Unit #4 is currently available for rent. There are 4 separate units in this cul-de-sac four-plex. Built in 1958 and has the flair of the 1950’s
Patio
Each unit is townhouse style with two levels. Living area and kitchen with breakfast bar are on main level. Rear door off of kitchen open on to your private brick patio.
Bathroom
Bathroom
Bedroom with oak hardwood floors and bathroom is on upper level. Sleep under the beamed rafter ceiling with the feeling of being in Tahoe. There’s a tub with a shower in the bathroom.
Stairs to loft bedroom
Loft bedroom
Covered Car-Port
Long established tenants on property. Property comes on the market rarely for rent. Unit #4 also has an assigned 1 car covered car-port with an driveway apron. The apron is large enough to allow for a second car to park in tandem. Also provide is a small storage locker in front of carport for each assigned space
There is also a coin-op laundry room on site. The whole complex is heated by radiant heat and paid for by landlord. It also has a gardener who services the property on a weekly basis. Water, sewer, and garbage is also provided at the landlord’s expense. Tenant’s only expense will be the Electric bill issued by PG&E from the individual meter for each unit.
Front door from loft bedroom Kitchen
Features
Walk to Cal-Train
Walk to downtown Menlo Park
Ride your bike to Stanford University
Ride your bike to Stanford Shopping Center
Walk to the best sandwich at Willow Market
Walk two blocks to Burgess Park swimming pool and Sport Center
Costs:
Rent: $2,195/mo
Security Deposit: $2,500
Available: June 6, 2018
Terms: Offered one year lease
Agent for Landlord during leasing process only DRE#00605874
Knowing why home sellers think curb appealing when selling their homes continue to read. If you are thinking of selling your home in today’s market now is the time to start planning what to do and how to do it. If you do you will sell your home faster, for more money, and with the least amount of hurdles to jump over and through.
First Impressions are important! The old adage “you only get one chance to make a first impression” is always a top consideration when the desired outcome is a quick and successful sale. It what gets that buyers saying as they walk up to your door…”Yal, I can live here”. What do you think they would say about the house to the right?
Smart Home Sellers Think Curb Appealing When Selling to maximize their return on their home investment. With this in mind it stands to reason good curb appeal is a top priority.
Landscaping
Now is the time to prepare for the Spring buyers of your home. One easy and the most bang for your buck is to plant bulb now. Bulbs are beautiful, fun and loved by all who see them. Want to know how to plant and care for bulb plants? The answer can be found on an earlier blog post.
What about paint?
Another first impression hot button would be the front door. If possible replace it. This is not always practical and can be very costly. The alternative is to paint it. When you paint it choose a color that is fun and compliments the color of the house. Be sure to prepare the door by sanding, filling any cracks or holes, sand some more, and add a good primer to help seal and prepare the door’s surface for a good quality paint. If your front door knob or dead bolt should be polished and operative. If they are in disrepair and can be fixed be sure to do so. It may be easier to simply install a new quality knob and lock. Make sure the finish you choose does not clash with your other components like the hinges.
Other helpful hints
Make sure your driveway is clear and in good condition
Clearing your driveway of extra cars is always a plus for good curb appeal. What would think if you walked up to a home you were thinking about buying and you saw this scene to the left? I would want to buy that house either. Finally, make sure the doorbell works properly. In some community building codes requires you to have a lighted house number, which is a good idea for help from emergency services like the fire department and ambulances. With just a little forethought this effective changes to your home will give it the chance it needs to compete with other like homes on the market at the same time. You will stand out and be looked at more favorable because it will have color from mature flowers and a front door that will pop and say, Welcome.
What to do next?
There are other tips on this blog about real estate and how you can do other inexpensive things to upgrade your home that will show a positive impression to home buyers in your community like Redwood City and San Carlos. If you find this information informative and would like to receive Redwood City real estate updates on a regular basis you can fill in your email address over there on the right to receive a Free Newsletter.
If you want notification about homes you are looking to buy you can click the “Register Today” orange button to the right and give the criteria of the home you would like to purchase. I will arrange for your own personal organizer. It will generate results sent to you when a new home matching your criteria comes on to the market.
You will have information within 4 hours of this information being placed in the Multiple Listing Service, (MLS), which is about as fast as I receive this information. Additionally, feel free to friend/like me on any of the social networks listed below. If you’re old fashion, (and that is a good thing too!), or in a hurry please feel free to call/text (650) 346-7366, or email from the phone numbers and address listed below. Don’t allow your money to just fly out the window. Home Sellers Think Curb Appealing When Selling and you will save time and money.
