Here is a snap shot of the homes that sold in our Crocker Highlands / Trestle Glen community of Oakland in 2010.  Properties, bed/bath count and list price are posted here below.  If you would like further details on any of the properties, including actual sales price, please contact us directly and we would be happy to provide it. - Dave and Carla

Proudly offered at $875,000.00

6301 Melville Drive, Oakland

Sold:  This Mid-Century Modern captures the essence of Northern California and the best of what the East Bay Hills has to offer.  A sharp, contemporary open floor plan with master suite and additional three bedrooms on the upper level.  Two additional plus rooms and a dedicated laundry room are found on the main floor. A level-in attached garage allows direct entry to the home. NW views of the Bay and City and attractively landscaped outdoor space, including patio, yard and balcony.  Within a five minute drive to Montclair Village, Hwy access and just a block from redwood forests and hiking trails.

If you have kids looking to sit on Santa's Lap this holiday season, he will be at our office in Montclair December 18th from 10:00 am to 1:00pm.  We would love to have you stop by.  Each child will receive a complimentary picture with Santa courtesy of The Grubb Company.

Please bring along a toy for our company Toys for Tots barrel.

Carla and I hope to see you there!

Many cities like Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, and Kensington already have a sewer lateral ordinance in place.  Beginning January 1, 2011, Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont will also require a sewer lateral ordinance.  This will require homeowners to obtain a compliance certificate:

• Prior to selling the property;
• When obtaining a permit for construction
  or modification of property at $100,000.00
  or more in value;
• Upon increasing or decreasing the size
  of a water meter

Each city may add more restrictive changes to the above compliance.

At this point it seems likely that home owners needing to see if their home is in compliance, will have a sewer lateral inspection done with video and then submit the video and inspection findings to EBMUD.  EBMUD will review the findings and let the owner know whether repairs or replacement is necessary.  If repairs or replacement are required, the home owner would at that time pull a permit within their local area (i.e. Piedmont, Oakland or Emeryville) and have a sewer lateral specialist make the needed improvements. 

Waste water treatments are overwhelmed during rainy season when rainwater enters the treatment facilities through cracked pipes leading to release of raw and partially treated sewage into the Bay.  The program is to keep San Francisco Bay healthy by requiring inspection and repair of cracked sewer pipes.

For more information, go to EBMUD.

Here is a clip from the EBMUD Home Page on the matter:

Private Sewer Lateral Program

Rain Water Infiltrating Sewer Line

The private sewer lateral program helps keep San Francisco Bay healthy by requiring the inspection and repair of old, cracked sewer pipes to ensure they don't allow the infiltration of rainwater which can overwhelm wastewater treatment facilities, resulting in untreated and partially treated sewage being released into the Bay. Property owners will be required to obtain a certificate from EBMUD indicating their private sewer laterals are without defects and have proper connections. 

What is a private sewer lateral?

A sewer lateral is the pipe that connects the plumbing in a home or business to the regional sanitary sewer main. The pipes carry sanitary sewage and/or industrial waste from a building to a public sewer. The lateral is considered to be "private" as it is located on private property.

When is the private sewer lateral program start date?
The private sewer lateral program requirements for property owners will be in effect on January 1, 2011.

Why is a private sewer lateral program necessary?
The private sewer lateral program helps maintain the health of the San Francisco Bay. During storms, aging and cracked private sewer laterals allow rainwater to enter sewer lines, overwhelming treatment facilities and resulting in untreated and partially treated sewage being released into the Bay. The program will help keep the bay clean by keeping rain water out of the sewer and alleviate inundation of the treatment system.

Is the private sewer lateral program required?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered EBMUD to address the issue of excess rainwater entering its treatment facilities by establishing local requirements to address leaky private sewer laterals where requirements are not already in place. On February 9, 2010 the EBMUD Board of Directors approved amendments to the Wastewater Control Ordinance to require property owners in certain areas of the EBMUD wastewater service area to obtain a compliance certificate that shows their private sewer laterals are without defects and have proper connections. The private sewer lateral program is just one component of EBMUD's efforts to control infiltration into sewer pipes. Several additional activities including flow monitoring, modeling, and asset management planning are being implemented as well.

