Alameda

Dec
03

Who doesn’t love a good kitchen!

Posted In: Alameda, Albany, Architecture, Berkeley, Creative Reuse Ideas, El Cerrito, Emeryville, For Boomers, For Buyers, For Sellers, For the Heck of It, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Home Improvement, Home Maintenance, Kensington, Neighborhoods, Oakland, Photos, Richmond, Rockridge, Temescal, Uncategorized
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Krista and Rosie love a good kitchen!  Each time they go into a house they always check out the kitchen. Big, little, comfy, white, bright?  What would you add to your dream kitchen? A cool chalkboard wall to write menus? How about  built-in wine storage?  There are so many ways you can create the kitchen of your dreams! Here are [...]
Dec
02

Tree Lighting Ceremonies

Posted In: Alameda, Alameda County, Albany, Arts and Entertainment, Berkeley, Community, Contra Costa County, El Cerrito, Emeryville, For the Heck of It, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Kensington, Neighborhood Events, Neighborhoods, Oakland, Photos, Places, Richmond, Rockridge, Temescal, Uncategorized
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Do you make it a tradition to go to tree lighting ceremonies each year?  If not – no better time than now! Berkeley has their tree lighting ceremony this Friday at 5:30pm.  Jack London Square will also have their tree lighting ceremony on Friday at 5:00pm. There are quite a few options to go see a tree lighting or Menorah [...]
Dec
01

High Rental Rates Equal Higher Mortgage Rates?

Posted In: Alameda, Alameda County, Albany, Berkeley, Economy, El Cerrito, Emeryville, First Time Home Buyers, For Boomers, For Buyers, For Sellers, General Real Estate News, Kensington, Local Market Statistics, Mortgage & Finance, Oakland, Rentals, Richmond, Temescal, Uncategorized
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High rental rates near BART don’t necessarily equal higher mortgage rates.  KQED recently posted this cool albeit somewhat depressing map showing you where you can find an affordable 1 bedroom near BART.  While this may be hard to look at from a renter’s point of view, we need to remember that owning closer to BART does not necessarily mean you [...]
Aug
01

Home Sales Up : Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito

Posted In: Alameda, Alameda County, Albany, Berkeley, Contra Costa County, El Cerrito, Kensington, Local Market Statistics, Oakland
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Looks like home sales in our area were up the last couple of months, despite the rest of the country seeing a decrease.  The median price in the immediate east bay jumped to its highest level in almost four years.  This is due in part to super-low interest rates, pre-approval guidelines opening up, and no inventory. The median price paid [...]
Jun
03

Transfer Taxes for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties

Posted In: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, For Buyers, For Sellers, Oakland, Richmond, Taxes
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Many cities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties impose a point of sale ordinance on real property.  The chart below will show which cities will impose a transfer tax.  Both Alameda County and Contra Costa County have a county transfer tax of $1.10/$1,000. Example: If the sales price of a house in Berkeley is $500,000 then the seller can expect to pay $500 for [...]