Reader export file to a place you will know where to find it later because you will import it into Viigo. Here are the images for that. In Google Reader go to Settings>Reader settings

In the Settings page go to Import/Export here.

Next, choose "export your subscriptions as an OPML file" below.

Just remember where you put your OPML (.xml) file. You'll need it.

So, next is Viigo. Go here. http://www.viigo.com. Download Viigo by any means you see fit and get it on your handheld device. You can use, mobile link, pc, text, etc. They give you all the options. Once you verify the install, you can go to your online laptop/desktop Viigo account. On the handheld, you may have to close Viigo and open it again to have it refresh correctly.

In the online account for Viigo laptop/desktop you can import that OPML you exported from Google Reader (.xml) now by using the fouth option when on your new Viigo online account page. This menu box is on your laptop/desktop online Viigo account under My Viigo after you sign in.

Or, you can even add whatever you have on Google Reader by using the Add Aggregator functions. Just remember your user name and password for the Reader not Viigo at that point.

Review

Once you have:

• saved searches in refin using the RSS option,
• added them to Google Reader (or your preference)
• exported them as an .xml,
• installed Viigo onto the mobile device,
• imported the .xml into Viigo,
• Close and open Viigo again (it takes time updating, so be patient),

you will have a killer mobile app that gets pushed feeds from all MLSs redfin has (which is all of them) for the search criteria you set up the day they hit the market.

If a property is not in your MLS area and you can see it in the Reader on Viigo, you will need a way to get the agent file for showing info, phone numbers, etc. Look on the web for the address. Eventually you can get ahold of the agent. They will be happy to give you the agent printout if you have an interested buyer.

It is important to note that since the feed is embedded with a few redfin strings, you may not want to set this up going directly your buyer unless you have a solid relationship. redfin offers commission rebates in the feed. Money tempts people to do things they normally would not do, so do not tempt them. I "earn" my commission thank you. Besides, the real professionalism of an agent shows mostly during the escrow and not just in locating the home.

Anyway, now I am turning my buyer's heads to look at new listings that match their criteria instead of them turning my head thanks to redfin, Viigo and Google Reader.

Viigo also has weather, sports, finance, etc. for your feed enjoyment.

If you have a Q or 2, let me know, I certainly do not mind showing you how to get it up and running.
By Jeff Pereyda

Sorry We Couldn't Help You--A Closer Look

If you remember reading about Agnus from a recent post here, you might agree with us when we tell you that we collectively decided it was time to let her go from our 'current client list.' It is a rare thing to let a client go or even worse, fire a client, but there comes a time when you need to stay on target with the business and stop representing a client. In order to successfully represent a client, they should be ready, willing and able.

"Ready" is usually environmental or possibly a work related aspect of making the move. "Willing" is the drive behind it; the motivation and reason. "Able" is the feasibility; usually the money and/or other resources. These are my subjective definitions, but they seem true enough to get the point across.

Agnus showed all three, but later it was discovered that she had only two of the three. Due to her frustration with rental living in an area that did not suit her she was "ready" to move. She went out and looked at homes on a regular basis with me and one of my agents. She was "willing." We will get to that later. She had the funding, "able." So what went wrong?

After having a few mishaps (our offers being out bid, and having properties go pending before we could show, comp and write), true colors tend to come out. We discovered that it was fear. We would find a "perfect" home for her. There would follow a reason for not buying it. This happened a few times before we caught on. We would find a home that was not a good match for her--a fixer upper for a struggling senior?--you guessed it, she wanted it. Possibly knowing that she would never get it or never intending to go the distance in the contract assured her that it was safe to make such a claim. Resources thinning, we collectively decided that we cannot be in the business of counseling against fear of moving or fear of purchasing. She seemed willing, but there was a latent fear that came out later on.

We are frustrated and sad to see it happen, but we had to let her go. As a brokerage office, we must refocus out attention on the current "ready, willing and able" clients. A hard choice, but I think we made the right decision. We will have the "cordial cup of coffee" with her in a day or two explaining our decision.

I hope this helps agents and clients examine their roles and the necessary resources needed to make it all work.
By Jeff Pereyda