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May 2005 Are You Ready For Your Home Improvement Audit? You would have to have been in solitary
confinement for the past couple of years not to be aware of the amazing escalation
of home prices in the Bay Area. Every home owner must surely realize by now
that their home, the single most valuable possession for most people, should
be well cared for and improved as much as it is possible to do so. There is much more than regular maintenance to
ensuring that your home’s value is maximized. There are many home
improvements that can add far more value than they cost to carry out.
Replacement dual-pane windows immediately come to mind when considering older
homes, or just re-painting the exterior in a modern, attractive color scheme.
Unfortunately though, all improvements are not equally cost-effective. A
$10,000 kitchen remodel, done well, will often add $20,000 in value. Yet it
is possible to spend $30,000 or more on a kitchen remodel and add very
little. Why? It is as much about the design as the amount of money spent. As a professional real estate agent and somebody
who has remodeled my fair share of homes, I have come to realize that with
careful planning, good design and clever sourcing, it is very possible to
implement improvements that will add far more value than they cost. And I am
not suggesting that the only time to carry out these projects is just before
you plan to sell your home although that often makes sense too. Ideally, you
should remodel a kitchen or bathroom a year or two before you plan to move.
That way you get to enjoy what you have done, as well as reaping the reward
when you do decide to sell. This month, I am offering all readers of my
Newsletter the opportunity to have a “Home Improvement Audit” carried out. I
will visit your home and review it’s current
situation, then provide you with a list of improvements I would carry out if
it were my home, with the objective of adding the most value for the optimum
level of expenditure. In most cases I will also suggest suppliers for the
various products and services I would recommend. There is no charge for any of this. I believe it
is in everybody’s interests for the standard of homes in the Just call me on my cell phone or send me an email
and I will arrange to meet with you at a convenient time. Restaurant
Review
Per Tutti, 3576 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Previously
know as Pasta Per Tutti, this restaurant has changed little in its present
incarnation apart from adding much color to the décor and expanding the menu
with a selection of entrees that are not pasta based. Set
in the center of town on busy Inside,
the restaurant appears enormous at first glance but that is an effect brought
about by the fact that one wall is covered in mirrors separated by Romanesque
columns. There are a couple of highly colorful larger than life murals
depicting restaurant scenes at the back of the restaurant and these certainly
help to define the lively, informal character of the place. The kitchen is
open to view at the back of the restaurant with a small bar area to the
right. The
menu offers a good selection of appetizers, pasta dishes, entrees etc. and
the value is excellent. On a recent visit, I ordered pasta carbonara ($10.95)
and Sylvia had Veal Marsala ($11.95). We both started our meal with a bowl of
excellent Minestrone soup. The pasta dish was exactly as I expected (pasta
carbonara is a long-time favorite) and Sylvia’s veal was also good with a
generous helping of Service
here is efficient and friendly and the wait-staff are knowledgeable about the
menu. Touches that I like are the fact that warm bread is served once you are
settled in and grated parmesan cheese is placed on every table so you can
help yourself. This is a good restaurant for an economical mid-week dinner in
a relaxing atmosphere. On
the evening of our visit (a Tuesday), the restaurant was fairly quiet with
perhaps 7 or 8 tables being occupied. Weekends are a different story although
it is generally possible to get a table for 2 or 4 people without booking in
advance. Reviews such as the one above are included as a
service to introduce people to interesting restaurants in the Homes Currently
Offered For (Figures in parentheses show the
numbers at the beginning of last month)
JUST LISTED FOR
|
|
Address |
City |
|
BR |
Bth |
Bth |
SqFt |
Lot SF |
List Price |
Sold Price |
DOM |
|
|
1244 |
|
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
2288 |
32670 |
$1,050,000 |
$1,050,000 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Las Trampas |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1955 |
13504 |
$989,900 |
$1,148,000 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Stone Vly Oaks |
5 |
4 |
1 |
4254 |
24393 |
$2,250,000 |
$2,160,000 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
Vernal |
6 |
6 |
2 |
6758 |
43037 |
$4,195,000 |
$4,035,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
Blackhawk |
|
4 |
2 |
1 |
2661 |
7130 |
$1,079,000 |
$1,100,000 |
7 |
|
|
3720 |
Blackhawk |
|
4 |
2 |
1 |
3500 |
15899 |
$1,575,000 |
$1,537,000 |
20 |
|
|
|
Blackhawk |
|
4 |
4 |
0 |
4503 |
34352 |
$1,899,000 |
$1,875,000 |
