Serena Russell ~ Bay Area Real Estate Specialist

Tips for Home Safety and Security

In addition to your home security system, there are steps you can take to protect your home and family from burglary, fire and intrusion. Below are some basic tips to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

General Home Safety and Security

If out of the house for an extended period of time, create the illusion that someone may still be home. Leave a TV or stereo on in the room where a burglar would most likely break in. Use exterior lighting and motion detectors to minimize burglar concealment.

Make sure all exterior doors have good proper locks. Install 1-inch deadbolt locks on all exterior doors.

If you get an unexpected knock at the door, check to see who it is before opening it.

Do not leave extra keys under doormats, potted plants or any other obvious outdoor location. Thieves will generally find them. Find an inconspicuous place to hide the keys, or give a set to a neighbor you can trust.

Burglar-proof your glass patio doors by setting a pipe or metal bar in the middle bottom track of the door slide. The pipe should be the same length as the track.

Keep garage doors shut.

Keep drapes and blinds shut – especially in rooms where there is expensive equipment. Don’t advertise the items in your home.

Store cash, jewelry and other valuables in a safe or safety deposit box instead of leaving them lying around the home.

Don’t leave notes on the door for service people or family members. These alert the burglar that you are not home.  If you’re going to be away from home for a few days, adjust your telephone ring to its lowest volume setting. An unanswered phone may tip off a burglar that no one is home. Also, have a neighbor or friend collect your newspaper and mail. Never cancel delivery – you don’t know who will get that information.

Hopefully you found some of these tips helpful.  Let me know if I can assist with any of your real estate needs.

The loan approval process generally begins with an initial interview where you and a mortgage professional discuss the potential loan.

You may prefer to talk with the loan agent before house hunting to determine in advance how much you can afford and the mortgage amount for which you can qualify. This step is called pre-qualification and can save you time and trouble by making certain you are looking in the correct price range.

To get prepared, here are some of the items a lender might ask for: Read the rest of this entry »

RISING PRICES AND COMPETIONS ON IT’S WAY!

This message goes out  especially for you to make you  aware of recent trends happening in the market.  In the Tri-Cities especially (Fremont, Union City, Newark) and even Hayward, buyer frenzy has begun!  For a few weeks now, the prices have held steady, and rising.  If you found a house you liked, then chances are a few others have also found the same house and thus begins competition. Short sales are rising, and REOs Read the rest of this entry »

If you have to sell your home as a short sale, did you know there are options other than the foreclosure route?  Are you sitting in bed on a weeknight watching TV and searching for answers because they aren’t sure if they can make their mortgage payments….

Many   homeowners are trying to find out what they should do and are feeling overwhelmed.

For example did you know Read the rest of this entry »

Please join us!

HOME BUYERS WORKSHOPS starting in June.

FREE SEMINAR WORKSHOP

ARE YOU PAYING RENT IN 2010?

Get all your questions answered by experienced Loan agents and Real estate agents. Find out how to buy, and where to buy. Receive free materials to assist with your home purchase.

COME TO A FREE SEMINAR.

NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY.

WORKSHOP DATE : Saturdays starting in June.

After the workshop join a car caravan to look at available properties!

Call to sign up and reserve your space.

Call Serena to sign up today.

Phone: 510-303-2549
REALTY WORLD VIKING, office

2698 MOWRY AVENUE

FREMONT, CA 94538

We offer seminars to assist home buyers and sellers.  Seminars are offered on a regular basis.  One on one appointments also available.

An appraisal of real estate is the valuation of the rights of ownership. The appraiser must define the rights he intends to appraise.

The appraiser does not create value, the appraiser interprets the market to arrive at a value estimate. As the appraiser compiles data pertinent to a report, consideration must be given to the site and amenities as well as the physical condition of the property. An appraiser may spend only a short time inspecting the property, however, this is only the beginning.

Considerable research and collection of general and specific data must be accomplished before the appraiser can arrive at a final opinion of value.

Due to the many types of value, such as Fair Market Value, Insurance Value, Tax Value and Value In Use, the need to precisely define the purpose of the appraisal is essential.

This year’s week-long San Jose Cycling Classic comes to the streets of San Jose, beginning on Saturday, May 15 with events and activities to appeal to riders and cycling enthusiasts of every age and capability.

The San Jose Cycling Classic will bring together more than 1,500 cycling athletes, 20,000 spectators and 40 cycling-related exhibitors. Join us and see why San Jose is a one of the best places in the world to cycle!

You can  join us for all of the action! From 9:30 to 11 a.m., Wed., May 19, at Park Ave. and Almaden Blvd., San Jose will be a host city for the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) for the fifth year in a row—one of the few cities in California to be able to stake this claim.

And, San Jose will, for the second time, serve as a start city to one of the most challenging legs of the race. Festivities include a healthy lifestyle festival and “autograph alley,” a designated area where cycling fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite riders, including Lance Armstrong, who is taking part in the Amgen Tour of California as a member of the Radio Shack Cycling Team, and who is considered to be one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Click here for more details.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation proceeding. The debtor turns over all non exempt property to the bankruptcy trustee, who then converts it to cash for distribution to the creditors. The debtor receives a discharge of all dischargeable debts.

To file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy:

* You must reside or have a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States or a municipality.

* You must not have been granted a Chapter 7 discharge within the last 6 years or completed a Chapter 13 plan.

* You must not have had a bankruptcy filing dismissed for cause within the last 180 days.

* It must not be a “substantial abuse” of Chapter 7 to grant the debtor relief. Generally speaking, if after you pay the monthly expenses for necessities there is not enough money to pay the remaining monthly debts, then granting a discharge would not be an abuse of Chapter 7.

* It would not be fundamentally unfair to grant the debtor relief under Chapter 7.

The most common reasons for consumer bankruptcy are:

* Unemployment

* Large medical expenses

* Seriously over extended credit

* Marital problems

* Large unexpected expenses

Disclaimer:

This information deals with Chapter 7 consumer bankruptcy. Each state has its own bankruptcy laws, so you need to check withyour state for details. Information dealing with Chapter 13 bankruptcy and consumer debt restructuring is not discussed in theabove FAQs. The information contained in the following FAQs is provided for general information purposes only and is notintended to be a legal opinion nor legal advice nor is it intended to be a complete discussion of all the issues related to the area ofChapter 7 consumer bankruptcy. Every individual’s factual situation is different and you should seek independent legal adviceregarding specific information.

Section 203(k) insurance enables homebuyers and homeowners to finance both the purchase (or refinancing) of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single mortgage’or to finance the rehabilitation of their existing home.

Section 203(k) is one of many FHA programs that insure mortgage loans, and thus encourage mortgage companies to make mortgage credit available to borrowers who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms (such as first-time homebuyers) and to residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods (where mortgages may be hard to get).

Section 203(k) fills a unique and important need for homebuyers in another way as well. When buying a house that is need of repair or modernization, homebuyers usually have to follow a complicated and costly process, first obtaining financing to purchase the property, then getting additional financing for the rehabilitation work, and finally finding a permanent mortgage after rehabilitation is completed to pay off the interim loans. The interim acquisition and improvement loans often have relatively high interest rates and short repayment terms. Read the rest of this entry »

Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

The Greatest Place On Earth, Yosemite is about traveling through and photographing some of its remarkable scenery.

Read the rest of this entry »