Download a complementary copy here

I’ve been sending a bi-montly American Lifestyle Magazine to my clients for the past couple of years and I’ve gotten pretty good feedback.  Especially about some of the recepies.  Now I am offering it digitally as well.  Download your free copy to read onlne, save to your computer or print out.  I hope you enjoy and of course if I may be of any real estate services please feel free to contact me.

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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.

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Here are 10 tips to help ensure that you don’t get ripped off when hiring a contractor.

1. Make sure that the contractor you are considering has a California State Contractors Liscense.  You can check a contractors license status at California State Lic Board or calling 800-321-2752.  You will need the contractors name or Lic. number.
2. Ask if the contractor carries liability insurance and if he uses employees ask if he/she has a workers compensation policy. 
3. Get references and call them.
4. Get 3 bids and make sure the same scope of work is being performed.
5. Get a written contract and don’t sign anything until you completely understand the terms.
6. Never give more than 10% or $1000 (which ever is less) as a deposit.
7. Don’t let your progress payments get ahead of the work performed. 
8. Don’t pay cash and keep proof of all payments made.
9. Don’t make a final payment until you are satisfied with the job.
10. Keep a file of all papers relating to your project.  This will help you if down the road a mechanics lien has been recorded and you need to prove it was done in error.

There are no guarantees but adhering to a few basic principals will help ensure that you keep from getting involved with a contractor who may leave you without your money or a properly completed project. 

Brian Santilena, Sr. Sales Associate and top real estate agent with Pacific Union Real Estate, representing home buyers and home sellers in the Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont California marketplace since 1998.  He is a Realtor, Certified Residential Specialist(CRS) and is highly knowledgeable in real estate for sale in the Oakland Hills premier neighborhoods such as Haddon Hill, Rockridge, Montclair, Glenview, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands, Oakmore, Laurel District and Redwood Heights.  Berkeley Hills neighborhoods such as Northbrea, Westbrea, North Berkeley Hills, Berkeley Flats, Thousand Oaks, South Berkeley, Gourmet Ghetto, Elmwood, Uplands, Claremont, LeConte.  City of Piedmont, City of Kensington, City of Albany.  Please feel free to CONTACT BRIAN if you have any real estate needs in Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont CA.

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The Furnace

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Take a look at the furnace.  A lot of times the installer will write an installation date on it.  Furnaces are good for somewhere between 15-25 years.  Only a qualified furnace person can tell you if a furnace is worn out.  The parts that wear out are on the inside and can create serious health hazards for a home owner if not discovered.  The front panel of most furnaces will have a number 80, 90, 92.  These typically indicated their efficiency standard.  The more efficient the unit, the lower your operating costs.  A sure sign that a furnace is a high efficiency model is if the exhaust discharge pipe is a solid PVC material.  Always look at the ducting.  I’ve seen new furnaces installed but for cost reasons they tapped into the old asbestos covered ducting.  Abating asbestos ducting can add $3,000 to a furnace project.  Budget: 80% efficiency furnace systems range $5,000-$8,000 depending on the ducting access.  90% efficiency units add about 20% to the job.

The Electrical Panel

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Demands placed on a properties electrical system seem to grow every decade.  The electrical panel is a good place to look to see if the home has adequate Amperage for its size.  100 AMP was the standard.  Today I’m seeing 150 and 200 AMP services on the larger Oakland and Berkeley Hills homes.  You can look at the SERVICE DISCONNECT breaker that is usually the top breaker.  It will tell you the electrical capacity of the service.  If you need to upgrade the service drop and electrical panel a good budgetary number is $2,000-$3,000 dollars.  WARNING: just because there is an updated breaker panel it does not guarantee that a new service drop has been installed.  Contact a qualified electrician to tell you more.

Drainage

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It’s always good to divert roof water away from the foundation at least a couple of feet.  Water has a deteriorating affect on concrete and the soil that supports it.  Ideally down spout water should go directly into subterranean drainage pipes.  One thing that is often overlooked is where the drainage pipes discharge at.  They should run all the way out to the curb where they will eventually flow into the city storm drain system.  Splash blocks from Home Depot can set you back $15 dollars each.  I’ve seen full drainage systems in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills can run as high as $20,000 or more.

Emergency Gas Shutoff

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Take a look at the gas meter.  Does it have an emergency earthquake shutoff valve installed?  Many insurers these days wont issue home owners policies unless one is installed.  Budget: $600 to $1,000 installed.  A lot of today’s home buyers want to install on-demand water heaters in their new homes.  Take a look at the gas pipe where it enters the house.  An on-demand water heater requires a minimum of a 1” gas supply.  If a home doesn’t have a 1” supply that can more than double the cost of the project.

Water Heater

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Look if the water heater is strapped for earthquake safety.  It should be strapped at the top and bottom and held securely against the back wall.  Ensure that there is a pressure relief valve.  Without one the water could explode if it malfunctions.  The pressure relief pipe should drain to a proper location.  The gas supply line should be flexible and without kinks.  Hot water circulator pumps can be nice upgrades too.  Flexible inlet and out let pipes should be present.  If the house has galvanized pipes, the property anti corrosion fittings should be installed.  Also, check the sticker to confirm how old the water heater is.  A maintained water heater should last from 15 to 30 years.

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Rockridge is a vibrant community running  along upper Broadway from 51st Street up to Highway 13.  The area is conveniently located just a few miles from San Francisco and offers many commuting and public transportation options.   Lower Rockridge has one of Oakland’s premier retail and dining districts located along College Avenue.  Lower Rockridge is relatively flat and close to everything while upper Rockridge has rolling hills with larger homes and lot sizes.  There are many terrific restaurants and home styles.  If you are considering Oakland, you will definitely want to consider Rockridge.  Some of the great restaurants to try are ACote, Pasta Pomadoro, Crapevine, Markethall, Olivetos, Ghirabladis, Mezze.

