Welcome to our San Carlos Real Estate blog!
Kelly has lived in San Carlos for over 20 years and has raised her 6 children here. She is extremely familiar with the area and schools and is involved in the community.
This
December, let us remember the kids who come to the Good Neighbor Center.
Please bring new shoes for children ages 3 to 10 to the church by
December 13th. What a beautiful way to honor the birth of the Christ
child by buying new shoes for children in need.
REO properties may contain garbage and some of the former owner's belongings.
Buying a real estate owned home is often tempting because of
the savings potential. Lenders with REO properties usually want to sell
as soon as possible to avoid the cost and hassle of ownership, and that
is reflected in their pricing. While buying a REO property comes with
the risks you'd have under a traditional sale, there are some extra
warnings involved.
Poor Condition
An REO home is often the result of a foreclosure that no one
wanted at auction. It may have damage from vandals, the elements or the
prior owners. Lenders sometimes have REO homes that have sat vacant for
months or even years, increasing the chances of damage and problems such
as pest infestation. While you may have the chance to get a home
inspection before buying, the cost is usually your responsibility, and
the lender normally won't make any corrections, selling the home "as
is."
Rough Transaction
The process for buying REOs is different from traditional
property buying and may take longer. Using an inexperienced real estate
agent can make matters worse, since the agent must follow the selling
lender's specific process for submitting offers and closing the deal.
Transaction problems can cost you time and even money if the agent
misses deadlines and you lose the home and any nonrefundable cash you
spent.
Underpricing and Overpricing
Lenders may intentionally underprice a home to attract buyers
quickly because it needs substantial repairs or has costly issues, such
as illegal tenants, that the lender doesn't want to deal with. You may
find yourself with a huge repair bill and other headaches for a cheap
REO you bought. Overpricing may happen in cases where the lender based
selling information on outdated property reports instead of the current
state of the home and its neighborhood.
Squatters
Abandoned homes may attract squatters, people who have moved
into the home illegally. While the lender, as the owner, has the right
to evict squatters from REO properties, it may become your problem if
the lender fails to do so and you become the new owner. You'll have to
go through the area's court eviction process, which may take months to
complete and cost you money in legal and filing fees. Meanwhile, the
squatters may continue to damage the home until you can have them
removed.
Catch basins drain water away from your home and yard.
Managing excess water in your yard before it becomes a problem
will save you time, money and aggravation. Channeling water away from
your home's foundation, patio, driveway, play area or other low-lying
areas will prevent pooling, mosquito infestations and serious erosion.
Drainage is obviously important in high rainfall areas, but it's also
important in areas where you want to retain and direct as much ground
water as possible to support gardens, trees and shrubbery.
Gravel-Filled Trench
A French drain, or gravel-filled trench, is used where runoff
is light. It catches and deflects water from elevated areas such as
hillsides, roofs, patios and around swimming pool and ponds. These
trenches are usually one foot deep by one foot wide, depending on the
volume of water that will potentially go through it. The trench is
filled with gravel and can extend the length of the yard.
Catch Basin
If you find low spots in your yard that are accumulating
water, you may need a catch basin. A hole is dug at the lowest point in
your yard to accommodate a plastic or concrete box and a length of PVC
pipe. These boxes are available in several sizes at most large garden
centers. They are designed to receive water through a grate when they
are placed into a sloping trench with PVC pipe extending from the box
along the trench toward a storm drain or dry well. Alternatively, the
water can be redirected to plant beds.
Dry-Well
A dry-well is ideal in areas where it is illegal to tie into
the local drain or storm system. Dry-wells allow accumulated water to
gradually soak or seep into the ground through a 2- to 4-foot wide hole
that is at least 3 feet deep, depending on the volume of water it needs
to hold. The sides of hole are covered with landscape fabric to direct
the water to the base of the hole. Trenches can be dug in problem areas
to accommodate PVC pipe and directed toward the dry-well.
