Homes in Oakland Hills

Uppper Rockridge home with views

Brian Santilena — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:12:00 +0000

214 Modoc Ave is a charming Upper Rockridge home with views.

YOUR LISTING WILL BE SHOWN HERE!!

Features include

3 bedrooms
1.5 bathrooms
Formal dining room
Large rear yard

About Brian Santilena, Realtor, Oakland – Piedmont – Berkeley, CA – Department of real estate 01244612. Brian Santilena is one of the top real estate agents in the Oakland – Piedmont – Berkeley markets. He is a member of the Oakland Board of Realtors, the California Association of Realtors and the National Board of Realtors. Brian practices real estate in Oakland – Piedmont and Berkeley CA since 1998. He aggressively helps home buyers and home sellers who are looking to buy or sell real estate and Oakland homes, Piedmont homes and Berkley homes. See what some of his home selling and home buying clients have to say about working with Brian. He is with Pacific Union Real Estate at 1900 Mountain Blvd. Oakland CA 94611. He works in many neighborhoods in addition to Piedmont, Montclair, Rockridge, Upper Rockridge, Glenview, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands and many more areas and homes for sale. Brian is a licensed contractor and is listed on Real-Estate-Agents.com . If you are specifically interested in homes for sale in Rockridge and homes in Upper Rockridge, please take a look at Brian’s Homes In Upper Rockridge website.

Oakland Police Department Email and Text Message Alert Service

Brian Santilena — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:40:40 +0000

Oakland Police Department Email and Text Message Alert Service.

I live in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland and while it is relatively safe and quiet it would be great to know about crimes and or emergency issues in real time. Captain Steve Tull with the Oakland Police Department has established a new Text and Email ALERT system that is being offered for free to those interested in signing up. You can specify and add as many locations, addresses or neighborhoods as you’d like and you will be notified when there is a crime or safety ALERT in those areas.

It is said that during an earthquake one of the most reliable communication methods is via text. If there were a major earthquake wouldn’t it be nice to know in real time where help is needed and/or where emergency services are being offered?

Check it out and sign up at http://www.nixle.com/

Brian Santilena

Interest rates are going up when buying a home in Oakland and Piedmont CA

Brian Santilena — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:10:21 +0000

If you’re thinking of buying a home in Oakland or Piedmont, LOAN RATES ARE GOING UP!

I’ve been speaking with Brian Moggan (Branch Manager with Mason McDuffie Mortgage) and after quite a bit of technical mortgage discussion I think the bottom line is that mortgage rates are going to be going up.

Some facts to be aware of:

A conforming loan (in the SF East Bay) is any loan at or below $625,500.
Every conforming loan is underwritten to standards and costs set out by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, regardless of who’s making the loan (Wells, CHASE, BofA, MMCD etc.)
Fannie and Freddie were taken over by the government in late 2008 and the US congress became their conservator. So in other words, Congress now sets the rules.
Fannie and Freddie charges a fee to lenders (called a “guarantee fee”) when they take delivery of a loan from a lender.

So here is what has happened. Congress recently ran up against a payroll tax cut deadline. In order to extend the payroll tax cut deadline for 2 more months Congress needed to find the funds to pay for it. They decided to fund it by increasing the Fannie and Freddie “guarantee fees”. Since the cost of “making” a mortgage has just gone up and the increased cost will inevitably be passed onto borrowers, borrowers can now expect to pay about a quarter point more in interest rates on their loans.

To steel from the words of Brian Moggan, “If the cost of cow feed increases, it will cost more to buy a steak.”

Selling my Parkwoods condo in Oakland CA

Brian Santilena — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:07:11 +0000

I found Brian when I was thinking about selling my Parkwoods condo a couple of years ago. I talked to him about it and decided that I would wait another year or two before putting it on the market. I asked Brian to keep in touch. He contacted me periodically to see if I was ready to sell and when I finally was ready I was happy to list it with him. I was extremely nervous about selling in such a down market, especially because I was carrying a mortgage and my monthly rent in Manhattan (not cheap!). I thought it would take at least 6 months to sell. How wrong I was! We had two offers in a matter of weeks and ended up accepting the second offer. I was a bit worried about selling my California condo from New York but Brian took care of everything for me and was always available to answer any questions or address any concerns. He was an absolute pleasure to work with and I’m so glad I chose him!