Brian Santilena has been representing home buyers and home sellers in the Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont California marketplace since 1998.  He is a Realtor, CRS Certified Residential Specialist, liscened contractor and Sr. Sales Associate with Pacific Union Real Estate.  He is highly knowledgeable in the Oakland Hills premier neighborhoods such as Haddon Hill, Rockridge, Montclair, Glenview, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands, Oakmore, Laurel District and Redwood Heights.  Berkeley Hills neighborhoods such as Northbrea, Westbrea, North Berkeley Hills, Berkeley Flats, Thousand Oaks, South Berkeley, Gourmet Ghetto, Elmwood, Uplands, Claremont, LeConte.  City of Piedmont, City of Kensington, City of Albany.  Please feel free to CONTACT BRIAN if you have any real estate needs in Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont CA.

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Generally the Oakland Hills Schools generate better test score results.  Now there is more to a good school than test scores but it’s a start when schools are a consideration in your Oakland Hills home purchase.  Even when children are not a consideration, an Oakland Hills home that is assigned to a good school will hold its value much better than the same home in a less desirable school area.  One very important consideration if you are purchasing a particular Oakland Hills home because of its proximity to a particular elementary school, it is imperative to check with the City of Oakland Schools Department to confirm that not only is your address assigned to that school but confirm that the school is currently accepting new student enrollees.  I have witnessed some Rockridge Oakland Hills home buying nightmares where a home was purchased because it was close to Hillcrest Elementary school.  When the home buyer went to enroll their kids they were told that the school is full and they were reassigned to a neighboring facility.  That’s not a good thing if the Rockridge home buyers decision was based on their kids going to Rockridge Hillcrest Elementary.

As a Realtor showing home buyers Oakland Hills homes, I recommend a couple of websites for school information. 
Oakland Unified School District school finder:  http://mapstacker.ousd.k12.ca.us/ . 
Test results try: http://www.greatschools.net/ .   
Private schools in the Oakland, Piedmont and Berkeley Hills areas try: http://www.baprivateschools.com/ .

Brian Santilena has been representing home buyers and home sellers in the Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont California marketplace since 1998.  He is a Realtor, CRS Certified Residential Specialist, liscened contractor and Sr. Sales Associate with Pacific Union Real Estate.  He is highly knowledgeable in the Oakland Hills premier neighborhoods such as Haddon Hill, Rockridge, Montclair, Glenview, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands, Oakmore, Laurel District and Redwood Heights.  Berkeley Hills neighborhoods such as Northbrea, Westbrea, North Berkeley Hills, Berkeley Flats, Thousand Oaks, South Berkeley, Gourmet Ghetto, Elmwood, Uplands, Claremont, LeConte.  City of Piedmont, City of Kensington, City of Albany.  Please feel free to CONTACT BRIAN if you have any real estate needs in Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont CA.  Keywords: Homes, CA / California, Real estate, East Bay, Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills, Realtor, real estate agent, homes for sale, properties, Rockridge, Montclair

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The Oakland Hills, Berkeley Hills and Piedmont real estate area is comprised of many colorful neighborhoods, each with their own names such as Montclair, Rockridge, Croker Highlands, Trestle Glen etc. I’m often asked to identify the most common neighborhood names used in real estate advertising so that home Buyers can identify their general areas of interest. Well, here you go. If you’re looking to buy a home in Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont, drop me an email I will forward you a nice clean copy of my Neighborhood Names map. Just press on the “CONTACT” button at the top of this page.

Happy Hunting!

Brian Santilena

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The Oakland Police Department (OPD) program requires 2 meetings attended by a the police department representative and at least 8 neighborhood residents. Press here to view the City of Oakland Crime Prevention & Neighborhood Watch webpage http://www.oaklandpolice.com/crimprev/homalrt.html

A great way to keep everyone in contact with one another is to create an email group list. While there are many choices, I used Google groups for my Upper Rockridge Neighborhood Watch email list. You can take a look and establish your own email list at http://www.google.com/groups. Once you establish an email group it becomes very easy for all residents to communicate and keep informed.

After you have the two meetings, the city will install signage in the neighborhood indicating that there is a Neighborhood Watch in affect. The signs combined with aware and communicating residents will go a long way in keeping or creating a comfortable secure neighborhood environment.

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Why does any of this matter to you?  Well, Jumbo loans typically come with higher interest rates.  And with the price of homes in the Oakland Hills, Berkeley and Piedmont it will pretty much apply to everyone.  For example:  If you were considering purchasing a home for $925k and you have a 20% down payment ($185k,) then your loan amount would be $740k.  If you close that deal before 1/1/09 then your loan would be considered a Conforming loan.  At that same loan amount and closing on the home after 1/1/09 you’ll have a Jumbo loan.  The .75% difference in the interest rates of Jumbo vs. Conforming loans amounts to a monthly payment difference of over $460 for the same loan amount.
The moral to the story?  If you are considering buying or selling a home between in the range of $800 to $930, with the average 20% down, you may want to make the move before January 1st.  If you are an all cash buyer, you may have a window of buying opportunity in the near future.

If you’re interested in watching what loan rates are doing I suggest bookmarking: www.bankrate.com

If your thinking about buying or selling real estate in Oakland, Berkeley or Piedmont CA., Brian Santilena is a Realtor and Real Estate Agent Serving those communities since 1997.  Properties and homes for sale in all price ranges and styles.  Condos, view homes, Montclair Traditionals or Rockridge Craftsmans.

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