Announcing the launch of Realty Advocates’ new and improved website!

We are proud to unveil the new look and functionality of www.realtyadvocates.com. We wanted our users to have access to the most timely market information and “state of the art” search tools, as well as content that would be of most interest to today’s buyers and sellers. Specifically, check out the new section all about “Green Resources” throughout the Bay Area (http://www.realtyadvocates.com/green_resources.html)

We hope you like it!

Lastly, I made inquiries with the City of Oakland building and planning departments. It turns out to be pretty easy to track because a special dispensation/exemption in the building code is required to build with straw bale. John Ewigleben in the building department checked the records for any other instance of this dispensation being granted and the search came up negative except for 99 Roble.

Once I was satisfied that the information was reliable, I of course started using it in my promotional material—“the first and only straw bale house in Oakland.” But during the broker’s tour, two different agents challenged me on this, stating they were absolutely sure that an Oakland property on 37^th St sold a couple of years ago with a legal, built-with-permits straw bale rental cottage in the rear. They couldn’t remember the exact date or address, but I was determined to see if this bore out. However, with a few more inquires, I was able to find the property in question. But guess what? The cottage was not made of straw bale, but of rammed earth.  While I consider a rammed earth house good company as regards utilizing a sustainable natural resource as a building material, it ain’t straw bale.

So the claim still stands: 99 Roble Road is the 1^st and currently only straw bale house in Oakland.

During the course of spending 4 hours hosting the brokers tour today, I really came to appreciate the deep rooted appeal of this house. So many of the visiting agents commented on how earthly peaceful they felt inside, despite the freeway noise that you hear outside. Several agents went as far as to say this wasn’t just a house, but a one-of-a-kind piece of art. They are right: the walls are downright sculptural. Primal even.  Maybe it awakens some ancestral memory of when people lived in caves, or stone houses which also have very thick walls.

Brett Weinstein,May 1, 2009

The writer (Tracy at www.BayAreaHomeGirl.com) has the basic facts right: my clients bought it just over a year ago, 3/3/08 and they paid $1,075,000. The asking price was $925,000. Our asking price now is $950,000.

Then comes the mischaracterizations: She is “surprised” that the asking price today is $25k more than last time. Why is that surprising? Last time, the $925k asking price generated multiple offers (5), all over $1m. In fact, my client’s offer wasn’t even the highest…it just had the best terms. Given these facts, the $1,075,000 sales price was a very good indicator of the then “fair market value,” not the $925k asking price.

Somehow to Tracy, a $125,000 loss ($1,075,000 paid minus $950,000 now asking) “speaks at an attempt to flip, or a remarkable confidence in today’s floundering market.”

Huh? Taking a $125k loss is an indicator of a flip? The refinished floors and updated bathroom she references were in the listing last time. Furthermore, she asks “Even if the house sold for comfortably over its asking price a year ago, is it realistic to expect it to do the same today?

Who said we expect it to sell over its asking price now? We are well aware of the comps—that’s why we are asking 14% less than last year’s sales price, even though the median sales price in the immediate area went down “only” 11.2% during the same interval.

Now matter how you look at it, the seller is taking a huge financial hit, although our reduced commission will lesson the blow some. The economics of our times means some lucky buyer will get the benefit.  So it goes.

Brett Weinstein, Broker
Realty Advocates

Early Green: First in the Nation (circa 1979) Passive Solar Double Envelope Multifamily Development

A townhouse unit is now available for sale in Miles Gardens, a 6 unit condominium project that utilizes a unique “double” or “thermal” envelope type of construction. This is where an “envelope” of air circulates between an inner and outer wall, distributing warm or cool air, depending on the season, throughout the building. The drivers of this air circulation are the natural forces of solar energy, gravity, convection, equilibrium, heat radiation and transfer. No fans or other mechanical means are necessary to drive the system.

For more detailed and technical explanation of the “thermal envelope” concept, visit 5321 Miles Avenue website.