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Palm Sunday is the day when Christians celebrate the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey. This event took place one week before Jesus’s death. And his resurrection three days later, as told in the Christian’s Holy Bible.
Furthermore, most Christians believe Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. The 5th week of Lent,
What happened the first Holy Week?
Because in the Holy Bible it is written Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Greeted by a crowds of people waving palm branches at him. Additionally, the dirt road being traveled by Jesus was covered with palm branches by his followers. Because this was the method of the day to show homage in addition to submission for Jesus as their promised Messiah.
What happens in modern day Palm Sunday?
Almost all modern Christians receive a palm leaf in church on Palm Sunday. Because it is a symbol of the remembrance of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. The death of Jesus is believe to be the removal of all sins for mortals. Christian beliefs praise Jesus for his gift of salvation. Today Christians look expectantly to Jesus second coming.
The people of Jerusalem at that time did not see Jesus as a spiritual leader, but instead they saw him as a political leader. He was their Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and restore Israel’s independence. They shouted “Hosanna” meaning “save now”. Large Passover crowds gathered around Jesus and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)
Palm Leaves and Cross
What happened to Jesus when he entered Jerusalem?
Since entering Jerusalem the Romans captured Jesus and made him their prisoner. The Romans put Jesus on trial and found him guilty of his crimes. As a result Jesus was order to be Crucified. As a result, Roman soldiers made Jesus, as was custom, carry his cross, on his shoulders all the way where he was to be hung. He carried the cross to a field with others criminals of the state. While approaching the field, Jesus saw the other convicted criminals nailed to their cross. Jesus was about to experience the same thing himself.
What is Crucifixion?
Crucifixion is an ancient form of execution. A criminal’s is Crucified when the victim’s hands and feet are bound to the cross and then nailed to it. Consequently, crucifixion is considered the most horribly painful, and disgraceful methods of capital punishment. The word crucifixion comes from the Latin “crucifixion,” or “crucifixus,” meaning “fixed to a cross.”
As believed today this is the story of Palm Sunday and how and why Christians celebrate it with solemn prayers. I am sure glad in America today we no longer us Crucifixion as a means of capital punishment, Don’t you?
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March is that time of year when we’re tired of the cold, and every warm day makes us want to break free! It’s a great time for spring cleaning and day dreaming. This month’s newsletter is filled with fun information to pass the time while you gear up for warmer weather just around the corner.
This month, you’ll find a selection of useful information, like: • Why your cell phone drains your data, and how to stop it. • A brief history, and a peek at the future of mobile homes. • An exploration of springs (not Spring). • A clever way to cook Brussels sprouts quickly. • And more!
The spring buying and selling season is approaching. If you’re planning to buy or sell a house in 2018, then let’s find a few minutes to talk soon. It’ll help you get your plans ready when the HOT Spring Season begins. Just call and we’ll get together to plan.
Thanks, stay warm, and give me a call! Talk with you soon.
Your friend in the real estate business,
Cliff
Cliff Keith 650-346-7366 Cell/Text Cliff@SFBayHomes.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Find the Strength in Your Weakness Kid-Friendly Exercises March Quiz Question The History of Spring Does Raising Your Phone Improve Reception? Fast Skillet Brussels Sprouts Stop Your Phone from Draining Data What’s 2+2? Should You Pay by Cash or Credit? A Brief History of Mobile Homes How to Hold Keys for Self-Defense
Find the Strength in Your Weakness
Judo Match
A 10-year-old boy had lost his left arm in an accident. He wanted to grow stronger, so he began lessons with a wise judo master. In time the boy improved. But after months of training, he couldn’t understand why the master had taught him only one move.
“Master,” the boy said, “Shouldn’t I learn more moves?” “This is the only move you’ll ever need,” the master replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in the wisdom of his teacher, the boy kept training.More months later, the master took the boy to his first tournament. The boy surprised himself by easily winning all his initial matches. Then came the final match.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy with one arm appeared to be overmatched. Concerned for the boy’s safety, the referee was about to stop the match. But the master intervened. “No,” he said. “Let him continue.” Soon, the boy’s opponent made a critical mistake and dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy won the match and the tournament.
On the way home, the boy summoned the courage to ask, “Master, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons,” the teacher answered. “First, you’ve mastered one of the most difficult throws in judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grip your left arm.”
The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
March Quiz Question
Q: How many time zones are there in the world?
Everyone who texts, emails or calls in the correct answer by the last day of this month will be entered a drawing for a $30 gift certificate to Starbucks
As worries about obesity fill the media, parents are taking more active steps to ensure that their children learn good exercise habits. Here are a few simple child exercise routines from Parenting.com:
Faux Pushups. Have your child get into a raised pushup position. Then say the alphabet, high-fiving your child with each letter (alternating hands).
