Maintenance

Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond

  • Deep Market Knowledge
  • Analytical, Strategic, Creative
  • Honest, Adept, Direct

“Marilyn is exceptional. Her knowledge base, enthusiasm for her job, professional ethics, organization, sensitivity to our aesthetic requirements, loyalty and gentle perseverance set her apart.”

-- Bill and Carol Seidel

Marilyn Garcia, PhD

Marilyn Garcia, PhD Broker Associate, Realtor® CA DRE LICENSE #01355514

The Grubb Company 1656 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Direct: (510) 390-5406

SEWER LATERALS AND DRAINAGE

Sewer Laterals and Drainage    We’ve had a number of office discussions about water-related issues since the first “atmospheric river” passed our way, and I heard something about sewer laterals that I wanted to pass along. A sewer lateral is the underground pipe that takes wastewater from your home to the city sewer line. You probably know that when you sell a home in Berkeley, the sewer lateral needs to be brought up to current standards, either before or soon after a sale, unless there is a compliance certificate already on file. The reason this is a requirement is not to [...]

By |December 17th, 2021|Berkeley, General Interest, Maintenance, Resources|

RESOURCEFUL

RESOURCEFUL     I try to recycle as much as possible, but I pretty frequently find myself staring at something trying to figure out what to do with it. I recently downloaded the “Resourceful” app to my phone, and I really like it! [If a phone app is not your thing, you can get the same information online at ResourcefulApp.com.] On Resourceful, you can look at various products, and see recycling information that is specific to Berkeley, and also ideas for more sustainable alternatives. Resourceful also has a useful general guide to recycling in Berkeley.  Here are a few tidbits about [...]

By |September 30th, 2021|Berkeley, General Interest, Maintenance, Resources|

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?

What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it? “We’ve learned from recent fires. Hardening your home and keeping the 5 feet closest to your house clear of flammable materials (including patio furniture and décor) greatly improves its chance of surviving a fire.”  CALIFORNIA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL Fire hardening is making changes to an existing home to make it more resistant to wildfire.  According to the Fire Safe Council, your home can catch fire in 3 main ways:  from ember storms, where small pieces of burning material are blown in front of a fire (embers can apparently [...]

HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS

HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS I spend a lot of time looking at light fixtures and choosing bulbs, because replacing light fixtures is one of the most cost-effective ways to create an updated look in a home for sale. Choosing LED bulbs is surprisingly complicated, but here’s the step-by-step process that I use: 1: Figure out what shape bulb you need (including the size of the bulb and the type of socket). 2: Make sure to get bulbs for enclosed fixtures if your fixture is enclosed. 3:  Choose the color temperature. (I always go for 2700K, which is like an [...]

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why should you pull a permit for work done on your home?

Why should you consider pulling a permit for work done on your home? The #1 reason you should get a permit if you’re having work done on your home that requires it is the obvious one: it’s required by law, and you can have problems with the City if they discover you don’t have a permit, either as the work is being done, or after the fact.  That said, it’s definitely the case that many homes in our area have work that was done without permits.  Homeowners choose to skip permits for a variety of reasons, including the cost of [...]

SEWER LATERALS AND DRAINAGE

Sewer Laterals and Drainage   

We’ve had a number of office discussions about water-related issues since the first “atmospheric river” passed our way, and I heard something about sewer laterals that I wanted to pass along.

A sewer lateral is the underground pipe that takes wastewater from your home to the city sewer line. You probably know that when you sell a home in Berkeley, the sewer lateral needs to be brought up to current standards, either before or soon after a sale, unless there is a compliance certificate already on file.

The reason this is a requirement is not to address waste leaking from the laterals into the ground.  Instead, the issue they’re targeting is rainwater entering through cracks in older sewer laterals, which is then carried to the wastewater treatment plant, where it can overwhelm the system.

At a recent office meeting, John Karnay (one of the owners of the Grubb Company) pointed out that some old, cracked sewer laterals could be functioning as de-facto French drains, letting rainwater in and carrying it away from the property. If that was the case, when the lateral is replaced, that drainage channel would be gone (because the rainwater can’t get in when the pipe is no longer cracked), and so it’s possible some properties with new laterals could see water building up in new places.