On the outside, the stucco-surfaced building looks fairly ordinary, except for the curious triangular outline. But step inside the front door (salvaged from a 1910 Craftsman style home) and you’ll find your self in a tropical jungle paradise.

Several species of fern, ficus and palm stretch as high as 20-30′ to bathe in the light from the southwest facing truss-supported skylights.

A brick path leads to the 6 individual 2-story condo unit, each with a patio open to the atrium. A gurgling fountain complements the other-worldly peacefulness of the setting.

From the brick path, up a few redwood stairs to the patio, Unit Y has oak parquet floors that cover the main level’s kitchen, living and dining rooms. The kitchen was recently remodeled and features honed granite countertops (from a quarry in Virginia), Jenn-Air range and dishwasher, and an Amana refrigerator, all in stainless steel. The stove backsplash is made from recycled glass.

There are ceiling-hung see-through cabinets open to both the kitchen and dining area. The open floor plan allows all the spaces to flow to each other, and the living room also has sliding doors to the rear exterior steps and bbq area.

A half bath is conveniently located on this level, as well as a laundry and storage room. Up a carpeted flight of stairs are two bedrooms, both of which face the atrium. There is one medium size bedroom, and a larger “master” bedroom which includes a “plus” area that was originally an open balcony and now provides extra living space.

Both bedrooms have a walk-in closet. A remotely controlled “dimmable” skylight allows for adjusting the amount of light into the room. The full bathroom is segregated so that two people can be in at the same time without interfering with each other. It features elegant tile floors, counters and walls, with double sinks and a roomy glass-enclosed shower stall.

There are solar collectors on the roof that preheat water before distribution to each unit’s electric water heater, located in the  crawlspace. Unit Y also features a top-of-the-line, super-efficient and quiet heat pump, which provides back-up heating and cooling to the unit. Even though all the appliances are electric, the Unit’s average electric bill over the last year has been under $63.

If being around all this lush greenery makes you want to get your  hands into some dirt yourself, no problem: there is a common-area vegetable and flower garden behind the building.

The building has a garage providing one parking space and additional storage area for each unit. Extensive structural renovations were done 1998-2000 which included installation of steel beams around the garages and full plywood sheathing behind the stucco for seismic security. Other upgrades included new dual-pane windows for all the units, new garage doors, new rear decks. In 2008, the exterior was painted with elastomeric paint, and in 2007, a new roof, skylights, gutters and downspouts were installed.

Scheduled for October 2008: replacement and refurbishment of all the atrium planter boxes. A special assessment was levied to pay for this work and the current owner of Unit Y will cover this expense in full for the new buyer. Currently, the HOA dues are $300/mo and cover insurance, water, landscape maintenance, garbage, and reserves.

What’s left to talk about? Oh, yes: location, location, location! The property is located in the heart of Rockridge. Easy walk-to amenities include Frog Park, the weekend Farmer’s Market, and all the great shopping and eats on College Avenue. Commuting can’t get any “greener” that this: either walk to BART or pick up casual carpoolers lined up right before the nearby freeway access.

For more information visit http://www.realtyadvocates.com/5321.html

Unlike most retirement communities located in the isolated suburbs, the 9 story residential tower located at 2550 Dana St known as the Berkeley Townhouse Cooperative (BTC) features urban living at its best. What is urban living? It is where opportunities for shopping, restaurants, cafes, and culture are all within walking distance.

In the case of the BTC, here are just a few of the things nearby:
Berkeley Bowl
Whole Foods
Andronicos
Peet’s Coffee
Noah’s Bagels
Shakespeare Books
Moe’s Books
U.C.Berkeley’s beautiful park-like campus
A.C. Transit bus lines
And in Downtown Berkeley:
BART
Several movie theatres
Berkeley Rep Theatre
Jazz School and club
Many excellent restaurants

Unit 8D in the BTC is for sale. This is a 680 sq ft south facing unit with exceptional views of San Francisco, the Bay, the Golden Gate bridge and the Berkeley Hills. There is one bedroom and one bath, an open and inviting floorplan, and five different closets. What was originally an open lanai (balcony) has been enclosed for additional living space. The kitchen has a new refrigerator and a rarely used stove. This unit also includes a deeded parking space in the garage (not all units include parking).

