The new California laws that went into effect in January have lessened the difficulty and cost of adding a so-called granny unit, now dubbed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), to single-family or multi-family dwellings. San Jose has gone a step further in their attempts to ease the housing shortage that is causing rents in the Bay Area to skyrocket. San Jose’s removal of barriers for these small rental units; by lowering the total square footage of the lot needed for an ADU and increasing the maximum square footage of the unit itself to 800 square feet, can create a great opportunity for you - the homeowner - to benefit. While it may not be built for resale, you can rent this unit out to increase your monthly income. It can also be used for multi-generational living, for instance with boomerang kids or aging parents. It can even be used as a short term rental (STR) like Airbnb.

If you own property around Stanford’s campus, you might just be the smartest homeowner around. College campuses are gold mines for renting opportunity. Constant occupancy and consistently rising prices—sounds like a landlord’s dream come true. Even with the inherent risks, a Stanford rental home is an ideal setup for anyone looking to make some extra cash in real estate.

The holidays have officially descended upon Silicon Valley, and we are in full decorating swing. Now would be the perfect time to have a custom Christmas room like the one a recent client wished for. She wanted space for tree storage, gift wrapping, and year-round functionality to boot—which provided a fun challenge for our design team. If you’re green with holiday envy right now, don’t worry. There’s still more than enough time to get a custom room ready for you before the new year, and definitely before the holiday rush of 2017.

The new Sorellas housing development in Los Gatos is beautifully under construction this holiday season near Summerhill, and I’ve seen a slew of customization-minded home buyers jump at the opportunity. Retirees with plenty of time for crafting throughout the year can really benefit from including a crafting space in the floorplan. All you need is a functional way to make the best use of your new space, and custom cabinetry can make that happen.

We’ve been waiting for it for months: the newest Bay Area Rapid Transit station at Warm Springs/South Fremont is in the final stages of testing and should be running passengers this month! No official opening date has been announced yet, but I know they’re getting agonizingly close. That means commuters can finally start looking into real estate in the South Fremont area, where new condos abound.

Being close to a BART station has the potential to significantly improve your life. You remove commuting hassle, get to work in a better state of mind, and reap the environmental benefits of using mass transit. What more could you want? There’s only one downside: if you’re eyeing one of those new condos, you might have to sacrifice living space.

When your kids move out, a whole new world of exciting opportunities opens to you. You can sell your home and downsize to fund travel or to go back to school and learn something new. Or, like a recent Lamorinda client of mine, you could finally do that home remodel you’ve been putting off. With the kids at home, a large renovation had always seemed too overwhelming a task to undertake. With their newly empty nest, however, they found they now had the space (and time!) to finally escape the constraint of sharing a cramped master bathroom and a tiny closet.

In my line of work, I visit homes all over the Bay Area – and when it comes to exceptionally high-end design, Atherton stands out. Residents have a taste for quality and show it by investing in stunning homes, exotic cars, and designer wardrobes. Of course, if you have an extensive wardrobe, you often want to display it against an equally stunning backdrop, so it’s no surprise that custom walk-ins are a popular luxury item for Atherton residents.

The Bay Area is a great place to retire. People who’ve made the jump tell us of the great times they have hiking, visiting wine country, and getting out of the city to enjoy the natural beauty of the region. It’s no less an exciting life, but it is a simpler one. Part of that simplicity may come from getting rid of unnecessary clutter and moving to a smaller house, apartment, or condo.