How to Crank up Your Creativity - wikiHow

How to Crank up Your Creativity - wikiHow

Holidays! A Time for Gathering in the HOME...

 Thanksgiving 2010 is just a memory now and we look forward to the next few weeks of ... (fill in your own word:  chaos? craziness? loneliness? vacation?)  We expect that many of these days will be spent either in a home (our own or someone else's). 

What is it that makes a house—or an apartment, a condo, a cabin or even a yurt—a home? Everywhere we look, there's another expert telling us the answer lies in something we don't have, from fancy rugs, knick-knacks to an interior decorator. This feeling of being "at home" can't be bought, however, because it comes from an intimate relationship between us and our most personal place--and how we share it with those who enter. Like other love affairs, this one shapes us just as we shape it. We lavish not only money but also our time and creativity on our homes, and in return, they give us comfort, pleasure and sanctuary.

We worry a lot about what our homes look like, but how they make us feel, emotionally and physically, is way more important. That pricey renovation or those high-thread-count sheets matter less than how our living spaces nourish who we are, buffer us from stress, and give opportunities both for privacy and for socializing with family and friends. From a rented studio to a sprawling estate, any home can become the foundation for a better life—all for the price of fresh thinking.

Some of us know that five minutes in the garden makes us feel like another person, and that flowers and candles turn a meal into a decadent spread. Other home remedies require an individual touch. Does every room hold something—a picture, a quilt, or even a bit of color—that you love? What helps you count your blessings? Research shows that, particularly when life is difficult, being near things that remind us of better times helps restore us.

Perhaps the most surprising way to get more from home is to pinpoint the activities that really make us happy there. Feeling "stuck at home" often signals that we settle for passive, unsatisfying time-killers instead of going for real joy, whether that's reading a challenging novel, cleaning out a closet, or breaking out the paints and easel.

Finally, we can let the sun shine in. One out of three of us suffer from mood or sleep problems related to inadequate light. If we free ourselves from gloomy drapes, we also benefit from views of the backyard, a skyscape, or even a window box. Apply some fresh thought—and perhaps a little elbow grease—then sit back, put our feet up, SHARE and receive our home's new gifts.

The Seasoned Collector

Do You Think Going Green Is Worth It?

Have you heard stories about your ultra-conscientious neighbors trading their old energy-devouring water heaters and HVAC units for the new energy-efficient models, putting up solar panels and installing the dual flush toilets?  Suddenly your effort to cycle out incandescent light bulbs starts to feel trivial and you wonder, if you are more confined by budget than your earth-friendly neighbors, is going green worth it?  The trick is figuring out what works for you and your lifestyle, according to Mark Lewison, academic director of the Interior Design Department at The Art Institute of California, Hollywood. "Find an improvement that makes sense for your bottom line and then look for green options in that area of improvement." Adding insulation, opting for paints free of volatile organic compounds, and simply unplugging electronics and appliances when you're not using them are all easy, cost-effective ways to conserve energy and improve your environment.

Go Lean and Green with Kitchen, Bath Renovations

When it comes to adding value and enjoyment to your home, kitchen and bath remodels still remain tops!  (According to remodeling and real estate experts are telling us.)  But how people remodel is definitely changing. High-end renovations, costing $10’s of $1000’s, are dwindling, replaced by upgrades that provide homeowners with the most return for the least investment.  Installing a skylight is a cost-effective, energy-efficient upgrade that’s becoming increasingly popular for bathrooms and kitchens. Kitchens and baths are logical candidates for natural lighting and passive ventilation upgrades. Along with laundry rooms, they tend to have higher moisture and humidity levels than other rooms in the home, making them among the most popular locations for venting skylights. Another kitchen- and bath-specific issue skylights help address is the need for privacy. Skylights admit light from above, but prevent anyone on the outside seeing into rooms where you want privacy.

I spent some time Google-ing sustainable energies, passive solar options and the result I came up with, is, YES!  Going green *IS* worth it!

Homepath Properties offered by Fannie Mae

 Homepath properties are REO's that are owned by Fannie Mae.  The program has been put in place to streamline and simplify the process of getting these houses sold, occupied and turned into HOMES!  In so doing, potential home-owners and investors have access to some fantastic deals, and neighborhoods will benefit from these properties being occupied and maintained.

There are some special incentives going on for properties that are in contract before November 15th.  Please contact me for more information on this.  What are you waiting for?

These properties require NO appraisal or mortgage insurance, a low downpayment, and many other attractive incentives.  I have access to these properties before investors do which enables me to assist investors OR home-buyers who want to minimize their competition on bidding for these properties.  How can I help you?

What is the trick to pricing your home to SELL?

Let Me Help You Choose the Right Sales Price

A Property's Listed Price vs. Actual Sales Price...

The first thing to understand is a home's list price and its eventual sales price are often two different prices. The first price to pick is the your targeted sales price. But that will probably not be identical to your list price. If you choose your targeted price carefully, you can use market conditions to figure out how to choose the most effective list price.

Understand How People SEARCH for Properties...

