The Real Estate Agent That Loves Food.

On my way to list a property in Hayward, there was one thought that dominated as I drove to meet with the sellers of the property. When I first started in Real Estate, I used to mentally rehearse my listing presentation. But my 20 years in Real Estate have changed all that.

I realized that there was only one thing I could think about. "I wonder if they're going to offer me something to eat?", after all, it is close to dinner time. Alas, I have become like one of Pavlov's dogs. You see, people of various cultures, love to be hospitable with food, and of course since I usually meet with people after their work, it just so happens to be close to their dinner time. ( What a coincidence). Any way, because this is a culturally diverse community, I have been treated to many interesting foods from around the world, that people cook in their homes.

And yes, I lucked out, my Hayward listing was no exception. The sellers are a Latin family, and as the children sat around the table, in the middle of the table was a "molcajete", that is a pig shaped container with a pestle to make fresh salsa. And the fragrance of the fresh salsa, yes, I'll admit, it made my mouth water.

Right in front of me she ground up a fresh salsa, with fresh tomatoes, small green chili's, a clove of garlic some salt and lime juice. The smell of home made corn tortillas also permeated the air.

And so we ate beef steak taquitos with home made tortillas and fresh homemade salsa. And after an enjoyable friendly conversation during dinner, we turned to the business at hand and they signed the listing agreement.

Honestly, I'm not a gluten, I actually enjoy cooking, its one of my hobbies. I enjoy learning about ethnic foods and sharing good food with others. Getting the listing is good too.

A Plus Properties and Loans also Provides Home Decor

Just in time for the Holidays, A Plus Properties and Loans will soon have a variety of Home and Garden decor items available. Our first items to offer for sale are custom made electrical wall plates.

Custom made wall plates make your home special, by letting you customize your home and give each room in your home, your very own special private signature.

Why decorate your room and then add just a plain old electrical wall plate? What ever color or theme your room is, we can provide you with a very special electrical wall plate cover.

Just go to our Home Decor category of A Plus Properties and Loans, and put your order in.

What Do Gardens Have To Do With Real Estate?

Everyone loves gardens, even if they dont know it, there is something alluring about a well manicured and planned garden. Clients always ask me, " What can I do to improve the value of my home"? One of the simplest and most enjoyable things is to plant a garden. For example, mature fruit trees are very popular and generally add value to a property. Gardens are a very special feature of a property, some of my top sellers, have had "park like" backyards. But sometimes even small additions to a back yard are noteworthy by a home buyer.

I remember one time, a seller had made a raised boxed for an herb garden, nothing real big, but tall enough that the family pets wouldnt go potty on the plants. At the close of escrow the sellers wanted to take it, but the buyers objected and said that was one of the items that drew them to the house.

Therefore it really is true that you can never underestimate the value of plants. Even potted plants go a long way in adding beauty and decor to a property.

Whats New In Your Garden?

Gardening this year has been a very pleasant surprise. I found a pot of concord grapes and it was so productive and very flavorable too. I always thought you had to have a vineyard to grow grapes, not so. Not so, a good size pot will do just fine. What a pleasant, and tasty surprise.

I had some other pleasant surprises in my gardent this year, I had several very productive plants, that I didnt even plant, such as corn, sunflower, borage and yellow tomatoes.

I have also discovered the enjoyment of carnations.

And I took a quick class on the medicinal value of South Lake Tahoe native plants, very interesting information. Some clain that Sheep Sorrell has had some success with breast cancer incidences. The information is based on an old Canadian recipe, of course the a bove statement is no claim to a cure, just a notation that some have claimed it has cured some people, but please do not take this info for granted.

How does your Garden Grow?