Oakland Real Estate Blog 
Oakland's Broadway Grand To Expand
Monday, October 28th, 2013 at 1:23pm. 88 Views
In 2007 Signature Properties completed the Broadway Grand Development, which houses Ozumo Lounge and Pican Restaurants. Although like many of the Condo developments in Oakland Signature struggled to sell the units which were completed just as the housing market started to tank. So they decided to turn the bulk of the units into rentals while they waited for the market to recover. And recover we have, with prices in Oakland up 25-30% in some areas in just the past year. Once the rentals were converted back into Condos, they sold 90% of what was available and now have only about 4 units left.
I was there recently showing some clients a few of the units there, and that's when I was told about a large expansion of the development which will include a…
City Lift Funds Still Available
Wednesday, September 18th, 2013 at 9:37pm. 183 Views
After the mortgage meltdown, California District Attorney Kamala Harris authored what's known as the "Homeowners Bill of Rights". Some lawyers call the most massive change in real estate law in the past 100 years, and many financial institutions are on hight alert because of it. You may have heard of the giant lawsuit that was won against several of the largest lenders for improper forclsorure filings as well as Mortgage Fraud. Well part of the outcome of the lawsuit was a program called CityLift, which is designed to help right some of the wrongs that the lenders committed against borrowers.
Basically it allows for a $20,000 forgiveable grant for first time home buyers to use toward the downpayment on their first home. As long as the borrower is a…
Will Oakland See Eminent Domain Like Richmond?
Monday, September 16th, 2013 at 1:56pm. 222 Views
You may have heard about the City of Richmond and it's plans to take over underwater real estate mortgages. This would be a drastic measure, but who knows it just might be a good idea. Some Cities such as Richmond have seen property values drop so much that it truly has had a devastating impact. In many cases, homeowners feel that it would better for them to simply walk away from the home and let it get foreclosed on as opposed to staying in a home that is worth about half of what the ownwer owes on it. This is part of what lead to the dramatic decreases in values from 2008-2011. So many homeowners figured they would be better off walking away..so that's what they did. This lead to record foreclosures, as well as decreased revenues for Cities and Counties…
Brooklyn Basin Is Oakland's Newest Real Estate Development
Saturday, July 20th, 2013 at 2:22pm. 714 Views
Several months ago Governor Jerry Brown announced Brooklyn Basin, which will be one of the largest real estate developments Oakland has seen in some time. Funded by Chinese Investors, the Development will feature 3100 new homes, several hundred thousand square feet of Retail space and a new Marina. It will take up approximately 65 acres South of Jack London Square, from Oak to 9th st. Of course there was opposition to the Development from some Community groups who claimed that it would negatively impact the character of the area, as well as environmental people who felt it will be too close to the Freeway. However in the end it was approved, and construction should begin within the next year or so.
Apparently it will take 7-10 years to complete, and…
Oakland's Lake Merritt Gets a Makeover
Thursday, July 18th, 2013 at 12:31pm. 172 Views
If you regularly pass by Lake Merritt in Oakland, you have seen the gradual improvements that have been happening over the recent several years. From the landscaping to the completion of the 14th st Bridge..the lake has a new look. It started with the addition Lake Chalet, a vibrant restaurant with good food and drinks. Lake Chalet replaced what used to be rowing center which housed kayaks and and other water vessels. This is not to be confused with the "Boat House" which is further down closer to the Nature Center.
The addition of the Bridge that allows boats to travel out into the estuary is a really cool new feature. You can now catch people in paddle boats, kayaks, and sailboats passing under the Bridge and into the Estuary. Also, I actually saw…
Oakland Real Estate: The Technology Challenges
Wednesday, July 17th, 2013 at 10:59am. 150 Views
With the advent of the internet and all the websites that claim to provide updated real estate information, us Realtors are finding that many of the sites offering real estate information in Oakland and other Cities are often inaccurate with what they provide. One of the most common issues I see is when clients search for homes online, find one that they have questions about and they send me the address. When I look the property up I see that the property sold two months ago! How is this providing value to the consumer?
One of the biggest problems is that the owners and operators of some of the largest real estate related websites are not in the business of selling real estate. Rather, they create the sites in order to get traffic which they can use to…
Tips for Getting Your Offer Accepted in a Competitive Market
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 at 3:17pm. 253 Views
When the market turns in favor of sellers, many buyers get frustrated because they continually get beat out by other buyers for the home they want. It's completely normal for a nice house that is listed to receive 10 or more offers. Sometimes the price will simply end up being higher than you were willing to pay, and in those cases you just have to have thick skin and keep the house search going.
However sometimes there are terms other than the price that can sway things in your favor. Other terms such as: inspection, loan and appraisal contingency times are also very important to sellers. Basically, the shorter the contingency the better..and having no contingencies is the best (often only possible with cash buyers). The default for loan, appraisal and…
Oakland Mayor Hosts Housing Resource and Foreclosure Prevention Clinic
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at 1:52pm. 6236 Views
Oakland's Mayor Jean Quan and Assembly member Sandre Swanson are hosting an event aimed at helping homeowners keep their homes by preventing foreclosure. There will be representatives from some of the Nation's largest lenders along with housing counselors to consult homeowners who are in trouble. Attendees are encouraged to bring financial documentation such as W-2's, Tax returns, pay check stubs, list of monthly expenses and a harship letter explaining your situation and why you need help. Similiar events have been very successful at helping people keep their homes.
The date of the event is Monday, Nov. 12 from 9:30-3:30 at the Oakland Marriott Convention Center. I would encourage anyone who is behind on mortgage payments or underwater on their real…
FHA Guidelines For Condos Soon to Change
Thursday, September 20th, 2012 at 2:16pm. 2838 Views
For the past several years, the only way to purchase the majority of condos and townhomes in Oakland or surrounding cities has been with conventional financing. This is because a few years ago the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) adjusted it's guidelines for condo developments which made it pretty much impossible to for 90% of the condos and townhomes on the market to be financed with FHA.
Because FHA loans are insured by the government, there are more strict guidelines for the developments to adhere to..which means there will be less units available that can be financed. Luckily, the FHA recently announced that some changes are coming to the guidelines, which will allow many more developments to become approved for Fha financing. This is a welcome…
Tenants' Rights in Oakland
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012 at 11:58am. 1255 Views
When considering purchasing real estate that is tenant occupied, it's important to make sure you are aware of the laws and ordinances of the City the property is located in. For example, in Oakland we have rent control as well as Measure EE (otherwise know as The Just Cause Eviction Ordinance). This ordinance makes it more difficult to evict tenants, requiring the landlord to have "Just Cause". Unlike most surrounding cities..you cannot legally evict a tenant for the purpose of selling a property. You have to leave the tenant in place and the new owner may or may not be able to evict them if the owner chooses to reside in one of the units (or reside in the home if it's single family).
There are many people who are interested in purchasing investment…