148 |
|
|
|
Blackhawk |
Deer
Field |
4 |
3 |
1 |
4077 |
25250 |
$1,935,000 |
$1,935,000 |
7 |
|
|
|
Blackhawk |
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
4650 |
21850 |
$2,100,000 |
$2,111,000 |
20 |
|
|
|
|
El Cerro |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1357 |
1316 |
$533,350 |
$545,000 |
20 |
|
|
422 Sutton Cir |
|
|
4 |
2 |
1 |
1865 |
2510 |
$685,000 |
$720,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Maison |
2 |
3 |
0 |
2195 |
2465 |
$775,000 |
$775,000 |
5 |
|
|
668 |
|
|
4 |
2 |
|
1746 |
15096 |
$849,000 |
$849,000 |
9 |
|
|
1208 |
|
Mansfiled |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2565 |
15400 |
$950,000 |
$1,050,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Harper Ln |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1970 |
21344 |
$1,099,000 |
$1,110,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Blackhawk |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2313 |
10560 |
$1,199,000 |
$1,250,000 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Old |
5 |
4 |
1 |
3748 |
5610 |
$1,345,000 |
$1,300,000 |
6 |
|
|
304 Sunset Dr |
|
Parkhaven |
5 |
3 |
0 |
3409 |
7670 |
$1,200,000 |
$1,320,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
|
2 |
2 |
|
1474 |
99999 |
$615,000 |
$600,000 |
18 |
|
|
4003 Lakeshore W Dr |
San
Ramon |
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
1721 |
2500 |
$699,990 |
$685,000 |
12 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
Davona |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2212 |
7000 |
$699,950 |
$685,000 |
13 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
|
3 |
2 |
0 |
1644 |
5050 |
$699,500 |
$715,250 |
6 |
|
|
7022 Briza Loop |
San
Ramon |
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
1462 |
0 |
$683,500 |
$720,000 |
7 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
Davona |
4 |
2 |
|
1724 |
7000 |
$714,999 |
$725,000 |
16 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
Lakemont |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1727 |
0 |
$737,000 |
$737,000 |
0 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
2097 |
3510 |
$769,990 |
$780,000 |
24 |
|
|
|
San
Ramon |
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
3908 |
99999 |
$1,388,000 |
$1,550,000 |
6 |
|
|
9570 Velvet Leaf Cir |
San
Ramon |
S.Gale Ridge |
7 |
5 |
1 |
4079 |
10974 |
$1,750,000 |
$1,750,000 |
70 |
|
|
310 N Civic Drive |
|
Ygnacio |
1 |
1 |
|
462 |
0 |
$212,000 |
$218,000 |
12 |
|
|
1305 Boulevard Way |
|
Mt
Diablo |
1 |
1 |
0 |
683 |
0 |
$298,000 |
$330,000 |
7 |
|
|
254 Northcreek Cir |
|
Candelero |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1683 |
2025 |
$579,500 |
$590,000 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Kristin |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1719 |
6600 |
$719,000 |
$740,000 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Candleberry |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1781 |
8625 |
$785,000 |
$812,000 |
12 |
|
|
1909 |
|
|
4 |
3 |
0 |
1912 |
10200 |
$799,000 |
$850,000 |
9 |
|
|
2507 Via Verde |
|
Wiget |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2064 |
10625 |
$799,800 |
$860,000 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Belford |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1913 |
10815 |
$829,000 |
$911,900 |
16 |
For
more detailed information on home sales anywhere in Contra Costa or
Success Advice from Bill Gates
Here’s some advice
Bill Gates dished out at a high school about 11 things the students didn’t
learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teaching
has created a full generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this
concept sets them up for failure in the real world.
RULE #1: Life
is not fair. Get used to it!
RULE #2: The world won’t care about your
self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you
feel good about yourself.
RULE #3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right
out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with an executive car until
you earn both.
RULE #4: If
you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have
tenure.
RULE #5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your
dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping. They
called it opportunity.
RULE #6: If
you mess up it’s not your parents’ fault so don’t whine about your mistakes,
learn from them.
RULE #7: Before you were born, your parents
weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So
before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’
generation, try delousing the closet it your own room.
RULE #8: School may have done away with winners
and loser but life has not.. Although some schools
have abolished failing grades, this doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to
ANYTHING in real life.
RULE #9: Life is not divided into semesters. You
don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you
find yourself. Do that on your own time.
RULE #10: Television is NOT real life. In real life
people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
RULE #11: Be
nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
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