Glenmoor Musical Theater--Stumped

Glenmoor Elementary School, a 2012 recognized California Distinguished School by CA Department of Education, in Fremont has an outstanding musical theater company called Glenmoor Musical Theater (GMT). The GMT has been around for many years and has performed musicals that outperform many would be expectations.  These must see performances are made possible in part to the tireless work of Mrs. Smith, Kindergarten teacher and head of the Glenmoor Musical Theater.

Parents of the performers must also volunteer their skills in order to make it all work however. As a result, there are directors, editors, set designers, costume designers and plenty of gaffs.

The latest production this Spring is The Rainmaker, set in a a jungle rain-forest backdrop that sends an ecological message. This is not the first eco message the children have sent us over the years. Native American themes have also had a presence on the Glenmoor stage.  There are, however, a few firsts for the Glenmoor Musical Theater this time around. For example, "Spoiler alert" there will be a tragic scene for the first time in Glenmoor Musical Theater's history. Another first, and on a lighter note, yours truly will be solely responsible for the designing and building of the rain forest fig stumps set stage left and stage right--hence the pun in the title of this blog post. I have the design in my head. Now, I just need to get it to work. I will be building the stumps this Saturday at the multi purpose room at Glenmoor Elementary. Hopefully, with the use of jigs and a template or two, I can get it done on time. I have 3 hours to do the job.

The children, including one of mine, have been working diligently on their lines and their delivery. My daughter is in the play as the Snake, and although her lines are becoming easier for her, it's her delivery and feeling that needs work. Who really enjoys a mumbling snake on the stage? Never the less, her confidence is slithering along nicely as are the rest of the performers who are all getting closer to curtain time. There will be Shamans in costume dressed in the colors of the rainbow, actors dressed as monkeys that actually swing, and a fully working rain forest waterfall.

I am sure that Mrs. Smith, together with all parents involved with costume and set design, and with the hard-working students on and off stage should command a standing ovation at the end.

After a very focused week of selling Fremont homes http://MyColdwellBankerHome.com It will be nice reconnect in a different way to the community that makes Glenmoor and enjoy the fruits our labor.

by Jeff Pereyda

• Phone: 510 742-3212
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BART's New Warm Springs/South Fremont Station

Warm Springs/South Fremont Station is now the formal name of the new BART station that is being built. It extends the Fremont BART line in a more southerly direction and should be completed over the next few years. Starting from the end of the existing Fremont BART station between Walnut and Mowry, next to the Tule Pond (pronounced Tu-lee). From there, the line will continue southeast UNDER Lake Elizabeth then turn south before it emerges from the depths of Stivers Lagoon just east of Aqua Adventure Water Park. Afterwards, it will parallel the existing railroad tracks that hug near Driscoll, then Osgood, then Warm Springs until it stops right at the very northern part of the parking lot at the old Nummi Plant, now Tesla. 

 The BART site has an image for the new location on a map, but it views the landscape from North to South, opposite of the normal or default view of Google Maps. I flipped it below, but it is still hard to view.

Here is another image that I created for us from Google Maps that is easier to view.

As a Fremont Real Estate Agent http://www.TriCityHome.com and Fremont  Real Estate Broker Associate that sells Fremont homes http://www.MyColdwellBankerHome.com, I am asked about home values and homes' proximity to BART quite a lot. 

Homes near BART's new Warm Springs/South Fremont Station will include some of these popular Irvington residential areas. All of the homes south of Grimmer Park next to Grimmer Elementary School like Jamestown, Montrose, Continental, Independence, Jamestown, Yorktown, Charleston, Hopkins, Salem, Wilmington, Columbia, Salem, Jersey, Newport, Sumter, Norfolk and Savannah. 

 Also on the other side of 680 many homes close to the BART's New Warm Springs/South Fremont Station will be Parkmeadow, Ivy, Winding, Ponce, Ute, Onondaga, and many other streets next to and around Weibel Elementary School.

