Selling & Moving From Fremont, Newark or Union City

The Winner!

I recently listed a home for sale in Union City for one of my clients selling a home & moving from Union City to what is known as La Morinda. During the process of selling the Union City house, the sellers and I talked about many logistics regarding selling a Union City home, and ultimately, discussed moving from Union City. Cutting to the quick, after interviewing the major movers for the area like Mayflower and Bekins, etc. my client selling his Union City home, chose Bekins as the service provider in moving from Fremont, Newark and Union City area. Although the moving company's prices were competitive with each other, Bekins had an edge of professionalism that was found lacking in the other moving company's sales staff.

Naturally, the selling staff and the actual people who would be doing the moving would be altogether different. Simply speaking, you may not get the shiny professional salesperson lifting your boxes of dishes. You will get, "the crew." Fortunately for Bekins and my client selling a Union City home, Bekins has stellar independent teams for the areas of Fremont, Newark and Union City. But what struck me as interesting after talking a bit more with my client who was selling his Union City home, was the fact that this particular team that was going to help with the move from the Tri-City area was Tri-Valley Bekins--a moving team that has stuck together for many years.

I spoke with Miss Owens, a 13 year Operations Manager for Bekins in Alameda County yesterday afternoon, so I could get some facts. The team that had helped my Union City home seller was Tri-Valley Bekins lead by Javier Angiano, an Independent Contractor and sole proprietor of 18 years with the company. He and his crew have been working together for 6-10 years. Much can be said about their professionalism and performance according to my Union City home seller.

Well-protecting items before they were placed into boxes was a given, but when the crew began to make wall protectors from heavy duty card board and laid out stair protectors as well to protect the walls and steps from damage, it got my client's full attention. They handled the whole move with efficiency and even stuck to their quote even though my client's Union City home had an excessively stocked kitchen full of many different sets of dish ware that called for more boxes and more wrap work than previously thought.

I mentioned earlier about the "shiny" salesperson and how the first impression made a difference. Alex Arsenault, a 20 year selling coordinator for Bekins was the deal maker. Although, Arsenault went toe to toe with the rep from Mayflower, Arsenault was the one who asked the relevant questions and had a genuine concern about my clients and their Union City move. My sellers chose Bekins, and they were glad they did to say the least.

Thank you Bekins for indirectly being an important part of my successfully selling this Union City home.

If you happen to be thinking of selling your Fremont, Newark or Union City home, contact me from my Fremont real estate agent office site here http://www.tricityhome.com --and if you want a great moving experience, make sure you include Bekins in your list of interviewees. By Jeff Pereyda

Moving From Fremont CA To...?

Most people move from Fremont, Newark and Union City from time to time. I myself moved about 8 times in my life so far--moving from various areas in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are thinking about moving from Fremont, Newark or Union City CA to another area you will want to know a few things, and I hope this post can help.

If you enjoy moving, then you are one of the very few who do. The rest of us, we need help in any way, shape or form. This short post will simply provide a list of helpful tools in the form of websites and some tips we learned along the way.

In regards to selling your Fremont, Newark or Union City property and buying a replacement home, a Fremont real estate agent will play a a vital role in assuring that the sale of the old home and purchase of the new one work together. Here is a testimonial of a Union City home seller purchasing a Fremont replacement home. http://www.tricityhome.com/ondemand.html (click Keniki)

When selling a home in Fremont then moving right into the home in another area, you need to allow a little time between the two transactions. This is important to ensure both feasibility and peace of mind knowing that no one will be on the street without a place to go. A good Fremont real estate agent will place proper assurances in the purchase contract. Careful real estate contract wording is needed to set things straight when trying to accomplish the double deal.

Many helpful moving websites I have used are also available below for you to visit and use when the time comes for you to move from Fremont, Newark and Union City.

• http://www.onesimplemove.com--interactive calendars and up to date articles.
• http://www.mayflower.com/moving--a little overwhelming but really loaded with tools.
• http://www.whitefence.com--mostly compares utilities, then helps hook them up online.
• http://www.moving.com--no calendar that I could see, but ok.
• http://www.relocation.com--great new tools and articles.
• http://www.pods.com--store your stuff, then move it.when you want to.

So, in closing, you'll want a good Fremont Newark, Union City real estate agent http://www.tricityhome.com and some State-Of-The-Art web tools for all the stuff in between.

