San Leandro, CA

From the moment we get out of bed to the time we come back to sleep, we make decisions that affect our climate and increase the carbon emissions that contribute to the greenhouse gas effects that are causing our climate to change. What is the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain YOUR consumption patterns and absorb YOUR wastes on an annual basis?

Almost every activity in our lives has an effect in our planet’s climate. The choices we make in our homes, when we travel, the food that we eat, what we buy and throw away, they all leave behind our very personal carbon footprint that could affect the world climate for future generations. The USA National Average for a 2 person household is 53 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. The world average is only 11 tons per year, what is yours? What is YOUR impact in this earth? Use this Carbon Footprint Calculator and find out where you stand.

Making environmentally friendly home improvements not only beautifies the house but also adds to its value. It is a win-win for everybody, your house will have a better return on your investment and you will be helping to save the planet. Here is a list of simple items that can be accomplished very easily:

• Begin by replacing all your light bulbs in the house with compact fluorescence ones, they can use up to 75% less energy
• How many times have you left the outdoor lights on? An inexpensive motion detector will turn them off for you
• Make an inspection of all bathrooms, kitchen, outdoor faucets and fix all leaks, the amount of water saved is tremendous
• Take shorter showers and turn off the water while brushing your teeth and shaving. Install low flow shower heads
• Create a compost pile in your backyard, your garden will appreciate that, your garbage costs will be lower, your city dumps will be smaller and will not have to spend gas transporting your leftovers to their place. Are you with me so far? This is easy stuff! doable in a day!
• Replace your air conditioner and heating system filters, or clean them up more regularly
• Install more ceiling fans in your house, use them instead of the air conditioner and heater
• Insulate your home and use weather stripping around doors and windows
• Remember the 3 R's: Refuse, Reuse and Recycle, keep them in mind at all times, specially when shopping
• Stop all junk mail! Here is how to do it. Use online banking where you can receive your bills by e-mail instead of snail mail.

As you see, you can reduce your personal environmental impact by making a few simple changes in your everyday behavior. Your efforts plus mine multiplied by many others will make a big difference in the fight to slow climate change.

YOU have the power to change the world! Even to the end when you can choose to be buried in an Ecoffin, a unique casket made from naturally hardened 100% recycled paper to make a graceful exit… and a final contribution to the planet, way to go...! Bravo!

With the number of people displaced by foreclosures and short sales, the real estate rental market is very active. Scamers have taken notice and are out there trying to extort money from renters. This is not a new trend, as a matter of fact this is not the first time I have had one of my listings taken over, pictures and all, posted on Craig's List as a bargain rental. When I start getting phone calls from renters on my listings I know someone is trying to extort money from them using my listing ads.

In a recent episode, I went to Craig's List and looked for the ad. Sure enough, there it was, my pictures and my description of the house, address and all. The rent was very low which explains the number of calls. I decided to send an e-mail and ask to be considered as a tenant. I filled out a simple questionnaire and gave my real e-mail address, I promised to pay up to 3 months in advance if I was chosen as the tenant. The landlord explained in an e-mail that he and his family were in Lagos, Nigeria on an assignment from their church and won't be coming back for about a year.

The response was quick and I was offered the house for rent, the landlord asked that I send the $850.00 first month rent only, and that I could send the second months rent the following week and then the third month on the third week. The reason, I learned later, is that there is a process where if you send more than a $1,000 via Western Union you will need to fill out a few tax forms and this transaction could be flagged. These people know the rules about international wires and their limits and conditions, you can tell they have done this many times over.
I responded that my wife wanted to see the house before signing the rental agreement which the landlord said will be sent with the keys as soon as he gets the money. We even suggested that we could call the Realtor and ask him to show us the house. An immediate explanation come back saying that they wanted to sell the house but they had changed their mind and had not told the Realtor yet. We were warned NOT to talk to the Realtor at all.

Playing along with the conman I ask if we could see pictures of the inside of the house and since he had said he will come and visit us, we wanted to see pictures of him and his family too. A set of very nice pictures of a newer home arrive, and also a family shot of a Caucasian family, including 2 small children. Very detailed steps were sent to us about how and where to send the money. We insisted on seen the rental agreement first, within minutes a California Rental Agreement was sent, I was surprised to see how accurate the legal the document was. We agree to send the money as instructed.

Within the next two days the conman send us e-mails asking if we had sent the money. We told him we did, but also told him that we had gone to the house and saw the Realtor and had an opportunity to see the house, we confided that we had left a back door opened and that we planned to take possession of the house within the next day or so.