In spite of the fact that the noise and construction may invade the right to quiet enjoyment of the people who live in homes near it, BART stations on the other hand have been proven a very strong real estate value booster. 

 It is not certain whether or not the BART line will have an Irvington Station or not before it goes all the way down to Warm Springs. Cool as it may be for Irvington, we will not know until more beans have been counted so to speak regarding the funding for the project. You can always look at updates from--and even contact--project coordinators if you visit the BART web site. BART has come a long way and depending on the investment dollars, it may keep going.  For now, that will be south, south east.

by Jeff Pereyda

• Phone: 510 742-3212
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• Visit Fremont Real Estate Agent Jeff Pereyda http://www.tricityhome.com
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Niles Rancho Arroyo Home for Sale

Since real estate is all about location, location, location, how then does the Rancho Arroyo area of Niles stack up? Your first impression could be how wonderfully the mature trees line the curved streets.  After that first impression, just south east of the center of Niles, Rancho Arroyo Park, Niles Community Park and Quarry Lakes Regional Park you may be struck as to how the parks create a  significant southern perimeter of half the Niles area. To the north boasts Niles Canyon, a beautiful canyon where even golden eagles have been spotted. With such a landscape, it is easy to be taken by Niles' charm and appeal.

What's more, Niles' historic back round has always given a certain pride of ownership to its residents. Tributes to Charlie Chaplin's films and the historic Niles train station are always at the center of Niles and its main Boulevard. Tea shops, antique shops, cafes and more line Niles Boulevard to make it one of the few places in Fremont that have retained a true downtown look and feel. 

For those of you looking for a Rancho Arroyo home for sale, I have listed a wonderful 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Spanish style home in the Rancho Arroyo area on Montecito Drive for $720,000.  Plenty of windows and skylights give this home plenty of light--yet it is surrounded by mature trees of all kinds. Blue spruce, cedar, redwood, and many more types of trees contribute to the charm and warmth of the coveted area of Niles. The home has a unique ventilation system that utilizes a whole-house-fan and a dual zone furnace system to control both airflow and heat where you need it. The driveway and entry way are custom-paved to really bring out the Spanish look and feel of this Rancho Arroyo home. The house kept its original floor plan and backyard size. A custom red-stained wood patio was built that is a must see. You are always invited to contact me with regards to any and all my listings and services as a Fremont real estate agent. http://www.tricityhome.com

If you are thinking of selling a home in Fremont Rancho Arroyo area, I can provide the best service as you listing agent to get you where you need to go.

by Jeff Pereyda

• Phone: 510 742-3212
• Google Me
• Email Me
• Visit Fremont Real Estate Agent Jeff Pereyda http://www.tricityhome.com
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Less Is More When It Comes to Remodeling the Kitchen

Image of new Cedarbrook kitchen in Niles I sold.

The numbers do not lie, and they have been in for some time. The numbers prove that when it comes time for a home seller to decide whether or not to remodel the house or sell the property "as is," that a minor kitchen remodel is the number one investment to make before reselling a house in the San Francisco Bay Area. It scored almost 116% recoup. That's a good thing. Interestingly, a major kitchen remodel did not fare as well in the recoup group as one might think. It scored a 94%, so less really is more. An excerpt from the report defined the minor kitchen remodel as:  

• A functional kitchen about 200 sq ft with 30 ft linear ft of cabinets. 
• Keeping the cabinet boxes and replacing the fronts with the new raised-panel wood doors and the drawers--This is often referred to as refacing the cabinets. 
• Replacing all appliances with energy efficient models. 
• Replacing laminate counter tops and install a mid-priced sink and faucet, repaint the walls and wall cover in necessary--also replace resilient flooring. 
• Slab concrete can take any type of flooring, but if you live in a multi level home where the kitchen floors may flex, then refrain from installing grout and tile flooring unless first layering with wonderboard(tm) or the like. 

These numbers are encouraging for us. We want to see investments pay off, especially in the kitchen where a lot of time is spent in the home. 

