Drywall (sheetrock) panels makes up a large part of today’s house interior walls and ceilings. As home buyers walk through an empty house during a home inspection, they tend to focus closely on the quality of the interior finish. Many people react negatively when they spot a hairline crack in the wall/ceiling; thinking that a crack contributes to the structural integrity of the house. The fact of the matter is that cracks are 100% cosmetic, not structurally threatening and can be repaired.The most common cracks are found at the corners of windows and door frames or straight-line cracks in ceilings. Whether or not there are cracks depends largely on the quality of the wood framing construction and drywall installation.What is the most common source of cracks?Technically speaking, wood i... 01/20/2012

Today, many heating furnaces and air conditioning evaporator coils are installed in the attic. It frees up closet/storage space in the house and it’s quieter when the heating/cooling is on.When an air conditioning evaporator coil unit is installed in the attic (the silver box in photo), a condensate overflow pan is typically installed under the unit. The condensate overflow pan is a safety device intended to prevent unwanted condensate leakage (water) from spilling onto floors and ceilings, if something goes wrong.In the photo taken during a Walnut Creek home inspection, there's rust colored water in the overflow containment pan and the pan appears to be corroding... not a good sign.If left unchecked, the pan will eventually rust through. This can lead to mold growth in the attic insula... 01/20/2012

The crawlspace... You know it as the dark, creepy place under the house, filled with spiders and other critters. For the plumber, the electrician and the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) contractors... It's the shallow unfinished space beneath the first floor to provide access to the plumbing, wiring and heating/cooling ducts.Home inspectors ‘love’ crawl spaces, which is why they save crawling under the house usually as their last inspection step. Put a group of seasoned home inspectors together and ask them what they've seen in crawlspaces. They'll tell you they've seen it all. The shoes...What happened? Do they belong to the plumber, the electrician, the HVAC contractor or the previous home inspector? What did they see that made them jump out of their shoes? ... It mak... 01/20/2012

Short Sale Tips For Consumers   Below are general tips prepared by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.  However, these just skim the surface of information available through your REALTOR®.  As a member of C.A.R. your REALTOR® has access to this information in its entirety, and much more!  SHORT SALE SELLERS 1. Hire a REALTOR®!Not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.  REALTORS® are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and voluntarily pledge to abide by the strict code of professional ethics. 2.Take a Proactive ApproachThe short sale process can take a lot of time and effort on your part, so taking a proactive approach to your short sale may help you complete the transaction as quickly and painlessly as you can. 3. Knowledge is Your FriendThe short sale process may be ne... 01/19/2012

  Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Home in 2012 This statement is still true more than 50 years later.  There are many reasons to take pride in homeownership such as: ·       Appreciation – Buying a home now (at the current rates) can almost ensure your home’s appreciation in the future.  Mortgage rates are near historic lows and home prices in many parts of the country are down.  This is the perfect recipe for home appreciation.  Additionally, many foreclosed homes are available for a fraction of the original cost.  This can translate to a higher profit if you decide to sell once the market rebounds. ·       Property Tax Deductions – For income tax purposes, real estate property taxes for a vacation home and first home are fully deductible.  The IRS (Publication 530) provides detailed tax inform... 01/16/2012

15 homes sold in Walnut Creek CA in the first two weeks of January 2012.  The highest sold price was $1,515,000 the lowest sold price was $142,000, average sold price was $546,833, median sold price was $377,000. Inventory remains low, but started picking up. If you are looking to sell or buy in Walnut Creek CA, please contact me. DOM Address LP SP BT SqFt BR Bth GarSp Lot SqFt 6 3183 Wayside Plz $139,100 $142,000 CO 726 1 1 1 0 41 2708 OAK RD $179,900 $181,000 CO 879 2 1 0 0 4 370 N CIVIC DR $180,000 $205,000 CO 1077 2 2 0 0 9 340 N CIVIC DR $184,900 $177,000 CO 1128 2 2 1 0 206 1310 WALDEN RD $259,000 $245,000 CO 992 2 2 1 0 2 2592 OAK RD $299,000 $295,000 CO 1168 2 2 1 1168 9 1723 GEARY RD $350,000 $361,000 TH 2347 2 3 2 0 21 569 MATTERHORN DR $369,900 $377,000 TH 1527 2 2 2 2263 1 1... 01/16/2012

