The ability to reap additional profits on the sale of your property can be accomplished easily enough if you make the right improvements. Many changes can provide the prospective buyer with enhanced feelings about your home. Feelings of more space, more light, more rooms, more closet space, greater privacy, warmth and security. Basic, simple and inexpensive improvements can provide an improved emotional response in a potential buyer.An example could be something as small as a crack in the paint on a wall. Simply by applying some plaster and touch up paint, you eliminated what may be an unstated concern that your home was poorly maintained. Though the feeling may be unconscious, it's just as important that the potential buyer feel an overall desire for your home. If you are working with ... 07/05/2008

Willow Glen San Jose is part of San Jose although it was once an incorporated city in its own right. Willow Glen is located three miles southwest of downtown San Jose and is bordered by the Guadalupe River, the Los Gatos Creek and Coe and Curtner Avenue. Some people, including real estate agents, may attempt to include adjacent neighborhoods. Willow Glen feels like a small town with its own main street. Lincoln Avenue is surrounded by tree-lined neighborhoods of architecturally distinctive single family homes, many of them Spanish-style homes built in the 1920s and 1930s.The Lincoln Avenue downtown business district, located between Coe and Minnesota, is lined with sidewalk cafes, Italian delis, home design stores and clothing boutiques. Although Starbucks, Peets, Noah's Bagels and othe... 07/05/2008

If there was a perfect suburbia, its name might just be "Blossom Valley." Situated in south San Jose, just northeast of the breathtaking Los Capitancillos Ridge that separates it from Almaden Valley, Blossom Valley's well regarded schools, recreational amenities, outstanding Mediterranean climate and convenient location make it one of the region's best family neighborhoods. And by Silicon Valley standards, it's affordable.Populated by soccer moms and little league coaches and interspersed with vestiges of San Jose's agricultural history, Blossom Valley is a short drive from downtown San Jose's cultural resources and Silicon Valley's high technology work centers.Blossom Valley offer views of Mt. Umunhum to the west, and from higher ground, the lights of the Santa Clara Valley at night. A... 07/05/2008

Founded in 1777, San Jose is the site of the oldest civil settlement in California. San Jose was incorporated on March 27, 1850. It was California's first incorporated city and site of the first state capital. It is comprised of 177.7 square miles. San José is approximately 45 minutes south of San Francisco and 90 minutes north of Monterey. San Jose is the third largest city in California and the 11th largest city in the nation.Northern California in general and San José in particular have a world-renowned quality of life. The City of San José has the nation's best public safety record of any metropolitan area, a marvelous ethnic diversity and a beautiful climate. The San Jose Metropolitan Area ranks first in the nation in median household effective buying income among all metropolitan ... 07/05/2008

One of the most attractive residential areas of Silicon Valley, the South San Jose community of Almaden is distinguished by nice hillside views and "one of the most gorgeous landscapes in America," according to the Greenbelt Alliance website.Almaden Valley's key attraction is Almaden Quicksilver County Park, which contains remnants of a historic mercury mine that produced more than $75 million in mineral wealth from the Gold Rush era to the 1970s (the San Jose mine's name came from the Almaden Mine in Spain).The Almaden Quicksilver Park also boasts plenty of hiking and biking trails and a spectacular wildflower display during the springtime. Almaden Expressway helps make the cultural attractions and amenities of the downtown area easily accessible for Almaden residents.Almaden Golf & Co... 07/05/2008

I am embarrased to say I have been a very pale green lately. yet on the other hand, I am painting with no VOC paint so I see a pattern in myself, a learning curve if you will, where I embody the new green techniques then want to learn more. I am at the more part. I very much want to go the the green event below and am looking for some of my AR friends who would like to join me. Click here to find out more.   06/26/2008

I was at my Listing and there was a Plum Tree, I pulled off a Plum and as  I thought... they were sweet, so I grabbed a couple more. Next day I get an Email from the Buyers agent, a huge limb came down and there may be some hidden issues with that tree. I go to take a look and realize the limb I was standing under, picking fruit could have crushed me while I was there alone. Just a heads up for all to remember that going alone, somtimes things can happen. Denise Stuart Coldwell Banker http://denisestuart.spaces.live.com/     06/15/2008

  Highlights of June 12 Willow Glen Realtor Tour Pick of the Week! 1394 Robsheal Dr. AND 1131 Dean Ave   DEAN, James, DEAN (ave) Here’s June 12 Highlights: Tricky part about being a realtor in an area you love is that I find houses that I want to BUY all the time. My husband has to pull back the reins or we would be paying for a few more mortgages than there are paychecks coming in. I am so excited about 1131 Dean Ave.! It is an REO property which means the bank repossessed it and hired a realtor to sell it. Pretty good gig for  a realtor. REO properties are usually priced very well and are much easier to purchase than a dreaded short sale. This gem at 1131 Dean Ave. is a stroll to ‘the ave.’ priced at $499,900- Yes, you read that right under $500K (barely). Granted it is small at 1130 ... 06/14/2008

We have created a new Meet-Up group to hold regular meetings of buyer/sellers of For Sale By Owners. We hope to have a least two meetings per month, maybe more if there is enough demand. Check us out at http://homebuyer.meetup.com/253 Come and share you FSBO home buying and selling experiences!   05/25/2008

Highlights of May 22 Willow Glen Realtor Tour WOW victorian on CHERRY Ave and huge house on Peregrino Every Thursday I attend a realtor tour of all the new listings in Willow Glen. It’s a great way for realtors like me to stay on top of the market, and a fantastic way for sellers to get their property seen by all the top local realtors. The tour . is organized by Mike Gains of REMax, and usually includes 25-50 realtors. Every week I’ll report back on highlights from this tour – a summary of what’s going on in the Willow Glen market, exceptional new listings, stuff like that. If you ever have any questions about what I put here, or would like to see me take a different approach with this weekly summary of the tour, please let me know! Here’s the second installment… The first home we saw ... 05/23/2008

