Saturday, May 14, 2011
Open Houses for Sunday 5/15/2011
Its been a while since I've had a chance to blog. First I want you to know that I have posted East Bay open houses on my website and I do this every Saturday. You can access over 600 homes open in the East Bay in cities such as Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Oakland, Piedmont, LaMOrinda, and more simply by clicking here. Furthermore, I post market data by neighborhood, monthly with special quaterly reports each quarter. This data gives median sales price, volume of homes sold, average days on market and more. You can accesss these by clicking here. If ever these links are broken its easy to visit my website http://www.billfletcherhomes.com/ and click the appropriate tab on the left. As far as market data is concerned , on request I can break the data down by very small geographical areas . Just ask...no charge. If you are out home shopping this weekend please stop by my sensational listing at 2112 Essex Street in Berkeley.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Berkeley Earth Day Events 4/23/2011
What: Berkeley Earth Day Festival
When: Saturday, April 23 12:00p.m. - 5:00p.m.
Where: Civic Center Park, MLK & Allston
Berkeley Earth Day is an annual event held in April to celebrate the environmental movement and creatively challenge the problems facing our planet. This year is Earth Day's 41st anniversary! Enjoy cultural performers, speakers and resources to link individuals and groups with each other in community based ecological activities.
Free shuttle to Trumer Brewery for Tours & Tastings leaves every 30 minutes from 2-5
Expanded Food Court with 10 food booths and seating
Test drive the electric Chevy Volt with extended range
Free electronic waste drop-off including Cell phones, computers, monitors, printers, FAX machines, speakers, old video tape machines, etc.
Also have collections for household batteries, fluorescent lighting, and a torchiere swap (bring your old halogen or incandescent and get a new energy-efficient one for free!)
Ecology Center "How To" Tent at Berkeley Earth Day
The Ecology Center will be hosting FREE, back-to-back mini-workshops on a wide variety of topics. Stop by the "How To" Tent and attend any of the 20-minute sessions. Leave inspired and energized to improve your environmental impact! Powered by Coyle Industries' solar generator. Click here for details and full schedule of workshops: http://ecologycenter.org/erc/events/earthday2011.html
Expanded Food Court, with a café area to enjoy your food and drink, and additional prepared food vendors who use organic ingredients sourced from the Berkeley Farmers' Market.
Free Collection Events, sponsored by the City and located along MLK Jr. Way:
Electronic waste collected by ACCRC
Household batteries & fluorescent lighting collected by CCC
Torchiere swap by Rising Sun Energy Center (bring your halogen or incandescent torchiere for a new energy-efficient one, and sign up for a free energy audit as well!)
This is a family-friendly event. Free bicycle parking is provided along Allston Way.
When: Saturday, April 23 12:00p.m. - 5:00p.m.
Where: Civic Center Park, MLK & Allston
Berkeley Earth Day is an annual event held in April to celebrate the environmental movement and creatively challenge the problems facing our planet. This year is Earth Day's 41st anniversary! Enjoy cultural performers, speakers and resources to link individuals and groups with each other in community based ecological activities.
Free shuttle to Trumer Brewery for Tours & Tastings leaves every 30 minutes from 2-5
Expanded Food Court with 10 food booths and seating
Test drive the electric Chevy Volt with extended range
Free electronic waste drop-off including Cell phones, computers, monitors, printers, FAX machines, speakers, old video tape machines, etc.
Also have collections for household batteries, fluorescent lighting, and a torchiere swap (bring your old halogen or incandescent and get a new energy-efficient one for free!)
Ecology Center "How To" Tent at Berkeley Earth Day
The Ecology Center will be hosting FREE, back-to-back mini-workshops on a wide variety of topics. Stop by the "How To" Tent and attend any of the 20-minute sessions. Leave inspired and energized to improve your environmental impact! Powered by Coyle Industries' solar generator. Click here for details and full schedule of workshops: http://ecologycenter.org/erc/events/earthday2011.html
Expanded Food Court, with a café area to enjoy your food and drink, and additional prepared food vendors who use organic ingredients sourced from the Berkeley Farmers' Market.
Free Collection Events, sponsored by the City and located along MLK Jr. Way:
Electronic waste collected by ACCRC
Household batteries & fluorescent lighting collected by CCC
Torchiere swap by Rising Sun Energy Center (bring your halogen or incandescent torchiere for a new energy-efficient one, and sign up for a free energy audit as well!)
This is a family-friendly event. Free bicycle parking is provided along Allston Way.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Plant Swap In North Oakland 5/7/2011
I just received this posting and thought I'd pass it along.
Inspired by plant swaps around the San Francisco bay area, Dan and I have decided to bring this FREE sharing event to North Oakland. Located in the Golden Gate neighborhood we host plant swaps twice a year: once in spring and once in fall.
