If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to
yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.
"Whatever It Takes"
Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay
925-788-7572
Some claim that if we abuse our planet at the same rate as we do today, then out planets resources will only last until 2032. That is pretty scary.
It doens't take much to help our planet out. Some people recycle, some people drive hybrids, and some people use energy efficient light bulbs. These are all excellent ideas in prolonging the life of this planet.
I for one like the idea of solar panels on my home. It saves a lot of money for one thing. We have this perfectly good source of energy that rises everyday, called the "Sun." It's a perfectly good source of energy that I think we all should take advantage of. Now some people think that solar panels are ugly. I would have to agree with you. But we are coming along way with technology these days. They are now creating what is called, "integrated roof shingles."
They are much more attractive than the old, ugly solar panels people used to use. They happen to be just as expensive as the bulky solar panels you are used to seeing. It may cost a lot in the beginning, but when you are saving $200-$300 per month on electricity, that can add up. And over the years, these panels will save you a lot of money. But more importantly, if you choose not to use these panels, or choose not to help save this planet, so you can save some money in your pocket, what good will the money be when there is no planet?
Just a thought.
If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.
"Whatever It Takes"
Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay
925-788-7572
For those of us who know about Walnut Creek, we know it is the hub for shopping. We have any and every store you could possibly want. Walnut Creek isn't that big to begin with. There are about 63,000 residents in a 20 square mile land area. That is 3200 people per square mile. Downtown Walnut Creek has a huge parking problem. On the weekends, it is very tough to find any parking, free or not. During the holidays, like Christmas, forget about it. You might as well walk from home.
Downtown Walnut Creekhas almost every store you can think of, but of course, there is always another store that someone wants. In comes Neiman Marcus. They plan on building a 60,000 square foot building where a current tenant is, that obviously isn't doing too well. This building will be roughly 10% of the square footage of the entire shopping center. Here is the interesting part. Walnut Creek has a parking rule, that nobody seems to follow, but it is there. The rule is 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet. So, if Neiman Marcus followed the rules, they would have to add about 60 parking spaces. Where I ask will these parking spaces be? That is the million dollar question. Not only that, but the council also approved the increased density to the city and approved the building to ignore the current height restrictions. This is what money gets you, I guess.
There is a petition going around the city that is against the building of this project. More than 10% of residents have signed the petition, enough to bring to the table and put on the election ballot. But some of the city council members are against this petition because they feel it will be good for the city, even though it may make some small businesses fail. I am against this new store coming to Walnut Creek. We already have too many people downtown. If I wanted to live in a concrete jungle, I would move to San Francisco, which is seemingly what Walnut Creek is becoming.
This economic mess could have been prevented. I am not here to place blame, but I would like to remind everyone to live within their means.
Remember, money is not real. Your home, stocks, car, everything you own is only worth what someone will pay for it, if you plan on selling it. If you do not want to sell it, then it is worth no money. Everyday I come across people who have bought homes and now owe more than it is worth. And every time this happens, I find myself appalled at the situation. It is sickening that we live in a society that makes us feel like we have to keep up with the Jones'. It's as if we were in high school again, and the peer pressure to have a big home and nice cars and jewelry is pushing over the edge.
Please help me to understand this situation. If you bought a home 10 years ago for $250,000, and now you owe $600,000, what happened? Why did you feel that you could use your home as if it were an ATM? If you had just paid off your mortgage, then you would be mortgage debt free and only have minor expenses. And this credit crunch that we are all feeling wouldn't seem like such a big deal. Because face it, when you don't have a mortgage to pay for, your expenses are very minimal, or at least can become very minimal easily.
What really blows my mind is that this situation is not the first time this has happened to our society. We seem to make the same mistakes over and over again, never learning from the previous mistake.
So, I implore you, please don't use your home as an ATM in the future. You can't just pull money out, go on vacation, or buy a car and expect there no to be any consequences. You are smarter than that. I just have to get that off my chest. Even though I make my living by helping people buy and sells homes, I would much prefer to see people stay in a home that they are paying off, and avoid such a disaster in our economy.
If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.
"Whatever It Takes"
Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay
925-788-7572
As Realtors, we try many things to sell homes. But sometimes I think that we forget that it is a team effort. Two heads are better than one. So, try some of these ideas to help sell your sluggish listing.
1) Remind your seller that you are a team and ask what else you could do to market their home. Don't be afraid to ask. Don't think they will start to believe you can't sell their home. They may have some creative things that you never thought of.
2) Offer a higher commission percentage. I know Realtors don't only show the homes with high commission percentage, but it sure does put the home on the list of homes to see. It will bring in more Realtors, and that in turn will bring in a higher probability of making that home sell.
3) Clean out the home. I know we all have special pictures and memorabilia that makes our house a "home." But many people will not have the same interests as you. How can they picture themselves in your home if they can't see through the clutter? Take off the unnecessary pictures and remove the extra furniture. The more open, the better. This will make the rooms look bigger, and isn't that all what we want.
4) This should go without saying, but look at the comps in the area and don't be the highest priced home, or even in the middle price range. Put the home in the lowest price range of homes. This will garner the most interest, and you may even get multiple offers and sell above asking.
5) List your home with a nationally known company. If you are going to spend thousands of dollars selling your home with an agent, why would you use Black Cat Realty, when you could use a company like Prudential Realty. Especially since 90% of home searches start online. Relocation is a huge part of selling a home. Where do you think a buyer relocating to an area will start their search? Probably on a nationally known real estate company's website. And seeing your home listed on a nationally known company's website usually makes the buyer feel more comfortable.
If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.
"Whatever It Takes"
Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay
925-788-7572
Being a trusted real estate source is the most important part of being a Realtor. I value servicing my clients in their best interest, not mine.
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