A Palo Alto Weekly and Almanac Publication FALL€¦ · Nancy Flood Transaction Specialist Don...

A Palo Alto Weekly and Almanac Publication

Cities of dreams: If you list it, it will sellPage 6

Buyers in the ‘magic bubble’ beware4

Building green can reduce future energy usePage 24

Turnkey for the ‘now’ generationPage 41

FALLFALL REAL ESTATE 2007REAL ESTATE 2007REAL ESTATE 2007

• FALL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SECTION

DON DILTZ Coldwell Banker Top 1%

Real Estate Broker, Stanford M.B.A.

Direct: (650) 566-5380 • FAX: (877) 225-6859 • Website: www.DonDILTZ.com

Call me today to consult on your personal Real Estate needs.

2. Educated: Stanford M.B.A., Economics M.S.

3. Experienced: 300+ Transac-tions.

4. Professional team to create: a. Picture Perfect Presenta-

tion for selling, b. Move-in Ready when

buying. 5. State of the art internet

advertising including on line fl oor plan and website dedicated to the marketing of your listing.

6. For Listings - Exclusive Realtor.Com featured home sites (Ask me).

7. Your interests come fi rst; good listener.

8. Proven analytical skills to assess market value

9. Trustworthy, principled, tenacious.

10. Coldwell Banker: Instant access to world class market-ing infrastructure and risk management including 5 experienced staff attorneys.

DONDILTZTHE SIGN OF PERSONALIZED FULL SERVICE REAL ESTATE

Top 10 Reasons to Hire Don & His Team in 2007:

Greg ShepherdHome Inspector

Ryan Saber Roofer

Louis BimbiTermite Inspector

Nancy Flood Transaction Specialist

Don DiltzReal Estate

Broker

Mel Springs General Contractor

Jay Saber Roofer

Larry Klapow, Sr. Vice President, Coldwell Banker

Chris CooperStager

Wendy McPhersonManaging Broker, Coldwell Banker

Jin Choi, Painting and General Contractor

Joel Spolin Lender

Kathryn KellyEscrow Offi cer

& Manager

1. Unequaled 55 point mar-keting plan to sell your home; 10 point negotiation plan to get the house you want on the fi rst try.

FALL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SECTION •

MILES OF REAL ESTATE

-REPRESENTED SELLER-

330 Coleridge Avenue, Palo Alto

Offered at $8,250,000


1826 Waverley Street, Palo Alto

Sold Off MLS


360 Old La Honda Road, Woodside


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

200 Lowell Avenue, Palo Alto


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

27915 Roble Blanco Drive, LAH



243 Tennyson Avenue, Palo Alto



3707 LaCalle Court, Palo Alto


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

41 Parkwood Drive, Atherton


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

430 & 436 Addison Avenue, Palo Alto


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

1030 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto



1 Acacia Drive, Atherton



2127 Oakley Avenue, Menlo Park



515 Concord Drive, Menlo Park


-REPRESENTED BUYER & SELLER-

470 Ruthven Avenue, Palo Alto


-REPRESENTED BUYER-

3314 Saint Michael Drive, Palo Alto



336 Concord Drive, Menlo Park


Miles McCormick Founding Agent

650-400-1001

Selected 2007 Transactions

Imagine how Miles’ negotiation skills can benefit a buyer or seller in the current market

HomesOfThePeninsula.com


RECities of dreamsIf you list it in Palo Alto, Menlo Park or Mountain View, it will sellPage 6

Buyers in the ‘magic bubble’ bewareMortgage crisis aftershocks affect Palo Alto, but are combatablePage 14

Fall 2007 snapshot of the marketWhat do you get for close to the median price?Page 18

Building greenEverything from insulation and resource moni-toring can assure less future energy usePage 24

What’s it all mean?From ‘mortgage’ to ‘foreclosure,’ it’s important to understand termsPage 32

Real estate paparazziThe new privacy invasionPage 34

Turnkey for the 'now' generationFully furnished homes offered by agent/stager partnersPage 41

MidtownNeighbors stay connected through e-newsletter, social eventsPage 50

Beyond knowing the market Agents provide special expertise to Spanish-speakers, seniors or green buyersPage 62

Taxes going down?Homeowners can appeal for home reassessments from the county assessorPage 66

Back to basicsCourse demystifies home remodeling and building processesPage 68

RentWatchAll rules must be equally applied to all tenantsPage 72

Editor: Carol BlitzerDesigner: Dana James

InsideFALL Real Estate 2007An Almanac and Palo Alto Weekly publication

On the cover: Near the top of Menlo Park’s market in early September was this two-story Tudor-style home in the Allied Arts neighborhood, offered at $2,295,000. Photo by Victorugo Gonzalez.

C O L D W E L LB A N K E R

Enclave of four custom built homes nestled among beautiful oak trees.

3 bedroom, 2 -1/2 bath new construction with exquisite craftsmanship.

Centrally located in the desirable Allied Arts neighborhood.

Walking distance to downtown Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Stanford.

Open fl oor plan, hardwood fl oors throughout, gourmet kitchen with custom quality wood cabinetry, granite, marble and high-end stainless appliances.

Master bedroom with extra large walk-in closet and inviting marble bathroom with stall shower and soaking tub.

Additional features: dual zone heating and a/c, all wood windows, fi replace in living room.

Pre-wired for data, cable and dsl. Detached one-car garage. Professional landscaping. Top rated Menlo Park schools.

Completion November 2007.

Coming Soon Partridge Oaks800, 808, 810, 812 Partridge Avenue, Menlo Park

Priced from $1,588,000 to $1,788,000 Shown by appointment only

NATHALIE de SAINT ANDRIEU Previews Property Specialist

(650) 804-9696Website: http://www.myrewebsite.com/nathaliesa

©2007 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

Marjan Sadoughi


Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Sq. ft. and/or acreage information contained herein has been received from seller, existingreports, appraisals, public records and/or other sources deemed reliable. However, neither seller nor listing agent has verified this information.If this informtion is important to buyer in determining whether to buy or the purchase price, buyer should conduct buyer’s own investigation.

Photography Bernard André

MARY GULLIXSON650.543.1175

650.888.0860 [email protected]

JUDY BOGARD-TANIGAMI650.917.5800


Entertain

47 View StreetLos Altos

Video Tour at:www.47view.com

This exceptional residence, just com-pleted by R.J. Dailey Construction,enjoys private seclusion on one levelacre of lush park-like grounds justmoments from Los Altos Village. Thegraceful 3-level floorplan of approx-imately 12,160 sq. ft. offers soaringceilings, curved windows and glasssliding doors. Five bedroom suites,including the sumptuous masterwith fireplace, spa-like bath andadjacent paneled library. Highlightsinclude a techno-forward hometheatre, adjacent pub-style bar,vintner-quality wine cave, and anexercise salon. Radiant heating,s cene-programmable l ight ing,distributed audio, and computerconnectivity – all designed to nurture moods and fully support21st-century networked lifestyles. Inaddition there is a fully equipped 1-bedroom guest apartment with aprivate terrace, 46 foot swimmingpool and spa with pool cover, over-sized 4-car garage, well for irriga-tion, 20kw generator for auxiliarypower. Los Altos schools.

Price Upon Request.


FALL Real Estate 2007

Cities of dreamsIf you list it in Palo Alto, Menlo Park or Mountain View, it will sell

by Carol Blitzer

W hile some Realtors still cling to old clichés — when will that bub-ble burst? — others are choosing a new image to describe today’s housing market: making lemonade.

The lemons? For starters, the number of houses on the market (inven-tory) is way down.

And, many would-be buyers are scrambling to get pre-approved for mortgages with low long-term interest rates.

But the sweetener — at least for Realtors — just may be that median prices in this micro-market continue to rise, as they have for the past five years. And they’re selling almost as fast as they can be listed.

Even if inventory is down, what does it actually mean for a prospective buyer? The dearth of houses in local micro-markets generally means buy-ers have fewer choices — and often little wiggle room for negotiating.

Suzie Provo, an agent with Alain Pinel Realtors, Palo Alto, has seen low inventory all year, noting 30 homes actively on the market in August. Yet entry-level prices seem to have gone up, she said. “A year ago you could find something under a million, but now you’d be hard-pressed to find any. ... There’s a huge pent-up buyer demand, which is why on the lower end you’re seeing sometimes 11 to 25 offers on properties,” she added.

Her colleague at Alain Pinel, Sherry Bucolo, noted that Palo Alto inven-tory at the same time last year was 68, and back in 2003, it was 110. Sales are down “because we just don’t have inventory to sell. ... We’re in a really short-days-on-market time,” she said, noting that it’s common to get mul-tiple offers, even at the $3 million level.

In Mountain View, the picture is similar. Deniece Watkins, a Coldwell Banker, Los Altos, agent, said, “Percentage-wise, comparing to a two-

At the high end of Palo Alto’s market, this Crescent Park home at 1060 Palo Alto Ave. was offered for $7,985,000 in early September.

An entry-level home, at 111 Churchill Ave. in Old Palo Alto, was on the market in early September for $975,000.

This home at 420 Menlo Oaks Drive, offered at $4,995,000 in early September, was the top of Menlo Park’s market.

Entry-level in Menlo Park included this Belle Haven home at 1348 Windermere Ave., offered at $539,000 in early September.

