Albany Gorgeous

Sixty five agents came to see 1225 Brighton Avenue in Albany on Thursday's Brokers Tour, and it wasn't because they did not have other options. There were plenty of houses to tour, but no others in Albany - the city with the excellent schools, easy to navigate bureaucracy, and all the great Bay Area weather. Take a look at this home, and consider coming to see it this weekend: either Saturday or Sunday from 2PM - 4:30PM. I'll be there! www.1225brightonave.com

Albany Gorgeous

http://www.facebook.com/n/?video/video.php&v=1166896087346&mid=b66f29G4078dee4G930f93G1d

Video tour of new listing in Albany. Using someone who knows what they are doing - marketing-wise - Krista Miller of Keller Williams does the tour, I do the talking.
This is one of the sweetest homes on the market. See it now, Open Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th from 2-4PM.

Sam at Eleven

Sam is my dog. He is sweet and neurotic. I got Sam from a friend of mine whose daughter found Sam and his sister by the side of the road near Chico, California on a rainy and cold day. They were muddy and wet and starving. They were about 3-4 months old. She scooped both of them up and took them down to Oakland, to her mother. Suzanne, the mother, is an animal masquerading in a human body. She knew that I was mourning the loss of my dear Alfie - large, male Australian Shepard with a big plume of a tail and the sweetest disposition I had ever known. Alfie died of cancer a year before. Three days before he died, I took him for a very slow walk in my neighborhood of South Berkeley. He saw our neighbor, Anna. Alfie loved Anna and Anna loved Alfie. He had very little energy at this time, but enough to wag is tale for Anna. She petted him and told him what a good boy he was, and he proceeded to lift his leg and pee on Anna's foot. She, being tolerant of all things dog, laughed at this occurence and told Alfie she was honored to be the object of his marking. Sam is similar to Alfie, and I can imagine him doing something similar with Roxanne, the woman who cares for him when I am away. Sam loves Roxanne.

I think Sam is close to the end of his life. He sometimes stops on our walk and looks at me with bewilderment and confusion. His joints, all of them, are arthritic, so we limp around the block, not walk. He has had a very good life with Nancy and I and our two cats. When Sam and I limp around the block, our longhaired cat, Tallulah, follows us up to the end of our street. She reconnects with us about half a block from our completion and we all go slowly home.

One last remembrance about the day I met Sam. Suzanne called and invited me to breakfast at her house - it was a Saturday. I was happy to have breakfast with her. What I did not know was that her daughter was there - with both puppies. Sam's sister was very hyperactive and barked alot at all of us. Sam was shy and did not bark. I sat down on the floor near their box and said, "Suzie, it's too soon for me to get another dog. I am still mourning Alfie." She said, "I know that, just enjoy them." After a few minutes of petting both puppies on the floor, Sam quietly climbed on my lap and fell asleep. I was his from that moment on, and he was mine.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "Save yourself: Get a dog" I have saved myself.

5r9ima28dog

We approach the July 4th holiday and the housing market has been on a wild rollercoaster ride. The lessons of being overleveraged have been painfully felt by many homeowners and investors. The loss of one's home is one of the most painful events of our life.

I know. I lost my home in the downturn of the early 90's. There were compounding events that were out of my control, but I was overleveraged and could not weather the storms of the market that I depend on for my livelihood. I do not overleverage now. It was an indelible lesson and I shall never repeat it.

If you read my blog from a few months ago, you know that it was even painful for me to show a home in foreclosure to a client. I shall never forget the face of the 70+ woman who raised her family and her grandchildren in that home when I asked her, "where will you go?" Her eyes were empty of energy when she replied, "I don't know". I look forward to a market with more restraints and controls on how loans are given and paid back. I look forward to a community of realtors who take the responsibility of asking the necessary questions - perhaps even pre qualifying buyers with simple income/expense/proposed purchase price ratios before we send them off to their mortgage brokers.


To those who will speak to me about their homes and their ability to downsize or take advantage of the lower prices and buy, you will find a more measured response from me. I want you to achieve your dreams, but even more important, I do not want you to lose your dreams because we did not plan ahead. Live well and prosper.