The following numbers represent the current concentration of Short Sales in Pending Sale Status versus Traditional Sales in Pending Sale Status for Walnut Creek, CA as of January 16th 2012. As you can see the ratios for both single family as well as attached homes are over 50%. Those same ratios for the segment of homes for sale are much lower. This represents the additional time required to get short sales all the way through close of escrow. Every short sale is different and some take much longer than others. Please keep in mind that this only reflects the market on the specific day quoted.  Walnut Creek Short Sales can take time and may be represented over several months in this data while traditional sales close escrow in the 30-60 day range.  Additional Short Sale Information for W... 01/16/2012

This flexible natural gas connector line is installed through the sheetmetal side panel of a heating furnace... A standard practice in the past.Passing through the center of a sheetmetal cutout isn't so much of a concern, but when the flexible connector is tight up against the edge of the sheetmetal... This is cause for action."What's the problem with this?" you may ask.When you turn on your central heating forced air furnace, a large blower motor turns on to move the warm air throughout your house. As the the blower motor bearings wear... mechanical vibrations occur.The sheetmetal edge is thin and 'sharp'. To make a flexible gas pipe, the wall of the pipe is also thin.If the flexible gas connector is tight against the edge of the sheetmetal opening as shown in the photo... There's a go... 01/16/2012

AVOID CAPITAL GAINS TAX ON SALE OF EXHANGE PROPERTY    Playing by the 5-year rule *Source – Inman News   The lackluster housing market has many investors looking for bargain properties, sometimes in bunches. Buyers are getting more creative about funding their purchases, rethinking the role of real estate not only for their portfolios but also for their residences. In a recent example, an older couple sold their home and purchased two Arizona golf-course condominiums with the proceeds -- one for their primary residence and another as a rental -- and still put some money in their pocket. What made the deal interesting was that they had purchased the original home six years ago via a tax-deferred exchange.   While investors had turned rental properties into principal residences for years,... 01/15/2012

The following numbers represent the Real Estate Market Review of homes sold in Walnut Creek in 2011 versus 2010. The name of the game in Walnut Creek real estate was a nice increase in sales for both single family homes as well as the attached home market. While median home prices were under pressure the time it took to get a home into escrow increased only slightly. At less than two months these are very aggressive marketing times. Keep in mind that real estate markets are local in nature and there will be micro markets in every town. Please contact me for a more comprehensive review of the Walnut Creek market. 01/13/2012

The following numbers represent the Real Estate Market Review for Walnut Creek, CA  94596, 94597 & 94598 for the month of December 2011. As with neighboring cities Walnut Creek is experiencing a tight market to start 2012. Not out of the ordinary for the time of year. Inventory is down and median prices slipped from last month. Marketing times are up a bit from November's Report. Walnut Creek has 83 homes currently "pending sale" with a high price of $2,750,000 and a low price of $300,000.  There are 122 condo/townhomes "pending sale" with a high price of $700,000 and a low price of $74,000. 01/13/2012

01/12/2012

Apparently, a lot of wires can be stuffed into an electrical junction box... However, this installation doesn't meet the National Electrical Code requirements. You could say, the more the merrier... But not in this situation. Too many wires stuffed into a box can cause dangerous overheating, short-circuiting and fire. The NEC specifies minimum electrical junction box sizes to reduce this risk. What I'm talking about is 'box fill'. Electrical junction boxes all have a certain volume that the wires can occupy. This junction box appears to be a 30 cubic inch volume size. My recommendation was to recommend further review by a licensed electrician... Funny how the home inspection report plays out. 01/12/2012

Has this Happened to Your Kids? Most of my kids go to School here in our Excellent Brentwood Schools. However, son number 2 goes to Middle School in Walnut Creek. Now Walnut Creek is one of the more “upscale” communities in Contra Costa County. My son is an excellent student; primarily A's with some B's. He was given a quiz in math where he was assigned with a team of 4 and each had to solve a problem. Then they were given a grade as a group. My son gets his problem right, the others do not. He gets a poor grade on the quiz and this drags down his semester grade. My ex is fighting this battle – I fight other battles for my older son who is with me in school. I have seen similar assignments in my older sons high school, but not this extreme. But I wonder what the motive is. My thinking i... 01/08/2012

