Tips For Updating Your Kitchen

The most important room in your house is the kitchen. Your kitchen may have the biggest impact on the value of your home. If you feel your kitchen needs some help then it probably does and you may want to look into making improvements. The last few homes I have listed all had updated kitchens within the last few years. Most of my clients have replaced many items in their kitchens in order to update their homes. Here is a list of affordable ideas.

1. If your kitchen has been recently updated just make sure the room is clean and smells fresh. Before an open house drop a lemon slice or two into the disposal and give it a grind.
2. If your light fixtures are outdated consider replacing them with new track lighting. 
3. If you have old or ugly cabinets, you can have a professional replace the doors. There are plenty of professionals in the Walnut Creek area.
4. Look into installing new knobs and hardware on the cabinets as well.
5. Find out what the new colors are. If you have appliances that are dated by colors have them refinished with something new.

It's better to hire a professional if your not 100% confident in getting the job done right. Don't take on a project you can't handle, it will show. I've walked into many homes and kitchens that owners have updated themselves and the mistakes are obvious. 

Big Real Estate Opportunity in Concord

Check out the video below of 1180 Green Gables Court below. This Concord, CA home is listed at $619,000, it's bank owned and priced to sell. Don't miss this one!

Built in 1999, the bank just put in new carpet, fresh paint, tile floors and stainless steel appliances. The home sits on a court location and features a 3 car garage with a huge driveway. This home is perfect for those who like to entertain and the backyard has a lot of potential. 

Two New Listings and Low Fixed Rates

I have two new listings, one in Concord, CA and one in Pleasant Hill, CA. I'm putting together a video tour for my Concord listing tomorrow, 1180 Green Gables Ct. It's a beautifully remodeled 4 Bed, 3 Bath home and was priced at $619,500. What a deal! 205 Elderwood Drive in Pleasant Hill will be listed tomorrow, pictures and video to come.

30-year fixed mortgage rates are currently at 4% with a 20% down payment who pay a standard .07 to 1 point origination. 15-year fixed mortgage rate are 3.625% today. These fixed mortgage rates are at all time record lows. Wells Fargo is currently the nation's retail leader in mortgage lending, doing more loans than Bank of America, and is advertising a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage at an interest rate of 4.5% with an APR of 4.686. What are you waiting for?

If anyone is interested in buying a home, again I have two new listings and stay tuned for the video tours to get a detailed viewing. Or give me a call at (925)330-3878. Please feel free to use the MLS search I provide on my site to view other homes currently on the market. Remember, interest rates are the lowest they have ever been, get into the real estate market before they go back up!

What Are Your Schools Rated?

Take a look below at the schools in Walnut Creek. This is a widget provided by greatschools.org and is interactive so you can view the great schools in the Walnut Creek area. Most of them have ratings of 9 and 10 out of 10 points. The points are based on state school testing results. Click on the numbers and a pop up window displays the school name and location along with a link for information.

If you are looking to buy real estate near good schools then I suggest using this widget and remembering the website greatschools.org as a future resource when searching for homes. There, you can type in any city, state or the full address of a home to see what schools are nearby and their ratings. You can read reviews from other parents and see what they have to say about certain schools.

See what schools are rated highly in your neighborhood below! 

Walnut Creek schools

California schools

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Tips For A Clutter Free Open House.

If you are selling your home having an open house is a great way to bring in prospective buyers and get your home lots of attention. Before you have visitors walking into your home for sale, it needs to be clean and organized but I think most sellers know that. What sellers do need to pay attention to are the things that they may not think matter.

Hide those unsightly chords

Once your home is spotless I encourage sellers to then take a look at their entertainment centers. Are the playstation and cable wires all wrapped up in knots? It doesn't seem like much but this creates a sense of chaos and is unappealing to the eye. If your electronics aren't wireless make sure their chords are out of sight. 

The Front Porch

There should be nothing but green and furniture near the front door before entering your home. Flower pots, chairs are all welcoming but hide any brooms, skateboards, balls and shoes. Make sure the front yard is the best it can look. Mow the front lawn the night before along with hosing down all the walkways including the driveway, spray all dirt out of cement cracks. If you have a large back yard I recommend doing the same.

Don't forget to minimize the bathroom products and toothpaste overload. Cut down all bathroom related products so it appears only one person uses it. There should be one bar of soap and one bottle of shampoo on the tub, not nine different body washes.

Cleaning your home before an open house is a must but make a note of getting rid of clutter. Make sure your home is showcased as a controlled environment and not a host of chaotic energy.

Newest Homes For Sale in Walnut Creek, CA

Here's another widget from Zillow.com, check it out. Shows the newest homes for sale in Walnut Creek, CA. If you are currently looking at homes for sale in the Walnut Creek area, you can check these out this weekend.

Newest For Sale Homes in Walnut Creek

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Walnut Creek homes for sale

Most Expensive Homes In Walnut Creek, CA

Here's a widget I found on Zillow.com. I customized it so you can view the most expensive homes currently on the Walnut Creek, CA market. Take a look and browse through it. There are currently 20 Walnut Creek homes for sale that are above $1,500,000 on this widget. If I showed this 4 years ago there would probably be 60 homes or more in Walnut Creek that were above this price. Clicking through at the moment there are a few homes in the Rancho Paraiso and Northgate area which I recently did a video on, check it out.

Thinking of buying? Right now is a great time to buy real estate in Walnut Creek. Pick out a home that's near great schools, shopping, dining and open space on the MLS. If your looking for bigger estates just click through these below and see what's available, all homes are above 1.5 million. Remember interest rates are at all time lows, home prices may keep falling but interest rates will rise again in the near future. If you are thinking of buying a piece of real estate, it's your chance to be a picky buyer.

Most Expensive Homes in Walnut Creek

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Walnut Creek homes for sale

Two New Northgate Area Videos

I just did two videos about the Northgate area in Walnut Creek, CA. Production began on one of the hottest days of summer 2010. It was literally shoot a scene then hop back in the car and blast the AC, there was no room for error it was so hot.

Both videos cover the homes in the Northgate area, both newer and established. Video number one covers homes in Rancho Paraiso, Shadowbrook and Video number 2 covers the older homes throughout the area including Mocking Bird Hill. Northgate High and the Encina Shopping Center get a shout out along with Heather Farm Park and Mt. Diablo State Park. Any suggestions for the next neighborhood video? Which subdivision should be next? I was thinking an inside look in the Mercer would be neat, highlighting it's downtown location. People seem to like the videos, as we can see people visiting the site stay on pages longer that contain video. I've had feedback that it's nice to see smooth footage of what homes look like and their curb appeal. Personally I think video is a bonus for displaying local amenities and it helps better show a home's location. Using a video is a lot like staging a home with nice furniture, it really seems to set a person visually.

Our first neighborhood video was on the Lakewood area, where I live. When I saw the finished product the video slapped me in the face, almost reminding me I live in one of the coolest areas of Walnut Creek. The beautiful colors and scenery came across so nicely along with the music that I can show anyone at anytime that the Lakewood area is a wonderful place to own a home.