‘There’s a huge pent-up buyer demand, which is why on the lower end you’re seeing sometimes 11 to 25 offers on properties.’ — Suzie Provo, Alain Pinel Realtors, Palo Alto

Victorugo Gonzalez

Victorugo Gonzalez

Victorugo Gonzalez

Victorugo Gonzalez



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2007

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MedianHome Prices

Jan-June

*Information from Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR)

week period from one year ago (in August), buyers have 33 percent fewer choices if they want to buy a home today in Mountain View, due to lower inventory. They have 15 percent fewer choices than they did for townhomes one year ago.”

Intero’s Jeff Gonzalez has been selling homes and townhomes in the 600-unit, 10-year-old Whisman Station neighborhood, which he described as “a very desirable place for newer homes in a good community. ... It’s taking slower to sell, but they are selling,” he said of the higher-end yet entry-level homes.

Last year 47 homes were sold in the complex; so far this year it’s 19, he added.

What’s really moving are the more desirable neighborhoods (mostly in the Los Altos School District), such as Waverly Park, Cuesta Park or Var-

sity Park, he added.“The better real estate is still selling very well,” Nancy Manning, an

agent with Coldwell Banker, Los Altos-San Antonio, said. “In The Cross-ings we’ve hit some new highs for row houses in the $740,000-range; they hadn’t gone above $720 before. Mountain View is still affordable, while Palo Alto and Los Altos are not for many people.”

While inventory is actually up in Santa Clara County as a whole, “in Los Altos, Palo Alto and Mountain View it’s very low, at entry-level and starter-price points, which is in such demand,” Manning added.

Across the creek, Steve Bellumori of Coldwell Banker, Menlo Park, ac-knowledges that there’s not much new in this “land-driven” market. Even the statistics in Menlo Park are flat: Last year there were 61 homes on the market in July, this year 68; last year there were 205 home sales in the first

(continued on page 8)

‘When rates are high, you get the best prices; if you wait for rates to go down, you pay more for the house in the long run because of competition and escalation of price.’ — Steve Bellumori, Coldwell Banker, Menlo Park



Contact Don Yarkin 650 833 1337 or [email protected] Realty 152 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301

FOUNDED IN PALO ALTO OVER 50 YEARS AGO, Yarkin Realty offers local and personalized real estate services.

An in-depth understanding of Bay Area neighborhoods and communities, combined with years of consistent success in the real estate market, insures the best possible results for buyers and sellers in their transactions.

Repeat clients and personal referrals are the company’s core business — a true measure of customer satisfaction. Please call regarding any real estate questions you’d like to discuss. You’ll appreciate the local knowledge, integrity and personalized results.

Integrity Knowledge Results

Days on marketJan-June 2006

City Median PriceJan-June 2007

Median PriceJan -June 2006

# Homes Sold Jan-June 2007

East Palo Alto

Los Altos

Menlo Park

Mountain View

Palo Alto

Redwood City

$1,710,000 $1,600,000 183

$1,295,000

$1,060,000

$1,520,000

$875,000

$1,270,000

$903,000

$1,395,000

$878,000

233

119

261

279

Single Family Home Sales

Atherton

$641,500

Days on marketJan-June 2007

28

16

26

27

30

67


169

205

158

280

258

Information from the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) from REInfoLink

$650,000 54 79

Los Altos Hills

Portola Valley

Woodside

$3,400,000

$2,607,000

$1,910,000

$2,060,000

$3,495,000

$2,500,000

$1,825,000

$2,065,000

45

64

41

44

67

97

52

48

59

103

33

29

32

38

30

31

32

49

73

99

75

99

six months, this year 233, “and there were more homes put on the market in 2007,” he added.

“The more homes that can be put on the market, the more that sell,” he said, mentioning a small home he listed just before Labor Day, a traditionally dead sales time. Located

on a tree-lined, pretty block, he thought it could have gone as a teardown, “but the house was really charming. We fixed it up some, not knowing how it would go.” After 188 agents traipsed through, as well as 100 groups of potential buyers, four offers came in — all over the asking price.

Houses do appear to be staying on the market longer than last year, but Bellumori doesn’t see a huge change year-to-year. “If it’s well-priced, there’s definitely people right on them.”


Cities of dreams(continued from page 7)


Feel like you’re on top of it all as you live and entertain in this beautiful hilltop showplace with an expansive rear yard, lush lawn, sparkling swimming pool, and views of the hills. 4bds/ 4bths, and 3,650 sf of living space are arranged over a split level with a soaring atrium and fountain centering the home’s interior. Huge picture windows, a raised living room, and private master suite with direct pool access create ambience you’ll love. Although close to the Village with fi ne shopping and dining, you’ll decide to stay in and relax at home a little above the rest of the world.


Move right in to this newly constructed home in a coveted Old Los Altos location just blocks from Shoup Park and Village.

4bds/3.5bths arranged over an open fl oor plan of 3,128 sf including private upstairs master suite, lower level suite, and over 1000sf of outside second-story decking. High quality materials with custom fi nishes include wood fl oors, crown moldings, recessed lighting, and granite kitchen. Touch screen controls for environment and security, and new landscaping and fence in large rear yard. Award-winning Los altos schools.


161 South San Antonio Rd. Los Altos, CA 94022

Jo Buchanan, GRI

650-947-2219Stuart Bowen, e-PRO

[email protected]

��

Fabulous Listings by the Buchanan & Bowen Sales Team

Only your imagination limits the endless possibilities available with this rare offering in an oasis setting. This property redefi nes Silicon Valley living with MDA of 18,975 sf and MFA of 12650 sf. Enjoy the two contemporary homes on the grounds with 4bds and 3.5bths, or build a new dream home complete with tennis court, vineyard, or horse stable. Peace and serenity are guaranteed with this eco-friendly estate offering private water, trails, solar electricity, and natural landscaping. Come take a look for yourself and decide what you would do!


This luxurious home provides a sanctuary like no other to enjoy everyday living and fabulous entertaining. Relax in the gourmet kitchen and rustic family room, and enjoy fi ne things in life right at home with 900+ bottle wine cellar, Hollywood-style home theatre, huge downstairs multi-use room with private quarters, and space for 8+ vehicles. 4bd/3.5bths, four fi replaces, soaring entry, and fi nest materials and craftsmanship set in a prime neighborhood with top schools. 11,800 sf lot, 5,000+ sf living, arboretum landscaping with fountains.


Enjoy the Lap of Luxury484 Cherry Avenue, Los Altos

Move right in to this newlyModern Style in Old Los Altos688 Lincoln Avenue, Los Altos

If you’ve had a secret longing to live the country, but can’t leave your job in Silicon Valley, come see this fantastic 5bd/3bth home

nestled in the trees. You’ll forget you’re only 20 minutes from town as you unwind on the expansive deck and enjoy bay and hill views. 3,200 sf of living space is highlighted with picture windows to enjoy Mother Nature in your own backyard including redwoods, pines, oaks, and fragrant herbs and shrubs. You’ve fi nally found what you’re yearning for with this Tahoe-style home in the hills with top schools.


Country Living at its Best25285 La Loma Drive, Los Altos Hills

If you’ve had a secret longing toCountry Living at its Best

Live a little above it all24078 Summerhill Avenue, Los Altos Hills

y

The Buchanan & Bowen Sales Team

Top 1% Nationwidewww.BuchananAndBowen.com

What would you do with 6.5 acres in Los Altos Hills?

28140 Story Hill Lane, Los Altos Hills

GUEST HOUSE


(continued from page 8)


apr.com | MENLO PARK | 1550 El Camino Real | 650.462.1111

1 6 2 J A M E S AV E N U E , AT H E RTO N

PAT BRISCOECell 650.303.8173Direct [email protected]

RANDY EYLERCell 650.740.9747Direct [email protected]

Alain Pinel does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy of lot size, square footage, or other information concerning the features or the condition of the property provided by the seller or obtained from public records or other sources, and the Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information through personal inspection and appropriate professionals. Some items of personal property attached to the walls, shown in photos, or represented in text are not included in the sale of the property.

Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

&EYLER BRISCOEEDUCATED

Stanford University, MBA

EXPERIENCED

Real estate agent since 1984

PROVEN TRACK RECORD

Top producing Alain Pinel agent specializing in fine homes on the mid-Peninsula

• 5 bedrooms, 6 full baths, and 1 half-bath in the main home with approximately 8,616 sq. ft.

• Separate guest house with 1 bedroom, 1 bath, and full kitchen with approximately 840 sq. ft.

• Multi-room, main-level master suite includes an exercise salon

• Gourmet chef’s kitchen with adjoining breakfast room and family room

• Fully outfi tted home theatre and customized wine cellar for approximately 2,200 bottles

• Park-like grounds with expansive level lawns on approximately 1.03 acres

• Excellent Menlo Park schools

Offered at $9,200,000 www.162JamesAvenue.com

Median PriceJan-June 2007

Median PriceJan -June 2006

2006-2007 % Median Price Change


East Palo Alto

Los Altos

Menlo Park

Mountain View

Palo Alto

Redwood City

$458,000 $455,000 66% 7

$860,000

$840,000

$605,000

$726,575

$599,200

$701,500

$710,000

$560,000

$656,000

$535,000

22.59%

18.31%

8.04%

10.93%

12.0%

27

55

233

72

32

Condominium Home Sales

Atherton $524,000


21

51

191

64

34

12

1

2005-2006 % Median Price Change

2.25%

-10.92%

-2.74%

4.67%

-1.87%

3.94%

Information from the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) from REInfoLink

n/a n/a n/a n/a

Any concerns about the mortgage wob-blies in August and September are likely to dissipate soon, he said. “Buyers tend to pull back a little bit, thinking things will fall back, but it takes several weeks and it starts to work itself out.”