We recently moved our testimonial page over to YELP and let our past clients know about the change.  Below are some of the nice words our clients posted on our behalf.  Since we work primarily through word of mouth referrals, we would like to give a big thank you to all of you for supporting us!

"Total honesty. Total professionalism. Absolute personal attention. Incredibly nice people. How many real estate agents can fit that description? If you can find them, hire them; if you're looking, without a doubt choose Dave and Carla Higgins.

As first-time buyers during the height of the bubble, we were very intimidated and worried about buying a house. Dave and Carla literally made it easy for us. Walked us through everything. Explained all options honestly and plainly. Were standing by our side during all stages of the process.

They helped us not only buy our house, but weather the downturn that quickly followed. Thanks to Dave and Carla we got to live in the house we love!

One of the great things about them, was even long after the sale, they made sure things were going well, that we were happy, and offered tons of help with everything from financing to remodeling.

Four years later I can only offer my highest recommendation. I would send my mother, my son, anyone who was thinking of buying in the East Bay, to Dave and Carla. You can thank me later!"

Lee

"Dave and Carla epitomize professionalism.  They helped us buy the home we currently live in.  From honestly getting to know their clients to the no pressure home showing to the aggressive negotiations they were with us every step of the way.  They also have a huge amount of resources at their disposal for anything house related: good contractors, inspectors, electricians, plumbers etc etc etc.  Highly recommended!"

Avital

"Dave and Carla represented me in selling my house in Berkeley.

I first put my house on the market in summer 2008.  I worked with the first agent I talked to, not realizing what a huge difference having the right agent can make in selling a house, particularly in a difficult market.  The house languished for three months without an acceptable offer before I took it off the market and put it up as a rental.

I decided to try again in Dec. 2009, even though the market was even worse and the house's value considerably lower by most standards.  I live in Brazil now but read numerous reviews and contacted several agents before deciding to work with Dave and Carla.  My main reason for feeling comfortable with Dave was that despite the awful market, he wasn't afraid to be optimistic about selling my house, and for a good price--he told me what he thought he could get an offer for.  And then, within two weeks of the house going on the market--he got it!  

Despite the buyer being rather high-maintenance, Dave and Carla held the deal together even though at several points I highly doubted it would go through.  Even though I remained out of the country throughout the transaction, the process was smooth and clear for me.

I found Dave and Carla and their team of helpers to be honest, upbeat, responsive, and efficient.  They did so much more to promote and sell my house than anything that happened the first time it was on the market.  I really wish I'd gone with them then."

Colleen

"A few words come to mind when I think about Dave and Carla Higgins: Dedicated, hard-working, knowledgeable... and really really nice.  Not phony nice.  Really nice.

These guys helped my partner and me to purchase two rental properties about a year ago.  First they provided quality listings in the price range we were looking for.  Then they walked us through every step of the process, making the whole experience efficient and painless.  

Dave and Carla spend as much time and energy (and I mean a lot of energy) putting together a modestly priced deal as they do on a million dollar deal.  They were always quick on the call-backs, pro-active in anticipating problems and genuinely concerned about our experience.  

No doubt about it - I would recommend Dave and Carla without reservation."

Sean

"My daughter had been looking for a house in the Berkeley/North Oakland off and on for a couple of years. August turned out to be the lucky month. She chose Carla Higgins from The Grubb Company Realtors. I don't know how she found the perfect realtor, but she did. I went along for a lot of the viewings and inspections of those houses that were of interest. We went on house tours many times. It is pretty hard to know what you want for your first house.

Carla has a very well rounded thorough knowledge of real estate in general and real estate in the Berkeley and Oakland area (probably other areas as well). She knew about the houses that we looked at as well as comparables for each one.
When asked what she thought about a area or property she offered truthful opinions and didn't try to hedge. If by the slightest chance she didn't know an answer to a question she wouldn't make up some bulls--t, she said that she didn't know and got back by the next day with the correct answer.
Carla treated the properties that we looked at as if they were her own. She would make sure the houses were in the same condition as when we arrived and made double sure that the doors were locked when we left. I don't believe that we looked at any properties in which she was the listing agent or in which she had a vested interest.
I went along house shopping only one time with Carla's husband, Dave, but he seemed as knowledgeable, honest, and hardworking as Carla. He graciously extended his planed two hour tour by a couple of hours when I asked about other properties that he had mentioned but that were out of our price range. He gladly showed them to us even though he knew that we were not prospective buyers.

