About Alameda's Central Alameda

I have had several requests for reverse mortgage all over the Bay Area recently. The scenario today was a gentleman aged 70 had a retirement of 400K in 2005 which is now worth 120K. He told me he was "practicing jumping from his kitchen chair". He said it jokingly but it made me wonder.

For him, the reverse mortgage is the perfect solution! New guidelines value reverse mortgages up to $625,500 and NO HIGHER (up fro $417,000). So despite his house appraising at over 1 million the property value is $625, 500 for our purposes. He wanted to get an extra $500 a month or an extra $100K credit line which he won't have to pay back unless he moves or sells the property.

When I ran the numbers I found I could get him a $95K credit line or an additional $574 a month! Nothing has to be paid until he is no longer living there or he is no longer living anywhere. With elderly people losing there ritirements and home equity a reverse mortgage is the perfect solution.

For more information on reverse mortgages email me at info@garrick.biz and I can send you an FAQ.

In Alameda on Santa Clara Steet just North of Paru Street is the W.W. Dixon creation of Stonehenge, Stoneliegh and Stonefaire.

As chronicled in Storybook Style by Arroll Gellner, Stonehenge is an amazing example of a storybook home community.

The homes are built around pedestrian courtyards with lush gardens, fountians and benches. The buildings themsevles are wonderful example of tiny little storybook tudors. The homes look as if they are out of a fairytale and just simply evoke a pleasant feeling.

Automobile traffice to the garages to thes units are carried on alleyways around each complex. This keeps the fronts of the units facing the gardens and the strong sense of community.

I went to an open house yesterday there at the Tuesday broker's open. While walking to the unit, I ran across one of the residents that lives in one of the units. She was a pleasant lady to talk to.

I had mentioned that I was one of the original members of Storybookers.com and the associated Yahoogroup. She as going to pass the information about the group to some of the other homeowners. Storybookers, group had been kind of slow for the last few months and it would be nice to get some new activity.

Anyway, I was talking to this nice lady and she had mentioned how some of the residents had taken a tour of some of the other known Dixon and Hillen Homes and Projects, Picardy Drive in the Mills College area of Oakland and Ross Street in the Rockridge district of Oakland.

I then went on to view the open house. It was one of the spanish/mission revival buildings in the entire complex. This was one of the properties on the back side of the property that actually have an address on Lincoln. The REALTOR that showed the property had known some about the complex. She had mentioned that the part of the complex that these buildings was in was actually called Stonefaire. Something I hadn't known before. Just goes to show you learn something everyday.

Once again I had mentioned to her to join the online group of storybook fans, Storybookers and the associated Yahoogroup. Storybookers has about 180 members last time I looked.

There I was, on the Tuesday broker's tour for Alameda looking at the listing at 1821 Broadway (one of my clients had shown some fleeting interest in that property). This little home is near the corner of Broadway and Clement.

Across the street on the Northeastern corner of Clement and Broadway there it was. A little non-descript industrial building. Done in the Mission Revival style popular at the time.

The architect William Raymond Yelland, who is most famous for his storybook style buildings was also dabbling in mission revival also.

One of his signature elements was stamped tin weather vanes and other roof ornaments. On a house built on Euclid street in Berkeley were the startled cat tin ornament along the roof ridgeline, a rooster topped the chimney and a flour de les grace a roof peak.

This little industiral building in Alameda has one of these such ornaments. In this case it's a little cabelero cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Age has taken it toll on this wonderful detail, the front half of the horse has withered away into history.

When looking for Yelland's it pays to look up. Considering that commercial property goes for less (around here it's a pretty good investment) this little building would be a great piece of property to fix and bring back to life.