I want to buy a house – where do I start? When thinking of purchasing a house, there are logical steps to take. It may seem at first thought to begin searching homes on the internet. While this is a great source of information for the potential buyer, it is not the most important and crucial place to start.

First and foremost the buyer needs to find a lender they can trust. How can that be accomplished? Below are a few common ways to find a lender & Realtor when asking yourself, I want to buy a house, where do I start?Ask for referrals from your friends or family for both a Realtor and lender. Referrals are a fantastic way to find a professional.Search on Trulia.com & Activerain.com. Active agents that are engaged both in their physical communities as well as online communities can be found here. Once a few interesting prospects have been found, read their blog. A buyer can learn the style of the professional by the way they communicate with their audience via the internet. Finding a personality style to meet one’s needs is important as finding a professional with the most knowledge about their market.

Once you narrow down your persons of interest, send them a communication via YOUR favorite way to communicate. Some prefer text, email or social media, while others prefer to just pick up the phone. This will give the buyer a better understanding of how timely this professional responds to an inquiry. With all the difference means of communication these days, this step is important.

Whether you find the Realtor first or the lender first doesn’t truly matter. In many cases, a Realtor will surround themselves with very competent professionals that are an integral part of the transaction. Vice versa, the lender will have their finger on the pulse of the most effective agents in their area (in many cases).

Now that you’ve found your professionals, take the time to contact them and set an appointment. In the lender’s case the initial information can be gathered over the phone and necessary documents can be emailed or faxed. This process can take less than an hour. This is your ROAD-MAP. Now you know exactly where you are financially headed.

Putting the “cart before the horse’ so to speak in searching properties before the financial road-map can lead to disappointment. It’s never fun to get excited about a property only to find it is out of the buyer’s price range. Save yourself that frustration by following these steps above when thinking, I want to buy a house, where do I start?

Originally posted via Activerain.com 10/2/2011

So I sat down at my computer today to decide what I would do to serve others and came up with “hosting a Food Drive”. I went to the Alameda County Food Bank website, clicked on Food Drive, then “organize a Food Drive“. It was that simple. What next… I contacted my favorite local Coffee Shop, Coffee Ali to see if she would be willing to have a collection barrel delivered to her location and of course, she was thrilled and agreed! The form was simple to complete online including where I wanted the barrel delivered.

The Alameda County Food Bank supplied me with a list of the most needed items to assist people in knowing what they can provide.  Our barrel will arrive the week of Sept. 12, 2011 (I’ll post an update when it arrives).  The food collection will go through the week of October 24.  Donations can be delivered to:

Coffee Ali, 3550 Bernal Ave #140
Pleasanton CA 94566
Between the hours of 7:00am – 4:00 pm daily

Here are some other ideas I came up with to ‘make a difference” in honor of 9/11:

Prepare a meal for someone in need
Visit your local senior center to put a smile on the face of a senior
Visit your local Red Cross to donate blood
Write letters of encouragement and thanks to our soldiers
Collect supplies to donate to our military
Contact a battered shelter for volunteer ideas

AND SO MANY MORE…

In Serving Others in Remembrance of 9/11, we can all once again come together to show our American pride and support of mankind just like we did on that horrific day 10-years ago. People helping people, that’s what this event is all about. Please join in. What will you do?

Originally posted: Activerain/rhondafee 9/10/2011

Grandma (Daisy Roberson) is generation 1, Gloria Roberson, my mom, is generation 2, my sister Denise Fee & I are generation 3, our children Kayla & Connor Coatney & Alivia & Morgann Schlesser are generation 4 & Alivia’s, Caylee Rose is generation 5! Wow!

Daisy grew up in a family with 6 brothers and 4 sisters. Her family lived in Kansas on a farm. Farm work was a part of every day life starting very early in the morning and working hard all day long. At the age of 6, grandma told me she learned to bake and cook. As her granddaughter, I have to say her skill for baking is a favorite of mine and growing up we often shared recipes and the love of baking.

Throughout my life grandma rarely ate out at restaurants. She has always had a great awareness of cleanliness and good hygiene. Realizing you don’t always know what you’ll get at a restaurant, she chose to steer clear of eating out most of the time.  In large part, I imagine that’s part of the reason she is still to this day one of the healthiest people I know. With that said, she mostly ate only what she cooked. She personally has never eaten (and still to this day does not eat) butter, gravy and mayonnaise. Seriously, in her baking she used shortening instead of butter! Go figure!

In my childhood, Grandma literally made her own donuts, Cinnamon rolls, pies, cakes and candy! I believe my love of sweets is in large part grandma’s fault! Sweets have always been her favorite and they are for sure mine! Thanks Grandma!