Sit-ups. Take a ball and lie down facing each other, feet touching. Sit up together and pass the ball to your child at the top of the sit-up, then go back down. Repeat back and forth for as long as you can.
Water balloon walk. Fill a water balloon and have your child hold it between her knees. Then try walking without bursting it or dropping it.
Kid Lunging. Have your child take the longest step he can with one foot, then pause all stretched out. Then stand up and take a step with the other foot. Have him lunge all the way to your car or the park.
Your child lies on the floor, lifts her legs, and moves then in a circular motion like riding a bicycle. Ask her to say “ha-ha-ha” in time with the movements. This can be particularly effective in helping younger kids head off tantrums.
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The History of Spring
Spring is as good a time as any to discuss springs. From ordinary screen door closers to cars’ shock absorbers, we use them every day, but seldom think about what an innovation they were in human history. Did you know that even your tweezers are a form of spring? Anything that stores and then releases mechanical (vs. electrical or magnetic) energy is a spring. In 1676 British physicist Robert Hooke developed Hooke’s law, which states that the force a spring exerts is proportional to its extension.
Spring
One of the first forms of spring was the bow (and arrow). In the Bronze Age, more sophisticated spring devices were developed, in particular tweezers. During the third century B.C., leaf springs were used to operate catapults. In the early 15th century, coiled springs were developed for use in door locks. By the 16th century, tiny coil springs were used in time-pieces, allowing clocks to become portable, eventually becoming watches. Prior to this innovation, weights were used to power time-telling machinery. Springs have been truly one of the engines of modern human progress.
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.—Maya Angelou
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Does Raising Your Phone Improve Reception?
Raising your hand, does it help with phone reception?
We’ve all done it. We’re hiking in the woods, visiting a friend, or shopping in a big box store somewhere, and we can’t get a signal. So, we instinctively raise our phones in the air, as if there were a hidden wave of receptivity floating overhead, if only we could reach it. Does it help?
According to experts, no. There is no connection between cell reception and raising your phone into the air just above your head. Reception is “mostly homogenous” around us, and lifting your arm won’t change this. However, you may get more bars by walking around. Cell reception could be being affected by structures, such as glass doors and metal in walls, so moving away from these blockages can improve reception.
Raising your arm to get better reception can go into the same book as pushing the elevator button repeatedly, an act that doesn’t change the elevator’s programming one bit.
Fast Skillet Brussels Sprouts
These days when people think Brussels sprouts, they think about roasting. But what if you don’t want to wait 30 minutes for your sprouts to roast? Here’s a trick to cut the time by two-thirds. Try it tonight! (And by the way, it really is Brussels sprouts, as in “Brussels, Belgium.”)
Use smallish sprouts and start them in a cold non-stick pan. Forget about preheating your pan. Why? Because if you add the Brussels sprouts to a hot pan with hot oil, the outsides will crisp too quickly and the insides will never cook through. When you start them in a cold pan, however, the searing process takes longer and the veggies have more time to get tender. Here’s how you do it:
Add an even layer of halved Brussels sprouts to a nonstick skillet, cut sides down. Drizzle them all over with olive oil, cover the skillet, and place over medium-high heat. Cook until the sprouts are bright green (about 5 minutes), then uncover and continue to cook until the cut sides are deeply golden (about 2 more minutes). Season them off heat and voila! All that’s left to do is eat them. Done in under 10 minutes instead of 30.
Stop Your Phone from Draining Data
Phones can chew through data without you realizing it. Here’s how to reduce data usage:
Turn off “push notifications.” Go to Settings > Apps > Open each app and check/uncheck the box that says Show (or Allow) Notifications.
Change your Wi-Fi settings. Make sure some services run only over Wi-Fi. Go to Settings > Data Usage > Open each app and check the box that restricts app background data to Wi-Fi only.
Turn off video auto-play. Change your settings in individual apps like Facebook and Instagram so videos do not automatically start playing.
Data-based text services. If you are not connected to Wi-Fi, try not to use apps like WhatsApp, as it uses data to send text messages.
Beware of “free” apps. Free apps can often use up more data than the premium (paid) version, as they generally have more advertisements.
Manually close apps. Pressing the Back or Home button to exit apps does not fully close them. Make sure apps that use GPS (maps) and streaming (YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify) are fully closed. Each phone has a different process for this.
What’s 2+2?
A shifty boss was interviewing applicants for the position of his divisional manager. He devised a simple test to select the most suitable person for the job. He asked each applicant, “What is two and two?”
