by Gary Belk | Sep 29, 2013 | Before and After, Blog, Home Improvement, Properties with Potential, San Francisco Real Estate |
by Gary Belk Good ideas for narrow homes: The home in this article is only 10′ wide, makes the SF standard 25′ wide home feel spacious! Other by Washington Architects & Designers KUBE architecture Good ideas for narrow homes: Design Lessons From a 10-Foot-Wide Row House Architecture, interior design, and more ∨Browse living room ideas, from sectional sofas to chandeliers and floor lamps, for your next interior design project. Browse inspiring bedroom design, then outfit your own beds, convertible sofa beds ordaybed with luxury bedding and decorative throws....
by Gary Belk | Apr 25, 2013 | Blog, Home Improvement |
Bush St. Review Before Renovation with your Renovation Realtor Gary Belk from GaryBelk.com A home renovation can involve many decisions and these decisions can be daunting to make on your own. There are homeowners who understand but they either refuse to do a needed home renovation at all, or end up with in an unfortunate situation with their contractor. Here’s were I come in as a renovation consultant and help you organize and make those important decisions. In this second video I share the before pictures of the property with description of what the photo’s are and walk you through on what’s going to be done. If you want to learn more about the planning processed that took place read Bush St. Planning Process Don’t forget to come back and join me next week when we share the pictures of the finished property....
by Gary Belk | Mar 19, 2013 | Before and After, Blog |
Last year a former client called and asked me to help her find a home to buy in Noe Valley. She wanted a home close to her daughter’s school and loved the neighborhood. As you may know, Noe Valley is one of the most competitive real estate environments in San Francisco not to mention one of the more expensive. Her budget was not quite large enough for her to afford a move-in ready home. After a bit of scouting for a property that would work for her I located a home owned by a relocation company. The relo company was located in Texas and did not understand the San Francisco market. They didn’t have the house staged and they priced it above value. In San Francisco nearly every home is staged and the asking prices are usually below market. This marketing is very effective and usually produces multiple offers way over asking. Clearly the relocation company thought they knew best. The house had been on the market for 4 months and even after 2 price reductions it was still not selling. Capitalizing on the fact that the relo company didn’t know what they were doing but insisted on driving the train we were able to make a low offer and buy it for less than market value without competition! The house needed a new kitchen and updates but overall was in good condition. The best feature of the house was the garage/first floor; a huge open space, undeveloped and above ground with direct access to the back garden. I immediately saw the potential and sketched out a plan...
by Gary Belk | Mar 14, 2013 | Blog |
The media is accurately reporting that inventory is at an all-time low, which is why it’s more important than ever to have a real estate agent as your partner in your home buying search. Last week I managed to get two contracts accepted, no small feat in the competitive real estate market of San Francisco! Laura and Cliff were referred to me by clients that I helped buy a home a couple of years ago. They were ready to move to San Francisco from Marin County. When they moved to Marin they thought that the peace and quiet was what they wanted. But, they have both changed jobs, the commute is inconvenient and they miss the activity of the city. My usual process is to find out what a client needs and wants in their new home and then strategically search for homes that meet those requirements. In the case of these clients my strategy was to find a property that was either not on the market publicly (real estate agents call these pocket listings) or, find a property that was flying under the radar of the hoards of other buyers. What I found was a condominium that was flying under the radar. It was listed by an out of town agent (more on why you should always list your home with a local agent in another blog) and was not marketed properly. That is the kiss of death to a listing in San Francisco. Buyers and agents for that matter have come to expect a property to look like something out of the pages of Architectural Digest and...
by Gary Belk | Feb 13, 2013 | Newsletters |
An Adventure in Upscale Interior Design: How to Makeover Your SF Bay Area Apartment In A Weekend! A makeover of the main living space in your apartment can be easily accomplished in a weekend, as I recently helped one of my clients do. Our budget was around $3,000, which is close to a month’s rent in the area where my client lives. We created an ultra upscale look for the money spent and used materials that can be easily removed whenever my client decides to move out to another rental apartment or transition to owning a home of his own Read More of the Original Article Here Our decorating project took the best feature in the room, a wood & tile trimmed fireplace, and really made it stand out, by using a high quality strip-able wall paper that features a striking design from Graham and Brown. My client is pleased with the fact that the wallpaper not only makes a bold statement, but also serves the purpose of distracting the eye away from the mirrored wall. To download a PDF version of this newsletter click here: Adventure in Upscale Interior Design ...
