What California’s Water-Saving Plumbing Law Means to You

California Water-Saving Plumbing Law Effects Investment Property Owners, Sellers, Property Managers and Property Management Companies A California law enacted in 2009 is finally taking effect and causing concerns among property owners, sellers, buyers, and realtors.  California Civil Code Section 1101.4 requires owners of single-family residences which were “built or available for use on or before…

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Home Improvements Critical Now More Than Ever

Home Improvements Cost-Value Cash-On-Cash Returns Rise as the Overall Market Rises I am often surprised when I see homeowners getting their homes ready to sell without anticipating doing any repairs or improvements.  I am even more surprised when I see realtors counseling their clients not to do repairs or improvements because “the market is hot,…

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Flood Insurance Relief for Palo Alto

New Flood Insurance Law Provides Relief for Palo Alto Property Owners In March of this year President Obama signed into law the Federal Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 which amends previous law – now homeowners in flood plains and districts, like Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park will be provided relief.

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What the New Shared Fence Law Means to You

New California Fence Law

New Shared Fence Law As Of January 1, 2014 Have you ever heard “Good fences make good neighbors?”  Now, adjoining landowners are statutorily equally responsible for shared fences and boundary fences pursuant to California Civil Code Section 841 which took effect January 1, 2014.  Adjoining or contiguous landowners are now faced with a presumption that…

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Comfortable and Cost Effective, Energy Efficiency in Homes

Manage heating and air conditioning for optimum efficiency

High Energy Efficiency of Your Heating and Air Conditioning Systems Makes Your Home Comfortable and Cost Effective With the rising costs of energy making your home more energy efficient is tantamount to a comfortable and cost effective living environment. Comfortable interior environments make for a more friendly and welcoming home.  Improving the efficiency of your…

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Buying a Home?

things to think about when buying a home

Seven (7) Things to Consider and Research before Buying a Home So you’ve made the decision to stop renting and buy a home.  Buying a home is very emotional, incredibly stressful, and requires diligence and strategy.  To make sure your pursuit is not fraught with pitfalls you should consider the following ideas:

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Palo Alto Main Library Gets a New Name

Palo Alto Main Library Name  is “Rinconada” After a long drawn out process Palo Alto’s main library has been renamed to “Rinconada Library” by the Palo Alto City Council.  Supporters of the new name have consistently argued that the library is not the main library because it is not the biggest library in the system,…

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Should El Camino be Pedestrian Friendly?

Palo Alto Sidewalk

El Camino Real Sidewalk Widening Plan Hears Opposition from Palo Alto There is currently a wide-based effort to widen El Camino Real into a pedestrian friendly thoroughfare, however, those portions of real estate within the city limits of Palo Alto will not be widened without a fight. Palo Alto City Councilmembers have proposed an ordinance…

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Menlo Park to Revamp Downtown

Menlo Park Hiring Expert to Research Initiative to Revamp Downtown Plan The Menlo Park City Council has actually authorized investing up to $150,000 on a consultant to examine the brand-new effort proposed by locals that would significantly change the city’s downtown/El Camino particular strategy. 

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The Importance of Landscape Design and Architecture

Landscaping and architecture are key elements for value

Curb Appeal Adds Value to Your Home An important but often overlooked component of a well-designed residential property is the landscaping surrounding a home.  Savvy homeowners know that 15-20% of a property’s value should be spent on well-thought out architectural design and installation of quality landscaping materials and elements.

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SF Peninsula Cities Sued by PG&E

courtesy of www.portolaplanet.com

Menlo Park, Redwood City & Woodside Sued by PG&E to Replace 80 Year Old Gas Line In an attempt to replace three miles of an old gas line and hopefully prevent another catastrophic explosion like the one in San Bruno PG&E has filed three separate lawsuits against the cities of Menlo Park, Redwood City and…

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Choosing the Right Realtor® for You

Shelly Roberson Realtor

Choosing the Right Realtor® Can Make a HUGE Difference in Your Home Buying or Selling Experience! Almost everyone knows a real estate agent.  However, all agents are not created equally.  This is easy to tell when you compare an agent’s experience to others, compare how long they have been in the business, and most importantly…

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Staging a Listing is a “MUST” in Any Market

Staging is Worth the Investment Staging has entered into the ‘standard of practice’ in preparing a home to place on the real estate market.  Making a great first impression, whether via photos on the web, or as the purchaser walks into the front door, has never been much more essential when marketing a property.  In…

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Palo Alto Foothills Park to Expand?

Weigh in on the Palo Alto Foothills Park Expansion The Palo Alto Resident-Only Foothills Park may be expanding under a current proposal in front of the Palo Alto City Council.  In a memo to council members 7.7 acres of city-owned land next to the exclusive Foothills Park preserve was described as an environmentally important riparian…

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New and Expanded Farmer’s Market in Palo Alto

Palo Alto’s California Avenue Farmers Market – Kick-Off This Sunday The new and expanded California Avenue Farmer’s Market is kicking off this Sunday, March 23 from 9A to 1P.  This expanded market will help the city’s massive streetscape project which also began this week. 

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