Bellumori stresses that what’s happening on the national scene plays out differently in the local market. In Portola Valley, for example, he says the hardest part is finding anything.

“There’s been a shortage all year, in all communities. The key is whether or not there’ll be a sustained shortage.

“This has been a pretty easy market for financing; now we’re back to basics: qualify for your loan. It’s nothing new; same scen-ery,” he said.

The bottom line: “When rates are high, you get the best prices; if you wait for rates to go down, you pay more for the house in the long run because of competition and es-calation of price,” Bellumori said.

Will there be a long-term impact on the national mortgage implosion?

“We may not see 10-day, two-week close of escrows and may see some contingencies.


‘When listing, don’t fool yourself by thinking staging will not benefit you. ... Compare yours to theirs. If they are all staged and you are not, you will inevitably be the ugly duckling.’ — Deniece Watkins, Coldwell Banker, Los Altos


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3130 Alpine Road, Portola Valley 650.529.2900

■ APTOS…Expansive and Dramatic Montana Timber Framed Estate & Equestrian Facility is situated in Aptos. Award winning architect, John Blackburn, designed this home. The Equestrian Facilities feature an 8 stall barn w/all the amenities, arena, covered pen and 11 pastures. Property is ideal for future vintner development. $15,750,000

■ PALO ALTO…Four bedroom, beautifully renovated, turn-of-the-century home on over 9,000 sf lot just blocks from downtown Palo Alto. Bright, open floor plan; remodeled gourmet kitchen opens to family room; spacious sunny rear yard; large detached studio with skylights; and abundance of natural charm! Outstanding Palo Alto Schools. Rare and special opportunity! Call For Price

■ PORTOLA VALLEY...New construction. Understated elegance defines this 4BR/3.5BA Craftsman-style home on a picturesque creek-side setting. High ceilings, Gourmet chef’s kitchen, random plank hardwood floors, oversized garage with attached studio & bathroom. Excellent neighborhood, short distance to schools, shops and Windy Hill. Call For Price

■ MENLO PARK…Set on a graceful knoll in the sought after Las Lomitas school district is this beautiful 4BR/2BA home. With appealing style this home offers modern comforts, charming details and a location with a country feel. A private backyard with beautiful mature landscaping. formal LR and DR are complemented by a large kitchen/family room area featuring a spacious breakfast nook, granite counter space, and stainless steel appliances. Close proximity to downtown Menlo Park, Stanford. $1,695,000

■ MOUNTAIN VIEW…New Craftsman Style Home. Quality Construction with outstanding floor plan. 4BR/3Baths, separate LR, DR, FR, Granite Kitchen with Center Island. Hdwd Floors, Professionally Landscaped, wrap around Porch. Los Altos High School. $978,000

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STEPHANIE SAVIDES650.464.3581

[email protected]

STEPHANIE SAVIDES

NINO GAETANO650.207.1986

[email protected]

NINO GAETANO

JAMI ARAMI650.400.5855

[email protected]

JAMI ARAMI

PAUL SKRABO650.619.8092

[email protected]

PAUL SKRABO

SUSAN FURSTMAN 650.400.9321

[email protected]

p

SUSAN FURSTMAN

SOLD

SOLD

PORTOLA VALLEYThose are the impacts. I don’t think it will deter buyers in our area. ... It’s a little longer to go through the process and there’s a little more scrutiny,” Provo said.

In her real estate seminar, Manning deals with the tax consequences of selling real es-tate (her next one is scheduled for Nov. 3, 10 a.m. to noon, at First American Title Co., 431 Florence St., Palo Alto).

“I’ve got buyers that with the recent credit crunch have been hit by a 10 percent reduc-tion in buying power. So if they used to be able to afford $1.5 million home or $800,000 condo, they can only afford 10 percent less, because they can only be approved for their fully indexed and fully amortized rates,” Manning said, noting that even if they were applying for an interest-only mortgage, they would be required to be approved for a fixed-rate loan with its more strict require-ments.

With most new buyers short on cash but big on equity, they’d need income to sub-stantiate a $6,000 to $7,000 per month mort-gage, she said, adding “if the lender will ap-prove you at less than 10 percent you need to have stellar credit and income history — A+++. I’m very cautious myself about

accepting an offer from a less-than-stellar lender; I’ll accept a different offer.”

Her advice to homebuyers: “Make sure you’re working with a reputable lender; re-evaluate your financial and pre-approval sta-tus because it will have changed in the last two or three weeks,” she said, stressing that if the approval is more than a month old, the homebuyer will have to go through the process again for approval.

As for advice to home sellers, no matter what the market, most Realtors agree that staging can make a difference — both to the price and how quickly the home sells.

“You get a better value, you can sell it fast, and pretty much get multiple offers for prop-

erties that are staged very well,” Gonzalez said. “It’s important that we emphasize in a good and bad market, staging makes a big difference. In a good market, could get 15 percent more; in a terrible market, you could sell with minimal marketing time.”

Watkins is even more blunt: “When list-ing, don’t fool yourself by thinking staging will not benefit you. Drive around with your Realtor and see the other homes on the mar-ket currently. Compare yours to theirs. If they are all staged and you are not, you will inevitably be the ugly duckling. This will not tend to render you the highest price for your home.”

“I don’t see gloom and doom in our area. We’re not bullet-proof but we’re dealing with a more qualified buyer pool. If they’re move-up buyers that are moving out of areas more affected by the market — people can’t buy their homes because they can’t get loans — we might see that later.

“By then, they might have fixed what’s go-ing on in the mortgage market. In 23 years we’ve had ups and downs but never a whole-sale sell-off,” Provo said.

Provo says Realtors have been waiting for the expected spring influx of listings since January.

“The Palo Alto market can be unpredict-

able, in the sense of when to put a house on the market. Can’t say Christmas will be slow — an average of two to three sales in De-cember is pretty good. ... March and April are still a good time to list. Buyers come through in the fall, just starting their search. They don’t realize it might be good to buy now because there’s less competition,” Bu-colo said just before Labor Day.

“It’s hard to lose a house you really want-ed. It could take another year to find a house you like. If you find what you want, you have to go for it,” she added. ■

Asst. Editor Carol Blitzer can be e-mailed at [email protected].


‘We’re not bullet-proof but we’re dealing with a more qualified buyer pool.’ — Suzie Provo, Alain Pinel Realtors, Palo Alto

This home at 1308 Lubich Drive is in Mountain View’s Waverly Park neighborhood, one of the faster-moving areas of town. It was on the market in early September for $1,495,000.

Victorugo Gonzalez


Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Square footage and/or acreage information contained herein has been received from seller, existing reports, appraisals, public records and/or other sources deemed reliable. However, neither seller norlisting agent has verified this information. If this information is important to buyer in determining whether to buy or to purchase price, buyer should conduct buyer’s own investigation. Photography by Bernard André

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BRENT GULLIXSON650.543.1194

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2007 SALES

Park Lane, Atherton

Alexis Drive, Palo Alto

Walsh Road, Atherton

Elena Avenue, Atherton

Atherton Avenue, Atherton

Isabella Avenue, Atherton

Isabella Avenue, Atherton

Roberta Drive, Woodside

Monte Vista Avenue, Atherton

Faxon Road, Atherton

Camino Al Lago, Atherton

Selby Lane, Atherton



Crescent Drive, Palo Alto

Pepperwood Court, Menlo Park

Stockbridge Avenue, Atherton

Odell Place, Atherton

Johnson Street, Menlo Park

University Avenue, Palo Alto

Lassen Drive, Menlo Park

Seminary Drive, Menlo Park

La Cresta Drive, Los Altos Hills

Marianna Lane, Atherton

SALES VOLUME OVER $210,000,000



I n the wake of this summer’s mortgage-market crisis, sparked by collapse in the subprime lending level, Palo Altans can expect a few changes in the local real estate market. They can also take

steps to protect their investment in one of the Bay Area’s most coveted communities.

First, the good news: Despite statistics that show California cities such as Stockton lead the nation in foreclosure, the Palo Alto area real estate market remains relatively insulated from disaster.

“Percentage-wise, you could say, ‘Oh, foreclosures have gone up 200 percent,’ but that’s an increase from a very small number to a slightly larger one,” Chris Iverson, an agent with Keller Williams Realty in Palo Alto, said.

As well, the plummeting house prices afflicting the East Bay are un-heard-of here, where unceasing demand keeps property values high.

“Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Los Altos are what I call destination cit-ies,” Iverson said. “Once people are here, they pretty much want to stay.” In contrast, “Those who live far out in the East Bay are still trying to get back.”

The difference in demand means that the market in Palo Alto, “compared to Hayward, or the far East Bay in Tracy, is night and day,” Iverson said.

“We really have a tale of two markets going on in this area,” agreed fel-low realtor John King, of Alhouse King Residential Realty in Palo Alto.

That house prices are not expected to depreciate is good news for homeowners, yet it doesn’t mean that Palo Alto is unscathed by market turmoil. Potential buyers as well as current residents will now be affected by tightened lending standards and increased jumbo mortgages rates.

“To qualify for a loan, it’s becoming more and more rigorous,” Iverson said.

More cautious lenders now require greater income documentation, meaning that stated-income loans, which require less proof than full-docu-mentation loans, have become very difficult to get, he said.

A stated-income loan allows a borrower “to simply say, ‘This is how much money I make,’ without going through a long, complex documenta-tion process,” Iverson said.

However, full-documentation loans require “almost all the documenta-tion associated with your financial situation.”

