I applaud the effort and talents of this organization. I recently attended a fundraising event last sunday. Here is an article of the event.
硅谷女性联合会举办感恩母亲联欢活动取得圆满成功
2012年5月6日下午，美国硅谷女性联合会为庆祝母亲节，
到场参加联欢的有Santa Clara 县Supervisor候选人胡宜兰，圣荷西市议员朱感生和夫人
会长秦蓓说，硅谷女性联合的宗旨是慈善公益、文化教育、
When you see a collection of gorgeous pictures of a home and begin thinking “I really like this house, will it meet my needs…” the first thing you do as a home shopper is to plan to walk through the house so you can look and feel how your family will fit.
In times past you almost always had two options: 1) call your agent and schedule an appointment to view the home, or 2) visit the home during an open house. Now that a few companies have created a business model where they believe the listing agent should show the house to buyers, some buyers rely very heavily on open houses. However sellers weigh the “costs” to them of an open house versus the expected advantages.
Each buyer is unique. Will this house make my family feel happy and proud to have it as their home? Are the rooms sized appropriately for my family? Are there any problems with the house or the neighborhood? These three questions are always present. There are always many unique questions. If the buyers have a large dog, they want to be certain they will have a good home for it. Conversely if they have young children or work at home, they may want to be certain the neighbors don’t have a large defensive dog. The things to look for are almost infinite. Be ready to learn from each open house encounter.
Buyers have very different behaviors when visiting an open house. Some buyers briskly walk through the house asking every question they have: How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? … Other buyers want to quietly walk through the house paying attention to how it makes them feel, then ask very specific knowledgeable questions such as “the termite report indicates there is damage near the front of the garage, does it get wet or damp?” An open house is an opportunity for buyers and sellers to learn from many people.
A real estate sale is a journey. Each open house encounter is a stop on that journey where people can learn from each other. Questions are asked and answered, opinions shared, bringing forward ideas, some unexpected, from many sources, sometimes very efficiently. An open house provides benefits to all.
Buyers want the open house host to be knowledgeable, to point out attractive or special features, and to honestly discuss any problems about the house. Being with the right people always helps. Experience and passion are excellent teachers. An open house host is the tour guide for that stop on a journey. Some have more experience and passion for the work than others. Other open house visitors can both add and detract from the experience.
If you are pursuing a real estate sale, visit open houses. Every open house encounter is a stop on a unique high value journey. An experienced tour guide for your journey can make it more enjoyable and effective. Unlike many journeys, this one has a goal of completing a major sale. Make the journey with and learn from others. Make it enjoyable and effective for both yourself and those you encounter.
Rinconada Park, located along Embarcadero & Newell, is one of the second oldest parks (Known before as Waterworks) in Palo Alto. Recently the city was discussing the “possibility” of making some changes and additions to improve visitors’ experience (but will not happen anytime soon).
This is a unique park that is embedded at the center of a community garden, a fire station, Walter Hays Elementary, the main library, the Lucy Stern community center, the art center and the Junior Museum and Zoo. A great place to take the family out for a walk or plan family picnics.
However, currently the park does not have much signage that can guide people through paths and better access to all the different community attractions in the area as well as finding the restrooms. The lighting at the tennis courts is not very visible at times, so it would be more safe to add better lighting, which would also make people feel more comfortable when walking by at night
Although this project is still in the works and the allocation of funds are likely to be used until 2015 for infrastructure improvements, the Parks and Recreation Commission is open receiving ideas.
Contribute to the Palo Alto Forest! I think this is a meaningful project for inspiring people to contribute to improving our parks and neighborhoods. You can either submit a photograph or tell a six-word story of a tree that is meaningful to you. Email your work to tree@paloaltoforest.org. by June 15th, 2012.
http://www.paloaltoforest.org/
Still waiting for the Facebook IPO?
Don’t sit on your home anymore! There are plenty of highly motivated buyers out there right now who are NOT waiting until the summer to purchase a home. Here’s a snapshot of the market in three different cities that convey that buyers are still rolling out with all cash offers and willing to pay way over the listing price to get a house!
3BR/2BA Los Ninos Way, Los Altos (More than 15% over original price)
Days on Market: 8 days
1,636sqft living space
10,560 sqft lot
Built in 1951
Neighborhood: North Los Altos
List Price: $1, 385,000
Sold for $1,600,000
***Received over 9 offers, 2 all-cash offers went over $1,650,000***
3BR/2BA North California Ave. Palo Alto (More than 35% over original price)
Days on Market: 8 days
1,771 sqft living space
7,440 sqft lot
Built in 1950
Neighborhood: Old Palo Alto
List Price: 1,895,000
Sold for $2,558,000
***Received 10 offers, most were all-cash offers***
4BR/2BA Sutton Park Place Cupertino (More than 10% over the listing price)
Days on Market: 8 days
1,685 sqft living space
7,140 sqft lot
Built in 1972
List Price: $879,000
Sold for over $1,000,000
***Received over 50 offers, 5 offers were over $1,000,000 million and sellers accepted 1 million plus all-cash offer with 14 days close***
1. 5BR/3BA Two-Story Single Family Home in Mayview Ave., Palo Alto
Call me and I’ll show you this sunday a single family 4BR/2.5BA in Palo Alto that is NOT on MLS yet!
Want to get into Palo Alto without competing with multiple offers? I can show you a contemporary single family home 5BR/3BR in Palo Alto with an 8,360sqft which is NOT on the multiple listing service and can be seen by appointment only. Make an appointment at homes@julianalee.com today!
Two days ago, I submitted an offer of $750,000 for a 2BR/2BA single family home sold in San Francisco priced at $688,000. The home is located in the Parkside neighborhood with a great view of the Bay. 5 buyers offered above $750,000. But the seller decided to go with an all-cash that was not the highest bid.