Our conman insisted that we give him the 10 digit number for the wire, we did, he become frustrated because no such number existed and demanded to see a copy of the wire transfer, we told him we were already in the house and planned to have a BBQ the next day. But with the moving we could not remember where the receipt was... but that we were enjoying his house.

His frustration grew and he become rather hostile, while he wanted to know if we had followed his wire instructions step by step, we kept telling him about the colors we were thinking of painting different rooms in the house! I think that at one point he knew he had been duped and asked if we were playing with him and taking him for a fool, we quickly confirmed his suspicions and told him that his e-mail has been blocked and he will never be able to communicate with us anymore.

All I wanted to know is how far these people go to steal money from potential renters, obviously they know how international wires work, how much money is allowed to be sent without arousing suspicions from the financial entities, and what the process entail.

This process created by others on the other side of the world bring unnecessary attention to a house for sale by people that will not be buying, once their money is taken, they might even come to the seller to find answers as to why they lost their money. Renters be aware: DO NOT SEND MONEY OVERSEAS, YOU'LL NEVER GET IT BACK. If there is a for sale sign, call the Realtor and get some answers!

Here is a list of homes for sale in San Leandro's North Side. Please use this list to see if there is anything that catches your interest. If you are currently not working with another Realtor, give me a call and I can get you additional information and arrange to show the property to you.

Michael Greenslade DRE 01824328 (510) 334-7800

One of the most difficult parts for a Professional Realtor to do is to have the buyer write an offer to buy a house on an "as-is" condition without asking the seller to do any repairs at all. The obvious fear of having to spend money fixing items that they did not expect is a reason why home buyers are reluctant to pay full price on a house they have not inspected, but inspecting a house prior to buying it is not a feasible possibility either.

But when the buyer is competing with others for the same house, an "as-is" clause on his contract will make a huge difference for the seller when choosing which offer to accept. The seller will always take that offer instead of one that has an inspection contingency.

Most properties on the market have some deferred maintenance, especially listings that are in foreclosure or bank-owned, home buyers would like to know what the true condition of the property is before they buy it, hence the inspection period of about 10-15 days from the moment the offer is accepted. Here is where the seller can speed up the sale of the house by getting a complete home inspection before putting the house on the market.

If the buyer reads the home report before writing the offer, then he can waive the inspection period and speed up the closing. These reports should be offered at the property so the buyer can examine them while looking at the house. I suggest EVERY HOME SELLER take the following steps BEFORE the house goes on the market:

• Order a complete inspection from a local reputable, Professional Home Inspection Company.
• Call a company that DOES NOT DO ANY WORK. Just inspections
• Choose a company that offers the reports via e-mail. This way it can be disseminated faster
• The report should include multiple color photographs within the body of the report. These photos help the average home buyer "see" the problem areas and understand them better.
• The home report should also include an evaluation of the roof.
• A pest control inspection should be done at the same time and a separate report should be issued.
• The Pest control report should include an approximate cost of all repairs called for.
• One final but important step: Make sure the inspector has access to ALL AREAS OF THE HOUSE.

Buyers will pay better prices for properties that are in good condition and only a recent full inspection report from a Professional Home Inspection Company can tell them that. The cost in the San Francisco bay area for a home and a pest control reports is around $550. If the property is in good condition and those reports confirm that fact, the buyers will probably pay good prices and haggle less.

The buyer of course reserves the right the call his own inspections. This is when the professionalism of the home inspection company the seller chooses comes into place. It must be reliable, stable and professional enough to stand scrutiny. After 25 years of experience I use one of the most Professional companies I know out of Walnut Creek, CA. 1 (800) 466-2466 National Building Inspectors. The photos in this post are from an actual report from NBI. Buyers: don't go at it alone, this company will be your best ally when purchasing a home.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" CRS, GRI, E-Pro Certified. Serving the East Shores of the San Francisco Bay. Alameda and Contra Costa counties; San Leandro, Castro Valley, Oakland, Hayward, Pleasanton, Dublin. Visit us on line at: www.listedbyantonio.com Call us, we'll come and TANGO with you! (510) 326-4263

Here is a list of homes for sale in San Leandro's North Side. Please use this list to see if there is anything that catches your interest. If you are currently not working with another Realtor, give me a call and I can get you additional information and arrange to show the property to you.

Michael Greenslade DRE 01824328 (510) 334-7800