While full-documentation loans may be a hassle for all borrowers, they are especially tricky for variable-income earners, for whom documenting steady past and future income is a challenge. Variable-income earners likely to be affected by lenders’ new preference for more documentation run the gamut from highly paid consultants and salespeople to less affluent waiters.

The preference for full documentation is likely to stick around, said Eric Trailer, a partner at Absolute Mortgage Banking in Palo Alto, since

the increasing rarity and cost of stated-income mortgages makes financial sense.

“What the market has learned is that there are some stated-income loans out there that should have been priced higher because those investors are riskier” than lenders thought, he said.

Another trend affecting mortgages in Palo Alto, where median home prices are running above $1.5 million, is increased interest rates on so-called jumbo mortgages of $417,000 or more. (The jumbo number is de-termined by the price above which federal lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will not finance.)

Virtually every mortgage in Palo Alto is jumbo, Trailer said, although he has faint hopes for rate improvement. The interest on a fully-documented jumbo loan may “potentially come down in rate by a small amount as the market works itself out,” he said.

And despite the increased cost of a mortgage, Trailer encouraged poten-tial Palo Alto buyers to proceed, saying that the area’s predictably appreci-ating property values would offset interest-rate spikes.

However, buyers need not merely rely on what Realtor King termed Palo Alto’s “magic little bubble” of real estate value to protect their investment. There are several savvy steps that those entering the Palo Alto market can take, as well as smart moves that homeowners can make, to improve financial prospects.

A preliminary measure for prospective buyers is to review, and if needed, improve their credit score.

“Do your homework,” Carolyn Wolf, a mortgage broker at Princeton Capital, said. “Meet with a trusted financial advisor, have them run your credit, and if there are items that you can work on or get taken care of, start working,” she said.

Under law, all citizens are allowed to view their credit score for free once a year at Web sites such as annualcreditreport.com.

Wolf advised going on a “financial diet” to reduce outstanding debt, especially quickly accruing credit-card debt that can shoot holes in an oth-erwise strong credit report. The diet also includes reducing the so-called “latte factor,” a term coined by writer David Bach to refer to daily, yet disposable, luxuries. Finally, saving in advance of monthly mortgage pay-ments will help prepare a household better.

“You could practice saving an additional $1,500 a month. This way you don’t have the shock of a mortgage payment right after you buy,” Wolf said.

Financing the house may also be more manageable if buyers keep both private and public aid in mind, Wolf said.

“Talk with your family and see if they’re willing to help out,” especially on a first-time home purchase, Wolf said.

As well, California’s Housing Finance Agency offers loans with below-


‘Percentage-wise, you could say, “Oh, foreclosures have gone up 200 percent,” but that’s an increase from a very small number to a slightly larger one.’ — Chris Iverson, Keller Williams Realty, Palo Alto, agent

Buyers in the 'magic bubble' beware

Mortgage crisis aftershocks affect Palo Alto, but are combatableby Arden Pennell

‘You could practice saving an additional $1,500 a month. This way you don’t have the shock of a mortgage payment right after you buy.’ — Carolyn Wolf, a mortgage broker at Princeton Capital


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DPRINT

market interest rates to home buyers, al-though houses must cost about $693,000 or less to qualify, well below the local median. Requirements for the Santa Clara County Housing Trust’s new First-time Homebuyer Downpayment Assistance Program were an-nounced in early October, although, again, the guidelines may not apply to more costly houses.

As for the classic decision between adjust-able-rate mortgages, whose interest rates are subject to increases, and fixed-rate mortgag-es, whose interest rates stay flat, King says many are now drawn to the latter.

“Many people are now turning to 7 to 10 percent fixed rates in response to market chaos,” he said, but stopped short of endors-ing the more stable, fixed loans. Rather, buy-ers should meet with a loan specialist to dis-cuss “the best scenarios that could happen with adjustable-rate mortgages,” he said.

Once funding is secured, the relief of com-pleting a potentially stressful process should not cloud out common-sense caution. Julie Stern Fukuhara, a loan officer with Stern Mortgage Company, said all buyers should carefully read all paperwork before scrib-bling their name anywhere.

“At the signing table, it’s all written in the paper, but there’s so much in the papers that people don’t really stop to read it,” she said. And while many brokers are trustworthy, “you [can] get an escrow officer [facilitating the process] who doesn’t catch everything or explain everything,” she said, leading to trouble down the road.

Stern Fukuhara also said that those who must pay higher than 40 percent of their gross monthly income to afford today’s of-

ten pricier jumbo loans should wait to buy.“Rent and see what happens. Things may

come down in the next year,” she said.As well, although “a lot of lenders are of-

fering a 95 percent loan-to-value level,” a down payment of at least 10 percent, or a 90 percent loan-to-value level, will help avoid higher interest rates and long-term pay-ments, Stern Fukuhara said.

For those already paying off a mortgage, high interest rates should not necessarily discourage refinancing, she said.

“Refinancing and rolling all debt into one might make sense if you have a huge amount of credit-card debt because then the bulk of the money will be under a better rate,” she said, since credit-card debt can come with interest rates of up to 19 percent.

Trailer said that those who financed 100 percent of their house cost, then took out two mortgages, may also benefit from the “new, single rate [which] is better than the blended, weighted rate,” of the double mort-gage.

Those planning to sell, yet left by market tumult with a property worth less than pur-chase price, or simply less than expected, need only to “wait it out,” Realtor Iverson said, again citing the area’s foreseeable in-creasing property values.

Finally, Palo Altan owners planning to neither sell nor refinance, but spooked by the nation’s lukewarm housing market, should recognize the post-crisis environment as part of a cycle, experts said.

“It’s like a forest fire. It’s tragedy and cha-os and confusion but you have firemen, our Federal Reserve, coming to the rescue, and then you have new growth,” Wolf said. ■

Staff writer Arden Pennell can be e-mailed at [email protected].

'Magic bubble'(continued from page 14)


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Fall 2007 snapshot of the marketWhat do you get for close to the median price?

by Carol Blitzer

EAST PALO ALTOAddress: 885 Schembri LaneList price: $639,000Bedrooms: 2Bathrooms: 1Interior: 1,130 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,501 sq. ft. Date built: 1951On a larger-than-average lot, this contemporary home in The Gar-dens neighborhood offers even more living space with its deck and back yard. Highlights include a large living room fireplace and skylight, roomy dining area, an eat-in kitchen and a large yard with a deck.

REDWOOD CITYAddress: 1112 Palm Ave.List price: $875,000Bedrooms: 3Bathrooms: 2Interior: 1,140 sq. ft.Lot size: 6,048 sq. ft. Date built: 1949Granite and marble grace the kitchen of this home, which was remodeled by the owner/contractor. In addition to the marble bath-rooms, there’s both a one-car attached garage and a new two-car detached garage, perfect for a workshop or possibly a family room. Outside one can enjoy the mature landscaping, fruit trees and patio. The ranch-style home is just blocks from Reed Morton Community Park and shopping along Woodside Road.

MOUNTAIN VIEWAddress: 2705 Wasatch DriveList price: $1,088,000Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2Interior: 1,576 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,840 sq. ft. Date built: 1962What’s new in this 45-year-old home? Berber carpet and kitchen flooring. All the rest — including kitchen and baths — is original. This one-story ranch-style house is located in the Waverly Park neighborhood, with Cooper Park, local schools and State Highway 85 nearby.

MENLO PARKAddress: 1397 Woodland Ave.List price: $1,299,000Bedrooms: 3Bathrooms: 2Interior: 1,530 sq. ft.Lot size: 6,140 sq. ft. Date built: 1957What happens when you blend 50-year-old charm — hardwood floors, crown molding — with up-to-date amenities — recessed lighting, remodeled bathrooms, walk-in master closet, granite kitchen counters and a two-car garage? This ranch-style home in the secluded, woodsy Willows, just across San Francisquito Creek from Palo Alto’s Crescent Park, is served by the Menlo Park School District and has easy access to U.S. Highway 101.

H ere’s a snapshot of what was on the market in early Sep-tember. Each home was offered at close to the median price for that community.

Victorugo Gonzalez

Victorugo Gonzalez

Marjan Sadoughi

Victorugo Gonzalez


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PALO ALTOAddress: 874 Garland DriveList price: $1,567,000Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2Interior: 1,980 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,257 sq. ft. Date built: 1956Mature trees and a winding road with short cul-de-sacs create a neighborhood with a very French countryside feel. With its modernized kitchen (in 1986), updated bathrooms and mature landscaping, it’s no great surprise that the last family stayed more than 30 years. The home is an easy walk to Jor-dan Middle School as well as to Midtown shopping. Actually it’s not far from much in Palo Alto.

LOS ALTOSAddress: 1931 Deodara DriveList price: $1,750,000Bedrooms: 5Bathrooms: 3Interior: 3,061 sq. ft.Lot size: 10,018 sq. ft. Date built: 1969In woodsy Woodland Acres, at the base of Los Altos Hills, this roomy rancher boasts a stone façade and circular driveway. Special features include a separate dining room, formal living room with fireplace, and two — count ’em — separate family rooms with access to the back yard. The home offers easy access to shopping, State Highway 85, Interstate 280, downtown Los Altos and the Cupertino school district.

WOODSIDEAddress: 558 Patrol RoadList price: $1,998,000Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 3Interior: 3,100 sq. ft.Lot size: 1.26 acres Date built: 1960This is so Woodside: privacy and a horse stable with tack and hay rooms, paddock and trail ac-cess. The interior has hardwood floors, two master-bedroom suites, an eat-in kitchen, a workshop and a bonus room. The ranch-style home features a wood-burning fireplace in the living room, a separate dining room and a sleeping porch, as well as a large deck.