Jamie Eberling

About Brian Santilena, Realtor

Brian Santilena sells real estate in Oakland – Piedmont – Berkeley, CA – Department of real estate 01244612. Brian Santilena is one of the top real estate agents in the Oakland – Piedmont – Berkeley markets. He is a member of the Oakland Board of Realtors, the California Association of Realtors and the National Board of Realtors. Brian practices real estate in Oakland – Piedmont and Berkeley CA since 1998. He aggressively helps home buyers and home sellers who are looking to buy or sell real estate and Oakland homes, Piedmont homes and Berkley homes. See what some of his home selling and home buying clients have to say about working with Brian. He is with Pacific Union Real Estate at 1900 Mountain Blvd. Oakland CA 94611. He works in many neighborhoods in addition to Piedmont, Montclair, Rockridge, Upper Rockridge, Glenview, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands and many more areas and homes for sale. Brian is a licensed contractor and is listed on Real-Estate-Agents.com . If you are specifically interested in homes for sale in Rockridge and homes in Upper Rockridge, please take a look at Brian’s Homes In Upper Rockridge website.

Best Trick or Treating in Oakland CA

agentevo — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:06:58 +0000

Selling real estate in the Oakland East Bay area puts me in contact with many families looking to enjoy all of the community spirit the area has to offer. One of the most enjoyable holidays (in my humble opinion) remains Halloween. Sure it has become largely commercialized like many of the other holidays but it still remains one of the most memorable holidays in many kids lives. I still have photos of me in the third grade running around in my Batman outfit during the school parade. I don’t dress up that much anymore but I sure enjoy giving out candy and seeing all of the adorable costumed kids.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote a story on the best places in the area to trick or treat. One of the Oakland areas called out is the neighborhood of Haddon Hill. Haddon Hill lies just east of Lake Merritt and below the neighborhoods of Grand Ave and Trestle Glen. Before highway 580 was built Haddon Hill was part of Crocker Highlands. Much of the architecture and street character resembles its neighbor to the north. If you are interested in real estate for sale in Crocker Highlands or homes for sale in Grand Ave areas please take a look here.

Have a Spooky Halloween… Brian.

No related posts.

Oakland hills firestorm

agentevo — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:35:10 +0000

The Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991 is credited with burning over 3300 homes and over 1520 acres. 25 people lost their lives and the financial impact exceeded $1.5 billion.

We have just passed the 20 year anniversary from that disaster and many ongoing efforts have been and are being made to ensure that a disaster like the Oakland Hills firestorm never happens again. While municipal efforts help decrease risks, there is no better way to protect your home and family than taking the personal initiative to fire-safe your home and property. Here is a simple fire safety checklist supplied by the Firesafe Council that will help you do just that.

While many people lost everything they owned the area has bounced back incredibly well. The newer construction is an architectural smorgasbord and the area now offers some of the best views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the entire SF Bay. I actually live in Upper Rockridge and my home escaped the worst of the fire. While my fence and a few areas of my roof/eve burned the large oak tree that covers a large portion of my property acted as an umbrella for the falling embers. Fortunately we had a comp shingle roof. Many of my neighbors were not so lucky.

Oakland condos with views

agentevo — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:30:40 +0000

Oakland condos with views

200 Lakeside Drive #301 is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture and is rare Oakland condo with views. Contact Brian Santilena Realtor and CRS with Pacific Union International real estate to arrange a private showing.

Features Include:

Selling our Piedmont CA home with Brian Santilena

BrianS — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:05:56 +0000

Marketing homes for sale in Piedmont CA since 1998.

View homes for sale in Piedmont CA here.

I think Brian Santilena did excellent work, in every way, helping us sell a home in Piedmont, and the end result was impressive. Brian promised from the start that he would act as the project manager for obtaining contractor bids on necessary repairs and staging, and he delivered on his promise. Brian knows many good contractors, gardeners, repair people, and so forth, to tap for such work. Brian also knows how to plan such work within the budget available. Our house looked great when it went on the market, and we received several offers immediately.

Brian used web-based marketing, as well as more traditional newspaper features to advertise our home. I was very impressed with the quality of that work. It proved very effective.

Brian also is excellent at handling or arranging the technical matters related to contracts, inspections, disclosures, offers/counter-offers, and escrow. His capable use of electronic documents, with electronic signatures, sped our process nicely. His clear explanations for everything happening allowed us to make good decisions, even when time was tight.