Smiling Face
The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was “Twenty-two.”
The second applicant was an engineer. She pulled out a slide rule and showed the answer to be between 3.999 and 4.001.
Next came a lawyer. He stated that in the case of Jenkins v Brown, two and two was proven to be four.
The last applicant was an accountant. When asked, “How much is two and two?” he got up, went to the door and closed it, then came back and sat down. He leaned across the desk and said in a low voice…”How much do you want it to be?”
Imagine me as your real estate consultant…
What I do for you is invest my time consulting, negotiating, and organizing the details of your transaction because I want you to have a superb experience that will cause you to want to introduce me to the people you care about most.
The purpose of my business is referrals, which means I must bring the type of value that makes you feel comfortable introducing me to the people you know that need my help.
I thank you sincerely, and so will the people you introduce to me.
Cliff Keith
Should You Pay by Cash or Credit?
Many people believe they should save before buying to avoid debt. However, experts say there is actually no one-size-fits-all answer to the cash-versus-credit question. The answer is actually tied to a series of either/or choices with multiple variables.
For instance, saving up to buy a television or washing machine makes sense, because you avoid interest that adds to the bottom-line price. But what if you need that washing machine now because yours just broke? Debt may be your only option. In this case, it makes sense to save up for voluntary purchases and “reserve” your debt for emergencies.
What if you’re saving for a television, and the price is slated to rise by more than the interest you would have paid to charge it in the first place? Will you save more in the long run by purchasing now? What if the TV is on sale for no money down and 0% interest for 12 months? Will you be able to repay the entire amount in 12 months?
These are typical factors to consider when weighing the pros and cons of your cash-versus-credit decision. The important thing to remember is that credit is not a substitute for savings. Avoid spontaneous purchases, never feel pressured to buy now, and always look at the bigger picture of your finances. Avoid buying on credit based on your belief that your income will rise in coming months or years. Make your purchase based on actual income and savings, not future income.
Have you Heard?
For subscribers to Cliff’s Notes on real estate…ONLY!
Menlo Park Rental: One-Bedroom Loft Apt. 2- Parking Off-street parking, Close to Burgess Park, 4-plex w/on-site laundry $2,700/Mo. Not in MLS
Very desirable area with private patio and large yard. NO pets please
Call me to find out more information on this lovely affordable rental.
A History of Mobile Homes
Mobile homes have a long, rich history across the world. Gypsy and peddler wagons were the first mobile homes, drawn by horses, which dated back at least to the 1500s.
Fast forward to the early 1900s, and the development of the automobile. From there, it was a short jump from horse-drawn covered wagons to mobile-homes. Some innovative early automobile owners literally built houses on top of their early Fords. In the 1940’s came the advent of the camping trailer. And after World War II, the mobile home industry exploded as tens of thousands of returning soldiers and transient workers returned home and needed affordable housing.
By the early 1950s, manufacturers were building a 10-foot wide boxy version that became the staple of the maligned mobile home park. Double-wides debuted in the 1960s.
Throughout this early life of the modern mobile home, there was very little construction or safety oversight. Mobile home parks were allowed to grow organically, with little attention to crowding or other comforts or safety features.
Newsletter March 2018 – 19 Feb 02:34 PM
The combination of poor construction and crowded mobile home parks gave rise to a negative impression of mobile homes that is only recently starting to turn around, especially with the advent of the tiny home movement.
In the 1980s, the mobile home industry was finally regulated by building codes. The industry changed from mobile homes to manufactured homes as a way to distinguish modern construction and safety practices from older mobile home industry practices.
How to Hold Keys for Self-Defense
Many of us are told by our parents to put our keys between our fingers when walking to our cars, especially alone at night. The technique creates a weapon, known as “The Wolverine,” which looks like claws poking from a closed fist. However, self-defense experts say this is not necessarily the best approach. The problem is that if you’re at the point where you’re trying to jab at someone with your fist, they’re already too close to you.
In addition, the edge of your keys can hurt your hand, making you drop your keys. It’s better to hold the keys like a dagger, where you can stab downward. Or hold multiple keys so that one extends both out the top and bottom of your fist.
Cliff’s Notes on real estate…
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Q: What two bows can every girl have near her hand?
I don’t have the foggiest…
A: Her elbows!
This newsletter is intended for entertainment purposes only. Credit is given to the authors of various articles that are reprinted when the original author is known. Any omission of credit to an author is purely unintentional and should not be construed as plagiarism or literary theft.