Victorugo Gonzalez

Victorugo Gonzalez

Marjan Sadoughi

• FALL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SECTION FALL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SECTION • Page 21

2989 Woodside Road, Woodside • (650) 529-10001377 El Camino Real Menlo Park • (650) 614-3500

we are in your neighborhoodwe are in your neighborhood

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Dan Morgan Anne NegusGary McKae Charlotte Meisel George Rangitsch Carol ReevesMaureen LoveJanet Lawson-Burr John Marshall Jim Massey Mary Jo McCarthy Cathy McCarty

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PORTOLA VALLEYAddress: 133 Corte Madera RoadList price: $2,098,000Bedrooms: 5Bathrooms: 4Interior: 3,279 sq. ft.Lot size: 22,599 sq. ft. Date built: 1950The Portola Valley School District is a big draw for this remodeled Brookside Park home, which sits on more than half an acre. Features range from the professional landscaping and circular driveway to the dual entry patio with “eyebrow” arbor. An extra bonus is the view of Windy Hill and easy access to Alpine Road (and Interstate 280).

LOS ALTOS HILLSAddress: 27633 Via Cerro GordoList price: $2,899,000Bedrooms: 5Bathrooms: 3Interior: 3,568 sq. ft.Lot size: 1.60 acres Date built: 1969Completely remodeled in 2001-3, this Mediterranean-style home boasts panoramic views of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay. Highlights include six skylights, four interior arches, a breakfast room, office, utility room, bonus room and wine cellar. Close by are Foothills Park and the Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club. Another plus: the Palo Alto school district.

ATHERTONAddress: 163 Fair Oaks LaneList price: $3,500,000Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2.5Interior: 3,510 sq. ft.Lot size: 1.24 acres Date built: 1937Surrounded by mature oak trees, this roomy French Colonial home sits on well over an acre of land in tony Atherton. In addition to the main house, there is a one-bedroom, one-bath guest house, a gated entry, lush landscaping and a pool. The home is a short walk to the Atherton train station, and not far from Holbrook-Palmer Park.


Victorugo Gonzalez

Marjan Sadoughi

Victorugo Gonzalez

FALL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SECTION • Page 23

Barry Lane Atherton • Woodside Drive Woodside • Acacia Drive Burlingame • Avy

Avenue Menlo Park • Woodhill Drive Redwood City • E.Floresta Portola Valley •

Dean Road Woodside • Manzanita Way Woodside Brookside Drive Portola Valley •

Mountain Home Road Woodside • Olive Hill Lane Woodside • Gammell Brown Place

Santa Clara • College Avenue Palo Alto • San Mateo Drive Menlo Park • Windsor

Drive Menlo Park • Euclid Avenue Atherton • Bay Laurel Drive Menlo Park • Lake-

mead Way Redwood City • Cordillaris Road Redwood City • Laning Drive Woodside

• Beach Park Blvd Foster City • El Camino Real Atherton • Williams Street Palo Alto

• Annette Lane Los Altos • Forest Avenue Palo Alto • Oak Grove Menlo Park • Santa

Cruz Avenue Menlo Park Dry Creek Lane Woodside • Chicory Lane San Carlos • Por-

tola Green Circle Portola Valley Waverley Street Menlo Park • Ben Roe Drive Los

Altos • Vaquero Court Saratoga Afton Lane Saratoga • Violet Lane San Carlos • Ta-

lia Avenue Santa Clara • Quetta Avenue Sunnyvale • Politzer Drive Menlo Park Gar-

barda Way Ladera • Olive Street Menlo Park • Menalto Menlo Park • Mora Drive Los

Altos • Bowe Avenue Santa Clara • Roble Avenue Menlo Park • Menlo Place Menlo

Park • Fremont Street Menlo Park • Arbor Road Menlo Park • Barry Lane Atherton

• Woodside Drive Woodside • Acacia Drive Burlingame • Avy Avenue Menlo Park •

Woodhill Drive Redwood City • E.Floresta Portola Valley • Dean Road Woodside •

Manzanita Way Woodside Brookside Drive Portola Valley • Mountain Home Road

Woodside • Olive Hill Lane Woodside • Gammell Brown Place Santa Clara • College

Avenue Palo Alto • San Mateo Drive Menlo Park • Windsor Drive Menlo Park • Euclid

Avenue Atherton • Bay Laurel Drive Menlo Park • Lakemead Way Redwood City •

Cordillaris Road Redwood City • Laning Drive Woodside • Beach Park Blvd Foster

City • El Camino Real Atherton • Williams Street Palo Alto • Annette Lane Los Altos

• Forest Avenue Palo Alto • Oak Grove Menlo Park • Santa Cruz Avenue Menlo Park

Dry Creek Lane Woodside • Chicory Lane San Carlos • Portola Green Circle Portola

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R educe, reuse, recycle. For Susan Davis, of green-certified Spectrum Fine Homes of Mountain View, these three words epitomize how she approaches green building and design.

“It’s important to not just be a mass consumer, but to have pieces in your home that have a sustainable life cycle, and last for at least 50 years,” she said.

Iris Harrell, founder of green-certified, Mountain View-based Harrell Remod-eling agrees.

“Part of green is making things last for a long time with little maintenance,” she said. “It’s a myth that green building doesn’t last as long.”

According to Harrell, people are often looking for high-tech solutions when simple ones will do.

“Putting a clothesline in the laundry room and using the dryer less is an ef-fective, easy way to go green,” she said. Remodeling, as opposed to building a new house is another green step, according to both Davis and Harrell. “In my


Building greenEverything from insulation and resource

monitoring can assure less future energy useby Rotem Ben Shachar


Above: Structured insulated panels are filled with extruded polystyrene, known for its moisture resistance and high resistance to heat flow — which is important for insulation.Right below: Amanda Miller wanted a traditional-looking home in Atherton, but chose non-traditional building materials to assure her new house would be energy efficient and strong.

Marjan Sadoughi

Marjan Sadoughi

Artist’s rendering courtesy of Amanda M

iller


116 Portola RoadPortola Valley, CA 94028

Selling

PRIME PROPERTIES FOR OVER20 YEARS

Visit my Web site for a personalized property search or a complimentary market analysis of your home:

www.chenzel.com


www.chenzel.comCeleste Henzel

International President’s Premier Top 1% of Coldwell Banker AgentsPreviews Property Specialist

ATHERTON 149 Linden Avenue

PORTOLA VALLEY 50 Sioux Way

PORTOLA VALLEY 8 Applewood Lane

WOODSIDE 770 Bear Gulch Road*

PORTOLA VALLEY 30 Cheyenne Point*

PORTOLA VALLEY 67 Los Trancos Road

REDWOOD CITY 1117 Chesterton Avenue

PORTOLA VALLEY 965 Portola Road

PORTOLA VALLEY 197 Portola Road

LOS ALTOS HILLS 12364 Priscilla Lane*

PORTOLA VALLEY 410 Golden Oak Drive

MENLO PARK 1242 Sharon Park Drive

PORTOLA VALLEY 75 Cheyenne Point

PORTOLA VALLEY 159 Los Trancos Circle

PORTOLA VALLEY 110 Willowbrook Drive

LOS ALTOS 82 Loucks Avenue*

PORTOLA VALLEY 35 Buckeye

PORTOLA VALLEY 4 Vista Verde Way

PORTOLA VALLEY 1 Wintercreek

LOS ALTOS 20 Bay Tree Lane*

PORTOLA VALLEY 30 Ciervos Road

PORTOLA VALLEY 128 Los Trancos Circle

PORTOLA VALLEY 145 Santa Maria Avenue

PORTOLA VALLEY 30 Coyote*

PORTOLA VALLEY 25 Saddleback

Other fine properties represented by Celeste in the past 12 months

*Represented Buyer

For Sale – LOS ALTOS HILLS10240 W. LOYOLA DRIV E


For Sale – WOODSIDE558 PATROL ROAD


Pending Sale – PORTOLA VALLEY RANCH5 VALLEY OAK



FALL Real Estate 2007C O L D W E L LB A N K E R

John Carman - ManagerColdwell Banker Palo Alto Offices

[email protected]

One Stop and You’re HomeResidential Services • Relocation • Mortgage Services • Commercial

Caroline Wolf Kristen Emery Loan Officer Loan Officer

Elizabeth EverittLoan Officer

Our People

RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE

22 years working as a contractor there were less than eight houses that I recommended to tear down,” Harrell said.

Davis stresses the importance of good insulation, orientation of the house, and location of skylights in increasing energy efficiency. “Just by building a small home that is designed well, you can decrease the amount of energy you use dramatically,” she said.

Insulation was an important factor for management consultant Amanda Miller, when building her family home in Ather-ton. Though she does not consider herself a huge environmentalist, after reading about structured insulated panels, she thought they seemed like a great way to build a house.

The panels are made of oriented strand board, a structural panel that is engineered and can be custom manufactured to meet requirements in thickness, density, surface texture and strength. They are filled with extruded polystyrene, a rigid plastic foam insulation, similar to Styrofoam. Extruded polystyrene is known for having great mois-ture resistance and high resistance to heat flow, important for insulation.

As opposed to conventional framing, structured insulated panels create less waste because they are made to size in a factory. The panels are more energy efficient than regular stick framing because they have a high insulation value, Tambi Harwood, of Harwood Constructions, Redwood City, said.