What a great celebration! Happy 100th Birthday Grandma! Parkview Pleasanton Assisted Living – a place for seniors to call home.

Originally posted 9/4/11, Activerain.com/rhondafee

1. You need a lender you can trust. You may not know one, so you may also start looking for a Realtor if you do not already have one. Whether you find your lender first or your Realtor first doesn’t make a difference. What does make a difference is that you have a good connection with the lender and he/she comes highly recommended OR you have found good reviews on the web. You need to be pre-approved by a lender before you engage a Realtor to start shopping.Once you’ve found the lender, make a call to them! It is quite simple to get the pre-approval process going. The conversation might take 30 minutes, but this is time well spent and is a necessary ‘piece of the puzzle”.  You do not need to get a pre-approval letter before finding a home. Simply give your Realtor the name and contact information for the lender.

2. Find a Realtor you can trust. Again, maybe you’ve already done this prior to finding the lender, but now that you are officially pre-approved, let your Realtor know your criteria. Here’s what I mean by that. Give your Realtor a list of your MINIMUM Criteria. See the example below:Maximum purchase price (you already know this because you’ve been pre-approved. NO MORE guessing)!

   #Bedrooms & Baths

   Desired Square Footage

   Desired Lot Size

   Desired Location

   Pool, No Pool or Doesn’t Matter (Important)

   Any Other Important Desires You Have For Your Home

   Ask your chosen Realtor to set you up on an automatic email notification system. It is best to use the system the Realtor uses. Many times 3rd party sites such as Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, etc are good sources to search properties, BUT the information can be VERY outdated.

3. Its time to go shopping. Let your Realtor know your top favorite properties. Ask them to get more information such as are they a short sale, are they a bank owned or is this a regular sale. This is important because it will affect your time-line to move in.. You may need a lesson on the differences between short sales and bank owned properties. This is VERY important information in today’s market.

Be sure to have fun along the way and remember….You will NEVER find the perfect house including ALL of your desires, but you will find something very close. You will find a house you will love and cherish so remember, you will need to bend on some of your wants. Following these 3 Easy Steps to Buying a House – Pleasanton CA Home Buying Tips applies to any market or location!

Originally Posted on Active Rain

Back to school time – Pleasanton Unified School District Walk-Thru Registration is on the minds of many parents during this time of year. Can you believe your child is old enough to begin kindergarten or maybe graduating high school? Speaking from my own experience, time certainly flies! My kids have grown up in Pleasanton CA all their lives and went through school beginning with Gingerbread Preschool all the way through high school.

Whether you’re brand new to Pleasanton or you’ve lived here for a while, this time of year is back to school – Pleasanton Unified School District Walk-Thru Registration time and is likely on the minds of many parents with kids attending our schools.

Since Back to school time -Pleasanton Unified School District Walk-thru Registration is now just around the corner, its a good time to start thinking ahead. The district requires 2-proofs of residency each and every registration year. In my personal experience with this, they are sticklers, so be prepared!

Acceptable ‘proofs of residency” can be a current phone, water, garbage or PGE bill. If you are a renter, your lease could be one form of proof, or maybe you have recently purchased a Pleasanton CA home. In that case your escrow papers for the transaction would be one acceptable form. Please be prepared to show original documents as copies may not be accepted. (I was turned away as I recall for not having the proper documentation, so save yourself the frustration)!

The registration process has become much more sophisticated over the years. You can now download and print the required documents, complete them in the comfort of your own home and take them to your designated ‘walk-through registration’ location. Simply go to your child’s school website and find the ‘walk-thru registration tab’.

At registration time, you can also purchase p.e. clothes, year books, parking permits, and more. It can be a big day for the checkbook, so again, be prepared. In the elementary school sector you might have the opportunity to sign up for volunteer opportunities for things such as driving on field trips, classroom helpers, office assistance and so much more. If your child fits that age range, parents are encouraged to be involved and the teachers love the enthusiasm of helpful parents! Not to mention, it will brighten your child’s day and make them proud on the days their mom, dad or maybe even grandparent is the assistant their beloved teacher. After all, the mindset of my children at that age was that their teachers were the be-all-end-all of everything! (Wait til they get a little older, they might not be in such awe of their teachers…I’m just sayin’…embrace it while you can).

The gist of my message..Back to School – Pleasanton Unified School District Walk-thru Registration is quickly approaching, get your ducklings in a row!

Originally posted 8/9/2011: www.pleasantoncarealestateblog.com

The Person Behind The Blog…

Rhonda Fee, Realtor, ABR, CHS
www.Rhondafee.com
925-200-0827 Call or Text

This 4-Bedroom East Livermore Home For Sale Near Lawrence Livermore Lab is a beauty. It’s wonderful to take a listing of any property and these days, it’s a rare occasion to have an equity sale as opposed to a short sale or REO sale. Well I have the pleasure of selling this 4-bedroom east Livermore home for sale near Lawrence Livermore Lab.