Fremont Short Sales & Short Sale Lenders--Once Bitten Twice Shy

The last two short sales in Fremont that I performed were by no means smooth. And, I have become a little short sale shy as a result. Yet, other short sales in Fremont we recently closed had performed exceptionally well--Fremont short sales are sort of a mixed bag. What made the difference? The last two sort sales in Fremont were bad, but others were not. We discovered that it has everything to do with the lender of the original borrower or what we might refer to now as the short sale lender. Worst on the list was Bank of America who took an average of 10 months to perform a short sale and still not short sales were completed. And, what’s more, B of A was full of surprises. In fact, just about everything they did was a surprise. Imagine staring at a cocoon that has not hatched, waiting for something, anything to happen. That’s kind of what it was like. Everyone had to wait for very long periods of time even to acknowledge that the bank had received a document. Like watching the cocoon, any movement what so ever made us sit up surprised that something took place, even if it turned out to be nothing. Some things they did were remarkably abrupt and surprising. For example they upped a Fremont short sale price right out of thin air even after everyone agreed on B of A’s counter offer on price. They simply told us (oh, by the way) it was going to be $5,000 more. Then, at the final stretch of the transaction, B of A left out any considerations for the second lien holder and gave them zero on the approval certification. They later back paddled on that one, fixed it using a bad Microsoft Word edit that actually highlighted their mistake, then blamed my title co. rep with 30 years experience. Oh, I almost forgot one more thing. Another B of A Fremont short sale simply ended after an investor phoned and said they had just bought the property in foreclosure and for me to please remove my sales materials. This is the one where I even had a B of A rep authorized on the seller’s account watching carefully to assure us everything would go smoothly.

What makes a good Fremont short sale lender as opposed to a bad one? Most people if asked to judge a short sale lender would grade them on the speed in which the lender can process the approval of the transaction. Bank of America seems to take the longest. They boast about a 90-day turnaround, but unless the planets are aligned just so, it can take over a year to complete. Keep in mind that there are other conditions that can effect the time it takes to complete the transaction as Bank of America will be quick to tell you. The fastest short sale lender we have experienced was Bridgefield, a small lender who simply handled the whole thing over coffee.

Our Fremont short sale real estate agent office here http://www.tricityhome.com is now performing another short sale in Fremont who's lender is Chase. Chase is large too, but they are more organized than B of A. The Chase negotiators (the ones that either handle the short sale approval themselves or present the short sale package to the investor) are very quick to act. Emails are returned the next day or same day. They also order the BPO (broker price opinion--sort of a snapshot appraisal for the bank to review) just as soon as possible.

But since we had been bitten by B of A, the Nosferatu of short sale lenders as of late, I am now shy to believe any short sale lender when they ask for something out of the norm. For example, our most recent Fremont short sale was in need of a BPO. I drove to the property to make sure the lockbox was still there 1. I opened the door and walked through the Fremont short sale. Suddenly, I discovered a tingling sensation at my ankles. Upon further inquiry, I realized I was being bitten by what must have been hundreds of fleas, and they were growing in number. What must have looked like a scene from America’s Funniest Home Videos, I darted to the door, locked up the house while running in place then ran into the parking lot. Once there, I swatted, shook, pinched then as a last resort, out ran all the fleas to be sure none followed. When I told Chase what had happened, they told me they would send Property Preservation out to take care of it. A red flag went up, and I got quite defensive. Once bitten twice shy, I thought they were going to execute some acceleration clause and foreclose on the house once Property Preservation was called due to fleas. They assured me this was not the case. Regardless, I told them not to call this third party, and that I and the BPO person would find a way to get it done. In short, we got it done without calling Property Preservation.

I will work on my uneasiness when it comes to trusting Fremont short sale lenders. After all, a Fremont short sale lender does not have to B of A pain in the neck.

1. For a period of time in 08, I happened upon many homes for sale in Fremont that were supposed to have a lock box only to find that they were missing. I would call the listing agent who would often be taken aback by the fact that it was just there a few days ago. I later found out that this was happening quite often on vacant properties. Perhaps squatters or desperate agents took the boxes so that no one else can show the house, I am still unsure. By Jeff Pereyda

HOA Demands?--You're Tell'n Me

As with all blog posts from me, comments are welcome--especially welcome on this post. I am a full-time Fremont-Newark-Union City Real Estate Broker, http://www.tricityhome.com and I work hard in the office, on the phone, face to face and on the Internet. You probably work hard in your profession too.

BUT--Can I have some of your salary if I ever need your services?

No? Why not?

I have been asked to give away some of my commission from time to time since I started real estate in 2000. Perhaps it is just part of the business. But why? Do you ask a lawyer to lower their retainer? Do you ask the accountant to credit the expense column in your favor? Surely not!

Lately, buyers and sellers have been asking for significant portions of my commissions on a regular basis. I cannot discuss commission rates due to laws governing the subject, but I believe my skills, and knowledge of the real estate contract and the skill sets I possess in negotiating sales and the like merit my pay as well as other agent's and broker's pay. As awful as that may be, still another person has been asking for my commission as of late. Can you guess who it might be? The Home Owner's Association in a short sale of a condominium, that's who.

