Brian Sharp

FREE $1,250 LOWE’S CARD PROGRAM The California Association of Realtors has a new program that can provide qualified California homebuyers a $1,250 Lowe’s Gift Card to purchase appliances for their new residence. This is in effect as of January 8, 2021, but funds are limited, so it’s first come/first served. Here are the qualifications: 1. You must be a First-Time Homebuyer (you can still qualify as a First-Time Homebuyer even if you’ve owned a home before, see the definiti...on below). 2. You must use a California REALTOR to represent you in the transaction. 3. You buy a single-family residence that you will occupy. (You can buy up for a 4-unit building as long as you occupy one of the units.) 4. You get a loan that doesn’t exceed the FHA conforming loan limits (about $822K in Contra Costa County for a regular, one-unit residence). This means investors and cash buyers do NOT qualify. 5. Your agent will complete the application on your behalf and then attach a copy of the purchase contract and final Closing Disclosure Form to verify the transaction. To qualify as a First-Time Homebuyer, you need to meet the following criteria: 1. Have not owned a principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the date of the new purchase. 2. For couples, if one spouse is or was a homeowner but the other was not, both spouses may qualify. 3. A single parent who has only owned a home with a former spouse while married. 4. Someone who has only owned a principal residence that was not attached to a permanent foundation (mobile home). If you meet all of the above, mention this to your agent at closing and have them fill out the paperwork and send it in ASAP to see if you are one of the lucky ones! If you have questions about real estate, call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). Voted Best of Brentwood multiple times. To search the MLS for free, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty. #01245186

REAL ESTATE DESIGN TRENDS PART II For many years buyers were looking for smaller homes closer to work. They weren’t spending much time at home anyways because they were either at work or commuting. And they wanted smaller homes just to have less to maintain and to keep it affordable. But now with so many people working and schooling from home, that’s been flipped on it’s head! Now many buyers want bigger homes with more rooms. They are less worried about commute times and oft...en prefer suburbs over a big city, and there is even a big increase in interest in rural communities over suburbs. We are seeing changes to buyer’s desires for the interior of the home, as well. Many buyers are looking for big, luxurious bathrooms. Glass block bathroom walls used to be a popular way to brighten dark bathrooms by adding natural light, but most buyers don’t really care for them. If your bathroom needs more light, consider adding a skylight or LED lighting which are more efficient than the old bulbs. There is also a move away from traditional tile patterns and buyers are looking for chevron patterns, subway tile or other dramatic patterns. I would caution you to be EXTREMELY careful in this area because when this goes out of style and the traditional tile patterns come back in vogue, this could be an expensive fix! Quartz counters are very popular and granite is less popular. Quartz has more options for getting just the right look you want, although it’s more uniform than granite. Quartz is actually more durable than granite and doesn’t need re-sealing. Buyers still say they prefer hardwood floors, but there are some great new options for luxury vinyl and laminate flooring that look like hardwood but are so much easier to care for, don’t scratch and stand up to water better. So, check out your flooring options first before spending big bucks on hardwood. If you have questions about real estate, call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). Voted Best of Brentwood multiple times. To search the MLS for free, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty. #01245186

REAL ESTATE DESIGN TRENDS Trends come and go in real estate design, just like they do in fashion. These changes are driven partly by the whims of homeowners, partly by new technology and this year the pandemic is having an impact. If you want to keep up with current trends, making changes in décor, paint color and flooring choices are the easiest ones to keep up with. But the trends regarding the layout of your home are MUCH harder to implement as they entail major constructi...on, or moving to a completely different home. Be careful of getting too far away from the traditional floor plan so that your home doesn’t become unsaleable when the trend changes! One of the biggest changes this year is a move away from open-concept floor plans. With the massive shift to work and school at home, people are looking for their own separate space at home for quieter Zoom calls or to focus on their studies or to work out in private. Many teachers are demanding that their students are in a closed room by themselves while they are at school via Zoom. It’s hard to predict just yet if this will be a lasting design change, or just a hot-button topic right now that will fade if and when things go back to normal. There is a big debate in the design industry if the Farmhouse look made so popular by the show Fixer Upper is waning. We may see fewer barn doors, faux-weathered cabinets and shiplap. Although personally I still see these designs being VERY popular locally. There is a similar discussion about white on white kitchens. Many designers are saying that this look has been over-done and that we’ll see more accent colors creeping back into the kitchen, mostly grays. Although other industry experts swear that gray is on the way out and we are going to see a return to browns and beiges. If you have questions about real estate, call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). Voted Best of Brentwood multiple times. To search the MLS for free, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty. #01245186 See more

This doc shows what businesses can be open or closed.

Lockdowns are back. This link will tell you want businesses can be open or not in your county. (Tip - Scroll down after you select the type of business. The screen changes just out of your view depending on what device you are viewing this on.) https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/

1S WITH RV/BOAT PARKING! $549,900 20 Barrington Ct., Brentwood Rare find! One-story at the end of a court with RV/Boat parking! Extended driveway in front of home, in front of RV/Boat parking and behind the gate. Pristine interior! Gleaming wood floors in deep, rich color. Two-tone interior paint in neutral color. Cozy two-sided fireplace between family and living rooms. Dishwasher recently replaced. HVAC system replaced in 2019. Recirculating hot water system means hot wat...er faster! Lovely plantation shutters. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths. 1,702 sq ft. Lot is .17 of an acre. Built in 1992. 2 car garage. FOR MORE PICTURES GO TO: https://www.sharphomesonline.com/listing-detail/1035297993

ON THE MARKET DURING HOLIDAYS? So every year in the past, I would tell people that unless they REALLY need to be moving in January, you normally don’t want to put your home on the market in the week around Thanksgiving, or the last two weeks of December. Normally, people are busy shopping, traveling to visit family and just thinking of everything but real estate. In years past, I would see very few homes come on the market during these times, then we see a bit of a spike in i...nventory during the first 10 days of January. Well, this year has been anything BUT normal! Due to the COVID shut-downs that started in March, our market seized up for a while. Within a few months things thawed out where we started seeing a healthy number of transactions again. There was a big pent-up surge of buyers that came out of that delay, and that continues now. With rates being low, and inventory being even lower, and prices appreciating, Buyers are still eager to buy homes. It’s also likely that fewer people will be traveling this year due to COVID. So, my point is that I think sales are going to be brisk this Holiday season. If you are thinking of selling your home I think there will still be buyers looking all through the Holidays. If the right home comes on the market, buyers will come look. Now, I still wouldn’t recommend putting your home on the market on December 23 if you can avoid it! But this year’s December will be different than Decembers in the past. However, if you really don’t have a time deadline to meet, at the moment it looks like 2021 is still going to be a Seller’s market. Assuming that the more extreme COVID lock-downs don’t happen again and crater the economy again. If you have questions about real estate, call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). Voted Best of Brentwood multiple times. To search the MLS for free, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty. #01245186