Berkeley, CA

I just sent of an email to Mark at Omega Salvage's upscale lighting and fixture store Omega Too. I stopped into their Berkeley storefront the other day and talked to him about the possibility of restoring the lighting fixtures in my parent's San Leandro home. I started to describe to him that the Chandeliers were made of cast metal, twisted steel and bent steel. I tried to describe how the ends of some of the pieces had dragons at one end and Flor De Les at the other end.

He told me that he had some people in his staff at Omega Too that do restoration of fixtures like these.

I sent him some detailed up close photos. His reaction was WOW, he had never seen anything like them before, but his restorationist had some knowledge of them. I am still waiting to hear back from him and now her.

A while back Rejuvenation Lighting did some sconces that are a close match. These are reproductions. Ours are ofcourse originals dating back to the 1920s. If you haven't checked out Rejuventaion or Omega Too do so, you'll end up book marking the pages for future reference.

The Glenwood Sconces would be a good match to the ones we had on either side of the fireplace at one time. http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshowW724/templates/selection.phtml

The Kensington light fixture appears to be a part of the same family http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshowC894/templates/selection.phtml

The Welborn also seems to be of the same family http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshowC565/templates/selection.phtml

I have been looking long for this photo of the original Theta Chi Chapter House at U.C. Berkeley. This was the one designed by William Raymond Yelland. Yelland was the designer for Normandy Village and Beckett's Irish Pub.

It was located on LeConte just North of the campus near Normandy Village. It was torn down in order to make room for an medical office building I believe. The blueprints for this frat house are still available in the design archives collection at U.C. Berkeley.

It is the perfect text book building by Yelland. He has many of his classic features in this one building. This frat house features dutch gables or Jerkinhead gables. A very prominent cat-slide roof at the right side. The fireplace with the tapered top is very much his style. The bay window with the railing above also classic Yelland. This frat house is closest in style to the Derry Residence, there has been. very rarely is a residence by yelland so stucco'd all over. Yelland usually went crazy with the brick work.

This could very well fit into Superior Avenue in San Leandro or Alma Place in Oakland. This building just makes me happy. I'd like to rebuild a copy of this when I retire on some nice acreage.

The Derry House San Leandro with it's cat-slide roof.

Zillow has just published a report on the home values for Berkeley- Their headline: Zillow Buzz: Berkeley home values increased by 5 percent. Check it out. Keep in mind this company has some serious legal problems for undervaluing property in some locations. In reading through this report, it is published by zip code and I question the accuracy. Past clients have used Zillow as a benchmark for pricing, only to be defeated when submitting an offer; others have used this site for evaluating their property when listing, only to find Zillow greatly undervalued the property.

Let's move on….
Our Berkeley market is strong. We don't have many short sales or foreclosures and there are price ranges that are definitely more active than some.

Here are some statistics:
Berkeley, since January 1, 2008,
Price range over $500,000: There have been 10 sales closed, 21 are pending and there are 50 active listings on the market. And get this - of those 50 active listings, 24 are over $1,000,000. So many of my clients are in the $700,000 price range - we definitely need the federal stimulus package to kick in soon. That will allow loans to be at a better interest rate and financing in general more affordable.

I would be happy to talk to you about this if you want more information.

So you are looking to buy a home in Berkeley. In this eddition of Golden Nuggets we will take a look at Down Payment Assistance and First Time Home Buyer programs in the Alameda County, CA City of Berkeley. There is $67,000 in Down Payment Assistance available for the purchase of your New Home. The funds may be in the form of grants, gifts and silent seconds with affordable housing covenants and/or equity share restrictions. Funds may come from the City, County, State, or other Agencies and Non-Profits.

Summary: The City of Berkeley does not currently have a Down Payment Assistance Program or First Time Home Buyer program available directly through them. Assistance may be available from County, State and other resources.

The State of California offers up to an additional 6% in assistance through several programs designed to help First Time Home Buyers, plus a bonus of $7,500 because Berkeley is a high cost area.

Special financing may also be available, including additional Down Payment Assistance and Below Market Interest Rates. Restrictions Apply.

To see if you are eligible for assistance contact Nate Ellis.

or Call 888-808-NATE (6283)

Nate Ellis "Mr. Danke Schoen" is the Vice President of the Contra Costa Realtors in Motion(CCRIM) real estate marketing group. Nate Ellis specializes in assisting First Time Home Buyers with no money down by leveraging Down Payment Assistance in the form of grants and "silent seconds". Nate Ellis is a certified lender for the City of Walnut Creek, City of Concord and City of Pittsburg First Time Home Buyer program, as well as several other San Francisco Bay Area Cities. Nate Ellis is also the Chairman of the Mt Diablo Housing Opportunity Center(MtDHOC) steering committee. The MtDHOC acts as the central resource for Contra Costa County's housing needs and education regarding: First Time Home Buyers, Foreclosure Prevention, Senior Housing and Landlord and Tennant resources. Nate Ellis is also a Certified Money Management Volunteer (CMMV) for Money Management International and assists people with credit evaluation and financial education. Nate Ellis is a certified CalHFA, CalPERS and FHA Lender. Nate Ellis is a Loan Officer for Residential Pacific Mortgage 3201 Danville Blvd, Alamo, CA 94507. Equal Housing Lender. Any rates or programs quoted or referenced are not guaranteed and are subject to terms and conditions. All offers and programs may be withdrawn at any time. ©Copyright 2008 MrDankeSchoen Nate Ellis http://www.cahousingblog.com/ Nate@BuilditBuyitRefiit.com Help a Teacher, Cop, Firefighter or EMT be a Good Neighbor.