East Bay Realty Pro Blog

In 1850, California was the 31st state admitted to the Union. The following year Oakland’s first post office opened. It was located in the Oakland House on Broadway, Oakland’s first hotel. Mail was addressed to “Contra Costa” until 1855, when the name Oakland was accepted by postal authorities. For earliest photo of Broadway, taken in 1857, go HERE.

On May 4, 1852 the town of 75 people known as Oakland was incorporated by the State legislature. The streets were set up in a grid with Broadway and Fourth Street at the center. At this time, large wharves were built along the Estuary and a shipping channel was dredged, making Oakland a terminal for commerce. Years later, as the western end of the Transcontinental Railroad, a huge wharf at the foot of Seventh Street made Oakland into one of the significant ports on the West Coast.

On Fifth and Broadway, in a rented room, the College School, precursor to the University of California, was established in 1853. That same year, Oakland’s first public school opened with 16 students and the Oakland Police Department was established.

San Francisco saw increased numbers of ships carrying new arrivals during the Gold Rush, but it was Oakland that was “the mainland staging point for passengers and cargo traveling between the Bay and the Sierra foothills.” (Oakland History Timeline, oaklandlibrary.org)

On January 24, 1848, gold was accidentally discovered at the building site of Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, about 130 miles northeast of Oakland.

James Marshall, a contractor building a saw mill for Captain John Sutter, was using water from the South Fork of the American River when he noted some flakes he identified as gold.

Despite attempts by both Marshall and Sutter to keep the find a secret, word got out. Coloma was quickly transformed from an out-of-the-way settlement to an area with a population of thousands. Oakland’s population also grew along with businesses supplying those setting out for the “gold fields.”

In 1998, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the discovery, the Oakland Museum mounted an in-depth exhibit which later toured throughout the state as well as the National Museum in Washington, D.C.

An historical footnote: James Marshall never got rich from his discovery. In 1849, there was a skirmish between the local tribe, the Nisenan, and some overzealous prospectors from Oregon. Although Marshall tried to protect his native friends, a number were killed and Marshall was forced to leave. Much later, when it was safe, he returned to the area to grow wine grapes. His last years were spent in poverty.

Rather than profiting greatly from this amazing find, Sutter, too, suffered. He was quoted in Hutchings’ California Magazine, November, 1857:

“By this sudden discovery of the gold, all my great plans were destroyed. Had I succeeded for a few years before the gold was discovered, I would have been the richest citizen on the Pacific shore; but it had to be different. Instead of being rich, I am ruined, and the cause of it is the long delay of the United States Land Commission of the United States Courts, through the great influence of the squatter lawyers.”

Archeological evidence shows that Oakland and surrounding areas were inhabited as early as 4000 BCE. Around the 6th century AD, tribes, collectively referred to as the Ohlone, migrated into the area extending from San Francisco down to Big Sur and east into Contra Costa County. The Ohlone were never one tribe, rather they were comprised of more than 50 “nations” with distinct languages, co-existing through trade and marriage.

Their lives changed dramatically with the arrival of the Spanish in 1769. Wanting to protect “New Spain” from Russian colonization threats, Spain sent military troops up from Lower (Baja) California into Upper (Alta) California. With them came a Franciscan Friar, Father Junípero Serra with the order to extend the Catholic Church’s missions northward for the benefit of the indigenous peoples. In the following years, Serra founded seven of his missions in Ohlone territory, converting thousands of them to Catholicism and, in effect, undermining their culture.

Miguel José Serra took the name “Junípero” upon his ordination in honor of an earlier follower of St. Francis of Assisi. He was born on the island of Majorca (Spain) in 1713 and died in 1784 of a snake bite at Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo (Carmel, CA).

In 1820, the King of Spain gave Rancho San Antonio, a parcel of approximately 45,000 acres, to Luís María Peralta (b.1759 – d.1851) in recognition of his success as a military leader. In addition to Oakland, this grant incorporated the cities of of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, Alameda, and San Leandro.

Peralta’s family came to California in 1776 with the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition. These settlers were involved with founding the Presidio of San Francisco, Mission Santa Clara and the first town of Alta California, San José. It was the establishment of Mission San José that extended Spanish rule over what is now Oakland.

Peralta never lived on his huge estate, residing instead at the Peralta Adobe in San José. In 1842, he divided Rancho San Antonio amongst his four sons. He gave his five daughters the San José property and livestock.

It was around this time that logging of the East Bay hills began.

To be continued…

A client called a few days ago and asked my thoughts on buying a small home and expanding it in three to five years. She and her husband have just had their first baby and are starting to think about space and schools. Her thought is to “get in” to one of the expensive areas known for good schools while the market is down.