It was built in 2000 by Warmington Homes in a neighborhood called The Bluffs. There are many wonderful features of the home, but one of my very favorites is the view toward the Altamont Pass hillside. Who wouldn’t mind looking out their bedroom window, office or backyard to see a beautiful pasture of grazing cows? It gives me a sense of peacefulness. 

The home is stunning with 3-bedrooms upstairs and an office downstairs which could be converted to a bedroom if needed. There is a bonus room upstairs as well. This home shows care and pride of ownership. The pickiest of buyers could enter through the front door and have difficulty finding something to pick on!

The lot is oversized at over 12,000 square feet. There is not only room for RV parking on the side yard, but the fence and concrete slab and ready to accommodate an RV or boat right now (check CCR’s for details). Both sides of the yard are over-sized and have shed storage units on either side.

The salt water pool is beautiful with a lovely waterfall and colorful landscaping. It creates a quiet private feeling for relaxing, reading, playing or eating.

If you’ve been looking for a home to accommodate 3-4 bedrooms in east Livermore near Lawrence Livermore Lab, you may need to look no further! This one is a beauty!

The gourmet-style kitchen features a 6-burner gas range, double oven, trash compactor, center island, granite counter tops, bar top dining and room for a table for in-kitchen-dining. Additionally there is a separate formal dining room for special meals and events.

The house is light and bright and inviting! If you have an agent, call them today to set up a showing. If you do not have an agent, feel free to contact me direclty. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to see this 4-bedroom east Livermore Home Near Lawrence Livermore Lab. Your VA benefits may qualify you for this purchase!

Originally posted at Active Rain 8/3/2011

The Pleasanton Farmer’s Market takes place every Saturday in Downtown Pleasanton CA, rain or shine. It just happens to be located right outside of my downtown Pleasanton Real Estate office. I love to stop by on Saturdays even when I’m not showing property or working with a seller. It’s great to grab some fresh produce from nearby farmers and the prices are much better than the local chain grocery story.

Yesterday as I was walking toward my office, I heard this amazing voice from a young man at one of the vendor booths. He was singing opera and man, could he sing!  I explained that I have a blog and asked if I could video a small snippet of him singing and ask him a few questions for the blog post. He agreed. Here is what I heard.

Active Members Must Provide these copied documents to their lender:

• Last 2-Years W2’s
• Your Orders to Respective California Base
• Your Service Statement

If your status is NON-ACTIVE, be prepared to provide the information listed below:

• Your DD214
• Your Last 30-Days Pay stub
• Proof of VA rated Disability (if applicable)

If you have a home chosen and have a purchase contract, that information is needed as well as the purchase price of the home. If you have not yet found the right home, this information will be provided to your lender at a later point.

Interesting VA Facts You May Not Know:

• The home you intend to purchase must be owner occupied. The VA loan is not intended to purchase homes for investment purposes.

• If you’ve previously had to short sell a property, your benefits allow you to re-purchase after waiting only 12-months~!

Having heard the question, ‘how can I use my military benefits to buy a home” so many times leaves me believing the information is not being provided or understood by recipients of the benefits. Imagine being able to purchase a California home with no down payment for a purchase price of up to $417,000? If you chose a home over the available loan amount of $417,000 you are able to do so, but must come up with a percentage of down payment.

With your military VA benefits, the rates are generally better that that of a conventional loan. If you were discharged with a disability, this too may affect your interest rate in a positive way. Your Realtor can even negotiate the closing costs to be paid by the seller!

You don’t have to wonder ‘how can I use my military benefits to buy a home‘ any longer. The answers are here. You just need to ask!

Originally posted: http://activerain.com/action/blogs_admin/write/2412297

SunTiles from PowerLight – These tiles are created to blend with almost any roof line.

Solar electric was a standard feature at the time of building and was not charged as a premium to the buyer.

Attic insulation of R-49 material & above garage insulation of R-30 material.

Anderson 400 Series HP Windows, and so much more.

At completion, the homes were inspected by either CalCerts or The California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS), both of which are certified and qualified by California Energy Commission.  All of these features and benefits to both the homeowner and the environment enable this development to be labeled “Zero Net Energy Homes”.

View Larger Map

These homes are situated off East Vineyard Avenue, just outside the West Ruby Hill gate as shown in the map above. Since the time the builder sold the new homes, below is a chart of the activity in the 32-home development.

For more information about Avignon Luxury Homes Pleasanton – A “Zero Net Energy Homes” Community built by Centex Homes, feel free to email me at rhonda@rhondafee.com