The Oakland Berkeley Journal

I have heard rave reviews about the documentary,  Race to Nowhere. (Click here to view the trailer) See it on Thursday, February 11 at 7 PM,  at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland.  Tickets may be purchased at the box office.

The floors are being shined and the final details are underway!  2624 School Street is coming soon to the Oakland real estate marketplace!  I love this photograph of this vintage bungalow with the clouds billowing above. The earth has been turned over and fresh sod is coming.  Check 2624 School Street in Oakland online, www.TheSchoolBungalow.com

photo by Scott Hargis

Yesterday on Oakland’s Broker Tour, I fell in love with 5785 Country Club Drive, (listed by Karen Starr of Grubb Co.)  Claremont Pines, (a neighborhood in Upper Rockridge located between Broadway and Broadway Terrace) is a one of my favorite neighborhoods.  Some of the properties in this area have City and Bay views, the neighborhood is very walkable, there is a neighborhood grocery store, Village Market and in about 20 minutes you can walk to your favorite shops and restaurants on College Avenue in Rockridge.

5785 Country Club, (offered at $1,525,000) was built in 1941 home and has been completely transformed into a sleek, yet relaxed abode that gives homage to mid-century modern design. The light is fantastic and the views of the City and Bay add to the charm.

open kitchen, love the artichoke lamp!

glass sun-room adjacent from the dining room, gourmet kitchen

love the lucite bench!

what you do not see is the open shower. no shower doors to clean and a floor drain in the middle of the room - super smart.

Finding a Voice by Marissa Anderson, (age 14!!) will be showing at Red Oak Realty Solano Avenue location February 8- April 3rd  Artist reception February 5th, 6-8 pm

"Most people don't know their passion until they are older. I'm fourteen years old and I know. From the moment I could pick up a pencil, I knew it was art..." - Marissa

Often times people are a little apprehensive about going through the pre-approval process.  Frankly, we all are a bit afraid of credit scores and we hope that we will be approved for an amount that we want.  The following is a typical need list.
Every case is different, but this is what is typically needed to get pre-approved for a home loan.

A typical need list for salaried borrowers looks like this:
We need copies of -
1.  Most recent 30 days of consecutive paystubs
2.  2008 and 2009 W-2s
3.  Liquid accounts (checking, savings, money market, stock, etc.).  Most recent two months consecutive statements.  ALL PAGES of each statement please – the lender will require this.
4.  Retirement accounts (401k, IRA, etc.).  Most recent statement(s).  Again, all pages of each account please.
5.  Valid Driver’s License or Passport
If a borrower owns a rental property, or is self employed the lender will also call for:
6.  Most recent two years (2008 and 2009) 1040s (federal tax returns), all pages and schedules.
If a borrower is a partnership.
7.  Most recent two years K-1s and partnership returns (in addition to personal 1040s).
If a borrower is a corporation.
8.  Most recent two years corporate returns (in addition to personal 1040s)

This beautiful door knob belongs to a home that recently sold in Redwood Heights, Oakland.

This door knob was on a 1930’s home in the Redwood Heights district of Oakland.  This particular property sold needing repairs and TLC, I hope that the new owners keep this knob as it is a piece of art.

When you are buying an older house it is common for a property to have $10,000 – $20,000 worth of needed repairs.  If a seller has owned their home for many years often there is newly found damage that is discovered during an inspection.  In many cases it is not that the seller intentionally neglected their property, they just didn’t know the damage was existed.  Inspections by quality professionals are key as you need to know exactly what you are buying.  Pictured below is rot in the wood framing of a home in the Oakland Hills.  I represented the buyers of this house and I was able to negotiate dry rot and termite damage repairs before escrow closed.  (The sellers paid the cost of the repairs.)  Before my clients moved in the wood was removed, new wood was installed and the appropriate exterior was installed to code.

A picture is worth a 1000 words. This picture shows rot in the wood framing of this house. The damaged pieces were cut out and replaced with new wood. A picture is worth a 1000 words. This picture shows rot in the wood framing of this house. The damaged pieces were cut out and replaced with new wood.