Overall, Brian was just exactly the person we needed to prepare our house for sale and to get it sold. He was a delight to work with. He completely understood the value of the neighborhood added to our house. He knew what type of buyer would be attracted to the place, and he succeeded in getting the attention of those very buyers, and in presenting the house to them in a winning way. My experience working with Brian Santilena was very fine.

Mike Higgins (Attorney at Law)

About Brian Santilena, Realtor

Selling our home in Montclair Oakland CA with real estate agent Brian Santilena

BrianS — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:27:03 +0000

Marketing homes for sale in Oakland CA Montclair district by Brian Santilena.

Comments from home sellers of 6800 Colton Drive, Oakland Montclair CA 94611

We worked with Brian to sell our home in Oakland as part of a relocation process. Having moved to another city, it was important to us that our agent have not only a pulse on the Oakland market trends, but more importantly the diligence to keep on top of these trends and keep us informed remotely. We made the decision to work with Brian because he instilled in us the confidence that he could deliver on this goal.

What we were pleasantly surprised to find, however, was that Brian was also committed to tailored service. His responsiveness and communication made us feel as though we were his only client. Most importantly, Brian approached the business as a partnership – we aligned on goals early, determined the best strategy to achieve these goals, and then executed on the strategy. He is the consummate professional and having worked with others, we can say with a high level of confidence that there are very few agents who will provide the level of service we received. If you’re considering buying or selling a home in Oakland, you would be well served to work with Brian.

Francis & Nicola Idehen

About Brian Santilena, Realtor

How to get the best deal when buying a home Oakland and Piedmont CA

BrianS — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:14:26 +0000

How to get the best deal when buying a home in Oakland and Piedmont CA.

View homes for sale in Oakland and homes for sale in Peidmont here.

Prices are down. Interest rates are dropping. Short sales are increasing. Foreclosures, a volatile economy, YIKES! With all this market turbulence it takes a lot of courage to purchase real estate in Oakland and Piedmont CA right now. It’s not enough just to get a good deal. You want the best deal!

So how do you get the best deal when buying a home? Here is what I think. In order to get the absolute best deal on your new home you will need to do one or more of the following things:

#1 Buy a home that is not attractive to other prospective buyers.
#2 Be willing to put up with a difficult transaction.
#3 Be in a financial position to buy a home that will not qualify for a loan.
#4 Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.

First off I think you need to decide if you are buying a “home” or purchasing an “investment.” They are not the same thing. In addition to providing you shelter from the elements, a “home” is something you buy because it adds to your quality of life. There is always an investment aspect to any purchase but when you buy a “home” you need to factor in use and enjoyment. When buying a property purely as an investment, pride of ownership should take a second seat to cash flow, cost of ownership and gross rent multiplier GRM.

#1 Buying a home that has some flaws translates into fewer prospective buyers wanting it. Is the property it a fixer? Perhaps. Does it have a weird floor plan? Possibly. Are the finishes dated? Most likely. All of these things will lessen demand. But if you have the skills or resources to fix those flaws you can save a ton of money. I don’t however advocate buying a home with “fatal flaws.” Examples of “fatal flaws” are things such as buying next to the highway, buying into a bad neighborhood or buying a home with tons of stairs.

#2 Deals where there is a tenant or a short sale require lots of patience and flexibility. Two things that are in short supply for many of today’s home buyers. Tenant occupied properties typically don’t show very well and just getting a showing appointments can be difficult. Short sales require a two step process. First get the Seller/Occupant to accept your offer, then get their lender to accept your offer. In order for that to happen the Seller will need to qualify for a short sale and the bank will need to agree to take less money than the sellers mortgage balance. Some 60% of short sale transactions never close escrow. Buyers know this and many choose not to participate in transactions with such success rates.

#3 Being able to pay cash for a property that doesn’t qualify for a mortgage is one of the best ways to get a killer deal. All cash offers or family financing are just a couple of ways to go. I’ve seen homes for sale in Piedmont CA that sell for 25% below the market because no loans are available for them. These homes will always need lots of work but if you have the stomach for it you can squeeze every bit of purchasing value out of today’s real estate market.

#4 Good negotiations are very important. Sellers are losing money and will push the sale price hard. Negotiations are taking longer and requiring more counter offers. Buyers are justifiably concerned about buying into a declining market so getting a fair price today may not be a good price tomorrow. Be patient and be willing to counter offer. Start low but be realistic. Fight the problem and not the people. It is not personal. Keep focused on the hurdle (the price) and with all eyes focused on clearing that hurdle you will be successful in getting the price you want.