“There is no air space because the entire cavity is filled, preventing air wells, which cause leaks,” she said. “Because the panels are sealed much better, it makes for a much

In addition to energy-efficient appliances, this new Palo Alto home features the AgileWaves resource monitor, which informs the homeowner about constant energy use through a touch screen. CEO Peter Sharer compares the screen to a car’s dashboard.

Building green(continued from page 24)

‘Part of green is making things last for a long time with little maintenance. It’s a myth that green build-ing doesn’t last as long.’ — Iris Harrell, Harrell Remodeling, Inc., Mountain View


Norbert von der G

roebenN

orbert von der Groeben

‘Just by building a small home that is designed well, you can decrease the amount of energy you use dra-matically.’ — Susan Davis, Spectrum Fine Homes, Mountain View


FALL Real Estate 2007C O L D W E L LB A N K E R

John Carman - ManagerColdwell Banker Palo Alto Offices

[email protected]

One Stop and You’re HomeResidential Services • Relocation • Mortgage Services • Commercial

Caroline Wolf Kristen Emery Loan Officer Loan Officer

Elizabeth EverittLoan Officer

Our People

RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE

The entire cavity is filled in the structured insulated panel, which means no air leaks and more efficient insulation.

Marjan Sadoughi

Marjan Sadoughi



apr.com PALO ALTO 578 University Avenue 650.323.1111

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“Professional standards of practice, hard work and a sense of humor are essential in any successful transaction. I am committed to my clients needs and to my community. My goal is to build lifelong relationships based on trust, cooperation, and goodwill.”

Residential Real Estate SalesPalo AltoMenlo ParkAthertonRedwood CityWoodsidePortola ValleyLos AltosLos Altos HillsMountain ViewSunnyvale

Experience • Commitment • Trust

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Kathleen & Dave PasinTop 4% Internationally

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more efficient home which cuts down on energy costs.”

Though Miller said the panels are not as necessary in the Bay Area because the weather never reaches extremes, she thought they would give her house a stron-ger foundation.

“The reason I think green building is catching on is because it’s becoming much more available to the average person,” Mill-er said. “When it’s easy, why not?”

According to Harrell, even for larger problems such as air circulation, there are simple solutions. In 1978 homes began to be built tighter because of Title 24, which enacted energy-efficiency standards for

The inner workings of the AgileWave energy-monitoring system are located out of sight.



Norbert von der G

roeben


Ed Kahl ... Real Estate experience you can trust.

Ed Kahl has been in Real Estate for over 30 years and has successfully sold over

$1 Billion in properties. He was the #1 agent in Woodside for two straight years,

and continues to rank among the very top Realtors on the Peninsula and in the

country. With a Master’s Degree in Economics and a California contractor’s license,

he has a thorough understanding of the many aspects of Real Estate. And he

understands for whom he works – his clients. Call Ed, or visit his website.

Ed Kahl(650) 400-2796 [email protected]

Call Ed for all your pre-salepreparation needs:

architects • interior designers • stagerspainters • colorists • landscaperselectrician / plumber / carpenter

Top 1%Coldwell Banker agents

Over $1 Billion Sold

New Listing

WOODSIDE LOT – 330 Mountain Home Rd.Create your estate on 3.4 beautiful acres in a primelocation. Heritage oaks, redwoods, privacy, levelland. Woodside Elementary. $5,900,000

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WOODSIDE LOT – Build your dream home withviews of Jasper Ridge. Close-in, total privacy. Majorsite work complete. $2,650,000

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WOODSIDE – Tuscan Estate in heart of Town – beauti-fully landscaped one-acre. 4BR, marvelous collector’swine cellar. Woodside Elementary. $5,250,000

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Woodside: 129 Albion. $3,100,000 Woodside: 3BR 1-1/2 ac $2,650,000

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WOODSIDE – 4BR estate home on private laneoff Whiskey Hill Rd. 3.3 acres. 1-BR guest cottageSuperb construction quallity. $7,500,000

PORTOLA VALLEY ESTATE – 3.3 ACRES –Luxurious compound in prime Westridge neighbor-hood. Main house has 4 BR; two guest houses.Portola Valley Schools. $6,500,000


both residential and nonresidential build-ings in California. But as homes’ structures improved, it became difficult for fresh air to enter. Without air exchange, people were inhaling out-gas from furniture and other materials in their homes.

An easy solution to this problem, Harrell said, is to place a fan in the attic that circu-lates fresh air into the home from a skylight, preventing the need for an air conditioner.

“The house is a living system. If you do one thing to one part of the house, it helps or hurts the other parts,” she said.

For Davis, going green means being aware of the impact of the things people put in their homes.

“It’s important to not be tempted to throw stuff into a project because it has some sort of green aspect, but to think deeper about how it affects you and your community,” she said. “Taking accountability is crucial.”

Peter Sharer, CEO of AgileWaves, a sus-tainable technology company based in Palo Alto, agrees with Davis. He believes that if people become aware of how they are us-ing their resources, they will make smarter, more informed decisions about them. This is the idea behind AgileWaves’ resource monitor, a data system that measures the current rate of the energy cost and carbon footprint, or the amount of greenhouse gas-es produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide, in a property.

The information is displayed on a touch screen and is also available from a standard Internet browser, so users can keep track of their property from any location.

“I like to think of [the resource moni-

tor] as a dashboard in a car. It has the same level of detail, but about someone’s home,” Sharer said.

The device monitors electrical circuits, water, gas and temperature in key locations in the house. It also tracks major appli-ances’ performance and calculates resource consumption by room and by floor.

Users can set a budget and the resource monitor will track their progress. Rooms and appliances are marked in different col-ors corresponding to the system’s health: green if it is on target, yellow if it is go-ing off-target, or red if it has exceeded the budget.

AgileWaves has installed its first device in a new home on 120 Waverley St., which contains more than 120 sensors including 35 water sensors and 70 electric sensors. The company’s goal in the next six to nine months is to install the resource monitor in 10 to 20 homes, beginning with single-fam-ily homes and eventually moving to larger properties.

“Feedback is what motivates people. If someone who always takes long showers sees how much water they have used and how much that costs, hopefully, they will take shorter showers,” Sharer said.

Harrell stresses that going green does not mean depriving oneself. “If you want air conditioning, get solar paneling on the roof, then you can use as much electricity as you want,” she said. “It’s deciding what you want most and finding the best way to meet your needs and at the same time benefit the environment.”

“It’s more than just putting in bamboo floors because you think they are green, but finding what works best for you home,” Da-vis said. ■



Don’t just work with an agent.Work with a neighbor.

• Experienced, knowledgeable and professional

• Palo Alto homeowner for over two decades

• Active in local Palo Alto schools, sports, music and theater

Denise [email protected]

Linda Xu is pleased to present…

15 Amherst CourtMenlo Park

3BD, 3BA 1,500 SF

Brand new home

Excellent quality

Offered at: $988,000

Sold at: $1,050,000

COE: 05/15/07

SOLD

3454 Ashton Ct.Palo Alto

4BD, 3BA

2,270 SQ SF

Upgraded Kit. & BDs

Offered at: $1,599,000

Sold at: $1,650,000

COE: 08/24/07

SOLD3269 Morris Dr.Palo Alto

4BD, 3BA one story

1,949 SF, plus offi ce

Completely rebuilt 2003


Sold at: $1,450,000

COE: 02/19/07

SOLD

264 Ventura Ave.Palo Alto

2BD, 1.5BA 1,572 SF

1,120 SQ SF

Low HOA $220


Sold at: $675,000

COE: 08/18/07

SOLD

568 Irven Ct.Palo Alto

3BD, 1BA

1,024 SQ SF

Quiet location

Gunn high


Sold at: $1,120,000

COE: 08/16/07

SOLD

252 Ventura Ave.Palo Alto

3BD, 1.5BA

1,226 SQ FT

Brand new windows

Upgraded Kitchen

Low HOA $220.00


PENDING

1066 Colorado Ave.Palo Alto

2BD, 2.5BA 1,572 SF

2 Large BD Ste.

Upgraded Kit. & BDs


Sold at: $760,000

COE: 03/13/07

SOLD

114 Greenmeadow WayPalo Alto

2BD, 2BA

1,131 SF, one story

Brand new carpet


Sold at: $710,000

COE: 03/13/07

SOLD

1054 Bigoak Ct.San Jose

4BD, 3BA

1,736 SQ SF

Cul-de-sac location

Brand new floor

Best Cupertino schools


FOR SALE

LINDA [email protected] Your House For Competitive Commission Rates & Full Service FREE Professional Staging – $2500 to $3500 Value!



Y

JOHN BARTLETTBroker Associate

650.529.8567116 Portola Road, Portola [email protected]

My goal is to assist you with choosing the right opportunity, whether it be

residential or commercial.

“You have to recognize when the right “You have to recognize when the right

place and the right time fuse and take place and the right time fuse and take

advantage of that opportunity. There advantage of that opportunity. There

are plenty of opportunities out there. are plenty of opportunities out there.

You can’t sit back and wait.”You can’t sit back and wait.”

– E. Metcalf– E. Metcalf

Contact Exclusive Agents:

Lisa J. Hoeflich

Direct: (650) 804-6764

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Direct: (408) 568-9276

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www.1330westridge.com

1330 Westridge Drive1330 Westridge Drive

Portola Valley, CAPortola Valley, CA

Fantastic 1 acre lot which backs to creek with mature Heritage Oak Trees.

3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, spacious 3 car garage.

