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

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

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

When deciding who you’d like to put your trust in, here are a few questions you can ask:

Are you a Realtor®? A new buyer may not even know the difference between a Realtor® and an Agent.  Realtors® adhere to a strict code of ethics and pay an annual fee to belong to their local & state association.  They are kept abreast of issues as they arise via CAR® (California Association of Realtors). Wouldn’t you like someone who adheres to a strict code of ethics and is continually learning about new challenges for buyers and sellers? Agents that do not belong to their local association are not allowed to call themselves Realtors®.  Did you know that?

Do you have any Designations?  Designations are earned by Realtors® that exceed the minimum standards required to pass the California real estate license exam. It is actually quite easy to cram for a test and pass, but it is another thing altogether to continually be studying and working the business from all angles.  It is both costly and time consuming for the Realtor® to earn Designations.  If you work with someone with Designations, you know they are committed to excellence.

 What kind of experience do you have?  It might help you to know how long your potential agent has been in the business. It is not necessarily a bad thing if they are new to the industry as long as they have a good mentor working alongside them.

In most cases, your gut instinct will not lead you wrong. My mom’s favorite phrase, “You Can’t Fool Mother Nature”, meaning that the feeling you get in your gut when something feels wrong will rarely lead you astray, is a valid barometer for you to check.   

When you feel you’ve found the right professional for you, PLEASE be loyal to them. It is so very frustrating in this business to work diligently with your buyers only to find that they are “two timing” you, or worse.  Working with multiple agents, and not committing to one is NOT in your best interest as a buyer.  Please remember that it is time, effort and expense on the part of the professional representing you to locate properties, drive you around town and spend numerous hours with you and then learn you are not loyal to them.  You may or may not be asked to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement. Either way, please be honest with the professional you choose and let them know if at any time you are dissatisfied.

As an original owner, I purchased my home in Shadow Cliff in 1988 and at the time had no children. Since then of course things have changed and have a daughter now in college and my son still at Amador High School. Many know Pleasanton is well known for its educational system and thus many people want to move here.  Shadow Cliff is a wonderful community and very friendly.