At the plant swap you can bring: unwanted plants, cuttings, seedlings, starts, foraged plants, and seeds.
This is also a great place to bring any extra pots, natural fertilizers, vermicompost/worms, garden tools, etc you have and are no longer using. Pass them all on to a new home and come pick up some new-to-you plants for your garden and home.
The only entrance fee is something brought to add to the swap.
http://girlonbikewrites.blogspot.com/p/n-oakland-plant-swaps.html
Next Swap:
Saturday May 7th
12-3pm
5927 San Pablo Ave.
Oakland, CA 94608
(on the Berkeley/Emeryville border)
Please spread the word to all your friends
Inspired by plant swaps around the San Francisco bay area, Dan and I have decided to bring this FREE sharing event to North Oakland. Located in the Golden Gate neighborhood we host plant swaps twice a year: once in spring and once in fall.
At the plant swap you can bring: unwanted plants, cuttings, seedlings, starts, foraged plants, and seeds.
This is also a great place to bring any extra pots, natural fertilizers, vermicompost/worms, garden tools, etc you have and are no longer using. Pass them all on to a new home and come pick up some new-to-you plants for your garden and home.
The only entrance fee is something brought to add to the swap.
http://girlonbikewrites.blogspot.com/p/n-oakland-plant-swaps.html
Next Swap:
Saturday May 7th
12-3pm
5927 San Pablo Ave.
Oakland, CA 94608
(on the Berkeley/Emeryville border)
Please spread the word to all your friends
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Berkeley, Oakland Neighborhood Videos
Want to learn about a particular neighborhood in the East Bay? In Berkeley? In Oakland? In El Cerrito? Click on this link CLICK HERE and you will get a fresh look at some of the wonderful east bay Neighborhoods. We are creating more daily so if you don't see your favorite East Bay Neighborhood, come back often and check! Share with your friends and keep me in mind if you need a great local realtor. These videos are also posted on my website, http://www.billfletcherhomes.com/, (first tab on the left).
Friday, March 18, 2011
Interested in REO's? A Sobering Story
We wrote our offer on a Richmond Annex property on January 29th. A week later we were in contract. By the end of the following week we had completed all our inspections and based upon these inspections requested a price reduction to help cover the cost of repairs needed.
The listing agent advised us that this request would not be accepted and a week later she was proven right. My clients were not willing to proceed based upon the initial price and the inspections. So we sent in a request for a price reduction of a lesser amount. A week later this was accepted and we're ready to move forward. By this time we're a month into the negotiations. We got our appraisal done and everything is flowing the way it should. All the bumpy spots are now out of the way, or so we thought.
On Monday, March 14th, we signed loan docs, had a glass of champagne and looked forward to closing. Final loan conditions were met and buyers wired remainder of downpayment to Escrow holder on Thursday, March 16. Now we're done. All we have to do is sit back and wait for the loan to fund and the deed to be recorded. Not so fast.
Thursday evening I received a phone call from the listing agent. "Hello Bill. I have some bad news for you..." She want on to explain that she didn't have the details but needed to inform me that the bank was cancelling the contract and that the appropriate docs would be drawn up and sent to us on Friday. It seems that the bank believes that it may not be the legal owner of the property! It may have not followed the correct procedures for foreclosure and therefore cannot legally sell the house and needs foreclose all over again!
One might wonder what the bank would do if they were a day later and the property had closed. Or for that matter what my clients would have done, if the bank sold them a property that wasn't theirs to sell. I wonder how many of these have already been sold.
My clients are now almost two months into this transaction, emotionally tied in to it, financially have spent on inspections, appraisals, well over $1500.
I'm feeling an emotional charge about this one. My clients are great. They've never bought a home before and shouldn't be treated this way.
Do my clients have a recourse? Unlikely. The Bank's addendum to the purchase contract makes it very clear that there is no recourse.
One wonders if the banks (yes I'm lumping them all together) have any kind of conscience at all. First they create a crisis in the housing market (See the movie Inside Job, or listen to the director tonight on KQED 8PM or 3/19 at 2PM--Commonwealth Club), then they foreclose, then in the rush to make a buck don't even do it correctly. I wonder if any of us will even get a letter of apology. I'm not expecting it.
The listing agent advised us that this request would not be accepted and a week later she was proven right. My clients were not willing to proceed based upon the initial price and the inspections. So we sent in a request for a price reduction of a lesser amount. A week later this was accepted and we're ready to move forward. By this time we're a month into the negotiations. We got our appraisal done and everything is flowing the way it should. All the bumpy spots are now out of the way, or so we thought.