1,890 SF completely remodeled including new kitchen, bathrooms,

Interior and exterior paint, crown moulding, windows, doors, hardware,

flooring, lighting, dual fireplace, roof, sprinkler system, deck,

landscaping and much more....

Red Hawk Realty, Inc.Portola Valley Office

3 Portola Road

Portola Valley, CA 94028

Office: (650) 851-1705

Fax: (650) 851-1707

Offered at $1,989,000 / MLS # 752229Offered at $1,989,000 / MLS # 752229

W hile buying or selling a home isn’t rocket science, it’s important to share a language with the Real-

tors, mortgage brokers and other pro-fessionals involved in the sale.

Here’s a quick glossary of handy terms:Mortgage: Any loan for which the borrower offers real property as col-lateral. First mortgages finance prop-erty purchase, while second mortgages can generate funds for a variety of ex-penses, such as market investments or college payment.Deed of trust: A mortgage involving a third party besides the borrower and lender, called a trustee, used by many states including California. The trustee is a neutral party, often a title insurance company, who will hold the title to the property temporarily until the loan is paid. The main difference between a mortgage and deed of trust is that the latter set-up allows foreclosure (see be-low) to proceed more quickly than in traditional mortgage. Deeds of trust are commonly referred to as mortgages.

Escrow: A legal arrangement where a neutral third party holds an asset until it is paid off. In a deed of trust arrangement in northern California, typically an escrow account is opened with a title insurance company, which will hold onto money and help transfer documents during the house-purchase process. An escrow officer from this company should be present when all involved parties read and sign docu-ments. Down payment: The portion of the property’s value paid upfront by the home buyer.Principal: The initial borrowed sum. In other words, the house cost mi-nus the down payment. If a $100,000 house is purchased with $20,000 down, the mortgage to finance that house has $80,000 in principal.Loan-to-Value: A ratio of the mon-ey borrowed for the mortgage to the total property value. If a home buyer wants to borrow $80,000 for a $100,000 house, the loan will be an 80,000/100,000, or 80 percent LTV loan. The higher the LTV a borrower

What's it all mean?From 'mortgage' to 'foreclosure,' it's important

to understand termsby Arden Pennell

1489 Woodland Avenue, Menlo Park■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

raftsman overtones delight in this unusually high quality remodel by an interior designer. 1900 sq. ft. of living area w/3 BRs, 2 1/2 BAs, formal LR, open style FR/KIT w/adjoining DR. Oversized 500 sq. ft. 2 car garage. 10,000sq. ft. lot. Amenities include red birch plank floors and cabinetry, Marvin windows, 6 burner Viking range, imported hardware & tiles, recessed lighting on dimmers, delightful master retreat... more. Menlo Park schools. Must see to appreciate.

C

Cheryl DeGolia650-274-4894

[email protected]

Offered at $1,595,000Virtual Tour: www.1489woodlandave.com


requires, the riskier s/he may be seen by lenders.Good credit / Bad credit: An individ-ual’s credit is basically a rating of their likeliness to pay the lender back, calcu-lated from financial information includ-ing whether past bills and loan have been paid on time and in full.Points: A charge a lender assesses for the service of lending money. In other words, a loan will cost the amount of that loan, plus interest, plus the service fee of points.Fixed Rate Mortgage: A mortgage whose payments are tacked to an un-changing rate, hence the term “fixed.” Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) / Hybrid ARM: A mortgage whose pay-ments are subject to changes in interest rates. ARMs may have fixed payments for the first six months, year, or even five years, before the rate changes, and ini-tial ARM rates are cheaper than the rates offered by fixed mortgages. A “hybrid ARM” is another name for an ARM, called so because it is a mix of fixed and variable payment periods.Subprime mortgages / Subprime loans: ARM mortgages typically ob-tained by risky borrowers (often those with bad credit), whose payments start low but are then liable to increase dra-matically with higher interest rates. These higher rates led many homeown-ers to default on payment in the past few years, one cause of the current subprime-sparked mess.Interest-only loan: A loan for which the

borrower pays off only the interest on the principal. For example, an $80,000 mortgage with a 5 percent interest rate will generate $4,000 in interest owed yearly, which a borrower may pay back without decreasing the $80,000 owed. Interest-only loans are mainly attractive for those who desire greater cash flow in the short term, perhaps to invest the money elsewhere for the time being. Jumbo mortgage: A mortgage requir-ing loans above $417,000. (The number is calculated based on a price that gov-ernment mortgage buyers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will not exceed in their purchases.)Prepayment penalty: The charge a bor-rower incurs if s/he would like to refi-nance a mortgage, or in other words, change the terms of the mortgage, per-haps from an ARM to a fixed-rate or vice versa, before a date specified in the loan agreement initially signed.Default: To default is to not complete a payment. Defaulting on payments hurts a borrower’s credit score, and may be a sign of future short sale or foreclosure.Short sale: When a borrower sells a property for less money than is owed on the property; for example, a house with an $80,000 mortgage is sold for $60,000. Often the last option before foreclosure. Foreclosure: A legal proceeding when the creditor, either a bank or other lend-er, repossesses and sells a property for which the buyer could not pay. ■

Staff Writer Arlen Pennell can be e-mailed at [email protected].


W O O D S I D E B U I L D I N G S I T E ! 1 / 2 A C R E

$1,495,000

F A M I L Y H O M E I N P O R T O L A V A L L E Y

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Maybe sometimes you wish you had a good friend who knew

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Someone who would be concerned about you and who

could handle a Real Estate transaction Professionally.

Thats Jean Rigg, of Menlo Realty.Your best friend in Real Estate.

6 5 0 . 3 6 7 . 1 1 5 6 • C E L L 6 5 0 . 4 0 0 . 8 7 0 7W W W . M E N L O R E A L T Y . C O M

Leannah Hunt & Laurel Hunt Robinson Your team for the Mid-Peninsula

Proven community and professional leadership.Unmatched knowledge of the Mid-Peninsula neighborhoodsUnmatched knowledge of the Mid-Peninsula neighborhoods

Exceptional, personal service.

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The Mid-Peninsula . . . a special place to liveThe Mid-Peninsula . . . a special place to live. Excellent schools and outstanding city services, close approximation to Stanford University and Silicon Valley, dynamic neighborhoods, vibrant shopping areas, and much more – these are the reasons so many Peninsula residents want their home to be on the Mid-Peninsula. And no one knows the Mid-Peninsula better than the professional team of Leannah Hunt and Laurel Hunt Robinson.

Leannah Hunt and Laurel Hunt Robinson . . . a special teamLeannah Hunt and Laurel Hunt Robinson . . . a special team. A Palo Altan for 38 years, Leannah is an active leader in both her profession and the community. She is widely respected in both areas and is the current President-Elect for the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. A Coldwell Banker Premier Agent, Leannah is in the top 1% of CB agents nationally. A native Palo Altan, Laurel is a rising star in the profession, where her knowledge of the community and special affi nity for young families has enabled her to enjoy great success.

www.leannahandlaurel.comwww.leannahandlaurel.comLeannah Hunt o: 650/752.0730 h: 650/327.1009 e: [email protected] Hunt Robinson o: 650/752.0735 c: 650/269.7266 e: [email protected]

‘...we were pleased in every way with your service.’— The Barkley family

‘ ...we were ... working with a pillar of the community, not just the real estate business.’

— Ray Bacchetti



T he Internet is a wonderful thing, except when

it comes to privacy and real estate. Are we taking the pri-vacy, particularly in the sanctity of our homes, for granted? Newspapers never used to publish sales prices along with the names of the buyers and sellers.

I wrote a column a few years ago telling buyers and sellers how to avoid getting in the newspaper, and that advice still works. How-ever, a new onslaught of Web sites invading your privacy makes that advice look a little like

trying to retrieve an e-mail after you push the send button.

Where is the invasion coming from? Start with a Web search engine we all know and love, Google. They have mapped the Bay Area in a ferocious fashion to the extent that their new “Street View” tool allows anyone with an Internet connection to view your house from the street without getting out of their pajamas.

“So what?” you may say; anyone can drive by and see the same view anytime they want. Yes, but that is the point, they would actually have to get in their car, locate your street, find your address, and take a picture. Depending on when the Google van drove by, Street View might display you getting in your car, your li-cense plate number, whether you have a car in the driveway or on the street, your contractor,

etc. It is true that all of this information would be available to someone if they just drove up to your home and started taking pictures, but wouldn’t that make you feel a little uncomfort-able if you saw someone doing that? Hold on to that feeling for a minute.

Should we feel more comfortable because everyone is subject to the same invasion? What about those huge estates in Woodside that are less vulnerable since you can’t see the house from the street? This seems a little unfair. To make things equal perhaps the Google van should be allowed to go down their driveway. Oh, I forgot, they don’t need to. Just check out Google Earth and you can see if the property has a tennis court, swimming pool and cot-tage.

Perhaps the most pernicious invasion may be

Real estate paparazziThe new privacy invasion

by J. Robert Taylor, J.D.

Paula RussBroker AssociatePreviews Property Specialist

[email protected]

RARE CUSTOM LOG HOME RETREAT1800 Portola State Park Road, La Honda, Ca.

Offered at: $1,295,000 Virtual tour: www.camoves.com/paula.russ

Midway between Stanford/Palo Alto and the San Mateo Coastside, this Tahoe style retreat, next to Portola State Park, offers privacy, tranquility, picturesque redwoods, a year-round pond and a sunny meadow w/room for horses. Within a 45-60 minute drive from most locations, this extraordinary retreat opportunity awaits you!