If Carla takes time off from helping house buyers and sellers other than to nurture her kids and maybe eat, I don't believe it.  Judging from the amount of time she spent with us looking at houses, waiting around for many hours for us to inspect properties (at least once on her day off), rounding up a contractor to provide a pre-offer quote for defect repair, making a specialized offer on short-offer-window as-is property, finding and whipping into line a loan broker, and providing us with post-sale contractor references as well as post-sale help with loan problems and insurance, I do believe that she sleeps as many as four to six hours per week.
She really has spent quite a bit of time even two months after close of escrow to help us straighten out loan and insurance problems. She didn't need to, she just did.

I would use Carla and Dave Higgins or anyone that they recommend any time that I buy or sell a property in Berkeley, Oakland or anywhere in the East Bay Area."

Bill

"Dave and Carla helped me sell my condo in Oakland. Wow- they were awesome!  

I almost went with another agent- friend of a friend. I thought she had a good marketing plan. And then I met with Dave who literally blew me away with his professionalism.

The advice, the support, the services, the expertise- I could not have asked for more. They made the process smooth and easy by bringing in all the resources that I needed.  Since then, I have recommended Dave and Carla to other friends who have had the same success I did.

Recently I was considering buying some property in another Bay Area city. I called Dave and Carla because I trust them so much. And they were able to help me with listings and advice.

They are the BEST! I recommend them without hesitation."

Gina

"Dave and Carla Higgins are amazing!

Carla helped us in the quite protracted search for our beautiful home in Alameda in 2010. She was patient and had a great sense of humor throughout the process.

BUT, it doesn't stop there. Dave and Carla negotiated a fair price reduction for repairs to the house. AND, they recommended a great contractor (Terry Jeung) - AND, when we found that our beautiful home had some unforeseen (and expensive) sewer problems, Carla not only gave us half of the cost back out of her own pocket, she also advocated for us with the seller, to get the remainder of the costs.

You can't ask for any better than Dave and Carla, and you won't get any better than Dave and Carla. We give them our highest recommendation. As a matter of fact, Dave Higgins is in the process of selling my El Cerrito home now."

Samuel

In a recent meeting at The Grubb Company John Glynn a mortgage broker from LaSalle Financial spoke on the fascinating topic if interest rates vs. purchase price.  The lead-in to the discussion revolved around the issue of buyers holding back on the purchase of a home in speculation that prices might fall further.  I have posted all of John's slides in order of progression here in this post.  If you want to skip to the chase make sure and scroll to the last slide showing you the difference between a 10% further decline in prices vs. a 1% rise in interest rates.  The information posted makes a pretty good case for buying a home now while rates are at historic 50 year lows.  If you want to reach John directly to discuss a mortgage loan or refinance, his number is 510.761.5051.  Click here to browse local real estate inventory here in Oakland and Piedmont.

The Grubb Company did an analysis regarding the cost of overpricing a property in our local fine home market place.  The data used for the study was from the MLS in our major market areas.  The sales used went back to Jan 1, 2010 with homes listed at prices of $1M and Higher

This study helps show further evidence as to why pricing a property competitively in this market place with get you a higher sales price then if you were to start high and wait for an offer (or price reduce as time goes on).

Just Sold are two recent listings we had on the market.  Both 131 Carmel Avenue and 3458 Davis Street closed on October 27th.  Both homes had multiple offers prior to going into contract.

Achieving multiple offers in this current market arena is possible through a combination of smart marketing strategies.

In this climate and economy you have to be both the best house and the best price to create the buzz of competition.  Fortunately, we were able to create that effect with both of these homes and they sold at market high prices relative to their status and condition.

Listen to our November podcast if you would like to learn more about factors affecting the sale of your home in this current economy.

131 Carmel Avenue

3458 Davis Street