Karen Wong-Curtis

Superstition or Reality?
April 3, 2011 · · 4 Comments

Can the address of your home really affect how much your home will sell for?  Yes, it can! 

According to a scientific study by the University of British Columbia, it has found that real estate prices can fluctuates based on Chinese number preferences in neighborhoods with large numbers of ethnic Chinese communities.  The study based on the economics of number beliefs explores the impact of “lucky” and “unlucky” Chinese numbers on more than 115,000 residential real estate sales in the Vancouver region over 5 years from 2000-2005.

One aspect of feng shui, an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics, is the positive and negative number associations and how it is pronounced.  The number “4” has the similar pronunciation to the word “death”; the number “8” has similar pronunciation to the word for “prosperity or wealth”.     Read more

Kathy Wall

Vacant Homes a Target for Homeless and Criminals
February 10, 2011 · · 2 Comments

I was scheduled to do an open house at one of my listings in a terrific San Francisco neighborhood today.  When I arrived at the property and unlocked the door, the first thing that I saw were 2 men’s socks and a bunch of dirt, along with something that looked like a dirt clot, but later turned out to be a rock.  

Since this house has always been immaculate, I knew that something was radically wrong, so instead of entering the house, I first called the owners.   When I was unable to reach them, I decided to call the police.    Although it turned out that the intruder had already left, I’m so glad that I did call them, because it turns out that they were able to get really good evidence of who had entered.

This home had previously been “staged” and furnished, but the owners had requested that the staging be removed due to cost concerns, so it is now completely vacant.    Although we kept the front drapes closed so that people would not notice that it was vacant, someone clearly noticed, broke a downstairs window and spent at least one night in the property, apparently ripping down one of the drapes and using it as a blanket.      Read more

PruCalVoices

Short sale?
May 12, 2009 · · 6 Comments

thumbnailcak8m4paWhat is the ubiquitous term: short sale mean? Many people may have an idea of what that term means, the following is a condensed version of a short sale.  A short sale is when the owner of a property is upside down meaning they owe more than what their property is worth and they cannot refinance for that exact reason. They have fallen behind on there payments in many cases due to a jump in interest rate or loss of job. One option is to short sale the property and attempt to sell it before it goes into foreclosure. A short sale may satisfy a sellers outstanding debt (if the seller did not pull equity) and is not as bad as a foreclosure for their credit. The operative words are ”as bad” I want to be clear it will negatively impact the sellers credit to some degree.       Read more

PruCalVoices

Sunnyside…a little neighborhood in San Francisco
April 9, 2009 · · 6 Comments

montereyphoto1I share with you all a quaint little place in San Francisco called Sunnyside. It is nestled alongside Glen Park and highway 280. The story is that the name Sunnyside came about when the developers were marketing this area. They wanted to attract buyers to this (kinda) foggy part of town so they came up with the clever name of Sunnyside.  It has a gorgeous view of the Brisbane Mountains.  It is a small neighborhood, but conveniently located and easily accessible to all parts of San Francisco.  The commercial strip if you will,  is mainly along Monterey Blvd where there are several restaurants and a small but convenient Safeway grocery store. The Glen Park neighborhood is also so close that Sunnyside residents can easily walk to the great restaurants like, Chenery Park or Sangha among others for a nice dinner. The recent opening of  Canyon grocery store has also been a great addition. The Glen Park BART station is conveniently a quick walk away as well. Read more

PruCalVoices

What lays behind the front door?
March 9, 2009 · · 7 Comments

front-doorHave you ever wondered how people live? I have always been fascinated by the interior of homes, what lies inside and how people live. Perhaps its my education and background in interior design/art history or maybe curiosity.

Well, boy was I taken aback and surprised to see what I found in this one particular home in Daly City.  It was new on the market, a short sale so I previewed it for my clients prior to showing it on Sunday. The listing agent did forewarn me that the home was in shambles. And Yes it was a mess, however I did not make it down to the garage/basement that day because it was dark and the electricity was shut off and boy was I in for a big surprise.  Read more

Lee Ginsburg

Housing Stimulus – An Open Letter to the Politicians
February 10, 2009 · · 6 Comments

To Congress Woman Jackie Spier, Senator Diane Feinstein, and Senator Boxer

 

 I am a local realtor specializing in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties.   I do not think the $15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit in the Economic Stimulus Package is making best use of Tax Payers money.  Read more

PruCalVoices

Benefits of staging!
February 1, 2009 · · 7 Comments

After writing my blog on “What is staging?” I am following up with the benefits of staging and the return in dollars to the seller. After some thought, I called a friend, Yvette Thoma, who was a San Bruno Prudential Realtor and who has gone on to successfully open “Let’s Stage it” a local staging company.

She was kind to provide me with some real numbers and facts. Per Yvette Thoma “Out of the last 25 homes staged in 2008, “Let’s Stage it” clients in San Francisco recieved 3% above average market asking price and in some cases 8% above asking. The homes also sold in half the time.” Per Yvette “the cost of staging is much less than your first price reduction!” Lastly “Staging is not a expense it is an investment and is tax deductible.” Read more