All is Fair in Love and Community Property

Marriage and love generally form a simple equation – two people meet, they fall in love, and then they wed. However, for married couples residing in California, before reaching “happily ever after,” each spouse should consider California’s law…

The Push and Pull of Pricing

While a rising tide raises all boats, the wave of appreciation that is hitting Silicon Valley housing is uneven and has ebbs and flows based on consistent trends in the marketplace. Overall, most prime cities in Silicon Valley have seen double digit growth…

Pick Your Pipe for Plumbing

Before owners put the wrench to a leaking pipe or decide to replace portions of a pipe itself - STOP! Was the house built before or in the 1960’s? Are there galvanized steel pipes, copper pipes, clay pipes, or cast-iron pipes? Before they decide to…

Tree Restrictions Differ Among Peninsula Cities

  Many buyers have now purchased their new homes in the prime spring buying season. Some have bought outdated homes or tear-downs and are ready to get started with construction plans. Others have bought homes that are move-in ready but want to…

Best Paint Colors to Use When Selling Your Home

Some colors will help you, others will hurt. Be sure to choose the right ones for your home First impression is everything when selling a home. A lot of effort and work goes into preparing a home for the market. Painting a house is the cheapest and quickest…

More Reason to Love Thy Neighbor

Shared Fence & Boundary Responsibility Neighbors, whether you love them or hate them, you have to get along with them. This statement is especially true for those of us who share fences with our neighbors. According to California Civil Code §841,…

Indian Buyers Impact Silicon Valley Housing Market

  Ken DeLeon & Michael Repka travel to India to research tips for Silicon Valley home sellers and experience the Indian real estate market Since the high-tech boom in Silicon Valley, an ethnic mélange of skilled and educated workers from India…

Buy Now! Not just because interest rates are increasing

The Federal Reserve announced on December 18, 2013 they plan to decrease stimulus spending starting January 2014 by $10 million a month. This typically translates to increasing mortgage interest rates. Thus far, the 30 year fixed and 7 year adjustable…

The Mandatory Arbitration Clause – More Important than You Think

  In today’s frenzied real estate market characterized by bidding wars and tight offer deadlines, many buyers are signing on the dotted line without understanding all of the terms of a typical real estate contract. Some clauses are deemed to…

United States Household Wealth Trends

Americans’ wealth hit an all-time high last summer, in part from the steady recovery of home prices. According to the Federal Reserves’ report, from July through September, the nation’s wealth rose 2.6% to $77.3 trillion. We see that Americans’…