Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate/Go Ernest

I got a message from my board saying there is an opportunity to learn about the new California Association of Realtors (CAR) residential purchase agreement (RPA). OK. I checked it out. Everything looked OK until I saw that they were charging $69 for members and $75 for non-members. What?! CAR ch...

Duplex For Sale               This is one of the cheapest multi-unit buildings in the 94607 zip code. It's one of the few. There are only eight listings in that area. It's perfect for an owner occupied buyer. The building is 1,532 sq. ft. Both units are 2 bed, 1 bath. It's fully rented. West Oakl...

A colleague sends me this email about being part of a study and making $100 in San Francisco. OK, I like San Francisco. A 30 min. interview for $100? OK. First we want you to fill out our pre-qualifying survey. OK. Name address phone number email DOB name of company years of experience how many b...

The duplex is tenant occupied. Tenants need 24 hours notice. You know how it goes. So I put in the MLS: "showing only to people with money." A realtor called me. "Hey, what does it mean you're only showing it to people with money? You say you're taking cash, conventional, and FHA. Do you mean onl...

Just got this from our transaction management service: Discs are dying and there is a good chance that your next computer will not even have a DVD/CD-RW drive. (Really?) In the near future, the phrase "burn a disc" will be like saying "floppy disk." According to Apple, "sleeker, thinner designs a...

Things go wrong in all transactions, right? It's a complicated process, you know. For once I'd like to have a transaction where I just get out of the way and the deal gets done. In my last deal representing the buyer: The underwriter asked for repairs to be done by the seller. The seller said he ...

44 offers came in on a listing. I was a bidder. Seven offers were countered. (Not us.) How do I know? Because I know a few of the agents who wrote offers. Some of them were in my office. One told me the listing agent had a buyer of his own. I talked to a buddy who had a listing. He got 15 offers ...

Piedmont Pines Home with Panoramic Views The Oakland Hills have nice, large homes. This one is up on Skyline Blvd. in a part called Piedmont Pines between Shepherd Canyon and Joaquin Miller Park. Many cyclists go up there for a fun, scenic, and tough ride. Because of the terrain, homes here are e...

Now and then someone will ask me, “What’s a trustee sale like?” Trustee Sales or Foreclosure Trustee Sales in Alameda County are held at 1225 Fallon St. Oakland CA Monday through Friday from noon to 2 pm. It’s another real estate market, the last step in the foreclosure process. The investors gat...

Got a a short sale house listed for $299,000 and an all cash offer for $310,000. One lender. One loan. Bank  of America, BAC and Freddie Mac. Bank foreclosed at the trustee sale for $277,000! The owner had tried to refinance, and to loan mod. Nothing worked, so he was advised by the bank to do a...