Home & Real Estate on 5/20/11; previous sale 7/69, $86,000 180 Farm Road Aurora Loan Services to Brett Trust for $2,250,000 on 5/26/11 639 Yosemite Court Yosemite Court Limited to C. & J. Eder for $2,100,000 on 5/24/11
FORECLOSURES Foreclosures are provided by California REsource, a real estate information company that obtains the information from the County Recorder’s Office. The date is the recorded date of the deed when the lender took title to the property. The price is what the lender paid for it (usually the mortgage balance plus foreclosure fees). Each property is now owned by the lender and is for sale, or will be for sale soon, individually or through public auction. Individuals should contact a Realtor for further information.
East Palo Alto 2287 Capitol Ave. Post Apple Limited, 5/25/11, $220,500, 1,220 sf, 3 bd 100 Green St. Bank of New York, 6/03/11, $616,500, 1,120 sf, 2 bd 1060 Myrtle St. US Bank, 5/25/11, $201,666, 770 sf, 2 bd
Menlo Park 1376 Madera Ave. Polymathic Properties, 5/25/11, $289,000, 1,140 sf, 3 bd
Mountain View 500 W. Middlefield Road #70 California Housing Finance, 6/15/11, $282,287, 564 sf, 1 bd
Palo Alto 4250 El Camino Real #D237 California Housing Finance, 6/10/11, $405,354, 885 sf, 1 bd 461 West Meadow Drive Pacific Realty Investment Group, 6/15/11, $537,300, 1,152 sf, 2 bd
Redwood City 43 Central Ave. US Bank, 6/02/11, $396,000, 1,720 sf, 2 bd 431 Douglas Ave. Post Apple Limited, 5/24/11, $189,900, 730 sf, 2 bd 1635 Kentfield Ave. California Housing Finance, 6/03/11, $662,818, 1,530 sf, 3 bd 2020 Madison Ave. Mynt Real Estate Opportunity Fund, 5/19/11, $540,000, 1,360 sf, 3 bd 1617 Middlefield Road OWB Reo Limited, 6/08/11, $305,006, 1,170 sf, 3 bd
Sunnyvale 973 E. Duane Ave. IMPAC Secured Trust, 2/07/11, $365,500, 1,050 sf, 3 bd 516 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Bac Home Loans, 6/10/11, $460,800, 1,427 sf 575 Fir Ave. Pacific Realty Investment Group, 6/15/11, $372,000, 1,007 sf, 3 bd 521 Porpoise Bay Terrace #B CitiGroup Mortgage, 6/13/11, $589,496, 1,480 sf, 2 bd 1121 Reed Ave. #C JP Morgan Chase Bank, 5/19/11, $255,390, 1,215 sf, 3 bd
BUILDING PERMITS Palo Alto 2695 Middlefield Road K. Haley, minor tenant improvements, $15,000 440 Cowper St. Thoits Brothers, install parking access control, $55,000 510 Jefferson Drive Y. Lin, replace windows and doors, $6,000 4081 Park Blvd. J. Pickering, kitchen remodel, $35,000 1801 Page Mill Road Lionstone, renovate existing restrooms, $89,407 1600 University Ave. C. Schneiderman, add new bath, $20,000 1841 Page Mill Road Orchard Commercial, demolition of nonstructural walls and floors, $n/a
Bob Kamangar has so far SOLD over $20M in 2011.
Garden tips for July How to change your gardener — or not by Jack McKinnon
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hanging gardeners is one of the biggest problems I hear in my profession. My clients want their yards better cared for and don’t know how to get their gardener to do the job. They often have had the same gardener for years and the property stays exactly the same or declines. This month I will list some practical methods for making the changes needed to upgrade the service you are getting. 1. Communicate openly with everybody. It is not helpful to just fire or hire someone without your partner, spouse, children, parents or gardener knowing what is going on. It only leads to problems later on. 2. Make a list of what you expect your gardener to do. Of course, if you have a written contract, this list will be on it. This includes mowing, blowing, regular maintenance, planting, pruning, lawn renovation, irrigation repair, fertilizing, weeding and any replanting due to loss. 3. Evaluate the care and maintenance that has been ongoing up to now and score them. This can be a grade A to F or a scale 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. 4. If you are not satisfied with what your property looks like, make a de-
cision whether or not you are ready to change. This can be difficult if it has been the same for years. The list above can help as can the grades above. The bottom line is you and your decision. Set a date. 5. If you need a translator, arrange this beforehand. You provide the translator. This way you have someone who already knows your feelings and has previewed the property with you. I speak a very little of several languages but always rely on translators if I want to get a message across. 6. If you are considering letting go of your gardener, the best process I have found is to communicate your list of tasks and the grades you gave them. Present the tasks needed as being more than the gardener has managed to complete. If this is written, it may be easier to communicate. 7. If the talk with the gardener has the gardener promising to do better, and you want to give him or her another chance to prove his or herself,
then set a time period to see results. I think a month is a good indicator of whether the new changes will work. Communicate that you will re-evaluate in that period of time. 8. If it is not working, say it like that: “It is not working.� This is business and needs to be treated like business. If a severance is in order then one to three months’ pay is generous. If references are in order, give them fairly and honestly. Never offer criticism when diplomacy is in order. 9. For hiring a new or replacement gardener, get several estimates. Make a list of tasks to be done, ask for references, check out the references. Give a probation period followed by an evaluation — say three months — then on a regular basis. After they have proven reliable, it is appropriate to take a walk through the garden with them once a year. 10. Gardening is a skill that some have and some don’t. We want our gardens to have the best care they can get. Good gardeners are a valuable resource, and not-so-good gardeners need to learn how to be better gardeners. Let’s grow gardeners as well as gardens. Everybody will be better off for it. Good gardening. N Garden coach Jack McKinnon can be reached at 650-455-0687 (cell), by email at jack@jackthegardencoach.com. Visit his website at www.jackthegardencoach.com.
BO B’S NEW L I S TI N G S !
1 2 8 4 5 L A V I DA R E AL , L O S A LTOS H ILLS
Bob was the founder and owner of a successful local brokerage, Kaman Properties, established in 1996. He has recently decided to join Sereno Group to be a part of their energetic company culture and to leverage their creative and robust marketing platforms.
o (IGH -&! AND -$! (UGE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE %STATE (OME
Bob Kamangar and Sereno Group - An unbeatable combination!
o %XISTING "EDROOM "ATH HOME WITH APPROX S F LIVING SPACE
o -OSTLY ĂšAT ACRE LOT ON QUIET CUL DE SAC STREET
o /FFERED AT
3 8 4 4 L A S E LVA D R I V E , PALO A LTO
BOB K A M A N GA R Broker Associate, Attorney, General Contractor
Cell (650) 245-0245 bob@serenogroup.com www.BobKamangar.com DRE# 01229105 4HIS INFORMATION WAS SUPPLIED BY RELIABLE SOURCES 3ALES !SSOCIATE BELIEVES THIS INFORMATION TO BE CORRECT BUT HAS NOT VERIÙED THIS INFORMATION AND ASSUMES NO LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS ACCURACY "UYERS SHOULD INVESTIGATE THESE ISSUES TO THEIR OWN SATISFACTION
o "EDROOM "ATH (OME WITH APPROX S F LIVING SPACE o "UILT IN RECENTLY UPDATED WITH REÙNISHED HARDWOOD ÚOORS AND NEW CARPETS o ,ARGE LOT OF S F WITH PRIVATE BACKYARD o /FFERED AT
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