This is mostly theoretical, but it’s not a bad idea to keep an eye on your property’s drainage for a while after the sewer lateral has been replaced.

 

By |December 17th, 2021|Categories: Berkeley, General Interest, Maintenance, Resources|Tags: , , , , , |

RESOURCEFUL

RESOURCEFUL    

I try to recycle as much as possible, but I pretty frequently find myself staring at something trying to figure out what to do with it. I recently downloaded the “Resourceful” app to my phone, and I really like it! [If a phone app is not your thing, you can get the same information online at ResourcefulApp.com.]

On Resourceful, you can look at various products, and see recycling information that is specific to Berkeley, and also ideas for more sustainable alternatives. Resourceful also has a useful general guide to recycling in Berkeley.  Here are a few tidbits about Berkeley recycling  I picked up from the app:

(1) You should not put things smaller than your fist (approximately) in the recycling bin, because they can’t be sorted.  However, caps to plastic bottles, if attached to the bottle, are okay.

(2) Compostable plastic (labeled #7, PLA, or compostable) needs to go into the compost bin, rather than the plastic recycling bin.  If it gets mixed into the regular bin, it can contaminate the batch.

(3) Anything that consists of mixed material (like a disposable razor that’s plastic and metal) is not recyclable.

(4) Paper towels with food on them can go in the compost, but a paper towel with Windex or other non-compostable cleaning product on it has to go in the trash.

By |September 30th, 2021|Categories: Berkeley, General Interest, Maintenance, Resources|Tags: , , , , , |

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?

What is home fire hardening, and do I need to do it?

“We’ve learned from recent fires. Hardening your home and keeping the 5 feet closest to your house clear of flammable materials (including patio furniture and décor) greatly improves its chance of surviving a fire.”  CALIFORNIA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL

Fire hardening is making changes to an existing home to make it more resistant to wildfire.  According to the Fire Safe Council, your home can catch fire in 3 main ways:  from ember storms, where small pieces of burning material are blown in front of a fire (embers can apparently travel more than a mile!) and create spot fires when they land;  from radiant heat, where the heat from nearby burning plants or structures is so intense that it can ignite a house without direct contact (this is especially problematic in densely populated areas, where homes are close together); and from direct flame, which can enter a home when plants under windows burn, breaking the glass and allowing the fire inside the home.

If your home was built in 2010 or later, your home should be pretty “hard”, because building codes were changed then to include hardening requirements.  Most of the homes around here are much older than that, but even if you have an older house, you’re not required make changes for the sake of fire hardening.  It is worth considering, though, given the massive fires we’ve seen around the state in recent years.

Since the start of 2021, there is a new disclosure requirement related to fire hardening for sellers of properties that are located in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone (and that were built before 2010).  Sellers of those properties are required to disclose to buyers if a home has certain features that make it more susceptible to wildfire and flying embers.  The features are: (1) eave, soffit, and roof ventilation where the vents have openings in excess of 1/8” or are not flame and ember resistant; (2) roof coverings made of untreated wood shingles or shakes; (3) combustible landscaping or other materials within 5 feet of the home or under the footprint of any attached deck;  (4) single pane or non-tempered glass windows; (5) loose or missing bird stopping (which closes off the open ends of tiles on a tile roof) or roof flashing; and (6) rain gutters without metal or noncombustible gutter covers.

You’re only required to disclose vulnerabilities that you know of, and only if the property is in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, and of course only if you’re selling.  However, it’s a good starter list for all of us to consider for improving the fire safety of our homes, even if they’re not going to be for sale.

A state map showing fire hazard zones can be found at https://egis.fire.ca.gov/FHSZ/.  You can zoom in on Berkeley and find a specific property, or look at the boundaries of what they consider the red VHFHSZ (Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone) area.

For more information on fire hardening, check out ReadyForWildfire.org.

HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS

HOW TO CHOOSE LED BULBS

I spend a lot of time looking at light fixtures and choosing bulbs, because replacing light fixtures is one of the most cost-effective ways to create an updated look in a home for sale. Choosing LED bulbs is surprisingly complicated, but here’s the step-by-step process that I use:

1: Figure out what shape bulb you need (including the size of the bulb and the type of socket).

2: Make sure to get bulbs for enclosed fixtures if your fixture is enclosed.

3:  Choose the color temperature. (I always go for 2700K, which is like an old incandescent light, or 3000K, which is a bit whiter, like a halogen bulb.)

4:  Choose the brightness (measured in lumens, but most bulbs also relate the brightness to that of old incandescents, like 60W, 75W, or 100W equivalents).

5:  Look for bulbs with a high CRI (Color Reproduction Index).  I always look for bulbs with a CRI of 90 or higher.

6:  If the fixture is on a dimmer switch, make sure the bulbs are dimmable, and that your dimmer switch is LED-compatible (if it’s not fairly new, it probably isn’t).

It is very complicated, so you can also choose to avoid all this by going into a local lighting or hardware store, and getting someone knowledgeable to help you. Once you know what the right bulb is, it’s much easier to pick up replacements or order them online!

 

REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why should you pull a permit for work done on your home?

Why should you consider pulling a permit for work done on your home?

The #1 reason you should get a permit if you’re having work done on your home that requires it is the obvious one: it’s required by law, and you can have problems with the City if they discover you don’t have a permit, either as the work is being done, or after the fact.  That said, it’s definitely the case that many homes in our area have work that was done without permits.  Homeowners choose to skip permits for a variety of reasons, including the cost of a permit, the additional property taxes that might be triggered, the possibility that the work might not be allowed by the city for zoning or code reasons, etc..

Here are the top three reasons to consider getting a permit, though, beyond just that you’re supposed to do it:

(1) It’s good to have an external check on the work being done.  Note that having a permit and the related inspections is not a guarantee that everything is done correctly, but at least someone with some knowledge is looking things over.

(2) If you’re adding square footage, and/or bedrooms and baths, the new space won’t have as much value in a sale if it is not permitted.  An appraiser looking at a property doesn’t give full value to space if it’s not included in the public record and you can’t show that it was added with permits.  Likewise, buyers may not value the space as highly because of potential issues with the appraisal, and because they may be uncertain about the quality of the work done.

(3) A permit sets the clock for the building code when the work is done.  Suppose you add a bathroom without a permit, and the city discovers this at some later date.  Possible outcomes could be that they require that the bathroom be removed, or that the work be inspected and brought up to current code and requirements.  Even if the work was done really well, and complied with all building codes and zoning requirements at the time it was completed, those codes and requirements may have changed, and past work without a permit is not “grandfathered in” (i.e. allowed to stay because it conformed with past regulations).  And, even if the codes or zoning have not changed, you still might be required to open up walls and undo things so that the underlying work can be inspected.

To permit or not to permit?  I leave you to decide.  One last thought though.  If you are having work done with a permit, be sure to follow up with your contractor, and get a copy of the final inspection sign-off after the work is done.  When I look at the online permit record for a particular property, I often see records for permits that were pulled, but never finaled.  Sometimes the work was not completed, but many other times, the final city inspection was never done, or the city’s database doesn’t show that final inspection.  By getting a copy of the final sign-off from your contractor, you know that the final inspection was done and passed, and you can prove it if something gets lost in the city records.

Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond

  • Deep Market Knowledge
  • Analytical, Strategic, Creative
  • Honest, Adept, Direct

“Marilyn is exceptional. Her knowledge base, enthusiasm for her job, professional ethics, organization, sensitivity to our aesthetic requirements, loyalty and gentle perseverance set her apart.”

-- Bill and Carol Seidel

Marilyn Garcia, PhD

Marilyn Garcia, PhD Broker Associate, Realtor® CA DRE LICENSE #01355514

The Grubb Company 1656 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Direct: (510) 390-5406

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