On Monday, March 14th, we signed loan docs, had a glass of champagne and looked forward to closing. Final loan conditions were met and buyers wired remainder of downpayment to Escrow holder on Thursday, March 16. Now we're done. All we have to do is sit back and wait for the loan to fund and the deed to be recorded. Not so fast.
Thursday evening I received a phone call from the listing agent. "Hello Bill. I have some bad news for you..." She want on to explain that she didn't have the details but needed to inform me that the bank was cancelling the contract and that the appropriate docs would be drawn up and sent to us on Friday. It seems that the bank believes that it may not be the legal owner of the property! It may have not followed the correct procedures for foreclosure and therefore cannot legally sell the house and needs foreclose all over again!
One might wonder what the bank would do if they were a day later and the property had closed. Or for that matter what my clients would have done, if the bank sold them a property that wasn't theirs to sell. I wonder how many of these have already been sold.
My clients are now almost two months into this transaction, emotionally tied in to it, financially have spent on inspections, appraisals, well over $1500.
I'm feeling an emotional charge about this one. My clients are great. They've never bought a home before and shouldn't be treated this way.
Do my clients have a recourse? Unlikely. The Bank's addendum to the purchase contract makes it very clear that there is no recourse.
One wonders if the banks (yes I'm lumping them all together) have any kind of conscience at all. First they create a crisis in the housing market (See the movie Inside Job, or listen to the director tonight on KQED 8PM or 3/19 at 2PM--Commonwealth Club), then they foreclose, then in the rush to make a buck don't even do it correctly. I wonder if any of us will even get a letter of apology. I'm not expecting it.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Out The Glen Burke Story
Berkeley High School's presentation of the acclaimed documentary film "OUT. The Glenn Burke Story" produced and directed by 1978 BHS grad Doug Harris is coming this Wednesday, March 9. The event includes 6:00 pm pre-screening reception, with film shown at 7:00 pm and discussion afterwards.
The event is a benefit for the Berkeley High Gay-Straight Alliance, Berkeley East Bay Track Club and Athletes United for Peace. Purchase tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/163368 for $5.
"OUT. The Glenn Burke Story" is a finalist for the 2011 GLAAD Award, and been submitted for a Bay Area/Northern California Emmy Award.
Glenn Burke was a 1970 graduate of Berkeley High School and is considered by many as one of the greatest athletes to come out of Berkeley. He was the first openly gay player to compete in a major professional sport in the US.
Filmmaker Doug Harris, a 1978 graduate of Berkeley High School and Executive Director for Athletes United for Peace will be presenting this highly acclaimed documentary.
The event is a benefit for the Berkeley High Gay-Straight Alliance, Berkeley East Bay Track Club and Athletes United for Peace. Purchase tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/163368 for $5.
"OUT. The Glenn Burke Story" is a finalist for the 2011 GLAAD Award, and been submitted for a Bay Area/Northern California Emmy Award.
Glenn Burke was a 1970 graduate of Berkeley High School and is considered by many as one of the greatest athletes to come out of Berkeley. He was the first openly gay player to compete in a major professional sport in the US.
Filmmaker Doug Harris, a 1978 graduate of Berkeley High School and Executive Director for Athletes United for Peace will be presenting this highly acclaimed documentary.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
GUMBO THROWDOWN This Saturday
Saturday March 5th
1pm-4pm,
Miss Pearl’s Jam House
One Broadway, Oakland CA 94607
Miss Pearl's Jam House new executive chef, Mike Davis, has challenged local chefs to a gumbo throwdown known as Gumbostravaganza 2. Mike Davis, Serafin Cruz, and Victor Sosa (all from Miss Pearl’s) will compete against each other and against Dean Dupuis (Picán), Eddie Blyden (Henry’s), Lydia Walker (Bay Leaf Cafe), and Brandon Dubea (Angeline’s) for bragging rights on the Square. Entry to the event is free, gumbo samples are complimentary, and attendees are the judges! Here’s the icing: all ballots will be entered for a drawing for a free New Orleans eating extravaganza at Miss Pearl’s. (Source: http:www.tablehopper.com)
1pm-4pm,
Miss Pearl’s Jam House
One Broadway, Oakland CA 94607
Miss Pearl's Jam House new executive chef, Mike Davis, has challenged local chefs to a gumbo throwdown known as Gumbostravaganza 2. Mike Davis, Serafin Cruz, and Victor Sosa (all from Miss Pearl’s) will compete against each other and against Dean Dupuis (Picán), Eddie Blyden (Henry’s), Lydia Walker (Bay Leaf Cafe), and Brandon Dubea (Angeline’s) for bragging rights on the Square. Entry to the event is free, gumbo samples are complimentary, and attendees are the judges! Here’s the icing: all ballots will be entered for a drawing for a free New Orleans eating extravaganza at Miss Pearl’s. (Source: http:www.tablehopper.com)
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