Copyright 2017 Cliff Keith dba SF Bay Homes with Today | Sotheby’s International Realty. This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical, legal, financial or tax advice. Any and all decisions and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a qualified physician, attorney, financial advisor
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Born Jan. 15, 1929, Atlanta, Ga
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Dr. King died April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn. Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950’s until his death by assassination in 1968. His leadership was fundamental to that movement’s success in ending the legal segregation of African-Americans in the South and other parts of the United States. King rose to national prominence as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
Famous Quote of Dr. King:
I Have A Dream Martin Luther King Jr. Day
“I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s Life
Born Michael King, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr. was the middle child of Michael King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The King and Williams families roots were in rural Georgia. Martin Jr.’s grandfather, A.D. Williams, was a rural minister for years and then moved to Atlanta in 1893. There he took over the small, struggling Ebenezer Baptist church with around 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. He married Jennie Celeste Parks and they had one child that survived, Alberta.
Michael King Sr. came from a sharecropper family in a poor farming community. He married Alberta in 1926 after an eight-year courtship. The newlyweds moved to A.D. Williams home in Atlanta. Michael King, Sr. stepped in a pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church upon the death of his father-in-law in 1931. He too became a very successful minister and adopted the name Martin Luther King, Sr. in honor of the German Protestant religious leader Martin Luther.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
In due time, Michael, Jr. would follow his dad’s lead and adopt the name himself. Young Martin had an older sister, Willie Christine and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. The King children grew up in a secure and loving environment. Martin Sr. was more the disciplinarian, while his wife’s gentleness easily balanced out the father’s more strict hand. Though they undoubtedly tried, Martin Jr.’s parents couldn’t shield him completely from racism. Martin Luther King, Sr. fought against racial prejudice, not just because his race suffered, but because he considered racism and segregation to be an affront to God’s will. He strongly discouraged any sense of class superiority in his children which left a lasting impression on Martin Jr.
Dr. King’s early years
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington DC
Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King, Jr. entered public school at age five. On May, 1936, was the day of his baptism, but the event made little impression on him. In May, 1941, Martin was 12 years old when is grandmother, Jennie, died of a heart attack. The event was traumatic for Martin, more so because he was out watching a parade against his parents’ wishes when she died. Distraught at the news, young Martin attempted suicide by leaping from a second story window at the family home. This information copied from: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086
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Saint Nicholas Day, December 6th. Celebrated mostly in Europe, but is starting to be celebrated here in the United States today.
Who was Saint Nicholas?
Saint Nicholas Day, December 6th
Saint Nicholas, also known as Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic figure who was a saint and a Greek Bishop born in the third century in the village of Patara. Patara is a village that is now on the southern coast of Turkey.
Nicholas was from a wealthy Christian family who obeyed the words of Jesus. Most notably, the words, to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor”. Nicholas took all of his inheritance and did just that…he gave it away to the sick, needy, and the down trodden. Nicholas was made a Bishop of Myra because of his lifelong calling to God at a very young age.
Saint Nicholas was known throughout the land as a helper to those in need, he adored children, and his passion was for sailors and ships.
Roman incarceration
The Romans incarcerated Nicholas for his faith. And he died on December 6, AD 343 in Myra. Because of all he did for the poor Saint Nicholas was honored by naming a special holiday after him called St. Nicholas Day. Observed throughout the world, but only starting to gain grown the United States of America.
What was St. Nicholas’s plan to help?
Saint Nicholas and Black Peter
What Saint Nicholas did, according to stories and legends passed down for centuries. He would arrive in town dressed in a Bishop’s red robe and MITER. St Nicholas brought his helper Black Peter to help him give gifts to the people. The gifts most commonly given were; coins, individual gifts, cakes, and cookies. The children would find their gifts by looking in their shoes or stockings hung from the mantle, that they left out for Saint Nicholas. For the bad children Black Peter leaves lumps of coal, potatoes, or switches.
Widely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas’ feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops begged alms for the poor—and sometimes for themselves! In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds.
European tradition
Saint Nicholas
Gift giving and merrymaking of the day in Europe is on December 6th. In some parts of Europe the 5th of December is the day for Saint Nicholas to arrive. In European Countries like the Netherlands the celebration is observed the eve before December 6th. Worth noting the Dutch celebrate by sharing candies (thrown in the doorways), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. The Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the saint’s horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts.
What was the path others took?
The Dutch who came to America for a new way of life. They took the tradition of Saint Nicholas to New Amsterdam (New York City). They used the Holiday Season Christmas as the way to transform Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus. Escaping their oppression the best they new how the Dutch went to Britain. Eventually, they replaced theirs Saint Nicholas with their new Father Christmas.
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