But, the post would not allow much contrast if I never mentioned the one "upgrade" that is really in the dark. A backup power generator install scored a loss on recoup at 45% of the original investment. So, I know you were thinking about getting that done first, but hold off. There are differences in percentages of recoup when it comes to remodeling or installing features to a home prior to sale. It depends on what remodel and to what extent. More of a good thing does not always pay off.

Hanley Wood LLC, the creator of the report, allows reproducing or posting information from the site as long as it is sited correctly as well as informing the public that it is always free, but you should use the siting properly like this: © 2011 Hanley Wood, LLC. Reproduced by permission. Complete city data from the Remodeling 2011 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded for free at www.costvsvalue.com. I have a copy of the Cost vs Value report on my website for you to download free here. http://www.tricityhome.com/Fremont-Newark-Union-City/Selling-Houses/costvsvalue.html By Jeff Pereyda

Niles City-Wide Street Sale

Unknown breed of duck purchased on Portobello Road, West London

Last Sunday, we packed up the kids and headed off to the Niles area of Fremont for their city-wide garage sale or street sale. Arriving at about noon and driving ever so gently through First, Second and Third Street in the car and eyeing all that was to be had was fascinating for me but only for a little while. While I was indeed saucer-eyed looking through the car window at some of the potential deals, I quickly realized there was no way to actually buy anything from the car. I felt a little lame actually. What was I going to do--stop the car? I can see it now. Car stopped, and me getting out with the typical half skip and a jog with my arms tucked up high towards some box full of fishing tackle for sale. Then, I give the cars behind me the semi wave. You know the presumptuous wave that selfishly assumes permission was granted by the wavee while I say,  "I won't take too long. I just want to poke through some of that tackle."

But, the slow stop-and-goes were very taxing on my passengers as well for the simple reason that they just wanted to get out of traffic and walk.  I quickly agreed. Since every street in Niles was either blocked off by barricades or by traffic anyway. No one survived long simply driving the car on the streets looking for a bargain. I did see a couple of vans here and there double parked while the patrons were trying to load in a chest of drawers or cupboards once every couple of blocks.

In fact, most visitors who made it to the Niles-wide garage sale, also had a hard time finding a place to park once they got there. It was either costly in the pocket book ($10.00 in some lots) or costly on the feet--unless you got there at 5am and parked on one of the streets very close by allotted for parking. In short, parking was a rough go.

Although Niles is not a city but rather a district of Fremont CA, Niles is definitely a distinct community, and has the amenities to pull off something like this. Having a district-wide garage sale in Warm Springs or even Centerville would not work. But because Niles has nice square blocks and a main street as its center point, it just works.

The deals were there, but they were not to be found on Niles Blvd. I love the shops like Time for Tea as well as My Friends and I, but whether it be commission or consignment that pushes the prices up for their wares, word on the Boulevard was that the prices were just too high. For example, a relatively well put together antique wooden duck, a rather small teal to be exact, was $75.00.   I have purchased more than one wooden duck before. One on Portobello road in London and two others at The Rastro in Madrid. Although this particular duck got a lot of attention, even while I was eyeing it, the poor creature never made it past the price tag tilt-n-look.

The deal of the day for me was a buying a bike part, or parts I should say. I bought two foam handlebar pads in a somewhat rare chocolate brown. I own a Schwinn Voyager SP from 25 years ago that I still ride and the original foam is on its way out.  The chocolate brown will go very nicely with the caramel and bronze tones on my bike's color scheme I think.

If you decide to go the the Niles-wide garage sale, go early and wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen. There is lots of food to enjoy as well. You'll have a good time. By Jeff Pereyda

Fremont Rental Search Idea

My job broke my heart the other day. In short, I had to tell a very qualified would-be renter that they did not get the home for rent in Fremont. We do property management in the TriCity area. http://mycoldwellbankerhome.com/Real_Estate/?ID=17428

 

So, because of this, I felt the need to see if other Fremont real estate agents could use this template and idea I made as a result. Why not urge renters to set up notifiers using real-time MLS data.  