The building has a total of 60 units. The common areas, all on the ground level, include a commercial kitchen, card room, movie area and several social areas. There is also a separate library/reading room.

The original promotional material, when units were first offered for sale (1962), brag about the quality of construction, with 9” concrete floors and double walls for soundproofing, wall-hung toilets (for easier cleaning), and a basement garage with a floor between four and ten feet thick (and 5,544,000 lbs of concrete!).

Unit 8D is on the market for $352,000. Attractive financing is available.

Showings are by appointment with listing agent Brett Weinstein

View photos and more information: Berkeley Townhouse Cooperative

There are two ways to handle “negative” equity. First, if the seller had the funds available, he could pay off the negative equity by writing a check to the lender(s) at the close of escrow. This way the lender gets paid in full and there are no adverse consequences to the seller’s credit rating. The second way is with a “short sale”. The assumption here is that the seller does not have a load of cash to make up the deficiency. It is also often that a seller in this situation has stopped making payments on his mortgages and is suffering from a degraded credit rating because of this. Foreclosure could also be on the horizon.

With a short sale, the seller (or seller’s real estate agent) asks the existing mortgage holder(s) to accept less than the outstanding balance on the loan. Under the right circumstances, a bank will agree to this because it will be less costly to them when compared with their only other alternative: foreclosure.

How does an agent get the lender to agree to a short sale? Having successfully closed 5 short sales recently, here’s what I’ve learned: it takes technical skill, a lot of patience, and an understanding on how to negotiate with the bank employee ultimately left with the decision to approve the sale.

Continue Reading Part II for the “How-to’s” of a Short Sale.

The technical skill involved in getting a short sale approved by the Seller’s lender starts with knowing which sellers are good candidates for a short sale and which are not. For instance, someone who is simply “upside down” but can otherwise afford to pay the deficiency is not a good candidate. Just because the seller says he cannot afford to pay is not sufficient. The agent will have to look closely at the seller’s complete financial profile (income, assets, liabilities, credit rating). I’ve come across a few short sale listings where the listing agent did not do her homework, and thus is really just wasting everyone’s time. The rest of the technical skill comes from knowing how to assemble and deliver a good “package,” providing all the information that the lender will need to make their decision. Each lender may have a different “punch-list” of documents that they require.

Patience

Patience is not only a virtue but a requirement in a short sale. It is required of everyone: the seller, the buyer, the buyer’s lender, and of course, the agents involved. One deal I did recently took 3 months before getting approval. Keep in mind this was three months of NOT knowing if they would approve the sale. They could have taken all that time and then told us NO. During the wait, it is possible that interest rates rise, making the property less affordable to the buyer. The buyer’s lender will want to “lock-in” an interest rate, but most rate locks expire after 30 days. That’s not likely to be enough time. And it can be awfully frustrating for the seller, who is trying to “do the right thing” and not walk away from the property, and is otherwise trying to move on with his life. All the while, the listing agent is trying to follow up and inquire about the status of the package, only to not have repeated voice messages to the lender left unreturned.

CHECK BACK FOR PART III – Short Sales: Negotiating with the Lender

Written by: Brett Weinstein

2334 Curtis St

The upstairs “owner’s unit” has 2+Br/2Ba, with approx. 1,248 sq ft of living space.

