Berkeley, CA

Even in a Greencentric city like Berkeley, locals and Bay Area visitors would be Green with envy when they see the just opened David Brower Center. It feels healthy just to walk through the Green down-to-the-bones building which combines advanced technology along with simple recycled materials.

When entering for their housewarming party we had a difficult time not noticing the soaring concrete walls which made us think more dot com than gallery. The fact that in creating a building with an oh- so-feathery carbon footprint (when compared to most structures) Principal Architect, Daniel Solomon included up to 70 percent slag in those walls.

Just like people, what Green buildings have on the inside can be the key. Anyone (or any building) can have a great exterior but look at the Brower Center’s guts and soul. We love the radiant heating and cooling that runs through the floors, as well as the water catchment system and giant cistern that significantly reduce the building’s water use. The building even employs small aspects like the zinc siding and photovoltaic panels that double as sun-shades. The zinc siding will last numerous years without being treated.

The designers and builders designed the edifice be 40 percent more energy-efficient than conventional ones, which includes a day lighting program that uses high-efficiency lighting with automatic controls limit use when daylight is adequate. Normally we don’t get to excited heading to the restroom (no jokes please) but we definitely got giddy with the Icestone countertops, waterless urinals and high powered hand dryer. We’re talking ten seconds max to dry hands.

Besides the physical structure the Brower Center works on the social justice level as it houses various NGOs and ecologically minded companies such as: Center for Ecoliteracy, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and the Earth Island Institute. We can’t speak for all the staff and workers but having the Brower Center as your office would actually inspire someone to want to come to work.

June 2, 2009 - The Diary of a Gladiator 2-Minute Video Edition.

Harrison talks about the launch of GoGladiatorTV and is excited to announce that 3 coaching slots are now open!

GoGladiatorTV will be a live Ustream show talking everything real estate. Our first four markets will be Indianapolis, Chicago, Tampa/St Pete, and Atlanta.

Harrison will be opening up 3 slots for committed people who want to be coached through a real estate investment deal from start to finish.

Learn how to:

    * Find Money
    * Find & Analyze a Deal
    * Close the Deal
    * Rehab the House
    * Find a GOOD Property Manager
    * Lease the House to the Right Tenant
    * How to Manage Cash Flow
    * If Needed, Re-Sell the Property

It is an exciting time to be an investor, so come and enjoy the GoGladiator experience!

Have a Profitable Day Everyone!

Harrison Painter is a Real Estate Broker and Marketing Animal in the Indianapolis, Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers, and Zionsville, IN markets who Makes Real Estate Happen! If you are looking to buy, sell, or invest, CALL ME TODAY!

(317) 871-1000

At Gladiator Real Estate Group, We Answer the Phone!!!!

Website: www.GoGladiator.com

www.Staged-to-Sell.com lovesworking in the Berkeley area of California. The houses are a bit funky at times and can be everything from classic to modern in design. The real estate professionals are truly experts in their area and the clients are committed to doing what it takes to get the house sold. This property was on the market last month. Within a matter of days in received three offers and sold for over asking.

In this tough market its more important than ever to prepare a home for market. Just see for yourself.

The Living Room had beautiful hardwood floors and tiled fireplace is overwhelmed by dark walls. Even the molding was painted the dark red color. We painted the walls, had the fireplace cleaned and buffed the floors. Keep in mind that this shot was taken at the same time of day as the after.

The upstairs had an office that did not really have much appeal until we painted the trim and transformed it into a nursery.

This before shot of the kitchen doesn't really do it justice. The cabinets were dark purple with dark hardware. We simply had them painted, changed out the hardware and painted the walls. The difference is night and day!

Our lovely clients son loved the color blue when he lived there are few years back. We neutralized the wall and made this large room into guest quarters.

A simple coat of paint, uncovered hardwood floors and using inspiration for the bedding from the lovely flowering vine just outside the window helped set the room up just right.

Staged to Sell is a full service staging company servicing Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, El Cerrito and the entire East Bay. We have professionals who do quality work and reasonable prices to assist us in preparing our clients home to sell. For more information go to www.Staged-to-Sell.com

Last night I had dinner with a highly competent and experienced loan broker who is also a friend. She was feeling terribly down about the lack of control she is experiencing the in current market. I suggested that she make a list of "can you believe" loan and appraisal stories to give to clients. I thought that if the clients could appreciate the difficulties of getting through underwriting as of May 2009, they might not take delays and additional inquiries so personally.

One of the examples she gave me was shocking. The underwriter, as a final loan condition not previously mentioned, wanted an explanation of why the borrowers did not have social security numbers from birth. The explanation was relatively easy: the borrowers were in their 70's and didn't get social security numbers until they obtained their first jobs as was the custom at the time. The problem: the result of the inquiry was to put the loan back on the underwriters table for an additional 4 days thereby taking the time period beyond the interest rate lock.

If you have other stories for me to pass along, I would love to hear them.

PS Yes, she did pay the required points to keep the interest rate.

This was passed along to me and is worthy of sharing. Give a listen if you haven't heard this already. Grandpa Elliott ROCKS.

"Below is a link to one of the best pieces of sound engineering work I think I have ever seen. It is a composite audio/video of a song whereby additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from different places around the world. The finished product is tremendous! The song itself is that classic standard, "Stand By Me", originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released again in 1961 by the Drifters. This composite version is pretty amazing. So turn up the speaker volume and Click Below..."
<http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741>