01/06/2012

What is a P-Trap? Take a look under any bathroom or kitchen sink.  If the plumbing was professional installed, you'll see a u-shape pipe with a pipe 'leg' running to the back of the cabinet... It looks like the letter P laying down.   This is called a p-trap. Its design has two purposes: First, to allow the water from the sink to flow out and to keep sewer gas from coming in; it's in the U portion of the drain that water literally sits and forms a seal (water seal)...    ...and Secondly, the p-trap can catch items that might go down the drain (diamond rings, gold coins, etc.) before they are swept away. A requirement of a properly installed p-trap is that it has a water seal of not less than 2 inches and not more than 4 inches (between the two horizontal red lines shown in the photo). ... 01/05/2012

Hardly... This partially disconnected water heater exhaust flue is discharging unwanted exhaust gases (including carbon monoxide) into the garage as shown in this photo. In this Walnut Creek house, there was a bedroom above the garage ceiling... not good, if exhaust gases accumulate and there's a breach (gap, hole) in the ceiling. A requirement of a properly installed water heater exhaust flue is that the beginning of the exhaust duct sections be mechanically secured with three sheetmetal screws to the water heater (putty color) draft hood.  In the event of an earthquake or the exhaust flue is accidently bumped, the screws help keep the integrity of the exhaust vent from coming apart. In the photo, it appears that the water heater installer used aluminum tape to secure the vent to the w... 01/05/2012

What are silt marks? Silt marks occur when water rises and then slowly recedes leaving dirt and small debris that was mixed in or floating on the water clinging to the sides of vertical surfaces. Silt marks observed along house foundations, support piers, drain pipes, and/or heating/cooling ducts is a result of rising water that has accumulated in residential crawl spaces and basements. Wet basements and crawl spaces are sources of high humidity, which can produce surface condensation, mildew and fungi, musty odors, rust metal, and can become unhealthy. Excessive moisture can cause deterioration of floor joists, beams, subflooring, insulation, electrical-mechanical systems and tilted piers. Moisture that seeps into heating and cooling ducts can lead to health issues... mainly spore gro... 01/05/2012

Happy new year! Termites have lived longer than the dinosaurs and continue to eat their way through all the wood they can find. Termites are 24/7 bugs, which means they eat non-stop - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have hard, saw-toothed jaws that help them to eat lumber, wallpaper, plastics and fabric make of plant fibers. These pests cause up to $2 billion of damages per year. Termite Fact: The total weight of all of the termites in the world is greater than the weight of all the humans in the world... Believe it or not... (don't ask where I get this stuff).  The photo is the work of Western subterrean termites in Walnut Creek. Where moisture regularly collects inside the wall or other cavities of a building, say from faulty plumbing or broken roof tiles, the Western subterra... 01/04/2012

9 homes were sold in Walnut Creek CA during the week of Christmas and New Year.  Average sold price was $517,505, median sold price was $445,000. Are you looking for homes in Walnut Creek or the East Bay Area? call or email me. DOM Address LP SP BT SqFt BR Bth GarSp Lot SqFt 187 2650 JONES RD $150,000 $153,000 CO 953 2 1 0 0 3 1732 Holland Drive $255,000 $262,000 TH 1263 2 2 2 1000 4 1892 POMAR WAY $330,000 $337,000 TH 1352 3 2 1 1600 13 1046 SHEPPARD RD $425,000 $415,000 DU 1500 2 2 2 1500 58 1402 VIA LOMA $449,000 $445,000 TH 1686 3 2 2 2494 8 72 Carlos Court $475,000 $477,000 DE 1789 4 2 2 10,010 83 744 AUTUMN DR $639,900 $620,000 DE 1887 3 2 2 12,600 25 270 DOVER DR $719,000 $683,550 DE 2270 4 2 2 11,000 0 841 Gail Court $1,265,000 $1,265,000 DE 3465 5 3 3 46,609 01/02/2012