Data, data, DATA - charts, graphs, PowerPoint presentations, virtual tours, video tours, single property web sites, inquiry forms, email, IM chats, Tweets, iPhone's, RSS feeds, blogs, Blackberry's, SmartPhone's, Web 2.0 tech gadgets and gimmicks. All these are merely TOOLS. None of these will write and ratify a contract on a home for you. None of these will pre-approve a buyer for a loan in this environment of ever tightening credit restrictions. The Internet will NOT deliver a home to you (yet).It takes people working together to create the successful For Sale By Owner property transaction. Sellers must interest buyers in their property. Buyers must view and approve the property. Both sellers and buyers must connect with each other so they can share what each needs for the transaction ... 05/22/2008

Should we remodel or move? This is a question that I get asked a lot from clients and friends in San Jose, CA especially in Willow Glen. We asked it of ourselves in 2005. At the time we had a a 1300 sq ft home with 4 br and 2 ba. (Translation, lots of bedrooms and not a lot of living space and no garage). The location is on a great tree lined street with charming homes, great neighbors and pride of ownership. At the time, we had one child about 1 yr old and the second was on the way.   Here are the factors that we used to make our decision: First step for us was to get some drawings done to see what the possibilities are with your current floor plan. I have seen it cost between $1800 and $5000 for professional drawings (aka ones that you can take to the city for approval and start the p... 05/20/2008

Stop By for a Real Tour. Realty Executives Golden Image Group siennainfo@yahoo.com 408-794-9822 http://siennahomes.wordpress.com/ 05/12/2008

Here's your chance to Celebrate the kick off to what we in Berryessa call another great Season of all Berryessa has to offer. No more bundling up for those cold winter months, SAT's for the kids are winding down, Pull out those summer clothes and come on out and join us! Today is the day!   Off 680 between Milpitas and East side you will find Berryessa Road follow it up to the foothills and you can't miss us. From 10:00 to 5:00 Today only. Hope to see you there, I will be running the Cotton Candy Booth between 12-2. 05/10/2008

1638 E. San Antonio Street San Jose, CA 95116     NEW HOMES priced from the High 500,000s Brokers Welcome   Life at Sienna in San Jose is a mosaic of life’s best opportunities. Here you’ll find 19 exquisitely designed single-family detached homes with distinctive architecture and beautiful interiors, nestled along side a golf course. Sienna is located in the heart of a city known for offering a high quality of life and a multitude of exciting cultural, recreational, educational and entertainment opportunities. Built with style and designed for comfort, the homes in this collection feature an array of distinctive features and amenities that will enhance your lifestyle. The convenient location offers easy access to both downtown and to three freeways — I-101, I-680 and I-280. It’s clear ... 05/09/2008

With all the vacant properties for sale in the greater San Jose area, the rental market has certainly seen a surge in renters. Consequently, when homeowners read the real estate section of the Mercury News, and see that there has been a 10% increase in rents, they tend to get an inflated vision of their homes' rent potential. The most difficult hurdle is imparting to an owner the reality of the market. While Sunnyvale rents may be up 12%, South San Jose may only be up 5%. Luckily (or unluckily) in the rental market there is no mls. Therefore, no DOM or CDOM, which allows for us to test the market at any price and gauge the response we are getting to our marketing. What I often tell our clients is that we need to price the property aggressively, and by that I mean weekly reductions of $1... 05/07/2008

Some interesting news this week from the media, Zillow aggregating the county and averaging a 6% loss in value and Forbes showing that San Jose is the best Sellers’ market in the US. One wonders who to believe and that really depends on which of the San Jose markets we look at, doesn’t it? Here are links to both those articles, each of which have more links to drill down to the information. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9167620?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20080428_wildwildwest.htm If we look at the area in question and check on year to date statistics then there are areas where we have seen prices drop, there have been foreclosures and many “short sales” BUT there are also many areas which have seen significant gain in value over t... 05/07/2008

So here is my dilemma. With gas prices up to $4.00 a gallon here in San Jose, CA, I'd love to be able to increase my travel fees for mobile notaries. However, the competition is fierce amongst notaries here as well. There is a constant state of undercutting that occures due to a saturated market. I have developed a pretty substantial book of business and I'd hate to loose a single client. So my question to you all is, have you had to deal with this? Have you lost clients do to increased travel fees? Your thoughts please. 04/29/2008

Hello, My name is Steve Sparacino. I am a local notary public in the San Jose area. I know the mortgage business has suffered a bit of a down turn and so has mine. You may already have a notary that you do business with, but I would love the opportunity to do business with you and your clients. Should you have just a moment to take a look at my website, http://www.santaclaracountynotary.com/, I would sincerely appreciate it. Should the notary you are currently using not be available at anytime, please give me the try. Sincerely, Steve Sparacino(408) 293-3000  04/21/2008

Hello, My name is Steve Sparacino. I am a local notary public in the San Jose area. I know the mortgage business has suffered a bit of a down turn and so has mine. You may already have a notary that you do business with, but I would love the opportunity to do business with you and your clients. Should you have just a moment to take a look at my website, http://www.santaclaracountynotary.com/, I would sincerely appreciate it. Should the notary you are currently using not be available at anytime, please give me the try. Sincerely, Steve Sparacino(408) 293-3000  04/21/2008