Purchase Price: $1,050,000

Downpayment: $ 250,000

Loan Amount: $ 800,000

Interest Rate: 5.875% (30 year fixed, 0 points)

Monthly Payment (P+I) $ 4,732

Property Taxes (T) $ 1,532

Insurance (I) $ 150

TOTAL PITI $ 6,414/mo

Less existing rents $ (3,646/mo)

Effective Monthly Cost $ 2,768/mo

Compared to

2 -3 Bedroom/2 Ba single family home in the same neighborhood, in roughly the same move-in condition, would cost you approx. $625,000 today.

Purchase Price: $625,000

Downpayment: $250,000

Loan Amount: $375,000

Interest Rate: 5.75% (30 yr fixed, 0 points)

Monthly Payment (P+I) $ 2,188

Property Taxes (T) $ 912

Insurance (I) $ 100

TOTAL PITI $ 3,200/mo

Effective Monthly Cost $ 3,200/mo

Loan terms were provided by Ted Maniatis at MPR Financial. (510) 527-6146.

These rates were available on Friday Feb 8, 2008 but are subject to change.

A Rarely Seen High-Peaked Colonial Revival Fourplex in Berkeley!

It is an architectural rarity in Berkeley to see such a well-preserved and tastefully updated half-timbered and high-peaked Colonial Revival property. This one built in 1911 by the carpenter Arne Lundgren. Berkeley’s Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) even produced a little write up on this one, readable at:
http://berkeleyheritage.com/essays/high-peaked_colonials4.html

At some unknown point in its history, it was converted to a triplex, and in 2004, a fourth unit was created in a newly enlarged basement area.

But the real feature of this property is the upstairs “owner’s” unit. This comprises approximately 1,248 sq feet of light-filled living space, 2+Br/2Ba, gleaming hardwood floors, spacious rooms, and entirely new electrical/plumbing/heating systems starting from 2000. The master bedroom is behind the east facing, hill-view balcony and features a walk-in dressing room with its own washer and dryer! The master bath has a sumptuous 2person glass block shower stall. The kitchen, dining and living areas blend together under a dramatic open-beam cathedral ceiling. A 3^rd bedroom or family room opens from here, as does a north and west facing deck with a gas line for endless bbq-ing. Need more storage? No problem here: there is a large stand up attic accessed from a pull-down stair, plus a ground level storage room for your bicycles.

Downstairs are 3 rental units, comprised of two 1Br/1Ba apartments plus a studio. The garage was converted into a home office space and is separately rented. The combined rent generated is $3,646/mo. At today’s interest rates, this will pay for approximately $600,000 in mortgage!.

You can take a photo tour of the entire building by going to:

http://www.realtyadvocates.com/2334.html

You are invited to come to our open houses, on Sundays Jan 27 and Feb 3, from 1:30-4:30pm.

]]> http://realtyadvocates.com/wordpress/2008/01/26/berkeley-architectural-rarity-high-peaked-colonial-revival/feed/ 0 http://realtyadvocates.com/wordpress/2007/11/01/why-do-sellers-still-list-with-agents-charging-6-percent/ http://realtyadvocates.com/wordpress/2007/11/01/why-do-sellers-still-list-with-agents-charging-6-percent/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:03:36 +0000 admin http://realtyadvocates.com/wordpress/2007/11/01/why-do-sellers-still-list-with-agents-charging-6-percent/

Why Do Sellers Still List with Agents Charging 6% (or even 5%)?

This is a continually perplexing question for us, and one which probably has several answers. First, we think many sellers don’t realize that commissions are not fixed. The big real estate companies spend a lot of effort training their agents to focus on the service-side of their pitch and not on their fees. To support their rigid pricing structure, many agents will argue that if you pay less, you will get less. Its all a smokescreen, of course. There is no shortage of unhappy sellers who paid 6%. Loyalty is another reason, as sellers will often return to the agents who helped them buy their house initially. And although we certainly cherish the same long-term relationship with our former clients, we continue to work towards having sellers take a closer look at a comparable service that will cost thousands of dollars less.

Brett Weinstein