I have a short sale in Fremont that has been, for reasons beyond the scope of this post, in escrow for 1 year now. Now that we are on the very cusps of closing escrow, the HOA (of all people) wants me to "pitch in" in order to settle an assessment that is due upon the sale of the property. Whaaat?

Here is the math:

My pay on a successful close of the above-mentioned property is $6600 divided by 12 months of calling, disclosing, coordinating, compliancing, faxing, emailing, logging, filing, problem solving, driving, (my job) equals $550 dollars a month. Only if it closes escrow.

Another property in the same boat is $1060 divided by 10 months of the same equals $1060 dollars a month. Only if it closes escrow. And believe me--they do not always close escrow.

Asking for a piece of the broker's commission will never stop because that's how it is set up. It is illegal to fix a commission in real estate understandably, and brokers must disclose that commission is set by each individual broker and that it is never a "standard" rate. It keeps it competitive. So, in a sense, we advertise that our commission is negotiable. But what a broker can do is simply say, "no" when asked to "pitch in."

The reason why I and other brokers give their commission when they really should not (myself included) is because we work very hard and only get paid at the end of a successful close of escrow. The threat--if you will-- of losing all that hard work unless a little or sometimes a lot of commission is given away is the only way to get any money at all. I guess it is human nature to be so bold to ask for a piece of the broker commission. The only way for it to stop is for the broker to simply say, "no" and suffer any consequences that may fall.

In a moment, I will try to ask for a piece of my dentist's fees today when I go get my teeth cleaned. I will report back to you.

A few hours later

She said, "no." By Jeff Pereyda

Fremont CA Parkmont Home Values Up

FREMONT CA PARKMONT HOME VALUES

FREMONT HOME PRICES http://www.tricityhome.com

FREMONT REALTOR http://www.tricityhome.com
By Jeff Pereyda

Fremont Homes For Sale--You thought your garage was bad

I see a lot of homes for sale in Fremont http://www.tricityhome.com and their garages. Some owners are creative in they're use of the space while other homeowners are in survival mode. Some of my homes for sale in Fremont have used shelving and built-in fixtures to make the space very workable as a hobby shop and the like. I was taken a back lately by this townhome for sale in Fremont.

Do you remember the Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon? He and is pal Chumly would escape from the zoo on a mission to solve a problem. Armed with the voice characterization of Don Adams, Tennessee Tuxedo would demand that they visit Mr. Whoopee, a brilliant professor who knew all the answers. Upon arrival of Mr. Whoopee's office, it only took a matter of a minute or two until the professor had to open his closet to get use of his "3D-BB," his three dimensional blackboard. However, the closet was packet to the ceiling with stuff. I wonder why a tennis racket sticking out always seems to make it as a stereotypical junk thing. Anyway, when the closet is opened--all the junk spills on top of Mr Whoopee. Well, that almost happened to me.

While showing homes for sale in Fremont, an owner had stepped out prior to me showing one of the homes, and there were no images of the garage in the Fremont home for sale on the MLS. "Can we see the garage?" the buyer asked. "Sure," I replied. This is what we saw. I could not help but think of Mr. Whoopee's closet.

Here is an episode of Tennessee Tuxedo on YouTube (They want to make a light and learn about Thomas Edison). And, yes, the tennis racket is in the pile of junk in Mr. Whoopee's closet--see if you can find it.By Jeff Pereyda

SF bay area craigslist > for sale / wanted > garage & moving sales > Fremont CA

It was not too long ago, that I and many others suggested to Craig Newmark or staff that he should definitely have a section for Fremont garage sales & moving sales or estate sales on Craigslist.

We were heard. There is now a Fremont garage sales & moving sales section on Craigslsit.

Craigslist had created a Fremont garage sales & moving sales section in the Craigslist website some time ago, and now I will get to try it out. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/gms/

My wife and I have come to realize that we have too many things, especially now that we have two new children and no additional storage. In a very real sense, our garage has become storage. Naturally, some things we do not want to part with like Halloween decorations and such, but why keep abandoned toys, clothes, and kitchen items that are never going to be used? I even found a dusty old Saguaro Cactus made of tissue paper in there. Maybe the Saguaro could be a FREE item.

Our goal is to find these things a new home soon by way of Fremont garage sales & moving sales. The items we do not want that did not sell at our Fremont garage sales & moving sales will be donated to charity.

One benefit of being a Fremont Realtor http://www.tricityhome.com is having lots of signs to use in situations like this. I simply get out my Open House signs, reface them using a 20 X 24 piece of cardboard to say Fremont garage sales & moving sales and done!

Anyone need a large bin of Beanie Babies? By Jeff Pereyda