BQrent

Pg 7 rent

Beautiful freeCampgrounds

Within a few hour's drive from the Bay Area are numerous beautiful free campgrounds.

Here are a few with which Ron Porter and his family are familiar:

1. Beyond Hull Creek Campground in the Stanislaus National Forest about 12 miles southeast of Long Barn on Highway 108 above Sonora. The elevation is slightly over 5000 feet, and the temperature is much milder than the hot valley between the Bay Area and Sonora. There are several pay campsites in a secluded meadow at Hull Creek, a favorite for off-roaders and it is open year around. A few miles farther down the road, take a left at a sign saying Trout Creek for some free campsites and a nice wading stream for the kids. There are other signs taking you to the Clavey River for additional campsites.

On the way there stop at the MiWok Ranger Station during regular business hours to get a fire permit. You should have with you a tree handsaw, an axe and a shovel whenever you plan to build a campfire in a national forest. Their phone number is 209-586-3234. You might ask for a map of the area. There are literally hundreds of places in this part of the forest where you can pitch your tent. If you are a tenter, it's a good place to go on a long holiday weekend when you have no reservations elsewhere.

2. China Camp in the Los Padres National Forest near the departure point to the Ventana Wilderness off the Carmel Valley Road quite some distance southeast of Carmel. From the Carmel Valley Road take Cauchuga Road, then the unsurfaced Jamesburg/Tassajara Road. There are several campsites, a pit toilet and no running water. The elevation is slightly over 4000 feet. The fog that comes up from the ocean at night will cause rain under tall trees . Watch where you pitch your tent.

Please note that we like secluded quiet areas in national forests where there are not likely to be many people; where you can usually just go and there will be a campsite (even on the 4th of July); where you can build a campfire (contact a ranger station for permit requirements); where you can just kickback, wind down and relax; and where it is free. This usually means boring, unless you have to have activities other than walking, wading or riding a bicycle. Most of our favorite places are for tenters, fairly remote on long winding gravel or dirt roads where trailers or large RVs are not advisable.

FOR RENT

We do not manage any rental property and we do not help people find a place to rent. As much as we would like to please everyone, we just do not have the time. We recognize that most people moving into the San Francisco Bay area prefer to rent for awhile before buying a home. Here are some links that will give you lots of rental information:

All Apartments

Apartments For Rent Magazine

Renters Digest Magazine

RentSearch a growing collection of apartment phone numbers here and across the country

San Francisco Rent Board

Tenants Rights book by Nolo Press

Yahoo Rental Classifieds

We Rent

Zell Associates, Inc. (Prop Mgmt) - SJ

Having a Hard Time Finding a Place to Rent?

Here are a couple ideas that some people find useful when they are at their wits-end trying to find a place to rent here in the San Francisco South Bay area. We hope you find them helpful.

The San Jose Mercury-News has the best selection of rentals.

Drive the neighborhoods and look for signs... don't rely solely on the newspaper.

Additionally, you should get some mild success posting information on local bulletin boards and weekly newspapers. Many landlords are retired people who read all the local stuff in detail.

If that doesn't work and you can't find what you want, think about buying a home. Low interest rates combined with tax deductions are making it easy to buy quite a variety of homes at not much more than what it now costs you to rent. And loans are such that zero down payments are possible. The money you were going to spend on 1st and last month's rent plus deposit may very well take care of closing costs, depending on what and where you want to buy.

Contracts - Contracts - Contracts

(A brief discussion of the California Association of Realtors(R) Buyer-Broker Agreement and Real Estate Purchase Contract)

The Buyer-Broker Agreement that we use is the standard 2-page form AA-14 put out by the California Association of Realtors(R). Contact us for a copy and a brief overview.

FAQ's

1) Do we lock clients into long contracts? No; 30 days is OK; 90 days is average.

2) Do we charge hefty upfront fees? No; We charge no upfront fees.

3) How much out-of-pocket will our fees cost you? So far, nobody has been required to pay a penny extra. It is like a free service similar to that of ordinary agents regarding fees.

4) Are our fees negotiable? Yes, fees are negotiable with us, as well as with all ordinary agents.

5) Is it possible to structure our fees so that we are rewarded for negotiating a lower price? Yes. Several clients have done this, but it is not necessary. You will get our best efforts either way.

There are important reasons why we have a written agreement with our clients:

1) As a client, instead of a customer, a higher fiduciary duty of loyalty and confidence exists. This is of such importance to what's in the best interest of the consumer that the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents requires it in our Standards of Practice. In fact, you will find it in our motto, "Above all is the Consumer". For a more detailed explanation of what we do to make you a satisfied client, go to our CARLOAD page.

2) The agreement basically structures the fee and formalizes a commitment of loyalty between both parties. California law allows us to draw our fee from the transaction as offered by the listing agent without subagency or any other obligation to the sellers, other than fair play. This allows us to structure our fees so that it will typically cost you nothing, similar to the way ordinary agents do it. Our commitment of loyalty to each other in the agreement allows us to show you many properties not normally shown by ordinary agents, one of the more significant aspects of services described in our CARLOAD of responsibilities. There are other reasons, such as negotiating repairs after the sale, and too many others to list here.

The Purchase Contracts that we use are the standard California Association of Realtors(R) "Real Estate Purchase Contract and Receipt for Deposit" forms (Note: Ask for a copy of the form so you will be somewhat familiar with it by the time you are ready to make your first offer):

DR-14 Four page form

DL-14 Eight page form

DLF-14 Eight page form

DLL-14 Five page form for lots and land

MHD-14 Four page form for mobile homes

When purchasing foreclosures owned by HUD or VA, we use the following forms:

HUD-9548 one page form

26-6705 one page form for VA

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HomeBuyer Agents, Inc.

408-524-0624 650-755-0102 831-338-1512 510-475-1810 415-513-4470 925-465-6170

Email: buyerbroker@sbcglobal.net

Contact us for homes Not found on MLS; ask for free CD: "Avoiding Costly Mistakes in the HomeBuying Process";
Find Best Buyer's Agent for You where you want to buy

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