When you purchase a new home or apply to refinance the current home you have it is not uncommon for a lender to ask you for proof of mortgage insurance and homeowners’ insurance. Although the two sound like the same item, the two are very different items. Both types of insurance are meant to protect items related to your home, but they protect different things.The Difference Between Mortgage Insurance and Home Insurance The biggest difference between mortgage insurance and home insurance is who it protects. Homeowners insurance is protection for the borrower, while mortgage insurance is put in place to protect the lender.More: Factors That Negatively Affect AppraisalsHomeowners’ insurance covers damage to the main structure built on the property and can cover other items on the property... 04/05/2021

Construction issues on your 203k project?This is an actual project that was being completed and the contractor really screwed up and failed to properly read the plan... then kept going. Had he installed the windows correctly in the first place this couldn't have happened.We helped the client put in for a 203k loan in Alamo, CA on this one and the contractor was fired. He threatened to file a lien which he never did. We actually was hoping he would as to get him front of a judge with these photos may have been a blessing to the owners. If he had filed a lien then "perfected it" by getting our client in front of a judge he would have risked having to pay back 100% of the money he had charged for this type of outrageous behavior.The new contractor was able to fix the issue by removing the ... 01/09/2021

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during Octoberwas $1,181,250 with thehighest number of units sold in the $1m - $1.299m. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.     11/30/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during October was $652,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the < $500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    11/30/2020

The secret to get your FHA 203k project closed FASTERMy favorite story about closing fast 203k deals has always been with Donna Nix when she closed her first full 203k in 21 days. She and others get it that nothing happens until the paperwork is complete and the clock doesn't start ticking until you get all the financial paperwork to the lender. Get prequaled. The problem when you have delayed closings is quite often due to the lack of a team or improper use of a team. If any one of the teammates fails to just do their job and decides it is their job to push everyone else you will not have a good closing time. In one case I had a lender loan officer who was so bad and called about eight times per day asking me if I was getting the project done, the fact is that it was distracting at bes... 11/17/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during September  was $1,007,500 with thehighest number of units sold in the $1m - $1.299m. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.  10/20/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during September  was $640,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the < 500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    10/20/2020

The Seven Real Estate Stages of the Pandemic  By now, some of us have lost a loved one, friend or community member to COVID-19.  Though if the cavalier denialism exhibited by some Americans is an indicator, there are still many who have yet to share the magnitude of such a loss.  But even putting one's head in the sand about the medical realities of the coronavirus cannot spare us the social, emotional and economic impacts.  It's accepted as true that though we all grieve a loss, everyone grieves in a unique manner.  One of the most referenced works on the topic was written in 1969 by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book On Death and Dying. This philosophy is popularly referred to as the "stages of grief," and whether comprised of five emotions or seven, it fee... 10/13/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during August was $1,050,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the $1m-$1.299m. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.   09/04/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during August  was $615,375 with thehighest number of units sold in the < $500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.     09/04/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during May was $882,500 with thehighest number of units sold in the $900k - $999k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.   06/05/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during May was $565,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the < $500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    06/05/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during April was $990,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the $900k-$999k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.     05/07/2020

 Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond  during April was $632,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the < $500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.     05/07/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during March was $964,500 with thehighest number of units sold in the $800k-$899k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com     You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    04/11/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during March was $550,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the < $500k. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    04/11/2020

The New Abnormal We've just turned the corner from March to April, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are still sheltered in place (SIP).  Everybody in our home is making adjustments to our new abnormal and it's a good lesson for today's homeowner too.  We may not be able to move around or go out, but can we hunker down and tweak our financial situation so that it better positions us to weather the next few months? First, a little perspective.  Even if the health implications of the pandemic miraculously prove to be short-lived, my sense is that the economic ripples will reverberate well beyond that timeline.  Why?  Because in finance we tend to see credit capacity build slowly and steadily, but evaporate suddenly and even violently.  Even though we are in the early innings of d... 04/01/2020

Asking $575,000  Highly sought after Sonoma floor plan, with a Master Suite , 2 bedroom 2 bathroom. The is a recent full home remodel with dual vanity sinks in the master bathroom suite, and two walk in closets. Sun drenched home has shutters in bedrooms and awnings on the veranda. New wiring, dry wall, tile and stone throughout. Electric fire place in the family room. Immaculate water proof laminate flooring throughout. Stainless steel appliances, Quartz counter tops in the kitchen, and bathrooms. Comes with the washer and dryer and all of the stainless steel appliances. Gated community, very close to entrance to Rossmoor and full club house, full gym, 18 hole Golf Course with a practice putting range and driving range. For those with impeccable taste this is a must see!! This is CoOP ... 03/20/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in El Cerrito The Median Sale Price for homes in El Cerrito during February was $930,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the $900k - $999k price range. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    03/10/2020

Monthly Market Activity for Single Family Homes in Richmond The Median Sale Price for homes in Richmond during February was $540,000 with thehighest number of units sold in the $500k  price range. The Bay Area continues to be a popular place to call home. If you are ready to search for your next property, or are looking for your home value, visit: www.searchalleastbayhomes.com  You can also call me on my cell at 510-919-5741 for a more personal conversation.I would love the opportunity to earn your business.    03/10/2020