Berkeley:

• Sold properties Median Price $726k down from $762k in Nov 2008
• Sold units 43 up from 25 in Nov 2008
• Current for sale properties Median price $699k same in Nov 2008
• Units for sale 131 down from 159 in Nov 2008
• Months supply of inventory at 1.7 down from 3.3 in Nov 2008
• Days on Market at 65 up from 37 in Nov 2008

Oakland:

• Sold properties Median Price $254k up from $200k in Nov 2008
• Sold units 220 same from 219 in Nov 2008
• Current for sale properties Median price $235k from $188k in Nov 2008
• Units for sale 870 down from 1934 in Nov 2008
• Months supply of inventory at 1.8 down from 6.2 in Nov 2008
• Days on Market at 39 down from 61 in Nov 2008
• Median price in Nov 2007 was $400k

A reader asked me where to buy mid-century furniture in the Oakland – Berkeley area.  To really enhance your mid-century home what could be better than mid-century furniture.   Form Vintage Modern on College Avenue is a small furniture and home furnishings store that features original mid-century pieces mixed with mid-century inspired new pieces. Sofas and large furniture can be special ordered.  Form glows with George Nelson’s bubble pendant lamps that are now reproduced by Herman Miller.  Coming Soon from Joe and Lindsay at Form is Urban Home!  This will be the place for modern, vintage, traditional, and industrial furniture and furnishings.  Look for the same eclectic style and greater selection that you’ve come to expect from the Form Vintage Modern at affordable prices as this will be the place to consign and buy.  1825 Eastshore Avenue in Berkeley.

Joe Kunis in his boutique, Form Vintage Modern

Urban Home is Coming Soon, December 17th!

Klassik by Lynne at 1313 67th Avenue in Emeryville on the Oakland border features Danish Modern furniture.  This huge warehouse is the place to purchase vintage Danish modern furniture as well as new Danish and Swedish pieces.  Lynne has a huge selection to choose from, from credenzas to dining sets and much more.   Lynne brings in furniture from Denmark by the container!  She visits her homeland often and drives all over the country to hand select and secure impeccable vintage pieces.  On one of Lynne’s trips to Denmark she met an older man who had hundreds of rolls of vintage fabrics saved from the mid-century.  Lynne purchased 315 rolls making it possible for you to reupholster your vintage Danish furniture in vintage fabric!  Lynne also  sells Kvadrat fabrics , (Kvadrat was established in Denmark in 1968 and now holds a leading position in the European market of design-textiles supplying renowned architects, designers and furniture manufacturers throughout the world.)  Kvadrat imports their wool from Ireland and England and spins it, dyes it and then weaves the fabric.  Other textile companies weave fabric in cream color and then dye it, but Lynne feels that dying the thread before weaving makes for a better product.  Chris Howard is the operations manager at Klassik by Lynne and he does an amazing job of restoring Lynne’s vintage finds from her Denmark adventures as well as the furniture that customers bring in.  I fell in love with a simple oak and teak credenza that would be perfect for my home office and I was told that it was a Hans J. Wegner piece.  I asked Lynne how I could be certain that the piece was authentic.  She pulled the Danish credenza away from the wall and showed me a stamp.  She then pulled out a book that showed the various seals from furniture producers and the designer behind them.  On the credenza in question there was a stamp that said 1955, Made in Denmark and it had a logo-ed stamp with a RY.  Sure enough the logo with the RY produced Hans J. Wegner furniture.   What great service and expertise!

bolts of vintage Danish fabric

A page in a Danish furniture reference book. Lynne showed me the various stamps that furniture manufactures used in the mid-century

Check out the vintage PH Artichoke Pendant, manufactured by Louis Poulsen and Poul Henningsen in 1958.

99%  of Klassik by Lynne’s inventory is vintage but she does sell new production of Hans J. Wegner,  Louis Poulsen and Nanna Ditzel.  Lynne says now is the time to purchase vintage Danish furniture as she is worried about the dwindling inventory.  Denmark is a small country of about 5 million people and the demand for mid-century Danish furniture is high.  Danish modern furniture is highly desired and exported to the US, the Middle-East and Japan.

The two charts, provided by Altos show this week in real estate in Oakland and Berkeley.  This is an overview so it includes homes in excellent and in poor conditions, (and every  neighborhood).  To get a better sense of the market, email me.  Some properties are still flying off of the market due to high demand and the lack of quality inventory.  – Deidre