Maureen Kennedy, Piedmont CA Broker

After he retired from a career in Latin America, my grandfather always had a hummingbird feeder at his home in Kingston, RI.  In retrospect, I'm shocked that they did so well so far north, so around here it should be a cinch.  Out walking a few days ago I came across two feeders hooked one on top...

My friend Craig Fixler has retired early from CEO/COO-dom and gone back to his first calling, home construction and repair, to found Zippy Pro out in Lafayette.  If you want a handyperson who has the same performance standards you do, can explain things cogently, can do thumbnail cost-benefit and...

Well, we're moments from wrapping up the Inverness renovation (expect an open house invitation shortly!).  It's taken lots of money and time; our focus has not been on the house here in Piedmont.  So while sitting down to Easter dinner in the dining room, I noticed that a corner of the beautiful ...

Argument 1:  When you invest in a more expensive Piedmont home, you get that investment (plus appreciation) back at sale.  Those paying private school tuition get a great education, but don't get their dollar investment back.Argument 2:  Tuition rates continue to escalate.  Piedmont home prices a...

In contrast to the 33 homes sold in Piedmont in 2Q06, this quarter saw 46 homes sold for an average of $1.54 million. So what's this about dramatic reductions in the number of sales?Sales prices were, on average, just about at the asking price (though they ranged from 71% of asking to 115% of ask...

Here's betting that the Pala/Monte/Mesa neighborhood float will take the cake at the parade!Email me for a complementary centennial memento--with photos from 1907 and 2007.

Have you noticed that in the three years I've distributed my hardcopy newsletter, the detailed sales information (asking price, sales price, square feet, etc.) has NEVER included a house number--just the name of the street?  Or that two years ago, I stopped attaching prices to my ads highlighting...

I wrote this note three weeks ago, but read in yesterday's Chron that Mr. Bruss passed last Wednesday!Real estate columnist Bob Bruss  wrote a compelling piece in September--he came out of life-or-death surgery and realized that even he was unprepared for his passing.  He'd refinanced a number of...

Click here for a short piece on what's hot now.  Relatedly, click here  for results from an NAR survey on what buyers want (i.e. are willing to pay extra for).  Note that ''oversized garages'' are at the top of the list.  Ha!  Most of us are trying to figure out how to do our renovations without ...

Not known for its editorial direction, production values or access to the literary high-and-mighty, Realtor magazine interviewed Pulitzer-Prize winning author Richard Ford, author of Independence Day and The Sportswriter, last month regarding The Lay of the Land, his most recent novel. He gets re...