I found a 3 bedrooms 2 baths home for 1203 sqft home with lot 5978 sqft at901 Gerard way San Jose was closed for $620K August 1 2006 now at the market as the bank owned property since June 24 2008 only asking $310,000.

If you jump the conclusion that the Silicon Valley homes dropped 50% then you are totally wrong.

If you jump the conclusion that the Silicon Valley homes dropped 50% then you are totally wrong. Just look at another home at 10674 GRAPNEL  PL CUPERTINO, CA 95014 was closed 11/27/06 for $1.252 Millions. The owner put on the market April this year for $1.399 Millions. No offer is received for 2 months. As June 20 the asking price dropped to 1.15Million then the owner received 12 offers and sold for much over asking price.

The real estate market really depends on the location of the homes. Some area the prices went up and some area value goes down significantly. You may wonder how come some homes price can goes up and the other goes down.

This Cupertino homes is at the best Cupertino schools area ( Monta Vista High ). The homes at the better neighborhood preserved the value.

The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR), has presented scholarship awards to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship.

SILVAR’s scholarship program, now on its ninth year, recognizes students who have exemplified outstanding achievements in academics, extracurricular/employment activities and community involvement. The selection committee included representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and SILVAR.

Students who received scholarships from the Foundation, the schools from which they graduated are Cupertino High, Fremont High, Gunn High, Homestead High, Los Altos High, Los Gatos High, Lynbrook High, Menlo Park Atherta High, Mountain View High, Palo Altos High, Prospect High, Santa Clara High, Saratoga High, Westmont High, Wilcox High and Woodside High.

Cammie Brodie 2008 Chairwoman of the foundation said: “ In our industry, we feel fortunate to be able to give back to the community by providing scholarships to these very deserving students.” I feel the same way

Almost all culinary herb flowers are edible. (Newport News Daily Press/MCT) (MCT)

From time to time when I found flowers on my plates at the trendy restaurant. It looks pretty and yesm the flowers may be edible.

I found the good article named “ Petals on your plate” at today’s SJ Mercury news. It said:

The organically grown plants are the best, and you need to gently rinse the flowers. Avod eating flowers form the florists, nurseries and garden denters also road side flowers. There are some flowers cannot eat: azalea, buttercup, crocus, daffordil, foxglove, hyacinth,iris, oleander, rhododendron, lily of the valley, wisteria and jack in the pulpit.

The edible flowers are

• Calendula also known as pot marigold,  the orange petals were used to color cheddar cheese.
• Daylily  petals ca use in cooking
• Marigold Spicy, herbal or lemon falvor
• Pansy flowers and petals are used in cooking, mild & sweet.
• Rose petals for cooking
• Squash blossoms perfect for stuffing or cut up in a dish.

June is National Homeownership month so it is the perfect time to reflect on how homeownership has enhanced our lives. Every year, the dream of owning a home comes true for thousands of people. Today more than 68% of the population of the

This year is the 40^th anniversary of the historic 1968 Fair Housing Act. On April 11 1968. President Lyndon Johnson urged congress to approve the Fair Housing Act just one week following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a tribute to Dr. King’s legacy and commitment to civil rights. One of Act’s central objectives was to prevent discrimination based on race in the sales or rental of housing. This historic Act has since empowered people from all races and ethnicities to pursure the dream of equal access to housing. But that wasn’t always the case.

This morning Corey Folsom, property Inspector, inspected a Pebble Beach home I just sold. He  gave me  some reading material. I found this article is extremely important for the home sellers. He listed 15 items to prepare a home for the inspection:

1. Secure or remove unruly pets for the time of the inspection.

2. Create clear access to attic, crawlspace, heating , garage and electrical panels.

3. If the house is vacant, make sure that the utilities are on, including water, electric, gas, water heater, furnace, A/C and all electrical breakers.

4. Don’t do cheap, quick repairs. You may raise questions that could unfairly cause concern to inspectors and buyers.

5. Remove grade or mulch from contact with the siding (6″ inches or more).

6. Remove lumber and firewood from contact with the house.

7. Replace any burned out light bulbs.

8. Clean debris from gutters.

9. Divert all water away from the house; downspouts, A/C condensate drain, Grade should slope away from the structure, even under decking.

10. Trim vegetation back from the foundation, roof, siding and chimney.

11. Have the chimney, fireplace or woodstove cleaned and provide the buyer with a copy of the cleaning record.

12. Paint all weathered exterior wood and caulk around trim, chimney, windows and doors.

13. Install metal chimney cap if it is missing.

14. Replace IIVAC filter.

15. Install GFCI outlets at all bath, kitchen and exterior locations.

According to RealtyTrac, lenders repossessed 197,800 homes in the first four months of 2008 vs. 90,800 in that period last year. Banks is in the business of loaning money to earn the interest not owning the real estate. Banks sometimes accept the offers are much less than you might think to get off their books. But buying such properties has drawbacks. From Stephen Gandel of Money Magazine : Here’s 3 tips of buying foreclosure: 1. Use the WebWebsites can help you find foreclosed homes. On Redfin.com, you can do a free search for so-called real estate owned (REO) properties - those for which the bank holds the deed - in Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. (and soon, Chicago). Or you can locate them nationwide on Foreclosures.com or RealtyTrac.com for a subscription fee of $49.95 a month. 2. Use a brokerForget buying directly from the bank (lenders typically deal only with pros) or at auction (you may wind up bidding more than you should). Work with brokers; banks use them to sell most homes. Once you’ve identified which properties are REO, you’ll know those are the ones for which a low-ball offer is more likely to be accepted. 3. Watch out for repair costsLook for houses that have been on the market for more than 90 days and offer Bank-owned houses typically need a lot of work: People facing foreclosure often neglect maintenance and may have swiped fixtures and appliances on their way out. Never buy an REO property without an inspection.I am not agreed with his opinion about looking homes that was on the market over 90 days. In Silicon Valley of Californian (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Campbell, San Jose, Los Gatos, Palo Altos,