Grading
Grading is another possible solution for problematic yard
drainage and entails re-grading or re-shaping the land. The goal is to
move soil from one area to another putting it at the proper height and
slope to ensure adequate drainage. Rough grading removes or adds enough
soil to bring the surface to the correct height and slope, while finish
grading prepares the landscape for planting. In most areas, adequate
surface drainage requires a minimum of 2 1/2 to 3 inches of slope per 10
feet of ground.
Considerations
Utility companies are always notifying customers in
mid-spring to “Be Careful Where You Dig,” and for good reason. A ditch
witch trencher or sharp shovel can cause a lot of damage to underground
utility lines, at your expense. You also need to make sure excess water
has a legal exit path to a sewer or storm drain. Some building codes
permit these lines, while other do not. If your house isn't connected to
a sewer or drain system, you can direct it towards a septic tank or
drainage field, just not your neighbor's flower garden.
Sending
warm wishes and heartfelt gratitude your way during this season of
Thanksgiving. Thank you for thinking of me for your real estate needs
and best wishes for a joyful holiday filled with friends, family and
loved ones.
A chief complaint from most homeowners is the lack of closet
space. No matter how much bigger closets get, it never seems to be
enough space to properly organize your wardrobe. If you spend most
mornings rummaging through your closet for work clothes, then dashing
out the door your standard 5 minutes late, it’s time to redesign your
closet for maximum efficiency.
Two Hanging Levels
Older homes, especially, often have closets equipped with one
hanging rod that allows long garments, such as dresses, to hang all the
way down without wrinkling, but not many people have a full closet of
dresses. The first way to create more space in your closet is to
determine how much space you need for full-length clothes hanging, then
add an additional clothes rod mid-way down the wall in the rest of the
hanging space. A common organization is to place shirts on the top rod
and pants, skirts and shorts on the bottom rod.
Drawers and Shelves
If you have a lot of clothes that you fold and stack, use one
section of the closet to install floor to top shelf drawers or shelves.
Stacking is especially suited to sweaters and silk blouses that can
become misshapen or imprinted by hangers. Shelves offer the advantage of
being able to see all your stacked clothes, but drawers offer the
advantage of protecting clothes from dust, especially during long
periods of nonuse.
Purse Bins
Rather than let the space above the top shelf and the ceiling
go to waste, set a couple of 1-foot-square bins on top. Bins are sold
in 1-, 2- and 3-foot heights, so choose the one that takes the best
advantage of the available space. Once the bins are in place, simply
slide your purses in each cubby for easy viewing and retrieval. Place
specialty purses that are not used as often in the highest bins.
Shoe Boxes
If you have designer shoes that need to remain in the boxes
for protection, use shoe stacking shelves on the floor of the closet and
on the top shelf to hold the boxes. Using shelves, rather than stacking
the boxes one on top of the other, allows you to pull a single box out
without upsetting the entire stack. For shoe-finding efficiency, tape a
picture of the shoe on the front of the box.
Ceiling Hangers for Ball Caps
Everyone knows about over-the-door hangers for hats, or the
stretch racks that can be mounted on walls or doors, but you can hang
your hats and make use of normally unused space at the same time. Screw
plant-holder hooks into the ceiling down the middle of the closet and
hang your ball caps from the hooks. Unless your ceilings are very low or
you are very tall, the hats should not brush against the top of your
head.
Here's an ad from the Spring 1940 addition of
"Housing Book of Homes & Plans". A new home in Palo Alto could be
purchased for $75.00 a month! What a difference from today when average home prices are so high! Does anyone recognize
this house? #thegoodolddays #affordablehousinginPaloAlto
#PaloAltoHomesForSale #GreatdealsonPaloAltoHomes
Judy Clarke and Kelly Clarke are co-founders of The Clarke Team at Coldwell Banker. Judy is an escaped CPA while Kelly is an MBA. They specialize in properties located on the Peninsula and have a top referral network for other areas.
They quickly earn the trust and respect of their clients with their professional approach. They strive for constant improvement and offer outstanding communication and client care. Contact them at sold@clarketeam.com, or call Judy at 650-270-8423 or Kelly at 650-315-5371.