People, by nature, seem to remember the price of a home when a home comes on the market, but they might not know the price of the home when it sells. You can go to websites such as Zillow, Realtor, or Trulia.com to find out the sold prices or ask an agent to provide them to you. But only prices within the past 3 months should be used, if at all possible.  (As a side note, your Realtor has access to more accurate data that you will find on these public sites because the actual area MLS services are updated more frequently.)

Just because a home down the street sold for $600,000 doesn't mean that your home will sell for $600,000, even if you think your home is identical to that home. I've heard sellers claim that a bigger lot size means they can get a lot more for their home, and maybe they can -- just not as much as they may think. Appraisers, for example, might allocate only an additional $10,000 for a lot 1/3 bigger than yours.

If your home has 4 bedrooms and the comparable has 3 bedrooms, your 4th bedroom might be worth only an additional $5,000. Not the $50,000 you might hope. A 4 bedroom home is often more desirable than a 3 bedroom because buyers who absolutely need a 4th bedroom will not buy a 3 bedroom property.

Yes, Folks, it is definitely a Buyer's Market...

I've mentioned before that what people are seeing/hearing/reading about Real Estate from our major news sources is NOT necessarily what is happening HERE.  There are micro-climates that are easy to observe if you know what to look for, and each agent has a personal experience with the market where they reside, and with the understanding that statistics can be skewed to suit anyone's purpose, I declare loudly, WE ARE IN A BUYER'S MARKET!  Suddenly, we have more inventory.  Suddenly, loans are easier to get.  Suddenly, there are NICE and PRETTY houses on the market at an affordable price!  It's been true for a while that there wasn't much of a price spread between foreclosures, short sales, and regular sales, but NOW buyer's are finding some pretty good houses for minimal hassle and a good price.  My crystal ball is still in the shop, but even without it, I feel like we're in a good place to service our Buyers.  What are YOU waiting for?  Now is a FANTASTIC time to buy a house!

Who do you know that is looking for a home in San Jose, CA?  Would you share my name with them?

History of our landmarks

I love the Hayes mansion in south San Jose.  The elegant, 41,000 square foot, 60-room Mediterranean-style structure was designed by architect George Page and was built in 1905, was once intended to be the residence of wealthy faith healer Mary Hayes Chynoweth and her two sons, Everis Anson (E.A.) and Jay Orley (J.O.) Hayes. Mary ordered the home built to replace a 40-plus room Queen Anne Victorian that had burned to the ground in 1898. Prompted by the fire, the family ordered the new home to be built with turn-of-the century cutting-edge safety in mind. Mary died a few months before the mansion was complete, but the estate stood for more than 50 years as the home for Mary's sons and their families. Already wealthy from a Michigan mining venture with their mother, the Hayes brothers, both lawyers, turned their attention to community service. They purchased The San Jose Herald and the Mercury, two local papers they combined to form the San Jose Mercury News. Because the Hayes brothers wielded political power, the mansion was host to many prominent political quests. After the Hayes family sold the mansion in the 1950's, the dwelling became empty by 1980, desperately in need of repair. It attracted the attention of both public and private sectors. In 1975 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1981, declared a city landmark and purchased for restoration to its original splendor. Under the care of the Network Conference Company, which leases the site from the City of San Jose and operates the Hayes Conference Center, the mansion was restored and an addition was built in 1996 to match the mansion's architecture. The mansion is available for self tours with a free brochure available from the hotel desk.

Opened to the public in 1994, the property quickly became the region's premier facility for meetings and events.

An expansion and renovation, completed in 2002, enhanced the distinctive architectural characteristics of the original structure, and created even more additional meeting & event space.  There is an awesome restaurant (Orlo's) and a Spa that brings us locals back over and over.

Our Homes have Style

My area has so many styles and sizes of homes and land around them.  We have some agricultural properties with old farm houses with wood siding and large porches, and big gardens.  There are Tuscan vineyard-style homes that invite families and guests to sprawling patios, out-door rooms, and indoor splendor.  Many Spanish haciendas with courtyards, rounded tile roofs, bouganvilla reaching around the walls and skyward are sweetly settled on land that is rich with views of the mountains.  Modern homes with angular lines, sparse landscaping, with a feeling that is clean and uncluttered are available on no-nonsense lots in some of the more highly populated areas (sunnyvale, santa clara, mt. view).  Doll houses dot the charming streets of the willow-glen area in San Jose, where rounded cottage-style roofs, coated with moss and welcoming flower gardens welcome you home.  In some of the downtown areas, you can find 100 year old majestic victorian homes and bungalows maintained and restored beautifully in quaint neighborhoods with shady sidewalks where you can walk to shops, japan town, museums, churches and universities.


We have some wonderful mobile home parks for seniors with organized activities for active folks every single day.  There are lower cost homes and mobile homes for families of all cultures.  The needs of a busy life in the Bay Area has created the need for luxury condos, duplexes and muli-plex housing that is pleasing to the eye and accommodating for singles and couples who are climbing the corporate ladder.