• Massive logs/pillars and vaulted ceilings; Lodge style Great Room w/plank pine fl oors, woodstove on stone hearth, built-in cabinetry, a stairway w/custom carvings and a kitchen w/Commercial stove + Kitchen island;

• Large picture windows, covered decks, a master bedroom balcony + multi-skylights thru ought the home; art glass, substantial extra storage, potential wine cellar, metal roof, ceiling fans, recessed lighting and a spacious interior laundry room/mudroom adjacent to the kitchen - w/access to the outdoors.

ARE CUSTOM LOG HOME RETREAT

Long before the purchase

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Google’s ‘Street View’ tool allows anyone with an Internet connection to view your house from the street without getting out of their pajamas.

—J. Robert Taylor, J.D.



Erika Demma6x13Erika Demma6x13



CHANGE is in the air...

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Located in enviable Crescent Park, this Birge Clark home is set amongst exquisite gardens and just minutes from downtown Palo Alto. It truly is a treat to see and ready for the next generation to enjoy.

• Inviting foyer with hardwood fl oor staircase overlooking the patio and gardens • Formal living room with beamed ceiling, wood burning fi replace and French doors

leading to an outdoor loggia• Formal dining room• Cheery breakfast nook located off the kitchen• Main level master bedroom or family room with wood burning fi replace and

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coming from the real-estate industry itself. Bro-kers used to sell houses just fine with a picture of the front of your home in the multiple-listing service. Now brokers are going whole hog on the multimedia marketing craze. It is now com-monplace to post virtual tours of the interior of your home on multiple Web sites either with photographs, digital floor plans or video clips. In addition to viewing the real property, these sites may show your personal property as well.

Are you worried about the general public knowing the exact floor plan and contents of your home? Sellers may care less since they are moving anyway, but the purchasers must buy knowing that all of this information about the home they just purchased was available to the general public.

Should it give you comfort that Web sites may remove the information once the escrow closes? Yes, that would be some comfort if it were actually true. In many cases virtual tours are accessible for many months after the sale while the broker continues to market his/her success at selling you the property. On top of this, many brokers use third-party services that

may store and distribute the content long after the house is sold. The new buyer has little or no control over how this information is used or distributed since the pictures and videos were all taken prior to the purchase. In addition, even after Web sites are taken down, there are search engines such as Archive.org that store informa-tion that was posted on the Internet and enable users to retrieve Web site information that has been “removed.” Once it is on the Web it is like trying to retrieve that e-mail you didn’t mean to send.

Other Web sites such as Youtube.com or Ya-hoovideo.com are used by some brokers to ex-pose your home to potential buyers via a Web video presentation. Many are detailed and fairly high-quality videos of both the interior and ex-terior of the property. Your toilet on Youtube.com, I think I will invite myself over. These clips once online can easily be stored and dis-seminated. Who would want to do that you ask? Hmmm, not sure, but I am guessing that some bad guys might find a use, or at best you might get targeted by remodeling contractors who now know you need to update your bathroom.

Much to the dismay of my college-age chil-dren I was invited to join Facebook.com by a real-estate social-networking group, where

brokers can post pictures and videos to share. Only those in the network can view this mate-rial, therefore this information is not in a do-main that is accessible to the buyers or sellers to monitor. This is no doubt a marketing faux pas by Facebook, letting a 50+-year-old geezer like me enter a domain that was once only re-served for cool college kids. Does this type of social networking really help sell your property, or just provide information to third parties that could undermine your privacy and security?

Is this level of invasion necessary to sell your house? Since the product hasn’t really changed much in the last 50 years, it is probably rea-sonable to assume that buyers would purchase homes even if they could not access multimedia tours, floor plans and videos on the Internet. The invasion may actually lessen the value of some properties, especially for those buyers who value their privacy and security. Is a mul-timedia presentation going to sell homes in a market that is overwhelmed by too many homes for sale? The real-estate feeding frenzy seems to be abating in most areas of the country, but the real-estate paparazzi may be here to stay. Too bad for those who value their privacy and security.

The Supreme Court in a famous 1986 case,

The new buyer has little or no control over how this information is used or distributed since the pictures and videos were all taken prior to the purchase. —J. Robert Taylor, J.D.

Real estate paparazzi(continued from page 34)




Wonderful Lot, Great Price12060 Elsie way, Los Altos Hills

Bea SinesREALTOR® SRES®Cell: 650-743-5198 Direct: [email protected] www.beasines.com

apr.com 167 South San Antonio Road, Los Altos CA 94022

Open Sunday 1:30 to 4:30 PMSought-after, close-to-downtown Los Altos location with PaloAlto Schools. Generous MFA 6030sf & MDA 14,091sf on

1.13ac. Design your own dream house or save time and useready-for-final-approval plans for 7000+sf elegant, French stylehome, conceived by Torin Knorr, AIA. Offered at $2,350,000.

Selling Homes in Every Market!Recent Sales!

Deanna TarrBroker Associate, [email protected]

582 Sand Hill Circle, Menlo Park3/2.5 Golf Course Unit

Listed $1,195,000

405 Camberly Way, Redwood City4/2.5 Hampton Oaks home

Listed $1,249,000

2140 Santa Cruz Ave #C1042/2 Menlo Commons Unit

Listed $550,000

2405 Sharon Oaks Dr, Menlo Park3/3 Townhome

Listed $1,195,000represented buyer

California v. Ciraolo, held that the govern-ment could fly over your home and take photographs of your property and use those images to obtain a search warrant, because the views of your home and yard are public, meaning anyone with a satel-lite or small plane could fly over and take pictures. The Supreme Court held that the police could not climb over your fence to look at your yard, but using a plane to look was just fine. The Supreme Court stated, “The touchstone of Fourth Amendment analysis is whether a person has a constitu-tionally protected reasonable expectation of privacy, which involves the two inquiries of whether the individual manifested a subjec-tive expectation of privacy in the object of the challenged search, and whether society is willing to recognize that expectation as reasonable.”

If we put multimedia views of the inside and outside of our homes on the Internet,

are we discarding our Fourth Amendment right to privacy in exchange for a market-ing technique? If we allow the real estate paparazzi in when we sell and buy homes are we eroding the previously held view that we have a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in our homes? At what point does the line between public view and private view become blurred? It seems like a high price for the seller, the buyer and society to pay. It is ironic that we would fight tena-ciously to keep the government from being able to breach our privacy, yet we are so willing to give it up to the whole world for a buck. ■

J. Robert Taylor, J. D., a real estate attorney and broker for more than 20 years, has served as an expert witness and mediator and is on the judicial arbitration panel for Santa Clara County Superior Court. Send questions to Taylor c/o Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA, or via e-mail at [email protected].

The invasion may actually lessen the value of some properties, especially for those buyers who value their privacy and security. — J. Robert Taylor, J.D.



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444 San Antonio 12A765 San Antonio712 San Jude455 Santa Rita370 Seale**425 Seale601 Seale889 Southampton2364 South Court2761 South Court125 Southwood2333 South Court1131 Stanley608 St. Claire3317 St. Michael1950 Tasso1976 Tasso2002 Tasso2080 Tasso*2361 Tasso123 Tennyson219 Tennyson *225 Tennyson236 Tennyson595 Tennyson701 Tennyson *702 Tennyson757 Tennyson *541 Thain Way4148 Thain Way*35 Tulip1021 University1520 University3307 Vernon148 Walter Hays155 Walter Hays156 Walter Hays *157 Walter Hays204 Walter Hays461 Washington555 Washington580 Washington159 Waverley844 Waverley990 Waverley1019 Waverley *1617 Waverley1644 Waverley *1826 Waverley1861 Waverley1910 Waverley1932 Waverley2174 Waverley2261 Waverley2250 Waverley224 Webster739 Webster1320 Webster1633 Webster1940 Webster2001 Webster2091 Webster *2133 Webster*2145 Webster2333 Webster3540 Whitsell635 Wildwood *1265 Wilson849 Wintergreen*number of times resold

[email protected]

CarolAndRosemary.com

1550 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA 94025

apr.com

CarolCarnevale

RosemarySquires

NicoleAron

The Art of Real The Art of Real Estate

400OVER

PROPERTIES SOLD IN

Uncompromising dedicationto serving our clients

Mutual trust and respect

Long-lasting relationships

Unmatched experience

Discover the difference perfectedwith over 400 sold homes in Palo Alto!

Carol, Rosemary and Nicoleg


Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

1190 Trinity Drive, Menlo Park5-bedroom updated contemporary home with

spectacular views and pool


Coldwell Banker

#1 Coldwell Banker agent in

Northern California

650 329 6645

[email protected]

tomlemieux.com

F O R S A L E

Atherton

Updated Lindenwood single-level 4-bedroom home

C O M I N G S O O N

Menlo Park

Desirable Allied Arts neighborhood; two-story 4-bedroom home with pool

Atherton

Newly constructed 5-bedroom home on 1-acre in west Atherton

1155 Saxon Way, Menlo ParkCompletely updated and beautifully appointed

4-bedroom home on cul-de-sac


F O R S A L E

21 Marymont Avenue, Atherton1-year new, 5 bedrooms, pool, excellent Las Lomitas School District


S O L D

475 Cotton Street, Menlo ParkNew construction by Laurel Homes in prime west Menlo Park


S O L D

A Palo Alto Weekly and Almanac Publication FALL€¦ · Nancy Flood Transaction Specialist Don...

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Transcript of A Palo Alto Weekly and Almanac Publication FALL€¦ · Nancy Flood Transaction Specialist Don...