Sep
29

Real Estate is like the San Francisco 49ers

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers
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I love the 49ers. I’ve been a Niner’s girl for a long time. Each week I watch with hope, excitement, and anticipation…anticipation for that almighty touchdown. Of course, most weeks they don’t come through. But look at the history of football…football can be categorized in cycles: some weeks you are up, some you are down. Some seasons you are up, [...]
Sep
22

Grand Opening of Five Fields Sports Complex @ Gilman

Posted In: Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Neighborhood Businesses, Neighborhoods, Richmond
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Five years ago five cities came together to address the challenge of a shortage of sports fields in the region. The cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville came up with this: Develop a regional sports complex at the intersection of I-80 and Gilman Street in northwest Berkeley. Earlier this month the leaders and politicians of each of [...]
Sep
15

Ode to the stock market cloud

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers
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The stock market went bonkers today. I hope you aren’t flipping assets. How does someone who is looking to buy or sell a house decipher what is happening on Wall Street? How will all of this turmoil affect them? Sure, it could, and probably will, mean lower interest rates, but any benefit on the housing market could be shadowed by [...]
Sep
08

Struggling homeowners worry about credit score

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Mortgage & Finance
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Aye aye aye. It’s a sign of the times. Over the last year and a half, the mortgage market has undergone more changes than in any comparable period since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The current housing market malaise has some homeowners up in arms. With the threat of losing their house on their shoulders, the idea of burning [...]
Sep
04

Are you being greenwashed?

Posted In: Home Improvement, Neighborhood Businesses
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Everywhere you turn, it’s green this, green that. I feel like my skin is turning green! But just how green are the products you are using? I recently met with Becky Hatt, an Interior Designer with HAUS, an interior design and architecture firm which specializes in green building. “Companies are starting to capitalize on all of the hype surrounding the [...]
Sep
02

A call you will have to make

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Home Improvement, Web/Tech
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You have the keys to your new house. The power is turned on, everything is moved in. Still haven’t turned on your phone? Perhaps you shouldn’t… I don’t think it will be long before landlines become a part of the landfills. Today, 14% of American adults are using their cell phone as their primary phone line, no landline required. And [...]