I have heard this question many times. My advice: unless she is able to purchase the property at substantially under market value, I do not recommend this scenario. The home in this particular case, in my opinion, was overpriced and would not be a good financial decision.

Specifically, I gave her some things to consider:

What about buying a “distressed” property in a top location? Good idea, but if it is well priced, multiple offers will ensue and diminish its appeal. For more information, see
“On Foreclosures, Short Sales and REOs” and the multi-part “Journal of a Remodelee.”

My client decided to take my advice and take a more long term approach. I will be watching for more appropriate listings from this point on.

Image from Oakmore Homes Association

The city of Oakland has wonderful neighborhoods. One that is not widely known, but should be, is the Oakmore district, which includes lovely homes, many with San Francisco Bay views. While visiting one of them today, I was reminded of an article I wrote about the area some time ago.

Read the story HERE

California Vole (photo from voles.com)

It has been over a month since I saw it – a small, round, short-tailed, small-eared, furry creature. It looked like a mouse, but wasn’t.

I was pruning the jasmine on the back fence when this cute-nik, looking neither left nor right, scurried past me. In the second or two I had to ponder this development, I just smiled, rather than attempting to end its short life. That is a decision I do not regret, although a number of holes in our garden occasionally cause me to reconsider.

(The story continues HERE)

Owning a home has numerous responsibilities. One is to ensure that trees on your property are not dangerous to your neighbors. A large, dead or dying tree can cause massive damage if the entire tree or any of its limbs fall. This is why many municipalities, including the City of Oakland, have hazardous tree ordinances. The Oakland law (read it HERE), set up procedures for filing claims regarding city owned and privately owned trees.

Not long ago, an Oakland homeowner approached his neighbor and pointed out how an old, huge Monterey pine was severely leaning toward his house, with about a third of the canopy actually hanging over his roof. After consultations with various licensed arborists, it was agreed that the tree, about seventy feet tall, would need to be removed. Due to its size and proximity to high-tension electric wires, it cost the neighbor over $10,000 to have the tree cut down and taken away.

As it turned out, the pine was not only leaning, but was also seriously diseased. Within a year or two, it could have caused major property damage and, possibly, injury or death to the complaining neighbors. The tree ordinance helped avoid these issues and the likely legal action that would have followed.

For more information, see my article, “Eucalyptus and Monterey Pines Present Problems.”

What could be more “green” than identifying and preserving old, big trees? That is just what is happening in the City of Oakland.

The city has instituted a big tree registry “where Oakland residents may nominate trees that they believe are the largest specimen of their type.” The concept of a registry grew out of the loss of “what was believed to be Oakland’s oldest oak tree, the Champagne Oak, in Dimond Park in November 2005.”

Go to http://www.oaklandnet.com/big_tree_registry/home.asp to find out how to nominate a large tree, how to measure it and which are on the list. In addition, you will find Oakland’s tree regulations, photos and other information.

As time goes on in a buyer’s market with prices continuing to soften, those who purchased in recent years are asking whether their county property tax bill might be too high. If you bought in the past four to five years, this is a distinct possibility.

According to Oakland Council Member Jean Quan’s Web site, the Alameda County Assessor’s Office has completed the process of updating property values. It makes sense for you to look over the property tax notice that was recently sent out.

At no cost, property owners are entitled to request a review of their 2008-2009 assessed value. Go to http://www.acgov.org/assessor/reassessments.htm for the procedure on questioning your assessment. Your appeal application must be filed by September 15, 2008.

Be aware that a private company is soliciting a $95 fee from homeowners to apply for reassessment. Apparently, they are using the identical paperwork you can get free of charge.

For safety reasons, each city or local jurisdiction has specific rules and codes to help identify what is a bedroom. You should always consult with local officials for a definitive determination.

I was on broker’s tour today and reminded of how the “average” agent has little idea of what is and is not a bedroom. Home buyers and sellers have even less knowledge about this. The house I saw has two bedrooms and what the listing agent calls an “au pair,” nicely staged with a bed. This is a room with outside entry only. He considers this additional room to be bedroom number three.

Actually, the city where this home is located considers it a “plus” room, not a bedroom because 1) the only access to the hot water heater is through this room; and 2) it has a door opening into the garage. The former is a violation of the city’s Uniform Building Code and the latter does not comply with the Plumbing and Mechanical Codes.

These are significant because people sleep in bedrooms and there are numerous regulations to ensure they do not die in a room that is unsafe for sleeping. In the situation I cited above, the danger of noxious fumes and fire eliminates this room from being used for sleeping; therefore, it is not a bedroom. Secondarily, the value of a property is somewhat related to the number of bedrooms and it is important for the count to be correct.

Note: County records are often inaccurate and indicate an incorrect number of bedrooms and square feet. Do not rely on them.

For more information on this topic, see my article with the same title HERE.