 

It goes something like this...

__________________

 

Dear [name of renter]

Thank you for inquiring about the rental on 123 Anystreet. It is now rented as of yesterday afternoon. I know it is hard to hear the news. It is also hard to deliver the news all the time, but I have something for you that you can use.

If you ever get tired of looking at listings that are already gone, use my real-time MLS for for-lease properties.

go to:

• http://MyColdwellBankerHome.com [put your IDX provider link here]
• when you are there, click search for homes link on the top of the page.
• set up a search for rentals--do not forget to use monthly rents for the prices. 
• set up notifier. It's easy.

Then when one is sent to your email, you can cross reference the address for agent contact info. For example, say you're notified about 123 Anstreet for lease in your email. It will not give you the agent info or landlord info. Those are removed for the notifier. However, simply copy paste the address into Google and then Craigslist or Postlets or some other Internet post provider will confirm the listing and show contact info. Then you will know that it is legit because the listing was created by a Realtor(tm).

I enjoy and use Craigslist all the time, but you do not want to search Craigslit initially for rentals as there are very clever scams out there that fool people every day.

 _______________

So far, the renters I had set up have been extremely grateful for the aid. Anyone is welcome to use this template and even use my IDX provider service if they wish. As long as I am paying for it, it will be there. By Jeff Pereyda

The Center of Culture Gives Us Wenlock & Mandeville?

Wenlock
(Mandeville not shown)
is pictured above
in Union Jack suit

The 2012 Summer Olympics will be in London, and even though I still have not had the pleasure to compete in nor attend,  I have had the privilege of being glued to the television from as far back as 1972, when Mark Spitz and Dave Wottle stole the show in Munich, all the way up to more recent Olympic history when Michael Phelps brought home gold from Beijing in 2008. The 2012 Olympics in London is starting in just 6 days, and I think watching it on TV still grants us license to be a part of history as we sit up and say, "I saw that when it happened."

We would also like to congratulate our local Fremont and Pleasanton east bay area residents who will be participating in a much more real sense by carrying the torch. This season, ten teens, representing eight states and fourteen charities and organizations, were nominated by peers, teachers, and leaders of youth organizations. Here in the east bay, we have Kylan Nieh, age 19, Fremont, CA  and Sarah Williams, age 19, Pleasanton, CA. Congratulations Kylan and Sarah!

There is a small bit of unfinished business for I think some of us though, the 2012 Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. Really London? The center of culture, and you came up with a quirky, one-eyed thing for the 2012 Olympic mascots. We saw their debut in 2010, and writer Paul Kelso, was quick to describe them as, "Two parts-Pokemon to one-part lava lamp with yellow ‘Taxi’ lights on their foreheads..." (read his full article here.) I hear they are quite the scream over in England and they are well-loved icons now. But, did England's forty focus groups consider creating a stylized Beefeater, Palace Guard or maybe even a mascot derived from a red phone booth? Maybe not the phone booth, but what about using real animals as a start? I have taken some time in compiling a list of some animals commonly found in England that could have made a decent go at becoming a mascot: List below. Comments are in italics.

• Eurasian Otter-ok, really fast and fun to watch

• Polecat-maybe
• Hazel Dormouse-good one, has a nice English sound to it
• Natterjack Toad-love the name, but still no for the Olympic mascot
• Great Crested Newt-another good one
• Adder--right out
• Smooth Snake--albeit smooth--too scary, may frighten some children
• Tawny Owl-I love owls
• Stoat--extremely adorable, fast, and very competitive, good contender click for image
• Pine Marten--equally adorable as Stoat above, runner up click for image

Regardless of the choice of mascot, he 2012 London Olympics is just about to kick off.  The opening ceremonies will be on the 27th of July. Please do not miss it. Maybe Wenlock and Mandeville will grow on me.

Here is a wiki on Olympic mascots past, present and a little future. click here By Jeff Pereyda